Not sad that he may be indicted but that it has taken 70+ YEARS for this lifelong criminal to be held to account..for ANYTHING whatsoever. And at that, finally, for lying about paying a porn star. NOT stealing highly classified documents when he left office. NOT for inciting a violent insurrection AGAINST HIS OWN GOVERNMENT, NOT for bribing a foreign official (Zelensky), NOT for DECADES of cheating on his taxes if indeed he's ever paid any at all, NOT for forming American militias into a VIOLENT, full-fledged domestic terrorist regime hellbent on civil war and violence against anyone who disagrees with them politically, NOT for telling well over 80,000 LIES and taking MILLIONS in foreign money during his reign of destruction as POTUS. But for this. THIS? THIS?!

When this kind of sociopath gets off scot-free on a lifelong crime spree and we have ONE judge who can DENY a proven safe FDA approved drug to THE ENTIRE COUNTRY with a single asinine politically-driven ruling, when the highest court in the LAND can be STACKED AND PACKED with extremist, lying political hacks shoved onto the bench by extremist billionaires hellbent on turning women into reproductive slaves and ensuring no one can vote but white conservative males (and ensuring that if they try that their votes won't have any effect), then our so-called "justice" system...ISN'T CAPABLE OF DISPENSING JUSTICE. It is a broken malformed, effed-up to hell and back system that needs MASSIVE reform. ALL of it.

I'm astounded by the arrogance of a “supreme” court that demands safety and security for itself even as it hands down extremist rulings which put the safety and security of HALF of the population in jeopardy: girls & women - by rescinding the federal right to safe abortion. Their rulings, both those handed down so far (Dobbs) and those planned, are too extreme to get through congress or pass muster with most voters, which is why they are being funneled through this heavily compromised court by special extremist interests.

This court, already packed to the gills with extremists pushed by the Federalist Society, Judicial Crisis Network and others, and via Senate shittery from Mitch McConnell, is incapable of handing down anything even resembling justice in the United States. They now have their sights set on decimating human rights of our LGBTQ citizenry and removing not only the federal right to safe abortion, but also any federal right to contraception - in order to make a handmaid's tale style of US society a sadistic reality, foisted on a population largely at odds with such extremism.

Speaker Pelosi, AOC and other Democrats in congress suffer threats and injury to themselves and their families which are much more egregious and life/health threatening than anything any justice has suffered, and the reason this is happening is because Democrats in congress are trying to protect the human rights that this extremist-packed court is taking away or plans to take away. What about their security? What about the security of America’s girls, women and LGBTQ citizens whose lives and safety this extremist court has put in jeopardy — or is planning to put in jeopardy with their extremist rulings?

How arrogant is the United States Supreme Court and its leader, John Roberts, to demand security and safety for themselves, even while handing down rulings that DENY these same rights and freedoms to half (or eventually more) of our US Citizens (girls, women and LGBTQ persons).

The arrogance is ASTOUNDING. This court does not - as it denies over half of this country safety, human rights, and personal security - deserve these rights itself anymore than the rest of us do. If girls, women and LGBTQ citizens do not deserve full health care, safety and security, human rights and freedoms -- than neither does any member of the Supreme Court.

The only thing truly ‘supreme’ about this court is its demanded privilege to have security, while it denies the same to millions of others in this country. The only thing ‘supreme’ about this court is its arrogance and indifference as it puts the lives of millions in jeopardy, denies them human rights and seeks to deny full healthcare to half or more of us.

And that’s about it. This court cannot be 'packed'. It's already packed. It cannot dispense justice. In fact, that is not why most of the so-called justices sitting on it were pushed there. This court can do nothing but hand down dangerous, extremist rulings that most of America disapproves of and which cannot pass our law making body: congress. So the court has taken on legislating from the bench, as JCN and other John Birch Society-style and other worse and more extreme organizations have and continue to directly influence them to do.

The US Supreme court must be expanded to 13 justices. It must be held to strict ethical standards which are at once enforceable and immune to congressional manipulation. It must be subject to term limits and case lotteries so that when JCN and others file their passel of amicus briefs in order to push cases onto that court so that 'their' so-called justices can rule on them in the manner JCN wishes them to - these court manipulating outfits will have no knowledge or guarantee that the justices hearing their manufactured cases will be those friendly to their extremist cause. Then and ONLY then will this court be even near capable of dispensing anything resembling 'justice'.

Meanwhile, they are an unelected, extremist, manipulated, unaccountable body of lifetime appointees seeped in privilege, hypocrisy, and a bottomless lack of ethics.

"Supreme", my ass. I don't think so.

(CousinIT = @sevenbowie on Twitter, FYI. Bungled my chance to change the name here on DU when it was offered.) . I posted this rant here but decided to make it a separate post.

https://twitter.com/sevenbowie/status/1455889797881466887
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1455889797881466887.html

1/ Republican messaging doesn't take the long view. But the Koch/CNP- driven objectives do. Look at what they've destroyed (literally our entire Democracy) in the last 50 years.

