Supreme Court foot-dragging

 We the People have Federal Justice Department that acts on our behalf to protect us from criminal activity.

On January 6, 2021, the outgoing President summoned a destructive mob to attack our U.S. Representatives and Senators as they were preparing to count votes. In so doing, donald trump was attempting to steal the election so that he could continue his occupancy of the White House.

The former president's attempt to steal the election is a crime that is now being indicted by our US Justice Department. A special prosecutor, Jack Smith, has been appointed to raise the charges against trump. 

In trump's attempt to delay the trial, his lawyers dreamed up a fantasy defense that he was somehow immune from prosecution just because he was a president. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, after hearing arguments, that trump is not immune from prosecution that would hold him accountable for his attempt to steal the election.

Now, our US Supreme Court has decided to render a judgement on the DC Circuit Court's decision to deny trump's so-called "immunity."

If  our US Supreme Court unmasks itself as a delay-inducing institution whose revised purpose is to enable trump's purloined hegemony over our government. . . then loyal American patriots may find it necessary to storm the Supreme Court while it is in session, in a manner similar to the trump-magas attempted occupation of our Congress on January 6, 2021.

Let us hope that our Supreme Justices decide to do their duty in a timely manner. The Court must thereby allow our Peoples' prosecution of the chief insurrectionist in a timely manner, especially since the question of trump's fantasy "immunity" has already been settled. 

We the People need to have all the facts of trump's Jan6 attempted coup--we need those facts to be public-- as we prepare to vote in November.

Glass half-Full

Mactrumph, a play

 A tragedy by Willem Shakespurs

Act 1, Scene 1,  whereupon Mactrumph and Bankeroo, at a swamp near Ovalhovel, happen upon the three weird magas, November 2020,  Thunder. Enter the three weird magas.

Hag Eastman: This election shall be tempest-toss’d. Oh, look what I have, a magaplot, fully loaded for insurrection. But hark! a drum, a dumdum  drum! Mactrumph doth come!

.Enter Mactrumph and Bankeroo.

Mactrumph: So foul an affair I have not yet seen. But lookee here, who might this be? 

Hag Rudy: All hail, Mactrumph, thane of N’York!

Hag Bannon: All hail, Mactrumph, bane of AtlanticCity!

Hag Eastman: All hail, Mactrumph, who shall be KING hereafter!

Mactrumph: excited, Stay! you rowdy speakers, tell me more!

Hag Eastman: Double, double, toil and trouble, election will turn and cauldron will bubble!

Hag Bannon: Mactrumph shall ever powerful be, when maga hoods shall move against congress’ game!

Hag Rudy: Mactrumph shall ever POTUS be, ’til Judges’ gavels shall Mactrumph’s game unravel!

To be discontinued. . .

Glass half-Full

Let America Be Good Again

 Hey, y’all listen up.

“I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in; I was naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, and you didn't bother to visit me.”

“When did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of you?”

Then he will answer them, “I’m not kidding, y’all. To the extent that you didn’t do it for one of these, the least of my people, you didn’t do it for me.” 

Let 'em in, y'all. Your paranoia is poisoning your once-great democratic republic. Let 'em in--the humble masses are yearning to be free!

And if that wasn’t enough, he said. . . “I bless those of you who are poor in spirit, who are humble; I bless you who are gentle; you will inherit the earth (while the magamaniacs are trying to take it over by force, by playing their riotous trump cards.)

The strangers are not poisoning your blood. They are bringing in new blood, as your forefathers did.

I bless those of you who hunger for things to be done righteously. I bless you who are merciful—I will show y’all mercy (when your time comes.)

Not only that, but I will bless you who are pure in your motives and your intentions.

I will bless you who make peace; ( really, you are my people.)

Yep, that’s it; that’s the bottom line: 

Blessed are the Peacemakers!

King of Soul

The Court's Avoidance of Duty

January 6, 2021: You’ve heard of that day, right?

If you haven’t heard about what happened on that day, you must have been on a desert island somewhere, or perhaps sleeping in a hayloft while the little foxes were out in the barnyard trying to spoil the vines and get drunk on the grapes of wrath. 

