I plan to send postcards to Roberts, Alito, and Thomas. Short and sweet: “Recuse or resign.”
Don’t underestimate the power of piles of postcards!
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Jessica Craven has got me hooked on ResistBots. I just signed one yesterday that went to Biden, my 2 senators and my House rep the gist of which is: Alito must Recuse or Resign. If you have a ResistBot account set up, text "SIGN PZKQEK" to 50409. (If you are new, I think it will step you through the set-up if you try and sign a petition). FYI, You have the opportunity to read before signing.
I also use Resistbot coins to promote the petitions. (I make a small donation monthly, which gives me coins.) Just type PROMOTE and the petition letters. 100 coins sends to 50 people.
Hi Kathy, I'm not sure if it was in her newsletter. I am getting texts from Resistbot for her petitons directly, so it could just be AI suggesting petitions that match my signing history.
Also hooked and it only takes seconds! I like that, as Bob mentioned,I receive automated responses from some of my GOP legislators.It’s good to have some of the ridiculous responses in writing such as…”Democrats want to allow abortion, for any reason ,up until birth.”
It has many features I do not use - I am usually just signing petitions created by other people (e.g., Jessica Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water. But you can use it to contact your elected representatives and they see it as though you wrote individual emails to them. You can also browse by keyword and find a petition you like. Basically, the author composed the email then turned it into a public petition that others can join.
Unlike some of the other petitions that end up in your email box from advocacy groups, you aren't agreeing to get begging fundraiser emails from them and their partner organizations. UGH! But I do get emails back from the adressees acknowleging receipt of the email.
Send the word RESIST to Resistbot on Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, or by text to 50409 and answer the questions texted back. In minutes, you’ll have contacted Congress or your other elected officials. Make your letter open for maximum effect.
Message and data rates may apply if you use SMS. Message frequency varies. Text STOP to 50409 to stop all messages. Text HELP to 50409 for help. See our terms of use, privacy notice, and user bill of rights.
Thanks. Done. I texted to 50409, and answered the questions, got the relevant messages back so that I know it went through, will be telling my email list to do likewise. I didn't know how to make the letter open and it didn't ask me if I wanted to do that. But I assume it was counted in the number they said had gone out (16,000 and something)
Thanks, Daniel. I'm doing that, too. So far I've written 200+ postcards to register Democrats with another 100 to go; and then will order more addresses to send up until Election Day in Roevember. This is all after having written hundreds of postcards for Democratic candidates across the country (precise number unknown), during which I took the time to write a postcard to Speaker Johnson to get him to put the supplemental bill on the floor to be voted on. And we all know how that turned out. Imagine, Ukraine got all that support just from one little postcard...LOL!
But to your point, let's make a deal. I won't rain on your parade if you don't rain on mine.
Johnson does not have court rules that preclude exparte communications. Anything sent to a judge goes into the round circular file unless it comes from the docket.
If this is true & given your background I'm assuming it is, that makes the rights' influence of Alito, Thomas, & co all the more infuriating, they're given access that the people are not. What a corrupt court Roberts is fostering!
There are no futile exercises in this kind of situation; use every possible process and product to oppose this hate and greed. Does being opposed harden resolve? I suppose sometimes it does, temporarily; but even SCOTUS who believe they have lifetime permissions to do whatever they wish are simply incorrect.
They won't get your mail. Do you not understand? The only people they can hear from BY LAW are the parties in their cases.
They may be vulnerable collaterally, i.e, re their financial statements, which are submitted under penalty of perjury. Tell it to to the Justice Department.
It's more important to concentrate on something functional -- like winning an election.
Do me a favor and don't be condescending. I know it must be frustrating for you to see people going around your information and trying to do other things; however, please YOU try to understand that everyone here is trying to untie a very complex knot. Your voice is important and it is not the only voice. Finally? Is there a reason to have only one focus, I.e., winning the upcoming election? What if that doesn't succeed; would it have been perhaps more perspicacious to have put eggs in more than one basket?
Daniel is not being condescending. He is being pragmatic and a realist. The only “knot” anyone needs to be concerned about is getting Biden and Democrats elected and re-elected.
Except for the “do you not understand” I appreciate your information. I’m very active with FT6 as well as other groups. I usually respond to social media posts about the Court with:
We must expand SCOTUS.
How? Expand the electorate.
Bring more people in: Register new Dem voters with FieldTeam6.org.
I so agree, Daniel, thank you. I'm working with local Dems who are wonderful people, motivated, but have no clue, no experience, no expertise, in how to be effective. I think the postcard campaigns to register Dems are effective; writing letters to SCOTUS is not. As we all come together, I'm passionate about listening to those of us who have knowledge and good advice. And acting on that advice.
Daniel I appreciate your comment. I have commented that writing to Judges, whether SCOTUS or the 11th circuit or any other is meaningless. It is a waste of time and energy. It may be cathartic for the writer but it will never be read by the intended recipient. And frankly a judge getting piles of postcards and typing up staff who will have to sort through them may well backfire. Judges, in my experience, don’t like to be told what to do. Whether this is good, bad or indifferent, it is what it is. Work to re-elect Biden and Democrats in productive ways. Alito and Thomas nor any of the others care what we think.
