229 Comments
Jun 27Liked by Joyce Vance

KBJ’s dissent was classic. She was such a great choice for this Court. The six Leonard Leo judges look like beginners next to her and her other two cohorts. Some way, some how we have got to rebalance this unethical, rogue court.

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Yes, something needs to be done about SCOTUS. They are (the six) tossing precedent and common sense out the window. It's nuts.

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Jun 27·edited Jun 27

Yes, Terri. They are also tossing human decency out with that common sense. I was appalled to hear about the EMTALA/abortion case today, which I think of as the "Idaho case."

Alito's quoted comments on the case were stunningly inhumane. He spoke of the importance of adhering to the Idaho law without regard for the life of a woman. It was like women were mere pieces of kindling to toss on the growing fire of Christian Nationalist fervor as the white supremacists attempt to take over American democracy with unceasing and increasing barbarism. He sounds a little insane.

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We are headed towards a taliban regime in this country. What a disgusting group of people these justices are.

Semantics at play here…bribes if before, gratuities if after? Well, they would be in a world of hurt if they decided otherwise, because it would call into question their own behavior.

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With respect. No. We are not.

It's supremely important that as a whole and as individuals we not fall prey to one of the goals of a takeover of this Country, despondency. Why? Because this breeds inaction. We have an election to win.

Joe Biden has been a good President. The Democrats have been winning significant elections since 2018. Whether the media will say it or not Americans know the economy is good.

I recommend Simon Rosenberg on Substack.

Take Care.

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I am entitled to my feelings/sense of despondency. And that sense of despair prompts action for me, it does not stymie it. I participate in many ways and do not cry in my beer. Glad to know that you are so inclined to act as well.

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When we broadcast our feelings then we carry the responsibility of how they may impact the national discourse. It is textbook that MAGA intends to use the America is in disarray ideology and only we can fix it campaign theme. Thus. Your statement caught my attention. Words matter.

This why I invariably recommend Simon Rosenberg

He is excellent at rousing people to action with a positive message.

"Why I Am Optimistic We Will Win - Yesterday I shared my new 30 minute video presentation on the 2024 election, along with a post that explains why I believe that if we do the work we should win this November. Much of my optimism is rooted our ability to sell the manifest success of the Biden Presidency, the third straight Democratic President to make things better, far far better on their watch:

In the last few weeks we’ve gotten repeated confirmation of the success of the Biden Presidency - inflation was zero last month and prices of many goods are failing, crime and murder rates are way down, gas prices are down, the flow to the border is down. We’ve had the strongest economic recovery of any advanced economy in the world, the best job market since the 1960s, the lowest uninsured rate in American history, the deficit is trillions less, the Dow has broken 40,000 and all three indices continue hover in record territory. Domestic oil, gas and renewable production continue to be at all time highs leaving America more energy independent than it has been in decades. The Wall Street Journal called the American economy the “envy of the world,” and the Economist just wrote about the unprecedented start up boom America is experiencing right now. Biden’s big three investment bills have dramatically accelerated the energy transition necessary to combat climate change and will be creating opportunities and jobs for our workers for decades to come.

Joe Biden promised to make things better for all of us, to get us successfully to the other side of COVID. And he has."

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Yup. Action is the antidote to despair.

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Absolutely, it is so normal to feel how you are feeling. We can only be where we at any given time. I understand getting to a place of despondency. It passes more quickly if i sink into. Then i bounce out of it, into action, something small like a donation to support a local democrat representative. The small things amongst us all can and do make a difference.

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Barbara, did you by any chance live in Princeton many years ago? I had a friend by your name!

And, you are right, we would be foolish to fall into the "slough of despond." I sense intuitively that Biden will win (and obviously, Trump will lose this 2024 election). The media presents the fear of a Trump win like a boogeyman story told to frighten children.

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No I never lived in Princeton. Funny we should meet in this medium though.

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I think that decision is a "logical" aftermath of Citizens United. And I couldn't agree with you more about their behavior being called into question. I hadn't thought of that, and I'm glad you mentioned it, because that makes their decision make sense to me.

