• Home
  • About
  • The Rules

Badtux the Snarky Penguin

In a time of chimpanzees, I was a penguin

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Some comments on the Supreme Court coup by one of my friends
“Life begins at conception” is a religious statement, not a medical statement »

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court deliberately destroyed its own legitimacy in hopes of destroying rule of law in the United States.

June 25, 2022 by badtux99

Legitimacy.

It is what a government has when it largely represents the will of the majority of its people. Not the will of a small minority. And not imposing tyranny on that small minority either, it respects and protects the rights of that small minority. But we have a word for when a small minority rules the majority — that word is *tyranny* — and tyrannies are always illegitimate.

In the case of courts in English-speaking countries, they maintain their legitimacy via what’s known as “stare decisis”. That is, they based their opinions in court cases based upon a) current law, and b) previous opinions. This is not a new principle. It is one reason, for example, why the Catholic Church moves so slow — they have 1,500 years of precedents for papal opinions, and if a papal opinion doesn’t comply with that 1,500 years of precedent it can make only a tiny move towards a new position at a time, it can’t just throw out the old position altogether.

Stare decisis was the basis for the Supreme Court’s decisions for the past 150 years. Each new decision was couched in the language of previous decisions, or in the plain language of the law itself. This has at times caused issues when the Court recognized rights that were not currently respected, such as the right of black people to attend the same schools as white people, but even there the opinion was couched in Equal Protection language from prior court decisions. The Supreme Court didn’t come roaring out of 1945 intent upon guaranteeing equal rights to black people and simply ruling that black people had equal rights, it built decision after decision upon prior decision. When it decided “separate but equal is inherently unequal” it did not pull the decision out of its butt, it relied on 50 years of data showing that “separate but equal” never was plus language from previous Equal Protection court decisions showing that if the school segregation law was not treating citizens equally, it could not be law.

In this fashion the Supreme Court has typically been an anchor preventing radical change while providing for preservation of rights. The Court has at times gone off into evil territory — Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson come to mind — but eventually through applying the Constitution to court case after court case managed via stare decisis to come back from the dark side. Stare decisis gave legitimacy to the Court’s opinions and thus legitimacy to the notion of rule of law. And rule of law is important, because without rule of law, what you have is rule of gun, and rule of gun always ends up with the most ruthless and most murderous in charge.

Which is why it’s utter disaster for the United States that last week the Supreme Court basically threw stare decisis into the toilet in favor of a radical coup that remade American law from scratch based upon the ideological notions of the judges. By throwing out stare decisis in favor of imposing their ideology upon the nation, the Supreme Court has basically killed any legitimacy that it had. The Supreme Court fundamentally committed a right wing coup of the U.S. government last week, a coup setting five authoritarians in charge of the nation, and killing any respect that the majority of Americans have for the court.

Why is that important? It’s important because the Supreme Court relies upon other branches of government to do its work. The Supreme Court did not enforce the desegregation of Little Rock High School. The 101st Airborne did, via the intervention of the executive branch. So the Supreme Court ruled that New York’s concealed weapon law was illegal. New York’s concealed weapon law is very popular in New York State. What is the Supreme Court going to do when New York says f**k you, we’re going to continue enforcing our concealed weapon law? Joe Biden isn’t going to dispatch the 101st Airborne to free people imprisoned for violating New York’s concealed weapon law.

For those of you who have been in the military, there is an important and fundamental principle taught to every officer: Never issue a command that you know is going to be disobeyed. It destroys your legitimacy as an officer and makes it more likely that future commands are going to be disobeyed. This is what last week’s Supreme Court did — they issued a command that they know is going to be disobeyed. They issued that command because they *know* that it’s going to be disobeyed. The Supreme Court knowingly destroyed its own legitimacy. Why? Simple — the Supreme Court in the past has been a major defender of rights for minorities in America. By deliberately destroying the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, the right wing is betting that they via rule of gun can then take away rights from minorities that were previously granted by the Supreme Court.

In short, last week’s Supreme Court deliberately destroyed its own legitimacy in hopes that rule of gun rather than rule of law will become the norm in the United States. The right wing believes that because they are the most ruthless and most murderous people in America, they will come out on top when rule of law collapses because the judicial system has lost all legitimacy. Last week’s Supreme Court decisions weren’t an accidental destruction of the Court’s legitimacy — they were a deliberate destruction by people who want to burn it all down. And if you are not a white male Christian with conservative beliefs, you should be very, very worried right now.

— Badtux the “Time to get well armed, people” Penguin

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in culture of violence, democracy, deplorable people, Freedom(tm), government, law, right-wing thugs, war on America, War on Constitution, we're screwed | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on June 25, 2022 at 2:59 pm todgermanica

    It feels like 2016 again, a punch in the gut. The worst fucking nazis in the US are exultant. They are pretty sure it is Giliad now and forever.
    But OTOH firearms proficiency can be attained by liberals too: sight picture, breath control, trigger control, aim for the center of body mass, double taps if necessary, jam clearances etc. It’s not rocket surgery, lots of us dumbass US soldiers learned it in Vietnam and we’d be happy to teach it when the Trumpite Brown Shirt little Killer Kyles go out hunting liberals again.
    We have no choice but to arm up as I see it. It was never true that one rebel could beat ten yankees and it’s still a lie. The little Killer Kyles think it’s just like the movies.
    The stripping of Miranda rights reminds us of something we must never forget: NEVER SAY A FUCKING WORD TO A COP. Period. This ain’t Midsomer Murders and your local Trumpite cop ain’t no Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.
    I imagine apps will be instantly created to match needy women with out of (red) state health providers, and an Underground Railroad will start to move them around. For as long as it takes.
    Now it’s up to Joe and us to fight back. For as long as it takes.
    This GOP treasonous revolt has been in preparation since before the advent of blessed nodding St Ronny of the amaloid brain plaques. And it might take 30 years to claw back our rights. But where else are we going to go?


