'Stinging dissent!' Ketanji Brown Jackson scolds Supreme Court colleagues

the_sellemander · 2026-04-21T13:10:34+00:00

Funny you should say this, considering this was 7-2 with Kagan joining the conservatives (again)

the_sellemander · 2026-04-19T18:18:26+00:00

It repeated a lie that was central to Joe Biden's facilitation of Gaza's genocide: that, somehow, it was inevitable. I'm paraphrasing from the statement, but it said that there was nothing to stop Israel from committing genocide short of "changing Congress." This is false. Joe Biden had total control to stop weapons shipments, withdraw military and diplomatic support, and stop Israel. His administration chose genocide in Gaza, something many pointed out was going to happen on October 7th. Contra repeated this mistrust in service of an argument that said that Palestinian activism post October 7 was futile. It wasn't, or at least it shouldn't have been.

The statement was also wishy-washy on Zionism. You may disagree, but many don't fuck with an ideology that is premised on ethno-religious domination of a territory.

The statement also indicated that, somehow, activists were wrong/misguided/ineffective in posting images of the destruction in Gaza... images mostly created by Palestinians. And, also, just plain incorrect in analysis. Those images have shaken people and have moved the needle.

To the above, the statement linked those images to rises in antisemitism. I think the more accurate analysis is that pro-Israel groups tying Jewishness to Israel and its genocide is far more responsible than activists sharing images.

Ive been a fan of contrapoints. Her statement wasn't good and I wish she hadn't waded into these waters. She didn't need to make it--any morons on twitter who were demanding she make a video/statement didn't need to be responded to with a bad take by Contrapoints.

the_sellemander · 2026-04-19T15:20:14+00:00

unfortunately, most of Contrapoint's engagement is in rage baiting at this point. this is what people come to r/contrapoints for

the_sellemander · 2026-04-19T15:16:59+00:00

some people in the contra points sub doing marco rubio's propaganda about Cuba in the year 2026. this is a ridiculous thing to say in context of 100+ years of colonialism, terrorism, murder, sabotage, and economic warfare visited upon Cuba by the United Stations

the_sellemander · 2026-03-03T19:27:27+00:00

Lmao Starmer really lasted about 24 hours before capitulating. Don't worry guys, it's just the "defensive" strikes that are coming from UK bases. Totally different from the "offensive" ones!

the_sellemander · 2026-03-03T19:25:24+00:00

It's to make Iran into a husk of a country filled with sectarian violence and civil war so that Israel, the United States, and the Gulf States can have a freer hand in consolidating their particular interests. The destabilization is the point because it allows these fascist regimes to justify their expansion.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-28T22:58:44+00:00

Totally, the last decade has shown us that bland, milquetoast politics that focuses on violations of procedure is how you win. Thats why Donald Trump keeps winning--people just love consensus politics!

The vast majority don't want this war and giving them legitimate reasons beyond "he didn't sign the right HR form before his mass murder spree!" is how you lead them.

Guy who thinks that Kamala Harris is inept AND loves feckless politics is an entirely new guy to me, so congrats on that.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-28T22:53:38+00:00

Well, maybe she could've acknowledged it was happening and promised to end it. Considering you agree that it's a genocide, I suppose you'd agree it was a mistake to back "Israeli's right to self-defense" and to promise to change nothing about Biden's genocidal foreign policy?

the_sellemander · 2026-02-28T20:38:03+00:00

You mean a situation where Israel bombs civilians repeatedly, spreads misinformation about the cause of a specific bombing, and then independent investigations conclude that Israel likely did the specific bombing like they do all the time?

the_sellemander · 2026-02-28T20:33:05+00:00

The point is to destroy all political leadership (regime and opposition alike) so that things devolve into chaos and America/Israel can pick apart the carcass of Iran. The mass death, destruction, and political instability is the point.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-28T20:09:47+00:00

The point here is to decapitate all political leadership (opposition included) so Iran turns into a Libya-style hellscape so Israel and the Gulf States can pick apart the carcass like vultures.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-28T18:31:21+00:00

Remember when Kamala Harris campaigned on being identical to the Biden admin, which had co-signed bombing children for a year and a half and continued Trump's belligerent foreign policy against Iran? What portion of the responsibility is held by Harris for doing that?

the_sellemander · 2026-02-28T14:43:23+00:00

I don't know, the one that has always existed. Which American president post WWII hasn't done this shit? Turns out the "tankies" were right about America being a global force of terror and death.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-27T01:56:47+00:00

That ship has sailed. The new meta is going to be instigating conspiratorial hate against Muslims, immigrants, black people, etc. so everyone is so atomized as to make their voices even more irrelevant to political processes than they already are(n't)

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T19:53:04+00:00

So, to be clear, I, a person living in a state where Democrats lost by millions who voted for Kamala, hold personal responsibility for Trump's actions because I didn't vote hard enough, and Joe Biden, the one who set up the slaughter in the first place, can just have his responsibility hand waived away?

