We are all at the mercy of fickle Fortune. Every minute of every day. Those who forget it, or worse credit her works to Fate, commit a great impiety.

Contemplate this on the Tree of Woe

RIP RBG

Too late

Could this year get any shittier?

@5,

It's not a matter of "could." It's GOING to get shittier.

When donnie nominates and turtle confirms the next rapist supreme court judge in a couple weeks, that'll be shitty. And I guarantee that will happen. There is zero chance RBG's replacement will be delayed. Zero. Not unless both donnie and Pence die within the next couple days, or about 10 republican senators die within the same time span. That's the only way it wouldn't happen.

Well Chase, we also have to focus on Amy Barrett who is Trump's top contender for Ruth's replacement:

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/who-is-amy-coney-barrett-positions-judicial-history-supreme-court-2020-9

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/18/replacing-ruth-bader-ginsburg-list-starts-amy-coney-barrett/2669382002/

Any of you still think there is a God?

I don’t care how cynical you are, McConnell’s not getting his 50 votes before the election or in a lame duck term.

My prediction is that Mitch McConnell pushes Trump's court nomination through, and Chuck Schumer threatens the filibuster nuclear option in next Congress if he does when the Democrats retake the Senate. If the Republicans lose the Senate, they will be powerless if Schumer eliminates the filibuster for legislation.

But, Trump is going to win this fight for nominating the next Justice I think. Democrats must control both houses of Congress and the White House. The Supreme Court can do nothing on its own, it has to decide a case, but the Congress and White House can act together to thwart them.

@6 - actually, only 4 Republican senators need to die. Or actually, they don't even have to die, just disappear for a while. No quorum = no business happens in the Senate. Just sayin'.

@10 - you don't think that the cases to overturn every single law or precedent that the Repubs don't like are already lined up to be filed in the Federal courts?

@12 Those take time to get through the system and when the Congress and White House work together under one party, and there is no filibuster in the Senate, new laws can be passed right away to circumvent almost anything.

It's not an ideal situation, sure, but it's workable if it happens.

Well, Mr DOMA's nominee would still have overturned Obergefell and Lawrence anyway. I'm sorry for those who will fare worse under whoever gets in now.

@12 Also, if the Democrats take the Senate and White House, they control all the courts. With no filibuster, the Democrats could add justices to the current Supreme Court, and simply eliminate or change inferior courts at will, or modify their jurisdictions. Sure, Republican-appointed Federal judges have lifetime tenure, but if they don't have a Court, they don't have any power.

I fully expect Kagan and Sotomayor to get killed in a car accident on the way to her funeral, because why not?

The die is not yet cast.

So I'll just mention that there exists a timeline in which Piglord makes his nomination (probably Kid Rock, or maybe one of the Duck Dynasty guys) but McConnell's unable to get it pushed through the Senate by the time of Joe's swearing in ceremony come January. And Amy McGrath (currently trailing in her Senate race against Mitch by a significant, but not insurmountable margin) is able to hammer away at the transparently craven and repugnant hypocrisy of that shithead forcefully enough to peel away the necessary number of moderate votes to win that race and kick his out to the curb. But he doesn't make it to the curb and instead steps into an empty Senate elevator shaft and dies a terrifying and painful death his last day in office. And fuck it, the Mariners also sneak into the playoffs and make a deep post-season run.

@15 - FDR tried to add justices to the Supreme Court after winning a true landslide victory with an overwhelming share of the electorate and a super-majority of the Senate. He failed.

Biden will have at best a narrow victory with a slim majority of the electorate and possibly a razor-thin simple majority of the Senate. And he ain't no FDR.

It's weird that the right is still THIS obsessed with banning abortion anyway, Abortion rates have been voluntarily declining for years now...why can't they just leave it at that?

@21: you-all been saying it was "imminent" for almost half a century now. Do you REALLY believe some rich-assed person is going to follow your law, even if it does get passed? Haven't you learned yet that laws are for suckers and rubes like yourself, not for the wealthy who pull your strings and don't give two shots about you?