    • on June 30, 2022 at 10:46 pm Bukko Boomeranger

      The stripping of Miranda rights reminds us of something we must never forget: NEVER SAY A FUCKING WORD TO A COP. Period.
      You’ve probably seen it before, but the larnin’ espoused in this UToob can’t be reiterated enough: NEVER TALK TO THE POLICE! Just like you said.


  2. on June 25, 2022 at 11:11 pm Doug in Sugar Pine

    Republicans don’t care about legitimacy, they care about power.
    One quibble: It’s Plessy v Ferguson; Massy Ferguson is tractors…


    • on June 27, 2022 at 11:30 am badtux99

      Republicans care about legitimacy only if it interferes with their ability to take and hold power. Which it was.


  3. on June 27, 2022 at 4:10 pm Comrade Misfit

    Zero out the Court’s budget. Nothing for travel, nothing for legal staff, secretarial support, printing for anything else. Only enough for the guards and the custodians.



Comments are closed.

  • Categories

  • Archives

  • Twitter @badtux99

    • @RepPfluger You mean search my home with a valid search warrant signed by a judge? Yes, the DoJ can do that to me t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…/Twitter 1 day ago
    • As a programmer, I love that OS writers keep shutting off fundamental POSIX functionality because "it makes the sys… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…/Twitter 1 day ago
    • @OriginalFatSam "This Tweet is unavailable." I guess they figured out they were morons and took the trash out :)./Twitter 3 days ago
    • @EPIXHD Especially poignant now that Charlie Watts has left this mortal coil./Twitter 3 days ago
    • @OriginalFatSam Democracy and freedom aren't on Facebook's priorities list. Protecting the delicate fee-fees of fas… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…/Twitter 3 days ago
    • @oneunderscore__ Now on to bankruptcy court, where the bankruptcy judge gets to rule on whether the judgements are… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…/Twitter 6 days ago
    • @LamarWhiteJr Rain is an act of God and thus insurance doesn't cover it? But they did finally reach a settlement w… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…/Twitter 1 week ago
    • RT @AntifaRioter: Have you ever noticed the nastiest people on Twitter have Christian, God, and Jesus in their profiles?/Twitter 2 weeks ago
    • RT @lockwooddewitt: Old joke: At the beginning of a unit on DNA and genetics, the instructor asks, "Does anyone know what Watson and Crick…/Twitter 2 weeks ago
    • @lockwooddewitt She should have won the Nobel Prize rather than Watson & Crick. But women weren't allowed to win pr… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…/Twitter 2 weeks ago
  • Blogroll

    • 618 Rants and Raves
    • A Fistful Of Euros
    • All The Good Names Were Taken
    • Angry Bear
    • archy
    • Balloon Juice
    • Bark Bark Woof Woof
    • Blue Gal
    • Boat Bits
    • Boing Boing
    • Brilliant At Breakfast Rebooted
    • BUSTED KNUCKLES
    • Calculated Risk
    • driftglass
    • EconoSpeak
    • emptywheel
    • File 770
    • Grasping Reality with a Ten-Foot-Long Flexible Trunk
    • Homeless on the High Desert
    • Ian Welsh
    • Idle Hands Dep’t
    • It’s morning somewhere
    • Jim C. Hines
    • jobsanger
    • Joe.My.God.
    • Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I
    • Just Another Blog (From L.A.)™
    • Krebs on Security
    • Little Green Footballs
    • Mock Paper Scissors
    • naked capitalism
    • No More Mister Nice Blog
    • Not A Blog
    • Not A Blog #2
    • Oliver Willis
    • opensource.com
    • Outside the Beltway
    • Perspectives
    • Pharyngula
    • Real-World Economics Review Blog
    • Retirement Blues
    • Robert Reich
    • Schneier on Security
    • Stonekettle Station
    • Talking Points Memo
    • Technology as Nature
    • THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT
    • The Housing Bubble Blog
    • The League of Ordinary Gentlemen
    • The Mahablog
    • The Rag Blog
    • The Vulgar Curmudgeon
    • Under The LobsterScope
    • Unsolicited Opinion
    • Verdict
    • VRT
    • Why Now?
  • Recent Comments

    Bukko Boomeranger on Last week, the U.S. Supreme Co…
    silverapplequeen on “Life begins at concepti…
    Comrade Misfit on Last week, the U.S. Supreme Co…
    badtux99 on Last week, the U.S. Supreme Co…
    Doug in Sugar Pine on Last week, the U.S. Supreme Co…
    todgermanica on Last week, the U.S. Supreme Co…
    w3ski4me on Some comments on the Supreme C…
    badtux99 on Some comments on the Supreme C…
    Doug in Sugar Pine on Some comments on the Supreme C…
    silverapplequeen on It’s that day again
  • Admin

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Badtux the Snarky Penguin
    • Join 791 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Badtux the Snarky Penguin
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: