Posts Tagged ‘scotus’

Do You Want Justices Who Think For Themselves or Don’t You?

Posted: January 10, 2025 by datechguy in the courts
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One of the things I’ve complained about for years is that the left chooses justices because they can reliably be counted on to vote for their priorities rather than based on the law, that is, they don’t examine the law and come to a conclusion producing an argument to support that conclusion, they start with the conclusion they want and then create an argument to bend or break the law to obtain that conclusion. For example you will not find a single 7-2 decision last year where the “2” included 2 of the three liberal justices.

I’ve also complained about old yellowstain Justice Roberts noting that he is almost always a conditional vote for the left, that is, if an issue is one the left considers vital politically then he will wait to see where the tally is.

If there are five votes against it, then he’ll vote with the conservatives as he can’t make a difference, but if he is the swing vote, he will reliably vote with the left. (If you want evidence look at this chart. I found only one case last year when Roberts voted against Sotomayor in a 5-4 decision that went conservative)

Now I think this is a bad thing, I think that a justice should look at the law, look at the constitution and then make a ruling based on that, not on what is politically expedient for their own side. If I thought for one moment that that liberal three were doing this, I would not have an issue with how they vote, but the evidence that this was the case is that you would occasionally see one of them vote with the right or be alone in a 8-1 decision.

Or take Justice Thomas he as a specific philosophy concerning the Constitution that is well known being that the Constitution means what is says and you will constantly see him vote based on that philosophy even if he is alone.

And that brings us to Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh

You might note that occasionally the left will win a decision because Gorsuch or Barrett or Kavanaugh (less often) will vote with them and Roberts will join with the left (the one exception last year being Department of Education v. Louisiana where Roberts didn’t join with Gorsuch in voting with the left).

This is because Gorsuch, Barrett and Kavanaugh not being political stooges will occasionally have a different opinion on a subject than the conservative line. In real life this is considered normal and healthy, particularly when you are considering scholars looking at deep arguments formed over centuries of constitutional law.

This is how I want my justices to be so when I occasionally get a ruling that might give a slight political advantage to the left because, such as the ruling not to stay the sentencing of Trump today I’m not going to start saying things like this.

and this:

and this

I just shake my head.

If you put people who think in positions of power occasionally they will think differently than you. That’s the whole point of an independent judiciary rather than a political one.

Either you want an independent judiciary or you don’t. I want one.

And frankly as a person for whom the pro-life cause takes precedence if the cost of repealing Roe was this decision I’d take it six days a week and twice on sunday.

Closing thought: I actually think that allowing the sentencing is to Trump’s advantage in the long term myself, but that’s a post for another day.

Five Fast Thoughts Under the Fedora AOC out and about, Narrative Narrative Narrative, Unpeople, “Wolf” in the CPAC fold and the countdown to the end continues

Posted: March 5, 2024 by datechguy in internet/free speech, media, politics, the courts, under the fedora
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Saw the article about AOC out with her guy and protesters bugging her about Gaza.

It’s rather ironic as she’s generally on their side but what really struck me is the photo of her out with her guy seemed so …. normal.

I’m partial to the sight of a young lady out with her man and frankly I’d like folks to leave her alone to enjoy those moment which are some of the most important in life.

I don’t watch a lot of the MSM but I made it a point of watching the reactions to the SCOTUS ruling on the attempts to kick Trump off the ballots in various blue states.

I found it hilarious that all of the stressed that the court didn’t acquit him of being an insurrectionist.

They didn’t have to, nobody has filed a charge of insurrection against him in federal court, in fact none of the J6 prisoners or defendants have in fact been charged with insurrection.

Their desperation to keep this narrative intact is very interesting and shows how far they’ve fallen, but it’s amazing how far a person will willingly let themselves fall if their paycheck is attached to it.

Have you noticed that in the minds of the media nothing delegitimizes an institution more than no longer following the narrative of the left.

Elon Musk, Ben Carson, The Supreme Court, Donald Trump, Naomi Wolf and yes J. K. Rowling were all feted and celebrated by the left for a very long time right up until the moment that they were perceived as a threat to the power of the left and the narrative they were selling.

Once they did as far as all those folks who loved and celebrated them were concerned they were now unpersons that needed to be destroyed.

Hey commies gotta commie.

There is an excellent substack by Naomi Wolf about visiting CPAC titled “Letter from CPAC” that you should read. There is one bit that jumped out at me:

We entered the Gaylord at the peak of CPAC, to an atrium thronged with happy visitors. My first, ignominious reaction to the scene, for which Brian rightly chided me, was: “This is not my culture.”