When I would get them, I would enter an order "Notice of Exparte Communication", attach it and give the parties a chance to respond. If it were directed to me, I'd probably tell them ON THE RECORD, to get a lawyer. Threats may be prosecuted.
SCOTUS justices don't do notices of exparte communications. They have clerks intercept mail. I assume that some of them warrant FBI action.
Exercise in futility. A joke. A waste of everyone's time.
IMHO they may be criminals. Bribery. Perjury. That is the Justice Department's bailiwick.
I still can't get over the fact that nobody asked in oral argument in the immunity cases why Thomas and Alito (and maybe Roberts) were participating since they should be disqualified after the November 13, 2023 ethics order. https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/the-new-scotus-code-of-conduct/
28 U.S. Code § 455 - Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge
(a)Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
Cong. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is making efforts to push Thomas to recuse. I think we need to push Goldman to push Thomas. Writing to Goldman might do something: 245 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515Email Me(202) 225-7944
Yes, I have been urging people to send post cards for months. Then write to all of your news outlets and alert them that the court is receiving hundreds of messages urging them to resign. This court has lost the trust and legitimacy to pass judgments on our laws. They have reached into our sex lives, our businesses, our voting, and our safety by promoting guns for everyone. They cannot be trusted. They should be impeached.
Sent mine yesterday, as soon as I read Robert's report.
Postcards, not letters — letters are delayed weeks by security checks.
Our responsibility as citizens of a democracy is to participate, and to call out corruption and malfeasance in the legal system underlying it. 3 minutes and $0.53 is a small but meaningful gesture.
Alito "blamed his wife ... for flying the flag, saying she had hung it up in response to a 'F*** Trump' sign that was 'within 50 feet of where children await the school bus in Jan[uary] 21.'"
However,
"the local schools were all remote in January 2021 because of the pandemic. 'No children were waiting for buses.'"
How much more disingenuous can the "Traditional Christians" get? Bellowing about "the duty of a wife to obey her husband" has been replaced by "She did it, not me!!"
True! And also then-president-trump introduced all our twelve-year-olds to the word p***y. I can just hear them saying, "Mommy, what does it mean to grab someone's p***y without asking?" It's so delightful that all the strictest Christians endorse and adore these people--Trump, Alito...
Kids are like sponges. They soak up whatever's around them. And when the president of the United States says it, it carries extra weight. It's beyond nauseating! What I can't understand is how and why the fundamentalist Christians, who won't let kids watch TV, who won't use a cuss word, who hold members of their community to the strictest, most unforgiving list of do's and don'ts, can tolerate and champion a sexual criminal, convicted fraudster, adulterer, and compulsive serial liar.
Once again I am heartened by reading your words. I had already stopped watching Ari, listen to Rachel and Lawrence while I walk in the morning, cancelled my subscription to the Times and follow nearly all the substacks you listed (except the last 2 or 3). Plus I work off my anxiety by mailing hundreds of postcards to voters. 🙏
"Justice Alito created the appearance of impropriety; if neither he nor John Roberts will remove the stain from the Court, Congress should act.": Clear and direct. If Alito fails to recuse himself from January 6 related cases, he compounds the appearance of impropriety with actual impropriety. If this Congress will not or cannot act, let's hope that next Congress can and will.
I sent a ResistBot created by Jessica Craven that went to Biden and my senators and House rep saying Alito must recuse or resign. To join me, text SIGN PZKQEK to 50409.
NOT ON OUR WATCH is a free service that counters media bias. It enables people to easily report issues they are seeing in their area or have read about. Incidents are mapped immediately so others can see what's happening across a range of issues like abortion rights, voter suppression etc. There's even an option to just see the incidents that happened in the last 24 hours.
Follow the money behind Supreme Court corruption and arrogance - including both Justices and their spouses with this interactive map "SUPREME COURT MAP OF SHAME".
It's not my purpose to blow the upside down flag display by Alito out of proportion. That said, according to the Washington Post, Stephen Gillers, "an expert in judicial ethics at New York University’s law school" stated "I find it impossible to believe that Alito knew the flag was flying upside down or, if he did know, that he knew the relationship to ‘Stop the Steal.’ I don’t believe he would have allowed this to happen otherwise.” It seems a bit far-fetched that Alito didn't know about the display or its significance.
There is doubt that Justices Thomas and Alito are not independent in their thinking and their decisions are bias but there is no process or legislation that today can change this scenario unfortunately. Their bias and decisions have cost millions of woman their reproductive freedoms and their positions are delaying the decision on Trump’s immunity appeal thus making it impossible to try him before the election. There are many Federal Judges in the Circuit Courts who were appointed by Trump who also shared the same bias as Thomas and Alito. Unless the Democrats can control Congress with a large majority and are willing to expand the court there is no remedy. It’s our job to elect a majority and face reality.
Thank you, Robert, for helping us to spread the word.
Readers Scott and John over on Jessica Craven's ChopWood/CarryWater posted this link for citizens (that's us!) to send a complaint about Aileen Cannon.
Another reader, Colleen McGloughlin, posted this YouTube link from Glenn Kirschner. She tells us, "The second half [of the video] walks you through the steps of filling out the form. He doesn’t tell you what to write, but he points you to helpful articles." I have not yet watched the 20+ minute video, but plan to do so today.
