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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sunday Open Thread: There Aren’t Enough Words

Sunday Open Thread: There Aren’t Enough Words

by WaterGirl|  October 17, 202112:00 pm| 160 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Supreme Court Shadow Docket: Horrifying

On Friday, I posed a question in the comments about the Texas law that is an assault on all women, not to mention an assault on civil society.  I had seen several people note that the so-called Supreme Court had released their opinion just before midnight, always followed by the comment that the law had actually gone into effect 24 hours before, but I didn’t really understand the significance of that.

Kudos to lurker, who wrote a most excellent response.  The answer came long after I posed the question, so I want to share it here where others can see it, too.

lurker:

Opinions are normally released during business hours, sometimes read from the bench, generally provided in a way that would be accessible to everyone during or around the end of the work day on the east coast.  Obvious exceptions are orders or opinions that need to be released in a timely manner to deal with an impending deadline, such as a statute taking effect or an execution warrant becoming valid – both of those types of things typically specify something like midnight or 12:01 AM as when something is effective.  An opinion or order issued shortly beforehand can enjoin enforcement of a statute or stay an execution as an example, even if it is a minute before things actually happen. 

The TX law took effect essentially at 12:01 AM on September 1.  The Supreme Court issued their written thing around 11:something PM on September 1 – 23+ hours after the law took effect.  At that point, they could have just issued it the next day during business hours.

Alito is reported to have said in a speech shortly thereafter that the Court had to issue the late night ruling due to the timing of the statute taking effect, suggesting he was wrong about the calendar, which is a potentially devastating problem, or that he was being ridiculous in making his statement.  It is also possible that he was worried about other courts enjoining the law and therefore rushed out the order.  We saw that with the later opinion from the Austin Federal Court.  We also saw a more normal appellate procedure from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which stayed the injunction from the Austin court.

Also, Supreme Court opinions are typically either announced (printed) as written by a justice, or as per curiam.  Other justices sign on to the opinions based on whatever changes they want in the language of the opinion.  Here, no justice is listed as signing the opinion.  However, it is also not listed as per curiam, which would indicate that no justice was responsible individually for the language, but all agreed to it unless they dissented.  Justices Roberts, Kagan, Sotomayor and Breyer each wrote dissents which they signed and other Justices joined.  So the five majority justices did not want their names on this thing.  That is unusual, and does not seem to simply be a printing error (those tend to get fixed within days).

Moreover, this fits with the concept of the shadow docket.  Opinions and orders from the Court which come out before full briefing and oral argument are generally used to either preserve the status quo ante (before the thing that is the subject of litigation) or to deal with procedural issues.  Sometimes, these early opinions and orders make a meaningful change in circumstances, and those changes are introduced before the parties provide their arguments to the Court.  Briefing allows for research and careful explanation of issues and arguments.  Oral argument allows for interactive discussion of issues not adequately dealt with in the briefs, such as ideas the justices have.  Supplemental submissions can occur as a result of the process as well.  None of that is possible with early shadow docket rulings.  Even so, shadow docket rulings tend to either be explicitly per curiam (everyone but a dissenter agrees) or signed by the justices.  This thing is stranger still as not per curiam and not signed.

None of this inspires confidence in a full and fair opportunity to litigate a case before this Court.

Thank you, lurker!  After reading this explanation, I now see that this ruling was even worse than I realized, which I had not thought possible.  In the interest of blog space, I’m restricting my tirade to only include words that begin with the letter ‘D’.

Disingenuous. Dishonest. Duplicitous. Deceptive. Devious. Disreputable. Dodgy. Deceitful. Disgusting. Despicable.

New additions from the comments:  Dumb. Disrespectful. Damnable. Damned. Deplorable. Disingenuous. Destructive. Dastardly. Disgraceful. Demonic. Divisive. Dangerous. Depraved. Dominionists.

I want to see this ad re-made about the current Supreme Court – the details would different, of course, but it captures the state of the court perfectly.  It truly is midnight in America.

Midnight In Washington

To help support our efforts:https://t.co/b5Nhw2Nx59 #DraftElevenFilms

pic.twitter.com/tzGPwX7zBG

— Eleven Films (@Eleven_Films) March 6, 2020

Open thread.

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Reader Interactions

160Comments

  1. 1.

    lollipopguild

    October 17, 2021 at 12:12 pm

    Never thought that I would see the day where 6 justices on the Supreme Court are more interested in playing bullshit legal games than in doing their jobs. These people are legal termites, their job is to destroy the Court and then the country from inside.

  2. 2.

    sab

    October 17, 2021 at 12:13 pm

    @lollipopguild: Well put.

  3. 3.

    sdhays

    October 17, 2021 at 12:16 pm

    @lollipopguild: I’m not a fan of Roberts at all, but he dissented here. So it’s 5 “justices” in this particular scenario.

  4. 4.

    sab

    October 17, 2021 at 12:16 pm

    It is also disturbingly interesting that none of our Supreme Court reporters have thought it worthwhile to tell us any of this.

