Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

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

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Giving up is unforgivable.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Evening Open Thread: An Inspiration for Us All

Friday Evening Open Thread: An Inspiration for Us All

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Because the reporting across outlets hasn’t mentioned it I want to stress that Justice Jackson referenced the courageous & resolute stance of federal judges J. Shelly Wright in Louisiana and Frank Johnson in Alabama who issued school desegregation orders in the face of “Massive Resistance” to Brown.

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— Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) May 2, 2025 at 10:43 AM

From the NyTimes, “Attacks on Judges Undermine Democracy, Warns Justice Jackson” [gift link]

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court’s newest member, denounced on Thursday what she described as “relentless attacks” on judges, and an environment of harassment that “ultimately risks undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.”

“ Across the nation, judges are facing increased threats of not only physical violence, but also professional retaliation just for doing our jobs,” said Justice Jackson, speaking at a conference for judges held in Puerto Rico. “And the attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity.”

Justice Jackson did not mention President Trump by name nor cite any specific attacks against judges. However, her remarks came as Mr. Trump and his allies have repeatedly targeted judges who have blocked key pieces of his agenda, even calling for judges who have ruled against him to be impeached…

The forceful comments by Justice Jackson were rare for the justice. Since joining the court in 2022, she has focused many of her public appearances on telling the personal story of her rise to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

One notable appearance came in 2023, when she spoke from the pulpit of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham less than three months after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education and offered explicit nod to her own role in history.

But on Thursday, she opened her remarks to a ballroom full of judges, lawyers and jurists by saying that she wanted to address “the elephant in the room.”

She noted that individual district court judges — several of whom have been assigned major cases dealing with Mr. Trump’s actions and faced attacks for their work — face particular pressure in the legal system.

“It can sometimes take raw courage to remain steadfast in doing what the law requires,” she said.

Before her elevation to the appellate court and then the Supreme Court, Justice Jackson served on the district court bench in Washington with Judge James E. Boasberg, who has been a particular target of Mr. Trump’s ire because of his rulings seeking to block the deportation of Venezuelan migrants. The two were also neighbors.

Justice Jackson criticized the targeting of judges for doing their job, and said those attacks have a bigger, more structural impact for the democratic system.

“A society in which judges are routinely made to fear for their own safety or their own livelihood due to their decisions is one that has substantially departed from the norms of behavior that govern a democratic system,” said Justice Jackson, during her participation as keynote speaker at the First Circuit Judicial Conference. “Attacks on judicial independence is how countries that are not free, not fair, and not rule of law oriented, operate.”…

Justice Jackson’s remarks were greeted with a standing ovation.

Reader Interactions

52Comments

  4. 4.

    zhena gogolia

    I’m surrounded by people who are panicking and afraid. One friend is planning to take a train to Canada to get vaccines (not sure how that’s going to work). Others are unable to get supplies for their businesses and are looking at failure.

    ALL BECAUSE JOE BIDEN STUTTERED

  8. 8.

    Another Scott

    Thank you for highlighting Justice Jackson’s talk.  It’s good that more people (including people like MVP Harris) are speaking out and getting more visibility.

    Meanwhile, someone did a deep dive on Waltz’s TM SGNL stuff on his phone. Lots of breadcrumbs to trace, and yet another indication that 47’s people are deliberately flouting the rules and the laws about sensitive information.

    Grr…

    Worth a click.

    (via mastodon.social/explore )

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  9. 9.

    One of André Leon Talley's Fifty Pieces of Monogrammed Louis Vuitton Luggage

    Courageous.

  12. 12.

    Jay

    @zhena gogolia:

    Other than the Covid vax, they are all OTC. You call or text a pharmacy, make an appointment, (that way they have it in stock or can order it in). You pay, get a receipt, make a claim on your health insurance when you are back in the US, if it’s covered.

  14. 14.

    Jackie

    I’ve been off-line all day – has this been discussed?

    Politico: Judge strikes down Trump executive order punishing prominent law firm.
    President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to punish the law firm Perkins Coie for working with Hillary Clinton and other Democrats is unconstitutional, “motivated by retaliation” and cannot be enforced, a federal judge ruled late Friday.
    The ruling marks the biggest setback so far for Trump’s campaign against law firms that have represented his political enemies — though key provisions of the orders have been blocked as four firms challenged them in court.

    “Using the powers of the federal government to target lawyers for their representation of clients and avowed progressive employment policies in an overt attempt to suppress and publish certain viewpoints, however, is contrary to the Constitution, which requires that the government respond to dissenting or unpopular speech or ideas with ‘tolerance, not coercion,’” Judge Beryl Howell wrote in the 102-page decision.

    Trump’s March order against Perkins Coie attacked the firm as engaging in “dishonest and dangerous activity” and criticized it for work it had previously done on behalf of Clinton. The order suspended security clearances held by lawyers at the firm, cut the firm off from government contracts, instructed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate its hiring practices and directed agency heads to develop guidance limiting employee’s ability to enter government buildings and meet with officials.
    Trump’s order targeting Perkins Coie was the first of a wave of actions against law firms that he perceives as hostile to his interests.
    “In purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,’” Howell wrote. “Eliminating lawyers as the guardians of the rule of law removes a major impediment to the path to more power.”

    Much, much more in the link.

  17. 17.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Another Scott:

    I would like to see a lot more of Harris speaking publicly. And not just pointing out Trump’s evils, but stating clearly what she would do instead, what Democrats would do. And why.

  18. 18.

    Jackie

    @Jay:

    Firms caving to Trump reach the ‘find out’ stage.

    It’s going to get interesting real soon… I’m happy FFOTUS is finally getting real pushback!

  20. 20.

