Not the usual morning fare, but nothing else is happening in the back room, and this has kind of been haunting me for a couple of days.
Thanks to the heads up from Scout211 a week or two ago, I set my Tivo to record all the episodes of Cold Case that TNT is running this summer. One of the episodes was The End of Innocence, and they played this song.
The words of the song reverberated with me (for me? in me?) on so many levels.
The one I’ll share with you guys is that the age of innocence for many of us in America ended with the election in November. So many things that seemed like they would always be part of America – or would or never be part of America – it seems they went up in a puff of smoke.
Lyrics
Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn’t have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin’ by
But “happily ever after” fails
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That’s still untouched by men
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass waves in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O’ beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They’re beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass waves in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we’ve come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say goodbye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
On The Road – ema – Central Park Blossoms
Baud
Agree. We probably should have recognized it sooner, but Trump’s electoral college only win in 2016 and Biden’s win in 2020 kept alive the illusion that the electorates was something other than what it was.
princess leia
That is my favorite Don Henley song. And so appropriate. Thanks WG.
narya
To reiterate what Baud said yesterday, the age of innocence for me died with Reagan’s election. I could even argue it died with Nixon’s re-election, but Reagan did so much more damage that has not been, and, at this point, will not be, repaired. I think it’s actually possible, mind you, but it would take something like Biden’s ability to pass the various infrastructure and Covid relief bills, on an even larger scale. And, again, as Baud pointed out, voters pick a Dem after a disaster, and then immediately pivot to another Republican.
The org for which I’m working suffered a devastating blow a year or more ago, and the pieces are still being reassembled–but I keep trying to tell people that this is an opportunity to put things together in a way that meets the organization’s current needs. And it is–and in a way that would not be possible without the devastation. I just despair at the people who will suffer and die.
H.E.Wolf
Yes, this song is relevant now, in our moment.
It was relevant in 1989 when it was released.
These sentiments resonated with equal power in every century of the human experience.
A question for each of us, throughout the centuries, is: Yes; and?
I know I can grieve deeply, and feel the strong pull of the “do nothing, it’s useless” emotions… and also answer the call to take one small, concrete action.
Josie
@H.E.Wolf: Yes. I am discouraged by what I have discovered about the electorate, and I have doubts about whether we can recover at this point. I continue, however, to vote, to give small donations to good causes, to write post cards, and to hope. What else can we do?
Baud
@Josie:
Agreed. Learning to fight without expectation of reward is hard, but it is what we must do.
WaterGirl
@Josie: I feel the same as you, except that I have an answer to your question.
Make noise. Call our representatives every single day. Tell them every single day that this is not okay. Make noise!
HinTN
I thought every episode of Cold Case ended in very poignant ways and the music richly supported that emphasis.
Yes, this was Don Henley’s best song by far!
Yes, if we don’t have a Truth and Reconciliation event we are doomed to rinse and repeat the cycle of chaos that our billionaire betters thrive on.
Thanks for this, WaterGirl. Good morning!
ArchTeryx
One of Don Henley’s most beautiful songs, and the perfect one to capture the zeitgeist of the moment.
Layer8Problem
I’m a simple soul. I thought that a simple side by side comparison of good v. evil or truth v. lies would do the trick. But characterizing evil deeds as evil is apparently divisive no matter how many people get tossed into “facilities” and tortured; makes the common voter feel bad or judged y’know. And lies are just part of the currency of debate, not willful misdirection to gain advantage; in fact you can’t characterize them as lies because you can’t know what the liar was thinking or believing in their heads, as per Baquet’s Rule, no matter how repeatedly and consistently they utter falsehoods.
Politics is just city rivalry team sports, or a big game of Family Feud, not something that affects people and nations. Politics was given to Roone Arledge and moved to the Entertainment Division.
MartyIL
Wow, what a timeless 80’s classic. I hadn’t looked closely at the lyrics-they are certainly applicable today.
As an aside, a prior thread was talking border control searches and thought I’d share my experience yesterday at O’hare coming back in from Europe. They separated US citizens from green card holders (they used to be the same line). I was in the citizen line. Citizens were facially scanned and were asked if they had anything to declare. No other questions. The line was quite long and they did make multiple announcements to not use phones. I probably saw more than 100 people processed while in line and I did not see anybody pulled aside for additional questions or for device searches. The customs line was slower but still smooth.
WaterGirl
@Layer8Problem:
I thought so, too.
WaterGirl
@MartyIL: What about the green card holders?