For the sake of completeness, here's the link from the United States Courts on FAQs: Filing a Judicial Conduct or Disability Complaint Against a Federal Judge:
Thank you, Lynell, for highlighting Kirschner’s YouTube link here and in HCR’s Comments this morning. I followed his steps to make sure I had the correct details (specific court to address, docket#, etc). He moves right along, so I had to pause and repeat in some specific spots. If I was able to accomplish this task, I know everyone reading Robert and Heather… will be successful writing as well.
For the record, I also text with FT6 (50 texts before the system throttles my texting) and write with a number of postcarding and letter-writing campaigns. I turned 70 last week (😬) and was moved and honored by a neighbor who gave me a gift of 70 postcard stamps. As Joyce Vance says, we’re in this together.
Excellent, Colleen. The thanks goes to you for passing it on in the first place. I will be tackling the "Complaint" letter later today. Good to hear it isn't as daunting as I initially thought it would be.
So far I've stuck to postcarding but I can see from what you say that texting may reach more people, not to mention giving my sore thumb a break.
And, what a thoughtful neighbor you have! Happy Belated Birthday, young'un...over 70 but not by much😉
I think postcarding is the way to go. Just an opinion. Texting gives me one more avenue. I do get frustrated that the system throttles (great verb, no?) me after only 50 texts. That’s about 5-10 minutes of texting. Oh well.
And thanks for the 🥳.
Postal rates go up again in July. Get those stamps now. 😘
Democrats feel besieged by the news because 1) It's in our nature and 2) We know too much. Even those of us who are involved in getting Democrats elected have a deep underlying anxiety that despite all our efforts, these insidious traitors of MAGA will prevail, if not at the polls on election day, then afterward in their efforts to put Trump in the White House. I'm not sure any amount of activism will make that go away entirely.
My social circle is almost entirely left of center, with the vast majority identifying as Democrats, but how they feel about this election cycle runs the gamut from cautious optimism to letting it burn and leaving the country. On one side are people like my dear friend Jeff, who posted here yesterday about temporarily moving from blue Massachusets to North Carolina to aid that state's election efforts, to a friend who is moving his family overseas regardless of the results. Those closest to Jeff’s side are actively trying to preserve democracy, from donations to postcarding to letter-writing, while the other side veers from sheer terror to giving up entirely. I don't think it’s much of a secret that those involved in election efforts are more optimistic, but even we have moments of doubt. I can tell you that the phrase that will haunt me all day today is the closing line from Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter today on the Alito mess: “The call is coming from inside the house.” Given the horror movie we find ourselves in, I find it especially apropos.
I moved from Florida to North Carolina in January. Besides the outrageous property insurance you can imagine the other reasons. North Carolina gives us hope at least and so many of us are working to make it so. But we certainly are not out of the woods. Have you heard that the NC legislators are trying to make mask wearing in public illegal, with no exceptions for health reasons? So much for individual liberty.
I did see that the mask bill passed. My mother-in-law lives in NC, so I'm fairly attuned to what is happening there. I was outraged. I am immune compromised from being a heart transplant recipient, and my wife works in the cancer space. The fact that they are putting the benefit of being able to more easily identify protesters over the lives of people with serious medical issues is beyond appalling.
I hope that someone sues - at least on the basis of not allowing a health exemption. I have friends who could die if they caught Covid, so I have continued to mask in public in solidarity with those who have been left out as many people pretend that Covid never happened.
Unfortunately, it has been an ongoing battle for some working people (i.e., employers don't want to accommodate them about wearing masks), so this law will add another burden.
About the NC mask legislation, I first learned about it through a reader of Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water. In a comment exchange with Mary, she kindly provided a link to NC Megaphone that lists and provides email addresses of state Senate and House members. As Mary instructed, with a three-batch cut and paste, an email can be sent to all members, (where the sender’s state residence is not indicated): https://www.ncmegaphone.com/
(What could well be on my end, there were a few glitches with the email addresses so I’m attempting to resolve. And if you knew me, you’d understand that my supposing I’ll resolve technical glitches can be far-fetched! Still, I will pursue.)
Before seeing Mary’s kind response and to learn more, I did a search on the story and for a way to contact the NC General Assembly.
I found an AP article, ‘MSN: NC Senate committee approves bill restricting masks’ -
Disturbing in the video are soundbites by lawmakers (on both sides of the issue) and reporting on the potential consequences of the legislation. Especially troubling for me: Senator Sydney Batch said that “this bill will protect the Klu Klux Klan to wear masks in public. But someone who's immunocompromised like myself cannot wear a mask.”
On Thursday evening, I called Senator Batch’s office and left a message for her legislative assistant, Michael Hardison. I said that while an out of state resident, I wanted to support the senator’s position, and amplify it.
If anyone may be interested in reaching out to the office of Senator Batch, following may be useful information from the NC General Assembly website:
Legislative Assistant: Michael Hardison, (919) 733-5653
I’m dreaming of a way to gather collective voices to make our voice heard. Talk about freedoms being taken away. It’s a stunning development that needs to be addressed, seems to me—on behalf of the vulnerable, and as a matter of choice for all, everywhere, and for a host of reasons at their own choosing.