Seriously, though . . .

  On that historic day, our former Vice President, Mike Pence, saved our Republic from what might have been a fatal attack. He acted alone, very bravely, in his persistence to perform his Constitutional duty: to assure us— the American people— that our Electoral votes would be properly counted, to determine who would be our President during 2021-2024.

On that fateful day, Vice President Pence’s dutiful action seemed to be a singularly solitary decision. But we later learned—thanks to the US House Special January6 Committee—that Mike had some help. He had help from God.

You think I’m kidding? I’m not kidding, y’all. Here’s how it happened. For one thing . . . Greg Jacob, Pence’s assistant, was seeking divine wisdom when he turned to the Bible for some guidance. He later testified that, in that hour of extreme danger, hidden with Pence and others beneath the Capitol. . . he was reading, in the Old Testament, about the ancient prophet, Daniel, who had endured a similar test in his role as advisor to an ancient emperor. (See Daniel chapter 6.)

Meanwhile, in tense those moments, our Vice President made two very important phone calls. He called former Vice President Dan Quayle for advice. He also called Judge Michael Luttig. 

Today, February 11, 2024, I listened to Michael Popok’s  interview with Judge Luttig. They were discussing a new case—the 14th-amendment “insurrection” case that is currently before our Supreme Court.

If you are a citizen of these United States, I recommend that you listen to this interview on YouTube, or, as the saying is these days, “wherever you get your podcasts.”

In their discussion, Judge Luttig calls Section 3 of the 14th Amendment “the Constitutional safety net for American democracy.”

Hear the Judge explain the importance of that “safety net”:

Popok and Luttig

Judge Luttig's explanation clarifies the present controversies surrounding Section 3 of the 14th Amendment . . . better than any other explanation that you may hear anywhere. 

But hey, there was a constructive development in another Washington court last week: the decision by the DC Circuit Appeals Court, 3-Judge panel, that donald trump—like any other citizen— has no immunity against criminal indictment and conviction. Popok and Luttig also discuss that decision, which enables Prosecutor Jack Smith to proceed in his insurrection case against trump in Judge Tanya Chutkan’s DC Circuit court.

If, however, you are weary of all these legal perplexities, perhaps you will find some amusement in the song I composed when Justice Kavanaugh was being nominated, a few years ago, by the Senate Judiciary Committee: 

Ballad of Brett and Blasey

Glass half-Full 

Federal Election Consistency

 Our US Constitution states the following words in the 14th Amendment, Section 3, to whit:

"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold an office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemiesthereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

Like any dutiful American who is fortunate enough to have some time to comprehend a Supreme Court live argument, I listened to one today. 

It’s not every day that we have the privilege of eavesdropping on decisions of such national importance. But thanks to Ben Meiselas on YouTube, I was able to drop in, aurally. I stumbled upon it suddenly. Unexpectedly, there it was.  Sounds of lawyerly arguments and Judicial questioning were intersecting with my brain waves as I retrieved my Constitution for reference. 

I will not attempt to explain what I heard, except that I did hear the voice of every Justice as they posed questions for the two lawyers.

As usual in this scenario, any comprehension of what I thought were the main issues was eclipsed by the complexity of legal fine points and references to previous Court decisions. 

When the Court concluded their session, Ben Meiselas returned on my laptop screen with a few comments, including his assessment that the Court would decide against  Colorado’s decision to remove trump from the ballot.

And I must say that I would, in that case, agree with the Court, even though I, and so many of us Americans are doing everything we can to keep trump out of the White House.

As an American citizen who takes every opportunity to vote in elections, I do believe that all of our States should have identical candidate choices in Federal elections. 

I fully agree with all my compatriots across the nation who are making every effort to see trump suffer extreme punishments for the insurrection that he provoked on January 6, 2021.

But I also believe that, in any election in which a President is being elected, the candidate choices should be the same in every state.

So, in that respect, a Supreme Court decision that assures consistency in all states’ ballots is of a higher order than other ballot considerations.

As for donald trump suffering the penalties of his crimes, that will have to be decided by the Judges and/or Juries who are hearing  prosecutions by Jack Smith, Fani Willis, Letitia James and their legal teams.

