Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

The National Guard is not Batman.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

People are complicated. Love is not.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

You cannot shame the shameless.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / President Biden Speaks: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court (LIVE at 2pm)

President Biden Speaks: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court (LIVE at 2pm)

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President Biden Delivers Remarks on his Nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Serve as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH9JxBKQ32g

So strange.  The White House had another video presentation scheduled for today – about power, media and representation, which I hoped was signaling that they were changing things up in the White House Briefing Room.  But they pulled it.  ?‍♀️

And then they added this one.

Does anyone know why, when the Chief Justice croaks or steps down, the President nominates a new Chief Justice?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to the let 9 (hopefully soon to be 15) justices decide among themselves?  What if you have a great justice and a great leader already on the court?  Can that person be promoted and a new associate justice be added?

Open thread.

 

Reader Interactions

186Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Does anyone know why, when the Chief Justice croaks or steps down, the President nominates a new Chief Justice?

    Yes.

  6. 6.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Sometimes an Associate Justice gets nominated for Chief.  Then the Associate slot gets filled.  Rehnquist got CJ that way.

  7. 7.

    Soprano2

    @rikyrah: Yes, it does. I tell people over and over that groups where everyone is the same, with the same point of view and same experiences, make worse decisions than groups where people are different and have different viewpoints and experiences.

  8. 8.

    germy

    Persily, a law professor at Stanford, says Jackson dazzled audiences. “I remember people, when she would do the dramatic interpretation, which is the sort of serious plays, literally people crying who watched her because she was so good,” he says. “And, of course, people dying with laughter when she did the humorous ones.”

    In 1988, she was awarded a national title for Original Oratory. “Picture the Simone Biles of oratory,” says Stephen Rosenthal, a former high-school classmate of Jackson’s who is an attorney in Miami, recalling her racking up trophies from tournaments as early as in tenth grade.

    Jackson’s debate experience also set her on the path to Harvard, visiting campus during a national competition there. While she majored in government, she continued to dabble in theater — once being paired with Matt Damon as a scene partner during a drama class, according to the Associated Press. Outside of class, she was a member of the university’s improv troupe On Thin Ice.

    “She has a combination of personal characteristics that are so valuable. I mean, she has this remarkable combination of gifts: charisma, penetrating intelligence,” says Rosenthal. “She’s also just got unflagging integrity, and she’s a kind, humble person. Somebody like that, in a position of such public trust and power, could do so much good for the country that I can’t think of anybody who would be better for this.”

    nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/supreme-court-nominee-ketanji-brown-jacksons-rise.html

  10. 10.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: She’s related to Paul Ryan by marriage, which I find amusing.   He did issue a nice statement.    It’s an excellent choice.

    (In 1996, Jackson married surgeon Patrick G. Jackson, a sixth-generation Harvard graduate.[8] The couple have two daughters. Patrick Jackson’s twin brother is the brother-in-law of Janna Ryan, wife of former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.[)

  12. 12.

    Ken

    @Cacti: Is Judge Jackson one of the potential nominees the Republicans had specific objections to, or just one for whom they had the general objection that she was a Black woman?

  14. 14.

    SFAW

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sometimes an Associate Justice gets nominated for Chief.

    Nominated? Or just moved over into the CJ slot? [Because I don’t remember whether Rehnquist had to go through the confirmation process to become CJ.

    ETA: Never mind, I just looked it up, and yes he was nom’ed and confirmed.

  20. 20.

    Anyway

    She has such an impressive resume and life-experience. First public defender, spent time on the sentencing board .. yeah!

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    @Cacti: That’s fine, but I was asking WHY they would do it that way, not what gives them the power to do it.  But Omnes making clear that they can promote someone to chief and then nominate a new associate makes me feel much better about it.

  24. 24.

    germy

    Judge Jackson has 8.9 years of prior judicial experience. That’s more than four current Justices (Thomas, Roberts, Kagan, & Barrett) had *combined.*

    It's also more than 4 of the last 10 Justices had at their confirmations; 9 of the last 17; and 43 of the 58 appointed since 1900: pic.twitter.com/oihmoErCoz

    — Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 25, 2022

    I sure hope Republicans think she’s “qualified” enough to be on the court.
    /

  26. 26.

    NotMax

    Chief Justice White, CJ Stone and CJ Rehnquist all moved directly from Associate Justice to Chief Justice (following Senate confirmation).

    As there have been but 17 Chief Justices, that works out to about 17% of CJs who have taken the oath of the office by that route.

  28. 28.

    Dan B

    @rikyrah: It’s great to hear you’re feeling strongly about this nomination.  We’ll need all our emotional reserves to get through the s#/!storm the white supremacists are going to throw.  Hopefully her brother in law will visit a few wishy washy Senators soon.

    In the meanwhile keep those righteous tears flowing.

  30. 30.

    Gin & Tonic

    I suppose Judge Jackson’ll be OK, but I’m still pretty chuffed that Baud didn’t make the short list.

  31. 31.

    trollhattan

    @germy:

    So Mike Lee is pissed about not being included in yesterday’s stupidest senator: Tuberville/Johnson? discussions?

  34. 34.

    James E Powell

    Great choice! Now, let’s set the vote for the same schedule as the Republicans used for the right-wing Christian cult member.

  37. 37.

    Dan B

    @germy: If “high character” means a nasty prudish demeanor with a surplus of sadism and condescension then Lee and Blackburn are exemplars.

  38. 38.

    Baud

    @Gin & Tonic:

    “He [Biden] continues to evaluate eminently qualified individuals in the mold of Justice Breyer who have the strongest records, intellect, character, and dedication to the rule of law that anyone could ask for – and all of whom would be deserving of bipartisan support,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates tweeted.

     
    Biden purposefully refused to consider me from the get-go.

  40. 40.

    Miss Bianca

    @Gin & Tonic: does that mean you’re happy or sad about Baud!’s exclusion?//

    (Americans’ bafflement over the term “chuffed” having just come up this morning on a listserv I’m part of.)

  41. 41.

    germy

    As the world witnesses Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine intensify, Pres. Biden's Friday #SCOTUS announcement is peculiar timing.

    Why is @POTUS more interested in sticking to his self imposed timeline than focusing on the crisis at hand in Ukraine?

    — Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) February 25, 2022

    The people who rushed Amy Coney Barrett to confirmation in days are worried about Biden rushing things. t.co/auzvoeLvOL

    — emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 25, 2022

  42. 42.

    Anonymous At Work

    Chief Justice is specifically mentioned in the Constitution as presiding over impeachment proceedings.  Thus, you need a specific nomination for the role since it is mentioned in the Constitution.  If not for that, internal elections could be possible.  As for the the other members, the Supreme Court sets its own internal rules and could call its newest members “Adjunct Justice” or “Junior Justice, Third Grade” or whatever else it feels like.

    Heck, with 5 votes internally, Justice Bretty-boy could become “Black-out Drunk Justice” as a title.

  45. 45.

    NotMax

    @germy

    Vexed over his being able to focus on multiple things at the same time?

    As opposed to Dolt 45, capable of only focusing on one thing multiple times.

    //

  48. 48.

    Kent

    @WaterGirl:@Baud: Now if only a President could demote the existing chief justice to associate.

    What does it really matter?   They still just get one vote

    Other than presiding over impeachments, what else does the Chief Justice actually do in addition to the normal SCOTUS votes?

  49. 49.

    catclub

    @Miss Bianca: Oh, Mike Lee

     

    There is an outside chance that an independent, whose name escapes me at the moment [the guy who also ran as independent for pres there in 2016, Evan?], may beat Mike Lee in Utah. IF the non-crazy wing of the GOP there can flap loud enough.  I doubt it will be loud enough.

  50. 50.

    Geminid

         You have to appreciate the irony of a former public defender who is about to single handedly preserve the legitimacy of the GOP-led Supreme Court in the eyes of Democrats at a time of historic disapproval.

