Finally a substantial Supreme Court decision that told Trump, in no uncertain terms, that his power does have limits. The collar about Trump's neck is called the constitution. Everything today comes with a set of instructions, intended to ease the effort needed to keep things operating smoothly. Follow the instructions and life is good. Ignore the general order of things and life becomes difficult. Common sense dictates change must occur in an orderly manner over a reasonable length of time. Running a country by trashing precedents through executive orders, that have stood for decades, without considering the acceptance of the public is foolhardy. We the People want no kings. Birthright citizenship is a vital part of who we are, perhaps it's Trump who doesn't belong...
If you think this is over, it's not. Miller and Trump will continue with this very unpopular goal in the quest for a solidly White Christian Nation. Even if the GOP Congress could find a way around the 14th Amendment, they wouldn't because most Americans don't want them to
Karen, those whiny white boys are so scared of everyone who is not their color, gender, culture, or anything else they can think of to rev up their resentments, even hatreds. Miller is truly mentally ill. His hatred would have made him a concentration camp Komandant. He is not one now because it pays better to be in the white house with a total ignoramus who thinks he is king. Trump, Miller, Vance, Vought, and the rest of the slimy toddler pool will keep trying to undermine this nation while also underestimating the people of this nation. Let's be sure that they keep underestimating us and keep working to get them out of power!
What we all heard is all the incredibly brave mothers who crossed the border to deliver their unborn children cry a collective blessing to our American Constitution and the Rule of Law. Tears of joy for all the anchor babies I delivered in my training at LA County Hospital.
Thank you. I don't care whether my neighbors are anchor babies, DACA, or whatever. They are neighbors. UCLA County Hospital is nearby. Some may have been born there.
Perhaps you would step up to perfom abortions for those who make it across the border, being the right-to-life militant that you no doubt are. You people are such amoral hypocrites.
"Good Farts" don't come from an overdose diet of McDonalds. Only very bad ones, sometimes, often, having a liquid component. On second thought, what is a "good fart"?
since they all likely have a liquid component, they are good. Good in that one of his chosen will have to clean the mess up. I could never work in a nursing home. Vomit is worse, however. I did janitor in between jobs. As for the gaseous variety, dad always said I was a fart smella. Smart fella is what he implied. BTW, I still detest McDonalds. I worked Radio shack for a couple years. The only place toeat nearbywas McDzz's. All three of us all got a case of the runs from it at the same time. The store had only a one person restroom :(
I would agree, but the decision in the Slaughter case gives Trump the power to fire any person in an independent agency that had been protected up until now. That means that the environmental protection agency, the consumer finance agency all the agencies that protect the rights of the American people can be loaded with Trump acolytes, and that gives him unlimited power. This court is totally disgusting and needs to be changed immediately!
What is ironic is that thy ruled that any "independent" agency employee could be fired by Trump EXCEPT for the FED. Hmmmmmm..............They won't go so far as to allow tampering with their money. What does that tell us? Another data point indicating we are being ruled by and taken over by money grubbers.
Perhaps having lost this round to the Supreme Court might just give him enough stress and therefore incentive to build that plaque from cholesterol that really needs to do its work now.
I totally agree. With this decision, the independence of agencies goes right out the window! What are these radicals thinking? Sure, give more power to a criminal who already lusts for power. This needs to stop!
But the scary thing is it was such a close thing. It could easily have gone the other way. Come the new administration (!) I hope that something will be done about revising this runaway court.
I totally agree with you. It should have been 9-0 as in the past. I keep saying there is no low this regime will go. It must be stopped by all possible means. We The People on the cusp of 250 years of declaring freedom from a tyrant and rule by the people need to hear this way too close decision as frightening. It will not stop.
It is an echo of the oft repeated description of the " razor thin Republican majority", achieved with dirty money, gerrymandering, the captured fourth estate, and legal open bribery allowed in political campaigns, even the buying of seats in the Congress and of seats on the benches of state supreme courts and federal courts, all the way ""UP" to the "Supine " Court, captured and bought, taking bribes and gifts regularly, justices wives on the take as well. corrupt throughout, from the Federalist Society carefully groomed judicial conscripts to the partisan "senior" higher-ranking justices. All appears to be rotten, and illegitimate, betraying any who would be trusting them to decide with integrity and fealty to the Constitution, cases that make or break our freedom, while only the three Liberal women justices who defend the Constitution, respect the rule of law, and precedent, can dissent, in anger and sorrow.
