Our Supreme Court is the worst judicial tribunal since the United States’ highest judiciary ruled in 1856 that blacks were not and could not be citizens.
Yes, Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney has gone down in history for his ruling in Dred Scott v. John Sanford. It stated that a black man had no rights under the Constitution and that the Founders’ words in the Declaration of Independence, “all men were created equal’ were never intended to apply to blacks.
The John Roberts Court has taken away the right of women to choose whether or not to have an abortion, a right that was granted nearly 50 years ago by one of the more liberal courts of my lifetime. The court has cut back on such things as health care in the Sebelius case, free speech and elections in the Citizens United case, and gun rights control in the Heller case, as well as LGBTQ rights in the Obergefell case.
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And just the past week, they declared that Affirmative Action used in college admission reviews was unconstitutional; that a president could not help with student loan forgiveness without the consent of Congress, and then approved the discriminatory actions of a Christian web designer who refused for religious reasons to create a website to celebrate same-sex weddings.
This court has justices that cannot explain expensive gifts and even junkets paid for by rich right-wing Republican donors. Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito appear “as guilty as sin,” (but let’s give them the presumption of innocence) and have refused to accept any type of ethical code to be applied to them.
Most if not all of the conservative members of the court have disregarded what they said under Congressional scrutiny when questioned if they would uphold precedents of the court. I believe that they lied under oath, which was considered a criminal offense when I went to law school some 40 years ago. They are members of the Federalists Society, a group of conservatives and libertarians dedicated to changing the legal order.
I refused to join that oppressive group while in school and sought out more progressive groups like the Brennan Center for Justice, which advocates raising the minimum wage, opposes voter ID laws, and opposed the court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. We will overcome the actions of this court. But we must use our rights to protest and petition our government leaders to do the right thing to help form a “More Perfect Union.” It’s all part of the American Dream.
Contoveros 
From War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine by Norman Solomon :-
So it seems not being in favour of US wars make you ‘deplorable’ to some. (BTW, Solomon is a registered Democrat and former congressional candidate.)
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Problem is both sides of Congress are long accustomed to stacking the Court with their own preferred judicial stooges when they’ve got the power to do so. Fairness and responsibility went out the window long ago.
This is a good example of an issue capable of creating cross-party alliances between those who haven’t made a career of this sort of subversion of the Supreme Court. It’s in the interest of all Americans that the highest legal chamber in the land follows the rule of law. Except for the ones who can profit from its corruption and have the financial and political means to bring it about, and they’re a tiny minority.
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Seems to me that US progressives who don’t want to hand the country back to Trump or a Trump-proximate like DeSantis have a couple of options.
1) They can hew to brain-dead DNC talking points, such as that Hillary lost due to sexism (while ignoring that the majority of white, female voters backed Trump in 2016) and that anyone sick of the technocratic, elitist status-quo is a ‘deplorable’.
This will eventually work as it will render the Democratic Party utterly irrelevant to US politics and open space for a new progressive party that might actually listen to the people and pose a real challenge to the MAGA insurgency. But it would be a very long, slow process that wouldn’t bear fruit until the US empire had collapsed and, probably, domestic civil society along with it. It would also deepen the polarisation of US politics and risk another civil war.
2) They can try thinking for themselves (a big ask for most major party supporters, I know) or, failing that, read some analysis by progressives who do think for themselves. Then they can try to do something about the incumbent DNC gerontocracy so the party has something to offer the future and younger voters. They might even start nominating electable women like Elisabeth Warren or Tulsi Gabbard instead of corrupt, contemptuous warmongers like Hillary or demented shells of a politician like Dozy Joe who are incapable of representing anyone other than party donors – especially those in the military-industrial complex.
It’s precisely the nonsensical DNC insistence that Hillary was defeated by sexism that’s blocking the career paths of talented women in the party and entrenching sexism in US politics. It’s not the voters who are sexist (by and large). It’s the party machines.
