he U.S. Supreme Court heard roughly two hours of arguments Thursday concerning the effort by six Colorado voters to deny their fellow countrymen the opportunity to vote for the Republican front-runner in the 2024 election.

Jason Murray, a Denver lawyer representing the six voters, struggled to make a case for former President Donald Trump's disqualification, ostensibly tripping over simple questions and facts.

While conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh predictably exposed the various faults in Murray's arguments, even left-leaning Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson seemed unimpressed, casting doubt over whether Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies and over whether the Centennial State should determine the fate of the nation.

Quick background
Six voters backed by a Democrat-aligned group, which is helmed by a former Biden official, sued in September 2023 to have Trump removed from Colorado ballots in the 2024 election, claiming both that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment concerning insurrection applies to Trump and that the former president's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, qualified.

The case was kicked up to the Democratic appointees on the Colorado Supreme Court, who ruled in a 4-3 December decision that Trump engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, is ineligible to be president, and cannot therefore appear on the ballot.

Trump's legal team appealed the verdict, maintaining that the former president did not engage in an insurrection; Section 3 does not apply to the president; the Colorado Supreme Court violated the Electors Clause; and Congress is the proper body to resolve such matters.

Murray swings and misses — repeatedly
Murray, who previously convinced Democratic appointees on the Colorado Supreme Court to declare Trump ineligible to appear on ballots in the state, attempted to repeat his success Thursday but soon discovered the road forward had not similarly been ideologically greased.

Justice Kagan, for instance, said to Murray, "The question you have to confront is why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States. In other words, you know, this question of whether a former president is disqualified for insurrection to be president again is — just say it — it sounds awfully national to me."

"So whatever means there are to enforce it would suggest that they have to be federal, national means," continued Kagan. "If you weren't from Colorado and you were from Wisconsin or you were from Michigan and ... what the Michigan secretary of state did is going to make the difference between, you know, whether candidate A is elected or candidate B is elected. That seems quite extraordinary, doesn't it?"

"Why should a single state have the ability to make this determination, not only for their own citizens, but for the rest of the nation?" added Kagan.
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Sanity will prevail.

Yea, this was completely absurd. The SCOTUS has been the last bastion of US government that wishes to appear above the political fray. It looks like they want to keep it that way.

Quote from: Lokmar on February 08, 2024, 11:31:59 PMBig deficits have been the normal there for years.

I thought they had a few balanced budgets in the years prior to the pandemic. I could be wrong.

Quote from: Lokmar on February 08, 2024, 11:33:08 PMI'd be surprised if any more than 1 votes against Trump. Even the loons know this will fuck them over in the end.

Trump will appear on the ballot in all fifty states. SCOTUS will see to that.

This was a headline in the Globe and Mail on February 5.
"
Deal to prop up Liberals will be off if Ottawa doesn't meet pharmacare deadline, Jagmeet Singh says"

Don't gett to excited that an election is coming soon and we can finally get rid of Trudeau. Singh is putting up appearances of an opposition party.

During the hearing over whether it is constitutional to keep Trump off the ballot, Trump's lawyers argued that the amendment can't be used to keep him off the ballot for several reasons. They said that the Capitol breach during the Jan. 6 riot wasn't an insurrection, and even if it was, President Trump did not go to the Capitol or join the rioters.

The wording of the amendment, they said, also excludes the presidency and candidates running for president. Even if they are wrong about all of that, they argue that Congress must pass legislation to reinvigorate Section 3.

Ted Cruz is calling on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) to step down as leader of Senate Republicans.

Asked at a press conference on Tuesday if he believes it is time for McConnell to go, Cruz confirmed, "I think it is."

"I think a Republican leader should actually lead this conference and should advance the priorities of Republicans," Cruz explained.

The problem, according to Cruz, is that Senate Republican leadership used Sen. James Lankford (Okla.) — the Republican who co-authored the bill with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) — as a sacrificial lamb to write a bill that is "designed to lose."

Donald Trump has called on the U.S. Congress to stop gifting U.S. aid to foreign nations without any "strings" attached.

"From this point forward, are you listening U.S. Senate(?), no money in the form of foreign aid should be given to any country unless it is done as a loan, not just a giveaway," the 45th president said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Feb. 10, calling particularly for the Senate's attention.

"It can be loaned on extraordinarily good terms, like no interest and an unlimited life, but a loan nevertheless.

I wonder if, as Tesla matures, they will be forced to start producing hybrids.  Electric vehicles clearly will not see mass adoption world wide as there just isn't enough resources to physically build them especially not without Russia and Communist China.  Also, they are worse for the environment than regular cars from a carbon and pollution stand point.  That said, the resources to build a single electric car can produce about 15 hybrids.  THAT might be doable at scale.

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee confirmed on Feb. 12 that the hearing about misconduct claims against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade "must occur" on Feb. 15 and could lead to disqualification.

Ms. Willis is presiding over the high-profile racketeering case that names former President Donald Trump and 14 others.

"I think it's clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced presenting a conflict or the appearance of one, and the filings submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict of interest that can't be resolved as a matter of law," Judge McAfee said.

Sad

Biden's drive to send more aid to Ukraine took a big step forward, as the Senate passed a $95.3 billion package on Tuesday that also includes funds for allies Israel and Taiwan, overcoming the objections of many Republicans who opposed spending so much money abroad.

I am ok with airing Ukraine as Russia can't expand its war until Ukraine is defeated.  That Democrats and RINOs slipped in a section making it an impeachable offense not to send money to Ukraine is obviously a poison pill which needs to go.

Quote from: Oerdin on February 12, 2024, 01:21:01 PMI wonder if, as Tesla matures, they will be forced to start producing hybrids.  Electric vehicles clearly will not see mass adoption world wide as there just isn't enough resources to physically build them especially not without Russia and Communist China.  Also, they are worse for the environment than regular cars from a carbon and pollution stand point.  That said, the resources to build a single electric car can produce about 15 hybrids.  THAT might be doable at scale.

Mature Tesla

Chief Justice John Roberts has requested that the Justice Department (DOJ) respond to former President Donald Trump's attempt to assert presidential immunity in his ongoing Jan. 6-related case in D.C.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had just rejected President Trump's attempt to overturn Judge Tanya Chutkan's refusal to dismiss DOJ's prosecution based on presidential immunity. Justice Roberts' Feb. 13 request comes less than a week after the justices heard President Trump's appeal a Colorado ruling that he was disqualified from appearing on the state's ballot.

With a deadline of Feb. 20, the Court's request points to a broader urgency for the judicial system to address relatively untested questions of law that could impact the 2024 presidential election.

Putin said Wednesday that Russia would prefer to see U.S. President Joe Biden win a second term, describing him as more experienced than Donald Trump.

Speaking in an interview with a correspondent of Russian state television, Putin declared that he will work with any U.S. leader who is elected, but noted unequivocally that he would prefer Biden's victory when asked who would be a better choice from the point of view of Russia.