Or was part of your description about the green card holder line?
narya
QFT. the absolute refusal of people to recognize that this country was built on the backs of enslaved persons drives nearly all of it. My relatives arrived on these shores after the Civil War, but I still benefit from the systems of oppression that the institution of slavery built (policing, anyone?). The object isn’t to make someone feel bad or defensive; the object is to figure out what a just society would look like and strategize ways to work toward that, in the context of our particular history.
JML
The basic premise of Cold Case is fairly ridiculous (essentially it’s the idea that all of these old terrible crimes would be definitively solved if only there were more dedicated caring police that would look into it with fresh eyes, warm hearts, etc). And yet…it sucks you right in. Does a great job using popular music to set the theme of the case very well. (I’m sure the licensing is a nightmare on this one!) A good procedural.
Suzanne
Since we’re talking about Don Henley, I will point y’all to this beautiful cover of “The Heart of the Matter” by the amazing and talented India.Arie.
Baud
Eric
Henley is very good at making political statements in his songs, and this like is definitely a reference to Reagan: They’re beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
NotMax
It’s no Mahna Mahna.
;)
Layer8Problem
@Baud: Pfft, acting like he’s a Republican president.
NotMax
@JML
Of them all, New Tricks cops the prize for most entertaining. IMHO.
;)
WaterGirl
@Eric:
I thought maybe it was pre-cognition, that he could see into the future. :-)
WaterGirl
This is an open thread, so you can talk about anything. I was just sharing what was on my mind.
Betty Cracker
According to NBC News, SCOTUS “curbs injunctions that blocked Trump’s birthright citizenship plan” in a 6 – 3 decision. Sounds bad. Does this apply to other types of nationwide injunctions that are protecting potential victims of this predatory administration in other areas? Unclear to me. Maybe someone could lawsplain…
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Woo hoo!
Even shoes and ships and sealing wax and whether pigs have wings?
/temporarily ultra giddy NotMax
Redshift
@WaterGirl:
And if your reps are Dems also talk to people you know with Republicans and get them to call. I know they don’t listen, but they do pay attention to the volume of calls. On yesterday’s Indivisible call, it was mentioned that Republican Sen. Tillis of NC is circulating a document about how much different states would lose in Medicaid money (also mentioned here), which is a sign our arguments are getting through and making them nervous.
JML
@NotMax: I do enjoy New Tricks! It doesn’t have the music, but it’s much funnier.
BlueGuitarist
Since it includes “beautiful for spacious skies,”
I’m reminded that the original version of that song included
America, America
God shed his grace in thee
Til selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free.
more rebuke of Trump in the later version
…
God mend thine every flaw
confirm thy soul in self-control
Thy liberty in law
Oh beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife
who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life.
Betty Cracker
Fire from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Steve in the ATL
@Betty Cracker: she is quickly becoming my favorite justice. Exceeding all expectations. If only she had two more colleagues who weren’t massively corrupt political whores….
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker:
I love Ketanji Brown Jackson and have absolute respect for her.
She is FIERCE.
tobie
@Betty Cracker: I woke up dreading today’s slate of SCOTUS decisions. This is not unexpected but I am still aghast. There are no Constitutional principles on which a judge can rule for the nation. We’re on our own. If the Trump admin strips someone of birthright citizenship, that person has to go to court at her own expense (assuming she has the money and time to do so before being deported, possibly to a third country). No legal defense fund we set up will ever be able to pay for everyone’s defense. May the rotten SCOTUS 6 burn in hell.
MartyIL
@WaterGirl: I could not see the other lines’ encounters with the CBP as clearly. From my vantage point it seemed normal, but I could only see the agent booths for a short period of time.
BlueGuitarist
@Betty Cracker:
“With deep disillusionment, I dissent” !!!
remember when it was a big deal to end
“I dissent” instead of “respectfully, I dissent”
KBJ showing all due respect – I.e., none – to the pathetic, partisan hacks.
Fraud Guy
Going over the lyrics of songs like these, from 36 years ago, makes me remember that we have always known the issues, but what have we done about them?
Hell, reread the lyrics of “This Land is Your Land” while we’re at it.
Leto
@Betty Cracker: apparently Justice Sotomayor is 15 mins into her dissent reading and continuing. Justice KJB plans to read hers as well.