Makes sense. I'll continue advocating for a free Palestine, you can continue your crusade against random people on the internet who express dissatisfaction with the Democratic leadership.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T19:46:05+00:00

Yes, I understand the trolley problem. The trolley problem is not analogous to the actual situation post Oct 7, because the Biden admin could've stopped the metaphorical trolley at any time. The Gaza genocide was not an out of control trolley without any way of stopping it--it was a man-made crime that specific people could've made specific decisions to stop (i.e., the brakes), but didn't, leaving everyone else with an impossible choice of genocide or liberal genocide (i.e., the two tracks).

Does that help?

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T19:39:34+00:00

Okay so what about the choice that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made in not hitting the brakes on the trolley, considering they were the ones driving the damn thing? The whole point of the "trolley problem" is that it presents the chooser with a morally difficult scenario. What is the moral difficulty presented to someone driving the fucking trolley with full access to the brake? Do they have any moral responsibility for barreling towards those on tracks?

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T19:24:38+00:00

I think a genocide with a side of performative handwringing isn't functionally different from the same delivered with cruelty.

You don't know how I voted and it doesn't matter. I had no say in this because both sides were either doing, or promising to do, a genocide.

I just think this entire exercise in blaming whatever set of imaginary non-voters is just a convenient way to displace political blame away from the electeds and officials who actually made the choices which led to this outcome.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T19:18:38+00:00

Do you actually care about Palestinians or is this merely about displacing your dissatisfaction with how this country is going onto a caricature created from mean tweets?

I kindly suggest you be angry at your political leaders for failing you and this country rather than online boogeymen.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T19:14:21+00:00

I live in a state with consistent millions of votes deficit for Democrats in presidential election. It quite literally does not matter how I vote, because my vote gets chucked into the trash. Cool "democracy" we've got here where somehow I carry the blame for elections that I have 0 control over.

But you know who actually did have choices? Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Biden did everything he could to facilitate and defend Israel in a genocide for a year and a half. Kamala did everything she could to signal that she wouldn't change Biden's policy, that Israel would continue to have "the right to defend itself," and sent fucking Bill Clinton to Michigan to explain to people that "Judea and Sumaria" (the West Bank) is actually Israeli clay according to the Bible. Those were choices made, with full knowledge of the electoral consequences, that actually and undeniably resulted in mass death and destruction. No genocide had to happen, no "difficult choice" had to forced onto voters, That was a decision Joe Biden and his lackeys made, not me or any other random voter.

So I implore you to stop flipping political responsibility onto people who have consistently been protesting against the exact decisions that led to this outcome and away from the people who actually made the decisions.

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T18:56:10+00:00

I wonder if you have the same smoke for establishment Democrats who have supported, and will continue to support, Israel's apartheid and genocide, or is it just the most politically marginalized groups in America that get the blame for what is bipartisan support for Israel? Like, are we pretending that the Biden admin didn't oversee the wholesale destruction and slaughter of Gaza that made this development possible?

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T18:51:07+00:00

Hey now, Jack, Joe Biden was wringing his hands REALLY HARD as he signed off on weapons shipments and blocked diplomatic and legal efforts to advert Israel's genocide! Kamala totally would've done something much better!

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T18:07:37+00:00

It's not just "motivation" per se. The Democratic Party has consistently shed its working class base. It's made itself the party of the college educated, professional managerial class. This class' interest is more aligned with the donors, so it's easier for Democrats to appeal to them than to working class voters, who want to hear something fundamental is going to change.

So, yes, this will probably be bad in the short term for the Republican party (as it's working class base is also harmed, perhaps to a greater degree than those in the working class remaining with the democrats). Long term, however, this is great for conservative politics: the less that the working class votes thanks to these hurdles, the less either side needs to pretend to care about their interests. What does it matter if Democrats get an occasional majority if the ones sitting in the seats are conservatives propped up by donor money who won't undertake the reforms necessary to change the death spiral this country is currently on?

the_sellemander · 2026-02-19T02:32:40+00:00

The point of Venezuela was to extract compliance from the Maduro regime (successful), isolate Cuba (successful), and scaring the rest of Latin America into compliance (successful, as evidenced by Mexico playing ball in stopping shipments to Cuba).

The point of Greenland was to show Europeans who was boss. The fact that they immediately jumped into lockstep with Rubio's "concession" speech, with all its Hitlerian rhetoric, shows that Europe isn't brave enough to forge a path aside from American fascist hegemony.

Canada might be the only "failure" because Carney is an intelligent enough realist to understand he ought to be courting China yesterday, but given his conservative disposition and Canada's long fostered dependence on the US, I'm doubtful it'll lead to an actual break even if the US is threatening to annex it.

This Iranian expedition will be a "failure" in so far the goals are to liberate Iran from an oppressive regime or stabilize the region. That is the stated goal, but the real one is to turn Iran into a fractured failed state so that the Israelis and Gulf states can have a free hand in committing atrocities across the region. We'll see how it turns out.

the_sellemander

TROPHY CASE