Sections
-
Recent Posts
Search Results for: Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court seems ready to legalize the 2021 Trump coup tactics
WASHINGTON—The right-wing Republican-named U.S. Supreme Court majority appears to be on the verge of approving a Republican-pushed radical theory to give state legislatures, and only them, complete control of voting and elections—to the dismay of both the court’s three Democratic-named justices and of demonstrators outside the court yesterday. If they end up ruling the way they seemed to be leaning yesterday the entire U.S. election system will be upended, killing the ability of voters, not lawmakers, to choose the president. Continue reading
Free elections come under attack Dec. 7 at the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON—On Dec. 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy,” as FDR put it, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. On Dec. 7, 2022, the empire of the right-wing attacks the United States election system—at the Supreme Court. Continue reading
‘Witnessing a judicial coup in process’
"It is our duty to check the court's gross overreach of power in violating people's inalienable rights and seizing for itself the powers of Congress and the president."
Progressive powerhouse Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned Thursday that the United States is “witnessing a judicial coup in progress,” a reaction by the Democratic congresswoman to a raft of highly consequential Supreme Court rulings and the justices’ scheduled hearing of a critical voting rights case. Continue reading
The Supreme Court has lit our planet on fire
Longtime readers of my work and listeners to my program know that the Supreme Court has seized for itself extraordinary powers that the Framers of the Constitution never intended for it to have. There are summaries here and here, for example. Continue reading
Right-wing justices should be impeached for lying under oath, says Ocasio-Cortez
"We have a responsibility to protect our democracy," said the New York Democrat. "That includes holding those in power who violate the law accountable."
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said Sunday that right-wing U.S. Supreme Court justices who “misled” senators during their respective confirmation hearings about whether they supported overturning Roe v. Wade should be impeached for lying under oath. Continue reading
Looming US Supreme Court climate decision could ‘doom’ hope for livable future
"The immediate issue is the limits of the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases," said one scientist. "The broader issue is the ability of federal agencies to regulate anything at all."
Amid widespread outrage over recent rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue another decision this week that legal experts and activists warn could imperil the Biden administration’s climate goals and thus, the planet itself. Continue reading
Supreme Court kills abortion rights, sets target on marriage equality, contraception, more
For the first time ever, the high court has killed a constitutionally-guaranteed right.
As expected, the Supreme Court of the United States has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion across the nation nearly 50 years ago. The decision was already revealed in an unprecedented leak reported by Politico in early May, but now the nation has the final version of the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito and circulated among the other justices in February. Continue reading
The abortion firestorm is also a white freak-out about the browning of America
The abortion battle is not just about religion. Continue reading
Court’s draft ruling a part of a bigger right-wing strategy
WASHINGTON—A draft U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion eliminating abortion rights angered women and pro-choice advocates and sparked a political war on both sides of what anti-abortionists have made their cultural issue keystone for 49 years. Continue reading
Justice Gorsuch must resign
A “justice” who sits in defiance of the Constitution has cast the deciding vote in too many cases.
Much ink has been spilled over Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s failure to recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election, despite his wife’s participation in efforts to overthrow it. Continue reading
Donald Trump’s fourth link to the Supreme Court: Ginni Thomas
WASHINGTON—During his four years in the Oval Office, Donald Trump catered to his right-wing supporters and used the Federalist Society, a right-wing judicial advocacy group, to name three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court—Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. They cemented the rightist majority on the nation’s highest bench. Continue reading
Why do Supreme Court justices keep saying they’re not hacks?
Because there’s good reason to believe they are.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once told about a guest who came to dinner and spent the entire evening prattling about his own integrity: “The louder he talked of his honor,” Emerson wrote: “the faster we counted our spoons.” Continue reading
Conservative SCOTUS justices dance around but avoid key abortion rights issue
WASHINGTON—Much is being made of several conservative justices appointed by Trump expressing concerns Monday about how the outrageous Texas abortion law is written to avoid federal judicial review. Continue reading
Members of the Supreme Court should be investigated for role in insurrection
At least two members of the dominant Trump faction on the Supreme Court are worthy of being investigated for their possible roles in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Justice Samuel Alito was considered the “go-to” member of the court by one-time Donald Trump election challenge attorney Sidney Powell. Powell, whose veracity on a number of issues has been shown to be severely lacking, may have acted out of character by revealing the game plan behind Trump’s encouragement of his supporters halting the congressional certification of the Electoral College count on January 6. Continue reading
When I was at law school with Clarence Thomas
Just one year after Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, Republican nominees on the Supreme Court are on the way to overturning Roe v. Wade. But they’re going out of their way to speak out publicly against the partisanship they’re actively engaged in. Continue reading
Supreme Court announces date for case directly challenging Roe v. Wade
"The fate of Roe v. Wade and legal abortion is on the line."
Abortion rights advocates geared up for a major fight as the U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it will soon hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case in Mississippi which poses a direct challenge to Roe vs. Wade. Continue reading
Ocasio-Cortez slams Texas governor’s ‘disgusting’ defense of abortion ban
"It's not just ignorance, it's ignorance that's hurting people across this country."
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday condemned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest defense of his state’s near-total ban on abortion as “disgusting” and said the Republican leader’s ignorance on matters of basic biology is actively harming people across the nation. Continue reading
Sotomayor rips right-wing justices as Supreme Court effectively overturns Roe v. Wade
In a blistering dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor slammed conservative justices for opting to "bury their heads in the sand" when faced with a "flagrantly unconstitutional law."
