Tag Archives: supreme-court

And So It Goes

Today is Monday, July 14, 2025, Bastile Day. As you must know, Bastile Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789, a key event in the French Revolution. It’s France’s national holiday, symbolizing the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of a new era of liberty and equality. I seriously wonder when will this country have its own Bastile Day after we cleanse ourselves of this wanna-be monarch, Donald J. Dump, out of our collective consciousness?

In the latest effluvia known as an “Extreme” Court decision today, this “Trump” Court, as it really should be called until this asshole leaves office – if he ever leaves office – the court has now allowed this ogre to proceed with his plan to carry out mass layoffs at the Department of Education. Another fucking win for the convicted felon you can say, delivered to him by the Trump Court. An online CNN article by Devan Cole and John Fritze entitled “Supreme Court allows Trump to proceed with mass firings at Education Department” lays out the repercussions of such a terrible ruling made by the Trump Court.

So, in another irrational victory for this fascistic regime, the Court lifted for now a lower court ruling that had indefinitely paused Diaper Don’s plan. The Trump Court’s decision puts that ruling on hold while the legal challenge plays out.

But in a scathing dissent – Go, Sonia, go! – Sonia Sotomayor said her colleagues had made an “indefensible” decision to let Chump proceed with taking apart an agency that ordinarily can be dismantled only by Congress, but in the second era of Dump, this Congress has ceded its entire power over to the Orange Cheeto, so waiting for Congress to do its job is a moot point these days.

“The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave,” Sotomayor wrote in the dissent, which was joined in full by the other two liberal justices.

The Orange Cheeto ordered mass layoffs at the department earlier this year – cutting its workforce in half – but lower courts have blocked that effort.

Of course, the incompetent and loyal Dump acolyte, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who is a former professional wrestling promoter – boy, does she have such sterling education credentials to run this agency – described the court’s decision as a “significant win for students and families.” What world is she in when this can be considered a “significant win” for students and families?

Created during the Carter administration, the Education Department is tasked with distributing federal aid to schools, managing federal aid for college students and ensuring compliance with civil rights laws – including schools accommodate students with disabilities. Most public school policies are a function of state government.

The court’s decision, Sotomayor wrote, “will unleash untold harm, delaying or denying educational opportunities and leaving students to suffer from discrimination, sexual assault, and other civil rights violations without the federal resources Congress intended.” This horrible decision by this extreme court just plays into this regime’s fucking record of destroying civil rights in this country ever since Dump took office in January 2025. In the meantime, people will suffer from being laid off when they clearly shouldn’t be. Also, I ask those justices who gave Dump another unworthy win, how do they sleep at night, knowing that their ruling will lead to so much suffering among the American public? They probably just don’t care.

One thing I got done today is have our new Subaru Forrester repaired after some idiot sideswiped it last Friday near Metropolitan Avenue where I had it parked for about two hours. I called my garage and had the attendant known as “Leandro” take the car to his brother-in-law’s repair shop. The job was done within one day. I was called close to 4 and told the car was ready. The cost: just $600. When I went to the garage before getting ready to be picked up by our friend “Patricia,” I was directed to see the car by the manager, “Jerry.” I walked down the ramp and saw Leandro who took me to the car. The rear of the car, which sustained the damage, looked totally brand new. I couldn’t see anything there (though it was dark in the garage) that looked remotely out of joint. I was told to let the car stay in the garage until Wednesday, and I said I would do that.

In a stunning coincidence with my little “accident” on Friday, today I witnessed the aftereffects of a fucking accident with two parked cars right outside my building! Can you believe that? One car was bizarrely up on the street and the other’s rear fender was badly dented. How then could this happen if those cars were parked? It sounds like my little mishap last Friday, doesn’t it? I asked a neighbor who was doing gardening outside, and she mentioned – without corroboration – that the cars might have been struck by an Amazon van. So there you go? Driving in this crazy city is truly a dangerous sport.

