Tag: Supreme Court

02APR2026 – This’N’That

photog Current Events, Trump , , ,

So, Trump gave his war update.  Well, he’s still the king of hyperbole.  Everything is the biggest and the greatest.  All the damage to Iran is total and catastrophic.  And he went through the length of all the wars the US has fought in from WWI on and after mentioning how many years each of these wars lasted, he said that this war has been going for only one month.  And then he said that it will only take another three weeks to finish bombing Iran into the “stone age.”  Hmmm.

I hope he’s right.  I don’t think staying in Iran for more than a few more weeks is going to help us.  The financial damage will start to build up.  And the chances of large-scale casualties keep growing.  At this point if there is no interest on the part of the Iranian population to rise up against their government by armed insurrection then there isn’t a realistic way of ending the current regime that doesn’t involve an American ground invasion.  So, blast all of the targets we can find and then declare victory and step back to our Middle East bases and block Hormuz and let the Iranians and the Chinese do without their money and oil respectively.  In the meantime, the Europeans can buy Venezuelan oil (at an elevated price of course) and do without their cheap Chinese crap for the time being.

I saw that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the psychiatrist in Colorado who was practicing conversion talk therapy on LGBTQ adolescents versus Colorado’s ban of the procedure.  Now that is interesting.  That’s going to cause a lot of problems in blue states for sure.  Good for the Court.

Now Trump is going to visit the Court during its consideration of whether his executive order banning citizenship to the children of illegal aliens (so-called birthright citizenship) is forbidden by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.  I wonder if Trump will request to address the court during these procedures or whether he just wants to show solidarity with his legal team defending his executive order.  Reading the news sites they all stress the fact that the initial questions from the Justices seemed extremely skeptical of the administration’s justification for the executive order.  Well, of course the news sites are.  They all lean to the Left and so they exhibit their preference in every way they can.  But I’m not pessimistic about our chances.  It’s pretty easy to see that the 14th Amendment was enacted to handle a very specific class of people, the former slaves and their descendants.  How this would be relevant today is not in any way clear.  Following the obvious intent is simple and if the Justices use logic, they can easily see that this intent does not extend to the children of people breaking the law by illegally entering this country.  Of course, I may be overly hopeful about the courage of some of the Justices but I’m willing to hold onto my optimism until the decision is handed down.

Well, that’s enough for now.

When Will the Supreme Court Overturn Obergefell v. Hodges?

photog Current Events, Trump , , , , ,

Hillary Clinton thinks the Supreme Court will overturn Obergefell v. Hodges (the decision that discovered the right to gay marriage in the US Constitution) before the 2026 election.

I think she is drawing an analogy from the fact that the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June of 2022 in advance of the November 2022 mid-term elections.  Of course, there could be blowback from this decision that affects the midterms.  It might even cause the loss of the House of Representatives.  But you know, I kind of doubt it.  I think it’s a mistake to wait to make these decisions.  The future is uncertain and the opportunity that exists may be temporary.  What’s the expression?  “Strike while the iron is hot.”

Throwing abortion and gay marriage back under the jurisdiction of the states sort of takes the monolithic nature of the decisions away.  After all, the blue states will continue on without change and the red states will probably put it on the ballot and let their own people decide (well, except for very, very red states where it will be banned by their legislatures and governors).  I wonder if there might even be some states that allow gay marriage but forbid the adoption of children by these “families.”

Now I guess it’s possible that the Supreme Court might wait until after the midterms.  And it’s even possible that the court might uphold Obergefell v. Hodges.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see John Roberts vote to uphold it.  But I think the votes are there to overturn it.  And this brings up another case; Lawrence v. Texas.  This was the decision that made homosexuality a protected constitutional practice.  Is it probable that this decision would also be reconsidered?  Maybe it’s too much to hope for but since we’re seeing fifty-year precedents overturned why not this relatively recent ruling too?

