21 Comments
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Lauren Seikaly's avatar

Excellent reminder for us all. He’s a fraud. See also David Sirota’s Masterplan podcast. Episode 7 is where I learned that douchebag Roberts was part of Bush’s team of lawyers who fought to halt the recount in Florida in 2000.

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Murray Smart's avatar

The Roberts 6 (Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett) are absolutely corrupt. They all must be removed from the court. With every 6-3 ruling they make they give more evidence to their corruption. Time to clean the court and disinfect it.

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Brian Tanguay's avatar

I'm pleased to see this book covered by Zeteo. I reviewed it for the California Review of Books.

https://calirb.com/without-precedent-how-chief-justice-john-roberts-and-his-accomplices-rewrote-the-constitution-and-dismantled-our-rights-by-lisa-graves/

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Michael Ann Ochs's avatar

Saw that. Bought your book. Will get it tomorrow. Can't wait to read it.

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Tom Halstead's avatar

For decades, Repugnjcans have whined about “activist judges” whose efforts tended to favor the general public. Evidently they’re fine with a SCOTUS bent on securing American fascism.

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Jonathan's avatar

Google the Lewis Powell memo from 1971. This was always the plan. With Repubs, every accusation is a confession.

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Liz's avatar
Oct 5Edited

Roberts is the penultimate force behind the corporate takeover of America. The strategy needed for this to happen? Legalizing corporate corruption and the bribery of public officials. It has happened.

The Powell memo/manifesto of 1971 laid out how the ultimate power resides in the judiciary. That was what corporations needed to capture. And they did. This is chess, and Roberts is the queen--the most powerful piece. Corporations have used the queen, Roberts, to checkmate the weak/fragile king, democracy. The award-winning Master Plan podcast describes this clearly. A must-listen, episode 3, The Powell Memo. https://the.levernews.com/master-plan/

The Powell memo--interesting to read the original source document: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/assets/usa-courts-secrecy-lobbyist/powell-memo.pdf

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Jonathan's avatar

Everyone should know about the Powell memo and how this has been a decades-long plan to subvert democracy.

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Protect the Vote's avatar

THERE ARE NO GOOD REPUBLICANS

It is now clear that there are no good Republicons left….they are all traitors as is Der Fuhrer and his Nazi allies to the country in trying to destroy the government of the country and complicit in Cheeto’s corruption, unconstitutional orders, and creating an inflationary upward spiral

But they told us what they were going to do in the widely publicized Project 2025 agenda The voting electorate knew what what they were up to and opposed overwhelmingly what the Project stood for(96% of polled population were against the Project) There are only 2 conclusions The voting electorate didn’t care despite the polling OR Cheeto and his Nazi allies rigged the 2024 election in various nefarious ways eg Greg Palast’s investigative reporting(bit.ly/41UelTx) on vigilante challenges by 40,000 Nazi vigilantes

So tell it like it is to your friends, neighbors, relatives, family DO NOT VOTE FOR ANY REPUBLICON IN THE 2026 MIDTERMS

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Jonathan's avatar

Yes, but it should never have been so close that it could be rigged by old style voter suppression. The Repubs also have a very effective propaganda wing that convinces enough people to vote against their own interests.

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Richard's avatar

Roberts is a perfect example of someone who has stayed too long at the fair. Justices should have term limits for age and time served. 20 years service or 75 years of age whichever comes first. His decisions and those of the other extremists have weakened our country and paved the way for authoritarian rule by trump. Thomas and Alito are both extremely corrupt and should be impeached immediately and prosecuted. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has investigated these two and they are both rotten to the core as our country is becoming with this kind of Banana Republic!

