SNAPSHOTS FROM THE EDGE: Who is Associate Justice Barrett?

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

And why didn't anyone ask?: Is it possible that President Donald J. Trump just lost that one electoral college vote?

We refer to the EC vote the commander hopes to retain from Nebraska's second congressional district (Omaha and environs). Trump won that vote in 2016, but he could conceivably lose it this year. 

Nebraska awards three of its five electoral college votes to the winner of each of its three congressional districts. Nebraska's other two EC votes go to the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote.

(Obama won that one vote in 2008. For background, just click here.)

Last night, the commander-in-chief held a rally in Omaha, chasing that one EC vote. Did he possibly manage to lose that vote in the way the Washington Post now describes?

ELFRINK (10/28/20): By the time President Trump finished speaking to thousands of supporters at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield on Tuesday night and jetted away on Air Force One, the temperature had plunged to nearly freezing.

But as long lines of MAGA-clad attendees queued up for buses to take them to distant parking lots, it quickly became clear that something was wrong.

The buses, the huge crowd soon learned, couldn’t navigate the jammed airport roads. For hours, attendees—including many elderly Trump supporters—stood in the cold, as police scrambled to help those most at-risk get to warmth.

At least seven people were taken to hospitals, according to Omaha Scanner, which monitors official radio traffic. 

The buses in question were being provided by the Trump campaign. The buses showed up so late that some people didn't clear the freezing cold site until after midnight.

According to the Trump campaign, the breakdown resulted from unforeseeable circumstances. That said, a local Democratic pol quickly tweeted this:

HUNT (10/28/20): Supporters of the President were brought in, but buses weren’t able to get back to transport people out. It’s freezing and snowy in Omaha tonight, 

What people will do for this con man, what people have sacrificed, is so sad to me. He truly does not care about you.

"He truly doesn't care about you," state senator Megan Hunt said.  

This incident will come and go on the national stage, but it will constitute major news in the congressional district in question. Imaginably, fairly or otherwise, what happened last night could cost Commander Trump that one EC vote.

Meanwhile, how about it? Does this candidate care about his voters? Does he care about anyone else? If he's afflicted with sociopathy, it may be that he (more or less) literally doesn't!

Colorblind people can't distinguish certain colors. In a way which is vastly more significant, sociopaths aren't equipped to care about others, not even in the imperfect way the rest of us humans do.

Is Donald J. Trump  a sociopath? The press has agreed to avoid that discussion. At least in part for that reason, we the people may not understand who our commander is.

Who, or what, is Donald J. Trump? Perhaps for understandable reasons, the press corps agreed not to ask. 

That said, a related question came to mind midway through last week. Who is Amy Coney Barrett? And why didn't anyone ask?

Barrett, of course, is now an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. She'll be on the Court for the next thirty years—but who was Amy Coney Barrett in the 48 years before that?

The question arises because of an AP news report which only broke last week. As it appeared in the Washington Post, the AP report started like this, headline included:

SMITH AND BIESECKER (10/21/20): Barrett was trustee at private school with anti-gay policies 

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of private Christian schools that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain that openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom.

The policies that discriminated against LGBTQ people and their children were in place for years at Trinity Schools Inc., both before Barrett joined the board in 2015 and during the time she served.

The three schools, in Indiana, Minnesota and Virginia, are affiliated with People of Praise, an insular community rooted in its own interpretation of the Bible, of which Barrett and her husband have been longtime members. At least three of the couple’s seven children have attended the Trinity School at Greenlawn, in South Bend, Indiana.

The AP spoke with more than two dozen people who attended or worked at Trinity Schools, or former members of People of Praise. They said the community’s teachings have been consistent for decades: Homosexuality is an abomination against God, sex should occur only within marriage and marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

The AP report continued from there. We remain puzzled by the (extremely) late emergence of this information. 

Barrett testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 13 and 14. She was never asked about this matter, possibly because no one knew about it.

Borrowing from President Nixon, let us say this about that:

In one of the many ways the American public has widened the embrace of public inclusion in recent decades, it's no longer popular to have been a trustee (or a parent) at "a school with anti-gay policies."

It's no longer popular to teach that "homosexuality is an abomination against God."

