Showing posts with label SCOTUS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SCOTUS. Show all posts

Monday, February 15, 2016

Justice Scalia Dies ~ GOP May Never Recover

photo scalia-arglebargle.jpg

The death of Antonin Scalia is "YUGE" for the Presidential Primaries as well as for the fate of our country. He died while President Obama still has many months to go as President, and all Democrats are eager for the conservative Justice to be replaced with someone younger and liberal. However, the Republicans in the Senate including leader Mitch McConnell immediately stated they would not cooperate in confirming a successor to Scalia, once again hoping to obstruct progress for the President.

There are also questions surrounding Scalia's death at a remote shooting ranch in Texas that will feed into the paranoia of conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones for years to come. In fact, Alex Jones has already called it a "murder," and implicated the President as somehow involved.

The death was announced just before a GOP Primary Debate on CBS-TV, and from the out-of-control behavior on the stage, it's obvious the candidates were thrown for a loop by the news.

While many in Washington and the legal community strained to say nice things about the dead man, my reaction like many others was "Ding Dong the Bigot is Dead!" There's no point in sugar-coating his life or opinions when he was so quick to attack every possible group in the U.S. and make laws to oppress them.



From the Washington Post
. . . “It wasn’t a heart attack,” Guevara said. “He died of natural causes.”
In a statement Sunday, the U.S. Marshals Service, which provides security for Supreme Court justices, said Scalia had declined a security detail while at the ranch, so marshals were not present when he died. “Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Western District of Texas responded immediately upon notification of Justice Scalia’s passing,” the statement said.

. . . Scalia joined about 35 other people invited by Poindexter, who declined to name the other guests.
Later that day, Scalia went out with the group to hunt blue quail. But “he did not exert himself,” Poindexter said. “He got out of the hunting vehicle, and walked around some.’’
Law enforcement officials said Scalia attended a private party that night with the other guests, and left to go to bed early. But Poindexter said that didn’t seem unusual: All of the guests were tired from traveling to the remote ranch, as well as the day’s other activities. Everyone was in bed by 10 p.m., he said.
. . . The next morning, Scalia did not show up for breakfast. Poindexter at first thought he might be sleeping late, but eventually grew concerned. Late Saturday morning, he and one other person knocked on the door to Scalia’s room, an expansive suite called the “El Presidente.” When there was no answer, they went inside.
“Everything was in perfect order. He was in his pajamas, peacefully, in bed,” Poindexter said.

From RightWingWatch
(Conspiracy Theoriest Alex) Jones said that “this is the season of treason, this is the time of betrayal and we would be fools not to ask the question” if Scalia was assassinated, suggesting that bad actors may have slipped something into the justice’s drink to trigger a heart attack.



























Debate Chaos









Conspiracy Theories














Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, October 9, 2015

Pope Distances Himself from Kim Davis Meeting

photo vatican_1594625c.jpg

Previous Related Posts:
Kim Davis is Back - but for How Long?
Kim Davis Released from Jail Into Christian Hullabaloo
Kim Davis Held in Contempt of Court

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Pope came to the U.S. and had a great visit, lauded by faithful Catholics and the Democrats as well. As soon as he got back to Rome, something hit the fan that no one expected. Kim Davis and her lawyers from the far-right Liberty Counsel announced that she had met with the Pope when he was in Washington D.C. and he actually encouraged her in her fight against the gays.

Well, that's what they said. The real story is quite different. A conservative right-to-life bishop who favored the last Pope is behind all this, and he set up Pope Francis. And in the past week, her attorney's group Liberty Counsel has been labeled a "hate group." But what's really offensive is that a low-level American bureaucrat who acts like Dolores Umbridge should command the news cycle on a world scale the way this woman does. She really needs to resign and go away, or Judge Bunning in Kentucky needs to throw her back in jail.

