I've been donating monthly basically forever, too. My parents were also donors, so I have the feeling that I've been a member my entire life. I even upped my monthly donation a few months ago, seeing how much more work they would need to do, even more than they've done over the decades, just to help protect our constitution and bill of rights from this weak and fragile monster. (Those who are actually strong are not continuously and continually desperate for people to kiss his/her feet and say only nice things and always heading immediately to vengence and revenge should someone else MERELY have another point of view. Mump2 has nothing inside him to make him feel okay about himself, so it has to come from others. Incredibly weak.)
I started donating for the first time a couple of months ago. I loved that they sent me a card so that I could proudly say I was a card-carrying member of the ACLU.
They are on TOP of it! Even before the Inauguration, having paid close attn to the illegalities already committed by the soon to be new president, they had many lawsuits ready to file the minute he stepped out of bounds again. And those "opportunities" presented themselves early on. Then they've continued this track record. Being non-profit, I have to wonder how much "pro bono" has been going on. I've been donating to them all along and believe that, on top of contributing to people like Bernie / AOC (who must be incurring a ton of travel, housing, venue rental, etc expenses but are SOOOO effective), keeping the ACLU going is right up there and mandatory. So GRATEFUL for these patriots!
"We can only hope that at least five justices’ patience has been exhausted. Perhaps now, the court will do its job, one that it has shirked and even self-sabotaged (by granting extensive criminal immunity to the president who instigated an insurrection)."
I am just some guy, but my intuition is that this is naive. The Supreme Court justices, whether just or just purely corrupt, are all intelligent people and the entire court absolutely knew the implications of granting Trump pre-emptive immunity. Justice Sotomayor left no room for debate when she wrote that the court made him a king above the law. She argued that to her peer justices and the majority chose to make him king above the law. This was not an accident. Trump already had been found liable of rape and other major crimes and the court still chose to make him akin to a king. He committed an insurrection. They were not naive about the potential he had to commit even worse crimes, and their only job is to uphold the law.
I believe the court simply ruled that people must be tried and have an opportunity to defend themselves, not that they cannot be deported and sold into concentration camps that violate human rights. Every dictator holds kangaroo courts so that they can claim a defendant had the opportunity to defend themself before their pre-ordained penalty is inflicted and I suspect this is all the Supreme Court will require. This way, they can claim they stood up to him while still participating in the destruction of our democracy.
I agree that they all knew. I think the problem is that highly intelligent people are particularly good at rationalization. The majority rationalized their answer on the basis that it might make sense in a very abstract set of facts. And they further rationalized their answer on the basis that they like to think their job is setting law for the ages rather than meting out justice in a specific set of facts. Finally, I think that the men on the court are cowards. It is easier to appease Trump and his violent followers than confront him. They were afraid of what would happen - - and not just to them - - if they told Jack Smith to go ahead. Pair that fear with rationalization and, voila, you conclude that the US Constitution allows for kings.
So they're too smart to know better? If so, then maybe they should not have lifetime appointments to the court that determines whether or not women's bodies belong to them and whether or not gay and trans people are fully human. They might just be too smart to figure out the right answers.
“They’re all so smart they’re ignorant” is a clever defense, I’ll give you that!
It wasn't a defense, but an explanation. That was pretty obvious to most of us. More to the point, whether you have a lifetime appointment or a 10-year-one really doesn't determine your beliefs about women's bodies or GLBT rights.
I fear the moment people like you assume power. The aura of Robespierre and Lenin 'he who is not with us is against us' fills your words, whether you acknowledge it or not. You just got thrown out of Timothy Snyder's latest Substack for engaging in conspiratorial showmanship. A bit of caution might work here. It might improve your ability to tell an explanation from a defense.
The Supreme Court is filled with Christian Nationalists, which are not "Evangelical" Christians, but a form of racist White Nationalism that hardly believes in the word of Jesus Christ. See Andra Watkins' Substack for a clearer understanding of their beliefs.
So, as the Heritage Foundation is a CN organization with madmen and madwomen who have developed Project 2025's document, which is a blueprint for the Trump administration, we should understand that under CN there is not justice, there is not a constitution, there is no empathy, no women's liberation, no abortion, no sex outside of heterosexual marriage, no women voting, no non-Whites having justice. In order to understand the history of this position read Freedom's Dominion by Jefferson Cowie. My political book club did and then saw him speak. I wrote a piece about it.
He discusses the history of the concept of Freedom that allows White men to have dominion over others, and not have to follow any rules, or be interfered with by the federal government. He also suggests that what will win is a good populist leader.