Now I feel a little apprehensive about parking in the same area since I will drive to my comic bookstore on Wednesday like I normally do. It’s the best area in which to leave a car. There are metered spots outside the store, but they are in a very narrow two-way street. And it’s still too warm to walk there. I’ll just have to give it some thought. I could use an Uber both ways, but that will be an expensive proposition. I’ll let you know what happens by Wednesday.

And so it went!

And So It Goes

Today is Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Yes, I did say that I was going to be absent from my blog, but Elliot convinced me to cancel plans we had with my cousins “Rivka” and “Dillon” tonight because of an expected weather alert. And I’m glad I did because it did rain here quite furiously for a while after we had dinner locally at a restaurant in Forest Hills. We managed to return home right before the deluge. Also it was quite hot outside for most of the day, and having to wait on a subway platform in this heat was not something either of us looked forward to, which was another reason to delay getting together with Rivka and Dillon. Thus I called Rivka early thing morning to convey our reasons for not getting together and she was very understanding. We were able to reschedule for next Wednesday, July 16.

So since I’m here, I can report on new, breaking news regarding the Trumpfication of this country, and one significant story is the increasingly partisan “Extreme” Court issuing another decision supporting America’s newest dictator. In an online article for The Washington Post, Anne E. Marimow delivers an explanation of the Court’s new ruling regarding the firing of federal workers under the Chump regime. The article is entitled “Supreme Court allows Trump to launch mass layoff and restructuring plans.”

Today this partisan court cleared the way for the Dump administration to launch plans for mass firings and reorganizations at 19 federal agencies and departments while litigation continues.

The highly conservative justices lifted a lower-court order that temporarily blocked plans to lay off thousands of federal workers, including at the State Department and the Social Security Administration (SSA) because the administration did not first consult Congress. This ghastly autocratic regime seems not to consult Congress for anything these days! They do whatever they fucking want without any Congressional oversight and these lawmakers are just permitting the worst abuses being carried out by this dictatorial regime.

In response to other emergency requests from this administration, the Supreme Court consistently has sided with this president’s efforts to upend the federal bureaucracy and they don’t think this is fucking wrong. The court’s horrible conservative majority, featuring two justices who have been compromised by billionaires who have them in their pockets, has permitted the regime to fire independent regulators [who root out corruption] and thousands of probationary workers, while legal challenges play out in the lower courts.

As you would not expect, two liberal justices joined their despicable conservative justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, who think this dismantling of 19 agencies was okay. Sotomayor said she was doing this because the administration had directed agencies to operate “consistent with applicable law,” which I don’t know what the hell this means.

In their brief unsigned order, the majority said that “we express no view on the legality of any” agency plans for restructuring or shrinking of the workforce and left open the possibility that the issue could return to the Supreme Court. Oh, fuck me!

The only dissenting voice on this un-American court was Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who noted her sharp disagreement with her other colleagues, warning of serious harm that could come from allowing the administration to dramatically remake the federal government before determining whether its actions are legal. She is the only voice of reason here in a gaggle of insensible and irrational voices as expressed by the majority on the Court.

She appropriately stated, “For some reason, this Court sees fit to step in now and release the President’s wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation” which she wrote in her 15-page dissent. “In my view, this decision is not only truly unfortunate but also hubristic and senseless.”

This new development just indicates how this idiot is allowed to take a “wrecking ball” to all governmental agencies without anyone stopping him! It’s appalling and I wonder how we will be in just two years when – and if – the midterms occur.

I will not repeat what occurred during a marathon Cabinet meeting presided over this buffoon since it truly showed how demented this guy really is. Lawrence O’Donnell provided an overview of it just now on The Last Word and it would be hilarious if this man wasn’t president. Actually, it would be pathetic mostly.

To change direction a little here, who would expect that a film that hasn’t even officially opened has generated negative backlash against its director because he chose to emphasize the principal character as an immigrant. If you haven’t guessed what I’m referring to here, it’s the new Superman movie that opens on Friday, July 11. I intend to see this newest entry in the Superman franchise since I’ve seen every one of them since 1978. As you know, I’m a collector of Superman comics from the get-go.