Mai Naem mobile
I am so sick and tired of this fucking court’s hypocrisy and I will never forgive the assholes who couldn’t get their racist misogynistic asses to vote for HRC or Kamala Harris. Fuck these people. That is the reason we are where we are. How does this birthright citizenship thing work anyway? How the fuck is this a states rights issue? Seriously you’re an American citizen with an American passport. You’re not a fucking Texas citizen with a Texas passport. JFC.
Betty Cracker
@Steve in the ATL: & @WaterGirl: KBJ is awesome. Bony Carrot included a snippy swipe at KBJ in her shitty majority opinion
ETA:
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊 😊 😊
tobie
And decision 2 of the day gives RFK, Jr a roadmap on how to kill all public health. The rules of health boards must be followed but the head of an agency, when appointed by a Republican, can fire every member because the power of the executive branch shall not be constrained. We no longer have a republic. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Bulgakov
This dates me by a lot, but my age of innocence died when Nixon beat McGovern in 72. I wasn’t old enough to vote (old enough to be drafted however) and I attended all sorts of campaign events in rural MO for George. That Americans voted for Nixon, even after Watergate had happened and the fingers pointed at the White House, molded my cynicism.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
The Roberts Court is making damn sure it leaves The Taney Court in the dustbin of history when viewed thru the Most Awfulest Surpreme Court in US History lens.
Karen S.
@narya: I was a young adult when Reagan had his two terms. I knew he was awful, but when our fellow citizens elected Bush the Elder in 1988, that’s when I knew and felt that the electorate was feckless, at best.
Scout211
I can foresee the SCOTUS 6 drastically reforming their ways as soon as a Democratic administration is in power. You know, sticking to “settled law” that they created in 2024-2028.
Jackie
In other news Hegseth announced that the USNS Harvey Milk will be renamed in honor of a decorated Navy chief petty officer.
The fleet replenishment oiler will now be called the USNS Oscar V. Peterson. Per the NYT. No link as paywalled.
This Friday sucks.
Old Man Shadow
Moments that ended innocence.
Oh, let’s see… becoming good friends with a Black man who wasn’t raised in a conservative Evangelical bubble and exposed me to new thoughts about racism and racial disparities. I started to realize how many racist ideas I carried.
9/11. The world was bigger than America. And maybe the things we did weren’t universally beloved by everyone.
Befriending a gay coworker who had also recently become a new dad. We bonded over baby stuff. I realized that there was no difference between us and he certainly didn’t deserve to burn in Hell forever because he loved his husband. I started to doubt.
Iraq. They lied. They looked square into the camera and lied. They diverted money and manpower from hunting Al Qaeda for a vanity war without a goddamned cause or point.
2007 crash. People didn’t act rationally and do what was best for the long term health of the company. They were short sighted. Stupid. Crooked. Everyone only looked out for themselves. Now they wanted a bailout too. Conservative economics are bullshit.
Obama era. Republicans did not want to do what was best for America. They weren’t acting in good faith.
November 2016. They did it. They rallied behind the worst man, the most unqualified man to hold the office where George Washington and Abraham Lincoln sat. They did it despite knowing about his fraud, his adultery, his cruelty, his abuse allegations, his recorded confession of sexual assault. They said “Boys will be boys”, well, I’m a boy and I never treated or spoke about women that way. You told me morals and ethics counted. Well, you lied. Again. No more. You’re all full of shit. You’re the ones who hate America. You’re evil. You’re cruel. You’re immoral.
prostratedragon
@BlueGuitarist: Ray Charles would begin his version with that last stanza.
Betty Cracker
Sotomayor brings the fire too:
PatD
@Scout211: the sooner the Dems get unified behind much needed court reform the better.
BlueGuitarist
@prostratedragon:
Thanks!
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Uppity female who dares to call them out? Or uppity you-know-what? Or both.
WaterGirl
This day makes me want to tune everything out and go back to bed.
laura
This fucking Court’s majority is illigitimate! Swear to Dog, I’m going to throw a chair through the window. The majority opinion reads exactly like Dobbs- ancient english courts of chancery provides that we cannot stop a lawless president. Sotomayor’s dissent calls bullshit and Jackson agrees and piles on. The handmaid took a swipe at Jackson’s dissent and dismissed it as sucks to be you. In short, fuck them kids ……and any other Right You and I may have had.
Omnes Omnibus
Be careful with hot takes on Trump v. CASA. BTW if universal injunctions are legally iffy, then all those decisions by nutjob federal judge in Texas striking down every fucking federal policy are at risk.
