"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
--- H.L. Mencken, "On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe"
It simply baffles me—how are these thorough buffoons the flowers of white supremacy? They bumble about like drunk teenagers, boasting and pointing fingers, then settling in for a nice personal wallow.
David, the problem is though, that they have a lot of friends and a lot of money, not in the hands of the racists at the bottom, but in the hands of those at the top, and they know just how to manipulate those at the bottom to do their will while the toppers take away their rights, pay them lousy wages, use them to get elected, steal their land, deny them healthcare, and more and those at the bottom keep coming back for more; their hatred of people who are not like them is too intense to even try to unpack. How do we reach them or can we! The guys at the top know exactly what they are doing because it has worked for them for hundreds of years just in different clothing. They are not reachable, so we need to kick them out of office and heavily tax their wealth.
These buffoons are a living refutation of the theory of Black racial inferiority. Consider what it must’ve been like to live in the Jim Crow South when highly intelligent and capable Black people who had so much to offer to society were kept down by white bigots who were little better than a collection of class clowns and town drunkards. The South might have lost the Civil War but, unfortunately, the mindset of the Confederacy has not yet been defeated.
I am not Black … but, as I was born in 1950, I did live through Jim Crow days. It was then, as it appears to be now again, that racism, misogyny, antisemitism — all were normalized; casually accepted that people of color, Jews and women were (of course!) inferior. Hence the violence, and violent rhetoric.
I'm hoping this Extreme Court is hoisted on its own petard when democracy advocates turn out in droves this fall and take back the House and the Senate, despite their best efforts to stack the deck for Republicans.
Then I hope we pass the Redistricting Reform Act in 2027, which of course Dump will veto, but it will force the Republicans to vote against an override and show the nation, once and for all, that they are not gerrymandering in good faith, but merely to suppress the will of the majority.
They cannot win elections without cheating. Only a small angry minority wants to buy what they are selling.
And very sadly, we had two heartbreaking examples this weekend of what can happen when partying teenagers carrying grudges and believing narratives of vengeance are also carrying deadly weapons that no one restricts their access to.
“but, I think, of humanity and/or morality”. And a goodly amount of twisting the so-called Good Book to fit any immoral idea frosted upon them by their religious(?) leaders. How can a simple statement, “The Golden Rule” be so twisted it allows or even demands one treats others with contempt because of the color of their skin, even to the point of murder? I saw “Jim Crow” in action in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60s’ across several southern states I was privileged to lived in. Humanity and Morality were often totally absent. Hate is not natural! Hate it taught. I know! My father tried to teach me to hate (n-word). He failed! The worst most profane teaching of hate comes from the pulpit! Followed and fed by talk-shows, who in turn are fed from the pulpit – an endless cycle! The yoke of slavery was overthrown, the cost in lives was high. What will it take to break the “falsehoods” spewing from religious leaders? Well, one might start by reading the Bible and thinking for yourself, because brother and sister, much of what is preached, just ain't true. Read it and see for yourself.
Yes, I do hope the South will Rise again! Rise in the spirit of equality, fairness, and justice, not just for white people. A south no longer based on one’s color or the deceitful preaching's of the hate filled.
Worthy thoughts! It seems preposterous but every culture, it seems, requires some part of it to be discriminated against … boosts the “self appreciation” I guess.
Holy Toledo !!! Seems this administration is hell-bent on creating so many avenues of distraction from their sleight of hand that we won't even try to keep up ! Bless you Joyce for helping us to remain ever vigilant, to the craziness of this crop of cr*p being dished up.
What is particularly galling about "Callais," apart from Alito having also authored the majority opinion in "Dobbs" (which overturned "Roe"), another life-changing, invidious ruling, is it shows a Court making judgments under the color of law, but which is really social engineering based on false narratives. With "Dobbs," Alito insisted that for most of U.S. history, states regulated abortion according to the preferences of their citizens, and that "Roe" disrupted this democratic process. He framed "Dobbs" as restoring that process by “returning the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” What he ignored is reality. His formulaic view of democracy reduced political power to voting, conveniently overlooking structural inequalities in representation and political influence, gerrymandering and similar structural barriers and in general, ignoring the broader ecosystem of political power --- to say nothing of the well-known fact that far too many legislators are subject to influence well beyond the ballot box. With "Callais" (and "Shelby County" in 2013), the Gang of Six rely on a narrative that the conditions that once justified strong federal protections against racial discrimination in voting no longer exist --- that it is largely a relic of the past. But yet again, reality intrudes on this willful self-deception. The empirical record shows instead that the racial turnout gap is widening, not shrinking, minority vote dilution remains widespread and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) was designed precisely because intent is virtually impossible to prove and that the test must be results based. This was emphasized by bi-partisan VRA amendments signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1982. What we have, however, is a Court that has adopted a legal framework which assumes racial discrimination is a thing of the past in the face of the data and the lived realities of minority voters which show otherwise. The result is a legal landscape where discriminatory effects must now be proven to be intentional, even as those effects grow more pronounced.