For anyone who actually cares about why the Democratic Party has become so democratically bankrupt it can’t just roll right over idiot populists like Trump in the polls they could start by reading Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank and stop listening to the deceitful, self-serving excuses of the DNC, such as “We lost due to sexism … deplorables … the Russians …”.
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I never thought that an article I wrote about what I consider the second worst supreme court in the United States would be a forum on the 2016 election and those who may have been for or against Hillary Clinton. I voted for her and wished that our country warded the election to someone who won the popular vote rather than that antiquated electoral college nonsense that gives the person with fewer votes a win if he or she wins over certain western and southern states that lean toward far-right politics and against progressive reforms.
Oh well. Just let’s agree to disagree but be a little kinder to each other.
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We can agree to agree on that much.
I’m glad she lost and is now hopefully out of electoral politics for good, but think she should have won – despite my preferred outcome – based on the popular vote.
The electoral college exists for historical reasons to do with getting former British colonies to accede to the Union as states, but it’s long lost its original utility (as has the disproportionate representation of less populated states in the Senate) and is now a millstone around the neck of any hope of establishing democracy in the US.
There’s no way it’s gonna be fixed under the current polarisation of US society though. Any attempt to do so will just deepen the intractable divide and push the country closer to splitting up or a second civil war.
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I disagree. We can slowly change some of the red states to purple and get approval for it in the future.
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Honestly, I only have tears to offer here. What a horrible time in our country. And it feels like it’s been going on forever… I’m so disappointed in who we have become.
All of this pain and division because people wouldn’t vote for a “that” woman. Incredible. 🤬
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Well, as a non-American I’ve gotta admit I’m relieved ‘that woman’ lost.
‘That man’ has done quite a job of trashing the United States, but if her record as Secretary of State in places like Libya is anything to go by ‘that woman’ would have concentrated on trashing the rest of the world instead.
96% of the human race don’t live in the US.
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You show your sexism well. I know who you are and can tell, by the way you argue that YOU and I do not mix. Let me just say this (which I warn you, you will not like) you picking this one moment, to encompass her entire history of public service, to argue that you are glad she lost to the bumbling grifter, is all I need to know that you are TYPICAL of men who are so clueless about the depth of their sexism – so much so, that you cannot even see it, let along admit to it — and nothing I say will help you see that. She would have been a better President of the United States of America. Anyone would have been better than Trump. And, considering the rest of the world had many of their own issues with the former idiot we had in office, I’m pretty sure most would agree with me. Say what you want after this comment, I will not engage. And before you ask it’s because your sexism is all you have to share. If I had more time, I could show you clips of men in power consistently saying, off-the-cuff comments that I could also POSE as reasons why they should not be leaders. But, you know, because she’s a woman… that’s what you use. The problem with so many people – particularly men, is it’s hard to believe a woman can be as tough, as fierce, let alone as capable, as a man to lead this country – The United States of America.
As far as 96% of others NOT living in the United States — let me be clear, I’m aware of who we are and what our power is when it comes to our place in the global-sphere. Do not assume because I am an American, I am unaware of our place, and how what we do and don’t do affects others. I’m tired of the international community and their snobbery on several levels — your elitism is truly crass. How about you help, rather than be on your high horse about what has happened to the United States? That would be so refreshing. Enjoy whatever feelings you have after this comment and whatever you choose to share. And then, have the day you deserve.
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I dare say quite a few Libyans who once lived in the most prosperous and stable country in North Africa and now live in a hellhole failed state would consider her acts amount to a bit more than ‘one moment’. Not to mention the thousands who died in the Mediterranean trying to escape what Hillary’s State Department inflicted on their country and which so amused her.
But I understand why you don’t want to engage in real argument. You have none, so you toss essentialist ad hominems as a substitute. It would be no different to someone focusing on your Latina surname to dismiss what you’ve got to say.
Trump isn’t the cause of America’s sickness. He’s a symptom. So was Hillary, but of a kind far more dangerous to those outside the US.
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Carmen,
I am deeply sorry that some things written here may have been offensive and I hope that we can avoid such comments in the future.
