Supreme Court Watch

Looking for the light...looking for the light...looking for the light...

Ok found some!!

Did anyone else notice how many long time (but not really currently active members) came back to the forum to post today???

Welcome back! Really nice to see your names in the forum posting once again.

That's what I've got!

Glad to have you here with us again (though perhaps you are often here, just normally in lurking mode?)  Hope you can find some light in our community today and if you do, don't forget to share it with others. There sure is some need. (You know, that whole Olympic torch thing from a few days back when it was also a rather bleak day.)

Oh wait!  I've got more. 

But I'm making that a separate post.

OK, you want some more light?

How about 3 HUGE shining lighthouses?!  The most beautiful 3 lighthouses a ship sailing toward a rocky coastline on a pitch black stormy night could ever hope to see!!

That ship is the United States of America and the lighthouses are named Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan.

Remember their names and put them in your prayers every single day. Send them light and lots of love.  And more light.  Surround them with it.  I'm not kidding.  If YOU think you are having a hard time with what is taking to the United States of America right now, can you imagine what they are going through?

Can you imagine what it is like to be part of THIS SCOTUS right?  How you are part of a historical court destroying democracy and the only weapon you have to fight against this darkness is your voice of decent?   To find the courage to continue to inspire and offer a glimmer of hope to a fearful nation?

If you are the slightest bit empathic like I am, it isn't difficult to imagine.  In fact it is painfully easy.

3 mighty, magnificent, glorious  shinning lighthouses are steeling themselves against a brutal storm. We owe them more than we can ever repay.

See them.  Love them.  Pray for them and THANK them. 

They need our light as much as we need theirs.  

They are truly the supernovas of our time. 

One last one ray of light to embrace for now.  

I would like to actually thank SCOTUS today- for declining to delay Bannon's prison sentence.

Today was prison day for the former W.H. Chief Strategist.  

(Cue the Law and Order sound effect!)

Strategize that Mr. Bannon!

Oh and he starts a whole new trail in September too. This could be a fun fall.  

@ghandigirl I'm way too angry for that!!!! I'm fine! None of these shit rulings really effect my life other than to make me furious!  But what about the millions of women and other humans that ARE EFFECTED NOW! Frankly Im really fing tired of being told everything is going to be ok when its so NOT OK for so many people!  Ima have to take a break because I'm angrier than I recall being!!!!!! Ever!

I still get knocked down by such things, but me being me, I still look for the light, for silver linings. I posted the Philly Inquirer link for their wonderful editorial the day before Jeanne and Baba found it, because I was looking for the light that will lead the way forward. Seeing that others found it independently as well shows that there are other light seekers out there. I believe that we probably have lurkers who found it as well before any of us posted about it. I, too, was feeling rather down yesterday after watching our nation's slip into authoritarianism with the most recent SCOTUS debacle. 

I've dealt with these kinds of folks my entire life. I've seen Karma come for them, every single time. Sometimes it's taken longer than others. The bottom line is that the fascists who are trying to take over picked a showman, a con artist, who's not the sharpest tool in the shed. This is a bright spot in itself. He's been exposed and now convicted/adjudicated as the criminal he is. Those who have been using him to sneak in their agenda chose the wrong person. He's a narcissist. He'll only play their patsy role until it differs from what he wants for himself. He now finds himself a criminal facing sentencing. This is before more upcoming criminal trials. He hasn't been able to get out from under his financial fines either. His billing date is coming due, and he'll end up losing property and losing face by the fire sales that will happen to pay. He's losing his appearance as one of the richest and most money savvy. Another blow to his fragile ego and even more frail facade. But we will thank him in the long run. He is the impetus for showing who many in our government (SCOTUS, congress, agencies) truly are-self servants instead of public servants. He's exposing all those who are bigots, misogynists, etc. in our neighborhoods. You can't clean out the rot until it's exposed. The six pieces of rotting black cloth sitting on the bench are trying to reshape this country, and they will succeed, but not in the ways they think. 

Women were fired up over Roe. This will reinforce the notion that the court is corrupt. How many justices sat at congressional hearings stating that Roe should be upheld? How many swore to the congress that no one, including a president was above the law? Now we know they are lying. Two justices should have recused (and were advised to do so by others) because they've shown they cannot separate their own political beliefs from issues in front of the court. Three of these justices were ruling in a case brought by the man who appointed them, not to mention their connection to the Gore/Bush legal cases where a president was finally appointed by the courts vs being elected by the people. 

Now for some of the points of light. Several of these 'justices' were decried by the legal profession as not worthy of the bench before their nominations. This is evident in their recent rulings. This will be their undoing. For example, they've noted that only THEY can determine what is an official duty or personal objective of the president. They've effectively stripped the congress of the constitutional rights to be an oversight of the other two branches. The government was set up in three branches to have checks and balances. Do you think that those in congress will take kindly to being demoted unilaterally? Do you think the public will either-especially after Roe?  Now, on to what else this egregious ruling will bring. An election September/October surprise for Abby (no longer Mango- but Abby - as in Young Frankenstein's Abby normal). Lawrence O (MSNBC) pointed out yesterday evening, now by Supreme Court Order, the January 6, which they've been delaying because of this ruling, will need multitudes of hearings to decide what is personal and what is official duty on the part of the former president. Hearings are not trials. They are not bound by the rule that individuals running for public office cannot have trials within 80 days of an election. So hearings can and will be scheduled for this fall so that Jack Smith can lay out all his evidence (now required by yesterday's ruling), inclusive of calling all witnesses. So we will have all the evidence these MIB (Morons in Black) tried to keep from seeing the light of day presented in the weeks just prior to the election. 