Dale, and if the SC Roberts 6 even cared, the intention for racism was so blatant that the governor of LA suspended an election that was already underway so his racist maps could be drawn. DeSantis did it in FL even though it is unconstitutional there, and AL is planning it along with TN. That is clearly intent to racially gerrymander and it just so happens that those "new" districts would be Republican. Hmmm! Clearly Justice Alito should never have been approved for the SC, along with the rest of the 6, but Baby Bush just had to prove he could be just as racist and misogynistic as his predecessors and now his Trumpian successor. We need super voting in every single district, particularly those who care about this nation and can stand bck from their racism for a little. We'll see.
And use dontgetpurged.com to make certain your name is on your Voter Registration. One minute to complete form, no SSN required. Click and get “green” to confirm; “red” means take immediate action to fix.
Excuse me Dale, but how more intentional can you get when you gerrymander your way to southern republican "whiteness" with such legal aplomb! What the Supreme Court did was make lawyers work harder to try and clean up this latest short-sighted mess the Court made. Law suits galore creating more judicial chaos and more diversions so we take our eye off the ball. We can't give them the thousand cuts they need to end our grand experiment in our 250th year.
The problem now (with "Callais") is to be able to differentiate racially-based redistricting from partisan --- the latter being allowed. This is, of course, a particular issue (and no doubt the overarching reason for it) in the South, where the Black population traditionally votes for Democrats, with support ranging from 83-90% in presidential elections and roughly the same, if not slightly higher, for midterms.
The Supreme Court forgot to state that this new ruling should be authorized to begin on January 1, 2027, due to elections having already started in some states. There have been other rulings that begin on a stated date in the future. They were negligent and extremely partisan for not delaying this massive change in voting rights!
Thank you, Joyce, for helping we non-attorneys understand the legalities and illegalities involved in so many cases. As an old retired small town journalist, I’ve seen a lot of petty, and sometimes criminal, behavior by public officials. Never before have I seen such a tsunami of illegal activity.
I think George Conway got it right when in the lead up to the last presidential election he launched the "Anti-Psychopath PAC" with the stated goal of highlighting Trump's "mental unfitness for office" and "psychological derangement".
Fast forward to January 2025: I don't think anyone thought that he would appoint a cabinet who are just as crazy and dangerous as he is, Todd Blanche being one of the most dangerous.
Blanche should have been disbarred after he repeatedly lied to the court and to the jury during Trump's New York criminal trial. It's never too late to do the right thing.
Dr. Vance, Blanche's comments about the Comey travesty of justice gave me pause. If I believed an evil totalitarian regime, bent on seizing absolute power, had taken over the US government, I would expect at some point show trials of opponents of the regime, using (pardon me) trumped-up and false evidence, to cow and criminalize resistance.
Blanche could be blowing smoke. He could also be hinting at this kind of show trial, straight out of the fascist playbook.
And yet nothing about the rabid 5th circuit decision stopping the mailing of abortion medication even in states where abortion is legal. I never thought I would say it but ... for shame, Joyce. The violent abrogation of the fundamental human right to bodily autonomy of American women means nothing to you and those you choose to interview? Wow. I cancelled my founding subscription to The Contrarian when after a whole year Jen and Norm never once addressed the deeply misogynist legal landscape in this country. I just can’t justify paying money to someone who does not care about the vicious work of republicans to lock women out of the public sphere by removing our rights and our protection under the law.
The right to an abortion has NEVER been a policy debate. This is about the systemic and ongoing violation of the fundamental human rights to bodily autonomy of more than half of Americans — the female 51%! — that is intentional and central to the fascist republican project to dismantle of our society. To refuse to address it is not only shameful but extremely cruel. Please recalibrate your priorities as you are losing those of us who actually do care.
You can also pass on to anyone you know who is running for office that I and millions of other women will not be voting for someone who is not publicly vocal about her or his support for women’s health care including the right to choose an abortion without restrictions just as one would be able to choose any other health care without restrictions.
