299 Comments

I try to find reasons for optimism but this decision by the Supreme Court sure isn't it. It seems they are deciding cases purely on a idealogical basis with no regard for established law or precedent. This is just . . . . awful.

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When well-respected and active federal judges, district and appellate level judges who have been appointed by republican AND democratic presidents and definitely NOT swayed by the latest conspiracy theories, are basically saying WTF is going on with the Supreme Court and their ignoring and striking down decades and decades of established law and well-known and respected precedent, you know something untoward and organized is going on. That is happening in every district in this country and has never happened before. This knowledge is scaring the hell out of me right now.

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It's hard to have faith at lower courts with trust in SCOTUS when SCOTUS run's amuck. Same with DJT and his spoils beliefs to shower favors onto his loyal sycophants (gop and MAGA) and destroy others.

"Everything for my friends, the law for the rest" seems to be the gop power grab mantra.

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Yes and we know how Djt loves showers

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Could the reason tfg and MAGA are so sure about fraud is because they were submitting the questionable registration documents themselves?

(Am I becoming a conspiracy maniac?)

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SCOTUS is corrupt and we know which ones need to go.

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I am with you 100%. This helped me today: https://kamala4prez.substack.com/p/5-reasons-for-hope

I hope it helps you at least a little, too!

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Love this!!! Any woman who's ever had a miscarriage needs to be sure that the orange clown does NOT get elected!!! #metoo

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Thanks for sharing this. I have been saying all along no one I know answers random emails or phone numbers to participate in polls. Someone said earlier in the election that the polls lean Republican because that is who is willing to answer and share their grievances. They are the grievance demographic and just spouting off on the phone or the internet does not mean they go and vote. So, even if they say likely voters, what they definitely have is likely to be less careful about whom they give information to. That ties in with an article I read yesterday about elderly Republicans being bilked of their entire retirement funds by Republicans. Many have dementia and the Republicans take advantage of them. Does not mean person with dementia will be voting. I know my mom, who has dementia, could not get herself to the polls or remember to vote.

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It's not unlike NextDoor, if anyone here has had the pleasure. NextDoor is the home of conspiracy-minded baby boomers who seem to think (in my experience) that the world is going to pieces, it's all the fault of the Democrats, and if only we (California) had new leadership from the Governor on down, all of our problems (mostly crime) would vanish like ice in Tucson in the summertime.

Reading those posts, I never know whether to laugh or cry.

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Linda, I have actually answered a poll call on our land line. I think they left us a message one time so I did participate the next time they called. And I am not a republican. We do screen all our calls.

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Thank you so very much for this, MJ! My husband has been saying this all along, but still I worry. This gives me much-needed hope.

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About the same as they did with Dobbs when they overturned Roe vs Wade. The six extreme justices are criminals themselves. We are fighting for justice and they offer NONE!

Could it be that they, like Trump, are working to protect themselves from being removed from their positions?

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What galls most women in this country is that the ONLY thing that had changed over the years since the Roe decision was the make-up of the Supreme Court. When the extremists finally reached critical mass thanks to Trump, they immediately overturned Roe despite its history as settled law for half a century.

Now, it appears obvious they're all in with putting their thumbs on the scale for Trump.

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Check the bulletin board in the post office for pictures of the Supreme Court 6 justices.

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YES

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I see the Virginia case as the court issuing a message that they intend to install trump by deciding any case about the election in his favor. The Rs are planning an avalanche of post election cases and, with today’s decision, the court has signaled how they will decide - laws and facts be damned.

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Ain't THAT the VERY SAD TRUTH???????

Unbelievable.

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After the unlawful presidential immunity decision of the high court, it is not surprising that the radical justices would ignore the voter registration law. They have taken a page out of Mitch McConnell’s playbook when he refused to grant Merrick Garland a hearing.

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founding

I don’t think it even deserves to be called ideological; it’s outright political favoritism for Trump. Shame on them.

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It's become abundantly clear that this Court's decision tree is simple: Does it help republicans? If yes, proceed regardless of 'established law or precedent.' If no, full stop because of 'established law or precedent.'