ETA: I am not saying that it is a good decision or that everything is okay.
oldgold
@Betty Cracker: The End of the Innocence is a an appropriate title under which to address this decision.
Actually, for me the end of the innocence came with the Bush v. Gore decision on December 12, 2000.
This decision and many others over the past quarter of a century reflect there is no such thing as “constitutional law.”
What we have are decisions rendered on a case by case basis rooted in partisan politics and/or corruption.
rikyrah
@narya:
The Economic Foundation of the United States of America was built on AMERICAN CHATTEL SLAVERY.
Jay
Well, you have got a King now.
Should the Democratic Party take back the House, the Senate and the Office of the President, somehow, at some time, I have no faith that Court Reform will be on the Agenda.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
CLAP CLAP CLAP
Jay
@Omnes Omnibus:
Nope, he’s a ReThug, no rules apply.
Captain C
@Betty Cracker: The rest of the Shitty Six won’t care, but Roberts will be very concerned at the (utterly correct) implication that he’s a mediocre party hack who doesn’t give a fuck about the Constitution if it gets in the way of his goals.
MazeDancer
If the Supreme Court makes sure our courts cannot hold, how can our Democracy?
No national injunction feels like the first step to secession.
States that believe in freedom cannot exist with states that don’t.
I know 40%, at least, of Red States are Dems. Probably, many Southerners hated slavery.
Never felt as worried as I do right now. I live in NY. My rights aren’t going away.
But the pursuit of happiness has been replaced with fear of Civil War. Which is one of Trump’s goals.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
In case they don’t understand..
all those non-Whites for Trump, who said that they did immigration the ‘ right way’……
um…..
um……
He’s going to allow Stephen Miller to come for you.
laura
@Omnes Omnibus: I fear that there will be much Calvin Ball regarding Kaczmarek injunctions. I must acknowledge that I sped read through the majority and concurrence and slowed down slightly for the dissents, but I do believe that the court did, in fact, acquiesce to the Gov’t based on Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh’s gleeful concurrence. I’d be grateful to be proven wrong.
Bupalos
It’s kind of interesting to reference this song written in 1989 referencing Ronald Regan.
The two senses of innocent are “without guilt” and “ignornant.” The later one we do embrace as ended: “I was innocent (ignorant) of how terrible other Americans were or had become.”
The other sense we don’t see as ended, in fact we insist on it harder and harder, even as the systems we all participate and participated in break down our politics, our economy, our environment, our institutions: “I myself am without guilt in this. Others are to blame.” We don’t see that kind of innocence as ended at all. We don’t see it how it is related to the first.
rikyrah
@Mai Naem mobile:
Come sit by me
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@PatD:
I’ve wondered about this. There is a significant split in the Party as demonstrated here pretty much every day but I get the sense that this issue is something, at least in general, we all agree on: SC court reform.
Like all things, the devil would be in the details and, as usual, how aggressive Dems (if they had any actual power) pushed this and not in the typical half-assed way that kinda/sorta shows some “reform” but doesn’t really address the underlying issues that we’ve come to expect.
OTOH, I always get the sense that one reason most Dems don’t aggressively push for this is that they see no political pay off. How many voters we’re trying to reach (which ain’t us) really give two shits about SC reform?
Now, if we gain control of the gubmint, yeah, this is something Dems could (and should) push but now we’re back to the “Oh, we can’t do something too radical, it might hurt us” mentality.
Captain C
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: The Dred Scott Roberts Court, because it seems like every day there’s a Dred Scott-level bad decision that the Shitty Six sign on to.
tobie
@Omnes Omnibus: I wish I believed this but the Supreme Court’s conservatives have shown time and again that they’ll find some procedural carve out to reach a desired result. These are not justices with principles. They are political hacks.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
clap clap clap for Sotomayor too
Omnes Omnibus
@tobie: I don’t disagree. I do think that clog up the courts with challenges to every right wing universal injunction is a worthwhile initiative.
tobie
@Omnes Omnibus: Good point. Gumming up the works may be out best option for the time being.
Omnes Omnibus
@tobie: Let’s state passing gun laws and then, when a judge strikes them down, arguing that the decision only applies to the individual plaintiff. Also we need to start filing more class actions suits. BTW my opinions here are hot takes as well.
rikyrah
Hope 🦬💙❤️
@HopeisaBison
Y’all will pick up on the identity politics now. You’ll call out racism now. Peep how you hype up joy as a plus now. Look at how being a child of immigrants matters now.