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Sounds like extortion: I did this for you, now pay up.

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Alitio is a smug, nasty little man with a big chip on his shoulder, no humanity and lots of power. He gets worse and worse over time. He would have been a perfect "commander" in The Handmaid's Tale.

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Laurie M., Alito wants to be seen as a kind of "soldier for Christ" when he follows as few of the teachings of Jesus as he possibly can while wearing the mask of "holier than thou." Like so many hypocrites throughout history, Alito is drowning in self-righteousness and to save himself in his own eyes, he does as much harm as possible to anyone who might question his manhood or whatever it is he frets over. Women and anyone who questions his actions at all become his targets and he will convince other self-righteous fools like the other 5 to go along. None of them has a breath of courage or concern for this nation. I am so sad to say that, but when the media portrays Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Roberts as somehow "moderate" because they occasionally do the right thing by the Constitution, it is clear we are in trouble. This court should be called the Alito Court or the anti-Constitutional court or both.

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And, he has the perfect wife, "VERGOGNA"!

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Alito is, apparently, thoroughly steeped in the male-centric Catholic tradition and his misogyny is deep and deadly. I'm surprised he's married and even more surprised that he remains married. But perhaps he keeps Martha-Ann around for use as a scapegoat.

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From her own words - she sounds like they are a perfect match! AND sure does seem as though she wears the pants in the family.

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Yes. Difficult to believe that she was a librarian.

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T L, it's too bad she didn't read more of the books she checked out and shelved. Maybe she thought the words on the page would burn her eyes or something.

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Likely not a very good helpful one!

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T L, maybe, she is his excuse as well as scapegoat and she revels in this role, at least publicly. Would she put up with that if he were not on the SC. Or, is he behaving as he does to keep her loyal to him? She is clearly a nut too with her flag nonsense and general hatred of LGBTQ+ persons and I am sure, others too. Yes, the two of them are just soooooo christian!

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C C, I do think Alito is truly a religious type fanatic who can see no one but himself and those who look enough like himself that he can recognize them. Women are not among that group and neither are most of the people living in this nation because rich, white, pseudo-christian, men like Alito are a minority in this country despite their desperate desire to rule everyone else. He is an absolutist who cares nothing for the real people involved in the cases he writes about. When he wrote the Dobbs decision, he didn't care that abortions were performed at the time of the Constitution because they were done by women for women. He had to go to a misogynistic witch-hunter to find someone who would go along with his BS. He also knew a large number of states, mostly in the former confederacy were poised to put destructive laws in place against women, particularly poor women and women of color in general. Alito needs to go away, but, like a member of the Inquisition, he wants to make sure everyone suffers for god of they don't do exactly what he thinks they should. Truly unacceptable!

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I've made similar comments several times before. I still don't get it. If the Mother dies, the fetus dies, so in reality, one cannot let the Mother die to save the fetus. If the fetus is already dead or will not survive why let the Mother die... again, it won't save the fetus. ???

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It’s very obvious what’s going on with SCOTUS! Alito, Thomas , Kavanaugh lead the way for right wing opinions! Roberts has no control!

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Anthony, don't dismiss the other conservatives. They are all in it together. Occasionally a bit of the Constitution creeps in for one or two of them and the others can be called to their oaths, but that seems pretty rare. The best they can do is say people don't have standing when that was clear from long before the case got to them. Trump and the Federalist Society with a lot of support from Republicans in the Senate, chief of them, Mitch McConnell who also thinks his oath is just a suggestion, appointed a lot of incompetent judges on the lower courts, but ones who would follow the precepts of the Federalist Society, thus the Republican Party too. On a rare occasion, one of those judges will surprise people by making a correct ruling based on the Constitution, but they usually conform as the 5th Circuit has demonstrated regularly. Judge Cannon has also shown herself to be a Trumpette who should never have been given a case involving the guy who put her on the court. The whole situation is a mess, and we will need another 4 years with President Biden and VP Harris to try to fix it for the American people.