At #8. Yes, of course there's still a God. I wish S/He'd decide to return and stop all this fucked-up human bullshit sooner than later...but, dear me, free will and all. Sigh...

I still believe in the Trinity, although some days really do try my soul.

@20: Because it's not about the reality of unwanted children but the adherence to scripture and, unfortunately, power over women. Most weird are that ICE doctors both try to prevent detainees from having abortions and sterilize them with hysterectomies.

I'm actually optimistic that the Democrats will have a good plan, but I'm not optimistic they will be able to enact it on a level playing field. Trump's death squads are already in action, and the car crashes on the way to the funeral won't involve Sotomayor and Kagan, but Democratic legislators on the judicial committees.

@20, I thought they were all pro-choice now? I saw a picture of one of their super-spreader events where someone was holding "My Body, My Choice" sign.

@24, "adherence to scriptures" ??? you mean like Hebrews 13:4, Matthew 19:9, Luke 16:18, Mark 10:11 ( a lot of repetition, I guess it must be a really important point?)
Here is a good one: Revelation 21:8 , "But as for the cowardly [Lying Ted] the faithless [McConnel], the detestable [most of them], as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars [Trump, and, sorry, Kayleigh, but I don't make the rules] , their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Romans 13:9 is nice (if one is not a fucking hypocrite) "For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

I can understand why Trump looked like he was afraid of the Bible he was holding in that photo-op.

Republicans are horrible people.

@23
Drummer Grrl, I also believe in the Trinity.
Although, I'm getting more Calvinistic by the week, as this torrent of evil continues.

@8: If your life is better with a yes, then it's yes. If it's better with a no, then it's a no.

@31 Spase, nailed it on all counts.

However, while I think anyone who didn't vote for HRC deserves a lot of ire aimed at them, it should have never been that close in the first place where their votes made a difference. The Dem party itself is a disaster.

And at some point, when is enough, enough? How long am I supposed to keep voting for Democrats who keep doing the same stupid things over and over again? It's enabling. At some point, you feel like you need to send a different type of message, because they're clearly not getting it. Biden is HRC 2.0. More and more of the liberal-left feels disenfranchised from the Dem party as its "center" is pulled further and further right by an increasingly small minority of Repubs. Will I vote for Biden? Of course. But it's also getting more and more difficult to keep voting for a party that just keeps supporting the same broken political system that has left us in this mess.

@34: "More and more of the liberal-left feels disenfranchised from the Dem party as its "center" is pulled further and further right..."

That's the sound of a healthy democracy! The power is in the center.

I mean the struggle for the center is the sound of a healthy democracy.

Great observation. If the Republicans want to confirm, then Senator Harris gets to ask questions.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/gop-facing-nightmare-ginsburg-replacement-hearings-with-kamala-harris-grilling-trump-nominee-dem-strategist/

RIP John Turner

I just read that according to Jewish tradition, a person who dies on Rosh Hashanah, which began last night, is a tzaddik, a person of great righteousness. Baruch Dayan HaEmet.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought her entire life for herself and for everyone else. In the end she fought pancreatic cancer virulently, until it took her life. Her legacy, how she changed life for so many Americans, especially women, is unparalleled.

The best way to honor RBG's legacy is not to give up, is not to despair and to FIGHT.

*valiantly not virulently

@44,

Given that they recently brought back several furloughed staff members, I'd imagine it could be quite a while. Here's a question that may have a more tangible answer... Why do you care? If you hate the site so much, just quit coming here. You won't be missed.

@31 Do you feel the same way about Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and all male congressional representatives? Here's a historical list of politicians who stayed in office well into their 90s and some were even 100 or older.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-living_United_States_senators

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden and Donald Trump BELIEVE THEY DESERVE TO BE PRESIDENT. Period. They are white men who believe they deserve to be POTUS solely because of who they are - not because of what they have to offer, what they can bring to the job, what they can do for the country, or what the American people want from a POTUS.