But this criticism of the film for its immigrant stance is just plain stupid and it shows how a vocal minority has taken over social platforms and, actually, this country for its extreme views on immigration. For those of you who hold on to this view, let me remind you of this fact: Superman IS a fucking immigrant. He wasn’t born here, if you know his origin story. He was born on the planet Krypton and he rocketed to this world as a baby (his parents save him as their planet was facing total destruction) and was adopted by kindly Martha and Jonathan Kent of Smallville, Kansas. So if you want to paint Superman as an immigrant, be aware that he is. But he’s a super-powered one, no doubt about it. So those who criticize this film because of its apparent politics, fuck you and get a life.

Tomorrow I definitely won’t be here since I will be seeing my friend “Jake.”

Have a nice Wednesday.

And so it went!

And So It Goes

Today is Wednesday, April 16, 2025. In a long-hoped-for response to this lawless government, a U.S. judge has now ruled that “probable cause exists” to hold Dump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders in mid-March halting the use of the rarely used Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. An online CNN article entitled “Boasberg finds ‘probable cause’ to hold Trump administration in contempt for violating orders on deportation flights,” by Devan Cole and Katelyn Polantz, delivers a somewhat coup de grace to the ongoing lawlessness of the Dump administration that is burgeoning ever since the convicted felon got back into the White House on January 20.

This long-awaited decision today from a poor judge that these felons have attacked because of his opposition to them might be a flashpoint in this bent toward authoritarianism taken early on in the Chump administration. This situation occurred in mid-March when it sent three planeloads of migrants to a megaprison in El Salvador. That same day, Boasberg held an emergency hearing and told the administration to pause the migrant removals and order the return of deportation flights back to the United States. But the administration, as anyone knows, flagrantly ignored the judge’s order.

In a 46-page ruling, Boasberg wrote, “The court ultimately determines that the Government’s actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order, sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt.” Bravo, Judge Boasberg! He added, “The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions.”

CNN legal analyst Steve Vladeck said these moves are rare, but we’re dealing with the most brazenly contemptuous president of Constitutional norms that we’ve ever seen in the form of the Orange Turd, that we shouldn’t be shocked at all. Said Vladeck, “Holding federal executive branch officials in contempt is just about unheard of, once in a blue moon.” Vladeck is a professor at the University of Georgetown School of Law.

Skye Perryman, an attorney with Democracy Forward, which, along with the ACLU, brought the case before Boasberg, said today’s ruling “affirms what we have long known: the government’s conduct in this case is unlawful and a threat to people and our constitution.”

So as of today, the die has been cast between the rogue executive branch and the judicial branch of government. Let’s see who wins this fight to save democracy!

The judge fighting back against the Dump administration says he wants sworn statements first from people who can attest to the officials making the decisions not to turn the planes around as they carried migrants to El Salvador on March 15.

Then, Boasberg says, if those statements aren’t satisfactory to him, he will ask for live witnesses to testify at hearings or depositions. The judge could then, he says, ask the Justice Department to prosecute Drumpf administration officials, or he could appoint an attorney as a general prosecutor.

It will be amazing if people within this administration are actually charged with criminal contempt in their bungling of this migrant crisis. It serves them right! And maybe it might cause this lawless administration to proceed with less aggressiveness in their dismantling of institutions.

Tomorrow Elliot and I are waking up relatively early to drive up to Sullivan County to see Elliot’s old friend “Serina” who lives in what is left of the bungalow colony where Elliot frequented as a boy many years ago. She is the last occupant standing, it seems. She lives there all-year round and is almost at the point of selling her interest in the property. If she eventually sells, Elliot will definitely be plunged into a state of deep melancholy. As of now, she hasn’t received a satisfactory offer yet, so we’ll see her maybe one last time tomorrow. Thus I may not be here tomorrow if we come home late. It’s about a 90-minute – or longer – drive upstate with stops along the way.

If I’m not here tomorrow, have a good Thursday.