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You are so right about not trusting the conservatives ever. We have lost count of how many GOP reps have trashed 34-0...then bowed down and kissed the stinking, fully loaded Depends!!! We have to keep our morals, wits and treasured freedoms close to our hearts and never cross the line and drink the Orange kool-aid.

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Well said!

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Thank you, Sharon.

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I think SCOTUS being as corrupt as they are is creating an environment of "learned helplessness". Much of what they do effects the tone and energy of the country. It is a very bad time. It just is...

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Terri, they believe they are doing it for god (or some other such excuse for serving the guys who put them on the Court (and it isn't god). Their oath means nothing to them. I am guessing they had their fingers crossed mentally while saying it. I guess that means their lie won't be a sin or something, being as all of the 6 are Roman Catholic now or, like Gorsuch, were raised Catholic. That is inexcusable to have so many on the court of the same faith or anything else when this nation is so wonderfully diverse.

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We all know how clumsily puppets walk.

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If and when we get control of 60 votes in the Senate which we probably can achieve in 2027 after a successful 2026 election when the number of Rs who are up exceed the number of Ds and Collins/Murkowski start to rebuild a new, more moderate R Party! We then could expand the Court to 12 and mandate that all SCOTUS judges become Senior Judges after serving 20 years! Can’t fire them constitutionally!

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Note the WI recall petition.. https://www.wlox.com/video/2024/06/25/enough-signatures-collected-force-recall-election-wisconsin-gop-leader-commission-says/

Hopefully others similarly situated will, also., Hawley, Cruz, et al are vulnerable.

Meanwhile FT6 has a weekly Florida phone banking program Thursdays from 2-4 edt. Below is the link. 40,000 phone numbers and they need volunteers. .

https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/632594/

Rick Scott must go.

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Regarding the FL movement, getting unregistered Dems registered, fabulous! This is how we can and have turned red states purple and blue! Feet on the ground in communities, one person, one community, one state at a time.

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In response to the first vid re: WI, awesome and i think would need to be voters in his district at the time? I'm not quite sure. Thoughts anyone?

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How about 2 or 3 benches of 9? Chiefs are added to each bench and he/she doesn't get to render an opinion - the chief is always a senior judge as you recommend and writes the opinion. Cases and benches are assigned by lottery and the chief and bench decide if any of thise judges have a conflict of a interest (like a jury). Ni judge gets assigned two cases until all the judges are on at least 1 case etc (everyone has 2 before they get 3). All cases must be heard and an opinion rendered within 4 months. No more shadow decisions. There are far too many cases for the one bench and they are too slow to process them. Having finally started to get my arms around how The Supremes work all due to Joyce I think the system is important but it is flawed and archaic as it is regardless of whatever many of us think of its members.

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We cannot wait that long…ethics investigations, larger majority and change the filibuster are in my wheelhouse.

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If they abolish the filibuster, everything will become easier to accomplish.

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founding

You are more of an optimist than myself..

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So needs to happen.

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What I love here is that the three "rogues" against the Leonard Leo dumplings actually support their arguments with good precedence, Constitutional support, and rhetorical clarity without pulling us back into the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th . . . century weeds. Real women of genius!

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The Supreme Court has at least an ethicist, if not a code of ethics.

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Fat lot of good their ethicist is doing. They’re actually drawing a paycheck for holding that job description?

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Jun 27Liked by Joyce Vance

Unlike “certain parties” in high places, chickens seem to know what’s good for them.

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Not too much oxygen at high altitudes. Easier to think at "see" level.

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They are very good at applying the rules of common sense. If it looks like a bug and moves like a bug, the fact is incontrovertible. 🐞

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At this point, I have more contempt than anticipation for the immunity decision. They gave the orange oracle the delay he needed. The opinion is almost irrelevant- unless alito and thomas write a disastrous majority opinion in favor of absolute immunity. Then all hell may break loose.

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Michael, 100%. The damage is done regardless of their phony who-gives-a-shit opinion.

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On another note - I gave up beef because it upsets my tummy. Seeing Joyce’s chickens makes me want to cut out eating chickens. Any advice Doc?