Let's see ... first you insult the account holder, then you pirouette from "the week ahead" to repeating ad nauseum what everyone else likely read or heard about from a long since past news cycle on abortion access, then you arabesque stage center and deign to speak for "millions of other women." Whew! Aren't you tired?
“...government’s media blitz..." Am I seeing an affirmation that the same Epstein ruling class that owns two parties forming~100% of governments, the current federal government and the corporate media are indeed one and the same?
Wasn't Queen Mary of England (Elizabeth I's half sister and predecessor as monarch) supposed to have said "When I am dead and opened, you shall find ... ‘Calais’ lying in my heart". Seems slightly relevant again.
I still think Lutnick should be questioned about whether he knew JE in 1998, as he then bought the house adjacent to JE from a hidden trust that bought it from JE. The trust seems intended to insulate Lutnick. Lutnick may have visited JE’s house for 7 years prior to introducing his wife to him in 2005. He also was in business with JE prior to visiting the island.
You should be able to watch it without having tiktok. When you click it, there is a box over the video that wants you to view it in the tiktok app. Just click the x in the upper right corner of that box and it should disappear and the video should automatically play. That is how it worked for me on my android phone. I do not have the tiktok app or a tiktok account. I do read substack on the substack app on my phone. Hope this works for you.
I actually tried it on my desktop and it sort of worked. I had to click it once and it brought up another window but then when I clicked it in that window, it played.
After the 2028 election, the Democratic President, whoever he or she is, should hire Maurene Comey to provide guidance regarding replacing Trump appointees who linger. It will be important to take care that those who are released are released iin ways that will win in court. Len Lubinsky Len's Political Notes.
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
--- H.L. Mencken, "On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe"
Will an Orange Imbecile suit?
It simply baffles me—how are these thorough buffoons the flowers of white supremacy? They bumble about like drunk teenagers, boasting and pointing fingers, then settling in for a nice personal wallow.
David, the problem is though, that they have a lot of friends and a lot of money, not in the hands of the racists at the bottom, but in the hands of those at the top, and they know just how to manipulate those at the bottom to do their will while the toppers take away their rights, pay them lousy wages, use them to get elected, steal their land, deny them healthcare, and more and those at the bottom keep coming back for more; their hatred of people who are not like them is too intense to even try to unpack. How do we reach them or can we! The guys at the top know exactly what they are doing because it has worked for them for hundreds of years just in different clothing. They are not reachable, so we need to kick them out of office and heavily tax their wealth.
These buffoons are a living refutation of the theory of Black racial inferiority. Consider what it must’ve been like to live in the Jim Crow South when highly intelligent and capable Black people who had so much to offer to society were kept down by white bigots who were little better than a collection of class clowns and town drunkards. The South might have lost the Civil War but, unfortunately, the mindset of the Confederacy has not yet been defeated.
I am not Black … but, as I was born in 1950, I did live through Jim Crow days. It was then, as it appears to be now again, that racism, misogyny, antisemitism — all were normalized; casually accepted that people of color, Jews and women were (of course!) inferior. Hence the violence, and violent rhetoric.
See "How the South Won the Civil War" by Heather Cox Richardson.
Your first sentence is so true it made me laugh. IMO it's difficult to be more stupid than the republicans have been for decades now.
I'm hoping this Extreme Court is hoisted on its own petard when democracy advocates turn out in droves this fall and take back the House and the Senate, despite their best efforts to stack the deck for Republicans.
Then I hope we pass the Redistricting Reform Act in 2027, which of course Dump will veto, but it will force the Republicans to vote against an override and show the nation, once and for all, that they are not gerrymandering in good faith, but merely to suppress the will of the majority.
They cannot win elections without cheating. Only a small angry minority wants to buy what they are selling.
I hope it is only a small majority…
And very sadly, we had two heartbreaking examples this weekend of what can happen when partying teenagers carrying grudges and believing narratives of vengeance are also carrying deadly weapons that no one restricts their access to.
Apparently Thomas Jefferson himself expressed exasperation at the laziness and lack of intelligence among his southern fellows. It has continued.
Not so much a lack of intelligence … but, I think, of humanity and/or morality.