Let me know if you’d like to be a part of it, Annette. Dean? Cynthia? Nancy, even if you doubt it’ll be enforced? And Cheryl, I appreciated what appears to be your comments in Jessica’s newsletter about the issue, which I trust I can share here, that “the NC Legislature has been GOP-controlled for a LONG TIME! But Tricia Cotham's defection gave the GOP a veto-proof supermajority!” Thank you for this.
I’d be glad to research further and pursue Senator Hatch’s office as next steps, which is what I plan to do in any event.
For now, my thoughts turn to this, that I may remember:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
I'm immune compromised. That means I get to stay home a lot and wear a mask so other people don't have to be bothered. I'm wondering about something else, though: if their "reason" for banning masks is to make people not hide their faces, would that mean that men could no longer wear mustaches and beards? They would all have to be clean-shaven. How would that be enforced, one wonders...
Katy Tur isn't surprising. She ended up being the MSNBC reporter who covered Trump in 2016; that coverage and public exposure was what got her the gig of hosting a show rather than being a field reporter as she was. Her account of her experience in 2016 - which she casts as being the anti-Trump reporter who "got the receipts" - was also her ending up in a professional "relationship" with Trump. That has to affect her view. I have stopped watching her show a year ago.
ROBERT, YOU WRITE: "But even if it were not ludicrous, Justice Alito is bound by the Supreme Court Code of Ethics that prohibits any political display by justices—much less a call for insurrection." Didn't know that the Supremes were guided by any code of ethics beyond the suggestion box that Roberts has suddenly decided meets the need. After seeing Alito and Thomas take in huge amounts of monetary gifts from "good friends", I had assumed that "ethics" were just something for the little people.
Robert, you have been arguing to expand the court for as long as I’ve been reading this Substack and I want to endorse that and I believe that this should be an important talking point for the election. Apparently one in three voters thanks that Biden was responsible for Dobbs. I want to see all the advertising talent in the country, creating knockout ads that specifically and clearly name Trump and his Supreme Court appointments and show people that this ruling can be undone by expanding the court.
That's the only thing Biden is lacking--advertising talent. Public relations talent. Communications talent. If we had that, it would sway all the undecideds (who don't necessarily think about things but rather respond to the preponderance of messaging on their favorite media). We need it desperatetly.
Thanks as usual!! I would add Nicole Wallace to the other three MSNBC hosts you mention (Maddow, Hayes, O'Donnell). Agree about the others and not crazy about Jansing. It may have been on her show that I heard Kasich and turned it off. The Alito stuff is as always appalling.
Funny how the GOP goes after relatives of judges, jurists and other “public” figures who have registered as Democrats for voting purposes, but this (distress flag) is just fine and dandy.
Also, just a note, was school in session during this time of pandemic?
No, the schools were not in session during that time. Alito saying he was worried about "the children waiting for school buses" is just more of his pro-Trump lies.
I plan to send postcards to Roberts, Alito, and Thomas. Short and sweet: “Recuse or resign.”
Don’t underestimate the power of piles of postcards!
General Contact Information:
U.S. Mail:
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Telephone: 202-479-3000
TTY: 202-479-3472
(Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
For technical questions or to report problems with this website, email: Webmaster
For time sensitive or urgent questions please contact the Public Information Office at the following number: 202-479-3211, Reporters press 1. The Supreme Court does not have a public comment phone line.
For general questions that are not time sensitive, email: Public Information Office
Contact the Public Information Office by U.S. Mail:
Public Information Officer
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Jessica Craven has got me hooked on ResistBots. I just signed one yesterday that went to Biden, my 2 senators and my House rep the gist of which is: Alito must Recuse or Resign. If you have a ResistBot account set up, text "SIGN PZKQEK" to 50409. (If you are new, I think it will step you through the set-up if you try and sign a petition). FYI, You have the opportunity to read before signing.
Me too! It's so easy to do, and I've gotten automated responses from several, so they're getting through.
A great high tech way to make noise!
I missed Jess yesterday. I’ll go back and sign that one. I use Resistbot almost every day!
I also use Resistbot coins to promote the petitions. (I make a small donation monthly, which gives me coins.) Just type PROMOTE and the petition letters. 100 coins sends to 50 people.
Hi Kathy, I'm not sure if it was in her newsletter. I am getting texts from Resistbot for her petitons directly, so it could just be AI suggesting petitions that match my signing history.
Just checked and this was yesterday's Resistbot
I looked. It was in the newsletter, both as a petition and as Senate/House actions.
Also hooked and it only takes seconds! I like that, as Bob mentioned,I receive automated responses from some of my GOP legislators.It’s good to have some of the ridiculous responses in writing such as…”Democrats want to allow abortion, for any reason ,up until birth.”
Thanks for the information about resist bots! It was easy to sign up.
That’s great. Where do you go to set up a ResistBots account? Is this more effective than emails?
did you check out the website? https://resist.bot/
Also see this article that Jessica Craven prepared to answer questions about Resistbot:
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/about-resistbot?r=160ms&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
What are ResistBots? How do I find them so that I can reach my two senators and House rep on this?
Check out https://resist.bot/.