And so it went!

It seems that Atticus has a new place to call home: our bathroom sink. Our cat sitter mentioned that he would sit in the sink when she took care of him lately, but he never did it for us – until now. He found his new niche at 1:28 a.m. this morning. I was getting ready to go into the bedroom to read when he snuck into the sink.

And So It Goes

Today is Friday, March 21, 2025. Finally, someone is standing up to this tinhorn despot. As I wrote in yesterday’s blog, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is the latest opponent of this asshole who invoked a 1798 law for deportations to Venezuela allegedly involving “gang leaders” who were transported back to their country for no good reason at all. This should shock anyone who believes in due process being carried out in this country, even to this day, even though we should all know we have a madman in the White House who will test the limits of lawfulness as much as possible before he’s reined back.

In a CNN online article covering this ongoing story by Devan Cole, we get details of this alarming incident. The article is entitled “In another tense hearing, Judge Boasberg say’s Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) has ‘frightening’ implications.”

Today Judge Boasberg vowed to find out whether officials in the Dump administration violated his orders temporarily blocking the use of this 1798 law for deportations by refusing to turn two flights around last weekend.

Without mincing words, Boasberg declared, “I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order – who ordered this and what the consequences will be.”

The brouhaha occurred when the Dump administration allowed two flights carrying migrants being deported under the AEA to continue last week, despite this verbal command to immediately turn the planes around and halt the deportations pending a legal challenge.

Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, appeared incensed over how the Justice Department has handled the fast-moving case, opening the hearing by tearing into the tone the administration had taken in some of its court filings.

The judge told attorney Drew Ensign that the government had used “intemperate and disrespectful” language that he’s “never seen from the United States.” Those who know the character of this Orange Despot in the White House know how base and disrespectful this fucker really is. So this would not come as a shock to anyone who didn’t vote for this convicted felon as president.

This bygone act that is now being used to deport individuals suspected of being affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is being argued by the Dump administration that Boasberg has exceeded his authority in blocking the removals because, they say, Drumpf’s use of the act is unreviewable by federal courts. Thus what they are saying is that this rogue president can behave more like a king at any moment and not be subject to any laws or court orders, even.

Regardless how Boasberg rules, the administration’s appeal of his orders will be heard at the U.S. District Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday afternoon.

The judge expressed concern about the “policy implications” of Dump’s use of the AEA for these purposes, calling it an “unprecedented and expanded use” of the 18th-century wartime law that has rarely been revoked – until now.

The policy implications of Little Donnie’s invocation of the law, the judge said, “are awfully frightening,” as he tests how far a lawless president like Dump could take the law if there was no oversight from courts.

Earlier this week, the Orange Buffoon even echoed calls for the judge’s impeachment, which prompted a rare rebuke from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on the threat.

Oh, in a bizarre turn of events, the Alzheimer’s-affected president now says he didn’t sign the order. So who did? Bernie Sanders, perhaps?

Talking about what constitutes a constitutional crisis with this incident and so many others occurring under this second term of the dickhead, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told Boasberg earlier this week, “There’s been a lot of talk over the last seven weeks about constitutional crisis. People are throwing that term around. I think we are getting very close to it.”

Here is a priceless quote from this corrupt administration over receiving pushback from a diligent judge just doing his duty: this is from the new bimbo Attorney General Pam Bondi who said, “We have one unelected federal judge [Huh! “Unelected” – do you mean “unelected” Elon Musk who is being tasked now with dismantling the federal government for no reason at all!] trying to control foreign policies [he’s not! He’s just calling your administration out for just sending people back to Venezuela without any proof of their gang affiliations], trying to control the Alien Enemies Act, which they have no business presiding over. And there are 261 reasons why Americans are safer now – that’s because those people are out of this country.” Why not deport Muskrat while you’re at all, Ms. Bondi.

These are the people tasked with defending this country right now – all sycophants of Donald Dump and mental midgets. It’s such a shit show.

Oh, and have a good weekend.

And so it went!