It is quite scary that it was not 9-0. That is a real indictment of what is happening to our constitution. This extreme court is on the verge of declaring the constitution unconstitutional.
They have also effectively allowed #47 to dismantle about 90 agencies that work for the health and safety of the American public.
They deserve black shrouds now, and no restroom in their offices. Still kissing a third grader’s buttocks and allowing him to sign his name and think he is worthwhile and “working”.
And so we can see the 40-year cumulative effect of the Overton Window. Many forces have contributed to the rightward move, but rolling back 40 years takes us to the beginning of Rehnquist's tenure as Chief Justice and his consistent advancement of right-wing conservatism. He was followed by none other than John Roberts. If Rehnquist had attached a team of horses to the Overton Window, Roberts attached a team of D-8 Caterpillars to it, dragging it as fast as possible farther and farther out to the far right.
Pre-Rehnquist, a challenge to the black-letter law of the 14th Amendment such as we just saw would surely have produced a 9-0 ruling. Now, after decades of gaslighting, right-wing propaganda, motivated reasoning, and plain old low-grade ideological bullshit, it produces a 5-4 ruling.
Don't be so sure. Thomas has been trolling Congress for votes to roll back LGBTQ protections, including marriage equality. And if you recall the Felon and his macabre minions simply have ignored most of the SCOTUS rulings on his tariffs and others. The only thing that might give him pause is if the courts force him to pay E. Jean Carroll not only the 5 million she won against him in her assault suit but also the 83 million she won in the defamation suit. And he continues to defame her so I hope that her lawyers introduce a new plea to up that ante.
Isn't that money sitting in an escrow account, gathering interest? It's my understanding that in order to file an appeal, an escrow account had to be set up, in the event the case was lost.
In this case, the Court denied cert, so it was remanded back to the lower courts and that decision upheld. He has no appeals left and the escrow account should be released.
Oh no. That beautiful area should be protected from such trash as he. Perhaps move him to a hut on an atoll that is in danger of being totally inundated by the ocean because of climate change?
It has been suggested that tRump has Pulmonary Hypertension. If that is the case, he will die soon enough. It means we are stuck with the Couch Molester, but he is the Anticharisma and doesn’t command the Cult.
Yes, Donald, this is pure common sense, also known as reason or wisdom, but do recall that the birthright citizenship issue was an integral component of the hoax that white Americans, "real Americans," were in danger of being displaced by brown skinned "un-Americans." So many people came to believe this hoax that they voted for Trump in droves. Many of them will turn against the Supreme Court and will remain loyal to Trump. ,
It's a bit more terrifying that comforting. This Court seems to overturn precedent in stages, one outrageous decision followed by a handful of moderate ones, then eventually overturn the moderate ones, too. This makes it more palatable in the moment, but I simply don't trust them. Deliberately slow right-wing takeover. Sad that we celebrate America 250 on the cusp of fascism, but I have to believe that we will win the long game. The short-term will be no picnic.
I agree with you that this was a moderate decision that could easily be overturned at the whim of this capricious court. I do not trust them. I do trust that "we, the people" will do whatever we can to stand up for our freedom in the face of fascism. My dad and my uncles did that in WW2. We, too, can rise to the challenge we're facing in our time.
Reflect, sadly, that We The People is the underlying motto of the Tea Party, MAGAts and the Silent Majority. They got what they wanted. Now, we have to work just as hard to get what WE want.
Exactly. We must rise to the challenge. A lot of us didn't expect it, although I have heard a few very smart people warn us through the years. Didn't pay enough attention.
Yes, exactly. Although people did notice, but perhaps the effect was muted. They do seem to be ruling quite strategically, inching rather than rushing towards towards enabling autocracy.
I am afraid the constitution allows impeachment to be the only avenue to address the fact that the Supreme Court has begun to believe it has the right to reconstitute our government in a different image from that which the founder’s tried to create and wisdom through time and experience formed. Unfortunately, the bar for impeachment is high and the virtue, honesty and humility of those in congress low, so this will not happen. Even more unfortunately, the lack of virtue in the regime’s executive branch and its replacement with delusion, corruption and self dealing is immeasurable as no person has considered and devised a scale to measure it.