It has many features I do not use - I am usually just signing petitions created by other people (e.g., Jessica Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water. But you can use it to contact your elected representatives and they see it as though you wrote individual emails to them. You can also browse by keyword and find a petition you like. Basically, the author composed the email then turned it into a public petition that others can join.
Unlike some of the other petitions that end up in your email box from advocacy groups, you aren't agreeing to get begging fundraiser emails from them and their partner organizations. UGH! But I do get emails back from the adressees acknowleging receipt of the email.
Thanks Cheryl!
The Easiest Way to Be Heard
Send the word RESIST to Resistbot on Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, or by text to 50409 and answer the questions texted back. In minutes, you’ll have contacted Congress or your other elected officials. Make your letter open for maximum effect.
Message and data rates may apply if you use SMS. Message frequency varies. Text STOP to 50409 to stop all messages. Text HELP to 50409 for help. See our terms of use, privacy notice, and user bill of rights.
Thanks. Done. I texted to 50409, and answered the questions, got the relevant messages back so that I know it went through, will be telling my email list to do likewise. I didn't know how to make the letter open and it didn't ask me if I wanted to do that. But I assume it was counted in the number they said had gone out (16,000 and something)
If you were signing someone elses petition then the letter is already open. Or did you create one from scratch?
Thanks, Kathy. Will do so today!
All this stuff are exercises in futility that harden their resolve. Spend productive time registering Democrats to save the world.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Thanks, Daniel. I'm doing that, too. So far I've written 200+ postcards to register Democrats with another 100 to go; and then will order more addresses to send up until Election Day in Roevember. This is all after having written hundreds of postcards for Democratic candidates across the country (precise number unknown), during which I took the time to write a postcard to Speaker Johnson to get him to put the supplemental bill on the floor to be voted on. And we all know how that turned out. Imagine, Ukraine got all that support just from one little postcard...LOL!
But to your point, let's make a deal. I won't rain on your parade if you don't rain on mine.
Johnson does not have court rules that preclude exparte communications. Anything sent to a judge goes into the round circular file unless it comes from the docket.
If this is true & given your background I'm assuming it is, that makes the rights' influence of Alito, Thomas, & co all the more infuriating, they're given access that the people are not. What a corrupt court Roberts is fostering!
Try the Justice Department.
May be a violation of the Hatch Act. https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx
There are no futile exercises in this kind of situation; use every possible process and product to oppose this hate and greed. Does being opposed harden resolve? I suppose sometimes it does, temporarily; but even SCOTUS who believe they have lifetime permissions to do whatever they wish are simply incorrect.
They won't get your mail. Do you not understand? The only people they can hear from BY LAW are the parties in their cases.
They may be vulnerable collaterally, i.e, re their financial statements, which are submitted under penalty of perjury. Tell it to to the Justice Department.
It's more important to concentrate on something functional -- like winning an election.
Do me a favor and don't be condescending. I know it must be frustrating for you to see people going around your information and trying to do other things; however, please YOU try to understand that everyone here is trying to untie a very complex knot. Your voice is important and it is not the only voice. Finally? Is there a reason to have only one focus, I.e., winning the upcoming election? What if that doesn't succeed; would it have been perhaps more perspicacious to have put eggs in more than one basket?
Daniel is not being condescending. He is being pragmatic and a realist. The only “knot” anyone needs to be concerned about is getting Biden and Democrats elected and re-elected.
For us, there IS NO OTHER BASKET!!!!
We are not in power. Takes two Republican House members to flip before we get anything.
Thank you, Meredith.
Except for the “do you not understand” I appreciate your information. I’m very active with FT6 as well as other groups. I usually respond to social media posts about the Court with:
We must expand SCOTUS.
How? Expand the electorate.
Bring more people in: Register new Dem voters with FieldTeam6.org.
#Voterizer
#RegisterDemocrats #Voterizer
I so agree, Daniel, thank you. I'm working with local Dems who are wonderful people, motivated, but have no clue, no experience, no expertise, in how to be effective. I think the postcard campaigns to register Dems are effective; writing letters to SCOTUS is not. As we all come together, I'm passionate about listening to those of us who have knowledge and good advice. And acting on that advice.
Daniel I appreciate your comment. I have commented that writing to Judges, whether SCOTUS or the 11th circuit or any other is meaningless. It is a waste of time and energy. It may be cathartic for the writer but it will never be read by the intended recipient. And frankly a judge getting piles of postcards and typing up staff who will have to sort through them may well backfire. Judges, in my experience, don’t like to be told what to do. Whether this is good, bad or indifferent, it is what it is. Work to re-elect Biden and Democrats in productive ways. Alito and Thomas nor any of the others care what we think.
When I would get them, I would enter an order "Notice of Exparte Communication", attach it and give the parties a chance to respond. If it were directed to me, I'd probably tell them ON THE RECORD, to get a lawyer. Threats may be prosecuted.
SCOTUS justices don't do notices of exparte communications. They have clerks intercept mail. I assume that some of them warrant FBI action.
What about asking members of Congress to begin impeach proceedings against Thomas and Alito?
Exercise in futility. A joke. A waste of everyone's time.
IMHO they may be criminals. Bribery. Perjury. That is the Justice Department's bailiwick.