“but, I think, of humanity and/or morality”. And a goodly amount of twisting the so-called Good Book to fit any immoral idea frosted upon them by their religious(?) leaders. How can a simple statement, “The Golden Rule” be so twisted it allows or even demands one treats others with contempt because of the color of their skin, even to the point of murder? I saw “Jim Crow” in action in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60s’ across several southern states I was privileged to lived in. Humanity and Morality were often totally absent. Hate is not natural! Hate it taught. I know! My father tried to teach me to hate (n-word). He failed! The worst most profane teaching of hate comes from the pulpit! Followed and fed by talk-shows, who in turn are fed from the pulpit – an endless cycle! The yoke of slavery was overthrown, the cost in lives was high. What will it take to break the “falsehoods” spewing from religious leaders? Well, one might start by reading the Bible and thinking for yourself, because brother and sister, much of what is preached, just ain't true. Read it and see for yourself.
Yes, I do hope the South will Rise again! Rise in the spirit of equality, fairness, and justice, not just for white people. A south no longer based on one’s color or the deceitful preaching's of the hate filled.
Worthy thoughts! It seems preposterous but every culture, it seems, requires some part of it to be discriminated against … boosts the “self appreciation” I guess.
Yes David every culture and most if not all religions.
Well, as AdAM shift said… "Because they can "to think our republic is at the mercy of racists... I agree with you
Holy Toledo !!! Seems this administration is hell-bent on creating so many avenues of distraction from their sleight of hand that we won't even try to keep up ! Bless you Joyce for helping us to remain ever vigilant, to the craziness of this crop of cr*p being dished up.
What is particularly galling about "Callais," apart from Alito having also authored the majority opinion in "Dobbs" (which overturned "Roe"), another life-changing, invidious ruling, is it shows a Court making judgments under the color of law, but which is really social engineering based on false narratives. With "Dobbs," Alito insisted that for most of U.S. history, states regulated abortion according to the preferences of their citizens, and that "Roe" disrupted this democratic process. He framed "Dobbs" as restoring that process by “returning the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” What he ignored is reality. His formulaic view of democracy reduced political power to voting, conveniently overlooking structural inequalities in representation and political influence, gerrymandering and similar structural barriers and in general, ignoring the broader ecosystem of political power --- to say nothing of the well-known fact that far too many legislators are subject to influence well beyond the ballot box. With "Callais" (and "Shelby County" in 2013), the Gang of Six rely on a narrative that the conditions that once justified strong federal protections against racial discrimination in voting no longer exist --- that it is largely a relic of the past. But yet again, reality intrudes on this willful self-deception. The empirical record shows instead that the racial turnout gap is widening, not shrinking, minority vote dilution remains widespread and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) was designed precisely because intent is virtually impossible to prove and that the test must be results based. This was emphasized by bi-partisan VRA amendments signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1982. What we have, however, is a Court that has adopted a legal framework which assumes racial discrimination is a thing of the past in the face of the data and the lived realities of minority voters which show otherwise. The result is a legal landscape where discriminatory effects must now be proven to be intentional, even as those effects grow more pronounced.
Dale, and if the SC Roberts 6 even cared, the intention for racism was so blatant that the governor of LA suspended an election that was already underway so his racist maps could be drawn. DeSantis did it in FL even though it is unconstitutional there, and AL is planning it along with TN. That is clearly intent to racially gerrymander and it just so happens that those "new" districts would be Republican. Hmmm! Clearly Justice Alito should never have been approved for the SC, along with the rest of the 6, but Baby Bush just had to prove he could be just as racist and misogynistic as his predecessors and now his Trumpian successor. We need super voting in every single district, particularly those who care about this nation and can stand bck from their racism for a little. We'll see.
And use dontgetpurged.com to make certain your name is on your Voter Registration. One minute to complete form, no SSN required. Click and get “green” to confirm; “red” means take immediate action to fix.
Excuse me Dale, but how more intentional can you get when you gerrymander your way to southern republican "whiteness" with such legal aplomb! What the Supreme Court did was make lawyers work harder to try and clean up this latest short-sighted mess the Court made. Law suits galore creating more judicial chaos and more diversions so we take our eye off the ball. We can't give them the thousand cuts they need to end our grand experiment in our 250th year.
Yes, but isn't that what courtroom lawyers so often have to do--prove intent? And they do it successfully.
The problem now (with "Callais") is to be able to differentiate racially-based redistricting from partisan --- the latter being allowed. This is, of course, a particular issue (and no doubt the overarching reason for it) in the South, where the Black population traditionally votes for Democrats, with support ranging from 83-90% in presidential elections and roughly the same, if not slightly higher, for midterms.
Well stated!
The Supreme Court forgot to state that this new ruling should be authorized to begin on January 1, 2027, due to elections having already started in some states. There have been other rulings that begin on a stated date in the future. They were negligent and extremely partisan for not delaying this massive change in voting rights!