From the Wisconsin Gazette:
The firestorm began when David and her lawyers from the Liberty Council went all over the national media talking about a "private meeting" with the Pope, his blessing her and telling her to "stay strong," and insinuating that he expressed support for her refusal to do her job.
The Vatican, to its own detriment, dragged its heels and gave non-committal responses to journalists as Davis and her team continued to wring out every bit of attention they could -- without producing any evidence of a "meeting" -- with any media outlet that expressed interest. Not enough media were responsible to note that just last week another fraud was perpetrated by Davis and her team about a rally that included grossly exaggerated information.
Finally, official reaction is coming late and only under tremendous pressure, and has made this into a public relations as well as religion and political story. Headlines now scream "Vatican Source: Pope Blindsided By Meeting With Controversial Kentucky Clerk."
. . . So it turns out that Davis, like so many others during this trip, was able to shake the Pope's had, be blessed and exchange a few words, which I am sure he said to others. Private meeting? Encouraging her for her conviction? I doubt he even knew who she was, frankly, and the whole think stinks of making a mountain of good PR out of a molehill of an interaction.



From NewNowNext:
The Pope’s secret meeting with Kim Davis sparked a social media firestorm following his historic first visit to the U.S. last month — people demanded answers to a variety of questions from “Who set this up?” to “Why meet with Kim Davis over more worthy Catholics?”
Once the Vatican claimed it wasn’t responsible for organizing the meeting, the man who did was quickly identified as Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, an anti-gay crusader whose “rough management style” had him ousted from the Vatican and relocated to the U.S. in 2011.
Speaking with The New York Times, Matthew D. Staver, an attorney for Kim Davis, confirmed that Viganò extended an invitation to his client, but that everyone assumed the invitation had come directly from the Pope himself.
Staver and Viganò are apparently old pals, having once met at an anti-gay National Organization for Marriage rally in Washington, D.C. According to Staver, Viganò made a point to “thank me for my message” when the two met.
The Pope, as indicated by a gay couple who met him on the same day as Davis, was blindsided by the meeting.
























Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Kim Davis Comes Back - But For How Long?

photo KimDavis-Speech.png

Previous Related Posts:
Kim Davis Released From Jail Into Christian Hullabaloo
 While Conservatives Howl, Gay Marriage Happens in Kentucky
Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Held for Contempt of Court
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim Davis went back to work on Monday, but was still adamant that she expects the State of Kentucky and the rest of the United States to make an "accommodation" so she doesn't have to do her job handing out marriage licenses to those nasty gay people she also says she loves as a Christian (but whom she wants to punish). Having deputy clerks do her job for her got her out of jail, but Kim isn't finished, not by a country mile.

Let's face it, this woman is a drama queen: married four times, dresses like Granny Clampett on national TV, going into ecstasy standing beside Mike Huckabee to the cheers of the crowd. She still thinks she is in control of the situation, even after jail time.

But she may be overplaying her crazy in tampering with the state of Kentucky marriage license form, changing the way it is signed. Her signature doesn't appear, and her Deputy is merely listed as "notary public," which is insulting if not an illegal demotion - I would sue her just for that. The ACLU has taken notice:

From Buzzfeed
Upon returning to work Monday, Davis said the licenses issued by her deputy clerks would not have her name, title, or authorization on them. “Instead the licenses will state that they are issued pursuant to a federal order,” she said.
Davis also said she had “great doubts” about the validity of the licenses issued under these conditions.

“I’m fine with it. I have my marriage license. I believe it is valid,” Shannon Wampler-Collins, told BuzzFeed News after getting her marriage license on Monday.
The license says it is “issued … pursuant to federal court order.”

In addition, while Deputy Clerk Brian Mason’s name is on the license, the form identifies him as a “notary public” instead of a deputy clerk.

