OK, I can’t refrain from writing about the rot which has permeated our Supreme Court over the past 25 years. Yes, I’ve written about the Court before, especially the right wing determination of the 2000 presidential election – CHOOSING GW Bush/Dick Cheney over Al Gore – who, graciously stepped aside “for the betterment of our country.” Do you think Donald Trump got a good laugh over that one? That was really bad, but it’s progressively gotten worse since then.
In 2008 Barack Obama shocked many in America (including me) by becoming the FIRST African American to be elected to the Presidency. Of course, that set Trump through the roof along with people like David Duke, Don Black, and a host of other white nationalists who’d been hiding in the “weeds” for years – ostensibly since the days of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – followed on to the scene by the (racist) “Tea Party” – a group who’ve since taken control of the republican caucus in the House – making Kevin McCarthy the “SINO” (Speaker in Name Only). If you’ve been paying even peripheral attention you remember Trump leading the so-called “birther” movement – which emanated out of the “Tea Party.” If you witnessed any of their rallies I don’t have to point out their schtick was based on racism. Obama’s election put their backlash in “high gear” and Trump was the mechanism to get them into the “mainstream.”
This all was followed by the Supreme Court, now with John Roberts as the Chief Justice, taking the extreme position of “legislating from the bench.” ostensibly, a key example being the decision often referred to as “Citizen’s United.” If you’ve been frustrated by the HUGE amounts of SECRET money which has assaulted our political system well, it appears, the “conservative” members of the Court have been focused on “getting theirs.” Not only have they been busy gutting the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and overturning Roe v Wade, but they’ve been busy getting FREE vacations paid for by some of America’s top BILLIONAIRES who seem to get very preferable treatment by the Court – with the judges these BILLIONAIRES are “courting” coming through in their court decisions. It’s a rare occurence when one of these judges recuses him/herself despite the “appearance of impropriety.” And, I believe, what’s known today is only “scratching” the surface of the corruption.
The latest example of this Court CORRUPTION comes from none other than Sam Alito – the judge I’ll always remember shaking his head as if to say “no, no” when Barack Obama lashed out at the Citizen’s United decision pointing out it would undoubtedly lead to foreign money pouring into our elections during one of his early State of the Union speeches. Well, we now KNOW of some Russian money being funneled to Trump in 2016 but we’ll NEVER know the full extent of the AMOUNT of foreign money being introduced into our electoral process because it’s just too easy to hide it, again thanks to Citizen’s United, allowing influence pedaling in American politics surreptitiously – despite Mr. Alito’s head shaking to the contrary.
And, by the time Alito was shaking his head at Obama (I believe it was the 2010 State of the Union address) he had already accepted the (allegedly) ILLEGAL free gift from Paul Singer (BILLIONAIRE) via the organizing skills of Leonard Leo – He who’s the expert at turning BILLIONAIRE money into right wing justices on the various courts who (surprisingly :o) decide cases in favor of these very BILLIONAIRES – who managed to get Justice Alito a FREE trip to Alaska in 2008 on a fishing trip which, by all accounts, SHOULD have cost him about $200 – $250 THOUSAND dollars – you know “chump change” to people like Mr. Singer. (Especially, when you learn Singer eventually – after some dogged perseverance – cashed in to the tune of $2.4 BILLION resulting from a favorable Supreme Court decision – which Alito participated in, just like the many other cases Singer brought before the Court and which Alito failed to recuse himself. Oops!!!
Well, as it turns out, it’s apparently NOT illegal for Supreme Court Justices to lavish themselves with their BILLIONAIRE acquaintances – they just have to report it in their annual financial statements before the Court. Just like Clarence Thomas before him, you guessed it, Justice Alito “forgot” to disclose this nearly quarter of a MILLION “gift.” What makes this a bit more interesting is he says he barely knows Mr. Singer (although that comes across as a bit of a …….. OK, I’ll say it, a [alleged] LIE) – but, I have to ask: “If you didn’t know this man (Singer) why did you accept this trip – did you even wonder why he was willing to lavish you with a couple hundred grand fishing trip to Alaska? (Maybe there’s a bunch more we don’t yet know about)
Free plane rides, free lodging ($1000 and up per night), free food (very expensive food) along with apparently $1000 a bottle wine, free fishing at spots only accessible by plane, and…… I’m guessing you’re starting to get the idea here. Another Supreme Court Justice accepting FREE “hospitality” from a BILLIONAIRE which he’s OBLIGATED to report – and, likely didn’t report because accepting this trip was likely ILLEGAL. (The value of the trip probably rivaled a year’s salary of a SCOTUS Justice) Honestly, I have to wonder if there might be tax questions here. We’ve heard so much about Hunter Biden’s tax problems (he paid the taxes back he owed – anyone other than Biden’s son would never face charges for that) are we going to hear about those of Alito and Thomas and their unreported gifts? I think I have to agree with republicans, there does appear to be a two tiered Justice system.
I know someone who was pulled over for a tail light being out, was on his way home from work, and had ONE drink on an empty stomach, the officer smelled alcohol and away he went into Jail for the night – a precursor of a lot of harsh treatment as he went through the court system and its process. His blood alcohol limit WAS (rounded up to) .08, the legal limit in the State of Washington and he was “put through the ringer” by the local prosecutor and everyone else he came into contact with at the local Court House. It’s true, he wasn’t in possession of classified documents and he wasn’t a former president, but as I’ve watched Trump’s experience, so far, (with a judge who appears to “look up to him”) I can really see the argument about a two tiered legal system. And, Trump and the republicans (like Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan, for example) should be very thankful for that.
