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May 15, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Goodness.. I had to remind myself to breathe while reading this one...and to harken back to the Portland podcast and awesome audience - to remind myself that the majority are with us. I am glad we are in this together!

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That's so important—we should say it more often. We are the majority on some big issues like abortion and gun control. And also, put of the majority that said definitively in 2020 that Donald Trump didn't belong in the White House. Part of voter suppression is making us feel like we can't win, like we're outnumbered. But that's not true, it's all a big disinformation campaign.

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Doubtful that any trump has learned anything about acting in good faith with the courts. They are cut from the same cloth. I wish the HAMMER would come crashing down on DJT by Jack Smith and others. Time is awasting. Plus, isn't it past time for Bannon to start serving time for his conviction? After all, he was found guilty of ripping off stupid people for donations to building more of the wall. Like to hear more of your meeting in Texas, since that is my state (College Station).

On a serious note, Joyce, I'd like all of you to take security precautions when you are traveling to speak out and about. You know there are many crazies with guns loose. We'd be partially lost without you. Peace. Carry on.

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Thank you, Bill ... I agree

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Most definitely 🙏

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When I read anything about a conservative judge claiming that he/she doesn't allow their personal beliefs to influence their rulings, I can feel the heat of anger creep up my back to my neck and face. It's so obvious that they are NOT impartial.

Why can't they rule that there be a package insert included with each dose of mifepristone and a place to sign and acknowledge the pregnant person has read the insert and understands the risk? Nobody is insisting that conservative people have to take the drug. Can you imagine just how angry a conservative person would be if they were *forced" to take it against their will, even if it were a law approved by liberal judges. It would seem they could give individuals the right to make their own decision.

Sorry if this makes little sense, but I'm too angry to think clearly!

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Isn't it infuriating?? They talk as though convictions, political and otherwise, can be turned off with the click of a mental switch.

I believe the underlying problem is that they think their convictions are, or should be, universal. So they don't consider them "personal beliefs."

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Infuriating indeed!!! I'm old enough to remember driving my 15-year-old best friend to the nearest ER after she began hemorrhaging, having had a "back alley" abortion that afternoon. The doctor said she would have died if she hadn't come in to the ER.

I've never had an abortion or needed one, sometimes more due to good luck than good sense. But no woman should be forced to bear a child they don't want or aren't prepared to care for. I believe birth control should be the first line of defense, but if it fails or if it's forgotten, they should have a choice in the matter.

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Political antics.

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It makes total sense 🤗 Same insert should apply for viagra

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Makes sense to me, Harriet - and so does the anger!

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I’m a Bill Douglas fan, and I think Griswold v. Connecticut is under appreciated. Whose business is it if you take an FDA approved drug?

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May 15, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

I was the Asian-American woman to your left of the stage who was unable to make my comment behind the woman from Occupy Democrats and was timed out from questions due to lights out at 10.

First I wanted to let you know that I just closed on my new home in a little Central Oregon community called Sisters!

My questions were, what happens to Jack Smith if we end up with a GOP appointed attorney general. Second, I wanted to ask why Biden cannot sign the ERA. Which states withdrew their endorsement?

I loved seeing you and the Sisters in any case!

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First, congrats on your home!

A special counsel remains in place even if a new administration takes over. That's not to say they couldn't try to manipulate him, but as the former head of DOJ's public integrity section, Smith knows the rules a lot better than anyone Trump will bring in would.

I bet your ERA question will be on tap for Sisters in Law soon. But for legitimate ratification, you've got to follow the process, which doesn't permit a president to just sign off on it. Imagine what Republicans might do if that was the case!

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How sad is it that this ERA "question" is even questionable? All these years & the actual advances (not enough, of course) but still so much fear if women were actually allowed to be "equal"! And it is fear.

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Great questions. So happy JSmigh is so knowledgeable 🙏

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I have been a lawyer since 1985 in South Carolina of all places, and I used to believe like you that judges step up and let their politics go once appointed to the bench, especially in the federal courts. You can see that with the relatively strong federal bench in S.C. Two of my biggest disappointments in the law are the realization that letting politics go apparently is no longer the case as shown by many of the Trump/McConnell appointments and the complicity by the members of Congress, reflecting the overall decline in their quality. My other major disappointment is the corruption of the Supreme Court which I would have thought unthinkable when I became a lawyer. Disagreeing with legal conclusions is part of the game, but impropriety that makes the actual law not relevant and the conclusions questionable should not be a factor. And two more would be (1) people like Durbin who continue to use the corrupt blue slip rule to avoid fixing some of the problems and (3) the filibuster to suppress the majority. It remains disappointing that we cannot escape the legacy of the South and its history of people like Storm Thurmond. My opinion.

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Indeed, the blue slip and filibuster have to go!

