For those losing their heads over today's actions by Judge Cannon, take a deep breath. This was always going to happen. The writing has been on the wall since Judge Cannon was drawn for the case. Getting all worked up about it is only going to make you crazy and desperate. The way we will rid ourselves of this menace is at the polls in November.
For a sober discussion on this topic this exchange today between @Teri_Kanefield and @JonChevreau is highly recommended:
@mastodonmigration@JonChevreau If only voting matters, has @Teri_Kanefield completely written off the US justice system? Only in the Trump cases, or altogether?
@Teri_Kanefield@mastodonmigration@JonChevreau Not being snide, or even necessarily disagreeing with you. just trying to figure out where you’re coming from. No idea why you think I don’t understand judicial appointments. I have a feeling we’re at different places in the conversation.
@mastodonmigration@Teri_Kanefield I apologize if that’s how it sounded; that was not my intent. I may just not have read enough of Teri’s stuff, but how it’s landing here is “don’t worry, the courts are just broken” which is confusing to me.
Kind of a non-apology apology. You are putting words in peoples' mouths and kicking your strawman. Suggest a better approach would be to express your thoughts about the state of things or reply to specific comments of others.
@mastodonmigration@Teri_Kanefield Forget about me, I’m just some masto rando and it matters very little what I think, and I won’t waste anyone’s time trying to justify myself. But Teri has a platform and I do want to understand where she’s coming from.
Please don't. These materials are an invaluable resource.
This whole exchange does however highlight one of the big deficiencies of social media. Perhaps because of the brevity of the medium people seem to seize on simplistic characterizations of complicated matters and respond with simplistic responses. Nuance and complexity are lost in the ensuing rapid fire exchanges that then devolve into rage inducing rants.
Would suggest that the solution is not to give up on the medium, but to continue to use it, in spite of its deficiencies, to hammer home the message that there are not simple quick solutions to complex issues, and that we need to become better at delving deeper and thinking strategically based on informed understandings of these complexities.
All institutions are corruptible. The US judiciary, while crafted along generally solid principles, is no exception. If we want to repair the damage, we need to elect representatives who will repair the damage, both by appointing honest jurists going forward and where possible rooting out corruption.
@mastodonmigration@JonChevreau@Teri_Kanefield Agreed — the implication being that parts of the existing judiciary as it stands now are irredeemably corrupt and effectively useless for accountability? (I’m no expert but from where I’m sitting SCOTUS seems to fit that description.)
It's not just the judiciary. The US system of government is under attack from a determined domestic fascist insurgency. Focusing on any one component can lead to loss of perspective on what needs to be done to secure our future. If we stipulate that SCOTUS is currently very problematic, the conclusion must be to elect Biden and a solid Senate majority to move the needle back in the right direction. It's the same corrective for the other ills.
@mastodonmigration@Teri_Kanefield@JonChevreau Put me in the “losing their heads” camp. I’m not jaded enough to be satisfied by ‘it’s just how things go, always gonna happen, judges are unpredictable.’
Does anyone doubt that one barely competent judge, motivated by ideology or personal feelings or both, is perverting the course of justice in a case of great national importance? Must we be content with that?
Certainly not suggesting contentment with this horrible situation, but panicking every time something that could easily be predicted comes to pass is counterproductive.
We are in a long war against a determined and capable adversary. They will win battles and we will suffer setbacks. Anticipating their moves and taking a strategic approach will serve much better than responding with outrage and despair to each moment where they push an advantage.
@mastodonmigration@Teri_Kanefield@JonChevreau the writing being on the wall doesn’t excuse the total failure of the the justice system to hold him accountable. It’s almost like you are normalizing this. Let us be angry
Would say there is anger and there is rage. They are two very different things.
Anger can be channeled into sober minded planning and effective action. Rage sends you rushing pell-mell into the fight or results in feelings of despair and helplessness.
Sure, Judge Cannon actions, which we could easily have anticipated, are outrageous. We are angry. Now what are we going to do about it? What is the smart response?
there is no amount of voting that can remove a corrupt judge, even one openly taking bribes from billionaires -- only the FBI can do that & when's the last time they arrested a crooked judge?
also many of us live in states and/or districts where our vote doesn't count, you may thank the Electoral College created by plantation owners for plantation owners
Unfortunately, it is a long game. It has taken us a while to descend to this depth and it will take a while to fix it. But it all starts with electing good honest hard working people.
@mastodonmigration@MaggyWells@Teri_Kanefield@JonChevreau this is an important debate that I've been engaging with people on here about too. I try not get bogged down in the semantics of words like anger vs rage. The reality is that there is clear corruption within our judicial system, that we as voters and citizens have a responsibility to reject in any peaceful way we can muster. Whether that means voting a certain way or just by venting, and yes, raging on public platforms like this against what we can all clearly see is wrong behavior by judges like Cannon and by politicians like Trump. We should continue to demand more from our public institutions because we pay their gd salaries as taxpayers, and they are currently not doing right by the people who sustain them to begin with. The corruption is so deeply entrenched at this point that most of us who are already adults will likely never see it fully unravel in our lifetimes, that's how badly democracy is currently broken imo.
You are not wrong. The judiciary we get is a reflection of who we elect. If we elect criminals, we should not be surprised when the judiciary becomes corrupted.
The way out of this mess is to elect honest hard working principled people.
If it makes you feel better to mischaracterize the post and then refute your own strawman go ahead, but the substance of the discussion is lost when you do so.
@mastodonmigration@MaggyWells@Teri_Kanefield@JonChevreau I fear not many honest people run for office anymore because of how rigged and corrupt elections are in this country nowadays, mainly because this supreme court basically keeps finding ways to legalize political bribery via the practice known as "lobbying", super PACs, pick your poison. Not to mention all the violent threats that actual good public servants have to deal with while the FBI and other gov security agencies focus on "antifa" and students protesting the war in Gaza, or otherwise just nap on the taxpayer dime. That being said I will still vote in November. Will reelecting Biden help root out all that corruption, maybe? Will voting for Trump do similar? F no.
It certainly is a mess. Lots of work to do to even begin to clean it up. But we can do it. We have to do it if we want our children and grandchildren to live in a free country. Failure is not an option.
@mastodonmigration@Teri_Kanefield@JonChevreau we voted him out in 2020. And a large portion of republicans still believe his lies. Even if he loses he won’t go away. 😢
Yes, but he's not invincible. In fact, he is historically unpopular. We beat him in 2020 and we will beat him again in 2024. And this time by an even a greater margin. The net effect of Trump may be solid majorities for the Democrats in both houses. If we can work to achieve such a resounding victory, real change is possible.
The judiciary is not going to delivery us from fascism. We have to do that.
@mastodonmigration@Teri_Kanefield@JonChevreau
I personally don’t advocate calming people down. I advocate for channeling and focusing anger to become an activist. Voting is just the baseline behavior to defend democracy. We need enraged people who will use that rage and take action every single day.
Sure, and there is a difference between channeling your anger and fears about this threat to democracy in all its many facets into constructive efforts, and blind rage and fatalism that leads to despondency.
The risk is that people conclude the deck is stacked against them, so it is impossible to fight back.
We need to see this as a long war and not be knocked off kilter by every setback. Particularly one that was for ordained.
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