It was during Donald Trump's Oval Office romp that he nominated these questionably qualified and suspect corrupt and lascivious people to the highest court in the land. But, then, what would you expect from someone sporting the exact same qualities...
There is Neil Gorsuch, an originalist, in line with the late Justice, Anton Scalia, and the one who lied to Susan Collins re. his vote to repeal Roe v. Wade. Next, Brett Kavanaugh, accused of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford in the early 1980s.Three other women also accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, one of whom later recanted her story. And finally there is Amy Coney Barrett, an ultimate conservative believing that life begins at conception, is also a former member of the Federalist Group, which CNN calls "shadowy," and she is still involved with them.
But the latest corruption comes with the leak, which Chief Justice John Roberts called a...
"singular and egregious breach" and a "betrayal of the confidences of the Court," and ordered an investigation into its provenance.
The Court's marshal was chosen to lead the investigation, which is probably why, in eight months, the whole thing has gone nowhere. Their report said this...
"The pandemic and resulting expansion of the ability to work from home...created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the Court's IT networks."
We don't even know if SCOTUS justices were interviewed and Newsweek says...
"All the justices very clearly had the means, and it is quite possible that one (or more) had the requisite motive, to leak the draft opinion or direct a law clerk or some other staffer to do so on his/her implicit behalf."
Newsweek added...
The marshal "pre-judged the outcome of the probe, exculpating the justices and thus undermining the probe's very legitimacy."
Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito has been called a "disgrace" after a new report revealed that he allegedly leaked a draft opinion related to a Supreme Court decision in 2014. The conservative judge has denied the report.
According to Huff Post, Rev. Rob Schenck, the former head of the conservative evangelical group Faith & Action testified Alito leaked the outcome of the 2014 Hobby Lobby decision ahead of time. But here are the results of SCOTUS' bogus investigation...
"The Supreme Court found no leaker, concluding in an unsigned statement that after interviewing almost 100 employees, 82 of whom accessed the opinion, the marshal's team was 'unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.'"
Wrapping up, apparently the marshal provided considerably more in excuses for what it couldn't find than the efforts it used in its investigations. This isn't over. READ MORE...
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh told Sen. Susan Collins that he would not overturn Roe v. Wade. She voted for his court appointment then in June he and five other justices did in fact vote to overturn Roe. He lied and is he really fit to serve? Was Collins naive or did she just come dumb because there were signs all over the place what the decision would be. I know this is somewhat old news but it does reflect questionable acts of the conservative judiciary across the country.
Like Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Donald Trump, who succumbed to his request for a "Special Master" to verify the Mar-a-Lago classified files that the former Oval Office lunatic had absconded with. Apparently the fact that the DOJ had already confirmed the fact they were all the way up to top secret and contained U.S. nuclear information did not register with Judge Cannon who recently was deemed "unfit for the bench," said political observers.
Conventional wisdom has it that the Roe decision will have an effect on the midterms, and that is already apparent considering my recent blog post, "Female Vote Could Decide Midterm Elections," which revealed that Roe's overturn...
"pissed off 67% of the female population that have been showing their opposition with demonstrations all over the country."
"By appointing a special master to review the Mar-a-Lago documents, Judge Aileen Cannon gave Trump the special treatment he asked for—and undermined the values of her profession."
In this article, by legal expert Andrew Weissmann, he says, "Her ruling is untethered to the law and presents a skewed recitation of the facts." That says a lot for Cannon's ethics and raises the question of whether this all could be "payback" for her appointment. More from John Stoehr in the AlterNet...
"His [Kavanaugh] confirmation is getting attention for another reason. It came before the 2018 midterms. The conventional wisdom is that the confirmation of a credibly accused sexual predator nominated by another credibly sexual predator [Trump] to a lifetime job on a court that would rule on Roe animated women to produce that year’s blue wave."
3 Years ago: Collins: Kavanaugh won't overturn Roe v. Wade...
And, Common Dreams avows "The Current US Supreme Court Is Not Constitutionally Legitimate." That's a pretty hefty statement but Common Dreams is a hefty organization, a newsworthy non-profit with advocacy in multi-dimensional categories. Here's their take...
"On Friday, June 24, an extremist majority of the U.S. Supreme Court overruled more than 50 years of legal precedent, taking away a previously recognized fundamental right for the first time in the court's history."
The article acknowledges the fact that Roe's overturning...
"unleashed the full force of a regressive, coordinated state-by-state attack on the already perilously eroded right to access an abortion, on women's rights, the human right to bodily autonomy, privacy, and control over our own lives and dignity, and to life-saving healthcare and freedoms."
There are 74 million women and girls throughout the U.S. who have been raising
their voice of concern for months. It is also a fact that poor women, women of color, transgender, and gender non-confirming people will suffer the most. What is most bizarre is Justice Alito's comparison between Plessy v. Ferguson, (an 1896 Supreme Court case), not completely applicable, and Roe v. Wade leading to the conclusion by Common Dreams...
"This decision—in concert with a host of inconsistent, constitutionally indefensible, and regressive jurisprudence from the Court targeting voting rights protections, our safety from gun violence, the rights of immigrants, housing, public health, and protections from police violence and the coercive power of the criminal legal system—further confirms what the Poor People's Campaign has already declared: the current U.S. Supreme Court is not a constitutionally legitimate body."
Here we go with Brett Kavanaugh again, but that comes later. The conservative Supreme Court does again what it does best, fuck up the country. The overturning of Roe v. Wade is, perhaps, one of the worst things that has happened to the U.S. in decades. In a 2nd Amendment decision gun rights were expanded in a nation with one of the highest rates of gun violence in the world. And six rightest radicals decide that separating church and state is no longer a good thing.And now, if they haven't been persecuted enough already, conservative SCOTUS has decided to upend the lives of Native Americans. Here's how Nick Estes of the Guardian begins his article...
‘Kavanaugh’s words could have come from the most ardent anti-Indian racist of a bygone era. Asserting state criminal jurisdiction over Native lands has been a primary tactic of legally eliminating Native people.’
But first, some insight into the culture of America's Native Americans. I live in Arizona where there are 22 American Indian communities which accounts for one-quarter of state land. Their casinos are thriving here, however...
"The San Carlos Reservation is one of the poorest Native American communities in the United States, with an annual median household income of approximately $14,000 in 2000, according to the US Census."
But the San Carlos Reservation has the Apache Gold Casino & Resort on their land so where does that income go?...
"A portion of the gaming revenue gets shared with individuals in tribes where the casinos are located. The money also benefits communities — supporting education, buildings and services. And casinos also provide jobs in the thousands, although exactly how many is not clear."
And how much is the U.S. tribal casino gaming revenue? A record $34.6 Billion in fiscal-year 2019, but apparently there was a slowdown during the Covid pandemic. Still, am I missing something or are we not getting the right information from the federal government? And what about state and federal taxes...
"Indian casinos do not pay a state tax as such, although the tribes pay the state and local governments a fee based on the casino revenue. Some tribes distribute a portion of the profits, also, in the form of a per capita payment. In those cases, tribal members pay federal taxes on their income."
So, where does all this money go and why is The San Carlos Reservation one of the poorest Native American communities in the United States, with an annual median household income of approximately $14,000 in 2000? That story in a later post because today our concern is what is a conservative SCOTUS going to do to the Native American nation in general? Here's a hint from an 1886 Supreme Court decision in United States v Kagama...
"Paradoxically, the court found that the very nation that waged wars of extermination and invasion against Native people also declared itself their sole guardian, protecting its “wards” from the “local ill feeling” of land-hungry whites flooding Native lands in the western states."
There's more...
"And where the US constitution was lacking in language defining federal authority over Native nations, the court had invented it, for better or for worse."
The Native Americans never had a chance. But the Kagama decision helped...
"That decision and others like it – however imperfect and drenched in conquest they were – supposedly shielded Native people and their reservations from the arbitrary authority of states and hostile white settlers."
And now back to Brett Kavanaugh who said, “A state has jurisdiction over all of its territory, including Indian country,” based on a "false 10th amendment claim, which doesn’t authorize states to intervene in tribal affairs." However, Kavanaugh's decision results in...
"States, according to this [Kavanaugh] extremist – and now dominant – view in the court, possess the authority to abolish and criminalize abortions, potentially curb voting rights and now abrogate treaties and redefine federal relations with Native nations."
As I said earlier, the cards were stacked in the favor of the federal government and the states from the beginning, and my guess is this outcome was always anticipated. But I don't want to end this on a putrid note of a radical conservative Supreme Court hell-bent on destroying our democracy and the U.S. in general, and although it will take time to neuter this band of lunatics, I'll end with an amazing story of the Native American participation in WWII.
As Navajo Code Talkers, they participated in all assaults the U.S. Marines led in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945 including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima. This from the Arizona Republic, the Code Talkers transmitted messages by telephone and radio in their native language. This code was never broken by the Japanese, a miracle considering other means of secret messaging used by the Americans was often deciphered.
An Unbreakable Code...Inspiring description from former Navajo Code Talker...
Some quick facts: The Navajo Code Talkers originally numbered 29 but grew as the need arose; Many were wounded and many died; The Code talkers had the highest level of commitment in their duties, a part of their success; Native Americans serve in the military at five times the national average on a per-capita basis; and, only 3 Navajo Code Talkers remain. They are Peter MacDonald, John Kinsel, Sr., and Thomas H. Begay.
I could never describe the total contribution of the Navajo Code talkers to the Second World War and the United State of America, but if you are interested, there is a great book titled, Code Talker, by Chester Nez, one of the original Code Talkers. It is fascinating and I highly recommend it.
The National Rifle Assn. is supporting Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court Justice, which raises flags and rings bells everywhere to indicate this is bad for the country. Senate swing votes include Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska., Doug Jones, D-Ala., Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. The NRA's top propagandist Chris Cox says, “It’s critical that all pro-Second Amendment voters urge their senators to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.” The nation's top child killing machine group will never give up on this 2nd Amendment shit until we repeal it.
The gun control folks consider Kavanaugh's position on the 2nd Amendment "extreme" and of course he is in bed with the gun lobby. With the Senate Judiciary Committee expected to begin confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh next month, gun control activists need to get their act going to fight the confirmation. Dems are demanding Kavanaugh records on his tenure with GWB White House, claiming they are critical to public's approval of the justice. The left is hopeful for a delay but with Mitch Mitchell heading up the Senate, any underhanded move is possible from this political swindler.
