Below is my column on Fox.com discussing the most recent call to be “ruthless” and to pack the Supreme Court. It is only the latest call for fundamental changes in our system on the 250th anniversary of our revolution.
Here is the column:
“Let’s get ruthless.”
Those words are, unfortunately, nothing new in this age of rage. In just the last few weeks, various liberal pundits and politicians have been calling for radical and even violent action.
Even comedian Margaret Cho publicly declared this week that “we need a feral, bloodthirsty, violent Democrat.”
However, these words were reposted by Bill Kristol, the founder of the Weekly Standard and the current editor-in-chief of The Bulwark. Kristol was a leading conservative figure in the Republican Party.
Kristol left the Republican Party and is now a vehemently anti-Trump writer. There are certainly good-faith reasons why some conservatives have broken with Trump on a variety of issues.
However, the original column was endorsing the Democratic plan to pack the Supreme Court with an instant liberal majority to force through a slew of political changes in the country.
Various Democrats have been pledging to not only impeach Trump (and a long list of other figures), but to pack the Supreme Court as soon as they regain power.
James Carville declared, “If the Democrats win the presidency and both houses of Congress, I think on day one, they should expand the Supreme Court to 13. F— it. Eat our dust. Don’t run on it. Don’t talk about it. Just do it.”
This Nike School of Constitutional Law is catching on with a wide array of pundits and professors. Just do it.
Years ago, Harvard professor Michael Klarman laid out a radical agenda to change the system to guarantee Republicans “will never win another election.” However, he warned that “the Supreme Court could strike down everything I just described.” Therefore, the court must be packed in advance to allow these changes to occur.
Former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder has put packing the Supreme Court front and center, explaining, “[We’re] talking about the acquisition and the use of power if there is a Democratic trifecta in 2028.”
Years ago, I wrote an academic piece on the possible expansion of the Supreme Court, but there is a world of difference between that and a court-packing plan. Under my proposal, the court’s expansion would take almost two decades to ensure that no president could pack the court.
It was not just the company that Kristol is keeping on the issue, or his endorsement of the long-anathema concept of court packing, but also his rationale for the move. Kristol cited the successful Democratic gerrymandering efforts in California and Virginia as triumphs that should now propel the left to pack the Court.
Kristol reposted the call for court packing from his colleague Jonathan Last: “Expanding the Supreme Court is no different from redistricting in California and Virginia,” he said. “It is a proportionate response to Republican attempts to degrade liberal democracy and move America toward a post-liberal order.”
Praising governors Gavin Newsom and Abigail Spanberger for their “ruthless” leadership in response to Republican gerrymandering, Kristol insisted that Democrats must meet “force with force” and must now pack the Supreme Court. Being ruthless, he argues, is the “only road to preserving liberal democracy.”
There is, of course, a considerable difference between altering political districts and packing the courts. Political gerrymandering has been around since the earliest days of the Republic.
The courts are not the same political fungible units. Indeed, the favorite term on the left is “illiberal democracy” to refer to democratic systems used to curtail rights and weaken checks and balances. Yet this illiberal means is being cited by Kristol as essential to save liberal democracy.
Liberal justices have spoken out against these calls for court packing.
The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it would destroy the continuity and cohesion of the court.
She added, “If anything would make the court look partisan, it would be that — one side saying, ‘When we’re in power, we’re going to enlarge the number of judges, so we would have more people who would vote the way we want them to.’”
The political districts are precisely that: political. They are part of the two political branches in a tripartite system. It is the courts that keep these political branches within their proper constitutional orbits.
There was, of course, no movement to pack the court when a series of liberal majorities rewrote major areas of constitutional law in the 1960s and 1970s. These demands from figures like Sen. Elizabeth Warren were only heard when the court began to rule against their chosen outcomes.
Warren explained that the court had to be packed to bring its rulings in line with “widely held public opinion.”
Of course, Article III was designed precisely to blunt such pressures to rule according to “widely held public opinion.” The Supreme Court is a counter-majoritarian body that was created to protect rights against the passions or demands of the majority.
As I discuss in my book, “Rage and the Republic,” the founders sought to avoid “democratic despotism” and “mobocracy” by creating barriers to direct democratic powers. The Supreme Court is essential as a bulwark against such impulse politics. Those pushing for an instant liberal majority would convert the court into the type of partisan judicial bodies seen in states like Wisconsin where jurists are selected to robotically vote for party priorities.
There is a reason why “ruthless” was not an attribute cited by anyone in the constitutional convention to be fostered in our Republic. On the contrary, the system is designed to temper ruthless passions for reasoned debate.
The court itself may be the ultimate test of the lingering capacity for reason among our citizens. Of course, we can be ruthless and tear down our institutions on the 250th anniversary of our Republic.
No democratic system is ever immune from self-inflicted wounds. That is why Benjamin Franklin reminded us that this remains our Republic if we can keep it. This year, we can celebrate that Republic, or we can ruthlessly destroy it in a fit of blind rage.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
N.B.: The original column was edited to make clear that Bill Kristol was reposting and endorsing the words of his colleague. I am still hoping that Kristol might still expressly reject this position and say that he was merely reposting a writer on the Bulwark and should not have highlighted this particular call for court packing. Thus far, he has not done so.
Before the 1807 expansion, President John Adams signed the Judiciary Act of 1801, which technically would have reduced the Court from six to five upon the next vacancy. This was a “lame-duck” attempt to deny Thomas Jefferson a nomination when he expanded the size of the Court.
This, adjusting the size of the court for political gain has been around since at least the second president. When did gerrymandering start again? Oh yeah, several years later.
I don’t support adjusting the size of the Supreme Court for political gain, but it is historically inaccurate to suggest that one is more justifiable given a longer historical precedent.
Shame on you Turley for misinforming your readers on American history.
Bill Kristol is the reason the term TDS had to be invented. As JT notes there are reasons for conservatives to have issues with DJT. But letting those reasons allow you to abandon a lifetime’s principles instead of just opposing him when you think he’s wrong is the essence of TDS.
The new Democrat normal cannot be denied. If I were a Democrat I would be concerned.
The new Democrat normal: cheer the assassination of a Republican commentator. Mourn the failure of assassination attempts on the Republican president of the United States. Make a folk hero out of people who assassinate other people, including health care executives. Cole Allen is already a folk hero in the left.
This is not normal. This appears to reflect widespread mental illness on the Left in the US. These people are mentally deranged monsters.
I hasten to add that there are exceptions, which are notable because they are exceptions. For example, Senator John Fetterman has rightly pointed out that this incident is exactly why we need the new ballroom:
https://x.com/SenFettermanPA/status/2048390030561812902
And Van Jones – who continues to pleasantly surprise me – is rightly calling out this behavior, including making the assassins folk heroes, as something that has to stop:
https://x.com/CurtisHouck/status/2048250739487654033
OTOH, a state-level Democrat politician in Wisconsin owns a bar, where he is promising free drinks all day on the day Trump dies. He is lamenting that he could not provide free libations today. I can’t link it b/c of the limit of two links, but you can find it easily enough with a google search.
Van Jones is Karl Marx Jr., aka, the enemy.
Fetterman suffered a disabling brain injury. There was no need for an event which Trump avoided for 9 years.
BRAINDEAD ANON!!!!!!!!!!!
What does any of this mean ?
With respect to Fetterman – Democrats voted him into office AFTER his stroke.
If you are blaming the stroke for Fetterman having a conscience or not being a brain dead left wing nut – then more democrats should have strokes.
With respect to the WHCD – so what ?
Because Trump did not attend during his first term – it is justified to assassinate him ?
Please, Please keep demonstrating to the world that you have no moral foundations.
While Fetter-Man! was disabled he was more democrat and he became more republican-aligned as his brain healed, what does that tell you?
and the show will go on and it’s gonna be great! Trump will just be more prepared and you will have high blood pressure.
What could possibly be someones hatred of a ballroom? What’s the problem? It’s a ballroom. TDS
I don’t often agree with Van Jones on policy, but I think he generally tries to be fair. Not always, but generally.
I’d note that the hotel where the shooting occurred was filled with people in his industry – “journalists”, commenters, etc. People he knows personally.
Would he make similarly strong comments (like the one you linked to) even if the shooting had not directly threatened members of his industry? Probably. But I can’t be certain.
“OTOH, a state-level Democrat politician in Wisconsin owns a bar, where he is promising free drinks all day on the day Trump dies. He is lamenting that he could not provide free libations today”
That idiot politician/bar owner should be much more careful about what he advocates and sponsors, against the very real possibility of “what goes around, comes around”. Bars are full of alcoholic beverages, and alcohol is a very flammable substance.
No cheering for the death of a millionaire hired by billionaires to convince the middle and lower classes to become minions to the oligarchs. There was bemusement that Kirk’s defense of gun rights included exactly what happened to him as justification.
This is more of a Darwin Award, though too late as Kirk had fathered children.
The most striking part is that the Conservatives who worshipped the ground upon which Kirk walked, really hated those on the left repeating what Kirk said about a great number of subjects. Almost as if the opinions Kirk expressed weren’t as important as his gad-flying on College campuses to groom young adults into being members of a cult.
In any case, Conservatives put their full weight behind a person who openly threatened to kill tens of millions of people and end an entire civilization out of frustration that his half-baked plan failed in the first 24 hours.
^ This is exactly what I’m talking about when I say it is apparent that Leftists are deranged monsters. Partially detached from reality, partially psychopathic and unable to understand or experience basic humanity. God help us.
OldManFromKS,
This is the one upside of the comments section of the good professor’s blog. All the leftist annonys show us how morally depraved they really are.
Idiots from both parties justify murder. Hegseth does by killing boats full of people in the Caribbean in violation of the laws of war. Pretty deranged, I’d say. And coming from the government rather than an individual.
Both are wrong.
When you attempt to justify the assassination of others – you expose your own lack of morality.
The gun did not Kill Kirk a person – Robinson did.
You do not get to make excuses for lawless and immoral acts.
I do not care about your opinion of Kirk – you can not justify his murder.
That you would even try makes you a far far worse person than you seem to think Kirk was.
You don’t believe any of that and you certainly can’t defend any of it. However, I suggest demorats fully embrace your proposed “dirty murderous commie schemes” and see if they can fall further out of American politics. Trump said it best: America will never be a socialist country. and he’s right. we won’t stand for it and we can defend against it.
And please, seeth more while you’re way down there.
^This guy living up to the “age of rage”. I can hear steam coming from his ears when i say MAGA.
You would feel at home in 1930s Germany.
It is a reflection of the abandonment of morality.
Turley has a peice in the Hill on the NYT article on microlooting.
The ends justifies the means leads to actual Nazis.
It’s the Gleichschaltung of today’s world.
Via High-Technological mechanization (4&5th estates under A.I.). The ‘Enabling Act’ (March, 23rd 1933) of the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001 as amended, has armed the Government by expanded surveillance abilities of law enforcement, hence the circuit-of-mechanization (full circle) with surveillance-controls (Social-Engineering of the USA’s Social Credit System) and socially integrated A.I. technology (all Warehoused in distributed Data Centers)
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-countries-with-most-data-centers/
One of the French survivors of Ravensbrück wrote a book about the “de-civilization of Europe.” Perhaps we should read and learn about how civilized societies descend into the abyss for we are doing so with ever increasing speed.
Do you remember Trump praising the assassination of Muslims in NC?
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/us/politics/trump-pigs-blood-sister-chapel-hill-victim-barakat.html
The new “GOP” normal?
Crazies everywhere. Not normal.
How strange it is that a-holes such as yourselves think you are entitled to the good life.
Pearls aren’t actually that good for improving grip strength.
A-holes such as yourselves deserve to live under tyranny.
Any life under dem progressives would be life under political tyranny.
“The goal of progressiveism and socialism is communism.”
– Vladimir Lenin
I doubt he said “progressivism.” Funny, but (more frequently than I would expect), when someone adds something to a quote, they misspell it – dead give away.
Please distinguish modern progressivism from socialism.
If anything today’s progressives are significantly more morally bankrupt that socialists.
John Say,
Well said.
And by their words, actions of today’s progressives, celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk, lamenting the failed attempts of assassinating President Trump, they show us how morally bankrupt they really are.
Sorry, the American Way is to eliminate tyranny and commie-hellscapes, so what you wish upon others will not come to pass for any of us.
Enjoy your American-made freedom. and try to keep up, or finish your manifesto or something slacker
Court packing by one party would immediately yield (on a change of power) further court packing by the opposition party. In fact, it would consume the entirety of politics. It is dead on arrival on policy grounds.
“It is dead on arrival on policy grounds.”
That presupposes rational thought and behavior by the left; a thoroughly laughable proposition. While any packing could plausibly lead to an escalating expansion competition as you suggest, I’m more inclined to think that the ultimate result would be an attempted revolt by one or more States and/or segments of the population. Democrat “luminaries” such as Carville have explicitly identified SCOTUS expansion as an integral part of their strategy when they regain power, so I favor Republicans striking first, while they can (if they indeed are still capable). Should that trigger more anger and violence from the left and the Dems, so be it. That is the direction in which they clearly want to take things anyway, and there does not appear to be any kind of appeasement from Republicans and/or libertarians that would sway them from that path (not that I favor any appeasement).
“Democracy” is not under threat; rather ‘Democrat-cy’ is under threat and the Dems are thereby desperate to get political power back, and this includes, as they sink further into desperation, violence since it has become clear to them that they can’t get what they want any other way.
That’s why dems say “our democracy”. Yes, their collectivist schemes ARE in danger as they are contrary to Our Republics Constitution.
Just another effort by Turley to normalize Trump and the damage he has already done to our country, our relationships with our former allies and the damage he his Federalist Society radical conservatives on the SCOTUS have done to our laws.
Turley decries Bill Kristol for seeking “fundamental change “— we are already suffering from that from Trump—and, critically important, most Americans don’t like it. The “fundamental change” most Americans want is a reversal of the damage Trump has done to our economy, our democracy and our international relations. That’s why an unprecedented number of Americans are taking to the streets to protest him and the outrageous things he is doing. The normal reaction to Trump by those of us who aren’t MAGA cult members is outrage. We don’t want concentration camps or armed thugs grabbing up people or murdering US citizens.
Turley’s comments would only apply if Trump wasn’t: 1. The worst chronic, habitual liar who ever occupied the White House; you literally can’t believe anything he or members of his administration say about anything; 2. Didn’t lie to get into office about Project 2025 being his agenda, knowing that most Americans opposed it; and then immediately began implementing it— Stephen Miller had 180 Project 2025 “Executive Orders” ready for his signature on Day One; he didn’t even read them before signing; 3. Lied about “no new wars”, then started a war based on lies about Iran being on the verge of bombing us, even though our own intelligence said Iran lacked the capability to create a nuclear weapon and an ICBM to deliver it; no clear reason for killing the Iranian Supreme Leader, bombed a school and then lied about Iran being responsible; 4. A malignant narcissist who called non-MAGA media “the enemy of the people”, (so why would he attend the White House Correspondents Dinner— other than to deliver insults and to hog attention?); Unlike other Presidents, Trump is not a good sport about teasing; and he has the most- incompetent cabinet in US history; their main qualification is to do what they are told and to never contradict Trump. 5. He is utterly and totally incompetent and corrupt. He and his pathetic children are openly profiting from the fake Presidency of Trump and Republicans are doing nothing about it.
It’s clear that Trump’s “presidency” is just a big game to feed his massive ego and get attention and adulation. He has cowed the Republican Party and is trying to do the same to world leaders. It’s his fault that gas prices and inflation are rising, along with the cost of food. The rest of the world can’t believe we put up with this fool.
Trump will be gone soon, SCOTUS will remain as long as we can keep our Republic, which apparently Democrats want to destroy.
Vinrod: Democrats are fighting to preserve our republic and to restore our laws and relationships with our allies. Trump is the most destructive politician in our history. He literally cannot be trusted. The rest of the world knows this and so do most Americans.
This (and the previous A’ninny’mous) are both obviously delusional.
ROFL
Democrats are fighting to preserver idiotic woke policies that made a mockery of everything this country ever stood for.
Democrats do not even accept that this country is a republic.
Democrats are not working to restore our laws they are working to preserve their lawlessness.
The actual effort to restore the rule of law is coming from Trump and SCOTUS.
Trump is doing all the things he promissed in his campaign – replay his speeches – read agenda 47.
He is doing what people voted for – and what they still want.
Absolutely the leaders of the rest of the world hate Trump.
Because he is Making America Great Again – and they are making themselves SMALLER.
No most Americans do not “know this”.
Trump’s policies still have super-majority support
People MAY want illegal immigrants deported more quietly – but 56% of citizens still want ALL illegal aliens deported.
People might want a kinder gentler less chaotic Trump – but they still overwhelmingly want his policies – the ones that you are fighting tooth and nail against.
I really like him, I hope he runs again! Maybe Vance can run him as VP, then step aside after obliterating the Democrats.
Do you “really like” it when your hero said he was glad that Robert Mueller, a decorated Viet Nam veteran, died ? How about when he threatened to obliterate the entire Iranian civilization? Did you enjoy it when he threatened to blow up bridges, electric generator plants and desalination plants, all of which are war crimes?
All of these threats were childish tantrums because Iran wouldn’t capitulate to his demands. Tell us, has any US President ever said anything like this before? The only comparison that comes to mind is Kruschov’s statement that “we will bury you”, during the Cold War.
Then there’s the demand that Canada become the 51st state, and his threats to invade Greenland and Panama. Are these things OK with you? They aren’t acceptable to most Americans.
He had not kept any of the commitments he made during the campaign, and has violated the pledge for no new wars and to release the Epstein files.
I am glad Mueller died – he was clearly suffering from Demensia. That is a horible way to live – better to die quickly.
Rep Cunniham was a decorated Vietnam Vet – an ACE and you pi$$ed all over him.
Rght now you are pi$$ing all over ICE and CBP officers – just like you did soldiers from Viet Nam.
The hypocracy of the left is monumantal.
No blowing up bridges and eletric plants is NOT war crimes.
Are you an absolute idiot ?
The US carpet bombed Germany and Japan. We destroyed bridges and Dams,
We nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We mined Hanoi Harbor. We bombed he crap out of Hanoi.
These are just a few of the things that happen in War – they are not war crimes.
Russia is busy trying to destroy Ukraines power grid and housing. Ukraine is doing the same to Russia – as well as destroying the Kirch Bridge, and Russian oil
No one is screaming “war crimes”.
Because those are NOT “war Crimes”.
Where is it that you left wing nuts get this idiotic nonsense ?
The actual laws of war absolutely allow targeting ANYTHING that enables the enemy to continue to fight the war.
Foes can target Civilians under many circumstances.
War is not policing. The people of a nation at war are presumed to be culpable for their leaders. They are NOT “innocent”.
non-combatant deaths are allowed by the rules of war so long as they are accidental or the consequence of efforts to end the enemies ability to wage war.
But as is typical of the left – you just make $hit up.
The MINIMUM civilian casulaties in the Afghan and Iraq wars is 200,000 – many estimates are as high as 2M.
These are the people killed by Bush and Obama.
I did not hear you crying “War Crimes”
It is highly likely BTW that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki save millions of Japanese lives.
Japan was Starvingm and its leaders were willing to allow the japanese people to starve.
Why was Japan starving – because the US blockaded the country and destroyed the infrastructure
No one “enjoys” war.
“There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.
George S. Patton”
“once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end.
War’s very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.
In war there is no substitute for victory.”
Douglas MacArthur
What are the demands that Iran refuses to Capitulate to ?
No Nuclear weapons to threaten the peace of its neighbor and the world.
No missles to threaten the peace of its neighbors and the world.
No support of terrorist proxies to threaten the peace or its neighbors and the world.
If Trump is throwing tantrums because Iran refuses to agree to behave as nearly every other nation in the world – I am fine with that.
“Tell us, has any US President ever said anything like this before?”
“Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The American People in their Righteous Might will win through to Absolute Victory.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
I have no doubt I can find many many many more quotes from US presidents that are the same as those from Trump that offend you.
Trump did not make any commitment to YOU during the compaign – he made commitments to those who voted for him.
Those commitments are well documented in his platform – Agenda 47 and in his speeches.
Contra your claim he has kept or is keeping those commitments – and that is what has you outraged.
Why yes, yes I do. I am looking forward with great angst and anticipation to the day that the DOJ indicts the seditious conspiracy cabal. Mueller was a corrupted thug same as Comey, he died a villains death like Biden will, sitting in his own stew.
You mean capitulate to the demand of giving up their nuclear weapons program? You are shocked by harsh words, that achieved results, but say nothing of the 30k protestors the regime put to death? You really believe that Trump wanted to make Canada a state? Are you a moron, are you 12yrs old? The US already invaded Panama, in case you didn’t realize, the Canal is sort of important to us and China was moving into the region to dominate that. What do you care about his “pledge”, you didn’t vote for him. News flash, the previous administration didn’t release any Epstein files, they didn’t care at all about it.
Trump will lock himself in the new bunker and refuse to come out. If so, Trump will declare some national emergency, pause the transfer of power, and the Republicans will agree it is for the best.
Trump is living rent free in your head.
Did you read my post on critical thinking the other day? You clearly lack the requisite skills.
You sais, “…our own intelligence said Iran lacked the capability to create a nuclear weapon and an ICBM to deliver it.”
Like a typical sophist you add an irrelevant item to a critical one. In your example, everyone believes they were close to making a nuclear weapon. That’a the critical point. The ICBM is irrelevant. With the missles they have, they could easily attack a U.S. airbase nearby. They have medium range missles to attack U.S. installations in Europe or just Europe. That threat would be enough to bully the world. With no rocket, they could use a dirty bomb against the mainland.
Of course, your entire diatribe is an exercise in sophistry. Foolishness! Once again, I think you are on the wrong board. Sorry.
NO ONE believes Iran was “close” to a nuclear weapon. That is a lie Trump told that is not backed up by US intelligence. In June, 2025. Trump said Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was “totally and completely obliterated”. Was that a lie? Could Iran rebuild a nuclear enrichment program in 8 months’ time? MAGA media has to keep spreading this lie because the alternative is that Trump is just an incompetent liar who started a war without justification.
It wouldn’t even be an issue if Trump hadn’t torn up the JCPOA brokered by the Obama Administration solely because it was a major accomplishment and Trump is insanely jealous of Obama and his success and popularity. You MAGAS always try to defend Trump after he lies and attack anyone who points out that Trump is lying.
In the peace negotiations with Iran they Admitted they have approximately 500KG of 65% enriched uranium 235.
It would take a few weeks of further enrichment to get that to the 90% required to make 11 Hiroshima Atomic bombs.
The Hiroshima bomb was so simple – we did not test it. There is very little between having 90% unriched U235 and having a working bomb. U235 Bombs are incredibly simple.
It is the idiotic agreement with Iran by Obama and Biden that allowed Iran to get to within weeks of haivng a nuclear bomb.
Do you actually beleive the nonsense that you write ?
John Say, your constantly misinformed commentary is hilarious. The Iranians admitted they had enriched uranium to 65% what you continually ignore is the JCPOA succeeded in keeping the stockpile under international monitoring and the Iranians agreed to keep their enrichment to nuclear fuel grade and this was verified by the IAEA. It was working.
Trump couldn’t stand the idea that Obama was succeeding. So he trashed the agreement and destroyed years of delicate negotiations because he wanted to one up Obama. Clearly he has not succeeded. Trump is a liar and a horrible negotiator.
It’s clear you have no idea what you’re talking about. The economy is getting worse. Inflation is rising and Trump’s poll numbers are in the toilet. He hasn’t kept his promises. He’s abandoned them and done the opposite. Fox News is not bothering to sugar coat Trump’s worsening economy and ineptitude with the war on Iran.
None of that is true, None of it! you are living with a reality that does not exist! likely TDS, get help before you turn into a turd!
Trump has never lied in his life, he is like George Washington. YOU you’re the liar! MAGA!
“. . . Iranians agreed to keep their enrichment to nuclear fuel grade . . .”
Do you often trust a brutal dictatorship that slaughters its own citizens?
Sam,
Just goes to show how deranged they are. They would take the word of actual dictators that kill their own citizens.
I like Turley’s essays. I often hate reading the thread and you are a principal reason for that. I have no idea where any of the so-called facts in this comment came from, but the Iranians were allowing no monitoring of anything they did. And you wouldn’t know what reactor grade uranium actually is, but 60% is far beyond reactor grade. So, by your own account the JCPOA was actually failing, and let’s not even get started on the palettes of cash delivered to Iran or the emoney they earned on loosening sanctions. What they did with all that revenue was destroy Iran itself and arm their proxies.
Trump is the autopen for the Heritage Foundation.
Trump is not normal and no one is trying to make him normal.
Nor is that relevant. Biden was not normal, Harris was not normal, Obama was not normal, Clinton was not normal, …
He was elected to fulfill his platform – Agenda 47 – and he is making an excellent effort at doing so.
And that is what has you so pi$$ed.
Ho has the country been damaged ?
Democrat policies have been damaged – but in the past election people specifically voted Against those policies.
It is not clear in either 2024 or 2016 – whether voters chose Trump’s platform of vigorously rejected the platform of democrats.
Regardless voters KNEW that a vote for Trump meant both an end to the lefts agenda and the implimentation of Trump’s platform.
As Obama said – elections have consequences.
The country is not being damaged – but YOUR policies are being eliminated.
I think you will find the US relationship with much of the Mideast is better than it has ever been.
Iran is being dealt with – Terrorists are on the back foot.
Even Lebanon might be resurrected from the dead. Arab nations and Israel are fighting together against the most dangerous regime in the mid east.
And there is a real prospect for lasting peace in the mideast.
As to Europe – who cares ? Europe will in the long run be the largest beneficiary of peace int he mideast.
It is not the 70’s – the US does not depend on mideastern oil – Europe does.
Outside of the left wing nut judges that keep getting put down – often 9-0 the rest of the courts are following the law and constitution better than ever – that is what we expect from the courts.
It is NOT their job to create our laws or policies. It is not their job to administer the country.
All they exist for is to compel conformance with the law and constitution.
Under Trump the administration is doing a better job than in my lifetime of following the actual law.
Illegal Aliens are being deported – as the law requires.
We are ending the idiotic sex and race descrimination the left has foist on our educational system.
The economy – while not living up to Trump’s promises, is doing better than it has since 2019.
In fact rational people can for the most part ignore what is going on in washington, and by the left, and focus on their own lives at home.
Contra your comment the country is not being destroyed, it is being restored.
No one is coming to sensor you.
No one is going to persecute you for your views.
You have nothing to fear from the federal government – so long as you abide by the actual law.
What has SCOTUS done ? Required lower courts to follow the law and constitution.
They are trying to restore the rule of law – but many left wing nut judges are resisting.
The “fundimental changes” under Trump are just returning to the rule of law. Ending the relatively recent overreach and nonsense from the left.
The economy is doing fine – inflation is back down to near 2%, real wages have more than recovered the 3500/yr that they lost under Biden.
You were not born yesterday – you do not get to claim the Trump economy is bad – after the Biden disasterous economy.
Neither MAGA nor normal people are fill with “outrage”. They are mostly happy with things as they are – they have small anger at your idiotic and mostly impotent efforts to undo the return to normalacy.
But it is not MAGA that is attempting assassinations.
We have more politically motivated violence today than we have had since the 60’s – and it is all from the left.
No an unpreceidented number of americans are not taking to the streets. Even left wing nuts are growing weary of their own nonsense.
Your protests grow smaller with each attempt.
YOU are the Fringe. You are a laughing stock.
There are no concentration camps.
Nor murders of US citizens.
The worst liars that ever were – are on the left.
Do I really need to list A FEW of your lies AGAIN ?
The collusion delusion
The hunter Biden laptop
Now we are seeing that the claimed rise in the far right was complete nonsense and what little we saw was atleast partly funded by the left.
Can I beeive the White House – certainly. But even that does not matter – because I do not care what is being SAID.
I care what is being done.
Normal people are once again free to go about their lives – without having to fear what the left is doing in Washington.
As to Trump’s agenda – Read Trump’s platform “Agenda 47” – replay his campaign speaches and promises.
He is doing what he promised, he is following Agenda 47
I have no idea what you mean by project 2025 – and I doubt you do either.
What people voted for was an end to the woke nonsense, and for Trumps platform – Agenda 47 – and that is what they are getting.
That is something rare in politics – a politician that keeps their promises.
Please identify anything consequential that Trump has done that is NOT fully consisten with Agenda 47.
As to Iran – Trump has been consistent about Iran litterally since Carter was in office.
Agenda 47 does NOT promise “no new wars”.
Trump did not promise never to use the military.
He promised not to get the US into endless and pointless confrontations.
The action in Venezuella was quick and decisive. Is the outcome perfect ? No. Is it a vast improvement from Maduro ? Absolutely.
The Conflict with Iran has only been going on for 6 weeks. It appears that the US will get what it wants – and end to Iran threatening the peace and stability of the mideast. And their is the likely bonus of the end to the regime of the Ayatolahs.
Regardless, if the US is still fighting in November – Republicans will get Trounced.
But if this ends shortly and especially with the collapse of the Ayatolahs – it is Democrats that will be in trouble.
Rather than tell us all how horrible the outcome will be – why not wait for it.
No one claimed Iran was on the verge of Bombing the US.
But even Iran has admitted that they were very close to having the enriched uranium to make 11 Hiroshima Atomic Bombs
Every president since Carter has promised that would not happen – EVERY SINGLE ONE.
What is different is Trump is doing something about it.
Had Biden and Obama done their job – this conflict never would have occured.
BTW NO ONE has said that Iran lacked the ability to make an atomic bomb – Hiroshima Atomic bombs are extremely simple.
90% enriched U235 – which Iran was close to producing and absolutely demonstrated the technical skill needed, can be made into an atomic bomb Trivially. Sufficient U235 reaches a critical mass nder NORMAL conditions – fancy triggers and carefully designed and timed explosive charges are not needed – as with the Plutonium bombs that are every nuclear weapon ever made except the Hiroshima bomb.
But nations seeking to go nuclear do not make U235 bombs because though more technically difficult – Plutonium can be created in large quantities in a nuclear reactor. U235 must be mined and refined in massive quantities. But aside from basic mining and concentrating operations – which the Iranians had mastered – there is no technical complicatiosn to a U235 bomb.
Absolutely IRan was not close to mating a U235 Bomb with an ICBM. It probably would take them a year to be able to deliver an atomic bomb by missle to Riyadh and 2 years to reach Tel Aviv, and 3 years to reach Paris.
” no clear reason for killing the Iranian Supreme Leader”
ROFL
“bombed a school and then lied about Iran being responsible”
That would be according to Iran. As of yet it has not been conclusively established who hit the school
What is known is that no one – neither Iran not Israel, nor the US deliberately targeted the school
While Iran has deliberately murdered more than 30,000 of its own people and killed more throughout the mideast.
For an incompetent cabinet – they are doing a pretty stellar job.
If they are just doing what they are told – they are STILL delivering on Trump’s campaign promises.
You can pi$$ and moan about the attacks on Venezuella and Iran – but they were executed incredibly well.
over 1M illegal aleins have been deported, and another million plus ha e left on their own.
Again you can like or dislike that – but it is still an impresive accomlishment – acheived while having to fight left wing nuts in the courts.
US press that is echoing Hamas or IRGC talking points – is “the enemy of the people”
Absoluely Trump has a massive ego – every politician does.
Does he love attention and adulation ? ALL OF US DO.
Trump has not “cowed” the GOP – MAGA owns it today
Those of you on the left do not seem to grasp that MAGA is not a creation of Trump – they are just the direct ideologcal successor of the Tea Party. Trump and Republicans are doing what MAGA wants – not the other way around.
We listened to you tell us that there was no problem with High gas and food prices and that there was no inflation issue under Biden
ALL of these are substantially impoved under Trump. Gas prices are still lower than under biden. Bidens average inflation is more than double Trump,
The rest of the WEF/Davos crowd wants Trump gone – because he makes them look like the fools they are.
Regardless, americans expect the world especially Europe to be grateful. We saved their a$$ from the nazis and japanese, and we saved them from the Russians and Chinese.
Few americans expect anything but gratitude from Europe and European leaders.
Immediately after 9/11/2001, the mainstream media went on and on about the dangers of Islamophobia. This seemed a bit odd given that Islamic jihadists had murdered 3,000 of us, not the other way around. But whatever.
Now it turns out Cole Allen, the would-be assassin from last night, was motivated by anti-Trump and anti-Christian bigotry. I wonder, will the media now warn against Christophobia? (crickets)
More likely, if 9/11 set the pattern, we’ll now hear dire warnings about Trump-hater-phobia or Christian-hater-phobia.
Our culture is populated by individuals incapable of deep thought. The foundation of Western Civilization is what you and I consider to be the bedrock of our society. It dates back to the Ancients (e.g. Aristotle paraphrased, “Through discipline comes freedom “.) Our present culture has rejected these in favor of a false definition of “freedom”. Hence they are not only bereft of intellectual thinking but also slaves to their impulses.
Pope John Paul II and St. Augustine explain.
The commandments thus represent the basic condition for love of neighbour; at the same time they are the proof of that love. They are the first necessary step on the journey towards freedom, its starting-point.
“The beginning of freedom”, Saint Augustine writes, “is to be free from crimes… such as murder, adultery, fornication, theft, fraud, sacrilege and so forth. When once one is without these crimes (and every Christian should be without them), one begins to lift up one’s head towards freedom. But this is only the beginning of freedom, not perfect freedom…”.
Pope John Paul II in Veritatis Splendor
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor.html
Nothing hit Building 7.
Mossad stalked and facilitated the Saudi Arabian hijackers and packed the elevator shafts in the WTC with controlled demolition packages.
Mossad is good. Mossad is very good.
And I suppose “The Pentagon was struck by a missile.”
That explains the landing gear found in the rubble: standard equipment on missiles.
It’s NOT “bigotry” to be anti- Trump. Most people who voted in 2024 did not vote for him. He constantly lies about everything—losing in 2020, “Mexico will pay to build the wall”, denying Project 2025 was his agenda after polls showed that the majority of the country opposed it, then immediately enacting it, promising to bring an immediate drop in the price of groceries “on day one”, “no new wars”, then starting a war because wealthy Jews gave him hundreds of millions of dollars to do Netanyahu ‘s bidding.
He lied about Iran being poised to drop a nuclear bomb on U.S. (after tearing up the JCPOA , which was protecting us), said he would release the entire Epstein files and then ordered Pammie Jo to hide most of the files, pardoned insurrectionists who beat up the Capitol Police, is paying $1.25 million dollars to Michael Flynn as “reparations” after he pleaded guilty AND lost his appeal, is intending to pay “reparations” to the J6 insurrectionists, including those who pleaded guilty and those who were found guilty by a jury…
The list of reasons to be anti Trump is much longer. Thousands of people in Iran and 16 US service members are dead because of him, and this war has no foreseeable end. He and his family are profiting from the war by selling drones. He accepts lavish gifts from foreign countries who want the US to keep the war going, he is considering bailing out UAE, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and the US is supporting Israel financially even though it engages in genocide against the Palestinians. Supporting someone like Trump is what is abnormal. And phobias have nothing to do with it. He is rotten to the core and unfit to be President.
To be fair, AIPAC holds sway over the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. It’s above Trump’s pay grade.
While Israel is no saint – there is no Genocide in Gaza.
you left wing nuts want to accuse everyone you do not like of lying – and then spray Whoppers.
Al Queda killed just under 3000 americans on 9/11/2001. in response The US killed atleast 200,000 civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan – other estimates have the number as high as 2M.
You were not screaming Genocide then.
Russia has killed over 1M Ukrainian civilians – you are not screaming Genocide.
In Rwanda the Huti’s murdered 800,000 Tutsi’s in 90 days – that was a genocide.
The 2nd Gulf war was actually conducted with minimal civilian casualties – compared to WWII.
The IDF in Gaza managed to conduct urban warfare against an enemy that hid in mosques and hospitals and that fought from behind civilians with the least number of civilian casualties ever in a similar urban conflict.
Iran killed more of its own people in a few weeks than Israel killed in Gaza in almost 2 years.
Are you a moron or a liar ?
All this nonsense has been debunked over and over.
“He constantly lies about everything” <THIS is the proof of the TDS infection eating your brain. You zombies ALWAYS say this. It's a Black or white thinking distortion. Everythings to the max, there is no other possibility. It's why we get the hyperbole of fascist, nazi, etc. from you guys.
There is just no way any human can possibly lie about everything; you have tested positive for TDS. here's a better test: state one good thing Trump has done. If you can't find one out of the thousands of positive actions he's taken, you have TDS.
I am not pointing this out to you to rid you of it. it's quite entertaining knowing he's getting you so mad as you read this. All your bases are belong to Trump.
Thank you Gigi, for your delusional rants. It only goes to show and prove how delusional you and your fellow TDS leftists really are.
Specifically, 9/11 was from an Arab cult that followed Osama bin Laden and was outside the usual structure of Islam.
I recall seeing Sikhs getting killed because American red-neck bigot thought anyone with a turban was Islamic.
I beleive there was only one Sikh killed – In Pheonix Arizona.
A few Other Sihks were attacked – in New York City – neither of these are “Red neck” hangouts.
Media has wrapped everything in partisan politics, the 4th Estate (not the 5th Estate) is out of control and it needs to be reined in or shut it down.
That’s not censorship or denial of Free Speech. It is now the necessity due to lack of social responsibility by those of the 4th Estate.
4th estate meaning:
The “4th Estate” is a term referring to the news media (journalists, broadcasters, press) and their crucial, independent watchdog role in a democracy. It highlights their power to scrutinize government branches (legislative, executive, judicial) and hold officials accountable, acting as a crucial check on power.
5th estate meaning
The 5th Estate refers to a modern socio-cultural, decentralized group—primarily bloggers, independent journalists, social media influencers, and online networks—that shapes public opinion outside of traditional mainstream media (the “Fourth Estate”). It represents an alternative, often watchdog, voice that utilizes web technologies to bypass traditional media, reporting on issues neglected by mainstream sources.
As I have written before, the Supreme Court needs expanding to 15 members. I’ll also now note that 3 of the current ones need to be impeached, convicted and removed for lack of Good Behavior; the Chief Justice, Alito and Thurgood Marshall’s ill-chosen replacement.
Dear Professor, federal judges are impeached for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” as defined by Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. While serving during “good Behaviour” (Article III), judges are typically impeached for serious ethical misconduct, criminal acts, corruption, or abuse of judicial power rather than legal disagreements.
Given the above, I’m curious: on what grounds do you believe those three judges should be impeached?
Kansas Elder — Thomas and Alito for consorting with rich men, vacations and whatnot; men with business before the court. Surely a form of malfeasance.
Roberts for introducing the shadow docket to hide the fact that he ruled in favor of rich businesses, polluters, etc., rather than on matters of constitutional law. Briefly, bad judging.
Dear Professor: the Supreme Court has always had an emergency docket, Roberts didn’t introduce it. A political commentator renamed it “shadow” for his own political purposes. But that is not its name, and moreover, it is a misnomer given that the rulings are all published, just like rulings on the court’s ordinary (discretionary review) docket.
Taking a vacations is not an impeachable offense, nor is consorting with rich men, nor are disagreements about the court’s substantive rulings.
The only potential ethical violation you’ve referred to is consorting with people who have cases currently pending before the court. You said “business before the court” so I’m assuming you mean pending cases. Therefore, would you kindly support that accusation with more specific information about which men, and which cases you have in mind? You made the claim that their actions are severe enough to rise to the level of an impeachable offense, so you have the burden of giving the particulars. Of course, you may choose not to, but then you have no basis to complain if the rest of us dismiss you as a bag of hot air.
Kansas Elder — It is all been in the news and rose such a stink that Thomas and Alito quit. I’m not going to do a history search for you just because you don’t keep up. I recommend The New York Times, daily.
In other words, you don’t know. You’re just repeating what you vaguely remember hearing from some biased and unreliable fake news source. You’re the one who made the libelous accusations but you can’t name specifics. You can’t support your accusations with any actual information. Got it.
Professor: You have the right to make such comments, but you don’t have the right to be taken seriously.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/opinion/clarence-thomas-sonia-sotomayor-supreme-court.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eFA.Q3eW.VvtfXvyrh7BM&smid=url-share
Along the lines of this editorial.
ROFL
So someone from the Brennan Center – which would have Justice Brennan rolling in his grave for their hostile attitude towards the constitution, in an EDITORIAL takes Sotomayor to task for personal attacks on her collegues.
And then takes Thomas to task for his associations with someone who has NEVER been a party to a case before the supreme court.
And follows that by attacking Thomas for openly adressing questions that are self evidently Legal Philosphy.
What justice EVER has not spoke ill of bad legal philosophies ?
Often they do so right in majority opinions.
This is your idea of an Example of impeachable conduct ?
Sotomayor is unqualified to be a justice – but she was nominated and confirmed.
saying means things about her collegues is not impeachable, it is just rude and impolite and not likely to win her friends ont he court.
As to Thomas – what you came up with is a giant NothingBurger.
Harlan Crowe like 99.9999% of americans has never been a party in a case before the supreme court.
Harlan Crowe like every single friend of every single other justice likely has his own oppinions on Supreme court cases.
Are you saying that justices can not associate with anyone who might have a view on any supreme court case ?
Or are you limiting that to only wealthy conservatives ?
And your idiot editorialize seems to think that Justices speaking are not free to say the same things that they would write in opinions.
You are not doing your reputation as a critial thinker any favors. with this idiotic argument.
John Say,
Great response!
DBB – the left has engaged in character assassination of conservative justices for a long time – Thomas have been a target forever.
There is nothing new there.
There is also nothing in the news that EVER was an actual conflict – and if you do not know that already you are speaking without knowing.
As OMFK asked – what specific cases can you cite that ANY justice had a relationship with a party in that case ?
Most Justices have accepted speaking engagements in vacation venues from special interest groups.
Often these special interest groups author amici briefs to the court.
But Thomas and Alito do NOT do that.
More rarely Justices receive speaking fees and attend conferences – vacations from interest groups that actually represent parties before the court. This happens all the time with the so called liberal judges.
As is typical of left wing nuts – you accuse others of what you are doing yourself.
Or do you think it is OK to recieve perqs from left leaning legal interest groups that often end up actual parties in cases before the court But NOT OK to hang out with wealthy people who are NOT parties before the court ?
The left would have no standards but for double standards.
Shadow docket
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_docket
While Wikipedia is not a reliable source for anything even remotely political – your article – aside from spin does NOT support your claim.
As the article claims – the emergency docket has always existed.
Wikipedia tries to make the stupid claim that it was not used for consequential matters before – but that is idiocy.
An emergency docket is ONLY for matters that are consequential and require decisions now rather than years later.
Any other Federal employee accepting a $100,000 to $500,000 valued vacation from someone doing business with the government would be fired and possibly be charged with accepting a bribe. Alito and Thomas have done this multiple times.
Really ? Clearly you do not think before you post.
Have you heard of Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation ?
They accepted hundreds of millions from Russian Oligarchs and placed Clinton Foundation donors at the head of the line when dealing with Hillary at the State Department.
When was that investigated ? Indicted ? Prosecuted ?
No that is NOT bribery.
bribery requires that a government official accepts money for the specific purpose of confering the benefits of the federal power they excercise on that person.
Neither Thomas nor any of the rest fo the justices – ALL of whom accept benefits from those outside government are doing anything illegal.
Harlan Crowe has never been a party to any case at the supreme court.
If Justices where not allowed to have relationships with people who have an interest in the outcome of supreme court cases – they would be barred from ALL relationships – including Marriage.
You are unable to engage in anything beyond first order thinking.
Conduct is not offensive merely because those engaged in it hold different values to yours.
Constantly we have those like you defending actual bribery by those on the left, while pretending that anything legitimate done by those they disagree with is a crime.
And you wonder why you are compared to Stalin and Mao ?
You rant about so called christian nationalism – which as YOU define it is nothing more than people who are not shy about their christianity, concurrently being not shy about their politics.
Yet here you are trying to start whitch hunts against people just for disagreeing with you politically.
Worse still – people who are Right when you are Wrong.
People who are actually moral when you are not.
You condone stealing from those who have.
Robin hood stole from the sherrif of nottingham – he stole back what corrupt government had stolen from the people.
You are not Robinhood – you are the sherriff – illegitimately stealing from those you hate.
Joseph Biden called Dr. Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, his “good friend”. It turns out Bourla lied about Paxlovid. Pfizer did make bank on their COVID drug Paxlovid ($22 Billion in 2022 alone).
Sadly, the following clinical research involving Paxlovid took 2 years to publish their findings. It recruited patients from December 2021 to September 2024.
Oral Nirmatrelvir–Ritonavir for Covid-19 in Higher-Risk Outpatients
CONCLUSIONS
In two open-label trials, nirmatrelvir–ritonavir did not reduce the incidence of hospitalization or death among vaccinated higher-risk participants with SARS-CoV-2 infection. (Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and others; PANORAMIC ISRCTN number, 2021-005748-31; CanTreatCOVID ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05614349.)
Published April 22, 2026 N Engl J Med 2026;394:1583-1594, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2502457
Did it reduce the rate of transmission among those who were vaccinated?
A vaccine is not a force field. It is a wake-up call to the immune system. If the immune system doesn’t respond to a look-alike crippled/non-functional analog to the vaccine, there is nothing a vaccine can do. However, among those who do respond, it prevents the infection from overwhelming the immune system, usually before becoming symptomatic and before reaching high levels of transmissibility. If all it did was prevent low risk people from passing the virus along to high-risk people, that is worthwhile.
Reducing the rate of transmission is completely useless unless you are able to reduce it to near Zero.
You can trivially demonstrate this mathematically.
This is the massively stupid nonsense that was used to justify all the idiotic nonsense the left foist upon us with Covid.
You can not stop the spread of a virus merely by reducing its transmission rate. You MUST reduce the transmission rate to significantly below 1 so that the Virus dies out.
The original Wuhan Covid virus had a transmission rate of 2.5-3.8. We have NEVER stopped an airborne virus with a transmission rate that high.
We have never stopped one with a transmission rate HALF that high.
An effective vaccine must prevent super majorities of those vaccinated from getting the disease.
It is very very hard to develop an effective vaccine, that is why there are so few of them.
Reducing the Transmission rate of a virus without reducing it significantly below 1.0 can easily result in MORE deaths and infections.
The most effective measure against Viruses is quarantine. You can quarantine the infected and/or you can quarantine the highly vulnerable and if you do so for long enough the virus burns itself out.
But long and large quarantines merely reduce the transmission rate – again resulting in prolonging the epidemic.
The most vulnerable CAN isolate themselves for SOME time to avoid an epidemic. But they can NOT do so forever.
Slowing a deadly virus down usually results in MORE deaths among the most vulnerable.
The 1918 spanish flu is gone forever. It burned through the world and disappeared.
The same is true of the dozen or so epidemics since.
Covid is here to stay. It has become endemic.
WE DID THAT. Our stupid public health policies stretched out the spread of Covid such that it did not and now can not “burn itself out”
The immunity to covid acquired either from infection or vaccination only lasts a short time – the half life of immunity is about 9 months. The half life of immunity to small pox is 70 years. That is why small pox has been eradicated.
If you get Covid and it is still arround 9 months from now – you have a 50:50 change of getting it again if exposed.
If covid had burned through a population in less than 9 months, it would burn itself out.
Reducing the transmission rate is a BAD idea unless you can get it down to 0.5 or less.
Thank you for posting this paper on Paxlovid being a failure. As you know it is an anti-viral medication, not a vaccine. So Pfizer lied on 2 counts:
1. their COVID vaccine was a lie
2. their COVID anti-viral medication was a lie
Biden did this
“Thomas and Alito for consorting with rich men, vacations and whatnot”
Perhaps you have heard of the first amendment right of free associtation.
“men with business before the court.”
False – please cite a single instance in which any current justice has voted on a case in which their associations have been a party.
If we are going to define malfeasance as having friends whose politics favor one outcome then EVERY justice must be impeached.
“Roberts for introducing the shadow docket”
The shadow Docket is just a means by which SCOTUS can deal with esentially interlocutory issues on cases that are not going to get a full hearing for years.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It has significantly sped up federal cases – allowing SCOTUS to send stupid cases back to lower courts for reconsideration.
Shadow Docket cases are NOT precidential – but they ARE ALWAYS the court telling lower courts – to follow existing precident.
While shadow docket decisions usually forestall a long delay followed by the same case being formally decided in the same way,
nothing precludes a shadow docket case from eventually making it back to SCOTUS on the regular docket and getting the opposite outcome.
You have argued that more justices are needed to hear more cases. That is a stupid claim – more justices would mean LESS cases would get heard.
At the same time the shadow docket allows the court to preliminarily direct lower courts to get back in line when they are running awry.
Just as with the regular docket – SCOTUS does not have to take shadow docket cases.
There is nothing secret going on here – all the shadow docket cases are decided publicly nothing is hidden.
The national bank, the Civil War, the Federal Reserve Act, and the entire communist American welfare state, including Social Security, Medicaid, etc., were and are all unconstitutional and must have been struck down long ago.
Karl Marx did not write the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Thomas, off the top, for accepting bribes.
Having relationships with people you do not like is not bribery.
Burisma paying the Biden’s for a specific excercise of government power – VP Joe Biden getting the prosecutor investigating them fired is bribery. Going to dinner with Harlan Crowe who has never been a party in a SCOTUS case is NOT bribery.
It is FARTHER from actual bribery than accepting money from the ACLU to speak at a legal conference/vacation in the Virgin Islands and then remaining on cases brought by the ACLU.
You can not even manage first order thinking – you confuse bribery with associating with people you do not like.
No fool like an old fool…
You can write all you wish – that does not make it true.
There is no reason for a larger size to the supreme court – Contra what I beleive was your prior claim – more members would make it accomplish LESS not more.
The best way to get nothing done is to give it to a comittee – the larger the better.
There is no basis for impeaching any current justices – but to the extent there could possibly be – it would be those on the left.
There is nothing the justices you named have done that Ruth Bader Ginsberg was not doing when she was alive.
There are Diverse precedents to entertain abortive ideation. Capitol punishment?
Turley has just sold this website to me.
Now I am the private owner.
If your comments don’t turn a profit for me, then you will be banned.
Insolent impudence as an egregious violation of the civility rule.
BAN FOR LIFE!
Go hug a nut, George.
You’re quite the wordsmith.
@Anonymous @Darren
Really guys? Come on. This is blatant now and people just taking advantage. Please give us a formal registration option or its equalivent.
America is no more a two-party government than the UK, DE, FR or IN: besides the two major parties there are some 50+ divergent political parties, recognized as independent. According to Gallup the trend line for the two majors has been falling since the 1990’s from an average high of mid 30%’s with a minor separation between the two, to now registering an equal 27% making the independents at 45% the deciding factor in any election.
This highlights’ what I’ve considered a problem for Congress, where rigid party identifiers absorb the leaning independents who are not given any chance in fostering an independent compromise. The Independents trend lines show conservative independents having a consistent range of +/- 30%, Moderates +/- 43%, and Very liberal (or should I say illiberal) gaining +/- some 7% since 1990 to now represent 24% of independents and 59% of all democrats.
The throw as much crap on the wall as possible by the likes of (you name the fool) shows they are nothing more than indomitable bloviators that must have reincarnated from the No-nothing Party of era’s past. I’d define them as nothing more than {POMPOUS ASSES}.
The Founders didn’t give Americans parties. They gave Americans the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The singular American failure has been and remains the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court. The black-robed juristocracy has “legislated from the bench” and ruled since 1789, when it began the implementation not of American fundamental law but of its own dictatorship. It began by striking down freedom of speech and press and imposing absurd and irrefutably unconstitutional defamation laws. It then proceeded to a wholly unconstitutional national bank that enjoys no legal basis in the Constitution, specifically Article 1, Section 8. In modernity, America is forcibly compelled by the judicial branch to impose the irrefutably unconstitutional Social Security and Medicare; the unconstitutional Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Act; and the balance of the colossal communist American welfare state as the ruse, “The War on Poverty”—poverty won, incidentally.
Add Kristol to the following group of has-beens: Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Green, Candace Owens, and Megyn Kelly.
More Two Minutes Hate.
Did you not watch Sesame Street as a child? Kristol is in no way like those in the group you mention.
By the way, Tucker is not antisemitic and he is correct about Israel.
Looks to me like people have the Israel thing bass-ackwards, criticising the actions of the Israeli government is in no way antisemitic but it sure looks like the Israeli government is doing it darndest to make people antisemitic. FTFY.
Old Fish, when you criticize Israel and ONLY Israel it’s not a geopolitical thing. When you defend Hamas, Iran and others you hate Jews.
The way people like you “criticize” Israel as if it’s only because you hate their leader is the same as Anti-Americans claim they only hate Trump and that’s why they want an open border, defund ICE and police, root for Iran etc etc.
Tucker thinks Islam is the religion of peace??? Owens talks about Jews daily. MTG is suddenly talking the same.
These Dems you say just have a problem with the government of Israel are hosting Hassan Piker.
Sorry pal, I sense Jew hatred from you and it reeks.
Your criticism of my comment assumes a great deal that is not in evidence. You are reveling in your own confirmation bias.
I have never defended Hamas or Iran. I think Islam is not compatible with Western civilization. I wish we could halt and reverse its spread.
I have made no comments about Democrats and their attitudes towards Israel.
My personal opinion is that Israel has betrayed, on multiple occasions, what was a highly favorable ally relationship with the US. I cannot forgive that.
What reeks is your lack of comprehension.
Islam is not a religion; it is a government, to include wholly adverse, hostile, and unconstitutional Sharia Law.
Incompatible indeed!
@Anonymous
Yup, and Sharia law is part and parcel of Islam, and yes, it is wholly incompatible with our inalienable rights in this country. Our freedom of religion gives them a loophole. Young people practically begging for such stupidity only reflects their own. They have no idea that women in Pakistan wore go-go dresses before the Islamists infiltrated.
Islam is a government, not a religion, is not protected by the 1st Amendment, and may not be exercised in the U.S.
Where in the world is the Supreme Court, in the Middle East on a pilgrimage?
Half religion. Half government.
If you’re half right, you’re half wrong; if you’re half wrong, you’re all wrong.
You buy bridges, I guess.
“If you’re half right, you’re half wrong; if you’re half wrong, you’re all wrong.” Smells like another logical fallacy Mr Binary Halfbit.
It looks like even 250 years after the founding of this nation we still have not reached an understanding of how Islam should fit.
It’s a religion. It’s a government. We have “freedom of religion.” Sharia is unconstitutional.
What I do know is that a crowd of muslims clogging up NYC streets for prayers is an act of aggression. I find it troubling. It does not inspire a sense that these people came to the US to be Americans. It inspires distrust and hatred. That appears to be the intent. They are feeling powerful.
What is a cult? What differentiates a cult from a religion? I say there are two primary factors: time and number of adherents. It’s old, it has withstood the test of time, it must be a religion. It has a billion believers, they can’t all be wrong, it must be a religion. The Earth is flat. The heavens revolve around the Earth.
I am not trying to say that religion has no societal place, no positive contribution. I see it has tribal in origin. Religion has a few fundamental characteristics:
Cultural memory, history, moral, tales.
Cultural values, a guide for coexistence.
Cultural organisation, authority and hierarchy.
The West has mostly moved away from centralised religious government, you know, popes. Religion is personal. It doesn’t look like all that many islamists want to live with that development.
We should not tolerate that.
😂 yes, anon, it’s not a religion. It’s government. Finally the dawn has come.
100% on target Bombs away!
“My personal opinion is that Israel has betrayed, on multiple occasions, what was a highly favorable ally relationship with the US. I cannot forgive that.”
@ Old Fish: Fine. We all feel betrayed at one time or another as a protective measure, but when such hostility focuses on one entity, there is either a valid reason or there is not. If there is a reason, say it; if not, you are simply a hater, which in this case amounts to antisemitism.
I am not always happy with the decisions the Israeli government makes, but overall, Israel is a great country. I am not always happy with the American government, even though I love America. I will say what is wrong with America, but you accuse Israel of betrayal, but refuse to say what those acts are. That places you as a likely antisemite.
S.Meyer
Someone schooled in philosophy and debate could easily name your logical fallacy. An opinion on one subject need not be accompanied by numerous positions on other topics. The nature of the US – Israeli relationship is, well, topical.
Here is a summary put together by someone I do not know. Nor have I studied each incident in detail. I do not choose that to be my job.
https://comradekas.substack.com/p/a-history-of-betrayal-israeli-betrayals
For me it was the Epstein operation. You will say the facts in evidence do not support my conclusions. I say that given the overall picture I am making the most accurate conclusion possible at this time.
Criticising Israel is not antisemitic. That’s your attempt to manipulate. It’s the same thing as the Leftylunatics screams of “racist, homophobe, transphobe, bigot…” That is your trope. It is transparent and boring.
@ Old Fish
“Someone schooled in philosophy and debate could easily name your logical fallacy.”
You are not that one, and to make your rebuttal worse, there is no logical fallacy present. You conclude without verifiable facts.
“Here is a summary put together by someone I do not know. Nor have I studied each incident in detail. I do not choose that to be my job.”
Shall we say you were fooled? Comrade C is a far-left ideologue who views the West as inherently corrupt. You are proving yourself a person of the left by association, and that fits the antisemitic rhetoric you spew.
Betrayal is a naive term with regard to global statecraft. Every sovereign nation, including the U.S. and our allies, spies on each other, and the U.S. may be the most guilty. The U.S. spies on Israel continuously. What you see as a conspiracy is merely the transactional nature of international intelligence.
“Criticising Israel is not antisemitic.”
Criticising Israel is not inherently antisemitic, but you are proving yourself to be one. You also demonstrate that you do not know how to research and lack sufficient understanding of the topic to defend your positions.
I was hoping you weren’t an antisemite, but my hope was misplaced, for you do not have the foundational knowledge to legitimately be one even if you aspire to.
Killing the messenger. So Lavan, USS Liberty, and Epstein were nothing? Never happened?
If it was Lichtenstein that did this stuff to the US I’d say the same thing. I don’t give a damn how its people self-identify.
But what about…? And egregious infractions by Nauru would be an entirely different subject.
You are very much like the Lefties, calling names when someone won’t bend the knee to your view. As of even date I stand by my position.
I acknowledge your investment and your sympathies. I just don’t care.
@ Comrade Old Fish: I would say our closest ally is Britain. Yet they created a massive spy network in Rockefeller Center in NYC trying to involve the US in WW2, even wiretapping our politicians and creating propaganda to turn US citizens toward war. Spying is not unique to Israel and certainly the US spies on Israel.
But then we have to analyze your three examples. Lavon is likely true and happened in the 50’s rather close to the British affair. Egyptian Jews tried to do what Britain tried to do to America. Do we hear your voice against Britain or any of our close allies who spied on us? No. You have selective memory. It’s the Jews. I urge you to look up the reported spying by all the Western nations against each other, despite our Five Eye agreements. One can move the clock to recent times; Britain was tapping the undersea cables.
Back to Epstein, there is no proof. More likely he used blackmail against rich individuals.
The USS Liberty a high-tech sureillance ship is interesting. What was it doing away from its fleet in waters close to the Israeli and Egyptian lines during war with advancing armies? Likely the US was spying on Israeli troop movements and relaying them to the Egyptian army because as previously stated by Kissinger in an earlier war, he wanted Israel to bleed. The Liberty was likely US spying on Israel during wartime.
What you are doing is known as the Gish Gallop, trying to overwhelm the discussion without any understanding or the transactional nature of statecraft. You are superficial and hang onto anything you hear as a negative toward Israel whether true or false. You don’t check your work as we can see with your friend Comrade C (leftist) whose ideas are supposedly contrary to yours.
You might have missed my jab in the last response, but maybe not since you accuse me of calling names, “You are proving yourself a person of the left by association, and that fits the antisemitic rhetoric you spew.” Just like you errently point to Israel, I called you a leftist because of your guilt by association; your reliance on a person from the far-left and your seemingly antisemitic rhetoric.
Guilt by association and erroneous data is all you have to offer.
Old Fish, ok, you never defended Hamas, but the people you said are just being critical of Israel the government have defended Hamas and therefore by extension you ARE defending Hamas.
You said Tucker is not anti-Semitic and that is belied by his many statements since being off of Fox.
You said you wish you could stop the spread of Islam in the west. Well guess what…that is what Israel is doing under the current government. But since you don’t like the current leader you claim the right to attack Israel for helping the west rid ourselves of Iran’s malignancy.
How has Israel betrayed a highly favorable ally relationship with the US? By fighting with us to remove the cancer? Meanwhile you are not critical of Spain, Britain, France and Germany, “allies” that wouldn’t even allow us to traverse their airspace in order to “stop the spread of Islam in the west”??? Seems odd that the only ally you have an issue with betraying the US is the only Jewish state in the world??? Funny how that works.
I only commented on Tucker. I have not watched everything(tldr) but I have not seen antisemitism.
There are multiple logical fallacies. My thoughts on Israel are not invalid simply because they are not accompanied by positions on every international relationship.And no, I am not defending Hamas.Stop that.
The problems with the Israeli-US relationship predate Netanyahu. By 70 years.
As a bone to throw your way, Europe has betrayed its people by mass immigration. They possibly will not recover. I have said NATO is useless, a relic and a burden. The UN should be kicked out of the US and changed into a powerless organisation that is simply a safe place for representatives to meet. Let’s move the UN to Gaza or Mogadishu. Or Antarctica.
The “enemy of my enemy is my friend” concept sounds appealing but it is foolhardy: we’re being used.
HB – it is OK to criticise Israel or any other nation/people – even when you re wrong in that criticism. Even if it is ONLY israel that you treat that way. Being wrong and being biased is not antisemetic.
Though I would agree that I can not see how you can give even tepid support to Hamas without being antisemetic.
Holding different views on something – such as Israel MIGHT make you wrong It does not make you antisemetic.
Personally I find that Israels actions have been justified. That would be true whether they were Jewish or Arab or Sihk.
But justified and perfect are not the same thing.
The left makes massive hay out of the fact that pver the course of centuries the wests conduct has been less than perfect.
They miss entirely that the good outweighs the bad, that even at its worst the west is still the leading edge of morality, freedom and prosperity for the world.
Our heros often have feet of Clay. The fact that Jefferson owned slaves is reprehensible. But it does nor alter the rest of his accomplishments.
Republicans today are MOSTLY unified behind Trump. But that does not make them homogenous.
I have issues with some of the positions of Carlson, Owens, etc But that does not alter the importance of the WHOLE of their words and actions. I have issues with Trump – that does not change to whole of his accomplishments.
I am NEVER going to get a president or govenrment that completely aligns with my views.
Expecting that will just result in anger and dissatisfaction with everyone and everything.
I am extremely libertarian.
I can live with MAGA conservative despite its many flaws far far easier than with any permutation of progressivism.
@Anonymous
Yup, though for myself I never liked any of them. Candace in particular, but not fan of the Ann Coulter/Bill O’Reilly Fox era, either. Saw Candace on Dave Rubin’s podcast years ago and thought she was a child. But that was the unicorn era, and for some reason perfectly grown adults who new better decided their kids knew better, on all sides of the aisle. It was like a very bizarre and complete abandonment of presence and wisdom. Now, here we are.
A triple dose of truthiness:
Liberalism is a mental disorder. The Left ruins everything it touches. Leftists are mentally-deranged monsters.
The right denies reality of what a fascist their dear leader is.