I still can't get over the fact that nobody asked in oral argument in the immunity cases why Thomas and Alito (and maybe Roberts) were participating since they should be disqualified after the November 13, 2023 ethics order. https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/the-new-scotus-code-of-conduct/
28 U.S. Code § 455 - Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge
(a)Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
Cong. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is making efforts to push Thomas to recuse. I think we need to push Goldman to push Thomas. Writing to Goldman might do something: 245 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515Email Me(202) 225-7944
Do both!
I do that too!
Yes, I have been urging people to send post cards for months. Then write to all of your news outlets and alert them that the court is receiving hundreds of messages urging them to resign. This court has lost the trust and legitimacy to pass judgments on our laws. They have reached into our sex lives, our businesses, our voting, and our safety by promoting guns for everyone. They cannot be trusted. They should be impeached.
thanks
democracy requires participation
Go girl
Good idea 👍
Sent mine yesterday, as soon as I read Robert's report.
Postcards, not letters — letters are delayed weeks by security checks.
Our responsibility as citizens of a democracy is to participate, and to call out corruption and malfeasance in the legal system underlying it. 3 minutes and $0.53 is a small but meaningful gesture.
I will follow your lead. Let's inundate SOTUS with postcards
Thank-you very much for this information. I will be sending out postcards with your short and sweet message "Recuse or Resign".
I will do it!
HCR made a point this morning:
Alito "blamed his wife ... for flying the flag, saying she had hung it up in response to a 'F*** Trump' sign that was 'within 50 feet of where children await the school bus in Jan[uary] 21.'"
However,
"the local schools were all remote in January 2021 because of the pandemic. 'No children were waiting for buses.'"
How much more disingenuous can the "Traditional Christians" get? Bellowing about "the duty of a wife to obey her husband" has been replaced by "She did it, not me!!"
Christian Nationalism is not Christianity. I am reminded daily of Gandhi’s quip, “I like your Christ. He is so unlike your Christians.”
Have any neighbors confirmed that there was a "f*ck trump sign? I don't believe that either.
The likelihood of any children at that bus story knowing the F word is pretty high.
True! And also then-president-trump introduced all our twelve-year-olds to the word p***y. I can just hear them saying, "Mommy, what does it mean to grab someone's p***y without asking?" It's so delightful that all the strictest Christians endorse and adore these people--Trump, Alito...
It’s kind of nauseating isn’t it?
Kids are like sponges. They soak up whatever's around them. And when the president of the United States says it, it carries extra weight. It's beyond nauseating! What I can't understand is how and why the fundamentalist Christians, who won't let kids watch TV, who won't use a cuss word, who hold members of their community to the strictest, most unforgiving list of do's and don'ts, can tolerate and champion a sexual criminal, convicted fraudster, adulterer, and compulsive serial liar.
Once again I am heartened by reading your words. I had already stopped watching Ari, listen to Rachel and Lawrence while I walk in the morning, cancelled my subscription to the Times and follow nearly all the substacks you listed (except the last 2 or 3). Plus I work off my anxiety by mailing hundreds of postcards to voters. 🙏
"Justice Alito created the appearance of impropriety; if neither he nor John Roberts will remove the stain from the Court, Congress should act.": Clear and direct. If Alito fails to recuse himself from January 6 related cases, he compounds the appearance of impropriety with actual impropriety. If this Congress will not or cannot act, let's hope that next Congress can and will.
I sent a ResistBot created by Jessica Craven that went to Biden and my senators and House rep saying Alito must recuse or resign. To join me, text SIGN PZKQEK to 50409.
Another reason that we must work even harder. We have had enormous success in the last few elections. I will not be defeated by nay-sayers!
The actions of the rogue judges taint the legacy of the entire Court.
Republicans like it just the way it is.
NOT ON OUR WATCH is a free service that counters media bias. It enables people to easily report issues they are seeing in their area or have read about. Incidents are mapped immediately so others can see what's happening across a range of issues like abortion rights, voter suppression etc. There's even an option to just see the incidents that happened in the last 24 hours.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/05/14/not-on-our-watch-people-powered-news/
thanks, I will check this out
Follow the money behind Supreme Court corruption and arrogance - including both Justices and their spouses with this interactive map "SUPREME COURT MAP OF SHAME".
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/05/17/supreme-court-map-of-shame-alito-violation-of-ethics/
Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is set to expire December 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm.
The morbidly wealthy one percent of America is about to lose their precious tax cuts unless Trump is re-elected.
Look no further than Justices Thomas and Alito as to whom is getting payoffs so Trump gets the win this November.
It's not my purpose to blow the upside down flag display by Alito out of proportion. That said, according to the Washington Post, Stephen Gillers, "an expert in judicial ethics at New York University’s law school" stated "I find it impossible to believe that Alito knew the flag was flying upside down or, if he did know, that he knew the relationship to ‘Stop the Steal.’ I don’t believe he would have allowed this to happen otherwise.” It seems a bit far-fetched that Alito didn't know about the display or its significance.
Gillers needs to read Alito’s decisions.
This so-called expert is hopelessly naive.
A thousand thanks to Nancy Pelosi.