8:16 AM · Jun 27, 2025
·
x.com/HopeisaBison/status/1938587317456789737
cmorenc
@Baud:
The 2024 election fundamentally shattered my life-long view of the US as a nation with deep flaws that was nevertheless following a wobbly, but inevitable course along what MLK called the long “arc of justice” – and the way we justifiably saw ourselves as a force of good in the world in the wake of our communal coming together to win WW2 and defeat the forces of evil, continuing with holding the Soviet Union at bay. I could see how barely enough of the electorate could get fooled once into narrowly voting Trump into winning in 2016, but thought surely after his chaotic, repulsively regressive first term and especially in light of the J6 insurrection and deliberate reckless retention and concealment of highly sensitive national security documents, it would be impossible for him to successfully run for any office ever again.
That he was able to win even a narrow popular margin in N24 was a brutal awakening – when so many of us had felt so sure that enough voters, especially in swing states, would be awake enough to defeat his attempted return to the White House, albeit by a narrower margin that it should be. And then, the morning after election day, a huge WTF !! and with every day, Trump’s second term is proving worse than I ever thought remotely possible. And the true current nature of half the populace is why he was able to win in 2024.
tobie
Holy cow, another 6-3 ruling. My suspicion is that the 6 conservatives on the court were given marching orders after the stay in Abrego Garcia vs Noem in April to support the admin in every important case. They’ve complied.
prostratedragon
@Omnes Omnibus:
Similar from Joyce W. Vance:
Lyrebird
@rikyrah: Did you see a political comedy clip back when the fascist bloviator was first elected, it was either SNL or Dave Chapelle, with people watching the election results? The white viewers are showing shock and horror, can’t believe this is happening, and their friends who aren’t white are showing unsurprised “now you notice?” reactions.
Long explanation of a short skit – just wondering if it rang true to you.
Jay
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
as Dobbs showed, the Supreme Court and it’s “utter balls and strikes BS”, is not a “normie” issue.
But, should the Democratic Party ever get the Majority again, barring the US being in a war, Civil or otherwise, Court Reform needs to be the #1 Issue, and blueprints need to be laid and agreed on in advance.
BethanyAnne
I remember hearing that on the radio, and thinking “That’s clearly Don Henley, but that piano sounds so much like Bruce Hornsby. What is this?” Turns out it was both of them, and they both play it in concert.
Bobby Thomson
That song was written about Reagan perjuring himself in the Iran-Contra investigation.
Captain C
@Jay:
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: John Roberts is the Angel Hernandez of Supreme Court Justices.
tobie
@Omnes Omnibus: There are days when the news is so inflammatory that burning hot takes are warranted. Today is one of them.
I’m trying to figure out which legal organizations I should be contributing: ACLU is first on the list; Democracy Docket is great; CREW seems like a good option.
@WaterGirl: Your hands our full so take this as a friendly suggestion, not a request, from a grateful reader: When the dust settles, could we have a thread on what different legal defense & civil rights groups are doing and how to support them.
rikyrah
MeidasTouch
@MeidasTouch
🚨🚨Trump’s economy gets disastrous update
– Core inflation SPIKES to 2.7% in May, worse than expected
– Income FALLS 0.4%
– GDP SHRINKS 0.5% in Q1
– Consumer spending DROPS 0.1%
9:50 AM · Jun 27, 2025
x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1938610792443625557
...now I try to be amused
@Baud:
And every time I see the hatred that engulfs these children
It makes me wonder if the quest for peace will someday subside
I`m not afraid to wage the hopeless battles I must fight
For I could never lose, I know my cause shines in the light
— Fishbone, “Fight the Youth” (1991)
That song has always resonated with me.
Baud
Haha. Young white libertarian porn consumers are learning that Republicans and their judges don’t have their backs.
Now if only the pot smokers can figure it out.
H.E.Wolf
Here’s one to start with. Hat tip to Electoral-Vote.com, where I saw it mentioned.
uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/06/18/usc-agents-of-change-establishes-hotline-to-help-move-immigration-h…
RaflW
The end of Scotus as even a pretend arbiter of law rather than naked power came today. It was teeteringly close in recent weeks, but today we fell off the cliff.
Really dark days are upon us. But we must find ways to fight back!
trollhattan
@Baud: Filed in Delaware superior court so Trump can’t intervene.
Guessing that’s where Fox is incorporated?
YY_Sima Qian
I love that song, & I love the series Cold Case! Watching that episode was in fact when I was 1st introduced to the song, could not get it out of my head.