Arguably, it was an abomination against democratic procedure when Barrett received a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court without this matter being reported or discussed. One wonders where Democrats were in recent years, but also the national press.

Has opposition research suddenly ceased to exist? Barrett was known to (possibly) be "next in line" for at least the past three years. It's hard to know how a matter like this could come to light only after it was too late to make any conceivable difference in any conceivable way.

The AP report on this matter came and went last week. Perhaps understandably at this juncture, it provoked very little discussion. 

That said, the chronology of this revelation remains a mystery to us. Who is Associate Justice Barrett? And why was no one able to ask her about this part of her personal history?

As we mentioned in real time, we spent two full days watching Barrett testify. As we mentioned, we were struck by how amazingly little we knew about her by the time the two days were done.

Democrats insisted on asking the types of questions they knew she wouldn't answer. A week later, we learned that no one had asked her about this part of her past.

Today, warnings are emerging across the press about the ways the Supreme Court could intervene in the aftermath of an apparent win by Candidate Biden. Was Barrett a "Manchurian nominee," one who might tip the balance toward a judicial assault on the electoral process?

We don't know how the Court might handle legal challenges to an apparent Biden win. But who is Amy Coney Barrett, and why didn't anyone ask?

We had two major reactions to Barrett's two days of testimony:

First, we noted the fact that Barrett was amazingly telegenic. Also, Democratic questioning struck us as amazingly pointless and daft.

One week later, up jumped the AP report. In our view, the fire trucks had arrived at the scene puzzlingly late. 

What the heck ever happened to oppo? We can't answer that question.

But this is one of the ways our discourse works as our tribalized nation continues to slide toward the sea. Ayt any rate, our puzzled analysts have finally reached their own decision:

They've ruled that this episode might be called a "snapshot from the edge."

Tomorrow: More snapshots from the edge!


26 comments:

  1. Whoa, this time it's 100% dembottery.

    "It's no longer popular to teach that "homosexuality is an abomination against God.""

    Oh dear. Your totalitarian mindset shows, dear Bob. Tsk. How do you know it's not popular among the parents of private Christian schools in question? We would suggest that most likely it is very popular.

    And if so, what difference does it make if it's indeed unpopular among other individuals? They are not forced to send their children to private Christian schools, dear Bob.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This.
      After Trump literally became President of the United States due to his bigotry, Bob tries to pass along the idea that the nation isn't really full of bigots.

      Delete
    2. The word "popular" is an odd choice, as if bigotry were a matter of fads and fancies and not morality.

      Delete
    3. my name is Promise dickson Finch am from Texas USA. I want to share a testimony of how Dr. OLU herbal mixture cream saves me from shame and disgrace, my penis was a big problem to me as the size was really so embarrassing,and i was also having weak erection problem. I can make love to my wife and my penis was just too small a full grown man like me having 4 inches penis and to worsen it i don't last in sex i cant even last two minutes it was really a thing of shame to me. My wife was really tired of me because my sex life was very poor,she never enjoyed sex,i was always thinking and searching for solutions everywhere until when i saw a testimony of how Dr. OLU. herbal mixture cream have been helping people regarding their sex life, so i decided to give him a try and to my greatest surprise in less than two weeks of taking the herbs my penis grow to 8 inches i couldn't believe my eyes and as i speak now my penis is now 8 inches and i do not have weak erection again. I can make love to my wife longer in bed. And my marriage is now stable,my wife now enjoy me very well in bed. You can contact him via (drolusolutionhome@gmail.com) You can contact him today and get your problem solved.Call +2348140654426 .." or you can also contact him through his what-app +238140654426  

      Delete
  2. Trump couldn't give a shit about a deadly worldwide pandemic. What would make anyone think he cares about pneumonia?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Somerby acts as though he’s gotten some sort of scoop here.

    Barrett’s beliefs were already known, to the right and the left, and they were widely reported.

    And the Democratic Senators did express concern about gay rights during the hearing, but they had to tread a fine line so as not to be seen attacking Barrett’s religious views, which are the views of many on the right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The bigotry IS the religion.
      Emulating Jesus Christ is negotiable.

      Delete
  4. Bob: you need a new SSL certificate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This has been true for a while. He doesn't care about this blog, obviously, or any of his readers.

