you're fundamentally wrong on civics.

rachel maddow schools this idiot. someone's gotta tell him.

big week for the supremes!

I’m in love with The Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/X0cYzrTDpK

— RuPaul (@RuPaul) June 26, 2015

FYI

Proud. pic.twitter.com/9J44PCYeuQ

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 26, 2015

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed." - Justice Kennedy

DOMA : STRUCK DOWN!

ruled unconstitutional. prop 8 ruling to follow.

keep up with this live blog.

the rich lesbian widow stirrin' up troubs in washington.

if you're like me, when you heard about the upcoming supreme court case involving edie windsor and the $300,000+ estate tax she's being asked to pay for inheriting the estate of her wife, thea spyer, you thought, "those fancy-named ladies sound rrriiiiiicccccchhhhhh..."

...and you wanted to know more about their life together. nymag has a brief piece with an accompanying slideshow.

During this vacation—one of many—the pair tried to stay only in hotel rooms with water views. “[One] day, we were in the Piazza San Marco, and Thea kept protecting me from the Italian guys. Finally one of them said to her, in this strong Italian accent, ‘If you love her, kiss her!’ She didn’t, though. We were still young enough that we just hustled out.” They arrived back in New York the morning after the Stonewall riots. (via)

i hope edie gets to keep every last penny of that gay marriage $$$$$$$$$$$$

thanks, i guess

Some (not very) prominent Republicans have banded together to make the shocking announcement that they are not in fact in favor of outright discrimination. After homeroom they passed a note to the Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit that seeks to strike down Proposition 8, the California law that the Mormons payed for.

In making an expansive argument that same-sex marriage bans are discriminatory, the brief’s signatories are at odds with the House Republican leadership, which has authorized the expenditure of tax dollars to defend the 1996 marriage law. The law defines marriage in the eyes of the federal government as the union of a man and a woman.

This is what it looks like when you build your house on the sand. nytimes. via.

as you probably already know...

...the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act insurance mandate, as well as nearly all of the law's other 92 provisions.  The liberal wing of the court ruled that the law was constitutional under the Commerce Clause, while the conservative wing of the court ruled the law unconstitutional.  Justice John Robert's was the swing vote on this ruling, deciding that the legislation was constitutional, but not under the Commerce Clause, but rather as part of the right of Congress to create and raise taxes.

The Atlantic has an interesting article about how John Robert's might be the sneakiest of the sneakiest by ruling in such a way as to deny Obama a rallying cry to his base, giving Romney a rallying cry for his base, and casting the already unpopular ACA as a dirty, dirty tax.

[NYTimes]

lawyer stuff

this article had me at hello. which was this photo. just look at it. (the print version is better)

the supreme court will soon hold the much anticipated hearing regarding the legality of the affordable heath care for america act, known colloquially as "obamacare". as is their way, conservatives are being unreasonable, demanding that justice elena kagan recuse herself on the grounds that she was obama's solicitor general when the bill was developed. additionally, after its passing, she expressed happiness via email to a colleague.

in the recent nymag issue, dahlia lithwick makes a compelling argument against this position, and illustrates the fascinating inner workings of the nation's highest court. it's definitely worth a read. here are a couple of my favorite parts:

The Supreme Court is currently experiencing what is known as an extremely “hot bench.” That’s a polite way of saying the justices ask so many questions at the one-hour session allocated to each case that counsel can’t get a word in. While new justices, in particular, often go silent during their first few weeks and months at the verbal roller derby (the soft-spoken Justice David H. Souter and the mild-mannered Justice Samuel Alito each asked very few questions in their first terms, and Thomas has not asked a question at oral argument for five years), the two new female justices are different.

...

Things got weird, though, when she pushed her comedic luck as the argument progressed. Sotomayor asked Kagan whether the law prohibiting Americans from offering “material support” for terrorist groups might bar Americans from “teaching these members to play the harmonica?” In other words, does teaching members of a terror group how to dig wells, or any other peaceful skills, really constitute aiding terrorists under the statute? Kagan couldn’t resist the joke: “The first thing I would say is there are not a whole lot of people going around trying to teach Al Qaeda how to play harmonicas,” she replied.

Scalia was having none of that rookie back talk. “Well, Mohammed Atta and his harmonica quartet might tour the country and make a lot of money,” he snapped.

...