I think Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch have proved, based on their dissent to this decision, that they are unfit to sit on the Supreme Court. This isn't the first time they've proved that, but the 14th Amendment is so clear in its intent that to disagree proves they don't know what they're talking about. They've already broken their oaths of office -- to protect and defend the Constitution - that it ought to be grounds for impeachment once and for all. It's so sad that the Representatives and Senators who've capitulated to the current occupant of the White House won't do the right thing.
I disagree. I was a judge in Arizona and retired even before 70 feeling - let the young ones have a chance and take over, there is life after public office. Once you are in the 70s you might still have working faculties, but your thinking is beginning to stale, and it is the new, young ideas that are needed at that time..
Bernie Sanders and Robert Reich are two examples that come to mind wrt the elderly. So I partly disagree with you. I donno which way to go on the issue, since to me there are far pressing issues. BTW I am nowhere near Bernie's or Reich's age, but still elderly. So far, God willing, my mental capacities have not yet diminished. I pray (using pray loosely) I stay that way a whole lot longer. And I have not lost my moral compass and sense of justice and fairness.
Being a judge and making important decisions about people's lives is very stressful and wearing on a person - some people cannot do it. After twelve years on my part I started to become a bit hard and cynical, my greater experience was actually getting to be a bit of a liability. Only the hard ass ones could stay on longer and it had a negative influence on their objectivity. If you think you are above that, give it a try.
Again, it's not accurate to judge others by your own personal experiences. People are different one from the other. Some people are old and rigid in their 50s, while others can remain flexible in their thinking well into older ages. This is actually a form of ageism.
Depends on many life experiences, imho. Some can actually expand objectivity, like 50 years of Zazen. And a determination to stay humble, educated, and kind…
Wow. Aging happens differently in people. So not all of us developed "stale thinking" because we crossed the 70 years threshold. There are people who are old at 50, while "young" thinking folks exist in their 80s. It's never accurate to apply one's personal experience to other people and expect to be accurate. While I agree that younger people certainly should be part of the conversation, some us older people have our wisdom, experience and knowledge to offer as well.
I am 100% behind pushing for term limits for Supreme Court justices, a binding code of ethics for these justices and increasing the Supreme Court. Professor Reich, you are right, this should have been all nine justices unanimously upholding the Constitution and not allowing the orange man to put his own spin on the 14th amendment. It has been understood since 1868 and no one should be allowed to interpret it to fit their own skewed agenda.
Do not for a minute think they will give in or give up. It is essential they are removed from power and kept from any government or other seats of power. Sadly it will take decades to retool and recover from the long planned take over and over throwing of democracy engineered by the cabal behind their useful front man
I agree with you, MMK. I simply felt such angst waiting for this decision; now that it is past we can all face whatever the next hurdle will be. I can only take this one storm at a time!
You want to get rid of these chromosomal errors once and for all? Get a bunch of cars with loud PA speakers and drive all around Washington DC blaring the music from "Mars Attacks."
It's not over by a longshot. Already several Republicans are looking to initiate an amendment to the Constitution. Fortunately this Congress can't pass gas let along get an amendment passed by 2/3 of Congress & 3 quarters of the states to ratify it. If it were to happen, I see no way of being ratified in tRump's lifetime nor my lifetime, for that matter. Hell after 50 years the ERA amendment was never ratified, which woukd have been a good thing, so I truly hope their talk of a birthright citizenship amendment is knee jerk reaction to not getting their way & it dies on the vine!
"The Court’s three most conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito — dissented. Thomas wrote for the group: “The Court adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.” Pure and utter claptrap.
I'm so glad you wrote this!! As a public law and government PhD candidate at Columbia Grad School, I spent an entire semester down in the Library of Congress researching the 14th Amendment. The 14th Am. was indeed repurposed later by corporations and wealthy whites to beat down these freed slaves. As an attorney and now member of SCOTUS Bar, I am currently presenting on the dangerous sovereign citizen movement that has hijacked the 14th Am. to avoid paying any debts, taxes, fines, etc. on their stated mission to overturn our entire legal system which they consider to be ungodly and corrupt. In one paper I wrote titled "As Above, So Below", I linked the attacks on the powerful 14th Am. from SCOTUS and our Mad King down to the national security risks of the lone wolves" sovereign citizens. This Amendment must be strengthened and honored!
