Skidaway Island Democrats

12 hours ago

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson. This case may give cities and states the ability to destroy shelters and penalize unhoused people who have no other housing alternatives.

In a country where support services for unhoused people are severely lacking, this case is a violent attack on some of our most already vulnerable communities.

As Justice ​​Sotomayor aptly put it during arguments, for unhoused people, “sleeping in public is kind of like breathing in public.” She went on to question, pointedly, exactly how these individuals are supposed to survive under restrictions like these — or, she asks, are they just “supposed to kill themselves?” ... See MoreSee Less

Skidaway Island Democrats

12 hours ago

In the latest legal fallout from Dobbs, the Supreme Court heard arguments this week in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States — consolidated cases that could give the right-wing justices a chance to bar medical professionals from providing emergency abortion care to pregnant people experiencing health-threatening emergencies.

These are the kinds of cases you see and think: How? How can we possibly be having this conversation in 2024? How is the highest court in the land entertaining something so horrifying?

But this is the mess the right-wing supermajority has invited and encouraged — a world where doctors are forced to wait for their patients to get sicker and sicker before they are allowed to intervene and hope enough time is left to save their lives. ... See MoreSee Less

Skidaway Island Democrats

12 hours ago

On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Trump v. United States: an opportunity for the justices to decide whether Trump should be immune from prosecution for his interference in the 2020 election.

This case could’ve — and should’ve — been heard months ago. But Trump’s hand-picked supermajority chose to hand him yet another favor by delaying arguments until the very last oral argument day of this term.

A longer wait for arguments means a longer wait for a decision. Which means, no matter how the court ultimately rules, Trump gets the delay that he wants before a potential criminal trial.

It’s another insidious move by the Roberts Court to pretend it is acting as a neutral arbiter of the law… while in reality, it is working overtime as the legal arm of the Republican Party. ... See MoreSee Less

Skidaway Island Democrats

7 days ago

It's essential to bear in mind that the disgraced former President's current "hush money" trial in New York isn't really about his paying hush money—which isn't necessarily illegal. It's about falsifying business records.

“The defendant, Donald J. Trump, falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws,” said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy. [AP]

The case is based on a 34-count felony indictment, brought more than a year ago, charging him in a scheme to bury allegations of extramarital affairs that arose during his first White House campaign.

Sadly, even if found guilty on all counts, Trump is unlikely to spend a single day in jail. The forlorn hope is that a conviction will convince at least some of his ardent supporters that the White House is no place for a convicted felon. ... See MoreSee Less