Latest news with #AmericanDemocracy
New York Times
05-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Makes Herself Heard, Prompting a Rebuke
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote just five majority opinions in the Supreme Court term that ended last month, the fewest of any member of the court. But her voice resonated nonetheless, in an unusually large number of concurring and dissenting opinions, more than 20 in all. Several of them warned that the court was taking lawless shortcuts, placing a judicial thumb on the scale in favor of President Trump and putting American democracy in peril. She called the majority's opinion in the blockbuster case involving birthright citizenship, issued on the final day of the term, 'an existential threat to the rule of law.' Justice Jackson, 54, is the court's newest member, having just concluded her third term. Other justices have said it took them years to find their footing, but Justice Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the court, quickly emerged as a forceful critic of her conservative colleagues and, lately, their approach to the Trump agenda. Her opinions, sometimes joined by no other justice, have been the subject of scornful criticism from the right and have raised questions about her relationships with her fellow justices, including the other two members of its liberal wing. 'She's breaking the fourth wall, speaking beyond the court,' said Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University. 'She is alarmed at what the court is doing and is sounding that in a different register, one that is less concerned with the appearance of collegiality and more concerned with how the court appears to the public.' Her slashing critiques sometimes seemed to test her colleagues' patience, culminating in an uncharacteristic rebuke from Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the case arising from Mr. Trump's effort to ban birthright citizenship. In that case, the majority sharply limited the power of district court judges to block presidential orders, even if they are patently unconstitutional. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
26-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Bill Moyers, Presidential Aide and Veteran of Public TV, Dies at 91
Bill Moyers, who served as chief spokesman for President Lyndon B. Johnson during the American military buildup in Vietnam and then went on to a long and celebrated career as a broadcast journalist, returning repeatedly to the subject of the corruption of American democracy by money and power, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 91. His son William Cope Moyers confirmed the death, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. To Americans who grew up after the 1960s, Mr. Moyers was known above all as an unusual breed of television correspondent and commentator. He was once described by Peter J. Boyer, the journalist and author, as 'a rare and powerful voice, a kind of secular evangelist.' But before that, Mr. Moyers was President Johnson's closest aide. Present on Air Force One in Dallas when Johnson took the oath of office after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Mr. Moyers played a pivotal role in the inception of Johnson's Great Society programs, and was the president's top administrative assistant and press secretary when Johnson sent hundreds of thousands of troops to fight in the Vietnam War. Mr. Moyers resigned from the administration in December 1966 at age 32, finalizing an irreparable falling out between the hot-tempered, flamboyant Johnson, who demanded unwavering loyalty, and the cool, self-contained Mr. Moyers, whom Johnson had denied several foreign policy positions. The two men never reconciled. In his 1971 memoir, 'The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969,' Johnson mentioned Mr. Moyers only fleetingly, reducing him to little more than a footnote. In his four decades as a television correspondent and commentator, Mr. Moyers, an ordained Baptist minister, explored issues ranging from poverty, violence, income inequality and racial bigotry to the role of money in politics, threats to the Constitution and climate change. His documentaries and reports won him the top prizes in television journalism, more than 30 Emmy Awards and comparisons to Edward R. Murrow, his revered predecessor at CBS. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Revisiting Justice Scalia's same-sex marriage dissent: prophetic or inflammatory?
Ten years after Justice Antonin Scalia warned in a feisty dissent that the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision "was a threat to American democracy," his scathing criticisms of judicial overreach are now amplified by the White House. President Donald Trump's posture toward the judiciary branch has been largely hostile as judges repeatedly hand down orders derailing his agenda. His accusations that they are overstepping their authority echo arguments presented by Scalia when he laid out his disagreement with the Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that same-sex marriage was a constitutional right. "Justice Scalia was actually one of the primary drivers of this," constitutional law scholar John Shu, who served in both Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital. Scalia, a textualism adherent, argued in a fiery nine-page dissent that the right to marriage was not a liberty that was spelled out in the Constitution. The 5-4 decision, in fact, stripped liberty from citizens because it took away their ability to choose the leaders they felt could enact whichever marriage-related legislation they preferred, Scalia said. At the time of the ruling, states were divided on marriage. Nearly a dozen had passed laws at that point to legalize gay marriage, which, in Scalia's and the other dissenters' minds, was the appropriate vehicle for that. "A system of government that makes the People subordinate to a committee of nine unelected lawyers does not deserve to be called a democracy," Scalia wrote. But Scalia did not stop there, blasting the "hubris" of the high court's decision and taking veiled jabs at the majority opinion author, Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee known for his flowery legal writing. Scalia is "nothing if not consistent," Marquette University legal analysis professor Lisa Mazzie observed at the time. His dissent "contains the kind of over-the-top often acerbic rhetoric we've come to associate with him." Shu, who knew Scalia personally, told Fox News Digital the late justice could go "a little overboard" at times. "He was incredibly funny, great sense of humor, a great mentor, a great teacher. But he had very strong beliefs, and for people who would criticize his writing and say that sometimes he went a little overboard in the drama potion, okay, I would tend to agree on certain cases," Shu said. "It certainly wasn't the case all the time." Critics described his Obergefell dissent as extreme and disrespectful. Among Scalia's most memorable lines: "The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie." He said Kennedy's opinion contained "straining-to-be-memorable passages" and was "couched in a style that is as pretentious as its content is egotistic." While the Trump White House is not the first to accuse judges of overstepping and infusing progressive politics into their rulings, Trump and his deputies have projected a uniquely potent rage toward the judiciary, saying the judges are encroaching on powers afforded to him under Article II of the Constitution. "Our Court System is not letting me do the job I was Elected to do," Trump wrote online in May in response to an adverse immigration ruling. In February, he lambasted a "highly political, activist Judge" who ruled the executive branch had to make payments Congress approved it to make, despite the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, moving to stop the payments. In perhaps the biggest judicial blow, the U.S. Court of International Trade struck down in May the central feature of Trump's economic agenda, his tariff plan. That decision is temporarily on hold, but after the ruling, Trump questioned the three-judge panel that went against him: "How is it possible for them to have potentially done such damage to the United States of America?" Unlike Scalia's era, the Supreme Court is now tilted 6-3 toward conservatives. It has been cautious about attempting to constrain Trump's power in the early stages of litigation. "Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY," Trump wrote of the tariff ruling.