Humiliation yes, a win for Americans, yes. But they have handed him too damn many wins of late. Wins that will affect this country for decades to come.
The judiciary cannot argue a constitutional amendment. If they want to get rid of birthright citizenship, Congress has to pass another amendment nullifying the 14th. That's what happened with Prohibition. But when the Court is stacked with hacks, up is down, right is left, and so forth.
Of course, Thomas and Alito will long vex historians on which is the most corrupt Justice in Supreme Court history. Gorsuch would also obviously void the clear language of the Consitution. Nothing in the Constitution, law, or precedent is safe from this radical, extreme right wing, nakedly far right Republican, and openly corrupt Supreme Court. No reasonable argument can any longer be made against immediate expansion by 4 reasonable Justices if and when a Democratic Congress and President might possibly occur. The only question is if the radical, right wing extremists will prevent fair future elections.
Saturday, the 4th, I will celebrate our true Liberty, not trump's selfish, personal: "look who I am!", .... we of Dripping Springs Democrats (in Texas), will be out with our signs and American flags (no protest of trump, who is not deserving of our time). I think my sign will say: OUR AMERICA, HOME FOR US ALL, and I'll have an American flag. We have our Freedom & Liberty from England, and the ability to fight for the furtherance of that arc towards Justice.
Justice Thomas: You wrote “The Court adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment…”
The only sad thing about the 14th Amendment is the interpretation that you and your revisionist thugs wish to impose on it. You’re nothing but a Trump enabler (and an unethical one to boot). Oh well, birds of a feather…
An alternative to packing the court would be to impeach Thomas and Alito and delay approving any replacements until there is more concensus on reform. There would then be 4-3 court with Roberts as the swing vote. That's not a liberal sweep, but a big improvement nonetheless.
The king just got his claws cut--
Finally a substantial Supreme Court decision that told Trump, in no uncertain terms, that his power does have limits. The collar about Trump's neck is called the constitution. Everything today comes with a set of instructions, intended to ease the effort needed to keep things operating smoothly. Follow the instructions and life is good. Ignore the general order of things and life becomes difficult. Common sense dictates change must occur in an orderly manner over a reasonable length of time. Running a country by trashing precedents through executive orders, that have stood for decades, without considering the acceptance of the public is foolhardy. We the People want no kings. Birthright citizenship is a vital part of who we are, perhaps it's Trump who doesn't belong...
And boy would they would love to defy the court’s ruling!
Stephen Miller’s head must have exploded. I actually think I heard it but it might have been early July 4th fireworks.
Nature abhors a vacuum. What you heard was his skull collapsing.
Americans abhor Steven Miller, and Trump ....
That's your short list, I assume.
yes, very short as I was turning summersaults and my hands were tired
If you think this is over, it's not. Miller and Trump will continue with this very unpopular goal in the quest for a solidly White Christian Nation. Even if the GOP Congress could find a way around the 14th Amendment, they wouldn't because most Americans don't want them to
- Karen Cooper
Karen, those whiny white boys are so scared of everyone who is not their color, gender, culture, or anything else they can think of to rev up their resentments, even hatreds. Miller is truly mentally ill. His hatred would have made him a concentration camp Komandant. He is not one now because it pays better to be in the white house with a total ignoramus who thinks he is king. Trump, Miller, Vance, Vought, and the rest of the slimy toddler pool will keep trying to undermine this nation while also underestimating the people of this nation. Let's be sure that they keep underestimating us and keep working to get them out of power!
Totally agree, Ruth! The term "evil" can be applied to all of them, a word I very rarely used until this regime
- Karen
May their necks shorten considerably due to their deformed unrepentant non human attributes.
I wish! I can’t wait till they are all collapsing!
It will happen, if we get a good solid Democrat turnout for the midterms. Then we can initiate the necessary impeachments and indictments.
What we all heard is all the incredibly brave mothers who crossed the border to deliver their unborn children cry a collective blessing to our American Constitution and the Rule of Law. Tears of joy for all the anchor babies I delivered in my training at LA County Hospital.
