I'm all for "A Modest Proposal" for the current Extremes, but this time instead of consuming Irish children, the corrupted flesh of the usual suspects could be served at the next Bohemian Grove shindig.
After all, they've already been bought and paid for, right?
I appreciate President Biden's call for Court reform. But any reform that requires an amendment to the Constitution is not going to happen. But, if we retain the Executive, and the Senate, and regain the House, there are options. The Constitution does not prohibit Court packing. Just increase the number of Justices to 39 (three for each District), and assign cases to panels of 3 SC Justices, which are chosen randomly. Tell the GOP they get to pick 9 of the 30 new Justices and Dems can select the other 21. Article lll, Section 2 of the Constitution already limits the jurisdiction that federal courts have. Use court stripping to severely limit the ability of the Court to hear certain cases, especially those Heritage Foundation/Leonard Leo bogus right wing cases which are intended to arrogate power to the SC, and overturn precedent, while undermining the authority of the other two branches.
This link details options for meaningful reform, with pros, and cons:
For those of you who are too young, Altio's work at the Commedy Underground in the 1990s was ground breaking. It is just a shame the show that was built around him "Alito Bit of Trouble" fell through, or we wouldn't have to put up with him on the bench.
I personally go a little farther than "what took you so long?" If there's any one major issue Biden and other Dem power brokers have been dead wrong about, it's the Supreme Court. In fact, I straddling the fence on whether or not Joe should just STFU about this subject entirely.
On the one hand, it's good that he's bringing some attention to need for solutions. On the other hand, "solutions" that revolve around constitutional amendments are so obviously impossible that they tend to suppress any hope for a remedy.
In the foreseeable future, a Constitutional Convention to complete rewrite the Constitution in favor of a fascist Cristian Nationalist coup is far more likely to happen than convincing Red states to voluntarily ratify the surrender of their hard-won power in the Supreme Court. Although I'll grant that nothing is gonna happen without broad public pressure, and you're not gonna get that unless you keep the message simple.
I still say that the way to keep the message simple and build a groundswell is to talk about the Court's Illegitimacy, though, not Constitutional amendments that everybody knows are completely hopeless. Anger is more energizing than despair.
Agree, we can't pin our hopes on impossible remedies like Constitutional amendments. That sets us up for failure.
(But HRC wasn't wrong about the Supreme Court. She talked about it a lot during her campaign, but Bros responded by shrieking "Blackmail!!" whatever the fuck that means.)
If any of you want to argue online about this, REALLY LONG times on the court only really started under John Marshall (partly as a fuck you to Jefferson for trying to get rid of judges not politiclaly aligned with him). Under Washington alone we went through THREE Chief justices, hell, one didn't even last a full year! Since back then "riding circut" meant actually riding down and sitting your ass on a circuit court and those old men were like "why, GW, why?"
Again, think on that. THREE chief justices under JUST Washington, and TODAY we're only of CJ #17!!! It's getting absurd! 18-20 is plenty!
He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where he asked Robert Bork to 'SPLAIN Bork's reactionary politics and regressive intentions if he ever got to the SCOTUS. And it worked. Bork answered the questions and finally the Senate voted to tell Ronald Raegan "Nahhhhhh! Try again dipshit!" by turning Bork down for the job.
The GOP did learn a lesson from that.
They began to coach their SCOTUS nominees to be evasive and ambiguous about their track records, judicial philosophy and personal problems. If all else fails just fucking LIE!
They could have also learned another lesson from that but didn't.
They should have learned to NEVER UNDERESTIMATE JOE BIDEN.
Thank Crom they never learned that lesson because here he is running rings around them. And I am here for it with my popcorn!
Also thank fuck Harriet Miers was so bad she got pretty much laughed out. Yeah, sure, W, appoint someone with Zero judge experience to the fucking Supreme Court!
"Getting such an amendment through Congress and having it ratified by three-quarters of the states is an absolutely laughable idea in our polarized time. But as political messaging, eh, sure, fine, whatever."
Hey, may be President Harris orders the PAB to jail just to prove that presidential immunity is a bad thing. Maybe they let him out once it's ratified. ...... maybe
I hope the decision on presidential immunity halts the bullshit theory of originalism. The men who wrote the constitution clearly and loudly expressed opinions on an imperial presidency. And thought they made clear that a president was not above the law. But they never expected six Supreme Court justices would ignore the Revolutionary War, the too weak Articles of Confederation, and the months they spent in making sure a president could not become a tyrant.
They even put restrictions in place so a president could not profit from official actions through emolument provisions, something else the court system failed in containing grifting by Trump and the Senate failed in not convicting him of extortion against Ukraine. Although recent court decisions have given a clear nod to it if handled by the court approved method.