2/ Their 'I got mine fuck you' attitude, which includes "well it's on my kids and their kids to deal with that! I just want to live long enough to escape it!" (climate change for example). I have a RW sister and brother with these attitudes. STATED. Out loud.

3/ AND they have their single issues: for the brother it's taxes and 'big guvmint' and men's rights. The sister's concerns are 'socialism' and 'abortion'. BECAUSE their single issues are their focus, BOTH of them vote against their own best interests.

4/ BOTH live on social security, VA bennies and other so-called socialism - ALL of which WILL BE CUT/GUTTED/PRIVATIZED under our soon-to-be authoritarian/Nazi regime.

5/ But they CONTINUE voting for the Republicans who are going to do this to them AND everyone else regardless. Because: abortion, socialism, taxes, big guvmint and white people grievance. And WHEN (not if) their social security is cut, gutted or gone, they'll blame DEMOCRATS.

6/ DEMOCRATS - who CREATED social security and Medicare - will be blamed for destroying these beloved programs they created. 👉 Even though it was Republicans who actually shoved them into the woodchipper.
My siblings are not smart, focused or really even thinking people.

7/ My sister is one of those white non-college educated women who absolutely would have voted for Youngkin if she could. Brother is college-educated but driven by GRIEVANCE: against taxes, women, government, and how abused and mistreated white men are in America.

8/ THESE are Republican voters. THESE are their thought processes & motivations. I can confirm because I hear it every time I talk to them. They're killing themselves & everybody else with flaming ignorance and are too stupid to even know it. And too selfish to even give a damn.

With the slow coup threatening our Democratic Republic, Democrats need all the help we can give them. Of course anyone can donate via ActBlue anyway but this is set up for the DU community.

The links will get buried in GD but here they are:

DNC
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/du-dnc

DSCC
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/du-senate

DCCC
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/du-house

Guess who else won't fight for their country. For Democracy - in fact are hellbent on destroying it.

Reference The Big Lie, Trump and January 6th -- and just TODAY for that matter - the terrorist with the truck bomb was one of them. They prefer isolation and extremist propaganda Big Lies that prop themselves up while destroying others - and palling around with Fascist dictators instead of allying with other Democratic leaders in the World. Trump refused to cooperate with America's allies. He insulted them, pissed them off and pissed on them, while cozying up to authoritarian dictators like Putin and Kim Jong Un.

Republicans in America don't want a 'Western way of life' either (Democracy, a Republic or anything even resembling that). They want an authoritarian dictatorship. Tuckems has been ALL OVER Fox Ohhhing and Aaahing over how Hungary did it. Did I mention January 6th yet? Too bad I'm mentioning it again. What the fuck were those assholes fighting for? It DAMN SURE wasn't America. Or Democracy. Or a Democratic Republic. Or a 'Western' way of life.

Come to think of it, Republicans in America have an awful lot in common with the Taliban (which is why I call them the American Taliban):

1. They want a government based on theocracy (their own extreme biblical interpretations) rather than a Constitution or Bill of Rights.

2. They want complete control over their subjects, even to the point of demanding (legislating in fact) that they not take steps to protect themselves, their children or others from a deadly pandemic that is killing people by the hundreds of thousands. They are against public health policy.

3. They are corrupt to the core and break laws with utter impunity on a daily basis, considering themselves exempt as part of their white privilege. They insist others follow those laws though - when it is politically advantageous to Republicans to grouse that others are as guilty as they are in not doing so. Usually, they're just projecting because - well Goebbels taught that this is a very handy distraction and it works. (always accuse the other side of that which you are guilty).

4. They are habitual liars that would make deals with ANYONE only to subsequently stab them in the back for power or money. ANYONE. They can not be trusted in any way with anything and they prefer dealing with others who have the same attitude to play zero sum games with.

5. They are chronically racist, blaming the spread of the pandemic we are currently amidst of on 'immigrants' and 'blacks'. Along with most everything else.

6. They are chronically sexist and would oppress women in the US just like the Taliban does if they can get away with it. When they tire of blaming brown people for all their grievances, they blame women for them.

7. The believe LGBTQ people should be denied all human rights or killed.

8. They do not BELIEVE (never have in fact) in free and fair elections. They prefer installed authoritarian dictators. Ones that THEY ALONE choose.

9. Bearded men with guns. LOTS of them.

SEE what I mean? 

So, I'm listening to this book on Audible and had some commentary - some it directed at a couple of either sadly misinformed or entirely indifferent Democrats who refuse to abolish the filibuster to save our Democracy from Republicans who are quickly dismantling it to regain/retain power:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1407878414921572352.html




THIS - HAS ALREADY HAPPENED - about a decade ago:

"If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy." - David Frum

This isn't even about court packing. It's about court BUYING. And it MUST. BE. STOPPED.

We can NOT have a Democratic Republic when the highest court in the land is packed with justices nominated by Presidents who didn't even win the popular vote - AND justices who are merely purchased by dark money. They can not legally, ethically represent the majority of the American people, and they can not properly interpret US Law on behalf of the entirety of the United States. AT. ALL.

What we HAVE (not "gonna" have, but what we HAVE) is a goddamned banana republic.

THIS. MUST. BE. REMEDIED. RIGHT. NOW.

We need MASSIVE court reform:

1. EXPAND the court to 13 justices - to match the 13 circuit courts we have
2. TERM LIMITS - 20 years per justice.
3. Each justice rotates down to the circuit court on a regular basis to work cases there.
4. For most cases 9 justices are seated (on a varying rotation that CAN NOT be meddled with by politicians, billionaires, Wall St. or corporations - so the Kochs or Exxon or Judicial Crisis Network can't pick or know ahead of time which justices they'll get for any cases they ram up there)
5. For major cases, all justices are seated.

NEW RULES:

1. President who won election by electoral college but NOT by popular vote can NOT nominate US Supreme Court justices. The seat must remain vacant until a popular President is elected.
2. A President who has been IMPEACHED can NOT nominate any US Supreme Court justices. PERIOD. Impeachment SHOULD have consequences and that should be one of them.

If I were running for POTUS, and Democrats swept all three gov't branches, I'd have TWO priorities for my first two years in office:

1. Deal PROPERLY (finally) with the COVID virus and get the country back on track economically (and I don't mean Wall St.)
2. REMORM THE SUPREME COURT as outlined above.

TWO years to get it DONE. I'm telling you some SHIT. WOULD. CHANGE. The corpRATS would scream bloody murder. Let them. The Republicans would scream bloody murder. Let them. The billionaires and their various justice-buying dark-money apparatus would scream bloody murder. Let them. BUT. THIS. SHIT. WOULD. CHANGE.

The Devil (Trump) has made more than 10,000 false or misleading claims

SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/29/president-trump-has-made-more-than-false-or-misleading-claims/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.85e2d3e62683



The image below isn't part of the Washington Post article. It's part of this article: https://collegian.com/2018/12/willson-questioning-your-sanity-check-your-gas-light/

I'm adding it to supply additional information about what's clearly going on here with The Devil (Trump) and exactly how and why he does this (in addition to the narcissistic behavior he also presents):

Evidence (as if we needed more): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/22/us-un-resolution-rape-weapon-of-war-veto - US threatens to veto UN resolution on rape as weapon of war, officials say

Republicans and the "evangelicals" who prop them up and whose "laws" are as dangerous and sociopathic as Sharia Law if not worse, believe that female humans are just sexual and reproductive slaves - not only in the US but Worldwide. That harkens back to (and actually before) the days of slavery in the US, where slaves were "bred", raped and forced to bear as many children as their owners wished. They had NO choice about when or whether to have sex, with whom, why, or how and NO choice about whether to become or remain pregnant or how many children they bore. They were SLAVES. And what the Republican-Evangelical crowd want for females in the US and around the World is the same thing. The first link in this OP, which details The Devil's attitudes about this, basically says JUST that: "females should be raped if men choose for whatever reason and in any circumstance and forced to bear any resultant child"

Reproductive Rights and the Long Hand of Slave Breeding

"free market", completely unregulated, completely un-taxed capitalism is kryptonite to the American electorate.

So I'm being told by the media that I MUST be FOR capitalism and I MUST be AGAINST so-called "socialism" (ie: Bernie Sanders and AOC style stuff) or I'm being "scary".

Alrighty then. Let's talk about SCARY.

Capitalism, unless VERY TIGHTLY REGULATED by government DOES. NOT. WORK. And it especially doesn't work when the capitalists are RUNNING and OWN the government. Look at our environmental destruction, privatized education, prison and healthcare systems: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-08-22/priced-out-of-health-insurance-americans-rig-their-own-safety-nets



IT. DOESN'T. WORK. Does anybody know anything about The Great Depression? What happened there? How about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire? How about The Great Recession in 2008? All this shit caused by capitalism. Climate change? CAUSED BY CORPRAT GREED AND CORPRAT GOVERNMENT CONTROL IE: CAPITALISM.

What's wrong with our goddamned so-called "news" media? CAPITALISM.

The healthcare system in America - why is IT so fucked up? CAPITALISM.

Capitalism, by its nature, is a predatory parasitic system. IT MUST BE REGULATED by an un-coerced government to FORCE it to work for the common good, rather than just for itself; to PREVENT it from destroying the public commons, natural environment, economy just to serve itself.

Right now in the US, capitalism OWNS & CONTROLS the government + the media. It destroys lives from before birth to after death; renders the US economy an unstable, nerve-wracking, unsustainable mess; and it is quickly making uninhabitable the only planet humans have to live on.

YET Americans defend this goddamned immoral system. It does not work. It has N E V E R worked, never been sustainable, always created those few winners at the top while everyone else struggles over crumbs, it has destroyed the government, the common good and the natural environment. IT LITERALLY KILLS PEOPLE by the millions.

UNLESS Americans WISE. UP. and elect people who will SHUT CAPITALIST LOBBYISTS, CXOS and former corporate executives OUT OF OUR GOVERNMENT and OUT of our regulatory agencies and who REFUSE to take any corporate money for campaigns, we're well and duly screwed by capitalism.

Am I willing to try DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM? YES.