Please, please Daily Kos...

therealdrlaura

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Thursday January 25, 2024 · 10:00 AM PST

2024/01/25 · 10:00

...can we JUST ONCE be treated to a Trump-free day?

Thank you.

How to restore the legitimacy of the Supreme Court

therealdrlaura

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Monday October 26, 2020 · 6:57 PM PDT

2020/10/26 · 18:57

t is easy to see that the Court lost its legitimacy when only a bare majority became required for confirmation.
In the past, confirmation of justices was based on competence rather than partisan appeal. Furthermore, it was necessary to have a reasonable number of votes from senators of BOTH parties in order to confirm, which prevented confirmation of highly partisan and minimally qualified justices.
In looking over the confirmation number of Supreme Court justices, it is obvious that the Republicans are the ones who have politicized the court. Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Alito, and Thomas (not to mention today's travesty, which I won't sully my fingers by naming) are all hard-right and confirmed with a bare majority. Contrast this to the confirmation of Elena Kagan (63-37), Sonia Sotomayor (68-31), John Roberts (78-22), Stephen Breyer (87-9) and most notably Ruth Bader Ginsburg (96-3). [On a side note, have you notice that, with the exception of John Roberts, all the others were nominated by Democrats? And the ones who barely squeaked through were nominated by the other guys?]
I propose that, should the Democrats win the Senate (presuming we don't end up in a civil war due to voting shenanigans) we restore the 60-vote (or even two-thirds) rule, and retroactively de-confirm those Supreme Couirt justices who who confirmed by the illegitimate partisan vote. If desired, those de-confirmed justices could be eligible to go through the confirmation process again, but need the necessary votes to be seated. The number of Supreme Court justices could remain at nine, though there would have to be a rush to fill the five vacant seats

How to repair the Supreme Court

therealdrlaura

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday September 05, 2018 · 10:05 PM PDT

2018/09/05 · 22:05

Brief, but an idea I would like to see more widely discussed:

If Democrats can’t stop the latest Supreme Court nomination, then they should do like the Republicans do when they regain power: don’t hesitate to change the rules. Make a new rule (actually a return to the traditional rule) that Supreme Court Justices must be confirmed by 60 votes, and any justices not confirmed in the past by 60 votes must submit to reconfirmation by the old rules. Or just declare that the Court now consists of eleven justices, and confirm two more, using whatever rules they want.
In other words, stop bringing carrot sticks to knife fights. You can’t win against cheaters if you docilely accept the cheaters’ ad hoc rules.

When will the media stop trying to ignore Bernie?

therealdrlaura

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday February 10, 2016 · 12:42 PM PST

2016/02/10 · 12:42

My letter to the NY Times (from an old, affluent white woman):

“For months now, Bernie Sanders' supporters have been talking about how the media is trying to defeat Senator Sanders by ignoring him.

Now that he can't be totally ignored, the New York Times should be embarrassed by the extent to which it is trying to minimize his victory in New Hampshire.

On the digital front page the day after the primary the lead article headline names "Trump and Sanders," even though, given the number of votes, you would expect top billing to go to Sanders.

The article starts with a large picture of Trump, and down below is a small picture of... Kasich?

Then the lead story, which cannot manage to totally ignore Sanders, starts off with the false equivalency of Trump, who runs on personality, and Sanders, who runs on issues.

It then goes on to talk about Trump, who won 35% of the vote, for six paragraphs before Sanders, who won 60% of the vote, is grudgingly given a scant three short paragraphs.

Then follows analysis of the Republican vote, followed by talk about the Democratic vote which focuses primarily on Clinton. The article then closes with more talk about Trump.

Other front page articles: about Kasich, Cruz and Clinton, an opinion piece which blandly assumes equivalence between Sanders' populist outrage and Trump's racism and xenophobia. And another opinion piece about how Sanders' liberalism can never happen.

Please, New York Times, I know it's hard, but can you try to say the word?

Bernie. Bernie. BERNIE!”

Suzie the Wonderdog, RIP

therealdrlaura

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 04, 2009 · 12:21 PM PDT

2009/10/04 · 12:21

We never had been "dog people" - I remember my husband once explaining to someone that we weren't regular enough for a dog.

Then, for reasons too complicated to go into, along came Natalie, our daughter's puppy from hell. By the time Natalie was six months old, with the hems of most of my skirts in tatters, I decided that she was too exhausting for a family of mere people, and maybe a canine companion would keep her entertained.

therealdrlaura

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday January 14, 2009 · 9:11 AM PST

2009/01/14 · 09:11

Let's stop being cynical for just a minute. This video made me cry.

Poll

47 votes Show Results

Do you think these kids will be disappointed?

47 votes Vote Now!

Do you think these kids will be disappointed?

Yes

4 votes

37 votes

I'm willing to suspend judgement

6 votes

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Please, please Daily Kos...

How to restore the legitimacy of the Supreme Court

How to repair the Supreme Court

When will the media stop trying to ignore Bernie?

Suzie the Wonderdog, RIP

Obama surprise