#justice Thomas

[sher-ee]

Story here ⬆️

[rejectingrepublicans]

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[destielmemenews]

"Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for a 6-3 court. The court’s liberal wing, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented.

Trump had pushed for the ban in response to a 2017 mass shooting that killed 58 people at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas. Bump stocks allow a shooter to convert a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon that can fire at a rate of hundreds of rounds a minute."

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[hale-nathan]

Trump Weird News - Not A Machine Gun!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

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A big week!  ::  April 17, 2023

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

APR 17, 2023

         The week beginning Monday, April 17, 2023, will be filled with important stories competing for our attention. Tonight, I will attempt to frame those stories in a way to bring some order out of seeming chaos. Which, by the way, is the point of MAGA extremists who are pushing culture war issues across multiple fronts in a deliberate effort to exhaust us. Don’t let them.

         Their façade is cracking, and MAGA extremists are turning on one another over strategy, tactics, money, and power. It is an inevitable turn of events for the reactionary wing of American politics. When nothing matters except power, it is every person for themselves in MAGA-land. Sadly, innocent Americans are collateral damage in MAGA’s race to the bottom. Signs abound that most Americans are tiring of the MAGA cult of death and spectacle of hate—as should be expected in a rational world where most people want only to raise their families in peace, security, and freedom. Let’s take a look.

Mass shooting in Alabama.

         Like a weekly ritual, we begin the new week with news of another mass shooting. Details are scarce—possibly deliberately so—as local officials appear to treat the most recent mass shooting as a public relations problem. They have been charitably described as “tight-lipped,” refusing to provide key details as of late Sunday afternoon. See Washington Post, Dadeville shooting: 4 dead at Alabama teen’s birthday party. At least four were killed and two dozen injured. There was so much blood at the scene that a fire tanker was enlisted to wash the blood off the sidewalks with firehoses on Sunday morning. Such was the tragic ending to a Sweet 16 birthday party.

         Alabama was the first state to pass “permitless carry” of concealed firearms (in March 2022). Since then, twenty-four more states have passed similar legislation, meaning that in half the states in America, you should assume everyone you are speaking to is carrying a concealed weapon. It would be foolish not to.

         The legislators in those twenty-five states are morally responsible for the deaths of innocent children, workers, and bystanders. They have bidden a world in which gun ownership is easier than applying for a job, obtaining a driver’s license, or using a credit card. There is blood on their hands, and no amount of power washing the blood from sidewalks will remove the stain.

         The most dangerous cities in America overlap almost entirely with the map of permitless carry (although there are outliers: e.g., Oakland, Philadelphia). Alabama lays claim to two of the most dangerous cities in America. The Safest Cities in America | MoneyGeek.com More guns have made citizens of Alabama less safe, not more so.

         Americans are fed up. A recent survey by the Navigator Group finds a dramatic increase in the number of Americans who believe gun violence is a top national priority. For tragic reasons, concern over guns is now the third-ranking priority among Americans—behind only inflation and jobs. Strong majorities of Democrats and Independents believe that gun laws should be strengthened—as do 38% of Republicans.

         The numbers are turning against Republicans on the gun issue. Combined with reproductive liberty, the climate crisis, and attacks on LGBTQ rights, MAGA extremists have picked the wrong side of nearly every major social and political issue challenging America. Although they can control legislation through gerrymandered legislatures, that is a losing game over time. Democrats can win at the statewide and national level—where they can block G.O.P. lawlessness and enact gun reform.

         We have a path forward—through grass-roots politics. It will be long and arduous, but we have a path forward. Let’s take it.

The Supreme Court will issue a ruling on mifepristone withdrawal on Wednesday.

         Barring an unforeseen development, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a ruling by 11:59 PM on Wednesday. The Court’s ruling will signal just how far the Court is willing to extend the constitutional injury inflicted in Dobbs. Any reasonable Court would dismiss the case for lack of standing or, at the very least, stay the order revoking the F.D.A.’s approval of mifepristone until the Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court can hear the appeal from Judge Kacsmaryk’s order on full briefing.

         But . . .if the Court allows any part of Judge Kacsmaryk’s order to remain in place, it will have facilitated a judicial revolution of staggering proportions. Though conservatives routinely rail against “judicial activism,” Judge Kacsmaryk’s order is judicial activism on jet fuel. He presumes to himself the scientific knowledge to second-guess a congressionally mandated arbiter of drug safety and efficacy. The F.D.A. has thousands of scientists with thousands of years of combined experience testing drugs, but Judge Kacsmaryk believes that his religious principles are sufficient to overcome that experience.

         If the Supreme Court fails to block Judge Kacsmaryk’s order in its entirety, we are entering a new era of jurisprudence in which the federal judiciary will become the “super-regulator” of medicines, products, and services currently regulated by agencies created by Congress. That would be an astonishing result, but we cannot underestimate the religious fervor motivating justices Alito, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Thomas, and Gorsuch—all Catholics who have allowed their faith to overrule their loyalty to the Constitution. (Yes, I know that Gorsuch has joined his wife’s Episcopalian congregation where his children attend school.)

         Republicans are not happy about Kacsmaryk’s ruling—because they are not talking about it. See HuffPo, Republicans Are Silent On The Abortion Pill Ruling, Despite Confirming The Judge Behind It. Or rather, those Republicans who are talking about it are telling the anti-choice extremists in their ranks to “knock it off” and “quit while you are ahead.” Even Senators who are usually willing to back extreme positions (Cruz, Hawley) have declined comment.

         Another signal that Republican extremism on reproductive liberty has offended conservative Republicans was the announcement by a prominent DeSantis backer that he was “pausing” his support for DeSantis because the governor signed a six-week abortion ban. When Republican megadonors begin to flee leading Republican candidates for the 2024 nomination, you know that the G.O.P. has lost touch with the American people.