      Delete
  5. Barrett was going to be voted in no matter what (unless they came up with evidence that she jumped on some man/women on a bed at a drunken party when she was in high school).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AC/ MA,
      It would have to be a man, she jumped on at that high school party. The GOP has already shown us, they don't care if women are sexually assaulted.

      Delete
  6. "That said, a related question came to mind midway through last week. Who is Amy Coney Barrett? And why didn't anyone ask?"

    Somerby seems to think that is someone is a sociopath, they will answer yes, if you just ask them: "Are you a sociopath?"

    Similarly, he seems to think that if ACB were asked "Are you an anti-gay bigot?" she will come right out with her beliefs and answer that yes too.

    These people know how to evade responsibility for their beliefs, how to phrase statements so that no one will object. Witness what happened when she used the code words "sexual preference". They called her on it and she backed up, but she had already signaled her homophobia to anyone with ears to hear her meaning. Next to that, serving on a board is trivial -- too far removed from her own actions.

    Somerby never says much about homophobia here. Just when he wants to do some liberal-bashing (it was the liberals who didn't ask the right questions, presumably).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Somerby asks whether Trump is a sociopath for leaving those elderly folks in the cold after his rally.

    But it wasn't Trump who screwed up the buses. It was someone on his campaign. Trump doesn't personally make arrangements for charter buses. He flew off on AF-1 presumably unaware there was any problem.

    But it is fair to ask whether other members of his campaign are sociopaths. I think it is fair to accuse the Republican party or conservatives in general of being sociopaths because they are so deficient in empathy (the feeling that would have prevented the bus screwup) that they wouldn't anticipate the needs of those attending his rally. Just like they cannot imagine how children separated from their parents feel, or how someone feels when a loved one is shot by police, or what it feels like to be forced to work in a covid-laden environment. No empathy is normal for conservatives, a whole party of sociopaths and Trump is King Sociopath. It may be why they all admire him. When Somerby pretends it is just Trump who has a problem, he ignores all the rest of his followers and supporters, the whole bunch of deplorables who have defined Democrats (and other groups) as subhuman so they can mistreat them.

    Trump perhaps defines his own followers as marks and chumps, so they don't deserve empathy. He has apparently set a bad example for his staff, so that they treated the folks on the buses badly. That's how the person at the top sets the tone. But the Republican party and conservatives in general are willing executioners in such situations.

    ReplyDelete
  8. "First, we noted the fact that Barrett was amazingly telegenic. Also, Democratic questioning struck us as amazingly pointless and daft."

    This is what happens when you go through life excessively literal. You miss the point of what Democrats were attempting to accomplish their "questioning." Treating Barrett like a real nominee when the whole process was illegitimate makes no sense. Asking questions when there is no chance in hell that a Democrat will vote to confirm her makes no sense. Her answers were irrelevant because she was part of a Republican stunt, chosen for her very radicalness in order to steal decisions that could not be won based on argument within the court.

    That Somerby understands none of this is itself deplorable. A political comedian cannot understand so little about today's politics. That's why I do not believe that anything Somerby writes these days is written in good faith.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Why worry about Barrett when we've got Trump and Kushner in the White House every day, ruining our country?

    "Jared Kushner boasted in mid-April about how President Trump had cut out the doctors and scientists advising him on the unfolding coronavirus pandemic, CNN reports.

    Said Kushner, in a taped interview with Bob Woodward: “That doesn’t mean there’s not still a lot of pain and there won’t be pain for a while, but that basically was, we’ve now put out rules to get back to work. Trump’s now back in charge. It’s not the doctors.”

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is what real media criticism is like. From Lawyers, Guns & Money blog:

    "The wish by media elites that the Republican Party isn’t what it is is kind of pathetic, largely because these are the people who are supposed to be able to analyze these kind of changes. Despite what the New York Times editorial board wants you to believe, Trump did not destroy the Republican Party. He gave Republican voters what they wanted. Republicans in 2016 had many choices on who to vote for. They chose Donald Trump, not in spite of his behavior but BECAUSE of his behavior. These voters were looking for someone like this for years–this is how clowns such as Sarah Palin, Herman Cain, and Ben Carson can have boomlets among these voters. John McCain and Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush–the dream Reupblicans of the Times editorial board–were very much not what these voters wanted. They accepted them as long as they needed to. And then Donald Trump provided what they could not get before. Moreover, Trump then proceeded to govern like a Republican in terms of policy and judges. The only things that Republican and media elites don’t like about Trump is the tweeting and, possibly, the COVID response and even there it depends. Everything else, they love.

