Sam the Sham has been saying a lot of quiet parts out loud lately. Any pretense of applying the law equitably has walked too close to open windows. If Dems can retake Congress and keep the Presidency, all the precedence that has been stripped must be codified into law.
And I guarantee that the investigative reporter who taped these comments is going to get more shit from the press than Alito and his loony wife. I sure hope ProPublica jumps on this right away.
There was never any middle ground with these assholes. It's always been my way or we'll burn you at the stake. They taught us to fear "witches" not the people who burned them alive.
There’s an embarrassing lack of pushback from Catholics that do not accept the Christian nationalist theocratic agenda. It’s a thin line between kumbaya and complicity. They’re wearing robes, in what any observer would call a temple, and basically in a priesthood-passing judgment on any matter, lifetime tenure, making up their own rules for their own enrichment, buying and selling. Trips and power are the currency of today. Don’t any of these “Christians” remember the one thing that angered Christ? It’s in Luke 19 and every single catholic knows this story and, as children, had picture books depicting Jesus turning over tables and chasing the buyers and sellers away.
The Catholic Church did not speak out against Hitler either.
This is from the Holocaust Encyclopedia:
"Catholic leaders were initially more suspicious of National Socialism than their Protestant counterparts. Nationalism was not as deeply embedded in the German Catholic Church, and the rabid anti-Catholicism of figures such as Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue during the Nazi rise to power, raised early concerns among Catholic leaders in Germany and at the Vatican. In addition, the Catholic Centre Party had been a key coalition governmental partner in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s and was aligned with both the Social Democrats and leftist German Democratic Party, pitting it politically against right-wing parties like the Nazis.
Before 1933, in fact, some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party. This ban was dropped after Hitler's March 23, 1933, speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the “foundation” for German values. The Centre Party was dissolved as part of the signing of a 1933 Concordat between the Vatican and Nazi governmental representatives, and several of its leaders were murdered in the Röhm purge in July 1934."
As for the Protestants, from the same page) "The largest Protestant church in Germany in the 1930s was the German Evangelical Church, comprised of 28 regional churches or Landeskirchen that included the three major theological traditions that had emerged from the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, and United. Most of Germany's 40 million Protestants were members of this church, although there were smaller so-called "free" Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Baptist churches.
Historically the German Evangelical Church viewed itself as one of the pillars of German culture and society, with a theologically grounded tradition of loyalty to the state. During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or "German Christians." The "German Christians" embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national "Reich Church" and supported a "nazified" version of Christianity.
The Bekennende Kirche—the "Confessing Church"—emerged in opposition to the “German Christians.” Its founding document, the Barmen Confession of Faith, declared that the church's allegiance was to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer. Both the Confessing Church and the "German Christians" remained part of the German Evangelical Church, and the result was a Kirchenkampf, or "church struggle" within German Protestantism—an ongoing debate and struggle for control between those who sought a "nazified" church, those who opposed it, and the so-called "neutral" church leaders whose priority was the avoidance both of church schism and any kind of conflict with the Nazi state." https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state#:~:text=The%20largest%20Protestant,the%20Nazi%20state.
Hell, even though CFLDFF (convicted felon little Donny f*** face) actually claims credit for Dobbs, people are blaming President Biden because he didn’t prevent it, and you think the Nat-C pair are going to be shamed? I wish it were true.
Another aspect of the recordings of the Alitos that I didn’t see pointed out until reading about it in the excellent The Status Quo column here in Substack:
Alito’s wife said 1) she didn’t like seeing a Pride flag flying across the lagoon from their summer house and was looking forward to getting free so she could fly an opposing flag and 2) was looking forward to being able to come after reporters for what they’ve written about her before the statute of limitations was up.
Meaning, she’s looking forward to 1) her husband retiring soon so she can be “free” to express herself without it reflecting on his job and 2) Trump being elected and weakening the press’s libel protections so she can sue for millions.
So it’s very much in Alito’s personal financial interest for Trump to be elected so he can retire and his wife can sue. Yet he absolutely insists on ruling on cases involving Trump.