Those two most recent changes — naming a court order instead of Davis’s name and calling a deputy clerk a notary public — went further than changes that had been made to licenses issued while Davis was in jail, leading the ACLU, which has represented plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Davis, to suggest that the modified licenses may be invalid.
James Esseks, director of the group’s LGBT project, said in a statement Monday night he has “concerns about the validity of the marriage licenses issued today given the further alteration of the forms.” The group said it reviewing it’s options, but, when asked by BuzzFeed News, ACLU staff did not elaborate on its concerns with the legality of forms or explain what actions it could take.

































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Kim Davis Released from Jail into Christian Hullabaloo

photo KimDavis-Release.png

Previous Related Posts:
While Conservatives Howl, Gay Marriage Happens in Kentucky
Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Held for Contempt of Court
Love Wins: Gay Marriage Upheld by Supreme Court
Republicans React to Gay Marriage Ruling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today Kim Davis, Court Clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky, was released from jail. The original gay and straight plaintiffs who complained about her to the court said they had received their marriage licenses from the deputy clerks in her office last week, so Judge Dunning allowed her to walk free. Her extremely conservative fans immediately saw this as a great victory, and made a public spectacle of themselves, led by a couple of grifters GOP presidential hopefuls were on scene to help her celebrate her release - Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz - both hoping to gain political capitol by associating with such a religious icon to the far right.

But not so fast. Kim Davis never promised she wouldn't interfere with gay marriage anymore. If she goes back to her cushy $80,000 per year job and starts preaching to gay citizens or forbidding her deputies from handing out licenses, she may be right back in the lock-up.

Orange is the new Wiggity-Whack.

From CNN
The Kentucky clerk, who was held in contempt of court for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, urged her supporters not to give in.

"Thank you all so much. I love you all so very much," she said. "I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people. We serve a living God who knows exactly where each and every one of us is at. Just keep on pressing. Don't let down, because he is here. He's worthy."

. . . U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered that Davis be released from jail -- five days after he sent her there -- saying he was satisfied that her deputies fulfilled their obligations to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her absence.
But Bunning's new order says Davis cannot interfere with her deputies issuing marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.
That means Davis could find herself behind bars again if she does anything to prevent the marriages from taking place, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin said.
"If Ms. Davis stops them from issuing licenses, then we are right back where we started," Toobin said. "And Judge Bunning has made it quite clear, he will lock her back up."


From the New York Times:
. . . Of the two presidential contenders who attended the rally, it was Mr. Huckabee, making his second White House run, who grabbed the political spotlight. Before Ms. Davis appeared, Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Staver took the stage to tell the crowd, in unison, “Kim Davis is free.”
When Mr. Cruz, who met with Ms. Davis, exited the Carter County Detention Center, a throng of journalists beckoned him toward their microphones, but an aide to Mr. Huckabee blocked the path of the senator, who appeared incredulous.
. . . Many demonstrators, few of them expecting that Ms. Davis would be released, brought lawn chairs. On one side, there were signs with Bible verses and one comparing the Supreme Court to the Islamic State, while a man with a megaphone urged people to repent. On the other, people waved signs saying “God Loves!!!! Period!”
Linda Clark, 40, an opponent of same-sex marriage from Olive Hill, Ky., said, “We’re happy for God to raise an army for what the majority of people want.”




Even Fox News couldn't take this stuff.
Shepard Smith went on an epic rant against the haters:


Shepard Smith of Fox News: “Well, they've set this up as a religious play again. This is the same crowd that says 'We don't want Sharia Law - don't let them come in here and start telling us what to do. Keep their religion out of our lives and out of our government.' Well, here we go again.
When this started, this lawyer said he needed an accommodation for a woman who wanted one. She said she didn’t want her name on a license for gay people.... Now they’ve come up with one,they’ve let her out of jail… said 'you don't have to have to name on there, just put the name of the county on there, all this is done. But it’s not what they want. This is what they want, what you’re hearing now and this what they’re going to get: get a stirred up argument and a couple of days in the news cycle, and they’re going to be able to make these claims. And the truth is, when you get right down to the fundamentals of this, the Supreme Court of the United States saysyou can't have things being OK for one group of people, but not OK for another group of people. This is not unprecedented. They did it when they said black and white people couldn’t marry. And they said, 'Oh wait, I guess you can.' Now they've said straight people and gay people. all y'all can get married.If you want to get married, go right at it. The government's not going to get in the way of you anymore than they got in the way of straight people back in the day.
But, haters are going to hate. We thought what this woman wanted was an accommodation, which they’ve granted her, something that worked for everybody. But it’s not what they want.”