You know, it’s not every day that I find myself in agreement with something Hillary Clinton says.  But in this particular case I think she’s correct.  I think the court will rule on Obergefell v. Hodges in 2026 and let the voters sort out how they want their states to stand on gay marriage.  And in the long run that is the healthiest way for these things to be handled.  We’re supposed to be living under a federal Constitution that allows most of the power to remain with the sovereign states.  Thinking that California and Mississippi would have the same opinions on abortion and gay marriage is ludicrous. But in the same way as many ludicrous actions have been taken by the federal government over the last half century and are now being adjusted it only makes sense that the Supreme Court is also going through a reevaluation of unjustified decisions that strayed well beyond the bounds of Constitutional authority and created laws that had no right being written.

My hope is that this trend continues and that President Trump has the chance to appoint several more justices to ensure that the conservative majority is protected and even increased over the next three and a half years.  And in fact, I hope he has the opportunity to replace many Democratic federal judges with conservatives, especially in the blue districts like Washington DC, the Northeast and the west coast.  But my thanks to Hillary for bringing this opinion to my attention.  It brought a smile to my face.  Now how often has she done that?  As far as I can remember not since 2016.

Supreme Court Schools EPA on the Difference Between Navigable Water and Soggy Ground

photog Current Events ,

The power mad losers at the EPA told a couple in Idaho that they couldn’t build a home on their property because they defined the wet spot on their property as navigable water.  They based this on the fact that the groundwater drains into a nearby lake.  By that theory anyplace it rains is navigable water.

The Supreme Court today looked up navigable in the dictionary and told the EPA to go pound sand.

Apparently they do not subscribe to the Bugs Bunny school of boating where you can row on land.

Thank you Supreme Court for having the courage to acknowledge reality when you see it.

Will the Supreme Court Restore the Constitution?

photog Current Events , , ,

I read the Alito opinion.  I listened in the news to the fears of the Left about future decisions on other unconstitutional decisions.  And I think they may have a good reason to be afraid.  If this court was willing to overturn Roe v. Wade, then there isn’t any additional justification needed to overturn other unconstitutional laws.

The lack of constitutional grounds to declare gay marriage a national right is exactly the same as the problem with making abortion a right.  And some things are even easier to attack.  Affirmative action is actually prohibited by a constitutional amendment.  It was even acknowledged to be unconstitutional the last time it was allowed to stand by the Supreme Court.  Each of these examples of judicial malpractice can be addressed in exactly the same way as Roe v. Wade.  The question is will these justices continue to display the courage they seem to have right now?

I think they will.  And I think we’ll have the answer to the question in July.  That’s when the decision on Roe v. Wade is supposed to be announced.  If the five justices manage to stand up to the barrage of intimidation and character assassination that they are currently receiving then I think they’ll be hardened enough to move forward to other areas of the law where equally unconstitutional decisions have been made before.

I find this possibility exhilarating.  For my whole adult life, I have watched the Supreme Court create unjust laws and then fail to reverse those decisions when the chance to do so arose.  Justices named by Reagan, George Bush Sr. and George Bush Jr. were touted as conservatives and almost invariably turned out to be liberals.  But now, so many years later it looks like we’re there.  And half the thanks have to go to Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump, two men who cannot stand each other.  I find that highly ironic.  But I won’t look this gift horse in the mouth.  It’s too valuable.

Now, I’m fully aware that more than half of you are rolling your eyes and thinking, “What a hopeless optimist!”  And I can’t blame you.  We’ve been down this road so many times before that it’s completely understandable that most folks don’t want to get fooled again.  It’s just like that cartoon of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown just as he’s ready to kick it.  And ends up flat on his back.  For the last year I’ve been very doubtful that the Supreme Court would go all the way and overturn Roe altogether.  I figured they’d approve the fifteen-week limit in Mississippi and leave it at that.  But apparently, they’ve gotten together the backbone to admit the truth of the situation and make an honest ruling.  And that’s amazing.

So, if in July they back down and issue a watered-down decision I’ll openly admit my foolishness.  I’ll admit that we can’t “vote our way out of this.”  But if I’m right then I’ll expect the same admission from the skeptics and dissidents that say there’s no hope of turning things around.  And you know who you are out there.