Just as they laid out a court approved system of using state tax money for private religious schools by paying the parents, who pay the school, instead of the state cutting a check to the church. Magically washing the money of any ties to government funding, according to their scheme. But that only works with churches, not any other money laundering, fencing stolen property, or similar financial frauds. Where the original source of the money can make it a crime.
Term limits have been a good idea since at least 2000, but now are pathetically inadequate. We can only hope that President Harris and a majority Democratic congress will be far bolder.
Joe Story from *The Book of Joe* published in 2017 when the world needed Hope now more than ever.
Joe's grades in high school weren't so hot. Go figure ....Joe Biden didn't need great grades cause Joe Biden was a FOOTBALL PLAYING BMOC. He started as a half back and also played receiver. The guy was no stranger to the end zone.
Both positions require someone fast, agile and tough since both involve getting hit by bigger guys all game long and bouncing back up for the next snap.
Did you know Joe would not have been nearly as successful at football unless the player known as the FULLBACK on his team was blocking for Joe and pushing enough people who wanted to tackle Joe aside so Joe could gain ground and score points? A great halfback NEEDS a great fullback to make the plays.
In Joe's poltical career Joe Biden eventually aged out of the halfback slot and started to do more blocking. He helped the Clintons and Obama.
And now he is opening holes for Kamala, making the key blocks she needs to score.
Watch him hit that Front Five of team SCOTUS! He's opening a hole big enough for a freight train to rush through! Go for it Kamala! Make the play! Score one for Team Democracy!
Unfortunately some of this will require a constitutional amendment, which will be a long haul. And others will need to pass the filibuster in the Senate, where even some Democrats who still fashion themselves as traditionalists may vote against expanding the court, the same ones sticking up for blue slips, despite knowing the decades of harm the current Supreme Court will continue inflicting on the country.
Proposal #4: Biden fires 6 Supreme Court judges of his choosing, and when told he can't do that yells out "Official Acts Immunity" like that guy from Lethal Weapon 2.
Ta, Gary. The only thing supreme about the Rs on the court is their arrogance and shamelessness.
"That ship has probably sailed, and steering it back into port is a process that will likely take a couple of generations."
I can think of a couple o' resignations that might do the trick also, too.
I'm all for "A Modest Proposal" for the current Extremes, but this time instead of consuming Irish children, the corrupted flesh of the usual suspects could be served at the next Bohemian Grove shindig.
After all, they've already been bought and paid for, right?
Sadly he won't do what needs to be done, which is get an AG that will prosecute Alito and Thomas and Crow for bribery.
I appreciate President Biden's call for Court reform. But any reform that requires an amendment to the Constitution is not going to happen. But, if we retain the Executive, and the Senate, and regain the House, there are options. The Constitution does not prohibit Court packing. Just increase the number of Justices to 39 (three for each District), and assign cases to panels of 3 SC Justices, which are chosen randomly. Tell the GOP they get to pick 9 of the 30 new Justices and Dems can select the other 21. Article lll, Section 2 of the Constitution already limits the jurisdiction that federal courts have. Use court stripping to severely limit the ability of the Court to hear certain cases, especially those Heritage Foundation/Leonard Leo bogus right wing cases which are intended to arrogate power to the SC, and overturn precedent, while undermining the authority of the other two branches.
This link details options for meaningful reform, with pros, and cons:
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/structural-reforms-federal-judiciary/
Elie Mystal has written extensively on Court reform, and he is another great resource.
Love the cover photo for this article.
For those of you who are too young, Altio's work at the Commedy Underground in the 1990s was ground breaking. It is just a shame the show that was built around him "Alito Bit of Trouble" fell through, or we wouldn't have to put up with him on the bench.
The No One Is Above the Law Amendment. NOIALA. So how long before some Bible-thumping dipshit says that stands for No. 1 Allah?
I personally go a little farther than "what took you so long?" If there's any one major issue Biden and other Dem power brokers have been dead wrong about, it's the Supreme Court. In fact, I straddling the fence on whether or not Joe should just STFU about this subject entirely.
On the one hand, it's good that he's bringing some attention to need for solutions. On the other hand, "solutions" that revolve around constitutional amendments are so obviously impossible that they tend to suppress any hope for a remedy.
In the foreseeable future, a Constitutional Convention to complete rewrite the Constitution in favor of a fascist Cristian Nationalist coup is far more likely to happen than convincing Red states to voluntarily ratify the surrender of their hard-won power in the Supreme Court. Although I'll grant that nothing is gonna happen without broad public pressure, and you're not gonna get that unless you keep the message simple.
I still say that the way to keep the message simple and build a groundswell is to talk about the Court's Illegitimacy, though, not Constitutional amendments that everybody knows are completely hopeless. Anger is more energizing than despair.
