Agitprop: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Propaganda

God Bless The Spectacle

some reasoned Spectacle wrap-up here.

A Fresh Perspective

Fuck deep knowledge of the law. Fuck respect for precedent. Fuck empathy. Here's a guy with different life experiences, who has made different life choices than the average establishment judicial nominee. This guy might just be punk rock enough to shake up the Supreme Court and make it interesting.

I nominate Mark Borchardt, subject of the great documentary, American Movie to the Supreme Court.

Here is Borchardt lashing out against the soulless emptiness of one of our finest American traditions: Toil:



I'd be interested to see how he would answer questions about these comments in confirmation hearings

[There's some additional thoughts on the law and the court over at my place with a couple of questions in the post and comments for any constitutional law scholars out there.]

Contrast and Compare

Sopón de Garbanzos con Patas de Cerdo

Ann Margaret and Baked Beans

(Fleabus performs, links, music.)

UPDATE: Got an email asking me Ann Margaret and baked beans, WTF? reminding me to ask Agi if he could create the category: Just How Fucking Old Is BDR?

The Soup That Will Destroy The World

pictured above: Sopón de Garbanzos con Patas de Cerdo (a.k.a. Chickpea Soup with Pig's Feet, a.k.a. The GOP's worst nightmare)

This has prompted some Republicans to muse privately about whether Sotomayor is suggesting that distinctive Puerto Rican cuisine such as patitas de cerdo con garbanzo — pigs’ feet with chickpeas — would somehow, in some small way influence her verdicts from the bench.

Curt Levey, the executive director of the Committee for Justice, a conservative-leaning advocacy group, said he wasn’t certain whether Sotomayor had claimed her palate would color her view of legal facts but he said that President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee clearly touts her subjective approach to the law.  

Huh? Is he really insinuating that Puerto Rican food is going to have undue influence over her judicial decisions? Damn, with two pasta-eaters on the court, there is no telling how many devious bowls of fettuccine have swayed the decisions of Alito and Scalia.

Not only is "Maria" Sotomayor forcing us to assimilate "unnatural" syllables into our daily spoken language - but a war criminal tells us that she will kill us with empathic mediocrity. I know I said I would try to avoid this stuff, but it's all so desperate - and hilarious.

Uh...What's Her Name Again?

Huck comes out firing — at 'Maria' Sotomayor

And shoots himself in the face. Oy. Dude, at least get her name right before you start launching your attacks. He must be confusing her with his housekeeper.

Wait - wasn't she in La Bamba?

Anyways, it's time to let the games begin. The next two months are going to be amusing, but not as amusing as they could have been.

the sotomayor confirmation hearings will be a little less entertaining because joe biden won't be sitting on the judiciary committee, with his subjects without verbs, verbs without subjects, stories without shape or context, seven-minute questions without sense or structure. nevertheless, i'm sure a lot of senators will  be showing their asses, so we'll have to tune in.

I am considering turning on and dropping out as well.

They're Just Nine Old Rich People Who Hold the Fate of the Universe in Their Hands, That's All

This summer the goat fucking child molester will return to his New Hampshire abode to spend the remaining years of his existence churning butter and hemming trousers on his front porch step. He'll also be sporting a shotgun just in case another pesky property rights activist tries to steal his precious log cabin or mug him during a morning jog.

The bad news for us is - over the next several months we will be forced to endure the national charade that is selecting, vetting and confirming the next Supreme Court Justice. Get ready for the theatrics - Senators waxing philosophical about the primal importance of an up-or-down vote, interrogating character witnesses about what curse words the candidate used on the playground during middle school, and flaunting homemade pie charts to explain strict constructionism.

I wish it was over already.

Obama might unknowingly choose his own Souter, that is, a seemingly liberal justice who overtime will grow more pragmatic, i.e. conservative.

Personally, I'd like to see perennial Guys From Area 51 presidential candidate Gus Hall nominated to the Court, but I'd settle for Gary Busey or Ward Churchill. Mainly, I want someone who is going to aggravate ScaThomAlito. Perhaps, a strong woman would be the best prescription for the court. Or one of those circus seals that can bounce a ball on its nose. 

Habeas Nothingness

Everybody’s all hot and bothered about how the Dear Leader and the Dark Lord lost Boumediene v. Bush (pdf).  As if it matters - here’s a comment I left at a few blogs when I should have been working:

Why all the excitement? Everybody knows that the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over the Fourth Branch of government. No one will even get a hearing. Dick Cheney can keep torturing Pakistani cabdrivers to his heart’s content.

Seriously - does anyone think the administration will do anything different? Feh.

Yeah, as if the fucking Bush administration will lift a fucking finger to implement this decision. Cynical? After nearly eight years of this shit? Not at all. Nothing will change.

Spreading the Blame

Uncle Nino has written a book.  Just like his fellow conservative profiteers, I’m sure he’ll send the proceeds to help all those Iraqi families whose lives he destroyed with his vote in Bush v. Gore.  Of course, Scalia has long fucked up the lives of people worldwide because he’s been around since the days of Saint Ronnie.  And since our tax dollars will keep him healthy well past his sell-by date, he’ll be busily eliminating our rights for decades to come.

Scalia is easy to hate - he’s a bitter little man devoted to screwing those he deems lesser, and that’s pretty much everyone.  But there’s another bad actor in this conservative kabuki that never seems to get blamed for anything.  More after the jump.

Uncle Nino Wants You Waterboarded

Our most distinguished jurist says that there is nothing in the Constitution that protects you from Dick Cheney and his waterboard.  Justice Scalia, in an interview with the BBC, said that a slap in the face, a pair of pliers to the nuts, the Iron Maiden … whatever it takes!

Justice Antonin Scalia told the BBC that “smacking someone in the face” could be justified if there was an imminent threat.

“You can’t come in smugly and with great self satisfaction and say ‘Oh it’s torture, and therefore it’s no good’,” he said in a rare interview.

I’m sure Nino would be smugness itself with a hood over his head and electrodes on his testicles.  You’ll find more horrific statements after the jump.

Justice Gone Wild!

Not An Originalist?
You Must Be An Idiot!

The increasingly unhinged Justice Antonin Scalia has labeled his interpretational opponents "idiots" at a Federalist Society meeting, stating, in the third person:

Scalia does have a philosophy, it's called originalism .... That's what prevents him from doing the things he would like to do.

That prevents him from doing what he'd like to do? We'd hate to see what he'd do without this claimed stricture ... perhaps put all who believe in a living Constitution in ze camps.

tags: antonin scalia supreme court federalist society u.s. constitution

Could It BE? A Filibuster?

Has One Senator Finally Grown A Set?

Raw Story reports on Bob Fertik's scoop that John Kerry, the winner of the 2004 Presidential election, will lead a filibuster against Scalito. He's looking for the 41 votes he needs. Head over to Fertik's and let's start pestering the Scalito 8!

tags: john kerry impeach bush samuel alito scalito

If The CAP Fits ...

Two days ago we blogged about Stephen Dujack, whose planned testimony regarding Alito and CAP ("Concerned Alumi of Princeton") disappeared down the Old Memory Hole. A concerned Princeton student wrote us to say that they had written about Dujack (and his smearing by Limbaugh, Drudge, and the rest) in the Daily Princetonian. They discuss Dujack's address to the Princeton College Democrats and link to his 1986 article on CAP.

Anybody figure out how to stop Scalito yet? One more thing ... if Scalito was never a member of CAP as the Repugs now claim, why did he feature it on his resume?

tags: samuel alito stephen dujack concerned alumni of princeton CAP

From the Department of Armchair Activism

Agitprop Wants you to Act. Yawn.

People for the American Way has a "Stop Scalito" petition that will go to the Senate. You could sign it.

On the other hand, the Democrats could have done something other than whine about how they need to delay the confirmation vote another week. Like how about putting your seat on the line and stopping the Repugs in their fucking tracks?

And guess what? The Dear Leader engaged in domestic spying before 9/11 ... almost as soon as he was sworn in!

tags: samuel alito people for the american way scalito

Just Ask Mom ...