  5. 5.

    Raoul Paste

    October 17, 2021 at 12:17 pm

    Adam Schiff is so well spoken.
    It’s hard to imagine even Barbara Jordan doing better

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 12:19 pm

    @sab: No kidding.  I think the foxes are guarding the hen house.

    Seems like many journalists/reporters are so embedded that they aren’t evaluating what they read/see/hear.

    @lollipopguild:

    These people are legal termites, their job is to destroy the Court and then the country from inside.

    That is so true.

  7. 7.

    RaflW

    October 17, 2021 at 12:27 pm

    @sab: It’s difficult not to feel like the machinery of the white status quo + corporatist/oligarchy are very busy manufacturing the consent of a (slim) majority of Americans to just roll over and accept illiberal faux democracy aka authoritarianism (a la Hungary).

    The players — journalists frequently among them — doing their assigned roles.

  8. 8.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    Illegitimate court, no justice, and it’s counter to America… take heart, it will not survive.

  9. 9.

    Burnspbesq

    October 17, 2021 at 12:32 pm

    You forgot “dumb.” The process surrounding this order blew a big hole in whatever area of legitimacy the Court still has (and it has some).

    It’s a massive own goal.

  10. 10.

    Yutsano

    October 17, 2021 at 12:36 pm

    @Ksmiami: What won’t survive? The court? It’s just going to stifle any Democratic progress that comes its way. If you’re saying the country slow down there chief.

  11. 11.

    Burnspbesq

    October 17, 2021 at 12:36 pm

    @Ksmiami:

    Dont bet on it. The opinion doing away with Roe writes itself, and it’s one sentence long.

    ”Emanations and penumbras? Get outta here with that shit.”

    What happens next is anyone’s guess.

  12. 12.

    Steeplejack

    October 17, 2021 at 12:39 pm

    Glad this is getting wider exposure than Balloon Juice After Dark (more like Balloon Juice Before Dawn).

  13. 13.

    sdhays

    October 17, 2021 at 12:41 pm

    @Burnspbesq: That remains to be seen. They seem to believe that they are untouchable, and, for now, they are.

    But if Democrats manage to hold onto Congress and even expand their majority in the Senate, they may find out that farting out opinions in the dead of night completely upending the rights for millions of Americans actually does have consequences.

    Alternatively, Alito gives himself a rage aneurysm watching OANN next week and Thomas turns out to be an “old” 73 and goes to that big court room in the sky ground.

  14. 14.

    MomSense

    October 17, 2021 at 12:42 pm

    I guess I don’t know how to talk about the courts anymore.  Not jackals, but for so many people who are upset all of a sudden I just want to scream what the fuck did you think would happen if you stayed home or had your stupid tantrum vote for Nader or Stein.
    I wish I could track down all the people who assured me that the Republicans would never actually overturn Roe.

  15. 15.

    oatler

    October 17, 2021 at 12:51 pm

    Have they got Sotomayor bound and gagged? If not she needs to speak out.

  16. 16.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 12:52 pm

    @Yutsano: this Inferior court… it really won’t last as it runs afoul of most of America. The last time it was this out of whack in the 1850s-1860s; we’ll we all know what happened

  17. 17.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    @Burnspbesq: Good catch!  Dumb has been accepted as a new addition.

    They did this in plain sight, having so little respect for the American people that they thought no one would notice or care.

    Well, they were right about that for most journalist/stenographers.

    Oh, and speaking of little respect, Disrespectful is a new addition, as well.

  18. 18.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    @sdhays: no one is untouchable in our society awash with guns…

  19. 19.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 12:55 pm

    @Burnspbesq: how many divisions does the Supreme Court have?

  20. 20.

    debbie

    October 17, 2021 at 1:01 pm

    @Raoul Paste:

    I heard him interviewed on NPR during the week. Now he’s talking about worrying that Mueller wasn’t up to testifying. I cannot imagine that there wasn’t some other alternative, like one of Mueller’s immediate assistants, for testimony. if there wasn’t, they should have used other evidence entirely. That decision cost us dearly in credibility (not to mention what it cost Mueller).

  21. 21.

    debbie

    October 17, 2021 at 1:02 pm

    @sdhays:

    Alito needs to be reminded this is a democracy. If he wants an imperial judiciary, he should move to Iran.

  22. 22.

    Cermet

    October 17, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    @Ksmiami: Like then, I guess this inferior court has ‘nuked the frig” not that this won’t make the taliban- christians happy.

  23. 23.

    japa21

    October 17, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    The 5 (and occasionally 6) RW members of the court are pretty representative of the GQP as a whole. Cowardly, craven, conspiratorial, cretinous, contemptible crud.

  24. 24.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    October 17, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    I propose “damnable” or “damned” as descriptors of the GQP Court.

  25. 25.

    Ten Bears

    October 17, 2021 at 1:04 pm

    It’s a meme at my house …

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 17, 2021 at 1:07 pm

    @Ksmiami:

    how many divisions does the Supreme Court have?

    as many as twitter

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    @japa21: We can do the Cs next. :-)

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: Both, I think!  Accepted.