    The Republican Party of 2024 is not substantively different than Donald Trump. First, he could run for president again if he loses. Second, Don Jr. could run instead and should instantly be thought of as a contender. Third, if there are no Trumps, there will be Trump-esque figures. Ted Cruz certainly fits the bill. There’s been lots of speculation that Tucker Carlson is preparing to run. Tom Cotton wishes he could be that guy but he has the charisma of a rock. Josh Hawley is out there. There’s no evidence that the Republican base is going to want something different in four years because they wanted Trump or someone like this long before he was a serious possibility for them.

    It would be useful if everyone would stop pretending the Republican Party is something different than what it shows us every single day."

    -------------

    Somerby's one-note bleating about Trump's supposed mental illness distracts from the reality that it isn't just Trump who is off the rails. All of them are, with some notable exceptions who are voting for Biden and have spoken out against Trump from the beginning. Meanwhile, Somerby pretends that if Trump is gone things will return to normal. Republicans will be as demented as Trump ever was, but they won't be in charge. Thank God.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trump garnered 45.9% of the vote, about 63Mil votes altogether, which represents less than 27% of adults, 18 and over, in the US. Now, granted that about 10% of the adults are probably not eligible to vote, but Trump's support doesn't even crack 1/3 of the adult population. He is likely to get fewer votes this time around, although it'll be very interesting to see whether he adds to his total compared to 2016. In any case, Trumpism does not appear to be a winning strategy.

      You could say that they next trumpesque candidate will be more subdued and less outwardly obnoxious -- but then that won't be Trump; it is a major part of his appeal in some quarters, but those quarters are not likely to expand and grow.

      Delete
  11. I want to testify on how I got cured from Herpes. I have been living with this disease for the past 11 months, i have done all i can to cure this disease but all my efforts proved abortive until i met an old friend of mine who told me about a herbal doctor called Dr Oniha, she told me that Dr Oniha have cure for all kinds of diseases, though i never believed in it because my believe was that there is no cure for Herpes disease. But I decided to give it a try when I contacted Dr Oniha, he told me he has a cure for herpes that he cured with herbal medicine. I order for the herbal medicine, which Dr Oniha sent to me through a courier service which i make use of and now behold the herpes is gone and i now have my life back,if you are out there living with this disease i will like you to also contact Dr Oniha and get this disease cured out of your body. I am a living testimony of Dr Oniha herbal cure. Thanks once again Dr Oniha for you are God sent. contact Dr oniha through his contact information.
    Email:drjohnsonlovespellcaster997@gmail.com
    Whatsapp number: +2347057052206

    ReplyDelete
  12. PLEASE READ...
    EFFECTIVE LOVE SPELL TO GET YOUR LOVE BACK AND BE HAPPY FOREVER...
    I want everyone to know how grateful I’m after the restoration of my marriage with the help of a great spell caster called Dr.BALBOSA. He is great and unique, i got his contact here online from testimonies i read about..i told him my problems and he cast a love spell that brought my husband back to me after he has cheated and wanted a divorce, to my greatest surprise my husband came begging me and our kids and he even bought a brown new car for me, i was so emotional and speechless. this is the best thing that ever happened to me and now we are living very happily . Dr.Balbosa is there to respond to your relationship problems. reach him on Email: balbosasolutionhome@gmail.com or mobile number you can also add him on WhatsApp +2347048047728...bye