There is doubt that Justices Thomas and Alito are not independent in their thinking and their decisions are bias but there is no process or legislation that today can change this scenario unfortunately. Their bias and decisions have cost millions of woman their reproductive freedoms and their positions are delaying the decision on Trump’s immunity appeal thus making it impossible to try him before the election. There are many Federal Judges in the Circuit Courts who were appointed by Trump who also shared the same bias as Thomas and Alito. Unless the Democrats can control Congress with a large majority and are willing to expand the court there is no remedy. It’s our job to elect a majority and face reality.
This appears to be the only remedy, Stephen! Action is the answer!
Thank you, Robert, for helping us to spread the word.
Readers Scott and John over on Jessica Craven's ChopWood/CarryWater posted this link for citizens (that's us!) to send a complaint about Aileen Cannon.
https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao310.pdf
Another reader, Colleen McGloughlin, posted this YouTube link from Glenn Kirschner. She tells us, "The second half [of the video] walks you through the steps of filling out the form. He doesn’t tell you what to write, but he points you to helpful articles." I have not yet watched the 20+ minute video, but plan to do so today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=0MXVfiTa3KM
For the sake of completeness, here's the link from the United States Courts on FAQs: Filing a Judicial Conduct or Disability Complaint Against a Federal Judge:
https://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-conduct-disability/faqs-filing-judicial-conduct-or-disability-complaint#faq-Where-do-I-file-my-complaint
Thank you, Lynell, for highlighting Kirschner’s YouTube link here and in HCR’s Comments this morning. I followed his steps to make sure I had the correct details (specific court to address, docket#, etc). He moves right along, so I had to pause and repeat in some specific spots. If I was able to accomplish this task, I know everyone reading Robert and Heather… will be successful writing as well.
For the record, I also text with FT6 (50 texts before the system throttles my texting) and write with a number of postcarding and letter-writing campaigns. I turned 70 last week (😬) and was moved and honored by a neighbor who gave me a gift of 70 postcard stamps. As Joyce Vance says, we’re in this together.
Excellent, Colleen. The thanks goes to you for passing it on in the first place. I will be tackling the "Complaint" letter later today. Good to hear it isn't as daunting as I initially thought it would be.
So far I've stuck to postcarding but I can see from what you say that texting may reach more people, not to mention giving my sore thumb a break.
And, what a thoughtful neighbor you have! Happy Belated Birthday, young'un...over 70 but not by much😉
I think postcarding is the way to go. Just an opinion. Texting gives me one more avenue. I do get frustrated that the system throttles (great verb, no?) me after only 50 texts. That’s about 5-10 minutes of texting. Oh well.
And thanks for the 🥳.
Postal rates go up again in July. Get those stamps now. 😘
Oh, okay about texting, thanks. Throttling makes me think of fingers around someone's neck...yikes!
And, yes, DeJoy, another one that's gotta go!
Thank you so much for this information!
You're welcome, Nancy!
Democrats feel besieged by the news because 1) It's in our nature and 2) We know too much. Even those of us who are involved in getting Democrats elected have a deep underlying anxiety that despite all our efforts, these insidious traitors of MAGA will prevail, if not at the polls on election day, then afterward in their efforts to put Trump in the White House. I'm not sure any amount of activism will make that go away entirely.
My social circle is almost entirely left of center, with the vast majority identifying as Democrats, but how they feel about this election cycle runs the gamut from cautious optimism to letting it burn and leaving the country. On one side are people like my dear friend Jeff, who posted here yesterday about temporarily moving from blue Massachusets to North Carolina to aid that state's election efforts, to a friend who is moving his family overseas regardless of the results. Those closest to Jeff’s side are actively trying to preserve democracy, from donations to postcarding to letter-writing, while the other side veers from sheer terror to giving up entirely. I don't think it’s much of a secret that those involved in election efforts are more optimistic, but even we have moments of doubt. I can tell you that the phrase that will haunt me all day today is the closing line from Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter today on the Alito mess: “The call is coming from inside the house.” Given the horror movie we find ourselves in, I find it especially apropos.
I moved from Florida to North Carolina in January. Besides the outrageous property insurance you can imagine the other reasons. North Carolina gives us hope at least and so many of us are working to make it so. But we certainly are not out of the woods. Have you heard that the NC legislators are trying to make mask wearing in public illegal, with no exceptions for health reasons? So much for individual liberty.
I did see that the mask bill passed. My mother-in-law lives in NC, so I'm fairly attuned to what is happening there. I was outraged. I am immune compromised from being a heart transplant recipient, and my wife works in the cancer space. The fact that they are putting the benefit of being able to more easily identify protesters over the lives of people with serious medical issues is beyond appalling.
Guess they want to kill all the infirm. Shaking my head in disbelief.
I doubt that it can be enforced.
I hope that someone sues - at least on the basis of not allowing a health exemption. I have friends who could die if they caught Covid, so I have continued to mask in public in solidarity with those who have been left out as many people pretend that Covid never happened.
Unfortunately, it has been an ongoing battle for some working people (i.e., employers don't want to accommodate them about wearing masks), so this law will add another burden.
Hello, Annette (my sister’s name!),
About the NC mask legislation, I first learned about it through a reader of Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water. In a comment exchange with Mary, she kindly provided a link to NC Megaphone that lists and provides email addresses of state Senate and House members. As Mary instructed, with a three-batch cut and paste, an email can be sent to all members, (where the sender’s state residence is not indicated): https://www.ncmegaphone.com/
(What could well be on my end, there were a few glitches with the email addresses so I’m attempting to resolve. And if you knew me, you’d understand that my supposing I’ll resolve technical glitches can be far-fetched! Still, I will pursue.)