Now we are having him speak to Democrats Abroad on Wednesday, April 30, Noon EST, which is 6 pm CET. Here is a link. All are welcome.
The Supreme Court majority is Catholics. Evangelicals by far support Donald Trump, with an 80% majority, which is the greatest majority of any population that supports him. Religious fervor drives both the Supreme Court and fascist Christians in the United States even if their denominations are different. Given that 80% of people who identify as evangelical Christians in the United States voted for Donald Trump in 2024, I don't think you can reasonably argue that evangelical Christians are not behind fascism in the United States. You would need to convince me that the super-majority of people who call themselves evangelicals are not evangelicals.
The 'Christians' who identify as 'evangelicals' and Trump supporters are definitely interested in a theocracy. Katherine Stewart's 'Money, Lies and God' is an eye-opener.
Catholics and Evangelicals have a lot in common and have already joined together on many political issues including the separation of church and state or the rights of women.
Recently she had the Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck, who is Executive Director at Faithful America, an Evangelical Christian group, going after Christian Nationalists. Here is an excerpt from their website.
"Faithful America is the largest online community of Christians putting faith into action for love and social justice. Our members -- Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, and more -- are sick of sitting by quietly while Jesus' message of good news is hijacked by the religious right to serve a hateful political agenda. We're organizing the faithful to challenge Christian nationalism and white supremacy and to renew the church's prophetic role in building a more free and just society."
Doing this on my computer, so couldn't read the 2 links, sorry. Still think that 'evangelical Christians who are Trump supporters' are, if not dogmatic (as in dogma) 'Christian Nationalist', desirous of the US being a designated Christian nation rather than a multifaith, multicultural democracy.
Probably true. However, Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck has an organization that is open to people of all faiths including atheists for fighting against CNs and they are not pro Trump. She lives in Oklahoma so they have been fighting the CN initiatives in their state as well as making their campaign national.
IDK why they couldn't (or DIDN'T) all foresee the consequences we're now dealing with. I thought Citizens United was really stupid. Given what we're learning about the various goals of P2025, musk, putin, etc are all about and the long-term planning that has gone into all of it, it is not silly to think that at least one "justice" (I can think of three..) has not been in on at least some of it somehow. Some of them, if not all, should be frightened for their OWN jobs.
They did see the consequences. Alito openly hung an upside-down American flag over his home for all to see. He hung an "appeal to Heaven" flag that was a symbol of election denialism over his home for all to see. Clarence Thomas is openly corrupt. The other Republicans on the court are not as blatant but given their actions, I believe it is reasonable to conclude that all of them are participating in the intentional destruction of US democracy. Why they would want to do that aside from personal favor of the dictator I could not say, but they are far too smart not to have foreseen the consequences of their actions, and they went through with those actions. No one can reasonably argue that they were ignorant to the stakes or to the consequences because the dissents written by opposing justices clearly articulate the stakes and the consequences. This has been a knowing assault on the United States of America by extremist takeovers of all three branches of government.
Sounds like an uncomfortable truth - the supreme court can not be trusted to stop trump - the majority are his toadies. Interesting that Barrett has become part of the “female” contingent. We will see how long that lasts. We will have to keep watching.
Sure hope you are wrong. It will take years to remove the justices in place to create kangaroo courts but trump 2,0 has been quick to intimidate its opponents , senator markowski.
Maybe the Roberts Court was shamed into doing the right thing by the example set by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, the passionately conservative Reaganite who sits on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and whose opinion on the administration's handling of the Abrego Garcia case was as remarkable for its clarity and its reverence for the rule of law as it was for its scathing tone of contempt for the lawless Trumpistas.
Thomas and Alito are unpersuadable: natural born fascists, lost to all reason, indifferent to the rule of law, hungry for power and a kind of sour, cruel revenge on---who? what? it seems to shift from one moment to the next, but both men are clearly driven by a humorless, petulant bile: martyrs in their own imaginations, or warriors or crusaders, who even knows? Madmen, in any case.
Of the others, only Coney Barrett was unsurprising. She does turn out to be one of those deeply conservative but non-partisan, pro-constitution judges, not an ideologue or a partisan hack operating from behind the cover of those black robes.
That sets her apart from Roberts, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch; three partisans, slick and cynical, clever boys installed on the Court by Leonard Leo to do that thing they do.
In their case, one suspects, not an awakening of conscience or a newfound respect for the constitution and the rule of law, but a shrewd political reading of the moment we are in.
And that's good news. That means that deeply partisan Republicans are reading in this moment a resurgence of US democracy--an awakening across lines of party, education, class, region and faith, a sudden realization that to be a US citizen is a precious legacy, not to be thrown away lightly.
That means that even deeply partisan Republicans are beginning to realize that they may lose their advantage (and with it their ill-gotten wealth and power) if they continue pushing the nation Trumpward.
Great post, I would add a couple of things about Roberts, pure speculation, of course; he may be regretting his squashing of Jack Smith’s J6 case and the subsequent coronation of the orange cancer, and/or he may be having second thoughts about how this will affect his legacy. You are correct, he is a slick cynic, but he’s also a politician, and I think his ego might be nagging him. Get this crap straightened out or go down in history as the guy who pissed away our 250 year old democracy.
A brilliant and outstanding comment completely capturing the SCOTUS and making an intelligent analysis of our current nightmare. You have captured the Court perfectly. The two grifting judges that put money and perks above the law. Judge Wilkinson is indeed the bright light at the end of a dark hallway. Thank you for your excellent comment.
I believe Judge Wilkinson's ruling will go down in history as a turning point in trump's attempt at being dictator. His words SHOULD shame SCOTUS into action that actually accomplishes something to keep our democracy intact. No more screwing around with it!!!!!
Good post, but I don't think the Roberts court is shamed into anything. The six conservative justices are all beholden to Leonard Leo, Chairman of the Federalist Society. "Leo assisted Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings and led campaigns to support the nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito. All three of Trump's SCOTUS picks were on a list supplied by Leo. https://www.ncronline.org/news/leonard-leo-architect-conservative-supreme-court-takes-wider-culture
And, unfortunately, they are part of a Holy War against our country. The other leader of this movement, is Kevin Roberts, CEO of The Heritage Society, and mastermind of Project 2025, and a member of the secretive Catholic Cult Opus Dei. JD Vance, a close friend of Roberts, was counseled by an Opus Dei priest before he converted to Catholicism in 2019. This not the more liberal Catholicism of Joe Biden.
This group doesn't believe in the separation of Church and State, they believe in an Imperial Presidency, and want to destroy our rights and freedoms to get it. They believe women were created to have lots of babies, and support their husband's beliefs. They are opposed to all abortions and contraception, and the list goes on. The article below introduces the relationship between Roberts, Leo, and Vance. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/26/kevin-roberts-project-2025-opus-dei
I think Coney-Barrett was really upset when Donald’s thugs went after her sister after she sided, on another issue, with the women jurists. It spooked her but I believe she must realize that this regime is crazy now. Thomas is an anomaly being that he is a black man who thinks he’s a white supremacist and Alito…well, he is a fascist and a truly hateful person!
I've been thinking that if the republicans are just going to lay on their stomaches with their arms over their heads, we the people should be able to march into congress and demand to represent ourselves instead of waiting for those feckless excuses for human beings to actually do their job!!
I believe that format is: ME, MA, CA, WA, IL, MD, NY, VT and other states aggrieved by the lawless Trump regime threaten to secede by a date certain unless Trump and his entire cabinet, advisors, agency appointees, etc. etc. resign. At the very least, such a move would give the regime a whole new set of problems to deal with.
I would argue Congress has shirked its responsibility on this as well. My suggestion is that we organize a ring around Congress. You do not leave until you do your job. Congress oversees tariffs, not the Executive, Congress shuts down agencies, not the Executive, We need the best Conservative and Liberal minds to come up with a strategy - think Marriage Equality. This is not a Democratic issue. For any success we need a bi-paritsan support. Lets circle Congress with tractors, trucks, teachers, librarians, from every state in the Union. Do your job!!!!
Re: Congress--we heard Lisa Murkowski describe Congress's fear of trump/musk. Would be helpful, for some brilliant people to stage 1:1 interventions with them all, including MTG.
Bottom line: Thes 2 Justices are Nazi's friends of Trump, NYT's; "Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. The White House did not issue any immediate response."
Go ACLU! Time for a donation. Our dear leader clearly was lying when he said he would obey Supreme Court rulings but not those from lesser courts. He'll obey until he really doesn't like what they decide. The use of foreign prisons in countries subject to dictatorial rule is about as unconstitutional as you can get. Bukele is a snake. I would wager that the 6 mil paid to ES to house people Trump hates or fears went straight to the Bukele family coffers. His haughty demeanor at the White House was beyond insulting. The guy needs to be smacked down hard!
The cynic in me tells me (1) that Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Amy Coney Barrett are all viewed by the rest of the Court as expendable, (2) that the remaining five will support the notion of the Executive as King, at any cost to the Republic, and (3) that those five will allow the other four to be arrested for treason and transported to Louisiana (or Texas) on their way to El Salvador. The optimist in me sees a chance that American voters are beginning to wake up and understand that this conduct undermines the foundation of democratic governance. The voices of the people had better get louder or we are doomed.
TY, Jennifer for the wonderful breakdown of the Trump regime's efforts to sneakily defy the Supreme Court's earlier directive. For the moment, it feels like justice has been served.
No doubt Trump and his enablers will be sitting around a table this weekend figuring out how they can find another loop hole or misrepresent laws to help them carry out disappearing people from the streets of our nation.
Thank you to legal profession and I hope you are geared up and ready to go for the next crisis!
King Old Don won't be woodshedding with his henchmen. It's the weekend, time for more golf, and, as he so often reminds us, he doesn't know (or want to know) much about the details. The way he cynically blows off answering straight questions with his flaccid, meandering, clichéd gibberish is simply sickening.
He has no interest in actually "governing". He's ONLY there to stay out of prison and grift like hell for as long as possible. He doesn't have to think about ANYTHING. Everyone else has it all figured out. All he has to do is keep his signing hand healthy, & demand that his assistant keep brand new pens at the ready at all times.
"Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the court’s order. They did not provide any explanation for their votes on Saturday morning, but the order indicated a statement from Alito would follow – a relatively rare move, but not unprecedented in light of the hour at which the order was issued and the speed with which the court acted."
So, Alito is going to need a little time (or his clerks will) to cook up a pretext for the conclusion they've started with. (Maybe quote from a medieval witch-torturer or something? He likes doing that.)
They are probably worse than he is. Thomas and Alito admit they use "natural law," which is church dogma before they apply the text to interpret the Constitution.
IMHO as lawyers, law clerks have a duty to come forward when they see corruption -- which certainly looks obvious.
I forgot about these two in my post above. It has hard to find an issue that Sam and Clarence are not way on the wrong side of both the Constitution and basic human decency. Talk about being in the pocket of our Cheeto Benito!
True. But the first ruling was unanimous, which actually surprised me except for the fact that it forced plaintiffs to appear before Texas courts, which actually did work in Alito's and Thomas's favor.
I will have to give money to the ACLU. This is such a positive and amazing development! Yes!!!
Yep. Those guys deserve it. Great lawyering! Kudos to the ACLU. 🥰
Please do. I've been a monthly donor for a long time and cannot imagine what we'd do without their presence on immigration issues.
I've been a monthly donor since Trump 1.0. If you can afford it, the work they do is important.
me too!
I've been donating monthly basically forever, too. My parents were also donors, so I have the feeling that I've been a member my entire life. I even upped my monthly donation a few months ago, seeing how much more work they would need to do, even more than they've done over the decades, just to help protect our constitution and bill of rights from this weak and fragile monster. (Those who are actually strong are not continuously and continually desperate for people to kiss his/her feet and say only nice things and always heading immediately to vengence and revenge should someone else MERELY have another point of view. Mump2 has nothing inside him to make him feel okay about himself, so it has to come from others. Incredibly weak.)
Totally agree! Donating now
Me, too! Great work!
I started donating for the first time a couple of months ago. I loved that they sent me a card so that I could proudly say I was a card-carrying member of the ACLU.
They are on TOP of it! Even before the Inauguration, having paid close attn to the illegalities already committed by the soon to be new president, they had many lawsuits ready to file the minute he stepped out of bounds again. And those "opportunities" presented themselves early on. Then they've continued this track record. Being non-profit, I have to wonder how much "pro bono" has been going on. I've been donating to them all along and believe that, on top of contributing to people like Bernie / AOC (who must be incurring a ton of travel, housing, venue rental, etc expenses but are SOOOO effective), keeping the ACLU going is right up there and mandatory. So GRATEFUL for these patriots!
I just did!!
I already give to one of the most effective organizations in the county--but I'm going to give more. They do great work!
I have been supporting ACLU for some time… they are on top of civil liberties threats at all times
Please do! Before all this craziness I had the feeling ACLU needed to be supported. 1st I am monthly donor of ACLU
Give every month!!
I just have sent a check with a note to thank them!
Agreed!
Yes, I now have a monthly recurring contribution to them, as they are such effective, hard workers.
I've donated off and on, but I'm donating monthly now.
Yes! Give and give again. They are the best to donate to.
"We can only hope that at least five justices’ patience has been exhausted. Perhaps now, the court will do its job, one that it has shirked and even self-sabotaged (by granting extensive criminal immunity to the president who instigated an insurrection)."
I am just some guy, but my intuition is that this is naive. The Supreme Court justices, whether just or just purely corrupt, are all intelligent people and the entire court absolutely knew the implications of granting Trump pre-emptive immunity. Justice Sotomayor left no room for debate when she wrote that the court made him a king above the law. She argued that to her peer justices and the majority chose to make him king above the law. This was not an accident. Trump already had been found liable of rape and other major crimes and the court still chose to make him akin to a king. He committed an insurrection. They were not naive about the potential he had to commit even worse crimes, and their only job is to uphold the law.
I believe the court simply ruled that people must be tried and have an opportunity to defend themselves, not that they cannot be deported and sold into concentration camps that violate human rights. Every dictator holds kangaroo courts so that they can claim a defendant had the opportunity to defend themself before their pre-ordained penalty is inflicted and I suspect this is all the Supreme Court will require. This way, they can claim they stood up to him while still participating in the destruction of our democracy.
No justice until they redoudiateThomas and Alito.....
I agree that they all knew. I think the problem is that highly intelligent people are particularly good at rationalization. The majority rationalized their answer on the basis that it might make sense in a very abstract set of facts. And they further rationalized their answer on the basis that they like to think their job is setting law for the ages rather than meting out justice in a specific set of facts. Finally, I think that the men on the court are cowards. It is easier to appease Trump and his violent followers than confront him. They were afraid of what would happen - - and not just to them - - if they told Jack Smith to go ahead. Pair that fear with rationalization and, voila, you conclude that the US Constitution allows for kings.
So they're too smart to know better? If so, then maybe they should not have lifetime appointments to the court that determines whether or not women's bodies belong to them and whether or not gay and trans people are fully human. They might just be too smart to figure out the right answers.
“They’re all so smart they’re ignorant” is a clever defense, I’ll give you that!
It wasn't a defense, but an explanation. That was pretty obvious to most of us. More to the point, whether you have a lifetime appointment or a 10-year-one really doesn't determine your beliefs about women's bodies or GLBT rights.
I fear the moment people like you assume power. The aura of Robespierre and Lenin 'he who is not with us is against us' fills your words, whether you acknowledge it or not. You just got thrown out of Timothy Snyder's latest Substack for engaging in conspiratorial showmanship. A bit of caution might work here. It might improve your ability to tell an explanation from a defense.
I got thrown out? That's news to me.
The Supreme Court is filled with Christian Nationalists, which are not "Evangelical" Christians, but a form of racist White Nationalism that hardly believes in the word of Jesus Christ. See Andra Watkins' Substack for a clearer understanding of their beliefs.
So, as the Heritage Foundation is a CN organization with madmen and madwomen who have developed Project 2025's document, which is a blueprint for the Trump administration, we should understand that under CN there is not justice, there is not a constitution, there is no empathy, no women's liberation, no abortion, no sex outside of heterosexual marriage, no women voting, no non-Whites having justice. In order to understand the history of this position read Freedom's Dominion by Jefferson Cowie. My political book club did and then saw him speak. I wrote a piece about it.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/is-populism-the-way-to-go?r=f0qfn
He discusses the history of the concept of Freedom that allows White men to have dominion over others, and not have to follow any rules, or be interfered with by the federal government. He also suggests that what will win is a good populist leader.
Now we are having him speak to Democrats Abroad on Wednesday, April 30, Noon EST, which is 6 pm CET. Here is a link. All are welcome.
https://www.democratsabroad.org/freedom_or_power_the_fight_over_america_s_future
The Supreme Court majority is Catholics. Evangelicals by far support Donald Trump, with an 80% majority, which is the greatest majority of any population that supports him. Religious fervor drives both the Supreme Court and fascist Christians in the United States even if their denominations are different. Given that 80% of people who identify as evangelical Christians in the United States voted for Donald Trump in 2024, I don't think you can reasonably argue that evangelical Christians are not behind fascism in the United States. You would need to convince me that the super-majority of people who call themselves evangelicals are not evangelicals.
When they finally approach the “pearly gates”, if there is any truth to their faith, they are in for a shock.
The 'Christians' who identify as 'evangelicals' and Trump supporters are definitely interested in a theocracy. Katherine Stewart's 'Money, Lies and God' is an eye-opener.
Catholics and Evangelicals have a lot in common and have already joined together on many political issues including the separation of church and state or the rights of women.
Would change the quotes above = evangelical 'Christians'. They certainly identify as Evangelical.
Carol, there are Evangelical Christians who are not CNs, so it is not a correct naming. Here is Andra Watkins defining a CN.
https://open.substack.com/pub/andrawatkins/p/what-is-a-christian-nationalist?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Even more information is here where she compares the end-of-days beliefs of 2 branches of CNs. The regular and the New Apostolic Reformation.
https://open.substack.com/pub/andrawatkins/p/what-is-the-new-apostolic-reformation?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Recently she had the Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck, who is Executive Director at Faithful America, an Evangelical Christian group, going after Christian Nationalists. Here is an excerpt from their website.
"Faithful America is the largest online community of Christians putting faith into action for love and social justice. Our members -- Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, and more -- are sick of sitting by quietly while Jesus' message of good news is hijacked by the religious right to serve a hateful political agenda. We're organizing the faithful to challenge Christian nationalism and white supremacy and to renew the church's prophetic role in building a more free and just society."
Doing this on my computer, so couldn't read the 2 links, sorry. Still think that 'evangelical Christians who are Trump supporters' are, if not dogmatic (as in dogma) 'Christian Nationalist', desirous of the US being a designated Christian nation rather than a multifaith, multicultural democracy.
Probably true. However, Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck has an organization that is open to people of all faiths including atheists for fighting against CNs and they are not pro Trump. She lives in Oklahoma so they have been fighting the CN initiatives in their state as well as making their campaign national.
I listened to proceedings while they were happening, and both my husband and I were flabbergasted at this particular decision.
Putting the president above the law, beyond reproach, essentially unchecked power and control.
No repercussions for corrupt Supreme Court judges is another ‘above the law’ position.
There must be rules they, too, are forced to abide by.
IDK why they couldn't (or DIDN'T) all foresee the consequences we're now dealing with. I thought Citizens United was really stupid. Given what we're learning about the various goals of P2025, musk, putin, etc are all about and the long-term planning that has gone into all of it, it is not silly to think that at least one "justice" (I can think of three..) has not been in on at least some of it somehow. Some of them, if not all, should be frightened for their OWN jobs.
They did see the consequences. Alito openly hung an upside-down American flag over his home for all to see. He hung an "appeal to Heaven" flag that was a symbol of election denialism over his home for all to see. Clarence Thomas is openly corrupt. The other Republicans on the court are not as blatant but given their actions, I believe it is reasonable to conclude that all of them are participating in the intentional destruction of US democracy. Why they would want to do that aside from personal favor of the dictator I could not say, but they are far too smart not to have foreseen the consequences of their actions, and they went through with those actions. No one can reasonably argue that they were ignorant to the stakes or to the consequences because the dissents written by opposing justices clearly articulate the stakes and the consequences. This has been a knowing assault on the United States of America by extremist takeovers of all three branches of government.
Agreed, but don't believe that Kagan, Sotomayor or Brown have intentionally been part of this.
They are the absolute exceptions!
They are fascists opposed to the Constitution.
I’m not feelin that. The women will save the world.
as always....
Sounds like an uncomfortable truth - the supreme court can not be trusted to stop trump - the majority are his toadies. Interesting that Barrett has become part of the “female” contingent. We will see how long that lasts. We will have to keep watching.
This is so depressing but I am afraid it may be true.
Sure hope you are wrong. It will take years to remove the justices in place to create kangaroo courts but trump 2,0 has been quick to intimidate its opponents , senator markowski.
Maybe the Roberts Court was shamed into doing the right thing by the example set by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, the passionately conservative Reaganite who sits on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and whose opinion on the administration's handling of the Abrego Garcia case was as remarkable for its clarity and its reverence for the rule of law as it was for its scathing tone of contempt for the lawless Trumpistas.
Thomas and Alito are unpersuadable: natural born fascists, lost to all reason, indifferent to the rule of law, hungry for power and a kind of sour, cruel revenge on---who? what? it seems to shift from one moment to the next, but both men are clearly driven by a humorless, petulant bile: martyrs in their own imaginations, or warriors or crusaders, who even knows? Madmen, in any case.
Of the others, only Coney Barrett was unsurprising. She does turn out to be one of those deeply conservative but non-partisan, pro-constitution judges, not an ideologue or a partisan hack operating from behind the cover of those black robes.
That sets her apart from Roberts, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch; three partisans, slick and cynical, clever boys installed on the Court by Leonard Leo to do that thing they do.
In their case, one suspects, not an awakening of conscience or a newfound respect for the constitution and the rule of law, but a shrewd political reading of the moment we are in.
And that's good news. That means that deeply partisan Republicans are reading in this moment a resurgence of US democracy--an awakening across lines of party, education, class, region and faith, a sudden realization that to be a US citizen is a precious legacy, not to be thrown away lightly.
That means that even deeply partisan Republicans are beginning to realize that they may lose their advantage (and with it their ill-gotten wealth and power) if they continue pushing the nation Trumpward.
Great post, I would add a couple of things about Roberts, pure speculation, of course; he may be regretting his squashing of Jack Smith’s J6 case and the subsequent coronation of the orange cancer, and/or he may be having second thoughts about how this will affect his legacy. You are correct, he is a slick cynic, but he’s also a politician, and I think his ego might be nagging him. Get this crap straightened out or go down in history as the guy who pissed away our 250 year old democracy.
I agree that Roberts most likely has quite a few regrets.
A brilliant and outstanding comment completely capturing the SCOTUS and making an intelligent analysis of our current nightmare. You have captured the Court perfectly. The two grifting judges that put money and perks above the law. Judge Wilkinson is indeed the bright light at the end of a dark hallway. Thank you for your excellent comment.
I believe Judge Wilkinson's ruling will go down in history as a turning point in trump's attempt at being dictator. His words SHOULD shame SCOTUS into action that actually accomplishes something to keep our democracy intact. No more screwing around with it!!!!!
The Robert's court only legacy will be as the worst SCOTUS in the past 150 years. That's already signed, sealed, and delivered.
Good post, but I don't think the Roberts court is shamed into anything. The six conservative justices are all beholden to Leonard Leo, Chairman of the Federalist Society. "Leo assisted Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings and led campaigns to support the nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito. All three of Trump's SCOTUS picks were on a list supplied by Leo. https://www.ncronline.org/news/leonard-leo-architect-conservative-supreme-court-takes-wider-culture
And, unfortunately, they are part of a Holy War against our country. The other leader of this movement, is Kevin Roberts, CEO of The Heritage Society, and mastermind of Project 2025, and a member of the secretive Catholic Cult Opus Dei. JD Vance, a close friend of Roberts, was counseled by an Opus Dei priest before he converted to Catholicism in 2019. This not the more liberal Catholicism of Joe Biden.
This group doesn't believe in the separation of Church and State, they believe in an Imperial Presidency, and want to destroy our rights and freedoms to get it. They believe women were created to have lots of babies, and support their husband's beliefs. They are opposed to all abortions and contraception, and the list goes on. The article below introduces the relationship between Roberts, Leo, and Vance. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/26/kevin-roberts-project-2025-opus-dei
FYI: Brian Burch, critic of Pope Francis, is being vetted as Trump's Vatican ambassador. He is the co-founder of CatholicVote, "which peddles extreme right-wing politics in religious drag." https://www.ncronline.org/news/brian-burch-critic-pope-francis-be-vetted-trumps-vatican-ambassador
I think Coney-Barrett was really upset when Donald’s thugs went after her sister after she sided, on another issue, with the women jurists. It spooked her but I believe she must realize that this regime is crazy now. Thomas is an anomaly being that he is a black man who thinks he’s a white supremacist and Alito…well, he is a fascist and a truly hateful person!
I hope you are right re your last two paragraphs because without that......
I am so proud of the ACLU.
There should be a format for the people to impeach a president and all of his/her appointees.
I've been thinking that if the republicans are just going to lay on their stomaches with their arms over their heads, we the people should be able to march into congress and demand to represent ourselves instead of waiting for those feckless excuses for human beings to actually do their job!!
I believe that format is: ME, MA, CA, WA, IL, MD, NY, VT and other states aggrieved by the lawless Trump regime threaten to secede by a date certain unless Trump and his entire cabinet, advisors, agency appointees, etc. etc. resign. At the very least, such a move would give the regime a whole new set of problems to deal with.
I would argue Congress has shirked its responsibility on this as well. My suggestion is that we organize a ring around Congress. You do not leave until you do your job. Congress oversees tariffs, not the Executive, Congress shuts down agencies, not the Executive, We need the best Conservative and Liberal minds to come up with a strategy - think Marriage Equality. This is not a Democratic issue. For any success we need a bi-paritsan support. Lets circle Congress with tractors, trucks, teachers, librarians, from every state in the Union. Do your job!!!!
Good plan. Don't stop talking it up and I will start.
Re: Congress--we heard Lisa Murkowski describe Congress's fear of trump/musk. Would be helpful, for some brilliant people to stage 1:1 interventions with them all, including MTG.
We've been working on it. Where have you been?
I already know what my sign will say: REFUSE TO BOW, OR GET OUT NOW! REPRESENT US OR RESIGN!