Breyer to Retire Before Republicans Can Stop His Replacement

photog Current Events ,

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will retire after the current Supreme court session ends allowing Dementia Joe to replace him before the Senate flips to Republicans at the end of the year.  I’ve heard speculation that they’ll nominate Kamala Harris and she’ll get to approve her own nominations as the tie breaking vote in the Senate.  But I doubt even the Democrats want a moron like Harris on the Supreme Court.  Although she would save Sotomayor from being the stupidest SCOTUS justice of all time by a good margin.

But I’m sure a better choice is available.  I can think of a few; Fredo Cuomo, Don Lemon and most exciting Jussie Smollett.  All would add excitement and emotion to an otherwise boring Supreme Court.

Abortion Redux

photog Current Events , , ,

All of my adult life traditional religious Americans have been waiting for the chance to overturn Roe v. Wade.  It has taken almost fifty years to assemble a conservative majority of Supreme Court justices who might overturn the 1973 abortion decision.  Today a lot of the pundits were saying that the statements coming out of the hearings by the justices indicated that they were preparing to uphold the new law in Mississippi.  This would limit abortions to pregnancies shorter than 16 weeks.

Now enormous pressure is being put on the justices to let Roe stand.  Idiots like Senators Blumenthal and Schumer have made very ominous statements about the consequences if Roe is overturned or even if some stringent restrictions are made on abortion such as the recent Texas law.  The more measured warnings include packing the court or restricting its jurisdiction.  But Schumer actually made his warning sound like a personal threat against the justices themselves.  Personally, I’m not surprised by these threats.  The Democrats are gangsters who frequently resort to threats and violence when all else fails.  One need look no further than the George Floyd riots to see violence and intimidation being wielded by the Left’s mob du jour.

The abortion decision will not occur until next June.  This will provide proximity to the mid-term elections which will make its consequences even more interesting.  If the Court strikes down Roe or even just confirms the more stringent Mississippi law will this galvanize democratic support next November?  Or would it have the effect of encouraging voters on the Right who have been waiting all their adult lives to see the Supreme Court admit that abortion is not a constitutional right?

Speculating about something that won’t be known for another seven months seems kind of premature.  But it is fascinating to think that such a momentous change might actually happen after all these years.  And it makes me wonder what other alleged constitutional rights might be struck down in the future.  My favorite would be affirmative action.  The last time the subject came before the Supreme Court it was admitted by the Justices that it was indeed unconstitutional but that social pressures required it to be used as a stopgap method.  That was decades ago.  I think the impact from striking down all the affirmative action laws would be an order of magnitude greater than any of the other fake unconstitutional laws like same sex marriage because removing the affirmative action mechanisms would allow freedom of association to exist again.  The government would stop telling us who we had to employ.  We could once again hire people according to whether they were the best qualified candidates and not have to adhere to some kind of social grievance heat map to pick them.

The one thing I think could put the brakes on any actual decision is the fact that John Roberts might decide to vote for the conservative opinion.  By virtue of being Chief Justice that would then allow him to write the decision and he could do anything he wanted including just sending this case back down to the Appeals Court to tweak their decision.  And I wouldn’t put it past him.  He’s a spineless weasel who never misses a chance to roll over for the Left.

But the political winds are shifting in this country.  People’s eyes have been opened to how the people in Washington govern without caring what their constituencies actually elected them to do.  If voting for change doesn’t work pretty soon, they’ll stop voting.  And then they’ll look for change by other means.

Supreme Court Upholds Religious Freedom in Case Pitting Catholic Adoption and Homosexual Rights

photog Current Events , , ,

Within a narrow interpretation the Supreme Court upheld the right of religious organizations to refuse to allow homosexuals to adopt or foster children.  The decision was unopposed but was narrowly worded to let stand underlying law that still threatens the 1st Amendment rights of religious freedom.