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You never, ever, ever need to apologize to me for someone else’s comments. I appreciate you, the topics you bring to the table and, of course, I respect your voice — it’s not just your years of service, but your compassion and love of this country that is inclusive and, most importantly aware of the nuances that continue to plague it – that will always make me read whatever you write. Even if I disagree – which I don’t think has ever truly happened, your words and impact matter.
On the other hand, there are people – especially like this commentator – who are just no longer worthy of my time or energy. They’re so dug in on their hatred of Hillary Clinton or any “liberal” that they cannot see the forest for the trees. A Trump supporter (in any fashion – lumping Hillary in with him is supporting Trump at this point) is just not a serious conversation.
The good news is, for me, it makes it easier to weed out people.
I think the real challenge ahead for all of us, is to make sure we get more people out to vote. I’m impressed by Gen Z, even inspired by their involvement at such a young age — unfortunately, most of it due to gun violence — but the depth and understanding of sexism, racism, homophobia and yes, what the court is doing and why we got here, is extraordinary!
Thank you as always for a good read, and for always providing a learning lesson. I appreciate you!
Have a blessed and beautiful Sunday/holiday weekend my friend.
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Nor does he have to apologise to me for your ad homs.
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Crap. I had to look up the word “ad homs.” Oh well. I just hope this will now be put to rest without any more comments other than those involving the subject matter which was of course the supreme court.
Thank you.
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Please no more politicking her.
Thank you.
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I voted for “that” woman and agree that our country would be in a far greater shape than what Trump had created with his supreme court nominations. We have to stick it out and get states and local county governments to pick up the slack and help guide us to a better, more perfect union.
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No way you’re gonna get a better union simply by shifting emphasis to arenas where your political opponents are weaker and your allies stronger. The obvious response is for your opponents to do the same in states and cities/counties where they have the upper hand. Those who prefer them will tend to shift to their areas and those who prefer you will shift to yours and the enmity between the two sides will deepen.
Does that sound like a recipe for “more perfect union” to you?
If you want the “United” in “United States” to start meaning something you have to reach out to your opponents, listen to each other, show a bit of empathy and actually start communicating, instead of tossing ad homs like ‘sexist’, ‘deplorable’, ‘woke’ and ‘SJW’ at each other while remaining stubbornly deaf to other viewpoints in your own little bubbles.
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Don’t forget the extremely lucrative real estate deals Gorsuch made with law firms who appeared before him. Without declaring them of course.
What are you complaining about?
You’ve got the best Supreme Court money can buy.
That’s why it costs so much to buy it.
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Best Supreme Court that money could buy!
You got that right.
I thought Chief Justice Roberts would help the country by agreeing to some sort of written ethical code for the court like all other judges must adhere to. But he is turning out to be as bad as the worst of ‘em. He’s the man in charge and responsible for this tragedy in our country.
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Yeah, the old ‘who will watch the watchers’ problem.
That’s why democracy is the very worst system in the world except for all the others.
By putting a person or people above those they’re meant to regulate you’re putting them in a position where they’ll need even more regulation themselves. Keep adding oversight to the top of the pyramid and it doesn’t take long for the power hierarchy to become so tall and alienated from the people it’s meant to serve that even a saint wouldn’t be able to do the job without being corrupted by it.
Whether legal, political, scientific, technical, financial, academic, whatever … what our elites are trained in more than anything else is elitism. And those they have the most in common with and sympathy for are the other elites. You can’t build a democracy from those kind of bricks.
The only answer I can imagine is to keep power structures as flat as possible and make people with power responsible to those below them, not those above them. How to get there from here is a huge question. Simply seizing the Supreme Court and stacking it with ‘our’ elites sure ain’t gonna do it. And elections stopped working that way when Socrates was in short togas.
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“A judge must avoid all impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.” The Code of Conduct for judges says that a judge must expect to be subject to constant public scrutiny and to accept restrictions that might be viewed as burdensome to the ordinary citizen.
Hell, this court doesn’t even live up to the code for all judges below their ranking in the United States system. It should be changed and I hope that Congress can do something about that.
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