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Nancy's avatar

I look forward to the book. However, I continue to be frustrated by commentators who suggest that the Supreme Court introduced the theory of “money equal speech” into our jurisprudence with Citizens United. It did not. The Supreme Court first held that money equals speech in a 1976 decision, Buckley v. Valeo. Thus, it was precedent for Citizens United. Citizens United expanded the role of PAC’s in campaign financing, but even if Citizens United were overturned, billionaires like Musk and Miriam Edelman would still be able to influence if not outright buy elections under Buckley. I hope that Ms. Graves makes this clear in her book. Misreporting on this issue has led much of the public to be o

exclusively focused on CU, while ignoring the devastating impact of Buckley in our elections. The latter would not exist without the former.

Nonetheless, a critical book on John Roberts is long overdue. Roberts was an architect of the Republicans’ legal strategy in Bush v. Gore, for which he was rewarded by his nomination to the Court by George Bush. (This is another thing about Roberts that has long been ignored by legal commentators). Roberts made his goal of gutting the Voting Rights Act clear while he worked in the Reagan Justice Department. He realized that goal in the Shelby County opinion, which he wrote. His hostility to civil and womens’ rights became clear during his Senate hearings. Yet neither this hostility nor his role in Bush v. Gore were enough to discourage 50% of Democrats in the Senate from voting to confirm him.

As Ms. Graves notes, Roberts also wrote Trump v. U.S., in which he essentially orchestrated a silent coup, transforming what remained of our democracy into a dictatorship with no real constraints on the president. As other scholars have noted, that opinion, for which there was no legal precedent (it was made up whole-cloth) rewrites the Constitution.

As a result, we are seeing the dismantling of the remnants of our democracy play out in Trump’s lawless acts, from usurping Congress’ power of the purse and war making powers (e.g., Iran and Venezuela) to ignoring court orders regarding deportations and the occupation of U.S. cities by federal law enforcement agents (e.g., Portland). And there is now no way to stop him, thanks to John Roberts and his co-conspirators on the Court.

What’s more powerful than a king? A king maker, a role Roberts has assigned himself. He and the other five justices who signed on to his opinion in the Trump case should be impeached for treason in my opinion.

I’ve often wondered what in his background made Roberts so hostile to democracy. He has been gifted with the best this country has to offer — the “best” schools, prestigious jobs, and relative wealth. What makes him so unhappy that he would knowingly usher in totalitarianism, which he has surely enabled in the Trump case. His true persona has been hidden under the radar for a long time. Congratulations to Ms. Graves on her book.

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Melanie's avatar

Not trying to start anything but is he in the Epstein files?

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Jeff Lazar's avatar

If there is to be fairness in the world to come, then Roberts and his fellow black-robed fascists will all have special places at Hitler's Stammtisch (regular's table) where I hope they enjoy the company of luminaries such as Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, Lenin, Kissinger (just to name a few), plus of course Demented Donnie Two-Dolls.

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Linda Davis's avatar

If I could get an audience with any leader, it'd be John Roberts to say WTF?? Well, I'd say something more articulate but that's the gist. It's not surprising that we have an egomaniacal executive, but the fact that the legislative branch has caved is truly disheartening. 1,000,000 person march against the Supreme Court!

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laurie miller's avatar

I've known Judgespersonaly who have been Right wing fools.

Well educated fools.

There are NO right wing intellectuals. even judges are included iin that group.

The man looks a fool in the photo above, his face holdsd his character clearly to me.

Education doesnt buy intelligence. and it shows.

lauriemillerjade.com

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Bonnie's avatar

Without comedians in the USA, Palestine, even Israel and all around the world we could lose the . last shreds of hope, and it would be a dark day for humanity

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Deborah Shell's avatar

He’s got to be in the Epstein files.

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Deborah Shell's avatar

He’s in the Epstein files! That’s the ONLY explanation for the decisions he’s made in Trump’s favor, starting with the MOST outrageous granting of total immunity! (Just my personal opinion)

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Christopher Farry's avatar

So, if the judicial, executive and legislative branches of your government are all working together towards some agenda, where are the checks and balances.that have prevented tyranny znd have protected and enhanced your freedoms for so long.

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