Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

The Supreme Court on trial

The Supreme Court needs to decide whether the 14th Amendment bars Trump from running for or serving as President again, and whether the President – and therefore Trump – enjoys broad criminal immunity for acts taken while in office.  These cases highlight the intrinsically political nature of the Court itself.  Many legal and political commentators […]

Defying the Supreme Court:  an idea whose time has not come

Mark Tushnet is a leading critic of the Supreme Court and of the way judicial review is practiced today in the United States.  Following the Court’s recent decision on affirmative action, Tushnet and Aaron Belkin wrote an open letter urging President Biden to defy the Supreme Court (my bold): We urge President Biden to restrain […]

Open Thread July 22, 2023 Can Justices be Influenced?

Senate Democrats are not having fun these days unless they’re attacking a conservative Supreme Court Justice. Thursday’s markup of their judicial “ethics” bill was the event of the season. Leading the charge was Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse claiming the High Court is “captured by special interests.” Mr. Whitehouse brought up “freebie vacations.” He also […]

Scrutiny of John Roberts: He Says He Will Vote to Uphold the University of Texas Affirmative Action Admissions Policy Because White Applicants Have Political Power. Seriously.

I (run7511) resurrected this commentary from March 2013. It is a realistic commentary about what John Roberts is all about. A take on what they were discussing then and how SCOTUS is reacting today. WASHINGTON — As the justices of the Supreme Court struggled with the question of same-sex marriage this week, politicians in Congress […]

“Successful people have successful friends.”

The Atlantic’s Brooke Harrington has an article about Justice Thomas’s friendship with people outside the court which includes gift-giving. There is no reciprocation of “its my turn now to buy the dinner.” The gifts are far more than just a lunch or dinner at a much-desired restaurant. That there are no rules defining ethical behavior […]

‘Brutus,’ the anti-Federalist to presciently foresaw the Imperial Supreme Court

‘Brutus,’ the anti-Federalist to presciently foresaw the Imperial Supreme Court   As you may recall, for the past several years I have done a great deal of historical reading about Republics; how they were structured, what were their strengths and weaknesses, whether they were able to last a long time, and whether they were consistent […]

The Powell Memo by Senator Whitehouse

Senator Whitehouse posted the clips of his presentation on the Powell Memo at youtube. Ken posted the text of it here. I have known about the Powell memo for a long time. People really do need to come to internalize just what this part of our political history means for our present day social structure […]

My Comments-Thread Comment to Robert Waldmann’s “From Small Town to Prison” Post

Robert Waldmann did something this morning that I’d planned to do: He posted an in-depth post about the NYT’s awesome article in yesterday’s paper titled “From Small Town to Prison,” by Josh Keller and Adam Pearce. Robert makes a critical point about the fiscal cause of the phenomenon that the Times article reports on, and […]

You read it here first, AB readers. … [Important addendum added.]

I scooped everyone! ____ ADDENDUM: I would note that Ruth Bader Ginsburg will turn 83 on March 15 and that, while clearly still mentally very sharp, does not appear to be in good physical health.  There’s been a lot of speculation that if the Dem nominee, very likely now Hillary Clinton, wins the general election, and […]