    @Waleed Shaheed 2/25/22

    Justice Democrats chief Walid Shaheed has already deleted this tweet, but there are people who watch the JDs like hawks so this screenshot was saved, and then retweeted by people including Ragnarok Lobster

    Shahid wasn’t being circumspect. Justice Democrats will get a creditable victory Tuesday, March 1st in the Texas 28th District primary, if Jessica Cisneros knocks out the notorious Henry Cuellar. But it was good of Shahid to remind people of who he really is.

  53. 53.

    Almost Retired

    @Miss Bianca:  I did parlay my interest in theater into going to law school.  Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate the ability of malevolent opposing counsel and cantankerous judges to interrupt my brilliant performances.  Not to mention the fact that the theater audience is basically conscripted.

  54. 54.

    Yarrow

    I love that President Biden has these two strong women standing behind him. He really does walk his talk. So glad he’s president.

  55. 55.

    Kent

    @Geminid: Dipshit.  the Supreme Court will still govern his and all of our lives no matter whether Walid *thinks* they are legitimate or not.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    Mike Lee says he has grave concerns about the precedent the first Black woman becoming Justice would set

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

    What an ass.

  62. 62.

    Miss Bianca

    @Yarrow: I know, poor Baud!

    (“chuffed” being a term I use frequently, since long ago and far away I had an English boyfriend who also used the term frequently – usually with the modifier “right” in front of it, as in, “Eee, I were right chuffed!”)

  63. 63.

    SiubhanDuinne

    “Justice Breyer, the Senate will decide if I can fill your seat — but please know, I can never fill your shoes.”

    What a gracious thing to say. 

  67. 67.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Miss Bianca: <Dad voice> Not sad, disappointed </dad voice.>

    ETA: Clearly my grasp of English is poor, as I thought it was the opposite of “pleased.”

  73. 73.

    SFAW

    @Baud: 

    Biden purposefully refused to consider me from the get-go.

    Did you explain to him that the robe would mean your being pantsless would therefore not be an issue?

  78. 78.

    Yarrow

    Jackson seems great. Super smart,  down to earth, knows who she is.

    Omg, Chuck Todd just popped up on the TV. I haven’t seen him in ages. WTF has he done with his hair? It’s like he has hair toothpicks across his forehead. I guess he’s really trying hard to cover up the bald?

  80. 80.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    I assumed Biden understood that was the norm for Supreme Court Justices.

    Not being much of a SCOTUS-watcher, I had no idea that it is/was.

  81. 81.

    lowtechcyclist

    @germy:

    Why is @POTUS more interested in sticking to his self imposed timeline than focusing on the crisis at hand in Ukraine?

    -Senate Judiciary Republicans

    Can walk and chew gum at the same time.

  83. 83.

    Ken

    @Yarrow: WTF has he done with his hair? It’s like he has hair toothpicks across his forehead.

    Shhh! The combover only works if no one says how stupid it is.

    There’s probably a lurking analogy in that, for the rest of Chuck Todd’s career.

  84. 84.

    jimmiraybob

    @germy: “Mike Lee says he has grave concerns about the precedent the first Black woman becoming Justice would set.”

    Mike “We’re a republic not a democracy” Lee?  That Mike Lee?

  87. 87.

    Spanky

    @Yarrow:

    It’s like he has hair toothpicks across his forehead.

    What, the Matt Lauer look? Trying to emulate your hero may not be the best career move, Chuckles. But then again, every disastrous move has so far resulted in a promotion at NBC, so who am I to judge?

  88. 88.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @scav: On time, under budget: also concepts entirely foreign to Senate Judiciary Republicans.

    What until their minds are blown by the lack of rape accusations against the nomine.

  89. 89.

    Yarrow

    @Ken:  It’s not even a combover. It’s coming forward from the back and it’s like little hair toothpicks in a row on his forehead. Maybe it’s the best version he can do of a Caesar haircut. It’s utterly ridiculous.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    OT.

    Gene Hackman mini-thon tonight on TCM. All times Eastern.

    Hoosiers, 8:00 p.m.
    Scarecrow, 10:15 p.m.
    Night Moves, 12:15 a.m.
    .

  91. 91.

    Yarrow

    Good news.

    The U.S. is planning to slap sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as today, sources tell me.

    Move would follow EU action today to add Putin and Russian FM Sergey Lavrov to their sanctions list.
    — Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) February 25, 2022

  92. 92.

    PPCLI

    @germy: Presumably what Lee means is “If we add one black woman to the court, we might someday add more.”

    Recall that Blackburn regards Donald Trump as a person of high character.

  93. 93.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Open thread?

    A friend is stuck on a BA plane at Heathrow. “Massive DDOS attack on website, check-in down, Terminal 5 systems down and boarding flights manually, pilot loading calculation system down, stand approach systems down, and the crew say they can't access any BA private systems”. pic.twitter.com/K4ewNHtyYz— Richard Coles (@RevRichardColes) February 25, 2022

    Update from the same tweeter: “Apparently there’s some doubt about the cause of the IT failure at Heathrow so ignore last tweet. Sorry to jump the blocks.”

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: So 100 people don’t have to google, BA is British Airways

    I hope Putin gets more than he bargained for in response to in retaliation for any hacking disruptions by created by the Russians, affecting any NATO countries.

  97. 97.

    Edmund Dantes

    @WaterGirl: haven’t read all the way down, but it really is a political choice as what to do. Do they think they can run Two confirmation hearings with current senate? Do they have anyone they really want to elevate to Chief Justice? Chief Justice is not really “powerful”. They have administrative obligations and they get to assign who writes the “major” opinion if in the majority independent of actual seniority (if CJ is not in the majority opinion selection of opinion writer goes to senior Justice on winning side), and some other stuff. I’m sure I’m forgetting something.  Oh and they get to sit in the middle independent of seniority level based in years of service.

     

    Or do they just want to kill two birds with one stone and just nominate the new person to take on the CJ role and save a confirmation hearing?

  100. 100.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yarrow:

    It’s utterly ridiculous.

    Tuck Choad himself has always been utterly ridiculous. No reason his “hair” shouldn’t follow suit.

  101. 101.

    trollhattan

    @Betty Cracker:

    If she gets onto SCOTUS, can she kick DeSantis, Scott and Rubio in the junk anytime she wants? “If a SCOTUS justice does it, it can’t be illegal.”

  107. 107.

    sdhays

    @WaterGirl: I’ve been wondering about the reported capabilities of US agencies to disrupt trains with the reporting that Russia’s invasion is going slower than expected and wasn’t well-supplied to begin with. For this layman with no military expertise, it seems like with the right timing, that could literally be catastrophic for them.

  110. 110.

    Alison Rose

    @Yarrow: It thoroughly confuses me how desperate some men are to hide baldness when their methods almost always end up making them look way worse. Plus, there are some hot bald dudes out there. (So sayeth this lesbian, so you know it’s true)

  111. 111.

    sdhays

    @SiubhanDuinne: I often have to marvel at how much media companies continue to go back to the well of disgraced pundits. There are lots of people with the same or better credentials who could do what Toobin does, and it wouldn’t be difficult to find them. They’d probably be cheaper, too, at least initially.

    The bosses clearly like Toobin.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid:

     You have to appreciate the irony of a former public defender who is about to single handedly preserve the legitimacy of the GOP-led Supreme Court in the eyes of Democrats at a time of historic disapproval.

    I don’t even know what that is supposed to mean.  can you explain what she was trying to say?

  121. 121.

    trollhattan

    @WaterGirl:

    The first we’ll know the Roosskies have burrowed into our infrastructure is when all the programmable traffic alert signs simultaneously read “Putin, he’s so DREAMY”

  122. 122.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: I am more and more convinced that “tweet” says it all, and the only information any of them convey is “Hey I’m here”, just like the bird’s version.

  125. 125.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: No, you need to stay in and read Balloon Juice more. He’s referring to the next thread down, where (in true Balloon Juice fashion) we were debating whether Peppermint Patty is a lesbian.

  128. 128.

    satby

    @Dan B: If “high character” means a nasty prudish demeanor with a surplus of sadism and condescension then Lee and Blackburn are exemplars.

    Wow, I didn’t know you could translate subvocal wingnut!

  133. 133.

    Gin & Tonic

    I’ve spent the afternoon in contact with people in Ukraine. It is now almost 11:00 pm. It will be a long and deadly night.

    This is a bad re-run of 1933 Europe. I wish I could be hopeful that this new Hitler can be stopped, but I don’t see the will for that.

  134. 134.

    eclare

    @dww44:   She is not the only one.  My senators are embarrassments.  Luckily Tuberville won the award for biggest idiot of the week a day or so ago.

  138. 138.

    Betty Cracker

    TPM says Biden spoke with Zelensky for 40 minutes today. That’s a big chunk of time given all that both men have going on. Here’s what Zelensky tweeted after the conversation:

  140. 140.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Gin & Tonic: Incidentally, I choose my words carefully, and I am not exaggerating. If you can’t read Russian and/or are unfamiliar with Russian media (mass-  and social- ) you really have no idea what they’ve been feeding their audience for the last several years. The hatred, the dehumanization, are astonishing. To them, Ukrainians are really the untermenschen. This is Radio Rwanda territory. No joke.

  141. 141.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic:  That’s a really grim take.  Not speaking to whether it’s accurate or not, but that mindset is a shitty place to be.

    You said you don’t see the will for that.  Has something happened in the last few hours for you to have so little hope

    edit: and I see your comment just above this one.

  142. 142.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: I worry about that, too.  A really good man, a leader, rising to the occasion.

    I don’t think Putin will like the end result if he makes Zelensky a martyr.

  145. 145.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: The tweet about Judge Brown made little sense, and just a clumsy attempt to “shade” the President and his nominee. Mr. Shaheed deleted it not long after he put it up. But like I say, there are people who watch the Justice Democrats like hawks.

    One, who tweets as @Justice Dem Watch, posts Shaheed tweets from 2018 where he describes the JDs plans for a “hostile takeover” of the Democratic Party. Those folks were really feeling their oats then, after getting Ms. Ocasio-Cortez elected. Shaheed has since deleted those tweets.

    The JDs were founded by 2016 Sanders campaign alumni (although some researchers trace their origins further back to people involved in the “Occupy Wallstreet” movement.

    Twitter journalists @Justice Dem Watch and @LeftSplintered cover the Justice Democrats closely, and critically while @Liz Burgh researches their and their candidates’ FEC filings, and all three retweet each other.

    Among the things that the Justice Democrats can be blamed for is my own presence here. I was suspiciously researching the outfit when I encountered a post titled “Walid Shahid is a Lying Shitbird,” by some cat named Adam Silverman. It was on a site with the odd name, “Balloon Juice.”.

  146. 146.

    Eolirin

     

    @WaterGirl: I think it’s just part of a line of burn everything down bullshit? Like, you’re legitimizing the court by putting someone really qualified and historic on it when the court is a joke and should be treated as such, or something.

    Like it only makes sense if you think the correct action here is to refuse to recognize that the Supreme Court has legitimacy instead of trying to build back to a majority over time. Which I guess means Biden shouldn’t nominate good people or that qualified people should all refuse such nominations, or something. I don’t really see much of a point to it other than STOP CELEBRATING A GOOD PERSON GETTING NOMINATED SHEEPLE THE COURT IS IRREDEEMABLY EVIL.

  148. 148.

    Ken

    @Betty Cracker: I notice a lack of any mention of Biden asking Zelensky to invent phony investigations that Biden could use to attack his domestic opponents. Are we really supposed to believe this was a high-level diplomatic call, without any of the quid pro quo arrangements that are normal for such calls?

  149. 149.

    Betty Cracker

    @Gin & Tonic: Earlier today, I read a comment about Zelensky from some Russian official, and he said he hopes Zelensky survives so a “tribunal” can deal with him. When asked to elaborate, he babbled some argle-bargle about it being up to “Ukrainian officials,” i.e., Russia-owned stooges who will be installed when Russia topples the democratically elected government, I guess.

    Jesus, what a horrible situation. Russians are threatening Finland and Sweden too. It does kind of echo 1939…

  150. 150.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid: So, what… they don’t want a good Democratic nominee added to the court because it’s filled with vile Republican shitbirds?  That makes absolutely no sense unless you are in the burn it all down crowd, which in itself makes no sense!

  152. 152.

    Old School

    @WaterGirl:

    You have to appreciate the irony of a former public defender who is about to single handedly preserve the legitimacy of the GOP-led Supreme Court in the eyes of Democrats at a time of historic disapproval.

    …

    I don’t even know what that is supposed to mean.  can you explain what she was trying to say?

    My translation: Normie Democrats will think that the Supreme Court isn’t a threat anymore because someone they like better than Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, or Coney Barrett has been confirmed.

  157. 157.

    Betty Cracker

    @Ken: Hey, nobody said it was a PERFECT call!

    Seriously, though — mad respect for Zelensky. A lot of people in that situation would run and hide, but he’s shown incredible moral and physical courage so far. Hoping against hope he not only survives but soon sees his country restored and its invaders defeated.

  159. 159.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Geminid: ​
      He got his blacks confused. The Bernie cult has always been terrible on race relations. He got Ketanji Brown Jackson confused with Julianna Michelle Childs. Childs gets dumped on by Rose Twitter for their view that she hasn’t shown full sympathy in labor cases (don’t know if that’s true or just typical Bernie smear; i.e. ‘Kamala is a cop!”)

  160. 160.

    WaterGirl

    @Eolirin: One more good person is a start.  I don’t know if Breyer was ever exceptional or not, but it seems like she is.  So at worst it’s holding the line, but I suspect it’s an upgrade.

    I am not in the burn it all down crowd.

  163. 163.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: Shaheed was trying to find an angle from which to undermine Biden. That’s what he and his allies do whenever they can. Some of them probably said to him, “Waleed, you’re shooting blanks here. And anyway, why piss people off right before we celebrate Jessica Cisneros’ historic win in Texas this Tuesday night? We’re trying to get Democrats to like us.” So he deleted it, but not before someone could screen grab it and start beating him with it.

  168. 168.

    trollhattan

    @Geminid: ​
    One would think* with Trump rattling and wheezing on the sidelines, ready to jump back into action for 2024 that that would present a target on which to laser-focus for the next two years. Biden? How about supporting the man, how does that sound? An army of Tulsis.

    *Definition of which is murky at this time.

  169. 169.

    Miss Bianca

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I don’t see the will for that.

    What do you mean? I mean, I guess you might know better than I, but I think it’s a bit premature 2 days in to say, “oh well, Ukraine’s totally fucked because the rest of the world is all just going to stand around and watch.”

  170. 170.

    Eolirin

    @Gin & Tonic: Russia doesn’t have the military discipline, manufacturing capability, or technological edge to pull off being the next Nazi Germany. And Putin has spent his entire time in power degrading those things for his own personal benefit, I very much doubt he’s going to start reversing that.

    Economic sanctions and loss of business will further degrade those capabilities. And NATO is strong, prepared, and has a huge technological edge. No one is calling for appeasement here.

    I’m sure Putin would love to be the next Hitler, but all he’ll ever be is a mobster with nukes.

  173. 173.

    Geminid

    @trollhattan: These people are provisional Democrats. They don’t really believe in the partiy’s leadership, and they don’t respect the liberal/moderate coalition we have in Congress. They envision a new Democratic party in which the currently 95 member House Progressive Caucus would be the new center.

    So, they mainly try to replace more moderate Representatives with more liberal, or “progressive” candidates. Typically these are in very blue districts, so the general election is an easy layup. They don’t lift a finger to help other Democrats, though.

  174. 174.