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: Perhaps they will be damned to their Catholic hell for all eternity.

  30. 30.

    Mike E

    October 17, 2021 at 1:19 pm

    When Godwin himself cedes his own maxim you know Hyperbole doesn’t need to bother suiting up anymore…

  31. 31.

    Yutsano

    October 17, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    @WaterGirl: Purgatory. Let them wallow with the unjudgeable.

  32. 32.

    SpaceUnit

    October 17, 2021 at 1:22 pm

    The Scalia Court, ladies and gentlemen.  Render nakedly partisan judgements and excuse them with mumbo-jumbo.  The beltway media hacks regard said mumbo-jumbo with fawning credulity while everyone else knows it’s just a big FU.

  33. 33.

    kindness

    October 17, 2021 at 1:25 pm

    Deplorable fits too.

  34. 34.

    brantl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:26 pm

    Disingenuous, the sons-of-whores didn’t even sign it..

  35. 35.

    The Dangerman

    October 17, 2021 at 1:32 pm

    Ditto.

  36. 36.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 1:34 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: try me… we could drag them out by the hems of their ridiculously middle aged robes. That’s where we are headed…

  37. 37.

    Benw

    October 17, 2021 at 1:35 pm

    Let’s go Chargers!

    This is a deeply mediocre conservative wing of the Court, as well. I’ve seen no evidence that any of them are particularly interesting or creative thinkers.

  38. 38.

    JanieM

    October 17, 2021 at 1:35 pm

    @MomSense:

    I wish I could track down all the people who assured me that the Republicans would never actually overturn Roe.

    We could start with a certain senator’s office in Augusta. :-(

  39. 39.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 1:36 pm

    @debbie: we could drop him in Somalia for all I care

  40. 40.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 1:36 pm

    @Benw: whoa you thought frat guy Kavanaugh would be a keen legal mind…?!!

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:38 pm

    @kindness: @brantl:

    Yes!  and Yes!

  42. 42.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 1:40 pm

    Disingenuous. Dishonest. Duplicitous. Deceptive. Devious. Disreputable. Dodgy. Deceitful. Disgusting. Despicable.

    We need a Cole Porter with a goatee to sing this tune.

  43. 43.

    Betty

    October 17, 2021 at 1:40 pm

    This is why many are so upset with Breyer and the recent Commission report. They are pretending that the actions of the majority of the Court are normal. They are not. The Court has lost its credibility.

  44. 44.

    Betty

    October 17, 2021 at 1:42 pm

    @oatler: Unlike the some others, she follows protocol and expresses her disagreement in her opinions.

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:47 pm

    @Baud: hahaha.  Maybe you could find a halloween costume that would work for that?  How’s your singing voice?

  46. 46.

    MomSense

    October 17, 2021 at 1:47 pm

    @JanieM:

    I never thought she cared about Roe v Wade.

  47. 47.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    October 17, 2021 at 1:50 pm

    @Betty:

    What’s up with Breyer, anyway? Why does he seem to have his head up his ass?

  48. 48.

    Benw

    October 17, 2021 at 1:52 pm

    @Ksmiami: he’s keen for beer and sexual harassment.

  49. 49.

    eclare

    October 17, 2021 at 1:52 pm

    @sab:  I read late last night that your sweet pup has a doctor appt on Tuesday.  I hope for good news and will be thinking of you.  And as someone (Mary G?) suggested, if you need $ for treatment, don’t be shy.

  50. 50.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 1:52 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Let’s just say there’s is reason I exist only as text.

  51. 51.

    Mai Naem mobile

    October 17, 2021 at 1:53 pm

    @WaterGirl: you forgot destructive

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    @Baud: Face for radio?

  53. 53.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    @Mai Naem mobile: I most certainly did.  That has been remedied.

  54. 54.

    MikefromArlington

    October 17, 2021 at 1:55 pm

    Can’t Congress go full court press and put the USSC on “trial” for disregarding the Constitution?

    Is there something stopping them from beginning hearings on this?

  55. 55.

    JanieM

    October 17, 2021 at 1:56 pm

    @MomSense: I never did either, but she was one of the people who assured us that Roe wouldn’t be overturned. She made a big self-serving speech for the sake of it.

    Anyhow, my comment was snark, in case that wasn’t clear.

  56. 56.

    Betty

    October 17, 2021 at 1:58 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): He seems very self-satisfied, living in his bubble. It’s a disgrace.

  57. 57.

    J R in WV

    October 17, 2021 at 2:02 pm

    Off topic, but what’s happening here on the “farm” — actually wooded hillsides…

    Friday it rained here, hard. While sleeping I heard a number of impacts on the roof, some nearly alarmingly loud. From acorns to bits of tree, mostly small limbs.