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founding

Tofu is amazingly versatile 💞

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I stopped eating chicken, too!

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But don't forget that it also applies to Biden. Now that would be interesting.

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Imagine a court with 9 justices the caliber of Judge Jackson. We are so fortunate to have her

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Joyce, take a break and enjoy time with your child! We so appreciate you and Civil Discourse! Thank you very much.

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Thanks, I am afraid the immunity decision will be the “July Surprise”

Thanks Joyce

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I think you may be right Christopher!! MAGA jerks!! Grrrrrrr.. Thank you dear Joyce.

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This Supreme Court is SO conservative and sneaky I expect it to give Trump immunity at the last hour they meet and then they adjourn to some remote vacation spot where they don't have to endure the wave of indignition and disappointment that will flood the country. The six MAGA clones are hopeless.

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No, some will be flown to "remote vacation spots" by their various admirers, and all in the spirit of receiving "gratuities" for a job well done!

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Barbara, I thought that conservative meant not wanting to change the status quo. My brain isn't coming up with a good alternative other than reactionary. Basically they want to take us back to the middle ages. My husband's word for them is Neanderthal. I agree that the MAGA clones are hopeless.

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I am afraid of that. Besides our three justices the rest are hell bent of undermining our Democracy

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Granting immunity is so wrong, such an attack on our country, I know my reaction would be greater than "indignation and disappointment". That is a bridge too far. I don't know what form it may take but Americans will not sit idly by and let the country be taken. If it's time for the revolution...Ok, then.

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Christopher, I am headed over to SCOTUSblog.com LIVE as the Opinions drop today. at 10 Am Eastern.

"5 Minute Bell". 9:55 am Eastern. 3 or 4 Opinions Today..

Opinion !: OHIO vs EPA by Justice Gorsuch 5-4. Barrett Dissents joined by Karan Jackson & Sotomayor. The case is about the EPA's "Good Neiborhood Policy" where Upwind Staes that Pollute must consider Downwind States.to REDUCE emissions.

Opinion 2: Harrington vs Purdue Pharma, Gorsuch again & also 5-4. "but, this time Kavanaugh DISSENTS joined Roberts, Kagan, & Sotomayor. The case concerned the Multi-Billions Bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma & the devastation of Oxycodon and the BK Plan to release the Owners-Statlers individually. The Majority says 'NO' the BK does not authorize such power.

Opinion 3: SEC vs Jarkesy, authored by the Chief Judge Roberts.The case concerns the SEC Agency powers. The case concerns a 'Hedge Fund" that committed securities fraud & was fined $300K & nearly double that $600K in repayments. SCOTUS continues to reduce Agency powers a goal of Project 2025 which I call Project Wreck.

The Vote was 6-3 & you know who. Dissent is by Sotomayor joined by Jackson & Kagan.

Justice Sotomayor is now reading here Dissent from the Bench 7 emphasizes this is the first case ever to attack a Federal agency sovereign public rights powers. Project 2025 intends to Wreck Federal Agency Powers.

IMPORTANT: Looks as if SCOTUS is still withholding Trump's bogus "immunity" case..

Opinion 4: Long delay but, the 4th Opinions is the official publication of U>S> vs, IDAHO, the Emergency Abortion case, Same Vote 5-4 that allows exigent medical services to save a woman's life & preserve her ability to get pregnant again! Remanded with instructions! Safe

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I'm afraid of that too. If the 'mistakenly' released draft of yesterday is anything to go by they are saving up the super appalling stuff for the end, just before they head out the door for the summer

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Add:

“In what appeared to be a dig at the court’s conservative bloc, Justice Jackson added that the defendant in the case offered an “absurd and atextual reading of the statute” that “only today’s court could love.””

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/26/us/politics/supreme-court-corruption-bribery.html

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I’m starting to make peace with the waiting game…

I’m on season six of my election year trek back through all the seasons of the West Wing, and some of the shenanigans have not changed in all those years! Even though the show was fictional, their depiction of the court and how we choose those on the court and who they are Beholden to certainly has not changed much at all.