    Ken

    @Eolirin: all he’ll ever be is a mobster with nukes.

    I’m reminded of the old riddle/joke, “What weighs six ounces and is very dangerous?”*  The nukes do close out many options. Even without them, Russia wouldn’t be — how did Douglas Feith put it — one of the little countries that the U.S. invades once a decade, just to show we can.

    * A sparrow with a machine gun.  Which IIRC was used in the 1966 Batman movie.

  176. 176.

    Gin & Tonic

    Here is how Russian soldiers deal with their own.

    The body of a Russian soldier lies next to a Russian vehicle, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Friday.Photo by Tyler Hicks/New York Times, on the frontlines.t.co/HwFvSbPkGT pic.twitter.com/LADRWmkMDa— Cliff Levy (@cliffordlevy) February 25, 2022

    I guess they couldn’t get the mobile crematorium there on time (yes, that’s a thing, you could look it up.)

    But I’ve been monopolizing these threads and I need a break.

  177. 177.

    Brachiator

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Incidentally, I choose my words carefully, and I am not exaggerating. If you can’t read Russian and/or are unfamiliar with Russian media (mass-  and social- ) you really have no idea what they’ve been feeding their audience for the last several years. The hatred, the dehumanization, are astonishing. To them, Ukrainians are really the untermenschen. This is Radio Rwanda territory. No joke.

    I was recently reading something about how people are dehumanized, in another context.

    I didn’t know the degree to which this was happening as part of the assault on Ukraine.

  181. 181.

    misterpuff

    @Old School: That’s what I took it to mean also.

    Jeez, what are we supposed to do put another Bart on the Court so that we “heighten the contradictions”?

    Like the upcoming Roe V Wade cancellation, won’t remind Dems the Court is still 6 – 3 and needs reform.

  182. 182.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: This could be jumping the gun. Cisneros lost to Cuellar by only 4 points in 2020, and he’s under a cloud since the FBI searched his home and his Laredo political office last month.. So there is optimism for Cisneros. But it could be that Cuellar did not take Cisneros seriously enough in 2020, and is working harder this time around.

    This is an interesting race, and there is starting to be a lot of local and state coverage to follow. It make the national news also, and it will be a story next Tuesday night.

    Both the primaries for Texas Attorney General are interesting too. They each may have June runoffs, as there are four viable candidates on the Republican side, and several Democrats, and they need to break 50% to advance to the general election.

  183. 183.

    Kenneth Fair

    @WaterGirl: “Chief Justice of the United States” is actually a different position than “Associate Justice of the United States” under the Judiciary Act of 1789. So it requires renomination and confirmation to move from one to the other.

    I agree that it’s sorta stupid.

  185. 185.

    Geminid

    @Kathleen: The “primary Jeffries” story was kind of funny. It started a ten days or so after the 2020 election, the day the House Democrats in the upcoming Congress chose Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn to be Caucus Chairman. He has beaten California’s Barbara Lee by 120 to 110 votes.

    Reporter Lauren Barron-Lopez of Politico put up a story of how two people “close to” Representative-elect Ocasio-Cortez Cortez had expressed hard feelings about what they said was unfair treatment of Lee by the Jeffries camp. They were quoted as saying they would primary Jeffries, and even had a woman lined up to do it.

    The next day Ocasio-Cortez denounced the story, said her late father called such stories “birdcage lining”- but as some noted, did not say the story was untrue. I expect Barron-Lopez had tape of Ocasio-Cortez’s Chief of Staff and Press Secretary making their brag.

    Jeffries commented to the reporter that he had no problem with primaries, and that “Democracy is a beautiful  thing. ‘Spread Love, that’s the Brooklyn Way’.” The last was the motto of Jeffries’ favorite Brooklyn rapper, the late Biggie Smalls. Some people wondered if this was an implied threat of some kind.

  186. 186.

    sab

    @SFAW: That nomination process to CJ is how the Right got rid of Abe Fortas back in the day, when LBJ tried to move him up to CJ. When he couldn’t get approved for CJ he decided to quit the Ct.

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