You’ll recall that in the last session, Texas passed another stupid law, trying to make it illegal to take down inflammatory and false rhetoric from social media platforms.  They were targeting Facebook and Twitter, which, after years of comatose moderation FINALLY started taking down posts from white supremacists, insurrectionists, QAnon enthusiasts, and other weirdos pumping manure to the public.  The court blocked the law in a mixed opinion with the liberal justices, except for Kagen, plus Roberts making the ruling with the conservatives (and Kagen) voting no.  It was a relief, but it’s not over as the court sent the case back to the courts.

But that’s not the interesting part.  What’s interesting was Alito’s dissent.  He took the same side that he did in the Texas Bounty law on abortion, wanting to have a clearly unconstitutional law stand while it wound its way through the courts; but this time he said that the court will have to visit this case at some point. In his opinion he said:

“This application concerns issues of great importance that will plainly merit this court’s review,” he wrote. “Social media platforms have transformed the way people communicate with each other and obtain news. At issue is a groundbreaking Texas law that addresses the power of dominant social media corporations to shape public discussion of the important issues of the day.”

I agree that laws like this that threaten what little is left of civility in public debate are important, but I find it interesting that Alito is most concerned about social media moderation but is OK with taking away the right to vote and women’s rights to choose their own healthcare, while at the same time taking a completely hands off approach to gerrymandering, the greatest clear and present danger to the survival of our democracy.

The court’s problem is much larger than this particular opinion, and adds fuel to the fire that millions of Americans see the court now as illegitimate; I most certainly do, especially after the latest Trump/McConnell court packing that’s happened over the last decade.  The conservative super majority is cemented in now for future decades and that was accomplished by McConnell’s blatant cheating seeking retribution for Bork’s rejection by Democrats decades ago.  The court has transformed our country from a teetering and weak democracy to an oligarchy that protects the rich at the cost of everyone else.  The court now rules almost 90% in favor of corporations and has completely failed at its main responsibility, protecting the rule of law.

I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

File under: He Didn’t Really Say That, did He?

Yesterday, Flyin’ Ted decided it was time to demonstrate his total lack of self-awareness by holding a press conference in front of the Supreme Court alongside Lindsey Graham to complain about…wait for it…court packing.  During his diatribe, Cruz even said, “You didn’t see Republicans when we had control of the Senate try to rig the game.  You didn’t see us try to pack the Court,” which is precisely what we saw in 2016 and again in 2020 when Moscow Mitch brazenly blocked Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, replacing him with Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch, then Frat Boy Brett Kavanaugh, and then ramming through Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to take RBG’s seat only days before Trump’s defeat at the polls.  As a measure of the backlash of Cruz’s declaration, Merrick Garland immediately began trending on Twitter as Cruz was mocked for his idiotic declaration.

The Republicans have been packing federal courts for years, especially after McConnell triggered the nuclear option on Trump’s nominees for federal courts.  The GOP voters are so focused on court packing that they tolerate deplorables like Trump, Jordan, Gaetz, Gohmert and a plethora of other politicians simply because of their efforts to maintain an iron grip on the courts to cement in their power through gerrymandering and voter suppression.  The only way to stop it is to increase the seats on the Supreme Court and implement term limits.  Until then, partisans on the federal bench will be disrespected by half of Americans.  When a legal layman like me can predict with virtual certainty how the Supreme Court will rule on controversial cases you know that the court has been most certainly politicized, and that’s not healthy for any society, especially ours.  It’s time for that to stop, if for no other reason than to shut Flyin’ Ted’s mouth.