    RepubAnon

    If you know the lawyers will bend under pressure, they may not be effective advocates for you – especially if a friend of the administration is involved.

  26. 26.

    Joy in FL

    @no body no name: I love JetPens. I don’t order much now (I already have so many cool supplies), but I agree JetPens is a great company with a good website.

  28. 28.

    chemiclord

    With each day, I lose more and more patience with the “DO SOMETHING!” crowd, because it becomes increasingly clear that they don’t actually want anyone to do something, they want an excuse to sit on their ass and not do anything themselves.

  30. 30.

    no body no name

    Looks like everyone into pens is into jetpens!  They have way too much cool stuff and I keep buying things I don’t need but enjoy to use.  Do I need fancy dry erase markers for the office? No.  Do I buy them and doodle on the board?  Yes.

  33. 33.

    Splitting Image

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    BREAKING: The USDA has dropped their lawsuit against Maine over its transgender student athletic policies.

    “I told him I’d see him in court. Well we did see him in court, and we won,” Gov. Janet Mills said.

    Good news.

  34. 34.

    Jay

    Canada Freezes US Travel as Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, and Flair Slash Routes to Major Cities Including San Francisco, Miami, New York, and Washington to Tap Growing Demand in Europe
    Thursday, May 1, 2025

    Canada is rapidly reshaping its aviation ties with the US as declining travel demand, rising diplomatic tensions, and shifting consumer preferences drive major airlines—Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, and Flair—to slash routes to key U.S. cities including San Francisco, Miami, New York, and Washington. With a significant drop in both leisure and business travel from Canada to the U.S., carriers are now reallocating capacity toward Europe, where demand remains strong and political conditions are more favorable.

    Cross-Border Travel in Decline
    In recent months, both business and leisure travel from Canada to the United States have seen a dramatic downturn. Data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that entries from the northern border fell by 12.5% in February and a further 18% in March, indicating sustained contraction in cross-border movement. This retreat comes amid growing discomfort among Canadian travelers, fueled by strict U.S. border enforcement, electronic device inspections, and political rhetoric painting Canada as “the 51st state.”

    Vancouver

    News
    U.S. border officials inspecting Canada-bound traffic, lengthening waits at B.C. crossing
    By Ian Holliday
    Published: May 02, 2025 at 4:57PM EDT

    They are redirecting all traffic headed to Canada through a single lane at the US CBS, inspecting and interrogating everybody

    Normally you just bypass US CBS headed north.

  37. 37.

    sab

    I just had two  deaths in my family. Bad week.  Ms Katengi Brown would have been very proud  of either of them.

  38. 38.

    Peale

    @Jay: I just flew air Canada to France last week. The connection from JFK to Toronto seemed ok, but the flight back from Montreal was practically empty.

  43. 43.

    BellyCat

    So many criticisms of the US Supreme Court without differentiating between the majority and minority. It takes amazing courage to stand up to the dissembling of democracy. We should all be incredibly proud of the few progressives speaking out on the USSC. Kudos to Ketanji Brown Jackson and those of similar inclination.

  44. 44.

    chemiclord

    @BellyCat: We should be, but we largely aren’t.

    Instead we complain they aren’t doing enough, and that if they’d just use that one weird trick we pulled out of our asses that has no precedent or legal backing, Trump and his reactionary masses would have no choice but to… give up, I guess.

    Or, we’re supposed behave like Republicans, but from the left, because ya know, there’s no way that could backfire or go badly!

  45. 45.

    Bupalos

    Diversity really is our strength. In the “who goes nazi” game we all get to play-at gunpoint…. for stakes- the thought that our corridors of power are occupied by deep thinking and deep feeling human beings of diverse backgrounds gives me hope.

  46. 46.

    Bupalos

    @Jay:U.S. border officials inspecting Canada-bound traffic

    Help that make sense for me. Keep the fentanyl from getting out, lest it come back in??!

  47. 47.

    Bupalos

    @Melancholy Jaques: Harris saved a dozen or two seats by being who she is, an unreconstructed overachiever. I can’t believe that the chaos of the campaign meant that politically she got saddled with Biden’s unpopularity and somehow found herself saying “nothing I can think of.”

    I can’t think of an American politician that grew into the political demands of the moment like she did. Almost pulled that off.

  48. 48.

    Jay

    @Bupalos:

    They are looking for the Undocumented and Americans fleeing the US, and handing them over to ICE for their Concentration KKKamps.

    Should have gotten out when you could.

  49. 49.

    Barry

    @chemiclord: “Instead we complain they aren’t doing enough, and that if they’d just use that one weird trick we pulled out of our asses that has no precedent or legal backing, Trump and his reactionary masses would have no choice but to… give up, I guess.”

     

    What I ant is for Trump to be treated like Biden.

    For his lawyers to be treated like my lawyers would be.

    etc.

  50. 50.

    Ramona

    @Melancholy Jaques: I was disappointed beyond belief when she planned on attending the inauguration and cited that as my reason on the ActBlue donation cancellation page. I’d continued contributing even after the election in the foolish confidence that she’d lead a push against Trump.

  51. 51.

    Professor Bigfoot

    @Jay: I did a lot of international business travel, and one difference between the Americans and elsewhere was that there was no passport check for leaving the country (of course, the airline wanted to be sure you’d be allowed in, but no government passport control on exit).

  52. 52.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Bupalos:

    Diversity really is our strength. In the “who goes nazi” game we all get to play-at gunpoint…. for stakes- the thought that our corridors of power are occupied by deep thinking and deep feeling human beings of diverse backgrounds gives me hope.

    your best comment yet.

    diversity is our strength. I’ll try to write a haiku around that

Comments are closed.