Paul Waldman wrote yesterday that the next eleven weeks are going to be decisive for the Trump presidency. He notes first that Michael Cohen appears to either be on the cusp of indictment or cooperation and that could spell all kinds of new headaches for Trump both politically and legally. He’s already been proved right about that…. BREAKING: @MichaelCohen212 has reached a … Read More
Is Kavanaugh Really Bad?
Make no mistake about it: the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is bad news. But the bad news arrived on Election Day 2016, not yesterday. Kavanaugh was inevitable. I have been downplaying the fear and anguish that some on the left are going through. Quite often, I’ve been hearing and reading things like this: Kavanaugh has argued … Read More
Who Will It Be?
NY Times: Signaling he has not yet settled on his pick for the Supreme Court, President Trump on Monday morning worked the phones primarily seeking input about two judges who are apparently the finalists, Brett Kavanaugh and Thomas Hardiman, people familiar with the discussions said. Mr. Trump appeared to be going back and forth between Judge Kavanaugh, the favorite of … Read More
The Nation Despairs (Me Too)
This is the mood of the country (most of it) – defeatism and fear: A lot of anger (from myself among most) is directed at those who thought they would make a “protest vote” and vote for some loser third party candidate or stay at home. But THIS is what we warned everyone about. This is why elections matter.
We Are Fucked: Kennedy Is Retiring
NBC: Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced Wednesday that he will retire when his successor is confirmed, preparing the way for the most significant change in the court’s makeup in half a century. The vacancy will allow President Donald Trump to make the U.S. Supreme court a solidly conservative body for years, if not generations, to come — a … Read More
SCOTUS Upholds Travel Ban 3.0 And We’re Never Going To Hear The End Of It
Third time is a charm. The Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s most recent travel ban today in a 5-4 decision, ruling that it falls within the president’s traditional power to control immigration policy. The Court split was on ideological grounds, with Kennedy siding with the majority. The travel ban was Trump’s first big policy announcement, touching off first big policy-specific … Read More
Supreme Court Notes
Some US Supreme Court news this morning: (1) North Carolina has – um, HAD — a law that said registered sex offenders could not go to certain sites on the Intertubes. The Supreme Court struck down that law, saying it violated First Amendment. The decision was 8-0, although there was sharp disagreement about how much states can regulate Internet … Read More
Trump Loses In Federal Court…. Again…. This Time on Sanctuary Cities
A federal district court ruling yesterday bars President Trump from withholding funds from jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal agencies to deport undocumented immigrants, marking his second setback in court on immigration. The first setback, of course, was his Muslim ban. Before I get to the substance of this post, first things first: First the Ninth Circuit rules against … Read More
Gorsuch’s Plagiarism
Uh-oh:
Does Korematsu Provide Precedent For A Muslim Registry?
No. No, it doesn’t. Not even a close call. Let’s just all get on the same page. This is happening: Trump surrogates are already citing Japanese internment camps from WW II as “precedent” for Muslim registry pic.twitter.com/DVnjtom0mc — Brendan Karet (@bad_takes) November 17, 2016 And the obvious question is…. would it be constitutional for the government to require citizens to … Read More
Breaking: Big Victory For Voter Rights — No Voter ID In Upcoming NC Elections
NC voter ID law will NOT be enforced in fall election after the U.S. Supreme Court denies stay request (in a 4-4 split — obviously, had Scalia lived, it would have been a loss for voting rights advocates, but he didn’t so……) The stay was a request by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and state officials to delay a permanent injunction blocking provisions in … Read More
Breaking: 4th Circuit Overturns Lower Court; Finds That GOP “Intentionally” Passed “Discriminatory” Voting Rights Law
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit invalidated North Carolina’s stringent new voting restrictions, holding that the law violates both the United States Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. The North Carolina measure, the Fourth Circuit held, has a discriminatory impact on black voters, impermissibly burdening their voting rights under the VRA. More boldly, the court also … Read More
Trump v. Ginsburg: The Rare Occasion Where Trump Is Right
Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is no fan of Trump. She has launched criticisms of him in interviews with three news organizations.She told CNN Wednesday: He is a faker. He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. … How has he gotten away with not turning over … Read More
SCOTUS Strikes Down Oppressive Abortion Restrictions
This morning, the Supreme Court struck down parts of a restrictive Texas law that could have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state to about 10 from what was once a high of roughly 40. The 5-to-3 decision was the court’s most sweeping statement on abortion rights since Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. It applied a skeptical … Read More
Breaking: Scotus Decisions
Three big cases remain outstanding on the SCOTUS docket: one on abortion, one on immigration, and one on affirmative action. The last one was just handed down moments ago. FISHER v UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS Facts of the case In 1997, the Texas legislature enacted a law requiring the University of Texas to admit all high school seniors who ranked in … Read More