Bye Bye Right to Privacy

Well, if you want the truth, just ask mommy:

"Alito's mother shed some light. 'Of course, he's against abortion,' 90-year-old Rose Alito said of her son, a Catholic."

Pandagon has more on the gleeful reaction in Wingnuttia.

tags: supreme court samuel alito

Where Do I Go To Get My Civil Rights Back?

G.W. Law Prof. Says "Scalito" to Right of Scalia

Law professor Jonathan Turley (a pretty straight shooter as I observed when in his Torts class) said there will be "no one to the right of Sam Alito on this Court" when interviewed about the Dear Leader's nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.

Great. Another intolerant, religion-obsessed, mean-spirited, right-wing nut job. Just great.

[via Think Progress] hat tip to Fred for pointing out the great Think Progress post on "Alito's America." And Shakespeare's Sister has more on Alito's fondness for gays too.

HOLD THE PHONE: Attytood asks: "Does Scalito have an Army Reserve problem?" Maybe this is why the Dear Leader likes him.

tags: supreme court samuel alito

The Right Panics: Miers on the Move

Rush Says: Unqualified for High Court? Give Her Greenspan's Job!

You will have to read this twice before you believe it came out of Limbaugh's mouth:

"My idea is this: The solution to the Harriet Miers issue. The president announce that he's withdrawing her from nomination to the Supreme Court because he's decided to appoint her to succeed Alan Greenspan at the Federal Reserve. He trusts her. She has filled out her own income tax forms all of her life, and she has done her personal banking all of her life. She knows banks, she knows tax reform, tax policy, and the president trusts her, so she could go to the Federal Reserve."

Wait wait ... is this the same Harriet Miers who didn't pay her DC Bar dues? Blogenfreude is a member of the DC Bar and can assure you that they would find you if you moved to Tonga. Is this the same Harriet Miers whose finances have been described as a mess?

Why not just install her in Cheney's bunker when he resigns because he wants to spend more time with his family?

[via Atrios]
tags: harriet miers rush limbaugh

Miers Does Not Want to Sit on High Court

Pledged Support for Constitutional Amendment Banning Abortion

Might Even Think There's No Right to Contraception

Confirming her status as a true Wingnut, Harriet Miers pledged to back a 'Human Life Amendment' to the U.S. Constitution [that criminalized abortions], oppose the use of public money for abortions, and ... participate in 'pro-life rallies and special events.'" The NPR piece does not say whether these "special events" include clinic bombings.

Recall that this is the same Harriet Miers that told Schumer she'd never discussed Roe v. Wade with anybody - well, we suppose that, down in Texas, a filled-in survey don't count the same as talkin' to nobody.

Even more amazingly, Miers stated in a Senate questionnaire that when asked "whether she wanted to be included in the list of potential candidates when Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her resignation in July. 'I indicated at that time that I did not want to be considered.'"

So Miers wants to overturn Roe but doesn't want to sit on the Court to do it.

The larger question is, of course, will Agitprop have to institute a "Miers Withdrawal Watch." The right wing continues to unravel. Praise Jeeebus.

In a related deveopment, the Dear Leader discusses intelligence failures in his blog.

tags: harriet miers supreme court

Miers, Sans Makeup

hat tip:  El Serracho

FAUX NEWS RE-ALERT! RIGHT ADMITS BUSH CRONYISM! BUSH'S LAME DUCK COOKED?

Or Transparent Attempt to Show Off New "Maldusa" Graphic?

WE REPORT - YOU DECIDE!

As first reported here earlier, the Dear Leader has begun to use FEMA-style hiring practices at the nation's high court. We must now report, sadly, that the hard right is off message. Do they support the Miers nomination? Oppose it?

In a website post, criminally insane Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin actually uses the words "Bush cronyism" in a sentence! She links to a WSJ piece lamenting same. She reprints letters to President Bush and other reactions from disappointed fascisti, including one poor slob who misspelled "whiff."

The right unravels. Bwa ha ha ha ha!

I thank Agi T. Prop for bringing Maldusa to life.

UPDATE: The Heretik weighs in - right in disarray ... Bush lame duck cooked! Alternet smells desperation!