As JML said, the premise of the show is ridiculous, & yet it is so well written & acted that I was quite willing to suspect my disbelief. Traveling across time & eras, so much poignance in the stories.
PatD
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: So, I think that we need to politicize the court more, not less. Turn it into a lightning rod. It’s the Republican SC and they’re helping Trump destroy the country. And if we actually want Dems to make it happen then we need to force them to acknowledge that reality. The Republican SC is corrupt and must be balanced.
tobie
@H.E.Wolf: Thanks for this. Agents of Change seems to be looking for volunteers. I’ll see if they have a donate page set up anywhere.
RaflW
@rikyrah: I’ve been tracking & graphing TSA screenings since April 30, so almost two months now. Total processed is down 1.81% vs. same day of week a year ago, and the gyrations are wild. Some days are off 8% from same day a year ago, and the good days are infrequent and only up a few percent.
I also read yesterday that Colorado mountain hotels had a terrible month of May, down 15% compared to last year. When I post things like that on Bsky, I hear from folks in Maine that Canadian vacationers have just *vanished* (no surprise!).
The economy is hitting the skids but I think the biz press is spooked to really report it. “Recession” requires six months of negatives to be official, but the hurt is already under way IMO.
NotMax
@Bulgakov
Voting age had been lowered to 18 by ’72, matching the pre-existing draft age.
Librettist
Bruce Hornsby has a co-writing credit. The lyrical content, piano, and mournful Wayne Shorter sax solo are very much in his style, and it is a regular in his set list.
That album has a ton of talent on it. Even Axl has a backing vox credit.
Jay
@trollhattan:
Probably, Delaware is the most Corporate Friendly State in the Union, also known as a place where pensions go to die.*
*Corps set up a sub, load the sub up with debt and liabilities, run it as a sub for a few months, then spin it off and do an IPO as a completely separate company. Insiders buy just enough shares for cheap to make it look “real”. The spin off then runs for a few more months before declaring Chapter II. Surprise, surprise, it’s nothing but debt all the way down. Pensions get vaporized, Class action lawsuits get vaporized, Federal and State fines get vaporized, tax liabilities get vaporized, and it’s all legal in the State of Delaware.
trollhattan
@NotMax:
‘Tis true it was the first time the 18YO cohort voted in a federal election. It’s also true the utter crushing of McGovern was incredibly dispiriting, considering everything Nixon represented.
Those polls showing the majority of Americans approved of the Kent State shootings? They were a damn good litmus test of how the public felt and thought.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Appreciate that perspective.
Maybe it’s like lies. The more you tell, the easier it is to catch you in a lie because you forgot what you said.
Maybe some of these bullshit rulings will bit them in the behind – law of unintended consequences.
Citizen_X
@…now I try to be amused: Helps that that song has an absolute monster of a bass line.
WaterGirl
@tobie:
Yes.
But I can tell you up front that the legal defense groups are surely getting big bucks from the money people, so our money would be like salt in the ocean.
Civil rights groups may be a totally different story.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: I need some perspective on the numbers.
Because generally 1/10 of 1% or 5/10 of 1% do not seem like significant numbers to me.
That would be what people like to call a rounding error.
Jay
@PatD:
As Dobbs showed, “normies” and “Low Information Voters” don’t care about the White Supremacy Court. They have no clue who sits on it, how they vote, or the impact of their rulings, and don’t care. Until the ruling’s consequences impact them, and then, instead of blaming the root cause, they will blame their State’s Laws, the ruling allowed the State to enact, if they blame anyone.
Yes, the Democratic Party needs to make Court Reforms a critical priority if and when they should ever return to the majority, but it’s not an Election winning platform.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
It’s the percentage of inspections of airline passengers, and the volume varies greatly per day.
One of our posters posted in another thread that flying from Montreal to California, they got bumped three times, because there weren’t enough passengers to even come close to filling the plane. Only when enough passengers were accumulated, was the flight a go.
Air Canada, West Jet and other discount airlines have cut flights to the US by 70%. Lot’s of you tubes, TicToc’s and Instagram’s showing empty International Departure areas and empty flights heading to the US.
TSA knows in advance the volume they will be getting and staff accordingly.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: I think the .5% decline in GDP could be significant, if it’s not a one-off. If it’s a trend, we may be in for a sharp recession.