Thank you. I don't care whether my neighbors are anchor babies, DACA, or whatever. They are neighbors. UCLA County Hospital is nearby. Some may have been born there.
Perhaps you would step up to perfom abortions for those who make it across the border, being the right-to-life militant that you no doubt are. You people are such amoral hypocrites.
you are making no sense....
Mike--I doubt if what's between his ears couldn't amount to a good fart.
"Good Farts" don't come from an overdose diet of McDonalds. Only very bad ones, sometimes, often, having a liquid component. On second thought, what is a "good fart"?
Rick--one that can be heard from outside of the home..
For karma coming to trump, a good fart is a bloody one.
since they all likely have a liquid component, they are good. Good in that one of his chosen will have to clean the mess up. I could never work in a nursing home. Vomit is worse, however. I did janitor in between jobs. As for the gaseous variety, dad always said I was a fart smella. Smart fella is what he implied. BTW, I still detest McDonalds. I worked Radio shack for a couple years. The only place toeat nearbywas McDzz's. All three of us all got a case of the runs from it at the same time. The store had only a one person restroom :(
😆
You make me laugh.
I would agree, but the decision in the Slaughter case gives Trump the power to fire any person in an independent agency that had been protected up until now. That means that the environmental protection agency, the consumer finance agency all the agencies that protect the rights of the American people can be loaded with Trump acolytes, and that gives him unlimited power. This court is totally disgusting and needs to be changed immediately!
What is ironic is that thy ruled that any "independent" agency employee could be fired by Trump EXCEPT for the FED. Hmmmmmm..............They won't go so far as to allow tampering with their money. What does that tell us? Another data point indicating we are being ruled by and taken over by money grubbers.
Dr.-- The Supreme Court just handed down one of the most dangerous decisions in the court's history...
Perhaps having lost this round to the Supreme Court might just give him enough stress and therefore incentive to build that plaque from cholesterol that really needs to do its work now.
grrrrrrrrrrrr
I totally agree. With this decision, the independence of agencies goes right out the window! What are these radicals thinking? Sure, give more power to a criminal who already lusts for power. This needs to stop!
It would take an act of Congress reaffirming its authority. Unlikely to happen if Republicans retain majorities in at least one of the houses.
with rare exceptions like the birthright decision,which was scarily not unanimous,this was a good term for trump and a bad term for america
But the scary thing is it was such a close thing. It could easily have gone the other way. Come the new administration (!) I hope that something will be done about revising this runaway court.
It should have been 9-0.
I totally agree with you. It should have been 9-0 as in the past. I keep saying there is no low this regime will go. It must be stopped by all possible means. We The People on the cusp of 250 years of declaring freedom from a tyrant and rule by the people need to hear this way too close decision as frightening. It will not stop.
It is an echo of the oft repeated description of the " razor thin Republican majority", achieved with dirty money, gerrymandering, the captured fourth estate, and legal open bribery allowed in political campaigns, even the buying of seats in the Congress and of seats on the benches of state supreme courts and federal courts, all the way ""UP" to the "Supine " Court, captured and bought, taking bribes and gifts regularly, justices wives on the take as well. corrupt throughout, from the Federalist Society carefully groomed judicial conscripts to the partisan "senior" higher-ranking justices. All appears to be rotten, and illegitimate, betraying any who would be trusting them to decide with integrity and fealty to the Constitution, cases that make or break our freedom, while only the three Liberal women justices who defend the Constitution, respect the rule of law, and precedent, can dissent, in anger and sorrow.
Harlan Crowe would not be happy bc we know he (at least) owns one of the 3 who dissented.
Hey, watch it. His name is Crow. We Crowe's have no connection with him-- and would disavow it if we did.
It is quite scary that it was not 9-0. That is a real indictment of what is happening to our constitution. This extreme court is on the verge of declaring the constitution unconstitutional.
They have also effectively allowed #47 to dismantle about 90 agencies that work for the health and safety of the American public.
They deserve black shrouds now, and no restroom in their offices. Still kissing a third grader’s buttocks and allowing him to sign his name and think he is worthwhile and “working”.