         I cannot leave this topic without noting the corruption that surrounded Judge Kacsmaryk’s confirmation hearing. Like all nominees, he was required to advise the Senate of all publications. When he was nominated, an article he authored had been accepted for publication by The Texas Review of Law and Politics. Rather than disclose the article to the Senate as required, he called the law journal and asked that the journal remove his name—as sole author—and substitute two different people as authors.

There is no other word to describe Kacsmaryk’s action except “fraud.” An article written by Kacsmaryk and accepted for publication was published under another person’s name for the purpose of concealing Kacsmaryk’s authorship. See WaPo, The controversial article Matthew Kacsmaryk did not disclose to the Senate. When Democrats again control the House, they should consider impeaching Kacsmaryk for lying to the Senate.

More on Justice Thomas’s corruption.

         Like clockwork, we have learned of another misrepresentation in Justice Thomas’s financial disclosure forms. It turns out that Thomas has been reporting income from a defunct entity for nearly a decade. See Bloomberg, Justice Thomas Reported Income From Defunct Firm (reporting on a WaPo story). While the error may have been inadvertent, the oversight is reckless. By attributing income to a non-existent entity, Thomas could have concealed the true source of his income. Whether he did deserves to be investigated.

         There is no doubt that Justice Thomas violated the statute that governs his disclosure obligations (5 U.S.C. app. 104), which imposes civil and criminal liability for omitting required information or misstating included information. (Section 104 applies to the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. See 5a U.S. Code § 109.) Thomas has both omitted required information and misstated included information. It is up to Merrick Garland and John Roberts to investigate. See Chris Geidner, Clarence Thomas's problems are also a John Roberts problem (lawdork.com)

[MORE]

Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter

[futilechildhooddream]

Justice Thomas of the United States Supreme Court believes substantive due process should be eradicated from our legal process. He believed same sex intimacy and marriage should be overturned. He believed contraceptives should be overturned. He overturned Roe v Wade. He has accepted millions of dollars worth of gifts. He concurred on the Trump immunity case. Look.

[muddypolitics]

(via Justices Thomas and Alito Delay Release of Financial Disclosures - The New York Times)

[randyite]

[jonostroveart]

No Looky No Leaky

[gamer2002]

Ketanji is not "his" and has no wife, you covering for a left wing terrorist targeting a conservative Justice rag that has radicalized him in the first place.

[sher-ee]

[goodknifeboy]

I know there are a lot of fanfics about Jason being caught by the Justice League and usually getting bailed out by the batfam, but imagine if it was Brucie Wayne bailing him out:

In the JL interrogation room:

Superman: Alright, Red Hood, who is your supplier helping you move drugs in Star City?

Red Hood, who was undercover investigating a drug ring and got caught in a JL bust and sesnses an opportunity to mess with Batman: Look, I know you guys aren't cops, but can I get at least get one phone call?

Justice league looking skeptical?

Red Hood: You can even monitor it.

Green Arrow: Fine one phone call, but it will be monitored.

Hands Hood a phone

Red Hood: Hey Dad, I got stopped by the Justice League. Could you come bail me out? Really, okay, see you soon. Okay, my Dad said that he would bail me, so could we go over to the teleporters?

Green Arrow: Okay, firstly, we aren't cops, you can't just post bail and get out. Secondly, how would this "Dad" get up here?

Red Hood: You'll see.

Minutes later, Brucie Wayne walks in with a trail of Heroes, trying to explain why he cannot be at the Watchtower.

Superman: Mr. Wayne what are you doing here and how did you get here?

Bruce laying the Brucie persona on thick: Well as one of the Justice League's biggest doners and tech suppliers I have access to the teleporters, as for why I'm here it's to bail out my son. Hi Jaylad!

Red Hood fully expecting Batman: What?

Green Arrow remembering his friend's grief over loosing Jason: Ummmm, Mr. Wayne this is the Red Hood. You know "Bag full of severed heads" Red Hood.

Brucie: Yes, I know he's had some issues with his big feelings, but he's still my sweet little boy.

Superman: And you think that he's your late son Jason Todd?

Brucie: Yes, Batman even confirmed it was him. It turns out that after he died, he was brought back by an organization that planned on using him as a weapon against Batman. But he left them and has been working to improve Crime Alley, I'm so proud of him.

Green Arrow: We caught him in Star City with Drug runners.

Brucie: I'm sure he has a good explanation, don’t you Jaylad?

Red Hood still reeling from Bruce showing up as Brucie and not Batman: I was undercover?

Brucie: See perfectly reasonable, now can I please have my baby boy back? Alfred will be so upset if he's not home for dinner.

Surprisingly, this works , the Justice League is to stunned by this revelation and later confirm this with Batman that yes, the notorious Red Hood is the son of Billionaire, philanthropist airhead Brucie Wayne. Jason, meanwhile, has suffered a huge blow to his cred in the Hero community because of the association with Brucie instead of the Batfam. The bat siblings do not let this go anytime soon.

[adhara2034]

Headcanon that the batfam has a Samsung smart refrigerator or whatever it's called, and it is used entirely for doing work while in the kitchen. There has been justice league meetings held on that motherfucker and nuclear threats disengaged.

[hale-nathan]

Trump Weird News - Billionaire Justice

[empiricalscotus]

Working Overtime

Supreme Court Justices have limited mandatory writing duties. Most of the justices are assigned majority opinions to draft. A few justices assign the majority opinion writing duties. This assignment is made by the Chief Justice if he is in the majority and otherwise by the most senior associate justice in the majority. Obviously a justice needs to be in the majority coalition to author the…

[usauthoritarianism]