The conservative U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order in the dead of night Wednesday leaving Texas’ draconian abortion ban in place, a move that effectively overturns Roe v. Wade and imperils reproductive rights across much of the United States. Continue reading
Calls to ‘expand the Supreme Court’ grow as McConnell warns he’s prepared to steal another seat
"Mitch McConnell is already foreshadowing that he'll steal a 3rd Supreme Court seat if he gets the chance. He's done it before, and he'll do it again."
Progressive calls to add seats to the U.S. Supreme Court gained fresh urgency Monday after Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested he would block President Joe Biden from filling a potential high court vacancy if Republicans wrest back control of the upper chamber in next year’s midterms. Continue reading
Is Colombia’s military displacing peasants to protect the environment or sell off natural resources?
Corporations, not wildlife, stand to benefit from the emptied lands.
Colombia witnessed a series of mass protests at the end of April following a call for a national strike. Still ongoing, the protests have many causes: an apparent “tax reform” that was going to transfer even more wealth to the 1 percent in Colombia; the failure of the most recent peace accords; and the inability of Colombia’s privatized health care system to contain the COVID-19 crisis. In response to these ongoing protests, the government has killed dozens, disappeared hundreds, imposed curfews on multiple cities, and called in the army. But the protests continue—because they are, at least in part, a repudiation of the militarization of everything in the country. Continue reading
Democratic lawmakers urge Barrett to recuse herself from Koch dark money case
The members of Congress note that Americans for Prosperity, a Koch-funded advocacy group, mounted a "full-scale campaign" in support of the justice's confirmation.
Three Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday urged U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to recuse herself from a pending case revolving around the nonprofit arm of Americans for Prosperity, a Koch-funded political advocacy group that spent heavily to ensure Barrett’s confirmation to the bench last October. Continue reading
US Supreme Court denies Trump’s ‘shameful’ effort to block release of his tax returns
"This decisive defeat once again shows that no one—including Donald Trump—is above the law."
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered another blow to Donald Trump’s efforts to block the enforcement of a subpoena for his accounting firm to turn over eight years of the ex-president’s tax returns and other financial documents to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. while Trump was still in office. Continue reading
The truth on trial at Trump’s second impeachment
Big stories reveal the good, the bad and the ugly of humankind—and that includes those who report and comment on the news.
While watching Saturday’s events in the U.S. Senate and the gamut of public reaction to them, I thought about the disconnect that takes place between the reality of events and the way they’re perceived from the outside looking in, especially by the media. Continue reading
Old Congress, new Congress: Profiles in sore losing
The open sedition of so many Republican members is a crime and a national disgrace. They're attempting a clumsy coup d’état.
Ever since it first was published in 1956, there has been a joke about John F. Kennedy’s book Profiles in Courage (largely ghosted by speechwriter and advisor Ted Sorensen), historical portraits of eight US senators who demonstrated bravery in the face of enormous political opposition. Continue reading
“That’s his priority as the pandemic rages on”: McConnell readies lame duck push to further pack courts with Trump’s judicial appointees
"It is literally sickening to see Mitch McConnell continue to indulge his partisan obsession with confirming far-right judges, instead of taking action on the COVID pandemic that continues to spin out of control."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is under renewed fire from progressives for refusing to act on a pandemic relief package for struggling Americans while moving to advance more of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. Continue reading
‘He’s down to steal this thing’: Kavanaugh parrots Trump mail-in ballot lies as Supreme Court bars extension of Wisconsin deadline
‘Kavanaugh is announcing to the world that if it will help Trump win, he will join a decision to not cunt votes.’
The U.S. Supreme Court late Monday delivered a victory for the Republican Party by barring the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin from extending its Election Day deadline for the arrival of absentee ballots amid the pandemic, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh issuing an ominous concurring opinion that echoes President Donald Trump’s false narrative on mail-in voting. Continue reading
The Barrett travesty
Amy Coney Barrett is nothing if not consistent. Time and again, she refused during her confirmation hearings to say a word about any judicial decision or any of the major political issues of the day. The ostensible reason: it would compromise her judicial independence. Continue reading
Reversing the GOP power grab
Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation as the ninth justice on the U.S. Supreme Court is a travesty of democracy. Continue reading
Right-wing SCOTUS justices: Impeach them
There is a constitutional method for ridding the U.S. Supreme Court of its two far-right justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. It borrows a page from the right-wing in the 1960s. Conservatives, including members of the far-right John Birch Society, outraged over President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s pick for Chief Justice, former California Governor Earl Warren, steering the court in a liberal direction, began a national “Impeach Warren” campaign. Continue reading
The final debate was a parade of presidential prevarication
Notes from the ghost town that only exists in Trump’s fevered imagination.
I live in a ghost town—at least Donald Trump seems to think so. It’s “a ghost town!” he exclaimed more than once at Thursday night’s second and last debate with Joe Biden. “Take a look at New York and what’s happened to my wonderful city. For so many years, I loved it. It was vibrant. It’s dying. Everyone’s leaving New York.” Continue reading
A Democratic senator proposed a top-shelf national health care system in 1949
A postage stamp cost 3 cents, milk was 84 cents a gallon, a bottle of Coke was a nickle, bread was 14 cents a loaf, and a Democratic Senator from the State of Minnesota proposed a comprehensive national health insurance system that would reduce medical costs for a majority of Americans. The year was 1949 and the senator was Hubert Humphrey, who was later to serve as Vice President and the 1968 Democratic presidential candidate. Continue reading
How to prevent an American theocracy
Six judges shouldn’t get to overturn the will of voters and destroy our rights. Expand the Supreme Court.
Posted on July 14, 2022 by Mitchell Zimmerman
Barely a month ago we lived in a world where all Americans had the right to decide for themselves whether to continue a pregnancy. For much of the country, that’s now history. Continue reading →