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Do you know that newsman Lawrence O'Donnell wrote the West Wing ? We are so fortunate to have his counsel on MSNBC.

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“The West Wing” and was purely Aaron Sorkin. He created it and was Executive Producer and lead writer for 6-7 years. After he left, they had 7-8 main writers. O’Donnell was an Exec Producer and sometimes writer.

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Yup, Lawrence was & is factually and procedurally spot-on given his years on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee as the head of Staff. O'Donnell has been-there-&-done-that a 1000 times.

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If he were to write that about the former president it would be “The West Wing Nuthouse”

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I didn't know that! However, I'm not surprised at all.

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I loved that show! Maybe that will be the perfect distraction for me. Thank you for sharing!

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I loved that show also. Maybe I will revisit it. Not sure how to get it now. Netflix? Amazon Prime? I’ll find it. But what a great distraction it will be? 😊

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I bought the whole series on DVDs for my husband one year when we were up in the mountains with no tv. It wasn’t cheap but less than $100 ($80?) but he watched it every summer and knows the whole thing by heart, I think. I think it was the best present I have ever gotten him. 🙄🤪😁

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I’m streaming it on Max. Every now and then it rotates through Netflix!

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Try You Tube

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Prime has it for about $30 per season.

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The West Wing is included on Max, and it would cost less for a whole year of Max, rather than paying $30 per season, in cases anyone's interested. 🙂

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The Court blew it badly in Snyder. Anyone who has taken a principles of psychology course knows that if you want a rat, dog, pigeon, or human to engage in a specific behavior, you give them something desirable after they perform the required/desired task. When that happens, the likelihood of the behavior occurring again increases. It's called the Law of Effect and it has been known and extensively researched for over a hundred years. When will they ever learn?

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P.S. It works for chickens, too!

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They will never learn because they don't want to. They're too lazy.

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Kinda sounds like dog training…

I always treat my dog when she has used her pee-pee pad. Reward and reinforce her good behavior.

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My lab would have that popcorn gone before the chickens could get it 😂. Your dog has much better manners.

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I agree, Janet. That dog is so polite, waiting for the chickens to finish before he/she eats. Hmmm, I know some people who might learn that lesson! 😊

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That must be what Thomas thinks he's doing, accepting gratuities

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SOOOOO transparent!

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Which are now legal.

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With "Snyder," I gather Leo, Crow and the rest of the Munificents will now wait until their favorable rulings get handed down before providing "rewards" for jobs well done. Not that it really makes any difference.

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Fishing anyone? How about a luxurious trip at a cabin in the woods - with free private school education for your kids - and more.

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founding

Michael - We have no children bit if I may join you for a FREE "luxurious trip at a cabin in the woods" I would.

Thanks :)

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founding

Safe travels Joyce.

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I know that it is commonly believed that goats will eat everything. That, however, is a myth. My goats won’t eat their vegetables. They do eat broccoli though. I was stunned when they chomped it down. I must say that my goats do love their paint and it does go well with a scoop of wall filler.

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Hard cheese and drywall are two favorites of Wolf Blitzer.

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Interesting that your goats are as "selective" as they are and that they will eat broccoli! My last dog loved raw broccoli too, which still surprises and amuses me. Fortunately, he didn't show any interest in eating paint or wall filler. : ) You are very tolerant!

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I have popcorn ready for the debate tomorrow. If we lived close, I would borrow a chicken to watch with me and eat popcorn.

Enjoy your visit with your kid, and relax.

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KJB’s dissent on the bribery case just slapped the 6 conservatives on the court and that was directed at the 2 sold to the highest bidder. Then the slap down of the 5th circuit again.

I don’t think these leaks are by accident but intentional and that was another case that shouldn’t have been touched. More women will continue to die, lose their child or be made infertile. No winner in that situation.

We have got to get Thomas and Alito out along with impeachment of Gorsuch and Cavanaugh. Plus impeachment of kazmarak and cannon. Clean up on Supreme Court aisle 2025. We must make sure we get a democratic congress and White House!

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