NOTE: This was first posted on October 5th, but it's worth repeating ... the right is eating its own. To me, Bush's loss of Malkin was the tipping point.

michael brown harriet miers michelle malkin george bush

HAVEN'T WE SUFFERED ENOUGH?

Scalia, Denied High Court Leadership Post, Settles for Leading NYC Columbus Day Parade

Haven't we been through enough? And I'm sure Ghouliani will be flitting around as well. Glad I'm staying below 14th Street all day.

tags: antonin scalia supreme court

SEND CONLAW BOOKS - HELP HARRIET PREPARE!

MIERS TO TAKE CONLAW 101 - Given Hearings Mulligan!

In a further indication that the Miers high-court nomination is floundering, Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsyltucky) announced that Miers "needs a crash course in constititonal law." Specter, in giving Miers this unprecedented mulligan , said:

"I did not ask her about it because I don't think she's ready to face it at the moment. Look, the lady was White House counsel dealing with totally other subjects until Sunday night when the president offered her the job. ... I'm not going to ask her questions which she hasn't had a chance to study or reflect on."

So to help out, any reader who went to law school should immediately send their old ConLaw books. I am sure that my own Barron volume (penned by Jerome Barron, et al., my personal ConLaw hero) is somewhere in storage. Send them to Harriet E. Miers Esq. at the White House.

tags: harriet miers impeach bush

AN AGITPROP FILL-IN-THE-BLANK EXTRA

“And the more I get to know President Putin, the more I get to see his heart and soul, and the more I know we can work together in a positive way.”
George W. Bush, November 15, 2001

Second Term Bush Can't Count on Putin. January 19, 2005

“I’ve known Harriet for more than a decade. I know her heart, I know her character.” George W. Bush, October 3, 2005

Your turn - write a Miers/Supreme Court headline for, say, January 2, 2010. I shudder to think what it will say.

impeach bush harriet miers

BUSH'S "PETER PRINCIPLE" APPOINTMENT

NEWSFLASH: U.S. Supreme Court Seats For Sale!
An Exlusive Joint Report by Agi T. Prop and Blogenfreude

Sure, a Supreme Court seat costs more than a FEMA directorship, but if you do the time (or make the contributions), you too can have a seat on the nation's high court!

Miers-who has no judicial experience whatsoever-will forever be the "Brownie" of the federal judiciary. By nominating his personal lawyer, Bush has proved he still has a couple cojones left. People for the American Way, an evil communist organization that hates freedom, loves terrorists, and wants to destroy the U.S., points out that:

President Bush has nominated his personal lawyer and long-time friend to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. His choice raises serious questions about whether he has found a nominee who has the requisite qualifications and independence for the nation’s highest court. [snip] With no past judicial experience for the senators to consider, the burden will be on Miers to be forthright with the Senate and the American people. She must outline her judicial philosophy and provide direct answers to questions about how–and whether–she will uphold fundamental rights, liberties and legal protections on which Americans rely.

Now it's clear why PFAW's Ralph Neas, who made the above statement, is #10 on the list of 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America - he believes in open government, impartial courts, and civil liberties. Mon dieu! But back to Miers.

Her 30+ year experience as a corporate lawyer with big Texas firms is certain to make her a strong defender of corporatism over individuals and consumers. Her time spent as the Dear Leader's personal lawyer foreshadows her being a champion of executive power and privilege. She will rubber stamp Bush's preemptive wars and indefinite detentions of "enemy combatants."

MORE INFO: While Governor of Texas, Bush referred to Miers as "a pitbull in size 6 shoes." Matt at Tattered Coat actually nails it - she looks more like Iggy Pop with lipstick and dark eyeliner than a pitbull. Attytood uncovers Miers' role in the AWOL Bush/National Guard Scandal. NPR has good overall coverage (dare we say "fair and balanced"?) of the nomination.

UPDATE: People act quickly in cyberspace. Did you know that Harriet Miers has a blog?

AGITPROP EXTRA: The Orwellian-sounding right-wing group Progress for America already thinks Miers is confirmed. Here's their latest project: JusticeMiers.com
harriet miers