We have Abby trying to get his convictions overturned already. This shows how utterly ignorant he is. His convictions were not about actions taken while president. They were actions he took to gain that office. He has no immunity for things he did prior to being president. The most he can gain is possibly a delay in sentencing. 

I applaud all three justices and their dissents. I think that Sotomayer's questioning of Abby's lawyer should be played over and over again in the media. It isn't hyperbole in her dissent, where she notes that a president can order an assassination of a rival and be immune. She purposely asked about this scenario in open court. I also found it notable that she didn't use the customary "I respectfully dissent". There was no "respectfully" included. Jackson clearly called out the MIB and noted they were trying to entitle and empower grifters. 

This attempt to corrupt our constitution, our rule of law, our way of life, and our future is blatant. Reform will come to prevent it from happening in the future if we do our jobs. If we make our voices heard. If we do whatever we are capable of regardless of how much or how little that may be on a personal level (not all have funds to give to campaigns, or time to volunteer for political activities, etc.). Just know that whatever you can contribute-from simply telling someone you won't vote for a convicted criminal, to saying prayers, to working with mantras, to calling your legislators asking for SCOTUS reform, none of it is too little or too late. 

@cindy ^^^^^ this!!!!' Yes!!!! Thank you for brilliantly summarizing!!! 💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊

🙏🏻💜🪽❤️🙌❤️🪽💜🙏🏻

@lovendures thank you for helping me/us redirect our thoughts.   We are anxious and weary but we can’t lay down.   Fight with light.   Thank you for helping us with that.   Have a blessed day everyone.

Posted by: @cindy

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Women were fired up over Roe. This will reinforce the notion that the court is corrupt. How many justices sat at congressional hearings stating that Roe should be upheld? How many swore to the congress that no one, including a president was above the law? Now we know they are lying. Two justices should have recused (and were advised to do so by others) because they've shown they cannot separate their own political beliefs from issues in front of the court. Three of these justices were ruling in a case brought by the man who appointed them, not to mention their connection to the Gore/Bush legal cases where a president was finally appointed by the courts vs being elected by the people. 

 

@cindy, thank you for your entire message.  I chose to excerpt the part about Dobbs, specifically, because we saw the mass-mobilization it created two years ago.  My hope is that this latest ruling pulls in additional people who care about preventing a king/dictator from ruling, even if they are pro-life (or lean pro-life).

I'm a gay man who will always remain child-free by choice...but, even though Roe doesn't have a direct impact on me, I've always supported reproductive freedoms under the philosophy that we all need to support each other's needs (even if it's an issue from which we're personally inoculated).

I find myself "doomscrolling" on social media amidst of the defeatist narratives circulating out there from regular people -- and from pundits, some politicians, public figures, etc. -- I'd like to think some of it is the initial shock and/or anger from yesterday's ruling.  The worrisome part of me obsesses over whether they will remain stuck on in that mindset for the next 4 months.  Are people going to remain trapped in hopelessness, resigned to the assumption that democracy has permanently died?  Or are they going register new voters, remind people of this ruling's severity on a daily basis, emphasize how Trump could come after ANYONE (not just people on the Left)?

I'm trying to figure out my role in all of this.  Because of my disability, there is a limited amount that I can do (for my own mental health) in terms of interpersonal contact.

Posted by: @lovendures

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That ship is the United States of America and the lighthouses are named Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan.

Remember their names and put them in your prayers every single day. Send them light and lots of love.  And more light.  Surround them with it.  I'm not kidding.  If YOU think you are having a hard time with what is taking to the United States of America right now, can you imagine what they are going through?

Can you imagine what it is like to be part of THIS SCOTUS right?  How you are part of a historical court destroying democracy and the only weapon you have to fight against this darkness is your voice of decent?   To find the courage to continue to inspire and offer a glimmer of hope to a fearful nation?

If you are the slightest bit empathic like I am, it isn't difficult to imagine.  In fact it is painfully easy.

3 mighty, magnificent, glorious  shinning lighthouses are steeling themselves against a brutal storm. We owe them more than we can ever repay.

 

@Lovendures, you are absolutely right about the three Justices you've named.  I think about them all the time.  I definitely am grateful to them for enduring that snake pit.  On the other hand, by virtue of their positions, they have a lot more connections to the movers-and-shakers in politics (even if they have to limit those discussions to when they're at other people's homes) than I'd imagine any of us do.

I think this is where the helpless fear comes in, at least for me.  I have plenty of ideas for what the messaging should be, between now and Election Day.  What are the key reminders that need to be repeated endlessly for voters...but, as is the case with most Americans, I'm not well-connected.  It's difficult for me to find a starting point as to who I could reach out to...if there's any chance my suggestions might gain some traction.

@anita The Electoral College was created in our Constitution, and you can't change it without an amendment to the Constitution.

An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.  ( https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-constitution/#:~:text=An%20amendment%20may%20be%20proposed,in%20each%20State%20for%20ratification. )

There is leeway for how states implement their Electoral College votes, whether they use, as most states do, a winner take all system where all electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state. Or whether the electoral college votes go to the candidates who win each of that state's congressional districts. Either way, Anita, the president can't make the change.  However, if Trump becomes president, he will surely break the Constitution and have his kangaroo Supreme Court back him up. But Biden and past democratic presidents would obey our Constitution.   https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2019/october-2019/q--the-electoral-college--is-it-open-for-interpretation-by-the-c/#:~:text=In%20part%2C%20that%20is%20because,Electoral%20College%20representatives%20are%20chosen.