Billionaire-Backed Conservative Legal Groups Are Paying for Judges’ Luxury Vacations
Billionaire-Backed Conservative Legal Groups Are Paying for Judges’ Luxury Vacations
Genuinely how is this not considered illegal in the US?
If you tried this in most parts of Europe you'd be charged for committing bribery
The Supreme Court of the United States has decided that corporations are people and money is free speech.
We have become what Benjamin Franklin feared we would become. He could see the future:
“In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
The founders feared political factions forming above all and basically designed the government around not allowing factions to take absolute power, like separating the presidential office from the executive branch etc. and not even making the position clear. Presidents have basically pushed on the limits and defined the office over the years and political factions formed around economic interests of the people because of course they would. At first you basically needed a minimum amount of worked land to even vote in most states, men's suffrage happened long before women's. America was basically designed as a free real estate project and sort of still is.
So the courts are illegitimate. Got it.
What do we do about it
It's simple: stop going to court, paying taxes or supporting them in any way. Band together with like-minded people under new collectively agreed upon laws you actually will follow. Train yourselves to fight for when the thugs of the old system inevitably do come at your door. Buy land and set up intentional communities, and start putting money toward buying land in the former counties to regain control. Bribe officials in the old counties to facilitate this.
That's the bare minimum of what we should be doing right now, honestly. The bare, bare minimum.
Really we should be banding together and overthrowing those old governments.
And have been since at least Dred Scott.
The framers COMPLETELY dropped the ball on checks on the judicial.
We need a new constitution. This one was designed for information at the speed of horse, a population less than 2% the size of today's, and sets too high a bar to change the status quo. It might have been the most flexible governmental framework of its time, but that was a quarter millennium ago, before the first mass produced revolver was a twinkle in colt's eye btw.
I think most of the framers would be shocked and not necessarily pleased that we haven't by now. Then again, some of them would be upset that women and minorities can vote, so maybe their opinion wouldn't mean much.
It was basically designed around nobody having enough power to do anything that would affect landowners, or doing much in general. I think the founders would be shocked at the political factions they feared so much and considered the country a failed project. They didn't see a reason for anyone to vote that didn't hold arable land etc. Kicked the can on slavery as far down the road as they could to avoid the inevitable confrontation. Handed power back to the planters during reconstruction. Beat down any opportunity for collective public action.
To be fair they dropped the ball completely on the whole of the judiciary. They said "Okay there's a Supreme Court, and it'll have at least a Chief Justice... Congress can decide how many others there are, but they serve for life. And Congress can determine how it works otherwise. There should probably be some lower courts and stuff but Congress can figure that out later."
I used to imagine, "What would a new constitution look like if we actually invoked the clause to hold another constitutional convention?"
But imagine if we voted to hold one now, when billionaires hold so much power already. I all but guarantee that they'd make sure they had control over a majority of the delegates, and we'd end up with something that was somehow even worse than what we have today.
Before we can even have a talk of a new government, we have to get rid of the villains destroying every government from the inside.
And that will cause a power vacuum sociopaths will use to take over. It already happened to Russia.
good to know even the rich sometimes get bad coke
Ding ding ding. If it comes out of their mouth it is because they did it already or are planning to do it. It is like that employee at work who accuses someone of stealing so no one will notice that they are the thief.
“One country for sale, slightly used, quiet neighborhood, fixer upper. Act quick before the disillusioned citizens wake up from the propaganda fever dream we have lulled them into!”
Did the conservative judges rule that money equal speech and corporations are people? So the richer you are, the more speech you have and the "poors" are free to use all the money they have-- oh the poors have no money? Then they have no speech.
Bad ruling for democracy. Shame!
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
You don't say....
"b-b-but destroying democracy isn't illegal! stop oppressing me!"
We should try making bribery illegal again. That would be fun.
I'll give you a million dollars to not make bribery illegal again
-these conservative legal groups
A low level government employee would loss their job if someone takes them out to a nice dinner.
We don't need to make it illegal, it already is.
We need to start enforcing the rules across the board.
If I accept "gifts" above a very small amount it's a big deal. With inflation it got to the point we could barely have meals or celebrations with vendors when major projects were completed. Private sector is rife with this behavior though, corporate boxes at sporting venues etc. and the schmoozing.
Illegal for the people doing and taking the bribe, with real teeth.
The thing is- at least with SCOTUS justices- we can make absolutely anything illegal regarding them and they can just turn around and say, "fuck you, what are you going to do about it?" And the rest of the government says, "uh... nothing I guess?"