In his Atlantic essay, "The Cruelty is the Point", Adam Serwer described the joyful participants in 20th century lynchings, "Their names have mostly been lost to time. But these grinning men were someone’s brother, son, husband, father. They were human beings, people who took immense pleasure in the utter cruelty of torturing others to death—and were so proud of doing so that they posed for photographs with their handiwork, jostling to ensure they caught the eye of the lens, so that the world would know they’d been there. Their cruelty made them feel good, it made them feel proud, it made them feel happy." So it is with the current ultra-revanchist majority on the Supreme Court.

Or as Robert Reich notes in the Guardian The US supreme court is now cruel, partisan – and squandering its moral authority. They have given up any pretense of evenhandedness or reverence for the law or the Constitution, pushing instead for exerting raw judicial hubris: "we're in charge now, so you'll comply." Consistency is immaterial to them, as they have exhibited frequently in recent weeks: assertion of utter control is what's important. They are the resurgent Taliban, needing to broadcast their usurpation of the legal world. Justice Breyerrecently lamented the upsurge in "shadow docket" activism, but these zealots are so eager to assert control they can't tolerate the normal process of judicial restraint and procedure. They want to forcefully demonstrate their ascendancy. The lawlessness is the point.

Last edited by NW Ponderer; 09/02/21 03:58 PM.
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich