;)
April 23, 2022
Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russian troops have captured a number of small towns in recent days but made no major territorial gains.... Ukrainians, Western allies and analysts were taking stock of a Russian commander's statement on Friday that Moscow intended to take 'full control' of southern Ukraine all the way to Moldova, Ukraine's southwestern neighbor.... His remarks hinted at ambitions reaching beyond Ukraine's borders, into a sliver of land in Moldova that is controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.... Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said on Friday that his country was considering sending tanks to Poland so that Warsaw could then send its own tanks to Ukraine; the United States previously said it was coordinating a similar transfer." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of growing Russian irredentism late Friday, cautioning that the invasion of Ukraine was 'intended only as a beginning ... they want to capture other countries.' Zelensky's remarks came after a Russian commander said the Kremlin intends to establish a path through Ukraine to a breakaway territory in Moldova.... Evidence of widespread atrocities continues to emerge from the devastated southern port city of Mariupol.... A flurry of diplomatic endeavors to peacefully resolve the war continues, even as Russia claims that talks with Ukraine have stalled. U.N. Secretary General António Gutierrez heads to Moscow next Tuesday to meet with ... Vladimir Putin, before visiting Ukraine on Thursday for discussions with Zelensky. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has hosted a previous round of peace talks, plans on calling Putin and Zelensky in the coming days to push for a leaders' summit in Istanbul."
~~~ Marie: Okay, I hadda look up "irredentism." It means, "a policy of advocating the restoration to a country of any territory formerly belonging to it." And here I thought it must have something to do with aching teeth. ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's full report is here.
Kate Conger & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Hackers claim to have broken into dozens of Russian institutions over the past two months, including the Kremlin's internet censor and one of its primary intelligence services, leaking emails and internal documents to the public in an apparent hack-and-leak campaign that is remarkable in its scope. The hacking operation comes as the Ukrainian government appears to have begun a parallel effort to punish Russia by publishing the names of supposed Russian soldiers who operated in Bucha, the site of a massacre of civilians, and agents of the F.S.B., a major Russian intelligence agency, along with identifying information like dates of birth and passport numbers. It is unclear how the Ukrainian government obtained those names or whether they were part of the hacks."
Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "A Russian court on Friday charged dissident writer and Washington Post opinions contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza with spreading what it considers 'false' information about the nation's military after he called the government 'a regime of murderers' in an interview earlier this month. Kara-Murza was arrested outside his home in Moscow last week and is serving a 15-day detention for allegedly evading police. The more serious charge -- an alleged violation of a vaguely-defined law supported by ... Vladimir Putin and enacted by Russia's parliament just after the country's invasion of Ukraine -- was leveled Friday by a court in Moscow, according to a charging document posted on Facebook by his attorney, Vadim Prokhorov. Kara-Murza, 40, who lives with his family in Northern Virginia, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted."
Aaron Blake & Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Thursday offered his most explicit statement to date that he threatened not to defend NATO allies from attacks by Russia. Appearing at an event held by the Heritage Foundation in Florida, Trump claimed that he told fellow NATO leaders that he might not abide by NATO's Article 5 collective-defense clause if those countries didn't pay more for the alliance. A fellow leader 'said, "Does that mean that you won't protect us in case -- if we don't pay, you won't protect us from Russia' -- was the Soviet Union, but now Russia,' Trump said. 'I said, "That's exactly what it means."' Trump implied that it was a negotiating tactic.... The comments ... don't fully jibe with how others described the conversations then, although they may still be an accurate window into how he felt. Leaders and others who were inside the room at that summit said ... Trump said that if countries did not live up to their spending targets by the end of 2018, he would 'do his own thing.'..." ~~~
~~~ digby republishes much of the WashPo report & writes, "There is little doubt that [Trump's] ill-conceived and ignorant posturing led to what's happening today in Ukraine as Putin thought the alliance was weak and it was time to make his move. There are a lot of reasons for that but Trump's sophomoric understanding of world affairs certainly made everything much, much worse."
At the Liars' Club, Ctd.
** Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, told G.O.P. lawmakers in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that ... Donald J. Trump acknowledged that he bore 'some responsibility' for what happened that day, new audio revealed. The audio obtained by The New York Times that emerged on Friday is part of a series of new revelations about Republican leaders' private condemnations of Mr. Trump in the days after his supporters stormed the Capitol as part of an effort to stop the certification of electoral votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr. 'Let me be very clear to all of you, and I have been very clear to the president: he bears responsibilities for his words and actions,' Mr. McCarthy said on the call, which took place on Jan. 11. 'No if, ands or buts.... I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened?' Mr. McCarthy said. 'Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened and he'd need to acknowledge that.' Mr. McCarthy's assertion is at odds with the former president's refusal, then and now, to accept responsibility for the deadly attack." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The story has been revised, with Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns on the byline: "Mr. McCarthy's assertion would be the clearest indication yet that Mr. Trump may have admitted some measure of culpability for the deadly mob.... Mr. McCarthy on Thursday called the report [that he had suggested to Mr. Trump that he should resign] 'totally false and wrong,' but the claim was swiftly disproved when The Times published a recording of the call hours later. On Friday, he repeated the falsehood, telling reporters in Ridgecrest, Calif., 'I never thought that he should resign.' The exposure of Mr. McCarthy's dishonesty comes at a pivotal moment in the 57-year-old Republican leader's long-plotted rise to power.... In private, Mr. Trump enjoyed watching Mr. McCarthy's misfortune, according to four people who had spoken to him...." A CNN report is here. ~~~
~~~ Supplicant McCarthy Seeks Absolution from the Lord High Executioner. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) spoke on the phone Thursday night about a newly released audio of McCarthy telling Republican leaders that Trump should resign in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to two people familiar with the conversation. The audio contradicted McCarthy's claim that he didn't push for Trump to resign after the deadly insurrection by a pro-Trump mob. On Friday, more audio clips surfaced in which McCarthy says, 'I've had it with this guy,' and blamed Trump for the storming of the Capitol. McCarthy called Trump after the audio was released. The former president was not upset about McCarthy's remarks and was glad the Republican leader didn't follow through, which Trump saw as a sign of his continued grip on the Republican Party, according to the three people...." (Also linked yesterday.) The transcript of an NPR report is here. ~~~
~~~ Update. "It's Not Like He Really Trusts Him." Peter Nicholas & Scott Wong of NBC News: "... in an interview Friday with The Wall Street Journal, Trump indicated there was no ill-will between him and McCarthy, even after the recordings surfaced. 'He made a call. I heard the call. I didn't like the call,' Trump said, before quickly adding that McCarthy flew down to Florida to meet him just a few weeks later that January to show his support. 'The support was very strong,' he added. When asked if he still backs McCarthy for speaker if Republicans win the majority in November, Trump ... [said,] 'Well, I don't know of anybody else that's running, and I think that I've had actually a very good relationship with him,' Trump said. 'I like him. And other than that brief period of time, I suspect he likes me quite a bit.' One person close to Trump told NBC News that McCarthy called the former president and apologized for his leaked remarks to Cheney. 'He said he was placating Liz and he was paying her lip service,' said the person, who spoke with Trump about the call. 'Trump isn't really mad. He's got other things on his mind. He accepts Kevin for who he is. It's not like he really trusts him.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Two things struck me. (1) Trump sounds even more simple-minded than usual. "He made a call. I heard the call. I didn't like the call." Trump speaks like a first-grade or Dr. Seuss primer. (2) The way liars interact. First, they assume the other person is lying because they all lie all the time. Then, they use the lies in the way they consider to be most advantageous to themselves. In the here and now only, Trump wants it known that McCarthy came groveling, and that McCarthy will have to keep groveling. He wants it known that McCarthy is a liar -- he lied to Liz Cheney, too -- and that McCarthy is untrustworthy. He has set McCarthy up for a fall. ~~~
~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Representative Kevin McCarthy's denial of disparaging comments he made about ... Donald J. Trump after the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, exposed a widely known but seldom seen phenomenon in Washington: the hypocrisy of Republicans who have privately scorned Mr. Trump while publicly defending him.... In the Republican Party, which has coalesced around Mr. Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him, falsehoods have become routine and even accepted.... 'I think it's all a big compliment, frankly,' Mr. Trump told The [Wall Street] Journal, referring to Mr. McCarthy and other Republicans who criticized him immediately after the Capitol attack but then relented. 'They realized they were wrong and supported me.'"
