markpkessinger
markpkessinger's JournalThe depth of the rot at the Supreme Court
Yesterday, a thought occurred to me regarding the outrageous immunity ruling by the Supreme Court. Although that ruling is unprecedented, I realized that it does have a historical parallel.
The ruling, as well all know, came from the six conservative justices, all of whom were essentially handpicked by the Federalist Society. So what federal judge was an early patron and promoter of the Federalist Society? Why, that would be Robert Bork!
Bork is mostly remembered today for the fact that his Supreme Court nomination got shot down. But he is also the same Robert Bork who, as solicitor general in the Nixon administration, carried out Nixon's order to fire Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox (after Cox requested the White House tapes), after Nixon's AG Elliot Richardson, and Deputy AG William Ruckleshaus, both refused to do so and resigned in protest. But Bork saw nothing wrong with trying to shut down the investigation and prosecution of a criminal Republican President by firing Cox.
So how can we be at all surprised, then, that the six justices that were handpicked by the very organization of which Bork was an early patron would try to shut down the criminal prosecution of another criminal Republican President by granting him immunity?
It all goes to show, I think, that the rot among the conservative justices today predates Trump by several decades, and is part of the very same corruption that has been ongoing within the conservative movement going back possibly as the Powell Memo in 1971!
Mike Pence is no hero
Since January 6, 2021, Mike Pence has been hailed as a hero who put the country over his party. But as I read the new, unsealed indictment by Jack Smith last night, much of which is based on Pence's testimony, I remembered that Pence's testimony, damning as it is, had to be compelled by subpoenaed, and was not offered willingly. In fact, he had flatly refused to testify before the January 6 Committee. What all of that suggests to me is that Pence's real concern wasn't the country or the constitution, but his own legal exposure. I think that if he thought for a minute he could have done Trump's bidding and have gotten away with it, he would have done so.
There are any number of adjectives that might describe Pence's behavior, but heroic is certainly not one of them!
WTF is Chris Hayes doing??
He just had some Nebraska Republican state senator on, extolling the virtues of Nebraska's system of awarding electoral votes by Congressional District, rather than statewide (or "winner-take-all), and suggesting that other states should adopt that system because it is "fairer."
Look, I get that the GOP is trying to go to winner=take-all in order to help Trump. Bit But overall, if that system were to bbe adopted by the majority of states, it would wind up disadvantaging Democrats! At that point, the presidency itself wouldf become just as subject to gerrymandring as the House currently is! Yet Hayes didn't offer any challenge to him whatsoever!
Lest we get too carried away with ourselves in praising Dick Cheney . . .
. . . I think we might do well to remember that Cheney's "unitary executive" theory did a lot to pave the way for Trump's excesses!
Such a deep bench of young talent!
As I have watched the speeches over the last three nights, I have been struck by how flush our party is with young talent! I'm 63, and I don't remember a time when there were so many extraordinarily talented young Democrats coming up. Buttigieg, Shapiro, Wes Moore, Cory Booker, AOC, Whitmer, Bashear, Newsome, among others -- they are truly an extraordinary bunch! What an exciting time to be a Democrat!
Doug Emhoff: what ethics looks like!
Lawrence O'Donnell last night drew a remarkable contrast between the ethics of Doug Emhoff, who left a partnership at a global law firm, and an income that was likely well into seven figures, when his wife became Vice President, because he didn't want there to be even the slightest hint of any conflict of interest, in order to take a teaching position at Georgetown, to those of Jane Roberts, who has raked in millions of dollars as a legal consultant to law firms across the country while her husband has served as Chief Justice, or Ginny Thomas, who participated in the attempt to overturn a lawful election while her husband served as an associate justice!
The Biden administration should address this IMMEDIATELY!
On June 26, President Biden made the bold pronouncement that he was "righting a historic wrong" by issuing pardons to LGBTQ persons who were pushed out of the military under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Unfortunately, however, the administration drew the qualification requirements so narrowly that few of the many thousands who were drummed out of the service will qualify. As this Mother Jones article explains, the pardons will only be issued to people who were "convicted in a military court of non-forced sodomy. But for years, most gay veterans simply resigned from the service rather than face the humiliation a military court martial.
This effort may have been well-intended, but it was very poorly thought out and executed, and in reality, goes nowhere near "righting the historic wrong" that was done to these folks!
And look, I get that if someone hasn't been convicted of something, there is nothing to "pardon" them for. But at a very minimum, the folks who resigned under threat of court martial should have their discharge status updated to "honorable" and their eligibility for benefits restored!
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/08/lgbt-veterans-biden-military-pardons-dont-ask-tell-war-horse/
The Biden administration should address this IMMEDIATELY!
On June 26, President Biden made the bold pronouncement that he was "righting a historic wrong" by issuing pardons to LGBTQ persons who were pushed out of the military under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Unfortunately, however, the administration drew the qualification requirements so narrowly that few of the many thousands who were drummed out of the service will qualify. As this Mother Jones article explains, the pardons will only be issued to people who were "convicted in a military court of non-forced sodomy. But for years, most gay veterans simply resigned from the service rather than face the humiliation a military court martial.
This effort may have been well-intended, but it was very poorly thought out and executed, and in reality, goes nowhere near "righting the historic wrong" that was done to these folks!
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/08/lgbt-veterans-biden-military-pardons-dont-ask-tell-war-horse/
Trump's use of Epstein's former aircraft is the wrong thing to make an issue of
Look, I am all for going after Trump in every legitimate way we can. But this is NOT the thing we should make an issue of.
Trump's usual plane was grounded because of a mechanical issue. He and his campaign then leased an aircraft from a commercial leasing company. As it turns out, it happens to be the aircraft formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein. But it is highly unlikely that either Trump or his campaign knew who previously owned the aircraft.
And yes, I know Trump had past associations with Epstein. Fine, raise those past associations all you want. But to try to turn this into an issue will result in nothing other than making Democrats look exceedingly petty!
How stupid does someone have to be to fall for Trump's "She AI'd it" conspiracy theory?
One of the things Trump cites as evidence that the image from the Detroit airport was "AI'd" was that the reflective underside of the airplane didn't show the crowd. Here's the thing: the underside of the airplane is curved, and light travels, and reflects, in straight lines. So whatever someone (or some camera) sees reflected will be whatever is located at the same angle from where your line of sight hits the reflective surface, in the opposite direction . . . which is to say, in this case, the tarmac!
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