Raoul Paste
Dire warnings and data about the economy and yet the stock market is at record levels. ??? Maybe corruption is massively profitable? I don’t get it
rikyrah
@trollhattan:
This is for real? It’s not The Onion?
rikyrah
@RaflW:
For me, they are desperate to find a ‘both sides’ angle. And, they can’t find one. Which is why they aren’t reporting it.
Baud
@Geminid:
Steve in the ATL
@Raoul Paste:
Duh.
Omnes Omnibus
@tobie: IMO going with hot takes is almost always a bad idea. Too many people never get the cooler take. It could be better or worse, but it is usually more accurate. But I am probably going walk away from the internet today. I will read the opinion and the calmer analyses.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: even your My Little Pony fan page?
Baud
@Steve in the ATL:
Supreme Court upheld age verification laws today.
Jay
@Raoul Paste:
A huge amount of trading is algorithmic, and not reason based. If a stock starts to go up, the computer system buys, if the stock starts to go down, the computer sells, and it can do all that in a micro second. Human input is marginal. The computer system can also factor in puts and shorts in the same time frame.
So if one brokerage starts chasing a stock, all the others follow.
It’s no longer based on the ROI, profit or loss, it’s all based on up or down, until the crash.
The markets can stay insane much longer than you can remain solvent.
Jay
@rikyrah:
It’s for real. Faux “News” said some things on air about Gavin they should not have. Probably day drunk again. The demand amount is the same amount that Faux settled with Dominion for.
tobie
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh c’mon, Omnes. Don’t be so sensible and reasonable!
Captain C
@Jay: Caddyshack was on cable the other day, so your comment reminded me of this scene.
PatD
@Jay: I agree that it’s not an election winning platform but it is imperative for a functioning democracy. In short, the court needs to be neutered as an unelected legislature.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: THAT’S SACRED!!!!!!
Geminid
@PatD: Democrats can make court Court reform part of their policy platform, and still center other, more salient issues in campaigns.
trollhattan
@rikyrah: Frealz. Some details.
I’ll let “John Roberts” go and presume somebody with that name works at Fox and in this case it doesn’t happen to be the chief justice, who may just as well work for Fox.
Jay
@PatD:
The court needs an enforceable Code of Conduct and Ethics, not the Pirates Code from Pirates of the Caribbean, (See Miss, them’s ain’t Laws, they are only guidelines). It needs penalties ranging from fines, forced recusal, impeachment, disbarment, all investigated and enforced by a neutral 3rd Party. It needs way more than 9 Judges, and the Circuit Courts need to be trebled.
As the Republic fell today, and once again you have a King, it is something that must be done if you ever have a 2nd Republic. It is not a subject that will call people to the barricades, but it is something that must be done, (amongst many other things, but it is top of the list) if you ever have a 2nd Republic.
Jay
@Geminid:
Normies and Low Information Voters can maybe hold one, two or three, maybe four issues in their pretty little heads in any election cycle. Legal weed far outranks the Supreme Court as an election issue.
PatD
@Geminid: of course, I agree.
PatD
@Jay: yes, the trade-off is that the institutional reputation of the court takes a hit as both parties start packing the court every time control changes hands. But they have already turned the court into a partisan joke and we’re simply going to have to fix it.
H.E.Wolf
@BlueGuitarist: Thank you for the stanzas of “America the Beautiful” – it’s one of my favorites.
I didn’t realize until I was college-age that the lyrics were written by a woman: Katharine Lee Bates, a social activist and an advocate for peace.
From Wikipedia: When a colleague described “free-flying spinsters” as “fringe on the garment of life”, Bates answered: “I always thought the fringe had the best of it. I don’t think I mind not being woven in.”
Jane2
I went to Plentywood, Montana a couple of days ago – could be in my province except for the flags. Same ag/resource economy, same town trying to keep its services and population base. Like many border communities, the town depends on Canadian business.
Border crossing – same as always. Friendly people, “have a good one”. Went to my package pickup place – a lovely store to browse and always buy something. Within five minutes, everyone in there was apologizing and ranting about Trump – never heard anything like it. They’re scared, angry, and they get it. They know the state voted for Trump – but it’s way beyond that.
They’re appalled at everything – the Iran invasion, Gaza, trans rights, stripping history from national parks, you name it. And I’d be surprised if any of them are Democrats.
We can scoff about leopards eating people’s faces (I too love the reddit subgroup), but these are real people who are already hurting and know it’s getting worse. And they don’t know what to do.
We’re still neighbours – I can only hope that the anger, fear and outrage grows to a critical mass.
Scout211
Yes, John Roberts is an anchor at Fox News. But he’s an immigrant from Canada!
