“To me, the #flag issue is much simpler. The fact is that, regardless of its legality, displaying the flag in that way, at that time, shouldn’t have happened. To put it bluntly, any #judge w/reasonable #ethical instincts would have realized immediately that flying the flag then & in that way was improper. And dumb.”
“The same goes for the flying of an #AppealToHeaven flag at Justice #Alito’s vacation house along the NJ shore. Like the #UpsideDown flag, this #flag is viewed by a great many people as a banner of allegiance on #partisan issues that are or could be before #SCOTUS.
During the period the #AppealToHeaven flag was seen flying at the justice’s NJ house, a key #Jan6 case arrived at #SCOTUS, challenging whether those who stormed the Capitol could be prosecuted for #obstruction.
In coming wks, the justices will rule on that case, which could scuttle some of the charges against #Trump, as well as on whether he is #immune from prosecution for actions he took while president.
#Republican members of #Congress & state ofcls have displayed the #flag as well, among them #DougMastriano, a PA state senator & a leader of the “Stop the Steal” campaign. The highest-ranking elected ofcl known to show the flag is Rep #MikeJohnson, who hung it at his office last fall shortly after becoming #speaker of the #House.
Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. announced Wed that he will not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases at #SCOTUS after Democratic lawmakers questioned whether he could be impartial following reports that an upside-down #flag flew at his home in the weeks after the… [#insurrection].
>> As Samuel #Alito’s reputation reaches new depths, it's worth remembering that he wasn't George W. Bush's first choice for the court. Harriet Miers was. We'll obviously never know, but nearly two decades later, it's hard not to wonder what could've been
The upside-down flag was aloft on Jan 17, 2021, images showed. #Trump’s supporters, incl’g some brandishing the same symbol, had rioted at the Capitol a little over a week before. President #Biden’s inauguration was 3 days away. Alarmed neighbors snapped photographs, some…were recently obtained by The NYT. Word of the flag filtered back to the court, people who worked there said in interviews.
After the 2020 presidential #election, as some #Trump supporters falsely claimed that President #Biden had stolen the office, many of them displayed a startling symbol outside their homes, on their cars & online: an upside-down #AmericanFlag.
One of the homes flying an inverted flag during that time was the residence of #SupremeCourt Justice Samuel A #Alito Jr, in Alexandria, VA, acc/to photographs & interviews w/neighbors.
The legitimacy and composition of the US Supreme Court can be challenged by bills submitted and passed by Congress. It might not happen right away, but it is time to insist on such actions. Here's one:
The United States is the only major constitutional democracy on Earth that allows lifetime tenure for judges on its highest court.
A bill in Congress, the Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization (TERM) Act, would institute term limits of 18 years for Supreme Court justices.
The United States is the only major constitutional democracy on Earth that allows lifetime tenure for judges on its highest court.
A bill in Congress, the Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization (TERM) Act, would institute term limits of 18 years for Supreme Court justices.
@thepoliticalcat@Nonilex Clarence has long been identified as the most corrupt justice on SCOTUS's bench, the justices of which have always been treated like holy cows, purportedly as "infallible" as the Pope in Rome.
While also in his case no one has ever personally seen the commandment thrown down on earth by God himself, designating him & the Pope that one clerical guy, who'll never err.
That appears to be the attitude of the #SupremeCourt of the #UnitedStates, which for the 2nd time in a wk did nothing to dispel the notion that it is the #billionaire-bought #lapdog of #Trump, committed to doing literally anything to elect him.
…this morning #SCOTUS ruled — per curiam, meaning the whole court, not just the #conservative majority — that Trump can remain on the ballot in #Colorado.
…#Colorado had tried to disqualify him on the grounds that the #14thAmendment to the #Constitution, for reasons of history & prudence, bars insurrectionists from office.
Today’s decision overruling CO’s decision was made on the grounds that the Constitution makes #Congress solely responsible for enforcing §3 of the #14A, not the states. Which is funny, because the court is dominated by ideologues who normally love #StatesRights.
New York Times & Leonard Leo's justices' plot to crush Roe v. Wade.
"We learn that every major aspect of Dobbs was preordained once Barrett replaced Ginsburg: Five Republican-appointed justices wanted to abolish the constitutional right to abortion; they disagreed exclusively over how it would look and how best to deceive and mollify the American public; they fretted about how fast they could rewrite the law without revealing the fundamentally partisan nature of their ruling.
...
It turns out that abortion rights vanished in America because five conservatives barely tried to hide the fact that they could do that, simply because they could do that. And it turns out that they’re increasingly bad at covering their tracks."
If we defeat #Trump in 2024, we will never have to defeat him ever again. This is his last chance to seize power. If he wins, he will eliminate the #Constitution and all its protections; he will eliminate our #tripartite system of checks and balances, consolidating all power in the presidency; and he will eliminate #termLimits so he can rule indefinitely. His #presidency will be all about going after his perceived #enemies, and glorifying his reign through #oppression.
@marcelias American Bar Association: Founded in 1878.
Federalist Society: Founded in 1982.
Federalist Society's ex-(vice) president Leonard Leo put 5 of 6 biased con-servative/illiberal majority justices on the bench.
Time to regulate & contain the partisan influence of Leonard Leo & the Federalist Society, for the sake of Americans' democracy, human & civil rights.
I've started reading "Term Limits" by Vince Flynn again today. It's something I read 20 years ago or so. A great piece of fiction I'd recommend checking out if you're looking for a new series of books to get into, they're in the spy genre. There are 15-20 books now written by two different authors, sadly Vince Flynn passed away and Kyle Mills picked them up.
If you aspire to be a Very Serious Person (and whomst amongst us doesn't?) then you know why we can't have nice things. The American people won't stand for #CourtPacking, Congressional #TermLimits, the abolition of the #ElectoralCollege, or #CampaignFinanceLimits. Politics is the art of the possible, and these just aren't possible.