Oh Yeah, NOW You Say So
Okay, right smack dab in the middle of Neil Gorsuch’s hearing, the Supreme Court overruled him 8-0.
Honey, I gotta say that I don’t think there’s been a unanimous decision on the court in this decade. But they all decided that Gorsuch was wrong, wrong, triple wrong.
The 2008 opinion Gorsuch wrote for a unanimous 10th Circuit took the side of a school in a case in which the parents of an autistic child argued the school wasn’t doing enough to educate the student. While the student showed educational progress in classes, he didn’t seem to retain what he’d learned. Gorsuch’s opinion, which reversed three prior rulings, said the school had complied with federal disabilities law because the student needed to show gains that were “merely more than de minims.” (Italics mine.)
So now, Gorsuch says he’s sorry but his ruling was based on circuit precedent.
Dude, the Supreme Court is the last option for those wronged. You can’t change harm done by saying you’re sorry ten years later.
Why should Donald Trump, while under FBI investigation for what could be treason, get a Supreme Court appointment that was stolen from Barack Obama?
(By the way, my spellcheck changes Gorsuch to Grouch.)
Thanks to AlanInAustin for the heads up.
So, on the Supreme Court he would be bound by precedent which declares women have a constitutional right to abortion?
1I don’t think so!
Actually in the case he cited as precedent, he misquoted the rule of the court. He inserted ‘merely’ in the middle of the decisions keynote sentence to make minimus the ceiling of alternative options for disabled students, rather than the original rule which made all alternatives at least more different and therefore effective. His rule made it necessary that alternatives and options be ‘at least different’ – somehow — not necessarily effective. With other students having to address and succeed against standards, his rule means disabled students need not be tested or succeed in school.
2Patently ridiculous and violates the due process and equal access Constitutional standards.
sad part is some d’s like Tester claim they are not seeing or feeling any pressure on this vote.
3If the D’s in the senate do not filibuster this appointment for the next 4 year or until the r’s go nuclear ( kill filibuster) they are betraying their base and resigning themselves to political irrelevence for lack of back bone.
No deals.
Time to show some political courage.
Oops sorry is this “teaspeak” or “concern trolling”?
Gorsuch changed to grouch. Mine says Grinch ( with splinters in his smile).
4I am consulting my Special Ed teacher friend to see if my take on this is accurate. I worked side by side for 12 years with her. I was the reading resource teacher and we shared students.
First, not all students with autism have the same capabilities. Our students went through a battery of tests and individual programs were designed for EACH student. Those Individual Education Plans are legal documents. They are written to give each student strategies to cope with school and their lives. IEP’S as they are known, accomodate students academic requirements, including testing for graduation. We have no knowledge of this student’s IEP, this student’s IQ, this student’s emotional status.
Second, all parents want their students to succeed and for those with special needs students it is a process of understanding the potential of their child and how best to support the strategies that make him the best person possible. That means understanding that retention of facts might be a weakness that cannot be overcome. Some parents never come to terms with limitations inherent in their child’s condition.
I have taught students who could not retain information, I have taught students who could read anything you put in front of them and not remember one thing they read. Is it dismaying? Of course. But guess what, those same students had strengths that a standardized test could not measure. They are employed adults now and in our classes they were never diminished for their exceptions to the norm
5Special Education and Reading Resource programs do not ‘cure’ or ‘fix’ . They are meant to give students tools to make their lives better.
From the facts presented here, Gorsuch was correct. From the facts stated here, the Supreme Court could benefit from a lesson on the goals of Special Education. This recent ruling might make special Education students’ school experiences and their teachers’ jobs a challenge, a difficult challenge.
The practical problem is that this guy’s replacing Scalia, so he’s not likely to be a lot worse or shift the court’s balance. But if the Dems block this guy, the GOP may go nuclear and kill the filibuster, which means no way to stop the next rightwing nominee, who may be replacing a liberal. I’m not sure which way to go. But the unanimous overturn raises a real question about his judicial competence.