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It is beyond awful…it is blatantly partisan. They are an illegal court IMHO. They undermine and interpret the constitution as suits their partisan interests vs. the interests of the country and the rule of law. May the six rot in hell…starting with Thomas, Alito, and Robert’s!!

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Settled law is settled law until it isn’t settled law ( see roe)

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Turning upside down nearly 250 years of precedent. Unbelievable!🇺🇸🌊 RIP the rule of law in the United States, which is now dead and meaningless. ⚰️💐

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SCOTUS can no longer be trusted to make unbiased decisions. Many decisions it has already made are proof of that. It is frightening and depressing. We need to elect the right folks in both the Executive and Congressional branches of government to have a chance to straighten SCOTUS out.

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SFHaine, it really is depressing that the SC under Johnny Roberts has decided they can do whatever they wish and not even have to write a cogent reason for it. After all, they think they are gods; they're not even close, just a bunch of rich white men, one white woman token, and one white man wannabee, all Catholic and all who care nothing for the American people or our Constitution. The 6 are not good people now if they ever were.

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Not to mention their lack of respect AND compliance with their obligation to show their sources of income on a very specific and yearly basis.

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So the Republican-appointed Justices of the Supreme Court just committed voter fraud.

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And election interference.

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founding

And the shitfuckery will accelerate between now and 15 NOV. The drop boxes that were fire bombed in Portland and Vancouver WA happened early enough to give all impacted voters a chance to get another ballot and vote. Security around drop boxes and at the USPS in precincts with tight races, especially Blue precincts best be tight. The Vancouver fire bomb destroyed many ballots. If that happens on 5 NOV those votes will be destroyed and uncounted. Votes that are uncounted/destroyed will result in vote counts that the Rs will happily certify.

The Christofascists plan to steal elections up and down the ballot.

Come on Blue tsunami!

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founding

Lancaster PA: https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/donald-trump-lancaster-york-ballots-2024-election-20241029.html

Bet these fraudulent voter registrations were done by Rs so they can then scream fraud!

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DeJoy will no doubt ensure that mailed ballots are not forwarded... vote early in person if at all possible or on Election Day

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...and will continue after that. This is just a preview of what is to come.

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Definitely election interference. What can be done about it?

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Seriously, can a voter disenfranchised by this decision sue the state of Virginia and have that case brought before the Supreme Court? The law is clear. They would have to define what that decision meant.

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So, could DOJ charge the 6 Justices with voter fraud and election interference? It seems like an easy case with the evidence in plain sight.

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I like the way you think, Ruthie!

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Doesn't the current President have their (SCOTUS) authority to deal with such crimes, certainly judicial interference falls under the core duties. Joe, are you paying attention? Remove them.

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That's how I see it. Where do you appeal their decision? God? Godess?

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Maggots are the floating island of garbage in society and a cancer on Mother Earth

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Our 5 Day Mission to Victory

I was never in the military, but the past 10 days and the next 5 are probably as close as I'll ever come to understanding the "fog of war".

Right now we don't know if we're winning or losing and everyone is terrified by the prospect of losing.

We don't know enough about the other guys numbers, their strategy or understand their anger even though we've been struggling against them for 8 years.

We can't be sure if our actions for the next five days will get us to victory.

What we do have is HOPE and ENERGY!

We know our Mission: WIN ON NOV 5.

Elections are a numbers game and we have two BIG advantages.

1. Aligned with our Constitution and described in its Bill of Rights, our cause is just and right. Our victory will safeguard our country and benefit the future of ALL Americans. Our loss will bring America into a dark, dark time.

2. Kamala inherited this battle with a 7 million vote advantage and seems to have held +90% of that advantage together. Her miraculous campaign may have added 10-12 million new voters. This should be enough for victory.

But sadly, the impossible to ignore "wrong, biased polls" keep saying this race is still a tie.

So our mission is to Get Out Every Potential Democratic Vote We Can by Nov 5!! Period!!

If we have 1,000,000 volunteers calling voters, knocking doors and lit dropping across 7 swing states for the next 5 days AND each volunteer adds just 3 forgotten votes to the total, we can increase Kamala's vote total by 3,000,000 votes on Nov 5. That's 40,000-45,000 votes in each state, more than enough to WIN In a race as close as this year's.