Luke Broadwater & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows, the final chief of staff for ... Donald J. Trump, was told that plans to try to overturn the 2020 election using so-called alternate electors were not 'legally sound' and that the events of Jan. 6 could turn violent, but he pushed forward with a rally anyway, the House committee investigating the Capitol attack alleged in a Friday night court filing. In the 248-page filing, lawyers for the committee highlighted the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, a White House aide in Mr. Meadows's office, who revealed new details about the events that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress.... Ms. Hutchinson -- who testified twice before the panel in closed-door interviews in February and March -- said Anthony M. Ornato, the former White House chief of operations, told Mr. Meadows that 'we had intel reports saying that there could potentially be violence on the 6th. And Mr. Meadows said: All right. Let's talk about it.'... The committee put forward the evidence Friday to try to persuade a federal judge in Washington to throw out Mr. Meadows's suit against the panel." The Hill's report is here. An AP report is here. ~~~
~~~ Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "Republican members of Congress were heavily involved in calls and meetings with ... Donald Trump and his top aides as they devised a strategy to overturn the election in December 2020, according to new evidence filed in federal court late Friday. Deposition excerpts filed by the Jan 6. select committee -- part of an effort to force former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to appear for an interview -- suggest that some of Trump's top allies in Congress were frequently present in meetings where a handful of strategies to prevent Joe Biden from taking office were discussed, including efforts to replace the leadership of the Justice Department with figures who would sow doubts about the legitimacy of the election. Lawmakers who attended meetings, in person or by phone, included Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and numerous members of the House Freedom Caucus, according to Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Meadows who provided key testimony about the conversations and meetings Meadows had in December 2020.... Members traded theories about ways to push then-Vice President Mike Pence to single-handedly stop Biden's election, they parried with the White House Counsel's Office on the boundaries of the law regarding presidential electors, and they met directly with Pence's staff to encourage him to take direct action on Jan. 6, when Congress convened to count electoral votes."
Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A man who joked about storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with a can of beer in his hand said Friday that he regretted his actions. They were 'stupid posts that were never meant to be taken seriously,' Thomas Paul Conover, 53, of Keller, Tex., said in federal court in Washington, D.C., before being sentenced for illegally demonstrating in the Capitol.... 'I now realize it was extremely inappropriate.'... Conover recorded himself throughout the riot and posed for photographs inside with a can of beer. Outside, he announced on video, 'I don't always storm the Capitol of the United States of America, but when I do, I prefer Coors Light.'... Judge Florence Y. Pan ordered Conover to spend 30 days in a halfway house, 36 months on probation, perform 60 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine.... He said he was 'ashamed' to be 'forever entwined' with the violence of the day -- 'it's not who I am.'" MB: Tom, that's exactly who you are: a flaming nitwit who thinks an insurrection against your own country is funny.
Life & Death in Second-Amendment America. Abené Clayton of the Guardian: "Gun violence overtook car accidents as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the US in 2020, according to a report from the University of Michigan. The finding was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday as part of longer term research effort from the university's Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention (IFIP).... These deaths include incidents of suicide, accidental shootings and homicides, with homicides outpacing the other two categories.... The rise in shooting deaths among the nation's youngest is part of a larger increase in homicides in that same time period." MB: You can thank Republicans in general & the confederate Supremes in particular for this.