Well, dual-citizen, but still. Can he really be trusted to report on immigrants? I think not. ;-)
Quiltingfool
I just got an email from Shitty Senator Schmitt (R-MO). Here’s the important work he’s doing:
I was invited to check a yes/no box if I wanted “answers” about the Biden Administration.
He’s going to hear from me, and it ain’t gonna be pretty.
Fucking schmuck. (My former Jewish boss told me that schmuck was a bad word). Is there a more insulting Yiddish term I could use? Schmuck doesn’t seem to be enough.
WaterGirl
@Jay: What does what you wrote have to do with what I was replying to?
Jay
@PatD:
There is no law against Court packing.
There can be. For example, a law can be written and passed that the size of the Court, and the number of the Circuit Courts is X percentage of the US population, so say for every 20,000,000 in population growth “you” get 1 new Supreme, 1 new Circuit.
The Ethics and Conduct rules can include a clause of “no pulling a Witchfinder Generals opinion from pre- Magna Carta England out of your ass” US law and precedent or GFO.
If the 6 added to the Court in the initial “court packing” are of the right range of ages and qualified, subsequent Presidencies might get 1 Justice, if they are lucky a term.
Qualifications can be hard set, no Leo says, instead only ABA recommended Judges can qualify. Ethics and Conduct rules can also be made to apply to candidates, no future Judge I Like Beer or Judge Pubic Hair.
Like many other Institutions that were supposed to be guardrails, norms need to become laws and rules.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
Muy bad, I thought you were replying to #92.
Omnes Omnibus
A counterpoint to the title track.
BlueGuitarist
@H.E.Wolf:
Always good to see your nym!
Katharine Lee Bates was a socialist
huffpost.com/entry/katherine-lee-bates-is-rolling-in-her-grave_b_58829667e4b0111ea60b960d
like Francis Bellamy, who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance (without the words “under God” which were added in the 1950s).
Interesting that
“America the Beautiful”
the “Pledge of Allegiance” and
“This Land Is Your Land”
were all written by socialists,
lovers not haters.
(Francis Bellamy’s cousin, Edward Bellamy, also a socialist, wrote the utopian novel Looking Backward 2000-1887.)
Jay
@Quiltingfool:
Paskudnik/paskudnyak = A revolting, disgusting, evil person
It’s gendered, so Paskudnik is masculine, Paskudnyak is feminine
H.E.Wolf
@BlueGuitarist:
Always good to see your nym, too!
Thanks for the additional details. Here’s to the lovers not haters. Long may they prosper!
Bokonon
Hint for the Democrats (from someone who used to do canvassing) – frame the Supreme Court’s extremism as part of the Democrats opposing “GOP corruption”. Hit the GOP over and over again over their corrupt and unpopular acts, and link the individual instances back to the same theme. Themes and framing matter. You can do this! It works!!
Bokonon
The GOP is in full bread and circuses mode (and are trying to deflect and jam the negative media cycles that Trump has been generating). But this garbage is pretty revolting, especially at a moment where Trump is aggressively walking all over Congress.
They are turning Congress into part of the Trump reality TV programming.
WTFGhost
Pft. I do it all the effing time, and I keep living through the times when I can’t so I can try to stand up and fight again.
It’s like Covid. The fight wasn’t to win the battle in favor of isolation and masking, but to save lives. No one was going to give anyone any awards for saving lives; people’s praise the eff out of the worst human beings in existence for *killing* people back then, but, not for saving lives.
Did we lose the fight, because science is being dismantled? No, every life that was saved was a victory, and, alas, has to be its own reward, in a sick nation like this.
The electorate is the same dull-witted beast it always is. It doesn’t care about justice until its own self is getting harmed, and it’s always willing to relish the opposition against the freaks, and weirdos, and that’s *you*, my friend, the moment you’re inconveniently opposed to the demands of the masses.
But they’re not as evil as you’d think. Just… way, way, too complacent, and constantly taught to be spoiled brats, by Republican politicians and their propagandists.
Kayla Rudbek
@Eric: most definitely, I remember when this song came out and I made the connection back then
Kayla Rudbek
@tobie: the Seditious Six should all be impeached, disbarred, and imprisoned.
Kayla Rudbek
@Raoul Paste: corruption and venture capital funding still making money
Kayla Rudbek
@Jay: so it’s like AI-generated garbage only doing it with stock trading instead of pictures or words
Tehanu
Ditto.