There are two aphorisms that fit this situation:

1. Vince Lombardi, great coach of the Green Bay Packers.."Winning isn't everything. Winning is the only thing"

2. I paraphrase Tim Walz.."Work your butts off now..we can all sleep after we win!" or maybe he said when we die..but we get the point.

Go Harris/Walz!!

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Thank you. I will try to remain as optimistic as you are! It makes sense #2 above; Biden had a margin of 7 million votes over Trump, and how could Trump have GAINED voters? But then I go to social media and encounter Trump 2016/Biden 2020 voters who say they'll go back to Trump because of their "pocketbook". When in fact, all objective data tells us the economy is "the envy of the world" and inflation (including gas prices) are coming down. And even if they WERE NOT coming down, what do people think TRUMP will do about prices?

Sigh.

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I would have been in PA East working from CT but my bronchitis kicked up so I can only hope and light candles.

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If he is elected, a lot of people are going to be picking feathers out of their teeth when they see the economy not improving because of his policies. Maybe people think he has a “magic bullet” that he will use. His past financial acumen is very suspect…this should definitely be a vote of no confidence.

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Does Nigel Farage and Brexit ring a bell?

Farage sold the Leave campaign based on an imaginary 'savings' to the NHS of something like 750 million GBP a DAY. Well of course that was impossible.

Brexit is an economic disaster for the UK, but does Farage care? Of course not. He's off to bigger and better.

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I'm pretty sure a lot of people are lying about their actual votes.

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I think people are lying about being undecided. Some kid on BBC yesterday claimed to be undecided (to get onto the radio?) and promptly started complaining about immigration, inflation and that Kamala has to yet detail her policies enough to convince him. Yeh: sure he’s undecided.

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The problem I have with your quote from Vince Lombardi is that it is trump's motto. He sees everything as a zero sum game. I think that's actually true for this election, but we need to remember that we aren't the only ones who see the election that way.

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Yes. After we win, governing 70 million Americans who will believe they we're just created out of a second victory will be Harris most difficult task!

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For a non-lawyer, the meaning and import of the NVRA is very clear, in plain English; for a non-lawyer, the meaning and import of §3 14th Amendment is very clear,in plain English. So, as a non-lawyer, why do the six reactionaries on SCOTUS find it so incomprehensibly difficult

to understand THE PLAIN MEANING of laws, statutes, and Constitutional Amendments when presented to them?

Someone? Anyone?

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I think there is a concerted and organized effort to subvert the presidential election of 2024, and the six conservative members of the present Supreme Court are part of that effort and have been patiently awaiting their moment in history.

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Man, will the People be pissed when SCOTUS hands the presidency 6-3 to Trump after the Electoral College was apparently won by Harris.

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Trump has set up the lies just like he did in 2020. And this time he's rigging the system with poll watchers at every poll, just to make all the poll workers nervous, and they will write down any i's you forget to dot.

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Yeah, why are they even allowed to address this issue? It seems like it has no business coming before them.

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Quite simple...because they CAN, end of.

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Joyce or someone: can the Senate impeach/ fire the justices for going against the clear letter of the law, enabling (and thus committing) voter fraud and election interference?

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I think that technically, "justices" can be impeached. That's one of the reasons I'm hoping for a blue tsunami where we get a good majority in both the house and the senate. It would be the same process as impeachment of a president. It seems to me that somewhere in our history a justice has been impeached and removed. (That's memory speaking, no guarantees.)

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Yes, that was Samuel Chase who was impeached but acquitted in the Senate. If Democrats can take back the House and improve their Senate majority that might be theoretically possible, although certainly not a slam dunk for any number of reasons. It would take a majority vote in the House to bring articles of impeachment and a two-thirds vote in the Senate to convict. My guess would be the probable subjects would more likely retire before they would put themselves through the process, as arrogant as they are. Thing is, any significant changes to the Court in the offing may prompt the same reaction.

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I know it wouldn't be a slam dunk to get them impeached. The question I have is, which is more important: arrogance or greed? If they retired they'd have to make sure their sugar daddies would still support them.

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Oh I think there would be some generous parting gifts and well-paid speaking engagements from their patrons, but no, the gravy train would almost certainly move on. Problem in staying, say in the face of possible impeachment or, more likely, significant changes to the Court, would be how useful they would remain. We're talking transactional relationships here --- pure and simple --- all the hail-fellow-well-met fishing lodge images to the seeming contrary. They are useful idiots.

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Good point!

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They keep their salaries for life.

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I do not think the even if we get a blue tsunami there will be an impeachment if any member of the court. After all, the tables will turn in the future, and new articles of impeachment can (and will) be drawn up for the other side. It’s all for show. I bet Gaetz, Jordan, Greene, and Johnson are peeing their pants in anticipation.

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We have an ineffective Congress. They are do-nothings and obstructionists. They should all be fired; however, we have a stupid electorate who can’t see beyond their own noses. Plus there is a lot of evil behind the scenes shenanigans going on.

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But they have an agenda to accomplish and do not care about anything else. They do not respect anything contrary to that agenda. Lord help us.

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founding

They are on a mission for their God. The question is: how far will they go?

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They wish! God has a plan and somehow I don't think Don-old's hate, hate, hate, is a permanent part of it. Love always wins in the end.

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They are criminals, plain and simple.

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The Supreme Court majority has become a MAGA court; they have LOST all their former credibility. I don't understand how they are able to go against a standing law that prohibits tossing folks from the voter rolls within 90 days. That makes absolutely zero sense, IF you are adhering to the law on the books. WHY was this allowed? To curry favor with trump? To thank trump for putting you on the court in the first place? To help him screw Americans over by helping "STEAL" this election? If you are "courting" a possible civil war with actions like this, you might get your wish. All I can hope for is that the Democratic tickets top to bottom in every state we have a decent chance of winning comes through such that the outcome puts a majority of Dems in the HOUSE & the SENATE, and of course the White House. The numbers will need to be so outrageously high in our winning, that there is NO WAY trump & his outlaws can claim the election was stolen from him. I know that his little secret with Speaker Johnson is that he wants Johnson to make sure to make trump the winner if all else fails. We have to stop that. I yield back my time.

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It’s clear to me that they do not care about any of that, whether it’s precedent or not. I think these miscreants have been patiently awaiting their moment in history, and it is here. They have their amoral, ignorant fool to tee up this moment for the strike.

Lord help us.

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We're talking about an actual law here, not precedent. Roe was precedent; this is an actual law that was passed by congress.

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And they can do it via "shadow docket", with no explanation or justification. Clearly, they feel untouchable.

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From your mouth to God's ear.

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1. Thank goodness for Mark Elias & team!

2. I wonder if the MAGA crowd will ever a) figure out they’ve been seriously lied to and b) I wonder if any of them have enough grit to say they’re sorry, that they were wrong, that they regret the damage caused by their mindless loyalty.

Joyce - we’re here for you just as much as you’re here for us. Thank you for taking the time to keep us so well informed. And thank you for your service to our country.

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I am now a paid $100 Subscriber to Marc Elias' Democracy Docket. $20 off annual cost now.

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My wife is a poll watcher and I sponsor poll watchers through Common Cause. The DNC has a security section and although I am retired, helping.

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Mark Elias and apparently a bunch of other groups working in that area. Joyce interviewed one person from such a group in the last couple of weeks.

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Here’s my suggestion, which requires as a start a solid Dem victory including working control of Congress. Fixing the broken corrupt court is the next step. Ideally, restrict its jurisdiction to constitutionally defined cases of original jurisdiction. Create a new Federal Review Court with all the guardrails, including strict enforceable ethics codes, and assign review powers that support (not defeat) rule of law. Apply the same strict ethics to the existing justices. Make it retroactive for any justice still serving when the law goes into effect.

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Precedent and principle - missing ingredients in SCOTUS majority. 🤬

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They do not care.

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They DO care—they have a very clear agenda and predetermined outcomes. This is very scary to me!

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My point is that they do not care about precedent and/principle. They’re the boss of the law and, being the bullies that they are, they’re taking everyone else’s toys and going home.

