by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
The political landscape in the United States underwent a seismic shift yesterday when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his imminent retirement. Kennedy, often a "swing" justice on the Court, will be replaced by someone selected by Donald Trump and confirmed by a Senate under the control of Mitch McConnell. It is hard to imagine an outcome where America does not lose - bigly!
The Kennedy vacancy becomes known just after the current Supreme Court issued some horrendously bad decisions. The past couple of weeks has seen the Court uphold what Trump himself referred to as a "Muslim" ban on travelers to the United States, a decision which flies in the face of the notion of the free exercise of religion - while, at the same time, upholding a baker's right to refuse service to gay couples as a religious freedom. The hypocrisy was thicker than old cake frosting. And after the Court finished maligning the religious portion of the First Amendment, it moved on to the part about free speech and decided that public sector unions could not compel non-members to pay dues, even though the unions represented and benefited those non-members, because to do so impinged on the "free speech" of the freeloading workers.
Now, with another Trump troglodyte sitting on the Supreme Court, the fear is that some of the most hard-fought progressive victories of the past half-century could be revisited and overturned - things like a woman's right to choose (as ensconced in Roe v. Wade) or the more recent decision that affirmed the right of gay couples to marry.
Trump says he is looking for someone who will be able to serve forty or forty-five years. McConnell says that he hopes to complete the confirmation process this fall. However this cake is ultimately sliced, it looks as though a significant portion of America will be left with nothing but crumbs.
Come on Mueller - kick it into gear!
Citizen Journalist
The political landscape in the United States underwent a seismic shift yesterday when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his imminent retirement. Kennedy, often a "swing" justice on the Court, will be replaced by someone selected by Donald Trump and confirmed by a Senate under the control of Mitch McConnell. It is hard to imagine an outcome where America does not lose - bigly!
The Kennedy vacancy becomes known just after the current Supreme Court issued some horrendously bad decisions. The past couple of weeks has seen the Court uphold what Trump himself referred to as a "Muslim" ban on travelers to the United States, a decision which flies in the face of the notion of the free exercise of religion - while, at the same time, upholding a baker's right to refuse service to gay couples as a religious freedom. The hypocrisy was thicker than old cake frosting. And after the Court finished maligning the religious portion of the First Amendment, it moved on to the part about free speech and decided that public sector unions could not compel non-members to pay dues, even though the unions represented and benefited those non-members, because to do so impinged on the "free speech" of the freeloading workers.
Now, with another Trump troglodyte sitting on the Supreme Court, the fear is that some of the most hard-fought progressive victories of the past half-century could be revisited and overturned - things like a woman's right to choose (as ensconced in Roe v. Wade) or the more recent decision that affirmed the right of gay couples to marry.
Trump says he is looking for someone who will be able to serve forty or forty-five years. McConnell says that he hopes to complete the confirmation process this fall. However this cake is ultimately sliced, it looks as though a significant portion of America will be left with nothing but crumbs.
Come on Mueller - kick it into gear!
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