When people like my acquaintance are involved with the Justice System, they’re dealing with local prosecutors and locally elected judges – plus probation officers with way too many cases and, from what I could see, too many years on the job – most of them very cynical. In Trump’s case, he’s dealing with a judge he appointed, the prosecutors are bending over backwards to appear non-partisan and fair, and, despite Trump’s reputation of “stiffing” his lawyers, he still has high priced lawyers (wether or not they’re “good” lawyers is another question), and he’s got Congressional “hacks” attempting (futilely) coming to his defense – despite the appearance he doesn’t have much of a defense. Add to that, most people are saying Trump won’t go to jail even if convicted – why? because of his secret service detail! On that, you’ve got to be kidding!
If Trump is convicted of a felony he SHOULD lose his government pension along with the Secret Service detail he’s suppose to get “for life.” Especially, if he’s convicted of Sedition in the January 6th investigation – the 14th Amendment makes it clear, at least, that anyone who participates in an INSURRECTION (there’s more to it, but…) may not hold any office in the government – ever again – from that day forward – FULL STOP! My point is there really is a two tiered Justice System which is something us “liberals” have been fighting against for as long as I can remember. And, these Supreme Court Justices are right in the middle of it – apparently thinking just like Trump that they are “above the law.” It’s up to “we the people” to assure them they are NOT above the law and the ONLY way to do that – from my vantage point is to VOTE in MASSIVE numbers in the upcoming elections as “far as the eye can see.”
These right wing republicans won’t quit just because they lose an election. That just causes them to “double down.” And, you can see their strategy – Leonard Leo manages to cause numerous right wing judges to be confirmed and then he goes about the “work” of causing those judges to “feel” obligated to his causes and those who he “connects” them to – really, are these judges so STUPID as to not understand what is happening to them? It’s possible, but I digress – and, once they (the judges) have been compromised with their new “friend” these mysterious cases appear before the court and ALWAYS seem to go the way of the BILLIONAIRES.
Now, don’t get me wrong – the “stench” which is permeating the Supreme Court as I’m writing this goes much deeper than Justices Alito and Thomas – although their part in the “stench” is quite significant – Justice Roberts’ wife has brought in a small fortune “herding” potential justices at all levels of our Federal Court system into the “fold,” while Justice Gorsuch does real estate deals with BILLIONAIRES who “he doesn’t know” and, which he doesn’t report. Do you think as I do that if there’s nothing wrong with what these justices are doing why aren’t they reporting all the details – as required BY LAW? Of course, they each get to “police” themselves, so there’s nothing to worry about here, right? Oh, for heaven’s sake…….. as my Mom used to say!
These right wing judges are a key component of the republican fever dream of a “permanent republican majority.” Of course, as things are going, there’s NO chance republicans have majorities almost anywhere beside the deep South and the Rust Belt. In addition to their attempt to assault the court system with right wing judges, they’ve managed to gerrymander voting districts in enough states to have a reasonable chance to control the House with MILLIONS fewer votes than democrats. For example, in a state like Wisconsin, the state is about 50/50 between registered republicans and registered democrats – yet they control THEIR legislature with a near super majority AND, they send six republicans to the House of Representatives as opposed to two democrats – thanks to gerrymandered districts.
One other thing republicans are doing to achieve their “fever dream” is to enact voter suppression laws aimed at areas in the state leaning democratic – like, surprise surprise, areas predominantly areas with Black voters. Their wacky Senator, for example, Ron Johnson “defeated” African American democrat Mandela Barnes by about 50,000 votes. After the election a leading republican claimed they (republicans) had succeeded in stifling the voting by around 100,000 votes in the democratic stronghold of Milwaukie. Just sayin……
When listening to Trump attempting to deflect the very REAL charges he’s facing toward the “democrats – the socialist, communist, fascist” who are giving “we the people” one more “alleged” hoax – as if STEALING highly sensitive TOP SECRET documents when he left the job he “won” with the help of Vladimir Putin in 2016 and then refusing to give them back when the National Archives realized they were missing. The Justice Department bent over backward to give Trump the opportunity to give them back and his response was “Their mine.” Yikes!! And, now republicans are continuing to willfully believe his LIES.
Final Thought: You’d have thought a monetary settlement of $787.5 MILLION would have been enough to get Fox “news” to start telling something resembling the TRUTH. But, of course, believing that was happening would be like believing Peter Pan was actually a real character back in the day when the first movie came out. (no idea why I picked that analogy) The bottom line is Fox continues spewing LIES and pushing “conspiracy theories” as if they’ve never faced backlash from their campaign of misinformation. This past weekend, for example, based on all I could tolerate, saw Maria Bartiromo suggesting the “media” covering the crisis in Russia this past weekend was a democratic plan to take the “heat” away from Hunter Biden.
Boy, do these republicans love to gang up on Hunter Biden. I wonder if he can file a defamation suit against Fox? Just a thought. What Bartiromo, and apparently others on Fox’ airwaves were suggesting was that Prigozen’s forray into Russia this past weekend was a result of some mysterious agreement with the Biden administration to take the “heat” off Hunter. And, sadly, many/most members of the republican party who “religiously” view Fox, will suck it all in – despite the absurdity of what Bartiromo and the others are saying.
Along with the right wing control of the courts and the gerrymandered districts (along with voter suppression tactics) by virtue of the republican “puppet masters” (hiding in the “weeds”), this campaign of mis/disinformation via right wing media outlets fits right into a plan for a fascist takeover of our government. I, personally, know members of Trump’s “cult” who have shared with me they “hate democracy.” They feel our democratic republic is “authoritarian” because, well, they actually LOSE many elections and they see the writing on the wall regarding the large numbers of voters (especially younger ones) determined to vote AGAINST them. This despite Trump’s comments to the contrary. (Trump is full throated “all in” on the propaganda scheme of Joseph Goebbels from the Nazi’s Third Reich back in the 1930’s)