"Let Justice roll like the waters, and Righteousness like a mighty stream!" (saith the ancient biblical prophet, Amos)

Glass half-Full

Memory Bookends

 A news event yesterday falls on my long-ago memories of 1973.

In that year, our United States Senate opened its investigation of Richard Nixon’s Watergate burglary.

50 years went by. Then Our United States House of Representatives opened its investigation of donald trump’s attempted robbery of the 2020 election.

As an American, I took both of these crimes seriously, because they threaten the integrity of our Presidential leadership. 

If we allow our Presidents to rule as criminals, what hope do we have of defending our nation against the real criminals who would steal our peace and safety?

My memory of ’73 was of Senator Sam Ervin managing the Senate’s Watergate investigation. As a senior studying political science at LSU, I spent a multitude of hours watching those investigative hearings in the spring of ’73.

My recent memory of ’23 was of Representative Bennie Parsons managing the House’s investigation of the January 6 insurrection.

Nine years of my childhood were spent in Rep. Bennie Thompson's state, Mississippi. Now I  live  in North Carolina, the home state of Senator Sam Ervin.

But that detail is neither here nor there. Anyway,  just now . . . Wednesday, January 7, I am ruminating on yesterday's DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision that affirms the principle that no President of our United States has the right to defy the Law while claiming it is part of his job to do so.

Such are the Historical bookends on a life-long news-shelf of memory. Now, as an American citizen of advanced age, I have spent a multitude of hours watching the testimonies in the House January 6 Committee, and subsequent events. . . especially this week’s report of a landmark decision by the DC Circuit Appeals Court denying trump’s appeal for immunity.

Glass half-Full

The Battle of Rusty v Rudy

This event should go down in our American History books:

Immediately after the 2020 election, as the votes were being counted nationwide, Rudy Giuliani and donald trump were on the phone trying to persuade Rusty Bower  (the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives), to break the law. They were trying to persuade him to throw out the legally elected Electors—Democrats for Joe Biden— and put in trump’s electors. 

They were asking Speaker Rusty Bowers to manipulate the legislature to circumvent the process by which legitimate electors would be determined. 

But Rusty wanted proof that what they were asking him to do was legal. 

They were "twisting his arm" to break the Law. Here's how it happened:  Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis went to Arizona. When they were sitting, face to face, across a table from Arizona Speaker Rusty Bowers; he asked them, 

“Did you bring me proof?”

Rudy said, “What?”

Rudy reminded them: “I said, ‘Do you remember our phone call when you said you were going to bring me the proof? 

And Rudy said “Oh yeah.” 

Rusty persisted. He asked again, ‘Did you bring it?’ He turned to Jenna Ellis, and asked her, ‘Do you have the proof?’

 And she said ‘yeah.’ 

 “Well, can we see it?’

 She leans over and fumbles through her briefcase and says, “Oh no, I don’t have it here—must be at the hotel room.”

Later, much later, when Speaker Rusty was testifying to the US House January6 Committee, he testified, “For them to say to me, ‘Yeah, we just want you to throw out them electors and put in trump’s, I’m thinking, ‘Have I gone to another planet?. . . What? I’m not going to do that. I mean, I wanted him (trump) to win, okay, so what? . . . I’m not gonna cheat; I’m not gonna cheat to win. . . You’re asking me to break my oath. I’m not gonna break it, period.” 

But Rudy had admitted earlier, on the phone to Rusty, “. . . we have a lot of theories. We just don’t have the evidence.”

In that strange time of trump’s desperate evidence-mongering, the conspirators, now being tried in a Court of Law in Georgia, were indeed operating as if they were on another planet, the planet of MAGA. 

But hey! this is the planet of USA. We have a Constitution that, when properly applied, assures us JUSTICE, not MAGA manipilation.

We are thankful for Rusty Bower, Speaker of the Arizona House, and thankful for many others like him, i.e Brad Raffensperger, and many others who stood for  Truth, Justice, and the American way of Elections, which is found in our Constitution, not in the manipulations of MAGA maggots who wriggle desperately to worm their way through our Rule of Law!

Glass half-Full