“Although Roberts handed a win to Catholic Social Services, he slapped down a push from fellow conservatives to use the case to overturn Employment Division v. Smith, a landmark 1990 case in which the court found that laws that are generally applicable do not violate the First Amendment. That decision has been increasingly called into question as a number of states pass laws raising conflicts between religious and gay rights interests. Roberts wrote that Smith did not apply here because Philadelphia’s policy was not neutral.

Several justices said they wanted to revisit Smith. In her concurrence, Barrett wrote that she had found “compelling” reasons to overturn Smith. Still, she added, that since the case did not apply here, she joined the court’s opinion in full. Alito also attacked Smith in a 77-page opinion, writing that the case is “ripe for reexamination.”

Alito added that CSS’s victory can be easily undone as long as Smith stands.

“This decision might as well be written on the dissolving paper sold in magic shops,” Alito wrote of Roberts’s opinion.”

Well, even a small win is till a win.  But with the Roberts court there’s never really asense that much progress is made.  Basically he is progressive in sheep’s clothing.

The ZMan Has a Post About the Upcoming SCOTUS Cases

photog Current Events , , , , , ,

ZMan reviews the two rather important upcoming Supreme Court cases on abortion restrictions and gun rights that are expected to be decided this Fall.  The Mississippi case is reviewing the constitutionality of a 15 week maximum on the age of the unborn child before abortion becomes illegal.  The gun case has to do with the New York law that makes it impossible for a gun owner to transport his legal gun out side of his home.

 

https://thezman.com/wordpress/?p=23982

 

The ZMan is of the opinion that the Supreme Court will fold to left-wing pressure in both cases.  He thinks the threat of packing the court is sufficient to get the Roberts court to cringe in fear and do as they’re told by their masters.  He’s probably right.  Roberts is a coward and a fool.  He’s already proved that.

But the real question is the one that is implied by the assumed result of the decisions.  Will Mississippi or some other state that has put restrictions on abortion tell the federal government no?  It would be crossing the Rubicon.  Once a state tells the federal government, “No,” a lot of things could happen up to and including the feds arresting legislators and governors.

Will it happen?  Right now I’m not sure.  I don’t know enough about the men who run these states.  Are they ready for the eventuality?  Have they come up with another intermediate action that will provide a similar result?

Of course it’s easy for me to talk about important people throwing down against the most powerful human organization on the face of the earth as if it were just two men fighting over who gets a parking spot for his car.  Messing with Washington is very consequential.  The last time anyone tried was during the Civil Rights era and Washington came out on top.  Serious individuals would only cross the line if they had a very strong idea about how they could win that fight.

But we’ll all learn something important this Fall.  First off we’ll find out how cowardly and traitorous the Supreme Court really is when it crawls on its belly.  Next we’ll find out if any state has the strength to tell the feds to screw.  That’s something worth knowing.

RBG Outrage Proceeds at a Brisk Pace

photog Current Events, Trump , , , , ,

I was just enjoying a sampling of left-wing panic articles about the prospect of a pre-election selection of RBG’s replacement on the Supreme Court.  You know it seems like only yesterday that the press and the Democrats were employing libel and slander on an industrial scale against Brett Kavanaugh without any concern for how it poisoned any possibility of civility or bipartisanship in the Senate.  And now they are hurling around terms like hypocrisy and unconscionable when talking about the Republican senate voting on a replacement for RBG.  They’re saying it’s inappropriate and uncivil and cruel.  Well, isn’t that special.

You know above and beyond how good it would be to decrease the number of lefties on the Supreme Court I am just overjoyed to see the Left shrieking and howling about this situation.  These are horrible people and anything that makes them angry and/or afraid is a gift from heaven and “a consummation devoutly to be wish’d.”  It is wonderful to see a milquetoast fellow like Lindsey Graham feeling his oats and maybe even displaying a little schadenfreude toward the colleagues that put him and the rest of the senate Republicans through hell during the Kavanaugh hearings.  Seeing him get up on his hind legs and sound like a man just shows what the Democrats have stirred up with their scorched earth approach to hard ball politics.  They’ve made lots of enemies and when they need friends there aren’t any colleagues on the other side of the aisle willing to reach across to lend a hand.  And after having their hands bitten before who could blame them?