Agree, we can't pin our hopes on impossible remedies like Constitutional amendments. That sets us up for failure.
(But HRC wasn't wrong about the Supreme Court. She talked about it a lot during her campaign, but Bros responded by shrieking "Blackmail!!" whatever the fuck that means.)
If any of you want to argue online about this, REALLY LONG times on the court only really started under John Marshall (partly as a fuck you to Jefferson for trying to get rid of judges not politiclaly aligned with him). Under Washington alone we went through THREE Chief justices, hell, one didn't even last a full year! Since back then "riding circut" meant actually riding down and sitting your ass on a circuit court and those old men were like "why, GW, why?"
Again, think on that. THREE chief justices under JUST Washington, and TODAY we're only of CJ #17!!! It's getting absurd! 18-20 is plenty!
Joe is no stranger to SCOTUS reform.
He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where he asked Robert Bork to 'SPLAIN Bork's reactionary politics and regressive intentions if he ever got to the SCOTUS. And it worked. Bork answered the questions and finally the Senate voted to tell Ronald Raegan "Nahhhhhh! Try again dipshit!" by turning Bork down for the job.
The GOP did learn a lesson from that.
They began to coach their SCOTUS nominees to be evasive and ambiguous about their track records, judicial philosophy and personal problems. If all else fails just fucking LIE!
They could have also learned another lesson from that but didn't.
They should have learned to NEVER UNDERESTIMATE JOE BIDEN.
Thank Crom they never learned that lesson because here he is running rings around them. And I am here for it with my popcorn!
Also thank fuck Harriet Miers was so bad she got pretty much laughed out. Yeah, sure, W, appoint someone with Zero judge experience to the fucking Supreme Court!
Yeah, except her replacement was Sam Alito.
True, equally extreme, just knew How to Judge.
"Getting such an amendment through Congress and having it ratified by three-quarters of the states is an absolutely laughable idea in our polarized time. But as political messaging, eh, sure, fine, whatever."
Hey, may be President Harris orders the PAB to jail just to prove that presidential immunity is a bad thing. Maybe they let him out once it's ratified. ...... maybe
I hope the decision on presidential immunity halts the bullshit theory of originalism. The men who wrote the constitution clearly and loudly expressed opinions on an imperial presidency. And thought they made clear that a president was not above the law. But they never expected six Supreme Court justices would ignore the Revolutionary War, the too weak Articles of Confederation, and the months they spent in making sure a president could not become a tyrant.
They even put restrictions in place so a president could not profit from official actions through emolument provisions, something else the court system failed in containing grifting by Trump and the Senate failed in not convicting him of extortion against Ukraine. Although recent court decisions have given a clear nod to it if handled by the court approved method.
Just as they laid out a court approved system of using state tax money for private religious schools by paying the parents, who pay the school, instead of the state cutting a check to the church. Magically washing the money of any ties to government funding, according to their scheme. But that only works with churches, not any other money laundering, fencing stolen property, or similar financial frauds. Where the original source of the money can make it a crime.
It's as much the fault of our timid quaking AG as it is of $CROTUS.
Term limits have been a good idea since at least 2000, but now are pathetically inadequate. We can only hope that President Harris and a majority Democratic congress will be far bolder.
Joe Story from *The Book of Joe* published in 2017 when the world needed Hope now more than ever.
Joe's grades in high school weren't so hot. Go figure ....Joe Biden didn't need great grades cause Joe Biden was a FOOTBALL PLAYING BMOC. He started as a half back and also played receiver. The guy was no stranger to the end zone.
Both positions require someone fast, agile and tough since both involve getting hit by bigger guys all game long and bouncing back up for the next snap.
Did you know Joe would not have been nearly as successful at football unless the player known as the FULLBACK on his team was blocking for Joe and pushing enough people who wanted to tackle Joe aside so Joe could gain ground and score points? A great halfback NEEDS a great fullback to make the plays.
In Joe's poltical career Joe Biden eventually aged out of the halfback slot and started to do more blocking. He helped the Clintons and Obama.
And now he is opening holes for Kamala, making the key blocks she needs to score.
Watch him hit that Front Five of team SCOTUS! He's opening a hole big enough for a freight train to rush through! Go for it Kamala! Make the play! Score one for Team Democracy!
Unfortunately some of this will require a constitutional amendment, which will be a long haul. And others will need to pass the filibuster in the Senate, where even some Democrats who still fashion themselves as traditionalists may vote against expanding the court, the same ones sticking up for blue slips, despite knowing the decades of harm the current Supreme Court will continue inflicting on the country.
Proposal #4: Biden fires 6 Supreme Court judges of his choosing, and when told he can't do that yells out "Official Acts Immunity" like that guy from Lethal Weapon 2.
I've often advocated 20 year term limits. 18 is good.