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, September 4, 2015

While Conservatives Howl, Gay Marriage Happens in Kentucky

photo 2dec8def-9068-4d74-9660-36cfe79f2a61.jpg

Previous Related Posts:
Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Held for Contempt of Court
Love Wins: Gay Marriage Upheld by Supreme Court
Republicans React to Gay Marriage Ruling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis went to jail yesterday for refusing to hand out marriage licenses to gay couples, but today was a new day in Rowan County. The deputy clerks stepped up and did their jobs, leaving religious conservatives with nothing to do but howl.


From NPR via WFPL:
...Yates and Smith walked up to Deputy Clerk Brian Mason.
Mason was all business. He checked their licenses, asked them if they were related, took their $35 and, in about five minutes, handed them an envelope and said, "Congratulations."
Yates and Smith had become the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license from Rowan County.
They exited to chants of "Love has won. Love has won."
"I don't want her in jail," Yates said of Davis. "No one wanted her in jail. We just wanted the licenses given out. This isn't a blessing. It's an official license."

Clerk Kim Davis's attorney, Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver, immediately announced that any new licenses are invalid. Of course, he is wrong, since Judge Dunning ordered her under deputies to get back to work or face contempt charges themselves.

From WFPL
“They are not being issued under the authority of Rowan County and they’re not worth the paper that they’re written on,” said Mat Staver, chair of Liberty Counsel, the non-profit law firm that is representing Davis.
Sam Marcosson, a law professor for the University of Louisville, said the marriage licenses are valid because Davis had no authority to stop issuing them in the first place.
“Since she’s acting contrary to her legal duties and without authority any actions she would take to block the marriage licenses would be invalid,” he said.











Oh, the bitching and moaning of the religious right - starting with Davis's attorney, who blew up at Chris Hayes for asking hard questions when all he really wanted to do is bash gay marriage:



Hayes: Mr. Staver, how is the fundraising going?

Staver: Why don't you ask the ACLU?

Hayes: They're not standing in front of me but I'd be happy to. I think they're doing quite well.

Staver: But you never asked that question of the ACLU. Why don't you ask that of the ACLU? Why don't you ask the people who represented O.J. Simpson, where they were getting their money?

Hayes: Mr. Staver --

Staver: It's absolutely irrelevant to the issue-- the issue is--

Hayes: Mr. Staver -- The issue is there's a woman in prison--

Staver: --accommodate her religious conscience and religious freedom. You may not want to address that, but--

Hayes: Mr. Staver, there are allies of yours - they think you're taking Kim Davis for a ride and basically raising money off her plight. So I'm just asking you the question. How are you doing on fundraising this week?

 Staver: Anyone who asks that question does not know Kim Davis. Kim Davis has a strong conviction and conscience--

 Hayes: OK

 Staver: --She contacted us for representation. We are representing her. I can tell you we are putting a whole lot more money into the cost and expenses than we would ever get from this case. This was never about fundraising. It's conscience. If you can't get that simple idea that we've got freedom of religion and conscience rights. And the question is not whether she's sincere, not whether there's a collusion, but is there a reasonable way to accommodate her--

Hayes: No, no, the question is--

Staver: The answer is, yes there is.

Hayes: No, the question is, with all due respect, the question is - is there a limiting condition? You failed to give me one. Mr. Staver, thank you very much.

Staver: No, the question is--

Hayes: And very good luck--

Staver: whether they can--

Hayes: Thank you for joining us.