Coral Marcos of the New York Times: "Stocks slid on Friday, with the S&P 500 capping a third consecutive weekly decline as Wall Street quickly changed its expectation for how aggressively the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. The S&P 500 fell 2.8 percent, its worst day since early March. The index is down 5.7 percent for April so far, and more than 10 percent for the year. The latest swing lower for stocks began on Thursday, after the Fed chair, Jerome H. Powell, sealed expectations that the central bank would raise interest rates by half a percentage point when it meets next month."
Adam Satariano in the New York Times: "The European Union reached a deal on Saturday on landmark legislation that would force Facebook, YouTube and other internet services to combat misinformation, disclose how their services amplify divisive content and stop targeting online ads based on a person's ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. The law, called the Digital Services Act, is intended to address social media's societal harms by requiring companies to more aggressively police their platforms for illicit content or risk billions of dollars in fines."
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Katie Glueck & Frances Robles of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday revoked Disney's special tax and self-governing privileges in Florida, culminating an extraordinary clash between one of the Republican Party's leading figures and a powerful company with deep historical ties to his state. The move, which reverses a 55-year arrangement effectively allowing the company to self-govern its theme park complex, came after a weekslong battle with Disney that became a symbol of the country's broader cultural fights over education, sexuality and identity.... Widely seen as retaliation, Mr. DeSantis's move illustrated just how drastically the G.O.P. has transformed from the days when its leaders often moved in lock step with the nation's largest businesses. The episode also showed how major companies have felt rising pressure to take a stand on heated political issues." An AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The move is "widely seen as retaliation" because DeSantis said it was: "'I'm just not comfortable having that type of agenda get special treatment in my state,' Mr. DeSantis said on Friday, denouncing how Disney had responded to the ['Don't Say Gay'] legislation...." And as Mother Jones reported (linked next), "DeSantis said Disney's opposition to the bill 'crossed a line.'" ~~~
~~~ Pema Levy of Mother Jones: "'It is a violation of the First Amendment for the government to punish a corporation because of the company's expressed viewpoints on political issues,' says Adam Winkler, a constitutional law specialist at UCLA School of Law.... 'I think that we will see legal challenges to this. And I think there will be constitutional challenges to it.'... Under Supreme Court precedent from 1972, the government cannot rescind a privilege once granted for improper reasons such as retaliation for political speech. And Disney's actions -- both its statements and its decision to pause its donations [to Florida politicians] -- are protected First Amendment activity. Over the last century, the Supreme Court has extended civil rights to corporations, insulating them from government reprisal for exercising those rights. It wasn't long ago that Republicans were cheering this trend."