    Saturday morning Wife pointed out water on the living  room floor, a small puddle, so one of the impacts penetrated the rubber membrane over that elevated from the rest of the building roof. It was also cold, even tho the sun peeked through in the afternoon, so I decided to wait until this afternoon to fix the hole. I put a relatively clean litter box where the leak was, it only got a few drips.

    I have rounded up material and tools, primer to scrub the existing roof with, pre-glued rubber to patch the hole with, etc. I need a step stool to get up onto the part of the roof which is damaged. I should use the leaf blower to clean off the rest of the roof for inspection. I have everything I need from the big tree falling on the front porch 18 months ago, hope everything is still sticky and primed for work!

    Wife will wait out of the porch in case I scream, to dial 911.

    Will be many trips up and down the ladder to get everything I need up, and then bring it down. So happy it isn’t still raining, snowing, sleet, etc. Except that if it was, I wouldn’t be climbing up there! Wish me luck, everyone. I used to enjoy this kind of thing, back when I wasn’t 70 and arthritic.

  58. 58.

    Betty

    October 17, 2021 at 2:05 pm

    @J R in WV: Good luck! Report back when all is well.

  59. 59.

    MomSense

    October 17, 2021 at 2:09 pm

    @JanieM:

    I’m sorry – just so ugh about all of this.

  60. 60.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 2:11 pm

    @WaterGirl: 

    My face is pretty enough.

  61. 61.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 2:12 pm

    @MomSense:

    I wish I could track down all the people who assured me that the Republicans would never actually overturn Roe.

     
    I hope they spend eternity being forced to listen to Hillary’s Wall Street speech on a loop.

  62. 62.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 2:12 pm

    @JanieM:  treat every Republican as the enemy- because they are…

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 2:17 pm

    @J R in WV:  Ugh.

    With your homeowners insurance, wouldn’t they PAY someone to fix stuff like that for you?  Or because of deductible, not covered?

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 2:18 pm

    @Baud: Can deplorables be thrown in?  Or maybe that was in the Wall Street speech?  I cannot recall.

  65. 65.

    Queen of Lurkers

    October 17, 2021 at 2:20 pm

    Disingenuous. Dishonest. Duplicitous. Deceptive. Devious. Disreputable. Dodgy. Deceitful. Disgusting. Despicable.

    New additions from the comments:  Dumb. Disrespectful. Damnable. Damned. Deplorable. Disingenuous. Destructive.

    Also: Dastardly

  66. 66.

    Raven

    October 17, 2021 at 2:25 pm

    21 months after winning the National Championship Ogeron will not return to coach LSU next season!

  67. 67.

    Another Scott

    October 17, 2021 at 2:26 pm

    Norfolk is fired up to move our Commonwealth forward. Grateful to have my good friend @staceyabrams to help get out the vote today. Let’s do this Virginia! ???? https://t.co/ntElDYsRQT pic.twitter.com/W36x5xPa1k

    — Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) October 17, 2021

    Good, good.

    Forward!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  68. 68.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 2:27 pm

    @Another Scott:

    ?

  69. 69.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 2:28 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Nah, her speech was the most anodyne speech imaginable.

  70. 70.

    Geminid

    October 17, 2021 at 2:31 pm

    @Another Scott: Former President Barak Obama will campaign with McAuliffe in Richmond this Saturday.

  71. 71.

    RaflW

    October 17, 2021 at 2:33 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Decades of very considerable power seems to have gotten to his head.

    One of several reasons that I rather like the 18 year ‘new every two’ staggered single terms proposal. (I also legit think we should expand the court, but lifetime appointments is turning out to be kinda toxic.)

  72. 72.

    zhena gogolia

    October 17, 2021 at 2:33 pm

    @JanieM: And TFG learned his lesson!

  73. 73.

    zhena gogolia

    October 17, 2021 at 2:34 pm

    @WaterGirl: That was a private talk to donors, I think.

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 2:35 pm

    @Queen of Lurkers: Added!

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 2:36 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Oh yes, I believe you are right about that.

  76. 76.

    Another Scott

    October 17, 2021 at 2:36 pm

    The Miami condo that collapsed in June, killing 98 people, was apparently built to launder cartel funds in the 1980s.

    Developers accordingly cut corners—critical defects that accelerated the building’s demise.

    Money laundering is not a victimless crime. https://t.co/VyjqqWIvaL

    — Nate Sibley (@NateSibley) October 15, 2021

    I’m shocked, shocked.

    Grr…

    Always, always – follow the money.

    (via dsquareddigest)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  77. 77.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 2:39 pm

    @Another Scott:

    I assumed every condo in Miami was built for that purpose.

  78. 78.

    Sure Lurkalot

    October 17, 2021 at 2:40 pm

    And to get all huffy and taken aback when someone states that a decision made in the middle of the night with no signatories looks political…”how dare you call me a political hack!”
    Like Mags yesterday, complaining/whining that the press is being blamed because the public doesn’t know what’s in the BBB…”Whatabout the Democrats lack of messaging? As if my job is to inform?”

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    @Another Scott:  What about the building next door?  Not asking you to look, just wondering about that.  Also wondering whether any official agency will be looking at other buildings that were built by the same construction company or for the same cartel group.

    Or any cartel group, for that matter!

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot: What’s that phrase about the hit dog howling?

  81. 81.

    eclare

    October 17, 2021 at 2:44 pm

    @Raven:  He’s out???

  82. 82.

    Yutsano

    October 17, 2021 at 2:54 pm

    @eclare: ​He gone

  83. 83.

    sab

    October 17, 2021 at 3:07 pm

    @eclare: Thank you.

  84. 84.

    JPL

    October 17, 2021 at 3:09 pm

    @Baud: Only the trump knows.

  85. 85.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    October 17, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    I hope I’m not being over-cynical, but once the Court decided that the plain, obvious, no questions unanswered, text of the Voting Rights Act was simply meaningless, I stopped being able to be shocked by them. Their opinion, paraphrased, is “Oh, sure, the LAW says that if you create rules that *sound* good but nevertheless have the *effect* of disenfranchising minorities, that’s no good… but the Supreme Court knows better than some words on a piece of paper, passed by Congress and signed by the President! We’ll decide this lawsuit the way the Republican Party wants it decided, and don’t none of y’all dare to suggest we’re being partisan, even if three justices on the court were *clearly* chosen as acts of partisan warfare.”

    (Kavanaugh became an act of partisan warfare when he made a statement, under oath, with the opportunity for him to prepare it, in which he vowed revenge on Democrats for raising a clearly relevant question of fact. If this country were healthy, the vote to confirm him would have been 80+ opposed, and the names of those in favor would go down in history as being akin to McCarthy.)

    It’s the very action the Republicans had claimed to despise, legislating from the bench . And we now know conclusively, the only thing they bitterly despised was not having a majority on the court to take care of problems for them.

    And it’s not surprising, really. Republicans used to pretend that they respected the court, but all along, they just wanted to make the judiciary their bitch. They say they cared about moral character, then supported and elected Trump. They said they revered the Constitution, they only like pulling key words or phrases out they can spread to make ideas seem “reasonable” if your brain has been numbed by repetition. Their latest is, since the word “legislature” appears in the constitution, it must refer to, specifically, the legislature, and no one else.

    The courts, and common sense, both tell us that “legislature” means the entire legislative process: the governor’s signature in states where that applies, and changes made by the courts, in order to keep the laws in line with the state and federal constitutions. Ah, but that doesn’t fit what Republicans want. They want just the legislature – no governors or courts – to be able to make rules for federal elections. So they’re insisting that it’s what the constitution demands, because it’s what they want.

    And soon, it will be part of Republican dogma… unless it becomes inconvenient, because Republicans really don’t have any principles other than “Republican power good, any other power bad”.

  86. 86.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 17, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    @Queen of Lurkers:

    Disgraceful.

  87. 87.

    trollhattan

    October 17, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    A moron speaks.

    October 17, 2021 at 1:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

    Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) promised voters at an event in North Carolina that when Republicans regain power, he is going to make sure Dr. Anthony Fauci is prosecuted.

    Fauci’s been taking lunch money again.

  88. 88.

    JPL

    October 17, 2021 at 3:25 pm

    @LongHairedWeirdo:  true   sad, but true.

  89. 89.

    Aaron Rodgers Mustache

    October 17, 2021 at 3:28 pm

    @Baud: chris cornell died too soon.

  90. 90.

    debbie

    October 17, 2021 at 3:29 pm

    @Another Scott:

    I daresay there are a number of 1980s high-rises in NYC that should get inspections ASAP. Everyone and their mother was building back then.

  91. 91.

    raven

    October 17, 2021 at 3:31 pm

    @eclare: They came to an “agreement”. I always liked him.

  92. 92.

    raven

    October 17, 2021 at 3:33 pm

    @trollhattan: I sat with a friend at the game yesterday day and he and some friends went on a fishing charter in Louisiana. One of his buddies is a physician and the captain of the charter was all over the dude about the “phony virus”.

  93. 93.

    JoyceH

    October 17, 2021 at 3:34 pm

    I still think that, before this Texas law gets considered by the SC, some blue state legislature needs to start a piece of legislation outlawing AR-15s and deputizing the citizens to sue the buyer, seller, and everyone remotely involved, with a 10K bounty.

  94. 94.

    raven

    October 17, 2021 at 3:40 pm

    “I’m not smart.”

    “I’m so stupid.”

    “I’m an asshole.”

    “I’m a piece of shit.”

    Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez, the Donald Trump fanatic who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and was arrested for electroshocking D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Mike Fanone a month after he was identified in a HuffPost story, spilled his guts to the FBI after his arrest, repeatedly crying as he told special agents he was a “fucking piece of shit” and worried that his “mom’s going to find out” what he did.

  95. 95.

    debbie

    October 17, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    @raven:

    I hope his mother shows him what for.

  96. 96.

    Aaron Rodgers Mustache

    October 17, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    @raven: is he also the singer in a stabbing westward cover band?

  97. 97.

    Baud

    October 17, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    @raven:

    ?

  98. 98.

    zhena gogolia

    October 17, 2021 at 3:45 pm

    @raven: At least he has good self-knowledge!

  99. 99.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 3:47 pm

    A million woman March Rt into the Supreme Court. No court employees or others gets in or out. They can live off of power bars for a week for all I care.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: How did  I miss that one?????

  101. 101.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    @JoyceH: Absolutely!  I cannot figure out why our side is not pushing a piece of legislation related to guns – or something the other side cares about – to demonstrate that what’s good or the goose is good for the gander.

    … To show them that it would be risky to go there.

  102. 102.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 17, 2021 at 3:55 pm

    @raven:

    he told special agents he was a “fucking piece of shit”

    He didn’t tell a lie.

  103. 103.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 17, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    How did I miss that one?????

    Duuuh??

    :-)

     

    ETA: Demonic.

  104. 104.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    October 17, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Perhaps they’re afraid the Wingnut Wurlitzer would spin up and hurt them with independent voters if they did something like that?

  105. 105.

    gwangung

    October 17, 2021 at 4:06 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:  Guess he’s not facing perjury….

  106. 106.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    October 17, 2021 at 4:07 pm

    @Ksmiami: 
    I wish. The Taney court sucked donkey balls, but the Supreme Court from somewhere around 1890 until FDR threatened to stack it handed down lots of horrible decisions (Lochner v. New York, anyone? “Section 110 of the labor law of the State of New York, providing that no employees shall be required or permitted to work in bakeries more than sixty hours in a week, or ten hours a day, is not a legitimate exercise of the police power of the State, but an unreasonable, unnecessary and arbitrary interference with the right and liberty of the individual to contract in relation to labor, and, as such, it is in conflict with, and void under, the Federal Constitution”) and was going to hold the entire New Deal unconstitutional. The Court’s been bad many, many times before now.

  107. 107.

    Mary G

    October 17, 2021 at 4:07 pm

    Somebody’s not mincing words:

    The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It’s unrelenting, and we’re going to challenge it vigorously. pic.twitter.com/jGkrvWB5Ev
    — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 17, 2021

  108. 108.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 4:11 pm

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop: but they weren’t entirely backed up by an authoritarian political party. This feels different, more likely to tear the country asunder. As Kay mentioned, the SC hasn’t dabbled too much in actually taking existing rights away, they are really playing with fire here and pro choice is the majority position going on nearly 40 years.

  109. 109.

    Ksmiami

    October 17, 2021 at 4:12 pm

    If it does come to an existential fight though, leave Alito to me… he won’t last long

  110. 110.

    Patricia Kayden

    October 17, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    Fair question.

    When do people start operating like Facebook INTENDS to be racist and harmful? And engage with it FROM there— ?Sydette Cosmic Dreaded Gorgon ?? (@Blackamazon) October 17, 2021

  111. 111.

    germy

    October 17, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    [when i ask for a raise]

    boss: your pay reflects the value of your job

    [when i call in sick]

    boss: the company will collapse. i’m ruined

    — slate (@PleaseBeGneiss) October 13, 2021

  112. 112.

    Mary G

    October 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    @Mary G: Neither is Pope Frankie:

    If you saw any Catholics freaking out about Pope Francis being on a roll yesterday, this is what they were referring to. pic.twitter.com/ufIVlpGNTq— Kaya Oakes (@kayaoakes) October 17, 2021

    Could’ve saved words by just copy/pasting the Democratic Party platform.

  113. 113.

    Geminid

    October 17, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Divisive, Dangerous Dominionists.

  114. 114.

    Mary G

    October 17, 2021 at 4:23 pm

    Also a cute video:

    What the hell kind of flower is this. pic.twitter.com/ZzTzOx6zg5— Jamie Gnuman197… (@Jamie24272184) October 17, 2021

    The taking a seat at the end with disgruntled puzzlement cracks me up.

  115. 115.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 4:27 pm

    @Mary G: I actually started crying while reading that.  Pope Francis is speaking the unvarnished truth.

    It’s horrible seeing the terrible indictment of where things stand on so many fronts – all laid out in one place like that.

    There is no one or nothing that the right won’t disregard if it interferes with their wealth or power.

  116. 116.

    japa21

    October 17, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    @Mary G: ​
      I’ve seen that video before. If a hummingbird can be said to have a look of puzzlement, that one did.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    @Mary G: I can’t decide whether the hummingbird is saying “WTF?” or is sitting down in disgust, waiting for them to fill the feeder.

  118. 118.

    JoyceH

    October 17, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    @WaterGirl: I also think the blue state legislatures need to gerrymander the crap out of the congressional districts. As long as we righteously don’t gerrymander and they get away with it, why on earth would they stop doing it or join in outlawing it?  It works for them – but only so long as we don’t do it too.

  119. 119.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    October 17, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    @WaterGirl: There the whole pant less thing.

  120. 120.