National Review:




LOL - Kim Davis's husband calls the judge a "butt."



Mike Huckabee:



Rand Paul:



Todd Starnes of Fox News:










Matt Barber of The Blaze:











Erick Erickson of Red State/FoxNews:











Ben Shapiro of Breitbart (needs translation)







Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Held in Contempt of Court

photo KimDavisMugShot.jpg

Previous Related Posts:
Love Wins: Gay Marriage Upheld by Supreme Court
Republicans React to Gay Marriage Ruling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

County Clerk Kim Davis of Rowan County, Kentucky, has been pitching a fit about the Supreme Court gay marriage act now for months. As a result, many couples, both gay and straight, who wanted to get married in the county where they live and pay taxes have been unable to get a license. As details have emerged about her own private life, she has been exposed as a royal hypocrite:







Davis cannot be fired because she is an elected official, and can only be removed by legislative impeachment. Unfortunately the Kentucky Legislature is out of session until January and Democratic Governor Steve Beshear has decided not to waste taxpayer money on a special session, since the Legislature has to change many laws to be in compliance with the SCOTUS ruling:

From Kentucky Courier-Journal:
"The General Assembly will convene in just four months and can make any statutory changes it deems necessary at that time. I see no need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money calling a special session of the General Assembly when 117 and 120 county clerks are doing their jobs."

Several straight and gay couples who had been turned away by Ms. Davis sued to put pressure on her to comply. The attorneys of Davis, paid goons from the so-called conservative "Liberty Counsel," appealed to the Supreme Court to save her, but were turned down flat. Why? Because their arguments have no standing under the law, so they write about Ms. Davis's feelings and opinions as if they matter more than any other citizen in Rowan County or the state of Kentucky. Basically, they are just using Davis to rabble rouse the far-right evangelicals who give money to groups like . . . Liberty Counsel. It's a money-makin' deal. God told them to do it, I guess. Oh, and they really, really hate "The Gay."










At that point a Federal Judge ordered Ms. Davis and her staff into court in Ashland, KY, and it all hit the fan today. There was chaos outside the Federal Courthouse, lots of shouting and sign-waving from both sides:





Judge Dunning decided not to seek monetary fines from Davis because he knew that religious groups would just continue paying them. Instead, after asking if she would comply and she refused, he ordered her into "indefinite" custody of Federal Marshalls. Outside the courthouse, those in favor of equality cheered.



Later in the day, five deputy clerks told the judge they would be willing to give licenses to gay couples, except for one - Davis's son - who for some reason was not charged with contempt of court (I would have charged him!). Davis was asked back into court, but she refused and merely sent her attorney to tell the judge she would not comply and if released she would "interfere" with marriage licenses. So Judge Dunning proceeded with contempt charges. Later she was booked and a mug shot taken. Her attorneys are trying something to get her out, but I doubt if it will work.

She wanted to be a martyr, so she's a martyr. She's also probably lost a plum $80,000/year job that is rare as hen's teeth in Rowan County, Kentucky. And she's caused everyone who works there distress and legal fees, for which they will not thank her. The religious right will scream and wail "Christian Persecution" (Huckabee and Cruz, for instance). The Legislature may try to save her, but hey - she can always work for Hobby Lobby or Chick-Fil-A, right?










































































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, June 27, 2015

#LoveWins ~ Gay Marriage Upheld by Supreme Court

photo 78b7e355-9f9b-44b9-8a95-99b6011c94d4.png

In another major victory for the Obama Administration, the Supreme Court struck down all the gay marriage bans in various states, making marriage equality the law of the land.

From CNN
In the 5-4 ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority with the four liberal justices. Each of the four conservative justices wrote their own dissent.
Nearly 46 years to the day after a riot at New York's Stonewall Inn ushered in the modern gay rights movement, the decision could settle one of the major civil rights fights of this era. The language of Kennedy's opinion spoke eloquently of the most fundamental values of family, love and liberty.





















Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)