October 1, 2018

Why I don't See Gamble vs. US as the issue

I'm seeing a lot of posts about this case and Kavanaugh. Frankly, I don't think this is the reason they want him. They may not even need him for the winning vote.

RBG has questioned this doctrine and in a recent case (Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle) she wrote a concurrence with Justice Thomas that suggested it was time for a “fresh examination” of this doctrine. Now, when the Venn Diagram of people who support a review has RBG and Clarence Thomas in the intersection of the sets I have to take note.

I believe this separate/dual sovereigns doctrine SHOULD be overruled. I think it DOES violate the Double Jeopardy clause. It's called an "exception" for a reason. It creates an exception to the otherwise plain language of the 5th Amendment.

Take a look at the details in the case that has worked its way up to the court and you might be more sympathetic. Think about the possibility of having your minor marijuana possession charge dismissed at the state level only to have Jeff Sessions' DOJ/DEA charge you AGAIN at the federal level.

BOOM, now you're back in jail, back in court, back in tons of JEOPARDY and spending money you do not have to defend yourself because you just went almost broke defending yourself in state court.

Or, you had a DA who see's the stupidity of marijuana being a Schedule 1 drug who let you off with some probation or dismissed the charges. Jeff Sessions and the tough on crime people don't like that. You need to pay. You need to go to federal prison for that one brownie you had.

THAT is the day-to-day reality of this case and the doctrine. This is actually happening on a more frequent basis. Joint state-federal task forces work together more and more now. When the state DAs lose their cases in state court, they hand it over to the feds for a do-over. Nobody likes to lose. They'll show you!

Trump and his band of criminals are not the people who need this the most. I would suggest that we common people need this far more. As the Federal government and its branches tasked with law enforcement continue to expand under the Republicans we common people need this more.

I don't like that it MIGHT provide a way for Trump to get his cronies out of trouble but I suspect it won't be that cut and dried. The law never is. The feds can choose not to charge people and leave way for the states to bring charges and Trump cannot do a thing about it.

I think, overall, ending the dual/separate sovereigns doctrine is the right thing to do for the country and the Constitution. If it lets some of Trump's cronies get away, then I'll have to live with that. Just as I live with, and fully support, the doctrine that it is better to let a dozen guilty people go free than imprison a single innocent person.

As a liberal and progressive I must look past my contempt for Trump, his cronies, and the current circumstances to the greater good. I must be consistent in my opinions, actions and support. So I, personally, must support the end of the dual/sovereign doctrine. Even if it might, might allow some of Trump's cronies to weasel out of trouble.

https://www.aclu.org/cases/gamble-v-united-states

September 29, 2018

Will the FBI try to confirm/invalidate Kavanaugh's Testimony? Bad for Kav if they try or don't.

I was just thinking Kavanaugh has said a whole lot of things under oath in the last couple of weeks. If the FBI were to try to confirm or impeach his testimony he's going to be in a world of hurt.

Actually, they don't even have to try to attack his testimony directly in an investigation. The heart of any investigation they do of him should really either confirm his testimony or give good cause for him to be referred for charges of perjury.

September 22, 2018

What Kompromat does GOP have on Kavanaugh?

The thought just occurred to me. The GOP probably has blackmail documents on Kavanaugh. Things that are worse than what we already know. That would make him an even more perfect pick for them.

It seems pretty clear he's a sexual predator. His taste for model-like interns is well known. His need to know and expose the most lurid details of the Clinton/Lewinsky affair were unnecessary to the case but perhaps quite titillating to him and others in private.

All this makes me wonder just how big a predator and pervert he might really be. If the GOP has information on him they have to worry even less about him being a solid vote. They have not only his ideology but his blackmail documents.

September 19, 2018

SCOTUS orders disclosure of dark money donors

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/18/648722358/supreme-court-orders-disclosure-for-dark-money-as-new-report-unveils-some-donors

The Supreme Court on Tuesday insisted that many donations to predominantly conservative political nonprofit groups — what's often called dark money — be disclosed, seven weeks ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

The ruling closes, at least for now, a loophole that has allowed wealthy donors to finance aggressive ads while staying anonymous. Crafted by the Federal Election Commission nearly 40 years ago, the loophole flourished after the 2010 Citizens United ruling.


Sorry if this is a duplicate, but I didn't see it.

September 1, 2018

Can we be honest about McCain for a minute? If it weren't for Trump...

If it were not for Trump, I doubt people would be doing so much to defend a Republican Senator. Let's be very clear here. McCain was a Republican Senator who voted the party line the majority of the time.

- McCain was very much part of the "Pro-Life" fetus-worship cult
- McCain voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
- McCain was against ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell
- McCain voted against adding federal protections based on sexual orientation
- McCain was for repealing the ACA until the very end and that last vote to screw Trump. Like most Republicans, he campaigned in his last Senate race on a promise to repeal and replace the law with something better.
- McCain voted against giving DC representation in congress
- McCain voted for Chamber of Commerce legislation almost all the time
- McCain voted AGAINST Sonia Sotamayor for SCOTUS
- McCain voted for repealing the Estate Tax

McCain gets a lot of credit for that one time he defended Obama during the Presidential campaign. But people have forgotten the rest of his campaign stoked the meme that Obama was a Muslim. McCain propped up Sarah Palin who said "Barack Hussein Obama" with an emphasis on "Hussein" as often as she could. Hell, he gave us that deplorable Sarah Palin in the first place.

So, let's be honest about McCain. He was a Republican who voted like a Republican. If he hadn't been such a thorn in Trump's side we'd be saying respectful things and not dancing on his grave. Because that is type of people we are.

I don't think we'd be doing all this hero-worship I'm seeing though. I really don't think his overall record bears out any reason he deserves that. When we look at his vote that "saved" the ACA I don't really believe it mattered as much as people would like to think. Frankly, I think he saved the GOP from shooting itself in the foot on that one more than anything. All they've done now, is to go about dismantling the ACA by more covert methods.

No, I don't wish ill for his family. I've lost both of my parents so I have sympathy for his family. I just don't think he deserves the hero-worship he's getting here.

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it knowing lots of people disagree.