He grew a spine? Will he keep it? That would be a nice change of pace, as opposed to just one case. Well, the good guys still didn’t win, but at least he figured out something. That damn ballroom construction can start up again. Thanks for nothing to the 5 who said yes. *We* are paying for the fscking thing, not private donors. We knew it was too good to be true, especially after the cost ballooned and took off up and up because Trump has to have his 999 (!!!!!!!) person ballroom. And by the way? There is *already* a bunker under the White House. What in the hail did we need another one for? Does Trump want to be buried in it?
It’s startling to find out that Roberts dissented. He is the third person who is *unlikely* to do so, after Thomas and Alito. The corruption is nauseating. No wonder Trump and most of SCOTUS work so well together. It seems that very few people in that court have a conscience … or much of a brain, for that matter. They just do what Trump wants and never bother to think about it. It is absolutely infuriating. SCOTUS is the highest court in America. They should be apolitical. Fat chance. Not anymore. And until one of them retires when Democrats are in power, we’re stuck with a mostly corrupt, Trump-directed excuse for a court.
Courtesy of Raw Story, some quotes from Roberts:
Roberts joined with the three liberals in a dissent against his conservative colleagues, outlining what he sees as the simple, plain fact that Congress hasn’t granted any authority to move ahead with the project. “The President ordered the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new, privately funded state ballroom in its place. Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year,” he wrote. “That construction is likely unlawful.”
Roberts cited 40 U.S.C. § 8106, which states that it is illegal to construct any “building or structure … on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress.” “The ballroom is a building or structure being erected on federal park grounds — President’s Park — in the District of Columbia,” Roberts continued. “Yet Congress has not passed any law resembling ‘express authority‘ for the Executive’s construction of it.”
That was a bit longer a section than usual, but it needed to be included. Congress has not approved the construction. Therefore, the construction shouldn’t be happening. We all wish that we had our East Wing back, and this monstrosity, which is NOT privately funded, never got further than a concept. Trump had no business doing this. It’s too late now. I, at least, am still furious about the loss of the East Wing and how much history had to have been lost. It’s GONE.
It seems that Trump is getting his ballroom after all. By the time anything moves through the lower courts, it will be too late. And it’s going to be bigger than the White House. Trump is nearly impossible to comprehend. And the Pz writer who did it best is on hiatus. He is missed. In the meantime, we can both fume and be disgusted with SCOTUS.
Friends, I know everybody begs you for money. I promise you that, of all the outlets bugging you for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a bunch of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. But the rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the ability to continue our quest to tell the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
“It’s startling to find out that Roberts dissented.”
It’s not so startling when you realize that Roberts has no respect for the rule of law or the spirit of the US Constitution. He is a purely political hack, who hides his pro-corporate and anti-rights agenda under a cloud of impressive sounding legal jargon. He can count votes: he knew that five Justices were solidly in Trump’s pocket. He also knows that the GOP majority on the Court have been systematically trashing the respect for SCOTUS built up over 230 years of our national history. By issuing his dissent in the minority, he can get credit for independence without risking the wrath of Donald Trump or all those charlatans in the Federalist Society. Roberts is a Trump shill, and he will be as long as Trump is president. Don’t let a totally insignificant dissent convince you otherwise.