Today it became apparent that, the Supreme Court of the Republican Reich is more inclined to ignore the law, ignore stare decisis, and goose-step behind Fuhrer Donald Trump. In giving Trump his Muslim Ban, they just did exactly that, but at least, may dissent against Republican Injustices’ decisions. Sonia Sotomayor tore SCROTUS (Republican Constitutional VD) a new sphincter.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., reading for the majority on Tuesday morning, spoke clinically. Justice Stephen G. Breyer followed, working his way through his dissent mildly and analytically.
Then it was Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s turn.
Steely and unwavering, she began: “The United States of America is a nation built upon the promise of religious liberty. Our founders honored that core promise by embedding the principle of religious neutrality in the First Amendment.”
The crowded courthouse fell silent.
In upholding President Trump’s ban on travel from several predominantly Muslim countries, Justice Sotomayor continued, the Supreme Court had failed to “safeguard that fundamental principle.”
For the next 20 minutes, she remained resolute as she delivered an extraordinarily scorching dissent, skewering the court’s decision and condemning the ban as “harrowing” and “motivated by hostility and animus toward the Muslim faith.”… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <NY Times>
Click through. There’s lots more to read. For a complete (.pdf) transcript of Sotomayor’s dissent, click here.
Rachel Maddow spent 25 minutes explaining the background and the import of what she had to say. Please take the time to watch. You’ll thank yourself.
This has to be one of the most unjust decisions in US History. Sadly, it will not be the last.
RESIST!!
VOTE BLUE!!
10 Responses to “Sotomayor Dissents!”
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I will be reading this later, but Justice Kennedy just announced his retirement effective 31 July giving the Supreme Court another Drumpf pick . . . that is unless Democrats can delay the confirmation hearing until after the November election like McTurtle did Garland. The circumstances are marginally different but I am not holding my breath.
This news is beyond depressing. Elections, do indeed, have consequences.
There is virtually no way Democrats can block Twitler’s pending nominee. We don’t have the votes.
And you can forget McTurtle dusting off the “McConnell Rule” about blocking nominees during election years like he did Pres. Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland – who was nominated on March 16th, 2016!
Here’s McTurtle back then in 2016:
https://twitter.com/SenateMajLdr/status/698666807167549440
https://twitter.com/SenateMajLdr/status/709742082311778304
McTurtle’s move was not based one whit on “principle”. It was based solely on “power”: “I have the 50 votes needed to employ the ‘nuclear option’ – so just watch me do it.”
SCOTUS will now have one-third of its justices appointed by presidents who did NOT win the popular vote.
Bush (2000): Chief Justice John Roberts
Twitler (2016): Neil Gorsuch & ???
Please see today’s lead article.
Reading and will watch RM’s vid afterwards. Kudos to Ms. Sotomayor. !! Just read Lynn’s comment on PP, the SCOTUS will bend to dt’s rules now that Kennedy is leaving. Ugh!
Off topic – it’s funny that, for instance, “cough,” and “tough,” and “through,” don’t rhyme. And yet “phony” and “balogna” do. I expect it’s obvious why that came to mind just now.
I can see why some Americans might have been nervous about the Pacific Coast. In Europe, at least England and France were fighting Germany, and they were between us and Germany. On the Pacific, only ocean separated us – there were no allies between us. The Brits and ANZAC were at best in Burma. BUT thats NOT a reason for internment rather the opposite! Removing all Japanese Americans from California would reieve Japan of the fear of killing friends and relatives if they bombed it. Just dumb. Phony bologna.
The union gutting decision Rachel predicts has now happened, BTW.
Work your heart out and your a$$ off for a Democratic majority in November. At this time, we don’t need as many Senators to block a Justice as we would to impeach. And even with a bare majority we can prevent Republicans from changing that rule.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” – JFK
This November may be our last chance for peaceful revolution. Support truly progressive candidates, make sure all your progressive kith and kin are registered, and above all, cast an informed ballot! Losers don’t make policy.
THIS IS WILD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did someone pay him to resign now? McTurd says the process to replace him must go forward with all due speed, or something like that. Of course, lets play by the rules, now, when they benefit me!
Sotomayor is my favorite Bronx native! de Grasse tyson comes in right behind her.
My comment went missing, so I’ve copied it back in:
Brave Justice Sonia Sotomayor literally shamed her five conservative SCOTUS colleagues with her dissent. She repeated over and over again that any reasonable observer would have come to a different conclusion, a reasonable observer would have seen that the White House’s argumentation that Muslims entering the US are a security risk has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. What Sotomayor is saying is that her five colleagues are terrible judges because they’re led by politics, or perhaps their own bigotry, and not by fact and law. And she didn’t even had time to mention the fact that a travel ban for people from these particular countries makes no sense as terrorists never came from there, unlike the countries Drumpf takes a shine to and who treat him like a prince.
Perhaps this powerful dissent was the reason for Justice Kennedy, the “centrist”, to throw in the towel; perhaps it touched on some left-over and hidden conscience and he just couldn’t face more of this partisan but-licking trying to pass itself off as impartial justice testing the cases before them against the constitution. His timing and announcement of retirement in a months time is both very curious and very awkward indeed, and seems to have been made under some duress. Whatever the background, the US has just got itself a glimpse of what the third branch of government has deteriorated into, whether Democrats in Congress can prevent Drumpf from making it even worse by nominating an arch-conservative or not.
I agree with Sotomayor. My mother used to ask us if we would jump off a bridge just because someone else did. To me, that is what is happening here. The Injustices, while acknowledging a previous government lie and injustice, are condoning the lies of the current POTUS and régime and elevating them into precedence status. And let’s face it, POTUS is the Liar-in-Chief.
Now who is trying to rewrite history??!!
Very interesting history and ethics lesson by Rachel.
Thanks all. Pooped hugs.