And so we can see the 40-year cumulative effect of the Overton Window. Many forces have contributed to the rightward move, but rolling back 40 years takes us to the beginning of Rehnquist's tenure as Chief Justice and his consistent advancement of right-wing conservatism. He was followed by none other than John Roberts. If Rehnquist had attached a team of horses to the Overton Window, Roberts attached a team of D-8 Caterpillars to it, dragging it as fast as possible farther and farther out to the far right.
Pre-Rehnquist, a challenge to the black-letter law of the 14th Amendment such as we just saw would surely have produced a 9-0 ruling. Now, after decades of gaslighting, right-wing propaganda, motivated reasoning, and plain old low-grade ideological bullshit, it produces a 5-4 ruling.
Don't be so sure. Thomas has been trolling Congress for votes to roll back LGBTQ protections, including marriage equality. And if you recall the Felon and his macabre minions simply have ignored most of the SCOTUS rulings on his tariffs and others. The only thing that might give him pause is if the courts force him to pay E. Jean Carroll not only the 5 million she won against him in her assault suit but also the 83 million she won in the defamation suit. And he continues to defame her so I hope that her lawyers introduce a new plea to up that ante.
The orange clown has a history of stiffing many contractors who worked for him in the past. So, he will not pay up unless he has no choice.
Isn't that money sitting in an escrow account, gathering interest? It's my understanding that in order to file an appeal, an escrow account had to be set up, in the event the case was lost.
In this case, the Court denied cert, so it was remanded back to the lower courts and that decision upheld. He has no appeals left and the escrow account should be released.
Clarence Thomas is U.S. Senator Danforth’s (M0) slave. Never forget it. Sad.
'The only thing that might give him pause is'.....the grim ripper? he might not want him over there neither...
I’m all in favor of deporting the Orange Odium… to a small shack at the South Pole.
Oh no. That beautiful area should be protected from such trash as he. Perhaps move him to a hut on an atoll that is in danger of being totally inundated by the ocean because of climate change?
At this point, I'd settle for a forever "cankle" bracelet in FLA. @ Mar-a-Lago.
It has been suggested that tRump has Pulmonary Hypertension. If that is the case, he will die soon enough. It means we are stuck with the Couch Molester, but he is the Anticharisma and doesn’t command the Cult.
Did not have "Couch Molester" on my list of appropriate nicknames for JDV, but I'll have to add it. :D
Maybe the atoll where they set off the Bravo Device?
'WE THE PEOPLE' elected a vile sociopath to run the country. I would not give credit to we the people. They made horrid mistake
JBR--The expression; We The People isn't all inclusive --it refers to the Americans who love this country.
We the patriotic pro American people. We the anti fascist sociopath people.
Gerrymandering is ominous. Ability to fire afebcy staff at will is ominous. Plus tunip will send in troops to coerce election results.
Yes, Donald, this is pure common sense, also known as reason or wisdom, but do recall that the birthright citizenship issue was an integral component of the hoax that white Americans, "real Americans," were in danger of being displaced by brown skinned "un-Americans." So many people came to believe this hoax that they voted for Trump in droves. Many of them will turn against the Supreme Court and will remain loyal to Trump. ,
No argument on belonging. Cheers.
Project 2025 is designed to make the Constitution as currently written irrelevant. This is the essence of Trump/GOP fascism.
If only this was accurate..... other recent decisions expand executive power and limit Congressional power.
I guess having claws cut or trimmed may be okay.....would much rather they were removed, along with the canine teeth.
It's a bit more terrifying that comforting. This Court seems to overturn precedent in stages, one outrageous decision followed by a handful of moderate ones, then eventually overturn the moderate ones, too. This makes it more palatable in the moment, but I simply don't trust them. Deliberately slow right-wing takeover. Sad that we celebrate America 250 on the cusp of fascism, but I have to believe that we will win the long game. The short-term will be no picnic.
I agree with you that this was a moderate decision that could easily be overturned at the whim of this capricious court. I do not trust them. I do trust that "we, the people" will do whatever we can to stand up for our freedom in the face of fascism. My dad and my uncles did that in WW2. We, too, can rise to the challenge we're facing in our time.
Reflect, sadly, that We The People is the underlying motto of the Tea Party, MAGAts and the Silent Majority. They got what they wanted. Now, we have to work just as hard to get what WE want.
