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scottms47.bsky.social
@scottms47.bsky.social
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scottms47.bsky.social
The Alarmingly Racist History of the Supreme Court’s Canceled 1947 Christmas Party
open.substack.com/pub/ballsand...
The Alarmingly Racist History of the Supreme Court’s Canceled 1947 Christmas Party
The Court held its first-ever office Christmas party in 1946. The following year, the clerks suggested inviting Black employees. It did not go over well.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:47 PM
scottms47.bsky.social
It’s actually worse than it looks.
jonathancohn.bsky.social Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · Sep 22
"The United States is less democratic, less self-governing, more dysfunctional, and more corrupt than it was 20 years ago, thanks in large part to the Supreme Court’s rulings." newrepublic.com/article/1997...
The Roberts Court Is Winning Its War on American Democracy
Chief Justice John Roberts has now overseen 20 years of increasingly illiberal rulings by the Supreme Court.
newrepublic.com
September 22, 2025 at 8:24 PM
scottms47.bsky.social
Any questions about where we’re headed now????
chrisgeidner.bsky.social Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · Sep 8
BREAKING: The Supreme Court — over the objection of Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson — allows the Trump administration’s racial profiling of people working certain types of jobs in its immigration raids during litigation.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 25A169 - KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL. U. PEDRO VASQUEZ PERDOMO, ET AL. ON APPLICATION FOR STAY [September 8, 2025] The application for stay presented to JUSTICE KAGAN and by her referred to the Court is granted. The July 11, 2025 order entered by the United States District Court for the Central District of California, case No. 2:25-cv-5605, is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought. Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE KAGAN and JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting. In early June, the Government launched immigration enforcement raids across Los Angeles and its surrounding counties. During the raids, teams of armed and masked agents pulled up to car washes, tow yards, farms, and parks and began seizing individuals on sight, often before asking a single question. A Federal District Court found that these raids were part of a pattern of conduct by the Government that likely violated the Fourth Amendment. Based on the evidence before it, the court held that the Government was stopping individuals based solely on four factors: (1) their apparent race or ethnicity; (2) whether they spoke Spanish or English with an accent; (3) the type of location at which they were found (such as a car wash or bus stop); and (4) the type of job they appeared to work. Concluding that stops based on these four factors alone, even when taken together, could not satisfy the Fourth Amendment's requirement of reasonable suspicion, the District Court temporarily enjoined the Government from continuing its pattern of unlawful mass arrests while it considered whether longer-term relief was appropriate. Instead of allowing the District Court to consider these troubling allegations in the normal course, a majority of 2 NOEM v. VASQUEZ PERDOMO SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting this Court decides to take the once-extraordinary step of staying the District Court's order. That decision is yet another grave misuse of our emergency docket. We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job. Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent. * * The Fourth Amendment protects every individual's constitutional right to be "free from arbitrary interference by law officers." Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S., at 878. After to-day, that may no longer be true for those who happen to look a certain way, speak a certain way, and appear to work a certain type of legitimate job that pays very little. Because this is unconscionably irreconcilable with our Nation's constitutional guarantees, I dissent.
September 9, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Reposted
jonathancohn.bsky.social
All famines are political, and they are all avoidable. The IDF needs to stop blocking aid, and the sham aid group GHF needs to be dissolved and UN groups allowed to do their job.

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
UK, France and Germany call for immediate end to ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza and say Israel must lift aid restrictions – live
Joint statement says: ‘Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable’
www.theguardian.com
July 25, 2025 at 5:40 PM
scottms47.bsky.social
Yes, but will it matter to SCOTUS?
We should be worried. KBJ is sounding the alarm.

‘Egregious.’ Brazen.’ ‘Lawless.’ How 48 Judges Describe Trump’s Actions, in Their Own Words www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | ‘Egregious.’ ‘Brazen.’ ‘Lawless.’ How 48 Judges Describe Trump’s Actions, in Their Own Words (Gift Article)
Dozens of judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, have stood up to the administration’s lawlessness.
www.nytimes.com
July 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
scottms47.bsky.social
How sick is this? Trump Says He Has No Plans to Call Walz After Shootings in Minnesota www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/u... man
June 17, 2025 at 8:47 PM
scottms47.bsky.social
Guilty!
June 11, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Reposted
kjephd.bsky.social
This is an AMAZING resource. Can't encourage you enough to look up your state's supreme court.

You'll discover that *every* state supreme court is designed with more checks than the federal judiciary
boltsmag.org Bolts @boltsmag.org · May 31
State supreme courts are a battlefield for pressing issues, from abortion rights to ballot access. But do you know how your court works?

Our guide breaks down the structure and procedures of every single state’s highest court.
boltsmag.org/whats-o...
Your State-by-State Guide to Every State Supreme Court - Bolts
Bolts breaks down the structure, selection procedures, and functions of each state’s highest court.
boltsmag.org
May 31, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted
sifill.bsky.social
I’ll say this and then I’m gonna step back b/c 2026 IS THE ONLY NATIONAL ELECTION THAT’S IMPORTANT NOW.
No Dem presidential candidate wins w/o high Black turnout & vote.
So stop making it like Black voters are expendable or that you can serve up any candidate chosen by Pelosi, Clooney or MSM & win.
May 25, 2025 at 12:46 AM
scottms47.bsky.social
Amen to this!
cwarzel.bsky.social Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · May 23
I realize posting this here is preaching to the choir. But after the Grok White Genocide thing & Ye essentially launching an exclusive Neo Nazi single on the platform... I felt motivated to write about X and how bizarre it is that so many people (news outlets, celebrities, politicians) use it
What Are People Still Doing on X?
Imagine if your favorite neighborhood bar turned into a Nazi hangout
www.theatlantic.com
May 23, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Reposted
sifill.bsky.social
Anything to avoid a real conversation among Democrats about racism & misogyny in the Democratic electorate.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · May 18
Chris Murphy: "In retrospect, you can't defend what the Democratic Party did because we are stuck with a madman, a corrupt president in the Oval Office, and we should've given ourselves a better chance to win."
May 18, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted
stevenbeschloss.bsky.social
What is it about this universe that a good and decent man faces an extreme form of cancer while a hateful tyrant roams free to inflict more destruction every day?
May 18, 2025 at 9:43 PM