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That SCOTUS is silently protecting its Republican allies should no longer be doubted. Precedence is ignored, the plain word of the law is ignored, a lower court’s inconvenient finding of facts is ignored. Why? Perhaps the fear of what changes or reforms a Harris presidency might require of it, SCOTUS’ knee jerks.

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You got it, David. They are working to retain their court, not the people’s court.

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Oct 31·edited 4 hrs ago

Joyce, I know it’s not news to say the Supreme Court seems to be in the Trump corner. One thing I think most regular people may miss is the influence in DC of a group that flies under the radar. To non-Catholics, the power of this group is hard to understand.

Opus Dei, the so-called “Work of God,” touches every one of the Catholics on the Court, by design and with great effort. Opus Dei grew out of the Franco faction of the Spanish Civil War. It has achieved prominence in recent decades within the Catholic Church and has invested many millions of dollars in DC to spread its very conservative vision for America. If you aren’t Catholic, it may be hard to comprehend the depth and strength of influence of this group on Catholics in positions of power. The group descends on them like bees to honey, and they have profound influence in many cases. Justice Scalia was very close to them and his wife remains a member. Kavanaugh, Roberts, Barrett and especially Thomas and Alito are influenced by this group, many of whom attend St James Church in Falls Church, VA, where Justice Scalia’s son, Fr. Paul Scalia, is the Pastor.

A book published this month has a lot of details about Oois Dei’s history influence in Washington:

Opus, by Gareth Gore https://www.amazon.com/Opus-Trafficking-Right-Wing-Conspiracy-Catholic/dp/1668016141

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This is exactly the kind of thing I think is being overlooked in opinion pieces everywhere.

I recently read an article by a top constitutional lawyer/professor about how we shouldn't worry about Trump overturning the election because <insert rock solid Constitutional law here>. And the thing is. even a year or two ago the argument would likely be correct. BUT when the entire argument is based on respect for the Constitution and the rule of law, that's a problem. SCOTUS isn't following those rules anymore. We cannot count on SCOTUS and the Constitution as guardrails. We have to toss out the old assumptions and recognize the extent to which the law is bound up in corrupt politics.

Joyce, I really appreciate your work and that of other substackers who are knowledgeable, honest, and also realistic. With legacy media bending knee to the facist/oligarchy, this has become an important Go To resource for so many of us. Please keep it going and know how much of a difference you are making.

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founding

Corin - The irony I see is that if SCROTUS delivers this election to the Christofascists they will only keep their jobs if they continue to bend the knee. With no rule of law the Supreme Court becomes impotent and meaningless.

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I don't think they care.

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It is hard to believe that these crooks get away withtheir blatant cheating.

And why dont we just stop using the term “supreme court”. They are as corrupt as

The worst. Its hard to be optimistic when all of this cheating goes on unlimited.

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I calm them the Supreme Farce.

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SCROTUS is better 😏

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Great!

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If the Supreme Court doesn't obey the law -- what can be done?

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In order to affect change, we have to win the presidency *and* Congress.

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Go to Senator Whitehouse's home page to reeview SCOTUS issues & major reforms plans.

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What Republicans do best—look the other way.

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Pray for the country.

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If you believe in a higher power, call on our Better Angels (or wherever you prefer to get your support from) to see us through this insanity!!

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founding

Kim - They are on a mission for their God. The question is: how far will they go? Will they kill to achieve their ends? Onward Christofascist Soldiers!

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Maggats will riun and hide when democracy defenders shoot back with their own AR15,s, when they start the mass deportations of legal US citizens

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Joyce we're all geeks here. All geeks for the law; but now, for the USA and RULE OF LAW.

I feel saved by the grace of your wonderful brain. I get frustrated but my questions are all answered. It shouldn't be this hard but it is, and you've given me many a raft to hold on to during all of this. I'm sure there will be much more soon, as well.

Please hug a pup and pamper a chicken for me! You, I'd like to buy a stiff drink. Here's looking at YOU. <CLINK>

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Thank you Joyce for all your hard work explaining this to us. I appreciate you!

God willing at the end of this coming week we will be rejoicing and gearing up for the long battle ahead of us!

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