Maybe Indivisible could plan something like this, although now that protesters are being punished for protesting...I not sure how this would work!
Read Feathers of Hope. Jerry Weiss. We are a minority party. Concentrate on stopping Trump/Musk and his Muskovites.
Republicans in Congress should take a huge delegation to El Salvador. They need to do something big and bold.
1. Keep supporting the ACLU
2. Write to your Congressperson: IMPEACH TRUMP !!!
Time to give to the ACLU people.
I'm so inspired by the givers here, I donated just a few minutes ago.
YES! Especially since 'rump has forced high-priced law firms to help him.
Hopefully that work will be worth every penny he paid for it.
Many thanks to the ACLU for their work to preserve due process and the rule of law. Thank you for your clear rational reporting which gives me hope.
Bottom line: Thes 2 Justices are Nazi's friends of Trump, NYT's; "Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. The White House did not issue any immediate response."
Go ACLU! Time for a donation. Our dear leader clearly was lying when he said he would obey Supreme Court rulings but not those from lesser courts. He'll obey until he really doesn't like what they decide. The use of foreign prisons in countries subject to dictatorial rule is about as unconstitutional as you can get. Bukele is a snake. I would wager that the 6 mil paid to ES to house people Trump hates or fears went straight to the Bukele family coffers. His haughty demeanor at the White House was beyond insulting. The guy needs to be smacked down hard!
The cynic in me tells me (1) that Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Amy Coney Barrett are all viewed by the rest of the Court as expendable, (2) that the remaining five will support the notion of the Executive as King, at any cost to the Republic, and (3) that those five will allow the other four to be arrested for treason and transported to Louisiana (or Texas) on their way to El Salvador. The optimist in me sees a chance that American voters are beginning to wake up and understand that this conduct undermines the foundation of democratic governance. The voices of the people had better get louder or we are doomed.
TY, Jennifer for the wonderful breakdown of the Trump regime's efforts to sneakily defy the Supreme Court's earlier directive. For the moment, it feels like justice has been served.
No doubt Trump and his enablers will be sitting around a table this weekend figuring out how they can find another loop hole or misrepresent laws to help them carry out disappearing people from the streets of our nation.
Thank you to legal profession and I hope you are geared up and ready to go for the next crisis!
King Old Don won't be woodshedding with his henchmen. It's the weekend, time for more golf, and, as he so often reminds us, he doesn't know (or want to know) much about the details. The way he cynically blows off answering straight questions with his flaccid, meandering, clichéd gibberish is simply sickening.
He has no interest in actually "governing". He's ONLY there to stay out of prison and grift like hell for as long as possible. He doesn't have to think about ANYTHING. Everyone else has it all figured out. All he has to do is keep his signing hand healthy, & demand that his assistant keep brand new pens at the ready at all times.
Yep: he entered office as a lame duck. not a care in the world. "No, I don't take responsibility at all."
"I'm not involved in it." That's leadership.
Totally agree. I just donated and received a very nice response from the ED, Anthony Romero.
What insane reason did Alito and Thomas give for their dissent?
As Rubin writes, "dissent to follow." Also noted here: https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/04/justices-temporarily-bar-government-from-removing-venezuelan-men-under-alien-enemies-act/
"Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the court’s order. They did not provide any explanation for their votes on Saturday morning, but the order indicated a statement from Alito would follow – a relatively rare move, but not unprecedented in light of the hour at which the order was issued and the speed with which the court acted."
So, Alito is going to need a little time (or his clerks will) to cook up a pretext for the conclusion they've started with. (Maybe quote from a medieval witch-torturer or something? He likes doing that.)
If Alito's law clerks are smart, they'll refuse to do this and quit en masse.
Even if they’re not smart, but simply ethical, they’ll also do so.
If they were, would they still be working for him at this late date?
good point; maybe they agree with him..
They are probably worse than he is. Thomas and Alito admit they use "natural law," which is church dogma before they apply the text to interpret the Constitution.
IMHO as lawyers, law clerks have a duty to come forward when they see corruption -- which certainly looks obvious.
I forgot about these two in my post above. It has hard to find an issue that Sam and Clarence are not way on the wrong side of both the Constitution and basic human decency. Talk about being in the pocket of our Cheeto Benito!
True. But the first ruling was unanimous, which actually surprised me except for the fact that it forced plaintiffs to appear before Texas courts, which actually did work in Alito's and Thomas's favor.
BRAVO!! The commentary was spot on!!!
Heaven help us when the SCROTUS is our last line of defense, but mirable dictu, that line might actually hold. But I'm not placing any bets.
And this is why I donate to the ACLU