Florida. Dana Goldstein & Stephanie Saul of the New York Times on Florida's rejection of math textbooks: "The New York Times was able to review 21 of the rejected books and see what may have led the state to reject them. Because Florida has released so few details about its textbook review process, it is unknown whether these examples led to the rejections. But they do illustrate the way in which these concepts appear -- and don't appear -- in curriculum materials." This is a much more comprehensive report on the rejected textbooks than the WashPo story linked earlier today. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Judd Legum & others at Popular Information also looked at eight of the rejected textbooks and found that the very worst thing they did was to encourage young children to work together. One textbook, oh horrors, featured a couple of Black mathematicians. You knew that would be a problem. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Georgia Congressional Race. Jonathan Weisman & Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, on Friday repeated false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election as she defended her actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, in an extraordinary hearing that asked whether she should be labeled an 'insurrectionist' and barred from office under the Constitution. While under oath at an administrative law hearing in Atlanta, Ms. Greene insisted that 'a tremendous amount of fraudulent activity' had robbed ... Donald J. Trump of his re-election, an assertion that has been soundly refuted by multiple courts, Republican-led recounts and Mr. Trump's own attorney general, William P. Barr. But despite her exhortations on social media to '#FightForTrump,' she said she had possessed no knowledge that protesters intended to invade the Capitol on Jan. 6, or disrupt the congressional joint session called to count the electoral votes and confirm Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory. She said she did not recall meeting with any of the instigators.... The legal case appeared to be on shaky ground as the administrative law judge, Charles R. Beaudrot, repeatedly sided with Ms. Greene's lawyer, the prominent conservative election attorney James Bopp Jr.... The final decision [on whether or not Greene can remain on the ballot] will fall to Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger [R]...." Read on. Greene repeatedly could not recall saying things that have been reported or that she posted on Twitter. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Matthew Brown & Feliciz Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, testifying Friday about her alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as part of a case seeking to disqualify her from seeking reelection, said she could not remember whether she urged ... Donald Trump to impose martial law as a way to remain in power....[An] exchange [between Greene & an attorney for the plaintiff] was one of dozens of times during Friday's hearing that Greene said she could not recall her tweets or statements related to the attack." (Also linked yesterday.) A CNN report is here. Neal Katyal, appearing on MSNBC, said Greene's testimony demonstrated that her memory was worse than Harold & Kumar's when they were high on dope.
North Carolina House Race. Michael Kruse of Politico: "Photographs obtained by Politico appear to show Madison Cawthorn, the embattled Republican congressman from North Carolina who recently accused his GOP colleagues of inviting him to orgies, wearing lingerie in what appears to be a party setting. Cawthorn, 26, was raised in a conservative Baptist community in Henderson County, North Carolina, and has staked his political persona on arch-traditional Christian principles and the insistence of the importance of a kind of hypermasculinity. His comments about 'the sexual perversion' in Washington made on a podcast, which he later admitted were exaggerated, drew the public disapproval and disavowal of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as well as other Republican leaders including those in his North Carolina congressional caucus.... The primary in North Carolina is May 17. Cawthorn has seven Republican opponents...." ~~~
~~~ Yeah But. Steve M. argues, "This isn't drag drag! This is normal-people drag!... Maybe the drag pictures will hurt him, but I don't see it.... I credit Kevin McCarthy with this leak."
Tennessee. Sam Levine of the Guardian: "A Memphis prosecutor has dropped all criminal charges against Pamela Moses, the Memphis woman who was sentenced to six years in prison for trying to register to vote. Moses was convicted last year and sentenced in January. She was granted a new trial in February after the Guardian published a document ... that had not been given to her defense ahead of the trial.... The case stirred national outrage because it underscored disparities in the way Black people are punished for voting errors. Several white defendants elsewhere have been sentenced to probation for impersonating family members and voting on their behalf.... Amy Weirich, the Shelby county district attorney, who prosecuted the case..., noted that Moses is permanently barred from voting in Tennessee.... Tennessee has some of the harshest policies regarding the restoration of voting rights in the US."
News Lede
Washington Post: "A man who police believe indiscriminately shot at people from an apartment Friday, wounding three adults and a child and spreading fear in the Van Ness area of Northwest Washington, apparently took his own life as tactical officers breached his door. D.C. police Chief Robert J. Contee III said officers found six firearms, including long guns, hand guns and ammunition, along with a tripod used to mount rifles in the apartment where the man was found dead.... The chief described a 'sniper-like setup' in the a fifth-floor apartment that overlooked the shooting scene outside the Edmund Burke School." A Reuters story, republished in the Guardian, is here.
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Reader Comments (10)
April 23 is UNESCO World Book Day. I'm assuming that in some
circles, that will be understood as the day all of those sexual math
books will be burned as well as all history books, or any book
mentioning one of those hated minorities.
We certainly wouldn't want those kids reading opposing views on
any subject. How does that work in math? Oh, maybe like: one minus
2/5ths equals 3/5ths. Now what minority would that refer to?
Answer for Forrest: the “other,” of course.
@Forrest Morris: Now that is an excellent math/logic word problem. And at least 2/5ths of wingers can solve it. For Extra Credit, I suggest, "If 1/3rd of the 3/5ths persons are 1/2 white, how many white people are there?" Okay, it's a trick question. The answer is, "Same as the number of white people as if the 3/5ths persons were 100% non-white."
Speaking of logic, for an excellent treatise on Trumpian logic, see Akhilleus' full explanation near the end of yesterday's thread.
Based on my observation of Putin sitting opposite another old man on the other side of a short table: Putin sits without moving the whole time, his right hand gripping the table without moving, and his face has a pale sheen (masked facies). I believe Parkinson’s disease, not the war, explains what we see and why he has been almost invisible in public. It’s not entirely unusual to have delusions with Parkinson’s. It’s common for people (including Hitler) to grab things to hide their tremors. I know he keeps a poker face, but this flatness of expression is immovable. Okay, there you go with my Saturday morning diagnosis.
Word Police: In the linked NYT article about Rep(R-ehensible) Greene's treason hearing, Mssrs. Weisman and Vigdor, writers, wrote that Miz G "...refut(ed) ...
tales of conspiracy promoted by some democrats.
"Refute" means to prove an accusation is wrong. Miz G did not prove anything. She denied and evaded.
"Tales of conspiracy" discredits the probable truth that Miz G collaborated with persons seeking to obstruct the electoral vote count. The word "tales" implies fiction.
"Some democrats" vastly understates and misrepresents the number and variety of accusers.
These guys need to go.
@Patrick: Good catch. But a second definition of "refute" is "to deny the truth or accuracy of." Still, a better choice of verbs might have been "dispute": " especially: to argue irritably or with irritating persistence." (Both from Webster.) MTG certainly was irritable AND irritating.
@Marie: Actually I came up with that math problem years ago
when I found out how the family (great-great grandfather) got
together enough money as Scottish immigrants to acquire a 1,000
acre farm in E. Texas.
Come to the territory of Texas with your slaves and you get 10 acres
for every slave you bring. It's in the family history, researched by
cousins about 30 years ago or so.
From that info I always wondered if slaves were 3/5ths of a person,
wouldn't that mean that great-great grandfather would only have
received 600 acres? Guess they were using those Florida math texts.
James McAuley in the New Yorker writes that after years of seeing Marine Le Pen as a dangerous extreme, many voters now see her as the politician like any other. Sound familiar?
"I used to believe––as many in France still do––that the Fifth Republic would not tolerate anyone so openly contemptuous of its values or its history."
This is an interesting piece on France's history with the Le Pen family The election between Macron and Le Pen is tomorrow.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-europe/the-french-far-right-comes-on-little-cat-feet
Victoria: Hmmm––-Parkinsons––interesting observation. This disease effects speech so it would be enlightening to hear Putin speak at length––of course if that speech is in Russian perhaps it would be hard to detect? Of course that "flatness of expression" might just be his usual facial non-expression––he being of so little of what we were discussing yesterday––-empathy or in his case we could include a void of anything resembling feelings for his fellow man.
I have serious doubts about whether Disney would win a First Amendment case against DeSantis and Florida with the current make up of the Supremes. We saw during Trump's reign that Republicans' admissions of guilt outside of a courtroom do not actually count as evidence unless they say so. For Republicans the Supreme Court will bend over backwards to interpret their actions in the most favorable light. So corporations and the rest of us should be worried.
RAS,
I share your well-founded concern, but, tho' it makes me shudder to say it, we all must remember that "corporations are people, too."
That silly tenet would give Gorsuch pause, I'd think.
Of course, consistency has long left the SCOTUS building . For the Right, the conclusion--as in "what I want"-- always comes first. The purported legal "logic" follows, hangdog and hollow, in its wake.