Fox News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Joe Rogan asks Bernie Sanders if he will run for president again, what he would do on day one
Podcaster Joe Rogan asked Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Tuesday about whether he will run for president again, and Sanders revealed the key issue he would prioritize. Sanders spoke about how he has called to pause military aid to Israel until they show more leniency toward starving citizens in Gaza by ending their blockade. Sanders went on to note the difficulty of passing such policy, criticizing Israel's influence on American politics. He singled out AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) as a key example, noting they "have already knocked off good members of Congress, and they will do it again." "So all I'm saying is you got a corrupt campaign finance system, on both sides, which is rejecting the will of the American people and end up supporting powerful special interests," Sanders said. "And if we do not get a handle on that issue, I worry very much about the future of American democracy." "Are you gonna run for president again?" Rogan asked in response. "I am 83 years of age," Sanders replied. "I'm not sure the American people would be too enthusiastic -" Rogan complimented Sanders for still being very "with it" and observed, "I mean, you're a couple of years older than Biden, right? Think of that. You could be off a lot worse." Sanders went on to speak about his "Fight Oligarchy" tour across the country, noting he has attained a wide variety of support from Americans across the political spectrum, and arguing that "there is growing dissatisfaction with the current politics in America, both parties, and people want a new vision, and people want a new vision for America." Later in the conversation, Rogan appeared to allude to the 2016 election and encouraged Sanders to imagine an alternate future where "you hadn't gotten derailed, and they hadn't conspired against you, and you actually became the Democratic candidate for president, and you won, what would you have done differently?" Sanders took a moment and asked, "How many hours do we have?" Rogan assured him they have "all the time in the world" and proceeded to ask, "What would you have done the first day in office?" "Well, it's not just the first day in office," Sanders replied. "I would have dealt with this campaign finance reform issue." Sanders argued it would be better for elections to be funded by the government, so that every candidate gets the same amount of money to spend to make their case to the American public. While some might be concerned about taxpayers footing the bill for campaigns, he argued it "makes a lot more sense than having billionaires fund elections, which is what you got right now."
The Hill
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Rising: June 19, 2025
Tucker Carlson demolishes Ted Cruz on Iran, Israel; why MSM loves war! Robby Soave | RISING Robby Soave delivers a blistering take against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over the botched interview with Tucker Carlson. Obama warns America 'dangerously close' to slipping into autocracy | RISING Robby Soave and Niall Stanage react to new commentary from former President Obama warning about the future of American Democracy. Trump approves Iran attack plans, but hasn't made final decision, WSJ reports | RISING Robby Soave and Niall Stanage give latest update on the Israel-Iran war. SCOTUS upholds Tennessee ban on youth gender-affirming care; JD Vance applauds ruling | RISING Robby Soave and Niall Stanage weigh in on the Supreme Court's decision to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care. Elissa Slotkin rages at Pete Hegseth, says predecessor had more 'guts and balls' | RISING Robby Soave and Niall Stanage react to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth getting grilled by Democratic senators in the Senate Armed Services Committee. Elon Musk blasts his Grok chatbot for its response on right-wing violence | RISING Robby Soave and Niall Stanage discuss Elon Musk lashing out at his own AI chatbot Grok after it stated that right-wing violence has become 'more frequent and deadly' than left-wing attacks. Piers Morgan Debate Goes Off The Rails Over Tulsi Gabbard Testimony, Iran War | RISING Robby Soave and Niall Stanage discuss an off-the-rails interview that Piers Morgan did in which he and British George Galloway argued over DNI Tulsi Gabbard recent comments in a congressional hearing about global threats against America. RFK Jr: Starbucks will 'further MAHA its menu'; Heinz, Kraft removing artificial dyes | RISING Robby Soave and Niall Stanage discuss how Starbucks is planning to implement HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s, 'MAHA.'