You say that there was a carbon copy of RBG that could have replaced her. Who exactly would that be? Having a vagina does not make someone a carbon copy of one of (if not literally the most) the most intelligent people to ever sit on the Supreme Court of the United States EVER. She was extraordinarily sharp until the very end. Her judgements and dissents and arguments were well thought out, backed by facts (not emotion), and showed an exemplary understanding of the law and the Constitution.

I absolutely disagree with you and your misogynist statement about how she could have easily been replaced and was a narcissist because she chose not to retire and just let another woman take her place.

You need to educate yourself on the exactly who RGB was, what she did during her life and her time on the SCOTUS, and understand just how wrong what you are saying is.

Brett Kavanaugh is an alcoholic frat boy who is a total piece of shit who is on the court solely to work for Trump. He has no integrity, no ethics, is not intelligent, does not understand (or even give a fuck about) the law or the Constitution. Gorsuch is also a total partisan douchebag, but he is at least someone who has read the Constitution (though he does not recognize it as an evolving, ever changing document).

RGB was appointed by the senate 96-3. Since 1980 there only a handful of judges who had such overwhelming bipartisan support: Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia (with whom Ginsburg was able to work with and build bridges with in ways none of her or his colleagues were able to do while on the court), Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter.

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/nominations/SupremeCourtNominations1789present.htm

Oh and just in case people are distracted:

Coronavirus Cases:
6,967,146
Deaths:
203,823

No vaccine expected until April 2021 at the EARLIEST.

@30 - the problem is that a lot of other peoples' "yes" answer to your question ends up making MY life worse. People take religion as a license to fuck with other people like they do few other things. We'll be better off when we move past it.

@34 - Biden is not HRC 2.0 (at least electorally) for a couple of reasons. First, one of HRC's problems was the significant fraction of American males/pigs who would not vote for a woman. Second, he has not teed up a big fat issue like the email server. You may feel that HRC lost because she was not far enough left. I would submit it was a combination of sexism on the part of the electorate, hubris on her part. and Russian interference that took a lot of people by surprise. In general I think her positions are squarely where most Americans are.

@34

You should keep voting for Dems because, to sum up, Republicans are horrible people. There can be much that is frustrating with the party, but even though I'm some years older than AOC, I draw inspiration from her. With her positions and commitments, she could easily fit some sort of Green Party caricature, but she is intensely patriotic and intensely Democratic, even if she does clash with some members of her party. Part of what's brilliant about her--and no doubt what's threatening her detractors, who never skip an opportunity to try to delegitimize her for her youth or her past job or anything else--is the way she frames patriotism and other American values as something that all people have the right to, not just the elites. So yeah keep voting for the Dems, even if it's someone like Joe Manchin. (Though maybe not Zell Miller.)

@41, @46, and @48 xina: Heaven bless you, and amen. Agreed and seconded.

Rest in peace, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. you will always be one of my biggest heroes.

@47:

Yeah, we get it: sexually empowered females scare the ever-living crap out of you.

@21: STFU, you delusional MAGAturd.
@27 ProfessorHiztory: And just when I finally got a hysterectomy, resolving 43 years worth of monthly nightmares. I weep for humanity. This GOP shitshow will bring on a revolution, and it will indeed be bloody.
@47: Yes, fear me, MAGA incel. I'm a white female over 50, I have control over my body, and I vote Democrat. You and your ilk can all shrink up like a little wart-infested pink pickles.

@50: Even if society somehow moved passed religion, the spiritual would still exist.

Raindrop there is a difference between spirituality and religion. Religion is an organized belief. In a judaeo christian reference that’s a belief in a vengeful supreme being as the center of all of life. Western religions are about fear, guilt and control. Spirituality is seeking peace and balance within one self. It doesn’t require a belief in the supernatural, subjugation of others or proselytization.

@58: Exactly, that's what I pointed out. Spirituality exists with or without belief in a God(s).

Since I gave my support to @31’s post, I feel both your follow-up comments reflects on me as well, so I'm offering my 2 cents (you each get a penny)...

@46 xina, coming in hot! @31 shared an educated opinion, and while you’re welcome to share your disagreement, I feel you're off-base with the misplaced anger and accusations. I don’t know if you guys have some sort of previous history, but I’m not seeing what you’re seeing in @31. And I’m not seeing it in his post history either. Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems like you two share a lot of political similarities. I get the rage at what’s going on in this country. There are no more profanities that I can offer to describe the rage I feel. But I would suggest we not direct it at those that largely agree with us unless it’s truly called for.

Regardless of gender, mid-seventies is pushing it for the presidency, congress, and judgeships. And there were a lot of admirable qualities to RBG, but she was just a person with her share of flaws, and she overstayed her good sense. While I don’t necessarily support a strict age limit (I do strongly support term limits), cognitive decline is inevitable and appreciable. Even with RBG.

@49 spase, I would have also been really upset at xina’s comment, and I would let her know it too. And I think your follow-up points are well taken. However, I think where you went with that avenue of personal attack was really wrong and uncalled for despite what she said.

@51 dvs99, HRC was one of the most qualified people to ever run for president. It's not fair that she lost to the least unqualified person to ever be elected president. But we don't elect presidents based on qualifications or policy.

There were a ton of factors, including sexism, that made her a weak candidate in this political age. It was obvious she was a weak candidate, just like it was obvious that Gore was a weak candidate and Dukakis was a weak candidate. Just like it was obvious that Bill Clinton and Obama were strong candidates.

Biden is a weak candidate. He will win the popular vote, and has a more than even chance of winning the electoral college, but considering the circumstances we’re living in, even a cocker-spaniel should be able to win in a landslide. Carter lost a second term because gas was a $1.25 a gallon. That Biden was the best America had to offer to defeat Trump is politically negligent.

Biden didn’t win the candidacy based on his merits, he didn’t win on his “record”, he didn’t win on his charm, or ability to lead. He won it because in a country of political ignorance and civic apathy, people recognized his name and knew who they were getting, and they were told that he was their best chance at beating Trump. The DNC and his enablers could have told him not to run. He could have had the good sense not to run. And that describes Hillary’s candidacy as well. So that’s what I mean by HRC 2.0.

@34 seatackled, Yes, I agree, Republicans are horrible people. I’ve called them much worse in these comment sections. If it’s so evident to the public that Republicans are horrible, why is Trump president and the Senate majority Republican? And so was the House until 2 years ago. Is there a significant congress person who has come out and publicly said the Republicans are horrible? Has the DNC? Biden? (RBG?).

AOC is awesome, and gives us hope. Except she hasn’t gotten much support from the old guard Dems. As usual, they’re scared and they want her to shut up. Because they think they know what’s best. The same Dems that have been leading us on this downward spiral for the last several decades know what's best.

So larger question, looking past this election, is do you continue to support the same people that keep leading us into one political disaster after another? And while we might be able to keep swallowing it, how do you get all those disenfranchised people to support them when they keep hearing the plan is to stay on the same course - the downward spiral.

@48 xina, thank you, this can’t be emphasized enough. It hasn’t come close to being overstated.

The Trump administration and Republicans are directly responsible for killing 200,000+ American citizens and sickening millions more. This is the sort of thing that in 50 years, people will look back at this in disgust that the United States of America in the 21st century did this to their own citizens.

I’ve run out of words to describe how horrible Republicans are, but I want to hear from Biden’s lips, I want to to hear it from every Democratic Congress person: “Trump and Republicans are directly responsible for killing 200,000 of your fellow American Citizens.” And then I want to hear them explain what Trump and Republicans have done. You want me to start saying nice things about the Democratic Party? They can start with that.