Fuck the Alitos and all their fellow fascists on the Supreme Court. May they all burn in hell for what they are trying to do to our country. We CAN’T go back to medieval times, much as they want to. Fuck’em!!!!
I left this as a reply to Teri C, but decided to add it to Ogre's general comments with some additional comments.
The Catholic Church did not speak out against Hitler either.
This is from the Holocaust Encyclopedia:
"Catholic leaders were initially more suspicious of National Socialism than their Protestant counterparts. Nationalism was not as deeply embedded in the German Catholic Church, and the rabid anti-Catholicism of figures such as Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue during the Nazi rise to power, raised early concerns among Catholic leaders in Germany and at the Vatican. In addition, the Catholic Centre Party had been a key coalition governmental partner in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s and was aligned with both the Social Democrats and leftist German Democratic Party, pitting it politically against right-wing parties like the Nazis.
Before 1933, in fact, some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party. This ban was dropped after Hitler's March 23, 1933, speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the “foundation” for German values. The Centre Party was dissolved as part of the signing of a 1933 Concordat between the Vatican and Nazi governmental representatives, and several of its leaders were murdered in the Röhm purge in July 1934."
As for the Protestants, from the same page) "The largest Protestant church in Germany in the 1930s was the German Evangelical Church, comprised of 28 regional churches or Landeskirchen that included the three major theological traditions that had emerged from the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, and United. Most of Germany's 40 million Protestants were members of this church, although there were smaller so-called "free" Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Baptist churches.
Historically the German Evangelical Church viewed itself as one of the pillars of German culture and society, with a theologically grounded tradition of loyalty to the state. During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or "German Christians." The "German Christians" embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national "Reich Church" and supported a "nazified" version of Christianity.
The Bekennende Kirche—the "Confessing Church"—emerged in opposition to the “German Christians.” Its founding document, the Barmen Confession of Faith, declared that the church's allegiance was to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer. Both the Confessing Church and the "German Christians" remained part of the German Evangelical Church, and the result was a Kirchenkampf, or "church struggle" within German Protestantism—an ongoing debate and struggle for control between those who sought a "nazified" church, those who opposed it, and the so-called "neutral" church leaders whose priority was the avoidance both of church schism and any kind of conflict with the Nazi state." https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state#:~:text=The%20largest%20Protestant,the%20Nazi%20state.
We see this today. Two christian churches exist: Fundamentalistic far-right the-Bible-is-literal churches (the reformed churches in Germany), focusing more on the Old Testament than on love, except when they speak about themselves and churches that focus of the teachings of Jesus and welcome everyone, including the LGBT. The former shouts louder and gains more attention than the later. They are generally less educated and a more fearful crowd, except for those who join the military so they can kill "the enemy." I've had students who espoused these views. There are the Christian Nationalist Fascists supporting Trump. These people include Alito and Thomas.
“Well…would you look at that? I actually agree with something Alito said. I guess a broken clock is right twice a day after all.”
Much has been made of the Alito quote you’re reacting to there. But I don’t get the fuss. Not over that part where he notes compromise isn’t possible.
People are pointing to it saying “THIS shows his bias.” But it seems to me he's just recognizing that there is intractability on both sides and finding a common ground is impossible. That’s not expressing an opinion, it’s acknowledging reality.
On abortion the “Life begins at conception, period!”and the “A woman’s body is hers, always!” sides are not going to find a way to split the difference. Similar in 2nd Amendment vs gun control, books in schools, etc etc.
Alito has done and said other things that clearly show his bias (Doe decision, granting standing 100% of the time for conservatives and denying it 100% of the time for liberals, etc.) and that he should be impeached. But this quote, recognizing the extent of our current polarization, ain’t one of those things.
It is refreshing to read what I have been saying for years: We cannot compromise with a group whose baseline is: let pregnant women suffer and die.
Their group had a great marketing line: stop abortion and give a voice to the unborn. It sounds great, doesn’t it? It’s really forced birth with a pretty label. And it’s putting women’s lives at risk. The forced birthers don’t care about the women and we know this because they tell us the bans are working as intended.
We all heard the horror stories of women whose pregnancies were doomed and dangerous. Let’s not overlook that medical experts warned lawmakers that these were the tragic outcomes to be expected IF they enacted abortion bans. The lawmakers ignored the experts and forged ahead with their draconian abortion bans. If doctors defied the bans, they would be prosecuted.
But the “give a voice to the unborn crowd” (forced birthers) showed their true colors when there was no viable fetus that could survive the pregnancy. No baby, whether the women had an abortion or not AND STILL their abortion bans denied the women an abortion.
Instead of fixing the horror they’ve created, the forced birthers told us the bans were working as intended AND they want a national ban because it is their sincerely held belief that the voiceless unborn and blah, blah, blah. IOW, let the women suffer and die.
So even if no baby will result, the forced birthers don’t want woman to have an abortion. And if a women manages to get an abortion, some states want her arrested and imprisoned, some want her to get the death penalty.
There is no way to compromise with forced birthers. Their abortion bans are cruel and deadly.
I’m sure we can contact Dick Durbin and get him started on a SCOTUS investigation right away! Why don’t we try that?
Also, let’s all sign an open letter to the billionaire-owned major media companies asking them to stop both-sides-ing democracy and fascism! That’ll change their reportage!
And certainly we can count on mainstream Democratic leadership inside the Biden administration and out to boldly stand up and embrace the risk of criticism and threat by calling out lies as lies, threats as threats and harm as harm, again and again as continuously and aggressively as the far-Right does with its agenda!
Sadly, I have to like this post. Public accountability can be excruciating and it needs to happen now...to this couple and Clarence Thomas and his wife (bless her heart). We don't have to be vulgar, just present and persistent.
Sam the Sham has been saying a lot of quiet parts out loud lately. Any pretense of applying the law equitably has walked too close to open windows. If Dems can retake Congress and keep the Presidency, all the precedence that has been stripped must be codified into law.
And I guarantee that the investigative reporter who taped these comments is going to get more shit from the press than Alito and his loony wife. I sure hope ProPublica jumps on this right away.
There was never any middle ground with these assholes. It's always been my way or we'll burn you at the stake. They taught us to fear "witches" not the people who burned them alive.
There’s an embarrassing lack of pushback from Catholics that do not accept the Christian nationalist theocratic agenda. It’s a thin line between kumbaya and complicity. They’re wearing robes, in what any observer would call a temple, and basically in a priesthood-passing judgment on any matter, lifetime tenure, making up their own rules for their own enrichment, buying and selling. Trips and power are the currency of today. Don’t any of these “Christians” remember the one thing that angered Christ? It’s in Luke 19 and every single catholic knows this story and, as children, had picture books depicting Jesus turning over tables and chasing the buyers and sellers away.
The Catholic Church did not speak out against Hitler either.
This is from the Holocaust Encyclopedia:
"Catholic leaders were initially more suspicious of National Socialism than their Protestant counterparts. Nationalism was not as deeply embedded in the German Catholic Church, and the rabid anti-Catholicism of figures such as Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue during the Nazi rise to power, raised early concerns among Catholic leaders in Germany and at the Vatican. In addition, the Catholic Centre Party had been a key coalition governmental partner in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s and was aligned with both the Social Democrats and leftist German Democratic Party, pitting it politically against right-wing parties like the Nazis.
Before 1933, in fact, some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party. This ban was dropped after Hitler's March 23, 1933, speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the “foundation” for German values. The Centre Party was dissolved as part of the signing of a 1933 Concordat between the Vatican and Nazi governmental representatives, and several of its leaders were murdered in the Röhm purge in July 1934."
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state#:~:text=Catholic%20leaders%20were,in%20July%201934.
As for the Protestants, from the same page) "The largest Protestant church in Germany in the 1930s was the German Evangelical Church, comprised of 28 regional churches or Landeskirchen that included the three major theological traditions that had emerged from the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, and United. Most of Germany's 40 million Protestants were members of this church, although there were smaller so-called "free" Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Baptist churches.
Historically the German Evangelical Church viewed itself as one of the pillars of German culture and society, with a theologically grounded tradition of loyalty to the state. During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or "German Christians." The "German Christians" embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national "Reich Church" and supported a "nazified" version of Christianity.
The Bekennende Kirche—the "Confessing Church"—emerged in opposition to the “German Christians.” Its founding document, the Barmen Confession of Faith, declared that the church's allegiance was to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer. Both the Confessing Church and the "German Christians" remained part of the German Evangelical Church, and the result was a Kirchenkampf, or "church struggle" within German Protestantism—an ongoing debate and struggle for control between those who sought a "nazified" church, those who opposed it, and the so-called "neutral" church leaders whose priority was the avoidance both of church schism and any kind of conflict with the Nazi state." https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state#:~:text=The%20largest%20Protestant,the%20Nazi%20state.
Hell, even though CFLDFF (convicted felon little Donny f*** face) actually claims credit for Dobbs, people are blaming President Biden because he didn’t prevent it, and you think the Nat-C pair are going to be shamed? I wish it were true.
I love this new acronym. 😊
I can’t take credit for it., but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Another aspect of the recordings of the Alitos that I didn’t see pointed out until reading about it in the excellent The Status Quo column here in Substack:
Alito’s wife said 1) she didn’t like seeing a Pride flag flying across the lagoon from their summer house and was looking forward to getting free so she could fly an opposing flag and 2) was looking forward to being able to come after reporters for what they’ve written about her before the statute of limitations was up.
Meaning, she’s looking forward to 1) her husband retiring soon so she can be “free” to express herself without it reflecting on his job and 2) Trump being elected and weakening the press’s libel protections so she can sue for millions.
So it’s very much in Alito’s personal financial interest for Trump to be elected so he can retire and his wife can sue. Yet he absolutely insists on ruling on cases involving Trump.
So true!
I think we need to win the House and Senate and impeach the shit out of these people!
Fuck the Alitos and all their fellow fascists on the Supreme Court. May they all burn in hell for what they are trying to do to our country. We CAN’T go back to medieval times, much as they want to. Fuck’em!!!!
Totally agree, he’s a fucking traitor and his little Karen too!!
I left this as a reply to Teri C, but decided to add it to Ogre's general comments with some additional comments.
The Catholic Church did not speak out against Hitler either.
This is from the Holocaust Encyclopedia:
"Catholic leaders were initially more suspicious of National Socialism than their Protestant counterparts. Nationalism was not as deeply embedded in the German Catholic Church, and the rabid anti-Catholicism of figures such as Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue during the Nazi rise to power, raised early concerns among Catholic leaders in Germany and at the Vatican. In addition, the Catholic Centre Party had been a key coalition governmental partner in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s and was aligned with both the Social Democrats and leftist German Democratic Party, pitting it politically against right-wing parties like the Nazis.
Before 1933, in fact, some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party. This ban was dropped after Hitler's March 23, 1933, speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the “foundation” for German values. The Centre Party was dissolved as part of the signing of a 1933 Concordat between the Vatican and Nazi governmental representatives, and several of its leaders were murdered in the Röhm purge in July 1934."
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state#:~:text=Catholic%20leaders%20were,in%20July%201934.
As for the Protestants, from the same page) "The largest Protestant church in Germany in the 1930s was the German Evangelical Church, comprised of 28 regional churches or Landeskirchen that included the three major theological traditions that had emerged from the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, and United. Most of Germany's 40 million Protestants were members of this church, although there were smaller so-called "free" Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Baptist churches.
Historically the German Evangelical Church viewed itself as one of the pillars of German culture and society, with a theologically grounded tradition of loyalty to the state. During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or "German Christians." The "German Christians" embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national "Reich Church" and supported a "nazified" version of Christianity.
The Bekennende Kirche—the "Confessing Church"—emerged in opposition to the “German Christians.” Its founding document, the Barmen Confession of Faith, declared that the church's allegiance was to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer. Both the Confessing Church and the "German Christians" remained part of the German Evangelical Church, and the result was a Kirchenkampf, or "church struggle" within German Protestantism—an ongoing debate and struggle for control between those who sought a "nazified" church, those who opposed it, and the so-called "neutral" church leaders whose priority was the avoidance both of church schism and any kind of conflict with the Nazi state." https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state#:~:text=The%20largest%20Protestant,the%20Nazi%20state.
We see this today. Two christian churches exist: Fundamentalistic far-right the-Bible-is-literal churches (the reformed churches in Germany), focusing more on the Old Testament than on love, except when they speak about themselves and churches that focus of the teachings of Jesus and welcome everyone, including the LGBT. The former shouts louder and gains more attention than the later. They are generally less educated and a more fearful crowd, except for those who join the military so they can kill "the enemy." I've had students who espoused these views. There are the Christian Nationalist Fascists supporting Trump. These people include Alito and Thomas.
“Well…would you look at that? I actually agree with something Alito said. I guess a broken clock is right twice a day after all.”
Much has been made of the Alito quote you’re reacting to there. But I don’t get the fuss. Not over that part where he notes compromise isn’t possible.
People are pointing to it saying “THIS shows his bias.” But it seems to me he's just recognizing that there is intractability on both sides and finding a common ground is impossible. That’s not expressing an opinion, it’s acknowledging reality.
On abortion the “Life begins at conception, period!”and the “A woman’s body is hers, always!” sides are not going to find a way to split the difference. Similar in 2nd Amendment vs gun control, books in schools, etc etc.
Alito has done and said other things that clearly show his bias (Doe decision, granting standing 100% of the time for conservatives and denying it 100% of the time for liberals, etc.) and that he should be impeached. But this quote, recognizing the extent of our current polarization, ain’t one of those things.
His wife is a happy Nazi she’s worse!
I used to be a journalist. Then, I was a professor who taught journalism. Now, I am appalled at what journalism has become.
It is refreshing to read what I have been saying for years: We cannot compromise with a group whose baseline is: let pregnant women suffer and die.
Their group had a great marketing line: stop abortion and give a voice to the unborn. It sounds great, doesn’t it? It’s really forced birth with a pretty label. And it’s putting women’s lives at risk. The forced birthers don’t care about the women and we know this because they tell us the bans are working as intended.
We all heard the horror stories of women whose pregnancies were doomed and dangerous. Let’s not overlook that medical experts warned lawmakers that these were the tragic outcomes to be expected IF they enacted abortion bans. The lawmakers ignored the experts and forged ahead with their draconian abortion bans. If doctors defied the bans, they would be prosecuted.
But the “give a voice to the unborn crowd” (forced birthers) showed their true colors when there was no viable fetus that could survive the pregnancy. No baby, whether the women had an abortion or not AND STILL their abortion bans denied the women an abortion.
Instead of fixing the horror they’ve created, the forced birthers told us the bans were working as intended AND they want a national ban because it is their sincerely held belief that the voiceless unborn and blah, blah, blah. IOW, let the women suffer and die.
So even if no baby will result, the forced birthers don’t want woman to have an abortion. And if a women manages to get an abortion, some states want her arrested and imprisoned, some want her to get the death penalty.
There is no way to compromise with forced birthers. Their abortion bans are cruel and deadly.
I’m sure we can contact Dick Durbin and get him started on a SCOTUS investigation right away! Why don’t we try that?
Also, let’s all sign an open letter to the billionaire-owned major media companies asking them to stop both-sides-ing democracy and fascism! That’ll change their reportage!
And certainly we can count on mainstream Democratic leadership inside the Biden administration and out to boldly stand up and embrace the risk of criticism and threat by calling out lies as lies, threats as threats and harm as harm, again and again as continuously and aggressively as the far-Right does with its agenda!
Sadly, I have to like this post. Public accountability can be excruciating and it needs to happen now...to this couple and Clarence Thomas and his wife (bless her heart). We don't have to be vulgar, just present and persistent.