Supreme Court Watch

@april 

Here's an appropriate source for the FDR thing:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Procedures_Reform_Bill_of_1937

Key difference is that FDR had Congress on his side, not gridlocked.

Saw an article this morning that explained how SCOTUS is an exception to the global rule - most federal courts don't wield this much power, and in the case of the US, the system of checks has turned into a "vetocracy" - meaning every branch is so busy vetoing every other branch that by default the court ends up with the power.

It seems like SCOTUS rammed through several devastating decisions before Justice Ketanji Jackson was sworn in. She's being sworn in today!

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-swearing-in/index.html

@triciact 

Again, we have the same problem as before.  We need to pass laws to increase the EPA's power to enforce the laws, but guess who always helps to ensure those laws never get passed the Senate?

Yep!  Republicans.

I bet that if they get the majority in Congress and the Presidency, they will definitely abolish the filibuster and pass their evil laws.

This is the realization of the right wing's plans. Obstruct everything, cultivate lawsuits that will give them the laws they want, and then have Scotus essentially make new laws. I don't see how this ends, but I hope it does, and soon, before any more damage is done. 

They agreed to take another case this morning, dealing with states power over elections. I need to wake up now, I am so over this nightmare. 😢

It all feels coordinated, like some sort of conspiracy. Honestly, if feels to me like there is actual communication going on between right wing groups and members of the court. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there doesn't need to be any coordination since their positions and opinions on subjects are already known, or easy to guess. 

There's a smash and grab of our rights and our understanding of what kind of democracy we are and want to be, and it's all happening in plain sight. They are unmoved my public opinion. Honestly, it feels so bleak, although I know we need to have hope. It's hard to though...

@triciact I've felt that Biden would have three people of his choosing on the Court during his current term, Breyer, Thomas, and Kavanaugh. In 2025 (if Democrats hold the WH) there will be three more, and Sotomayor could very well be the next Chief Justice. 

@lovendures 

Yep, they gotta pay homage to their big money corporate overlords, their true god. Don't forget about Gorsuch's mommy. She did lots o' damage to the EPA, and now her baby boy is one of the not-so-Supremes.

Who cares if the common man gets burned off the face of the planet. They're rich; they won't suffer. Or at least, their suffering will be a lot more comfortable than it will be for the rest of us.

Hey, everyone.  I had a terrible dream last night, and I wanted to share it in hopes I can get some perspective.

I dreamed of a young girl in a hospital bed.  She had one of those hospital hairnet's on, so I didn't see her hair, but she had blue/grey eyes.  She was crying and screaming "I don't want to carry my brother!  Please don't make me!"  She looked like she was maybe twelve years old? She seemed to be barely into puberty, because her chest looked flat.

The image changed, and I saw the same girl in the hospital bed, only she was unconscious with various tubes coming out of her, like she was in the ICU.  I was looking at two heart monitors.  I heard doctors talking.  I couldn't understand everything they were saying, but I heard one say, "We can't do anything while the baby's heart is still beating!"

A moment later, the heartbeats on both monitors flatlined.  Doctors were rushing around and trying to bring her back.  For some reason I was physically present.  I was holding this girl's hands and screaming "DO SOMETHING!  YOU MONSTERS!  YOU KILLED HER!"

I then saw images of protests.  I saw people in crowds marching in cities, screaming and yelling.  I saw an image of a man (I didn't see his face, but it was a male with black hair) being attacked in a crowd of women who were beating him and calling him a murdered.  I don't know for sure, but I had the feeling he was a Republican from Congress.  I saw pro-life advocates complaining on the news about how they are getting death threats.  I saw thousands of people with signs chanting and yelling.  Some of the signs showed the face of that girl, along with other women and girls.  Other posters said things like "Republican=Rape!"  "Save our children!"  "Beware a mother's rage!  You won't survive it!" "'Own the libs?' How about 'kill the cons!'"  "Self-defense and defense of children is not murder when you eliminate rapists!"  I saw a few armed groups march (They were clearly the radical right, because they had southern flags and had guns with them), but I saw a gray van pull nearby when the doors to the back of the van flew open and a woman with an army uniform was shooting at the crowd with what looked to be a machine gun.  I saw an image of Marjorie Greene screaming at protesters and calling them Godless when a rock went flying and struck her in the head, at which time the crowd cheered and surrounded her.  I don't know what happened after that, because I woke up.

I don't often dream this vividly, but there has been time in the past that I dreamed things that have come to pass.  Once, I dreamed of a transfer truck that passed by me and then suddenly swerved into my lane as we were going under a red light, hitting me and possibly killing me (I remember in the dream that my car landed upside down, and I could barely see with all the gas and blood on my face.)  The truck in question was a Walmart truck, but the grill of the truck had a red teddy bear with a purple belly attached to it. 

Exactly four days later, I saw the exact same truck coming up behind me.  I panicked and pulled over to the shoulder to let it pass me by.  A little ways up the road, it tried to get from the right lane to the left lane under a green light and ended up hitting a car (though thankfully the wreck was not as bad as the one I saw in my dreams).

As I said on this sight before, I don't have the gift that many of you do.  I don't have visions when I pray or meditate, and I don't have any talents that I consider to be "intuitive."  Having said that, there are rare instances where my dreams come true, particularly if they are vivid in nature.

So, my question is this?  Could this be a true dream?  I know that the fall of Roe v. Wade is on everyone's mind as we grapple with the idea that half of our country is becoming Gilead while the other half is under threat to join us.  Some maybe my own anxieties and anger are leaking through to my subconsciousness.

But that girl was so REAL to me.  She was so young, and it seemed to me that she was probably the victim of rape and/or incest who was nevertheless forced to carry a baby that resulted in her premature death.  I am horrified that this might happen, and that a child may indeed go through this.  

Do I think Republicans need a taste of their own medicine and know what it is like to be the victim of people who calls you names, screams at you, threatens your safety, and gloats at your pain?  Yes, in a way I think it may be necessary, because bullies often don't stop their behaviour until they witness first-hand what it is like to be on the receiving end. But do innocent girls need to die before this happens?  Will a tragedy like this really be necessary to invoke change?

Whilst I am haunted by the "death" of the girl in my dream, I am even more troubled by what I didn't see in my dream.  Basically, I didn't see Republicans going before the American people, bemoan the loss of the children, and say that compromises and/or exceptions were needed in existing laws to ensure that such a thing never happens again.  I think that this probably angered people more.

I am sickened by this dream.  Are we really going to have deaths of children that cause Democrats to basically become Republicans because we finally lose faith that nothing short of force and violence is going to stop the deaths?  Is this merely my own anxiety?  If this is a true dream, is there any way to change the outcome?  I really hope this dream is just my overactive imagination and not a warning about the future.  Any insights will be welcomed, particularly about the girl with blue/grey eyes.  

@lynnventura I agree that all these decisions feel very coordinated and my suspicion is that Ginni has been a conduit with radical right wing groups.   The red states’ decisions to outlaw abortions before and after the Court overturned Roe v. Wade also seem to be very well synchronized.  Major donors of the GOP like gas and coal companies must also be pleased with the Court’s decision to strip power from the E.P.A.  I understand the Court will next take up the role of states in determining elections and that absolutely sets my hair on fire.  The decisions by this Court are so radically regressive and punitive, it shocks me to the core.  The Court must be restructured.  The Justices must follow a strict code of ethics, with defined consequences when they do not.  Term limits should also be instated.