It’s like people who deny being racist despite evidence to the contrary.
Dream on fool. Did Prez Trump FORCE you to take the CV shot?
No, but Biden sure did
If we may not be racist, Karl, must we hate our own race like this guy @7:50?
Biden was fascist with his government-social media-censorship complex and his Orwellian ministry of truth. Trump dismantled that and restored freedom.
Your cultish inability to understand that is of a piece with a Cal Tech grad throwing his life away over some deranged Trump hatred.
Can you name a court ruling the facist dictator Trump has disobeyed? I’ll give you plenty that Biden did, starting with school loans. You’re an idiot with TDS.
Even if Candace has uncovered some suspicious and troubling facts it would be difficult the separate the wheat from the chaff. She’s a chaff storm.
Because the right does not play the stupid word games of the left – labeling as reality some fevered nonsense,
Fascism:
“everything inside the govenrment,
nothing outside the government
nothing against the government”
Benito Musollini the founder of Fascism.
Relabeling conservatism as fascism does not make it so.
Trump’s actual politics are perfectly evidenced by the 2024 Republican platform – Agenda 47
You can agree or disagree with it.
But it is not fascism.
Just because you do not like something does not make it fascism.
Conversely just because you like something does not make it NOT fascism.
The only consequential fascist nation or leader today is Xi in China.
Which has literally become a fascist country.
The closest approimation to Fascism in the west is the modern progresive left – that sees everything they do not like as a problem requiring the force of government to solve. THAT is LITTERALLY Fascism.
You should read ACTUAL Fascists and what they beleived – they thought Fascism was GOOD – just as YOU think progressivism is today.
They thought the use of Government FORCE to bring about a socialist utopia was GOOD – again just like modern progressives.
The left values vice. It’s understandable that people turn to crime. Virtues are luxuries. You grow a garden to eat and gather wood as fuel. Admirable self sufficiency.
So it is…
Do you think this blog is self generated in part or whole? I do.
Peace all…
In 1990, Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s former wife, stated that he kept a copy of My New Order, a collection of speeches written by Adolf Hitler, by his bedside. According to Vanity Fair reporter Marie Brenner, Trump told her in a 1990s interview that it was “my friend Marty Davis from Paramount who gave me a copy of Mein Kampf, and he’s a Jew”. When Brenner asked Davis if he had given the book to Trump, he said that, “it was My New Order, Hitler’s speeches, not Mein Kampf. I thought he would find it interesting. I am his friend, but I’m not Jewish.”
So??
This is the typical pathetic low IQ leftist moronic way of smearing someone: criticizing what they read. It’s so weak and stupid it’s laughable.
I have known many people who have read Hitler and also Marx, not to mention Adam Smith. The reason is obvious to anyone who wants to understand history. But stupid low IQ moronic imbecile leftists who comment here cannot understand something that simple, because their IQ is below 50.
If he was seeking tips and advice on how to do similar things in America, then this is a fair concern.
One of the most perceptive bits of logic ever is in the parable of the sheep and the Goats.
When Christ – God, who knows what is in all mens hearts returns to sit in judgement,
He does not judge by what is in peoples hearts and minds – even though being all knowing he knows exactly what is in everyones hearts and minds.
He does not judge based on what people have said.
He judges people based on what they have done.
YOU are not Christ, you are not all knowing.
It does not appear you know your own mind much less anyone else’s.
You would be wise to stick to measuring people by what they do – rather than your ouija board insights into their minds.
In logic once you allow a false premise into an argument – you can use it to prove Anything.
All logical fallacies are some form of introducing into an argument something that is false or does not belong,
The reason that logic does not allow fallacies – is that they are very good at misleading people.
You have no clue what is in anyone else’s mind. You do not appear to know your own.
Speculating on what was in Trump’s mind is a sign of idiocy.
Judge Trump and others – not by your speculation as to their minds or motives,
Not even by their words.
But by their acts and accomplishments.
This might not have been Trump’s reason. His reason could have been more sinister.
You do not know your own mind – why should anyone beleive you have insights into someone else’s
So now reading Mien Kampf makes you a Nazi? I think we should collect all copies and burn them and while we’re at it, let’s get all those other books that we find disagreeable! You know why read about what led to a World War in efforts to understand, stupid right?
It can be a giant bonfire at every library! Come on gang! /s
Those on the left shoudl actually read Hitler and marx and Smith – they might learn something – not only about those specific people and their Actual ideologies – but about the truth of their OWN ideologies.
Trump studied the writings of a fascist.
This should bother Trump supporters who don’t like fascism.
That is the stupidest B.S. I read the Communist Manifesto when I was 17. Did that make me a Communist? The next week, I read “On Liberty”.
If that wasn’t your objective. But it could have been someone else’s objective.
Coulda shoulda woulda. You just assume someone else’s motives and post a comment as if your assumption is fact. Moron.
Perhaps you should read it and burn your copy of “Dreams of my father “ authored by Bill Ayers the domestic terrorist…
AI Overview
Yes, Jared Kushner is Jewish and the son-in-law of Donald Trump. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, married Ivanka Trump in 2009, and served as a senior advisor during the Trump administration.
@Anonymous
Really: who do you think an ‘AI overview’ is impressing? Your age is written right on your sleeve, oh brainless one.
Wait. You failed to impeach the witness who is widely accepted as a brilliant expert. Is my age an essential part of your rebuttal? The Court of Saint James is wide of the mark on this one.
Calling it an AI overview is meaningless
A better description would be FACTS.
Kushner is jewish. He is Trumps son in law, and Trump’s daughter Ivanka converted to Judiasm long ago.
This does not PROVE trump is not anti-semetic, but it is incredibly strong evidence that he is not.
Kristol is and always was a swamp opportunist. I think it’s pretty clear who is violent and unwell and who is not at this point. Hint: it’s not independent voters, libertarians, or non-establishment republicans. Our modern left is both a travesty and a sh*t show, and the RINOs are basically card-carrying members of the leftist uniparty, even if it’s just self-serving.
Re the shooting: glad the suspect was taken alive. This needs to be front and center in the pubic eye, and I suspect our modern media are too narcissistic to let their presence be overlooked (though that still doesn’t guarantee good reporting. Some might even claim Trump put their lives in danger by being in the room with them). The sane can see, and I really do think that is still most of us, however narrow the margin. Kristol is not in that group.
Milley wrote a letter of resignation for Trump, which stated, referring to America’s role in the Second World War, that, “That generation, like every generation, has fought against that, has fought against fascism, has fought against Nazism, has fought against extremism… It’s now obvious to me that you don’t understand that world order. You don’t understand what the war was all about. In fact, you subscribe to many of the principles that we fought against.”
If someone as corrupt and treasonous as Milley says that about you, then you’re definitely doing the right thing for America.
This just means the demonization of him was successful and your
brain was washed.
The same kind of thing happens in China and North Korea.
I realize you were looking in the mirror when you said that.
No one is demonizing Milley – he said that he would warn the Chinese military leadership of any impending US actions towards China.
This is not some secret. It is corrupt, and if Milley had actually done what he promised it would be treason.
I would further note that Milley has written regarding his view of the US role in the world. He has written elequently and expansively defending a specific view of the US role in the world – and good for him.
It is NOT my view of the US relation and role in the world.
I highly doubt it is yours.
Before you set Milley up as a hero you should actually know the person and their values.
I do not “hate” Milley. I disagree with him vigorously – on possibly he most important aspect of his role, and I am very happy he is gone.
I suspect that if you actually knew his views you would not agree either.
Disagreement is fine.
But citing people that you truly know nothing about as authorities on things you know nothing about is stupid.
If Trump read Hitler – fine. You clearly have not read Milley, yet you set him up as an authority on things you know nothing about, and know little about what he stands for.
And you have done this purely because he has said negative things about Trump.
That is the epitome of stupidity.
Two Minutes Hate
Why did America and the Allies fight WWII? Not for what we have now. Ask this veteran.
@ 2:49, unchecked “immigration.”
Were you referring to the same Gen. Mark Milley who suggested a coup against the elected president of the United States with an implied support of the progressive oligarchs of the military should they do so? And for this action received a Presidential pardon theoretically exempting him with full prejudice against prosecution or trial any crime (e.g., rape, murder, . . .) because said President Uncle Joe Biden believes his idealism exempts him from law and recognizes him as a fully justified criminal advocate of treason and violence?
A soldier is NOTHING BUT discipline, that is, obedience.
Ergo, Milley is no soldier and, ultimately, NOTHING BUT a traitor.
Before the 1807 expansion, President John Adams signed the Judiciary Act of 1801, which technically would have reduced the Court from six to five upon the next vacancy. This was a “lame-duck” attempt to deny Thomas Jefferson a nomination when he expanded the size of the Court.
This, adjusting the size of the court for political gain has been around since at least the second president. When did gerrymandering start again? Oh yeah, several years later.
I don’t support adjusting the size of the Supreme Court for political gain, but it is historically inaccurate to suggest that one is more justifiable given a longer historical precedent.
Shame on you Turley for misinforming your readers on American history.
Milley contacted the Chinese military leadership and promised them he would inform them of any US actions regarding China
If Milley had ACTED on what he said – that would be treason.
Reading Milley is exactly like reading Mein Kampf wise peopel do so to figure out how they went off the rails.