    ReplyDelete
  13. I want to thank Dr Emu a very powerful spell caster who help me to bring my husband back to me, few month ago i have a serious problem with my husband, to the extend that he left the house, and he started dating another woman and he stayed with the woman, i tried all i can to bring him back, but all my effort was useless until the day my friend came to my house and i told her every thing that had happened between me and my husband, then she told me of a powerful spell caster who help her when she was in the same problem I then contact Dr Emu and told him every thing and he told me not to worry my self again that my husband will come back to me after he has cast a spell on him, i thought it was a joke, after he had finish casting the spell, he told me that he had just finish casting the spell, to my greatest surprise within 48 hours, my husband really came back begging me to forgive him, if you need his help you can contact him with via email: Emutemple@gmail.com or add him up on his whatsapp +2347012841542 is willing to help any body that need his help.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I just want the whole world to know about this spell caster I met
    two weeks ago, wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com I cannot say everything he has done for me my wife
    left me 3 years ago left with my kids I was going through online
    when I meant this wonderful man's testimony online I decided to
    give it a try and my wife is back to me now and we ar1e happily
    married again cause is too much to put in writing all I can say is
    thank you very much am very happy .and does alot of spell
    including Love Spell
    Death Spell
    Money Spell
    Power Spell
    Success Spell
    Sickness Spell
    Pregnancy Spell
    Marriage Spell
    Job Spell
    Protection Spell
    Lottery Spell
    Court Case Spell
    Luck Spell etc. In case you need his help contact him on this email
    address wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com he is a good man
    thanks.whatsapp number +234813 648 2342

    ReplyDelete
  15. I just want the whole world to know about this spell caster I met
    two weeks ago, wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com I cannot say everything he has done for me my wife
    left me 3 years ago left with my kids I was going through online
    when I meant this wonderful man's testimony online I decided to
    give it a try and my wife is back to me now and we ar1e happily
    married again cause is too much to put in writing all I can say is
    thank you very much am very happy .and does alot of spell
    including Love Spell
    Death Spell
    Money Spell
    Power Spell
    Success Spell
    Sickness Spell
    Pregnancy Spell
    Marriage Spell
    Job Spell
    Protection Spell
    Lottery Spell
    Court Case Spell
    Luck Spell etc. In case you need his help contact him on this email
    address wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com he is a good man
    thanks.whatsapp number +234813 648 2342

    ReplyDelete
  16. My name is Joel dwin  am from Texas US. I want to share a testimony of how Dr DADA herbal mixture product saves me from shame and disgrace, my penis was a big problem to me as the size was really so embarrassing,and i was also having weak erection problem. I cant make love to my wife and my penis was just too small, a full grown man like me having 4 inches penis and to worsen it i don't last in sex, i cant even last two minutes it was really a thing of shame to me. My wife was really tired of me because my sex life was very poor,she never enjoyed sex,i was always thinking and searching for solutions everywhere until when i saw a testimony of how Dr.DADA  herbal product have been helping people regarding their sex life, so i decided to give him a try and to my greatest surprise in less than one week of taking the herbs my penis grow to 8 inches i couldn't believe my eyes and as i speak now my penis is now 8 inches and i do not have week erection again. I can make love to my wife longer in bed. And my marriage is now stable,my wife now enjoy me very well in bed. You can contact him via drdadaspellhome7@gmail.com  or Whatsapp him +22367565345

    ReplyDelete
  17. The great Dr.Mark everyone has been talking about on the internet has also helped me with his love spell last week Wednesday he restored my broken relationship and brought my ex back to me. I have been with a broken heart for the past 6months after my boyfriend broke up with me but after i have read online about Dr.Mark love spell i was really pleased to contact him for the chance that i have got to get my ex back, after Dr.Mark has cast the spell for me my boyfriend came back to me after 48 hours which is last week Friday. With so much joy in my heart I want to appreciate Dr.Mark for his great help he rendered to me. incase you need his help you can also
    contact him via his email address Blessedlovetemple@gmail.com  

    ReplyDelete
  18. I just want the whole world to know about this spell caster I met
    two weeks ago, wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com I cannot say everything he has done for me my wife
    left me 3 years ago left with my kids I was going through online
    when I meant this wonderful man's testimony online I decided to
    give it a try and my wife is back to me now and we ar1e happily
    married again cause is too much to put in writing all I can say is
    thank you very much am very happy .and does alot of spell
    including Love Spell
    Death Spell
    Money Spell
    Power Spell
    Success Spell
    Sickness Spell
    Pregnancy Spell
    Marriage Spell
    Job Spell
    Protection Spell
    Lottery Spell
    Court Case Spell
    Luck Spell etc. In case you need his help contact him on this email
    address wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com he is a good man
    thanks.whatsapp number +234813 648 2342

    ReplyDelete