Stephan: The United States is the only developed democracy in the world whose Supreme Court has no ethical standards. For two centuries a cultural standard was assumed but that is no longer the case. Today, we have the most corrupt Supreme Court of all the developed democracies in the world. And, as a result, our laws are no longer based on precedent and fairness, instead we have five justices who are trying to impose not fairly decided law but their ideological vision. I think, and hope, that in 2023 the Senate passes legislation establishing ethical standards for the court and impeaches Clarence Thomas.
Activists with The Center for Popular Democracy Action hold photos of U.S. Supreme Court justices as they block an intersection during a demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on December 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Both alarm and concern were expressed Saturday in response to new reporting about a charitable group with close ties to the U.S. Supreme Court that has been soliciting and accepting donations from corporate interests and far-right activists with cases before the court.
The New York Timesexposé focused on the activities and fundraising of the Supreme Court Historical Society, a nonprofit that claims its mission is “dedicated to the collection and preservation” of the Court’s history.
While the group refused to disclose its donors to the Times, reporters from the newspaper determine that much of the funding came from powerful companies like Chevron, Goldman Sachs, Time Warner, and Facebook as well as anti-abortion activists like Rev. Rob Schenck.
According to the newspaper:
The society has raised more than $23 million over the last two decades. Because of its […]
Stephan: I don't know how the Republican Party could make it any clearer that they have no interest in a competent fair judiciary. Rather the contrary, they want a judiciary with ideologue judges, and this is true at every level of government. Here is the proof. I think it is impossible to be a Republican and an ethical person based not on what they say, but on what they do.
Michele Fiore another incumbent appointed to a judgeship supports going around armed. Credit: New Civil Rights Movement
Michele Fiore, a Republican politician, has been appointed to a Nevada judgeship even though she has no prior legal or judicial experience. She has also previously been accused of obstructing an investigation into her own business and once said it’s okay to point a gun at federal officers.
Fiore will fill a seat on the Pahrump Justice Court in Nye County, located about 65 miles west of Las Vegas, the Associated Press reported. County commissioners unanimously appointed her to the judgeship. She will serve on the court through 2024.
She told commissioners that she would oversee the judicial appointment with “integrity and honesty” because she has “been at the end of the political barrel.”
However, it seems she ended up at the end of that barrel largely due to her own fault.
In 2015, Nevada state regulators revoked the license of her home-health business after she refused to show financial records during an investigation of alleged Medicaid fraud, Wonkette noted. That same year, […]
As we close out 2022 with all its problems I am still optimistic about our future. I wish each of you the very best for the new year, and hope that 2023 is a better year for you and those for whom you care than 2022.
I thank each of you who has contributed to support SR. I am very touched by this, and by the notes and emails I have received. I had not fully appreciated, for instance, that some of you have been reading SR for decades and have found it useful. That is exactly what I had hoped for.
Let’s each do everything we can to foster wellbeing in any way we can.
Stephan: As we close out the year, I have been looking at everything Biden and his administration have accomplished and was heartened by how effectively he has been fostering wellbeing. I don't think we have had a president since FDR who has done as well.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, pictured with Joe Biden on 8 April 2022, is the most prominent of the president’s successful judicial nominations. Credit: Anadolu Agency / Getty
US federal courts look quite different than they did two years ago. Since taking office, Joe Biden has made it a top priority to appoint a diverse slate of judicial nominees who have helped change the face of the nation’s court system.
Democrats have used their narrow majority in the Senate to confirm roughly 100 of Biden’s judicial nominees – including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the supreme court. After maintaining control of the Senate in the midterm elections, Democrats are well positioned to confirm even more federal judges in the next two years. But even with the party’s bolstered Senate majority, Biden has a long way to go before he can match Donald Trump’s historic impact on the federal judiciary.
Federal judges carry a unique responsibility in the US system of government because they have lifetime appointments. They often serve on the bench for decades, delivering wide-reaching […]
Shannon Osaka, Climate Reporter - The Washington Post
Stephan: Here is some more good news about what the Biden administration and the Congressional Democrats have been able to accomplish. This may be something you can take advantage of.
A contractor carries a solar panel on the roof of a home in San Jose in February. Credit: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg News
Earlier this year, Congress passed the biggest climate bill in history — cloaked under the name the “Inflation Reduction Act.” But while economists say the bill may not reduce inflation very much, it could do one important thing for a country trying to move away from fossil fuels: Spur millions of households across America to switch over to cleaner energy sources with free money.
Starting in the new year, the bill will offer households thousands of dollars to transition over from fossil-fuel burning heaters, stoves and cars to cleaner versions. On Jan. 1, middle-income households will be able to access over a half-dozen tax credits for electric stoves, cars, rooftop solar and more. And starting sometime in mid-2023, lower-income households will be able to get upfront discounts on some of those same appliances — […]