I want to see CNN interviewing Trump supporters and asking them point blank why they support Trump and Republicans killing Americans.

I want to see White House reporters ask Trump why he’s killing American citizens.

We are not taking this seriously. This is a real-life shit show, and we’re not taking this seriously. That it's come to this is a national disgrace.

@56 - that's fine with me. No one ever invaded a country or passed a law regarding what we can/can't do with our bodies on the basis of "spiritualism." I don't care what anyone believes, but please don't turn it into a gang and work to get lots of other people to buy it so you can push others around.

@62 - I agree that HRC was extraordinarily qualified to be Pres. And you are right that we don't always consider qualifications when we pick a president. I suspect you and I will disagree on this but I firmly believe that Biden has a far better chance of beating Trump than someone further to the left would.

It's easy for those of us who live in a Democratic bubble to forget that the election will be decided by people who may not agree with us. And those people are going to want to vote centrist. You are right, the DNC could probably have talked Biden out of running. Who would we have put up? Bernie? most of America would have run away from that faster than you can say "raise my taxes." Look at how hard it is to get the country to even accept Obamacare, which is demonstrably benefiting many of them, because they don't want to hear about "socialism."

For that matter someone DID talk Biden out of running in 2016. If he had run, he'd be running for re-election now and we'd all be saying "Donald who?" I don't like that Hillary lost, and I don't think it is fair. But I think that as a woman she suffered from ingrained sexism in this country, and being a Clinton is a good bit of baggage in many circles too. We have to run candidates for the electorate that we have, not the one we want.

@64, p.s. yes I understand people can’t say certain things literally without issues of libel coming up. I’m offering shorthand for what Trump and Republicans do all the time - there are ways to say what needs to be said. Only in this case, it’s the truth.

Pretty in Pink and dvs99: Thank you and bless you both for being so consistently spot on! Well said, both of you.

@64: And do you really think that Trump supporters will have an epiphany and break into tears and apologize when asked by Chris Cuomo point blank why they support Trump and Republicans killing Americans?

Yes, we're not taking this seriously.

@66 dvs99, all good points. And that’s a good reminder on 2016 - I agree Biden would have been a much stronger candidate and I think he would have beat Trump, primarily because sexism wouldn't have been a factor.

And I don't want to understate the sexism that worked against HRC and continues to work agains women in every facet of life. Women are the majority of the US population, but are second class citizens.

As for Bernie, I only hope he steps aside (and retires from the Senate). Like Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, and many other Dems, Sanders has overstayed, and is now more of a detriment than positive. I hope many younger and more dynamic people take up some of the policy platforms that he’s pushing.

It’s not that I’m a hard “disagree” on centrist over someone more to the left. I don’t know for sure. The point is, none of us do, and what I do know is that what Dems have been doing is not working. They are losing. Sometimes you need to try a different strategy.

One of the biggest issues I see is that Dems are virtually ALWAYS playing to the right. The excuse is always “what about the Republicans?” Do Republicans ever think “what would Democrats think about this?” Not really, and there might be something to be learned from that.

What is it that separates Dems on the “left” vs Dems in the “center”? What kind of policies is are candidates on the "left" pushing that centrist VOTERS object to (based on actual policy, not what they've been brainwashed into believing)? “Socialism” is not an answer, that’s just messaging.

I understand it's really hard for people in general to break through the mental barriers of “this is the way it has always been, and always will be” type thinking. People get so stuck in the conventional wisdom, and what they’re being told by the “experts”, that they just take that as “truth”.

dvs99, I always appreciate your comments and perspective on things.

@68 griz, thank you and bless you as well.

@71: Good points P'nP - but why should Bernie retire? How would a different D-VT make a difference? In addition, Socialists age well. Remember that nasty Fidel?

This notion that aging politicians need to retire to make way for new blood is such a canard. Nobody had to retire for Obama, Reagan, Trump or anyone else to rise to great heights. You can even add AOC to that list. Don't worry, nature or forced retirement typically make the call.