ICYMI (Philosophy) Daily Digest report

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has done the nation a service by writing a dissent that explains today’s #Trump #Immunity decision in extremely accessible terms. I’ve posted her dissent by itself, here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ryZF_jO-DKeeCSnxxpXANt8PJVmpgVmV/view?usp=drivesdk. Please read and share widely, online and off. #LawFedi

I had to take a mental health break from the state of American constitutional democracy. So, I’m at the #NewMexico Museum of Art. I’ll share a few photos so that others can at least pause for breath too.

I love learning about the development of modernism by the artists of #NewMexico. And I appreciate the sensitivity some of the artists show toward the people they painted.

Today's ruling on Presidential immunity by the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) has sweeping and scary implications.

John Dean (JohnWDean on the ex-bird site) wrote this about the ruling:

«“When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal."

Richard Nixon, 1974

Affirmed, US Supreme Court, 2024»

The new Presidential immunity that SCOTUS has today conjured out of whole cloth WILL be tested by Trump AGAINST democracy.

The ONLY question before us NOW is whether such powers are tested FIRST by President Biden and the Democrats to DEFEND democracy.

My very strong belief is that Biden is not up to that. That's just one more reason Biden must step aside. He hasn't the stomach to do what needs to be done.

Things I've said about Climate and our failing ecology have equal application to the failing state of Democracy.

1. We are in denial. There are already attempts to explain why the worrisome scenarios that some have floated are just wild imaginings and not realistic. I would have thought that if I had not seen the long spiral down from 2016 to 2020, every day worst than the previous. And if I had not seen GOP state legislators dismantling voting rights. And if I had not seen Republican cronies getting installed in critical positions in government that might affect elections. And if I had not seen SCOTUS dismantling rights and protections of all kinds at a fast clip. There is at this point ZERO reason to presuppose moderation.

2. It is NOT radical to meet an extreme problem with proportional force. It IS radical to assume that failing to meet an extreme problem with proportional force will be enough.

This is also my problem with centrism, which characterizes Biden's policies and actions: a naive belief that things are not really that bad, and that maintaining the status quo has done well for us so far and so will continue to do well.

As Jason Kirk (JasonKirk_fyi on the ex-bird site) wrote today:

«The Dems, empowered by today's new rules to do literally whatever they want, will instead play by old rules that never actually existed»

My recommendation:

The sitting administration, Biden (or Harris if he steps down) needs to test-violate each of the likely situations in DEFENSE of democracy.

That is what Trump will soon enough fraudulently try to do (and SCOTUS has effectively said his fraudulent intent is irrelevant).

As I've said, I expect the Dems won't proactively test any of this. They'll passively pretend that it would violate decorum to do something like this. They'll leave violation of decorum to the next administration.

They want to believe that this can be a winning issue at the ballot box, but they are ALSO in denial about the idea that the vote will be accepted. Reports abound that Trump and his cronies do not plan to win based on numbers of votes but based on intimidation of voters and on legal challenges. And in the end, SCOTUS has given every indication that it's ready to twist itself into knots to rubber stamp the most ridiculous of antics IF they favor Trump.

I see nothing that the sitting administration is doing to prepare for any of that. I don't see them talking about it, I don't see any visible actions, and I don't trust that there are invisible preparations being done. They are in denial, and our democracy will pay the price.

#SCOTUS #PresidentialImmunity #Immunity #Democracy #USpolitics #Election2024 #Biden

The vision of a President above the law, transformed to a king, was introduced by the Federalist Society and conservative academics from way back. Bill Barr began the effort to make it so. I wrote about this in 2019 (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/nancy-pelosi-trump-barr-executive-privilege-abuse-power.html). Today’s decree from John Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett is what the Federalist-Society-controlled Republican crime syndicate has been promising for a long time. 1/

The arrogation of power to the Supreme Court and the President, and away from Congress, is as much an assault on U.S. democracy as the Republican crime syndicate’s efforts to deny ballot access and voting rights and to gerrymander as many districts as possible. 2/

I have a small bit of good news, especially for #Mastodon folks who helped with my first fundraising ask for #LeadersFromLaw. Last week, I posted this, https://mastodon.social/@heidilifeldman/112685610831584961, explaining Leaders From Law, a small nonprofit I founded in 2017, to train progressive law students and lawyers to run for office. I now have the honor and pleasure of reporting that we have raised $1917 of the $5000 I am aiming for. 1/ https://www.leadersfromlaw.com/home

We also need to insist that Joe Biden (or any Democratic nominee for President) champion these causes. Let’s ask for concrete plans about how Biden (or any Dem nominee) will work with Democrats in Congress to get specific legislation passed to empower the people and their representatives, wresting authority away from the antidemocratic Supreme Court and the King-President. 5/5

Imperfect as U.S. democracy has been — the electoral college, the overrepresentation of low-population states in the Senate, the denial of statehood to the District of Columbia — its aspiration to popular sovereignty, operationalized by Congress’s authority to legislate underwrote the country’s commitment to the ideal of democracy. Today, the Supreme Court put the President largely beyond accountability to unquestionably constitutional federal statutes. 3/

For those who prefer a non-Google link, here's one to the opinion on Proton drive: https://drive.proton.me/urls/PQBZY1RG2R#hNFWz9n8VemQ

Because we won't get through this without the occasional lighter moment, let me share with you a big difference between Mastodon and other sites. I just sent a round of thank-you emails to donors to #LeadersFromLaw. I receive a spreadsheet with email addresses. The addresses of the Mastodon folks are very different from more "mainstream" sites. 😆

Rest up, friends. Tomorrow is another day for #resistance.

In Den Haag heeft een groep de A12 geblokkeerd. Tegen de nieuwe extreemrechtse regering en de normalisering van wat niet normaal is.

Short, sharp analysis of Trump’s plans and opportunities to rule as a dictator if he is put in office again. Gift access (use text link): https://wapo.st/3L7kYtF @pbump

Kann wissenschaftliches Arbeiten glücklich machen? Ganz bestimmt! Aber so, wie das Wissenschaftssystem ausgestaltet ist, tut es alles dafür, dieses Glück zu torpedieren. In #ArbeitInDerWiss geht’s heute um die Liebe zum eigenen Fach — und wie prekäre Bedingungen ihr zusetzen, bis kaum was übrig ist.

https://arbeitinderwissenschaft.substack.com/p/the-thrill-is-gone-wie-prekare-beschaftigung

Maar het wordt wel een béétje armoe troef als (de bescherming van) die rechtsstaat de linkse horizon volledig gaat domineren. Dat lijkt wel steeds meer het geval. Zo hoorde ik weinig over de noodzaak van een meer sociale en solidaire economie, het dichten van de kloof tussen arm en rijk, het zelfbeschikkingsrecht van gekoloniseerde volkeren, klimaatrechtvaardigheid (m.u.v. de rebellen van XR, die vandaag de A12 hebben geblokkeerd), betere en toegankelijke sociale voorzieningen (zorg, huisvesting, onderwijs), democratisering en zelfbestuur (bijv. op de werkvloer), etc.

Rechtsstatelijkheid ís belangrijk, maar een links dat zichzelf alleen maar op dit soort thema's in het defensief laat drukken, gaat de komende jaren het tij niet kunnen keren. Links had en heeft een eigen verhaal nodig dat vérder gaat dan het behouden van een liberaal-democratische rechtsstaat.