Watch Sen. Whitehouse explain why Gorsuch shouldn’t get the benefit of the doubt, 2’08”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnM51ZgQcpg
Yeah, comes out “Grouch” for me too.
6So if the D’s allow themselves to get blackmailed into not filibustering him to preserve the filibuster why won’t the r’s use the same strategy with the next whack job they want to anoint with a lifetime sinecure in trade for ideological adherence?
7If one surrenders a tool for fear of losing taht tool it is already gone.
Make the R’s kill it if they will. McConnell might fear what will happen when the D’s get majority and not only no filibuster but even less respect for his side of the aisle so the d’s might grow a back bone and show no mercy or consideration for the r’s.
From what I’ve been reading, the parents saw no progress and finally put the child in a private school where the IEPs were ‘harder’ and the student did much better. The case seems to be the public school didn’t encourage or pursue betterment.
8The Gorsuch ruling meant that schools did not have to try to advance special needs pupils learning levels.
Rhea, thanks for that link. Whitehouse was marvelous. Any chance he will be striking for higher office ?
9Bunny, thanks for the informed comment. I was a teacher many moons ago, pre-IEPs, special ed, etc. It’s a certain things that I had students on the spectrum in my junior high classrooms. I can attest to your statement about the wide variety of abilities of the students.
10My Samsung Galaxy tablet changes his name to “Go Suck.” I’m going with that.
11I suspect the snacilbupeR, specifically McTurtle will use whichever excuse to kill the filibuster on SCOTUS nominees. I’m guessing the theory is that Drumpf will get several nominations. If the ones that are not snot-slinging conservative start dying from polonium poisoning, I’d suspect yet another Russian op coordinated by the Vichy Drumpf administration. “Round up the usual suspects.”
@Debbo
12I’m good with your tablet. “Go Suck”. “Go Suck”. etc
“saying you’re sorry ten years later.”
Maybe Gorsuch, like the autistic child, can wait for 10 years to get an apology if not another chance.
13The autistic child likely has missed an opportunity for a proper education. Let’s not be as cruel. I’m willing to give Gorsuch another try at the Supreme Court in 2026.
Well the senate d’s look like they are going to roll over and play dead again.
14News that they are trying to cut a deal that will give the thuglicans the scotus for another 20 years with no fight at all.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mcconnell-deal-court_us_58d312e9e4b0f838c62f60f9?ir=Politics&utm_hp_ref=politics)
For what the empty promise from a dishonarable man whose promises aren’t worth the time it takes to listen to it.
But schumer will be happy his wall street owners will be happy with this corporate scotus so he will get some nice checks out of turning the senate d’s into political roadkill.
Hmmm. I’m considering Gorsuch’s own childhood education. His parents could afford stellar schools for him. Would bet he never saw – or knew – that another kid in his class was a special ed candidate. The early background of all nominees for whatever guvmint position really does play a big part in their world perspective. Otherwise, I think that hiding behind “de minimus” was just that, hiding. Didn’t this guy have clerks who could scrounge up some data on special ed? If not, why not? How did he end up with clerks that were so thickheaded? Saying this because I know some clerks and they all prefer to make their jobs easier. (Pretty much standard human behavior) And some of them even become U.S. Senators (not standard human behavior).
15“(By the way, my spellcheck changes Gorsuch to Grouch.)”
Ms.Juanita Jean Herownself, where did you find such a polite version of spellcheck? Our spellcheck spews out alternatives for Gorsuch that would offend the bouncer at any bar near Subic Bay.
16I think it would be fun to try different interpretations of Gorsuch on different phones and see if you can come up with a grad professor who has the same twisted sense of humor that we do. Mine first said Gorsuch and then switched to Gordie has. Next time it just wrote Gorsuch. Maybe the phone is afraid of me!
17@Jane & PKM
Ahhh Subic Bay. Beautiful Ologapo, on the $hit River. The gem of Zambales.
18