Thank you, Joyce, for helping we non-attorneys understand the legalities and illegalities involved in so many cases. As an old retired small town journalist, I’ve seen a lot of petty, and sometimes criminal, behavior by public officials. Never before have I seen such a tsunami of illegal activity.
I think George Conway got it right when in the lead up to the last presidential election he launched the "Anti-Psychopath PAC" with the stated goal of highlighting Trump's "mental unfitness for office" and "psychological derangement".
Fast forward to January 2025: I don't think anyone thought that he would appoint a cabinet who are just as crazy and dangerous as he is, Todd Blanche being one of the most dangerous.
Blanche should have been disbarred after he repeatedly lied to the court and to the jury during Trump's New York criminal trial. It's never too late to do the right thing.
Dr. Vance, Blanche's comments about the Comey travesty of justice gave me pause. If I believed an evil totalitarian regime, bent on seizing absolute power, had taken over the US government, I would expect at some point show trials of opponents of the regime, using (pardon me) trumped-up and false evidence, to cow and criminalize resistance.
Blanche could be blowing smoke. He could also be hinting at this kind of show trial, straight out of the fascist playbook.
Buffer overflow 😅
And yet nothing about the rabid 5th circuit decision stopping the mailing of abortion medication even in states where abortion is legal. I never thought I would say it but ... for shame, Joyce. The violent abrogation of the fundamental human right to bodily autonomy of American women means nothing to you and those you choose to interview? Wow. I cancelled my founding subscription to The Contrarian when after a whole year Jen and Norm never once addressed the deeply misogynist legal landscape in this country. I just can’t justify paying money to someone who does not care about the vicious work of republicans to lock women out of the public sphere by removing our rights and our protection under the law.
The right to an abortion has NEVER been a policy debate. This is about the systemic and ongoing violation of the fundamental human rights to bodily autonomy of more than half of Americans — the female 51%! — that is intentional and central to the fascist republican project to dismantle of our society. To refuse to address it is not only shameful but extremely cruel. Please recalibrate your priorities as you are losing those of us who actually do care.
You can also pass on to anyone you know who is running for office that I and millions of other women will not be voting for someone who is not publicly vocal about her or his support for women’s health care including the right to choose an abortion without restrictions just as one would be able to choose any other health care without restrictions.
Get a grip, Clementine… There’s plenty of support for legal abortion in this country of ours. Shhh🤫
Thanks. You make my point exactly.
It think it's playing on "loop" ... there's no stopping it other than blocking it.
Let's see ... first you insult the account holder, then you pirouette from "the week ahead" to repeating ad nauseum what everyone else likely read or heard about from a long since past news cycle on abortion access, then you arabesque stage center and deign to speak for "millions of other women." Whew! Aren't you tired?
“...government’s media blitz..." Am I seeing an affirmation that the same Epstein ruling class that owns two parties forming~100% of governments, the current federal government and the corporate media are indeed one and the same?
Yes.
Another upcoming week of outrages and disgusting moments.
Wasn't Queen Mary of England (Elizabeth I's half sister and predecessor as monarch) supposed to have said "When I am dead and opened, you shall find ... ‘Calais’ lying in my heart". Seems slightly relevant again.
I still think Lutnick should be questioned about whether he knew JE in 1998, as he then bought the house adjacent to JE from a hidden trust that bought it from JE. The trust seems intended to insulate Lutnick. Lutnick may have visited JE’s house for 7 years prior to introducing his wife to him in 2005. He also was in business with JE prior to visiting the island.
Thank You for your diligent work simplifying the many legalities lay people like myself need spelling out.
I really want to see the video that you made but I don't do Tic Tok. Is it possible to put it on YouTube?
You should be able to watch it without having tiktok. When you click it, there is a box over the video that wants you to view it in the tiktok app. Just click the x in the upper right corner of that box and it should disappear and the video should automatically play. That is how it worked for me on my android phone. I do not have the tiktok app or a tiktok account. I do read substack on the substack app on my phone. Hope this works for you.
Works on phones... not sure it will work on a desktop or laptop computer.
Yes. I was thinking this too. I probably should have said "this may work for you, this is how it works for me".
I actually tried it on my desktop and it sort of worked. I had to click it once and it brought up another window but then when I clicked it in that window, it played.
Second the motion.
After the 2028 election, the Democratic President, whoever he or she is, should hire Maurene Comey to provide guidance regarding replacing Trump appointees who linger. It will be important to take care that those who are released are released iin ways that will win in court. Len Lubinsky Len's Political Notes.