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Explain the blue slip

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Traditionally, the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Dirben, Chair, will not advance a judicial appointment to the floor of the Senate until each senator from the applicable state returns their “blue slip” approving the appointment. It is tradition, like filibuster, not law. Lets Republican senators block judicial appointments in their state.

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How do you propose we get around it?

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But wouldn’t it be blocked anyway if they don’t have the votes?

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Schumer needs to get serious with Dirben about ditching blue slips. I am not optimistic because Schumer and many democrats seem to be spineless. I think they continue to live in the past when the Senate was a good old boys club.

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It looks to me like my comment in response to this did not go through. If it did, I apologize for being redundant. I may be wrong but McConnell eliminated the 60 vote threshold requirement for judicial appointments to get Barrett, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh on the bench. It remains a 51 vote requirement for judicial nominees with this limited change to the filibuster rule. Of course, we are still stuck with Manchin and Sinema so who knows what they will do.

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Tough stuff.

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Speaking of Mother's Day, I wonder what the children and grandchildren of Ivana, Marla, and Melania Trump; Kellyanne Conway, Sidney Powell, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert have learned about kindness, integrity, generosity, dignity, respect, and courtesy.

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May 15, 2023·edited May 15, 2023

Methinks not much. Although sometimes the apple rolls away from the tree. Didn't the Conway daughter have a row on twitter or something?

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I'm waiting to hear something like that from one of Cruz's daughters. I remember many pictures of his "family" and those girls do NOT look happy in any of them. I'm saying that even though I remember my daughter's "unhappiness" in pictures when she was 12-13 etc. But imagine - having him as a father!

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Late last year Cruz's oldest daughter was taken to the ER because she's cutting. I feel horrible for them.

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Yes I remember. My remarks still stand about him.

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A terrifying thought!

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Not in their playbook.

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Wow! That was indeed a lengthy but needed explanation of upcoming issues this week. Thank you Joyce. In light of Mothers Day I am reminded that women in general are at the forefront of most issues on the ballot in the near future. What makes any politician think they can stonewall over half of the current population into believing that even tho they are saying so in their political speak, that they want to protect the sanctity of the family? What a bunch of BS!

I am encouraged that the justice system is beginning to hold TFG accountable and am eagerly awaiting the next indictments to hold him and his family accountable for all of their misdeeds.

Peace and Happy Mothers Day!

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It’s outrageous what they think they got away with.

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That just it! They ‘think’🤣

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Love me some Sisters!

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Sounds to me like the 5th Circuit, especially, has the fingerprints of Leonard Leo and Mitch McConnell all over it. And gleefully. Not so good if you're a woman living under its thumb however.

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Great podcast from Portland!!

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Thank you again for all of us Joyce; we are very grateful for your well informed analysis! While we can only guess, wouldn’t it be likely that Jack Smith will indict him(and significant others) in both cases by the end of June or earlier? And we know that Fani Willis will issue obviously news-making indictments in July? Thus, he will be surrounded by four criminal indictments by mid-summer (and numerous other civil lawsuits)! That would be an extraordinary legal burden for any defendant, unprecedented stigma for any political figure, and far beyond the experience of any former President in our history! The MSM have not even discussed the political and criminal implications of the closing of all four walls at once around the trump campaign?

Joyce, what is your view of how this sordid situation would play out politically for him (1) with the potential size of his base, and (2) much more importantly with moderate “business Republican voters” plus the implication for an opening by a significantly more moderate Republican candidate such as Gov. Kemp? Thank you!

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How mind-boggling is it, ira, that the guy whose campaign ads showed him holding a gun is now considered moderate?

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Who identified themselves politically as gun owners 20-30 years ago except in crappy red states? Media probably were always unreliable when dealing with political expression but the reliance now on social media which has unknown origins has really complicated political definitions, hasn’t it? I think a significant number of entries are bots because when you open many tweets for example they have no followers and no bio.

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Justice Thomas should not be allowed to vote on any cases since he is being paid to vote by rich men/women. All votes by Thomas need to be rescinded, void, tossed out, take back, cancel, or what ever words need to be said. Thomas's votes can not be counted. They are not legal votes. Pay to play has to be illegal.

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Trump and all his crotch goblins have been frantically deleting all their communications.

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Oh what a descriptive phrase that is! Depending on where you use it, I guess some eyebrows might be raised - but it sure fits these creeps to a t.

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It’s still out there in some form.

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gosh, is there anyone who doesn't know that Trump's M.O. is to stall, stall, stall? I'm amazed that he can still find legal representation.

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A little entertainment for the new day, a recent song I wrote, "Secret Documents." Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Og9SDu24V4

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Good job, Bill. Can't help myself from smiling.

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I enjoyed your playing. It's great that you have such a wonderful outlet for your frustrations!

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And thank you too. I like that line.

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The Fifth Circuit's composition is the precursor for what Republicans would like the entire federal court system to be. Scarily, they might get their wish.

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