Back when she was the dean of Harvard Law School, Kagan evinced the same concern for civil discourse across ideological divisions. When she took over as the first woman dean there in 2003, she hired three conservative legal thinkers, including Goldsmith—who came from the Bush administration’s controversial Office of Legal Counsel—as well as Adrian Vermeule, who formerly taught at the University of Chicago Law School, and John Manning, who clerked for Scalia. She went out of her way to welcome conservative heroes (like Scalia) and conservative student groups to campus. In February 2005, the student branch of the Federalist Society held its national jamboree at Harvard. As legal legend Charles Fried described it last year in The New Republic, “Kagan rose to speak the host institutions’ words of greeting to the thousand or so Federalists assembled from every corner of the country. She was greeted by a long and raucous ovation. With a broad grin and her unmistakable Upper West Side twang, the former ­Clinton White House official responded, ‘You are not my people.’ This brought the dark-suited crowd of Federalist students to their feet in a roar of affectionate approval.” (via)

what the judge said to lindsay lohan

"You need to follow the laws just like everybody else. Look around this room — everyone in this room has to follow the law… You’re no different than anyone else, so please don’t push your luck."
she said the wasnt guilty.

hey elena kagan, team edward or team jacob?

via. (my guess is team bella if you know what i mean...)

two of my favorite bear jokes.

i was reminded when i heard that the supreme court just ruled to extend second amendment rights, overruling local handgun bans. i wish they hadn't've done that. ;(

well would you look at that.

The Supreme Court has some justices who are liberals and some who are conservatives. It has some who see themselves as strict constructionists and some who probably do not.

And then it has the justices who grew up riding the subway and the ones who grew up turning right on red.

It has the justice who was the treasurer of the Go-Getters Club at James Madison High School in Brooklyn. It has the justice who watched “Perry Mason” on television in a housing project in the Bronx and decided that the star defense lawyer was less important than the judge. It has the justice who took part in a junior military training program at Xavier High School in Manhattan and carried his rifle home on the train to Queens.

If the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court is confirmed, she would join three others in a distinct bloc. For the first time in the court’s history, said William Treanor, the dean of Fordham Law School, it would have four justices who grew up in New York City. (via)

thx for lookin' out for the ladies, barack.

WASHINGTON — President Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan as the nation’s 112th justice, choosing his own chief advocate before the Supreme Court to join it in ruling on cases critical to his view of the country’s future, Democrats close to the White House said Sunday.

After a monthlong search, Mr. Obama informed Ms. Kagan and his advisers on Sunday of his choice to succeed the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. He plans to announce the nomination at 10 a.m. Monday in the East Room of the White House with Ms. Kagan by his side, said the Democrats, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the decision before it was formally made public. (via)

did you know that if kagan is confirmed, there won't be any protestants on the court? 3 j's and 6 c's. she'll be the youngest judge at 50 bears old, and will bring the lady count to 3. straight up taco party! she's only the 4th lady to be nominated. ever!

my favorite story about her is that when she was the dean of harvard law, she refused to let military recruiters operate on campus, in protest of the don't-ask-don't-tell policy. you go, girl.

Elena Kagan : Supreme Court Justice?

nymag says that politico says that Dan Pfieffer says that Obama is going to announce his pick for the Supreme Court seat being vacated by John Paul Stevens on Monday.

they all also say that the most like nominee is the "confirmable" Elena Kagan, former Dean of Harvard Law School and current Solicitor General.

If she is, in fact, nominated, look for her to be grilled about her struggle with military recruiters over "don't ask, don't tell" while dean of Harvard Law School, which is dissected, once again, by the Times today. It's the perfect way for socially conservative Republicans to get at the questions they really want to ask Kagan — "Are you gay?" and "Will you make everyone get gay married?" — while defending our brave men and women fighting overseas.

it seems barack has a thing for minority women.

missing the point

the damn liberal media is harping on is this footage of justice samuel alito mouthing "not true" and shaking his head when obama accuses the supreme court of allowing undue influence of special interest corporate money.

they are missing the point. take a look at the front row and tell me that ruth bader ginsberg isnt stealing the spotlight from every person in the room. i for one can't see anyone else except for her.

good work

Congrats to Sonia Sotomayor for her confirmation yesterday as our newest Supreme Court Justice, the third woman and first Hispanic appointee.

Strong choice.

i don't believe you believe it

rachel maddow and pat buchanan got into it the other day about sonia sotomayor and affirmative action. he basically calls sotomayor stupid and bad for the country and says that he believes the reason 99.5% of the supreme court has historically been white males is the same reason that the olympic track team is mostly black... theyre just better at it. gulp. i wonder what sarah palin thinks. dont worry, the liberal lesbian lets him have it.

sonia sotomayor

FROM THE BRONX!

nuyorican judge sonia sotomayor looks like she is going to be our next supreme court justice, taking over the role left absent by an old white guy.

you go girl!