    Mary G

    October 17, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    @WaterGirl: The one about the media is my favorite scold. I’m wondering if this is real, though, I can’t find it anywhere else.

  121. 121.

    eddie blake

    October 17, 2021 at 4:47 pm

    @JoyceH:  they have a golden opportunity to do exactly that in NY and IL.

  122. 122.

    Another Scott

    October 17, 2021 at 4:54 pm

  123. 123.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 17, 2021 at 4:57 pm

    @lollipopguild:

    Never thought that I would see the day where 6 justices on the Supreme Court are more interested in playing bullshit legal games than in doing their jobs. These people are legal termites, their job is to destroy the Court and then the country from inside. 

    Yup.  The Rethuglicans have wanted to destroy democracy for generations.

  124. 124.

    Aaron Rodgers Mustache

    October 17, 2021 at 4:57 pm

    @Ksmiami: it’s still amazing to me that the atlantic monthly, a magazine of abolition, has under the baleful eye of conor friedersdorf, caitlin flanagan, joshua beauregard green, & elizabeth bruenig, plus the giddy support of old hands gregg easterbrook & andy sullivan, turned into an anti-thirteenth amendment, pro-slavery, white supremacist & separatist magazine

  125. 125.

    Another Scott

    October 17, 2021 at 4:58 pm

    +UPDATE+

    The UK-Australia trade deal that was loudly announced in June by Boris Johnson & Liz Truss…

    …has broken down.

    The "media event" of the deal was apparentally reached before the final details had been worked through.

    Its now not clear when the deal will be done

    — Nick???? (@nicktolhurst) October 17, 2021

    [ womp, womp ]

    (via IamHappyToast)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  126. 126.

    Mike E

    October 17, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    @Mary G: I do like this take though:

    @FrEdwardBeck

    Supply chain crisis may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Christmas. There, I’ve said it.

    5:29 PM · Oct 16, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

  127. 127.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 17, 2021 at 5:08 pm

    @raven: I hope the fascist shitstain gets way more than 45 days behind bars.

  128. 128.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 5:08 pm

    @Another Scott: You had an invalid URL in comment #122, which I imagine is why this went into moderation.  I deleted the URL.

  129. 129.

    MagdaInBlack

    October 17, 2021 at 5:09 pm

    @Mike E: I do too. The right has been screeching for years about putting the Christ back in Christmas. Here’s their big chance.

    Let them show me how much they mean it.

  130. 130.

    JimV

    October 17, 2021 at 5:11 pm

    Good post. I liked all the d-words. They reminded me of an old joke:

    Teacher: use these words in a sentence: defeat, deduct, defense, and detail.

    Student: Dee feet of dee duck went over dee fence before dee tail.

  131. 131.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    October 17, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Have I said something wrong?

  132. 132.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    @JimV: Chuckling.

  133. 133.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I don’t understand.  My comment that you replied to was to Another Scott.

    What am I missing?

  134. 134.

    Another Scott

    October 17, 2021 at 5:25 pm

    @WaterGirl: Hmm.  Wonder what it was (I’m multitasking…)

    Thanks.  Sorry for the hassle.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  135. 135.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 17, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    Wipe out the Federalist Society, which puts partisan reactionary politics ahead of the law and justice.

  136. 136.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    October 17, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Don’t worry about it, it’s not important WG

    I did want to ask you about how to make submissions for the Artists in Our Midst. Are there any guidelines I should be aware of? Do I make the submission by email?

  137. 137.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 17, 2021 at 5:31 pm

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop: ​
    The USSC often has been a firewall for the parasite overclass to evade consequences for their evil actions. The Warren Court was definitely an outlier, with its emphasis on the spirit of the Constitution being promulgated as opposed to narrow textual interpretations that always just happens to favor the wealthy and cruel.

  138. 138.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 5:32 pm

    @Another Scott: It’s no trouble at all.  I just didn’t want you thinking it was a random hiccup when there was a reason.  Sometimes when I’m typing the cursor jumps and somehow I’m typing somewhere other than where I intended.

    To me, it looks like something like that is what happened here.

  139. 139.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 5:37 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): For Artists in Our Midst, you write up whatever it is you want to say – sending me a Word file as an attachment is best for WordPress, formatting wise.

    Send any images of your work as email attachments.  They are best sent as .jpg or .png.  I imagine your photos are one of those two file formats?

    Or, if you have a lot of photos – I think you said what you are sending is photography – it can be simpler to use the On the Road form and submit up to 10 images.  It will run as Artists in our Midst even if you use the OTR form.

    IF you do use the form, you’ll want to write your introduction – and whatever you want to say about your photos – in Word and then copy it in.  That way if you are one of the 1/100 where the form hiccups, you won’t have to re-write what you wanted to say, you can just copy it in again.

    Photos shouldn’t be bigger than 1.5 or 2 MB each.