There was a buzz, from the moment we entered: a joyful vibe. After we checked in, changed, and ran down to join the festivities, we were struck by how pleasant and positive almost everyone was to us, and to each other. As someone reported to me the desk clerk had said, “I know they won’t approve of me saying this back in Southeast DC, where I come from, but you all are nice.”

Nice is a good and accurate word, a better description is “normal”

She goes though a list of folks she met and spoke to, many that she might disagree with on some issues and notes how different they are from how the media paints them.

It’s been six years years since I’ve been to CPAC the last time I went was with my sons and them seeing the MSM in action as they actually are taught them plenty.

Finally there are two reasons why you don’t see me at CPAC anymore. The first is as a full time employees where I work I only get so much vacation time and it won’t be till 2028 that I have the additional week that attending CPAC would require.

But the other is frankly that DaTipJar has dwindled to almost nothing, my last fundraiser only managed 25% of my goal and last month between subscriptions and tip jar hits I had exactly $2 left over after paying my writers.

I suspect the blog as a business will not survive long after the election and with money tight it will be an effort to survive to the election. It’s nothing about $5000 wouldn’t solve but that money simply isn’t there and in the end I don’t have a divine right to a single person’s dollar, I can only earn it by producing content that people think is worth it.

It’s disappointing to fail in business I’ve done so many times I’m just sorry I couldn’t provide better for my wife who deserves better. If I had followed my brothers into the civil service I might even now be retired or close to it with a pension, but I’m not ashamed of trying to make it as a writer/pundit and this blog has done good work, sometimes even important work. I’ve showed things and told things as they are which is why both Youtube now and pre-Musk twitter censored me. Best of all I’m proud to say I never sold out to push any narrative I didn’t believe in.

Hey in the end 16 years isn’t a bad run

The Whole Case Before the Supreme Court and Trump Should Have Been Killed by One Point

Posted: February 9, 2024 by datechguy in election 2024, elections, politics, the courts
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I listened to the arguments before the Supreme Court concerning Colorado excluding Donald Trump from the ballot in election 2024.

The consensus of those who heard the arguments is as MSNBC of all places put it “a very bad hearing for Colorado” that being not the citizens but those making the case for the state before the court.

While the arguments were interesting and I do suggest listening to them not just for the merits of the case but so you can see how Supreme Court arguments work there is one bottom line that really should be the driving force behind this decision.

The left is relying on the 14th amendment and is claiming that Trump in a “insurrectionist” and if you listen to the folks arguing for Colorado their favorite word in their presentation is “insurrection” or “Insurrectionist”.

The real problem for Colorado doing so is that Donald Trump has never been convicted let alone charged with insurrection. In fact to my knowledge no person who has been charged with crimes concerning the events of January 6th has been charged with insurrection.

It seems to me that if you’re excluding someone from the ballot based on their being an insurrectionist you would actually have to have a declaration that an insurrection took place and that a person is charged by the government with taking part in an insurrection.

This alone should have killed Colorado’s entire argument, and any person on the left should understand that if you can decide to deny a person of their rights without due process, no charge or nor conviction then you can exclude someone based on opinion, political or cultural.

That frankly is the basis for Jim Crow and that the current left is so obsessed with keeping Trump off the ballot that they don’t see the precedent are trying to set….is incredible to me.

I’m hoping that the various opinions are right and SCOTUS shoots this down (from what I heard of the arguments I’m guessing it will be anywhere from 9-0 to 7-2, I’m betting 8-1 with Sotomayor in dissent) but that it even has reached this point frankly is shameful.

But frankly the left’s entire treatment of Donald Trump from the time her won the GOP nomination in 2016 is very shameful and there is no reason to suggest they would change their stripes.

Quick Bits of Advice Under the Fedora, Picking a Lawyer, Why Coaches Exist, Killing Golden Geese, Al Capone Gangster and Legacies

Posted: July 1, 2023 by datechguy in baseball, culture, the courts, under the fedora
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Some Advice:

If hiring a lawyer, make sure that none of them had to get therapy from their law school as a student over SCOTUS rulings they didn’t like.

There is a reason why third base coaches exist to let you know if it’s a good idea to take that extra base. If he puts up a stop sign with two outs in the last of the 9th when you represent the tying run listen to him.

If you are counting on $1000+ from a relative as a wedding gift, it’s a bad idea to inform them that they are not welcome at your wedding because you would be frightened by their presence because they vote conservative and not invite them on those grounds.

Not only will for forfeit that thousand dollar payday, but you will forfeit any future paydays that might have come up.

Reality doesn’t care if something is proven in court or not. Reality IS. If you base reality on court decisions or the lack thereof you will find yourself played for a fool.

Finally if your business or organization relies heavily on recommendations from current customers or users to family members for new bodies, don’t mistreat said existing customers. They’ll advise people to stay away.

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