And it is said that McConnell has the votes.  Of course, that is horse trading and maybe they’ve paid off Romney to keep him from stabbing us in the back again or maybe that one extra vote from Pence is all that’s needed to put them over the top.  But just the fact that President Trump and Mitch McConnell are game enough to go forward speaks volumes about how this presidency differs from the lame Republican administrations of the past.  Bush I and Bush II would have acquiesced as soon as the first shriek from the harpies was reported in the press.  In fact, even after giving in to them the Democrats and the press would still have taken the opportunity to pillory Bush as a monster for even thinking of such a hate crime.

When President Trump heard that Pelosi was threatening to impeach him again. His answer was that he hoped she did.  Now that’s the right answer.  Never back down, never apologize for doing what makes sense and hit back at them any way you can.  And just as a point of information didn’t Dorothy dropped a house on her back in 1939?  Or was it a pail of water?

I expect a concerted effort after the announcement to vilify the candidate any way they can.  Of course, since it’s going to be a woman the rape angle is going to be a really hard sell.  Maybe they’ll try to find a girl from her high school or grammar school that claims the applicant was mean to her.  It’s a little weaker than the Kavanaugh treatment but they’ll have to go with what they can make up on the fly.  If necessary, they’ll have a séance and have the ghost of RBG denounce the nominee as not a real woman for lacking abortion enthusiasm.

Feeling this happy about the suffering of some of my fellow human beings might be taken to mean that I’m a terrible person but I believe that if Mother Theresa were alive today, she’d be on my side.  These are awful people and them getting their comeuppance is poetic justice.

Anyway, another good week for the President.  Onward and upward and make the Lefties squeal like stuck pigs.

Supreme Court Vacancy is a Huge Opportunity for the Trump Campaign

photog Current Events, Trump , , , , ,

Over the last month the media has been filled with reports of the enormous cash advantage that the Biden campaign is taking over the Trump campaign.  It’s not that the President’s donations have been meager but rather because lefty billionaires are funding super PACs with a fire hose in a desperate attempt to carry Biden over the finish line by any and all means.

And like a deus ex machina (a god from the machine, manna from heaven, a set-up too good to be true) President Trump is handed a situation that allows him to cancel that advantage.  The rage and panic engendered by the opportunity to fill the vacancy is sure to dominate the press for weeks.  The President will tease the selection until Friday.  The hearings will be a three-ring circus.  Every tweet by the President will be a mini-event.  And meanwhile Joe “hidin’” Biden will be standing on the side crying, “doesn’t anyone want to know what I think about this?”

There is an old saying that God helps those who help themselves.  It’s true.  President Trump is an energetic advocate of his interests and when you are paying attention to the situation every once in a while, opportunity knocks.  The flip side of opportunity is the uncertainty and disruption that comes with riding a tiger.  But looking at our opponents and their haplessness in the face of managing the crises they have embraced I’ve got to like our odds of ending up on the winning side of these events.

I remember how even a minor calamity like Hurricane Katrina unraveled the Bush presidency while the true disaster of the COVID crisis is being politically weathered and the BLM insurrection is actually a net positive for the Trump campaign.  To me this is the proof that leadership is much more than just following an MBA slide show template on how a CEO leads an organization.  You truly need to know something about what people are.  And that’s why the Bushes and the Romneys can’t do it.  They’ve never met any actual humans in the wild.  They’ve heard of them at cocktail parties and at management retreats and even seen a few caged ones in their mansions where they keep a zoo of cooks, maids and body guards.  But they’ve never gone out into the forest and studied them.  Somebody like Bill Clinton loved going out in the brush and rub elbows with the common man.  That’s how he got re-elected even after the world knew that he was a lecherous old goat.  When the people looked at him, they knew he was a sinner but they also recognized that he was an actual human being.  No one will ever confuse Mitt Romney with a living man.

So, fate has spun the wheel again for President Trump and as ever he answers the call and puts the machine in gear.  Will he win the game?  It’s absolutely impossible to know for sure.  But I tell ya, I like our odds.