Exactly. We must rise to the challenge. A lot of us didn't expect it, although I have heard a few very smart people warn us through the years. Didn't pay enough attention.
My mindset as well. Thank you for expressing it.
Thank you.
Much the same thought crossed my mind when I found that they put Citizens United on steroids in a subsequent ruling, hoping nobody would notice!
Yes, exactly. Although people did notice, but perhaps the effect was muted. They do seem to be ruling quite strategically, inching rather than rushing towards towards enabling autocracy.
Agreed.
Clarence Thomas should have been impeached years ago! For a multitude of reasons.
I am afraid the constitution allows impeachment to be the only avenue to address the fact that the Supreme Court has begun to believe it has the right to reconstitute our government in a different image from that which the founder’s tried to create and wisdom through time and experience formed. Unfortunately, the bar for impeachment is high and the virtue, honesty and humility of those in congress low, so this will not happen. Even more unfortunately, the lack of virtue in the regime’s executive branch and its replacement with delusion, corruption and self dealing is immeasurable as no person has considered and devised a scale to measure it.
I think Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch have proved, based on their dissent to this decision, that they are unfit to sit on the Supreme Court. This isn't the first time they've proved that, but the 14th Amendment is so clear in its intent that to disagree proves they don't know what they're talking about. They've already broken their oaths of office -- to protect and defend the Constitution - that it ought to be grounds for impeachment once and for all. It's so sad that the Representatives and Senators who've capitulated to the current occupant of the White House won't do the right thing.
In Arizona, when a judge reaches age 70 they can not longer serve - this should be the rule for all judges in the country from top to bottom.
Well, as someone over 70 and still active with all my faculties working, an arbitrary age probably isn't the way to go. Perhaps term limits?
I disagree. I was a judge in Arizona and retired even before 70 feeling - let the young ones have a chance and take over, there is life after public office. Once you are in the 70s you might still have working faculties, but your thinking is beginning to stale, and it is the new, young ideas that are needed at that time..
Bernie Sanders and Robert Reich are two examples that come to mind wrt the elderly. So I partly disagree with you. I donno which way to go on the issue, since to me there are far pressing issues. BTW I am nowhere near Bernie's or Reich's age, but still elderly. So far, God willing, my mental capacities have not yet diminished. I pray (using pray loosely) I stay that way a whole lot longer. And I have not lost my moral compass and sense of justice and fairness.
Nancy Pelosi was 83 when she left office and she did a superb job in her 2nd term as speaker.
Over age 70 leads to a “stale” brain?!? So maturity & greater experience should no longer be positives? Perhaps in Your family, but not in mine…
Being a judge and making important decisions about people's lives is very stressful and wearing on a person - some people cannot do it. After twelve years on my part I started to become a bit hard and cynical, my greater experience was actually getting to be a bit of a liability. Only the hard ass ones could stay on longer and it had a negative influence on their objectivity. If you think you are above that, give it a try.
Again, it's not accurate to judge others by your own personal experiences. People are different one from the other. Some people are old and rigid in their 50s, while others can remain flexible in their thinking well into older ages. This is actually a form of ageism.
Depends on many life experiences, imho. Some can actually expand objectivity, like 50 years of Zazen. And a determination to stay humble, educated, and kind…
Term limits would address the issue of judges who are not accountable to anyone. It would also take care of the question of "how old is too old."
Wow. Aging happens differently in people. So not all of us developed "stale thinking" because we crossed the 70 years threshold. There are people who are old at 50, while "young" thinking folks exist in their 80s. It's never accurate to apply one's personal experience to other people and expect to be accurate. While I agree that younger people certainly should be part of the conversation, some us older people have our wisdom, experience and knowledge to offer as well.
Same here in NJ.
I am 100% behind pushing for term limits for Supreme Court justices, a binding code of ethics for these justices and increasing the Supreme Court. Professor Reich, you are right, this should have been all nine justices unanimously upholding the Constitution and not allowing the orange man to put his own spin on the 14th amendment. It has been understood since 1868 and no one should be allowed to interpret it to fit their own skewed agenda.
What a relief - this one is done.