  140. 140.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 17, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    Kids…

    5yo, wearing tutu and carrying broom: Dad, I’m a bitch!!!Me: Woah. What?!?!5yo: I’m a bitch! I’m part ballerina and part witch! Ballerina plus witch equals bitch!Me: Hmmmm. What if we called you a witcherina?5yo: No, bitch makes more sense.Me: *sigh* Yeah. Um, look…— EBS (@estockbridge) October 16, 2021

    ???

  141. 141.

    WaterGirl

    October 17, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: That is a great little story.

    Of course, I would definitely have gone with witcherina.

  142. 142.

    Benw

    October 17, 2021 at 5:52 pm

    Does the world need another Batman movie already? I admit that the new trailer has some striking shots.

  143. 143.

    jackmac

    October 17, 2021 at 6:00 pm

    @trollhattan: Let’s hope that there are voters smarter than this twerp and make sure he’s a one-term wonder.

  144. 144.

    MagdaInBlack

    October 17, 2021 at 6:02 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: God love ’em ?❤️ They give me smiles.

  145. 145.

    Philbert

    October 17, 2021 at 6:23 pm

    @Mary G: I agree, it looks too English, and the ‘or whatever’ does not seem a professional translation. If it is fake, I’m sure that will be used to discredit everything in it.

  146. 146.

    Tony Jay

    October 17, 2021 at 6:25 pm

    @Another Scott:

    The current British Government exists solely as a Student Union rag-week jape that got out of hand and snowballed faster than a fat German businessman kicked down the South face of the Matterhorn by his scheming third wife.

    There is nothing they cannot and will not fuck up in their quest to make the Ministry of Magic look well run and efficient.

  147. 147.

    Sure Lurkalot

    October 17, 2021 at 6:39 pm

    @JoyceH: Our independent commission in Colorado did a poor job. I had hopes but the new map is not reflective of the current state of play. Disappointed.

  148. 148.

    Burnspbesq

    October 17, 2021 at 6:41 pm

    @Yutsano:

    $17 million buy-out.

  149. 149.

    Burnspbesq

    October 17, 2021 at 6:46 pm

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop:

    Keep in mind that the same court that decided Lochner also decided Jacobson v. Massachusetts.

    It’s never as bad or as good as you think.

  150. 150.

    eddie blake

    October 17, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    @Benw:  dude isn’t supposed to be garbed up in layers and layers of bulletproof armor. it’s been a trend since the azbat replaced bruce in comics back in the day or since the burton movie in ’89, but it’s not really how batman is supposed to operate.

    visually looks interesting, and will be a nice spin on the character, but i see the juggernaut scenes and i say, “meh.”

  151. 151.

    J R in WV

    October 17, 2021 at 6:56 pm

    Twitter comment:

    I hope Pope Francis has a food taster…..

    I have read that he actually eats in a communal dining hall, so that his food is what everyone else eats. Don’t know if that’s in lieu of a food taster, or just to be a man of the common people… Hard to poison him without it being really obvious, though.

  152. 152.

    RaflW

    October 17, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    @MagdaInBlack: American Jesus is a capitalist, unlike that commie usurper from Argentina who is occupying the Vatican.

  153. 153.

    RaflW

    October 17, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot: i read somewhere (Denver Post?) that what passes as ‘independent’ really meant 4 Ds and 4 Rs. And I agree that it is disappointing.

  154. 154.

    prostratedragon

    October 17, 2021 at 8:32 pm

    For an old tango bar bouncer:

    “Desde el alma,” Osvaldo Pugliese

    (I’ve heard it said that Pugliese was a commie.)

  155. 155.

    oatler

    October 17, 2021 at 9:31 pm

    @Tony Jay:

    How’

    How’s this for a Rag Week? Surrey 1967 with a young Savoy Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ggckoizpNI

  156. 156.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    October 17, 2021 at 9:38 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: word

     

    @Benw: I know, it’s like the Nutcracker but for adults… my 12-year old niece told me that she’s been taken to the Nutcracker five times already, she’s heard there are other ballets, and she’d rather see something new.

    So I promised her that I’d take her to see Le Sacre du Printemps or L’Après-midi d’un Faune first chance that I got her away from her parental guardians and the rest of our family.

  157. 157.

    rikyrah

    October 17, 2021 at 10:55 pm

    Late to this post, but it was excellent. Thank you.

  158. 158.

    Another Scott

    October 17, 2021 at 11:00 pm

    Good DW story on how Uruguay became a green energy exporter in just a decade. Manchin might want to read and watch this… (sigh)

    Uruguay leads green energy charge in Latin America
    https://p.dw.com/p/41cqE

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  159. 159.

    lurker

    October 18, 2021 at 2:20 am

    gotta be careful about what you promote to the front page … have read some of this commenter’s other comments – you gotta wonder whether they know what they are talking about, or even if they can tie a pair of shoes …

     

    thanks watergirl – always nice to be noticed, even on a day when I was away from the blog ; – )

  160. 160.

    WaterGirl

    October 18, 2021 at 9:01 am

    @lurker: Ha!

    I thought about trying to contact you, but when a person’s nym is ‘lurker’ that kind of speaks against my reaching out by email.

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