Before seeing Mary’s kind response and to learn more, I did a search on the story and for a way to contact the NC General Assembly.
I found an AP article, ‘MSN: NC Senate committee approves bill restricting masks’ -
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north-carolina-lawmakers-push-bill-to-ban-most-public-mask-wearing-citing-crime/ar-BB1msIcE
In the article, there’s a chilling embedded video, ‘North Carolina lawmakers push bill to ban most public mask wearing, citing crime’ -
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/nc-senate-committee-approves-bill-restricting-masks/vi-BB1molW6
Disturbing in the video are soundbites by lawmakers (on both sides of the issue) and reporting on the potential consequences of the legislation. Especially troubling for me: Senator Sydney Batch said that “this bill will protect the Klu Klux Klan to wear masks in public. But someone who's immunocompromised like myself cannot wear a mask.”
On Thursday evening, I called Senator Batch’s office and left a message for her legislative assistant, Michael Hardison. I said that while an out of state resident, I wanted to support the senator’s position, and amplify it.
If anyone may be interested in reaching out to the office of Senator Batch, following may be useful information from the NC General Assembly website:
Senator Sydney Batch - https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/S/434
Terms in Senate: 1+ (1 in House)
Member's Email: Sydney.Batch@ncleg.gov
Legislative Assistant: Michael Hardison, (919) 733-5653
I’m dreaming of a way to gather collective voices to make our voice heard. Talk about freedoms being taken away. It’s a stunning development that needs to be addressed, seems to me—on behalf of the vulnerable, and as a matter of choice for all, everywhere, and for a host of reasons at their own choosing.
Let me know if you’d like to be a part of it, Annette. Dean? Cynthia? Nancy, even if you doubt it’ll be enforced? And Cheryl, I appreciated what appears to be your comments in Jessica’s newsletter about the issue, which I trust I can share here, that “the NC Legislature has been GOP-controlled for a LONG TIME! But Tricia Cotham's defection gave the GOP a veto-proof supermajority!” Thank you for this.
I’d be glad to research further and pursue Senator Hatch’s office as next steps, which is what I plan to do in any event.
For now, my thoughts turn to this, that I may remember:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
—Martin Niemöller
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists
Yes, certainly would want to be part of this effort. Thanks for the information.
Hi Annette, I'd love to update you on some small steps of progress. Might you be available to be in touch off-line?
Ok...just sent an email.
Perfect and TY. I responded.
Wonderful, Annette. I'll circle back next week.
I'm immune compromised. That means I get to stay home a lot and wear a mask so other people don't have to be bothered. I'm wondering about something else, though: if their "reason" for banning masks is to make people not hide their faces, would that mean that men could no longer wear mustaches and beards? They would all have to be clean-shaven. How would that be enforced, one wonders...
You’ve nailed it once again, Dean! Thank you.
Katy Tur isn't surprising. She ended up being the MSNBC reporter who covered Trump in 2016; that coverage and public exposure was what got her the gig of hosting a show rather than being a field reporter as she was. Her account of her experience in 2016 - which she casts as being the anti-Trump reporter who "got the receipts" - was also her ending up in a professional "relationship" with Trump. That has to affect her view. I have stopped watching her show a year ago.
Every day we proudly fly our US flag…next to our Biden/Harris yard sign !
🇺🇸🪧🏡
ROBERT, YOU WRITE: "But even if it were not ludicrous, Justice Alito is bound by the Supreme Court Code of Ethics that prohibits any political display by justices—much less a call for insurrection." Didn't know that the Supremes were guided by any code of ethics beyond the suggestion box that Roberts has suddenly decided meets the need. After seeing Alito and Thomas take in huge amounts of monetary gifts from "good friends", I had assumed that "ethics" were just something for the little people.
Robert, you have been arguing to expand the court for as long as I’ve been reading this Substack and I want to endorse that and I believe that this should be an important talking point for the election. Apparently one in three voters thanks that Biden was responsible for Dobbs. I want to see all the advertising talent in the country, creating knockout ads that specifically and clearly name Trump and his Supreme Court appointments and show people that this ruling can be undone by expanding the court.
That's the only thing Biden is lacking--advertising talent. Public relations talent. Communications talent. If we had that, it would sway all the undecideds (who don't necessarily think about things but rather respond to the preponderance of messaging on their favorite media). We need it desperatetly.
Thanks as usual!! I would add Nicole Wallace to the other three MSNBC hosts you mention (Maddow, Hayes, O'Donnell). Agree about the others and not crazy about Jansing. It may have been on her show that I heard Kasich and turned it off. The Alito stuff is as always appalling.
Funny how the GOP goes after relatives of judges, jurists and other “public” figures who have registered as Democrats for voting purposes, but this (distress flag) is just fine and dandy.
Also, just a note, was school in session during this time of pandemic?
No, the schools were not in session during that time. Alito saying he was worried about "the children waiting for school buses" is just more of his pro-Trump lies.
HCR quoted an aide to Alito's congressman that schools were remote at the time.