Do not for a minute think they will give in or give up. It is essential they are removed from power and kept from any government or other seats of power. Sadly it will take decades to retool and recover from the long planned take over and over throwing of democracy engineered by the cabal behind their useful front man
I agree with you, MMK. I simply felt such angst waiting for this decision; now that it is past we can all face whatever the next hurdle will be. I can only take this one storm at a time!
See my reply to Lark Leonard on the subject below.
You want to get rid of these chromosomal errors once and for all? Get a bunch of cars with loud PA speakers and drive all around Washington DC blaring the music from "Mars Attacks."
It's not over by a longshot. Already several Republicans are looking to initiate an amendment to the Constitution. Fortunately this Congress can't pass gas let along get an amendment passed by 2/3 of Congress & 3 quarters of the states to ratify it. If it were to happen, I see no way of being ratified in tRump's lifetime nor my lifetime, for that matter. Hell after 50 years the ERA amendment was never ratified, which woukd have been a good thing, so I truly hope their talk of a birthright citizenship amendment is knee jerk reaction to not getting their way & it dies on the vine!
"The Court’s three most conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito — dissented. Thomas wrote for the group: “The Court adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.” Pure and utter claptrap.
I'm so glad you wrote this!! As a public law and government PhD candidate at Columbia Grad School, I spent an entire semester down in the Library of Congress researching the 14th Amendment. The 14th Am. was indeed repurposed later by corporations and wealthy whites to beat down these freed slaves. As an attorney and now member of SCOTUS Bar, I am currently presenting on the dangerous sovereign citizen movement that has hijacked the 14th Am. to avoid paying any debts, taxes, fines, etc. on their stated mission to overturn our entire legal system which they consider to be ungodly and corrupt. In one paper I wrote titled "As Above, So Below", I linked the attacks on the powerful 14th Am. from SCOTUS and our Mad King down to the national security risks of the lone wolves" sovereign citizens. This Amendment must be strengthened and honored!
I wouldn't call them conservative. I would call them reactionary and fascist sympathizers.
Reconstruction was never completed. It was aborted by racist conservatives. Both whites and Blacks suffered as a result, Blacks a lot more of course.
Humiliation yes, a win for Americans, yes. But they have handed him too damn many wins of late. Wins that will affect this country for decades to come.
The judiciary cannot argue a constitutional amendment. If they want to get rid of birthright citizenship, Congress has to pass another amendment nullifying the 14th. That's what happened with Prohibition. But when the Court is stacked with hacks, up is down, right is left, and so forth.
Nullifying the 14th Amendment would make the Constitution itself largely irrelevant.
Of course, Thomas and Alito will long vex historians on which is the most corrupt Justice in Supreme Court history. Gorsuch would also obviously void the clear language of the Consitution. Nothing in the Constitution, law, or precedent is safe from this radical, extreme right wing, nakedly far right Republican, and openly corrupt Supreme Court. No reasonable argument can any longer be made against immediate expansion by 4 reasonable Justices if and when a Democratic Congress and President might possibly occur. The only question is if the radical, right wing extremists will prevent fair future elections.
Yes, good news, bad news. They should all have been on board to back the constitution. We need to expand the Supreme Court.
I am very happy today.
Saturday, the 4th, I will celebrate our true Liberty, not trump's selfish, personal: "look who I am!", .... we of Dripping Springs Democrats (in Texas), will be out with our signs and American flags (no protest of trump, who is not deserving of our time). I think my sign will say: OUR AMERICA, HOME FOR US ALL, and I'll have an American flag. We have our Freedom & Liberty from England, and the ability to fight for the furtherance of that arc towards Justice.
My flag will be upside down.
You go girl!!!
Justice Thomas: You wrote “The Court adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment…”
The only sad thing about the 14th Amendment is the interpretation that you and your revisionist thugs wish to impose on it. You’re nothing but a Trump enabler (and an unethical one to boot). Oh well, birds of a feather…
Thomas needs his wife to clip his nails again, repaint.
An alternative to packing the court would be to impeach Thomas and Alito and delay approving any replacements until there is more concensus on reform. There would then be 4-3 court with Roberts as the swing vote. That's not a liberal sweep, but a big improvement nonetheless.
sensible
I do love it when he’s humiliated about anything- well this is incredibly childish. It is how I feel.
Not childish: patriotic and sensible