The Friday Link for 3/1/24

Hi all!

This week let's start with the SCOTUS' decision to weigh in on whether or not Trump has full immunity from all actions while he was president.  It's clear Trump tried to orchestrate an overthrowing of the government on January 6th, 2021 with the intentional purpose of disregarding a legitimate election and installing himself as President.  But now he claims that as long as he was President, you can't hold him accountable for any crime he committed while in the White House.  

The Supreme Court could have picked this case up in December when there was a call for them to weigh in on it.  They turned down the chance then, and now seem to have given Trump a massive advantage by waiting until March to change their minds.  This delays his trial until likely Fall, but that will only happen then if they don't make one of the worst rulings in the history of this country and side with Trump.

The founding Fathers CLEARLY did not want the position of President to be unaccountable to anyone, but let's face reality.  Alito and Thomas are already bought and paid for Immunity votes.  Gorsuch will likely join them.  The rest of the Supreme Court must decide if they want to be part of what would be one of the worst decisions in the history of this country. Let's hope they think about their legacy.

This is a great opportunity to revisit what could be the worst SCOTUS decision in the history of this country, Dred Scott. The case involved a slave who left a slave state, was in a free state (at one point being stationed at Fort Snelling in Minnesota), and then returned to a slave state.  The law back then was that if a slave was taken to a free state, that slave was then free in the eyes of the law.  The SCOTUS ruling contradicted the existing law, basically saying slaves would be slaves regardless of where they were in the US (Free state or Slave state), that Black Americans were never to be considered actual citizens of the country, and the ruling clearly implied freed Black people could become slaves again with zero recourse.  Next stop the Civil War. 

Sweet Lord was that an atrocious ruling.  Taney was a horrible human being.

Crash Course Black American History has the details of the ruling.

Speaking of the Civil War, let's now look at the conflict that freed the slaves and one of the most interesting military leaders this country ever produced, William Tecumseh Sherman. Up until Grant and Sherman took over, Union military leaders were trying too hard to not upset their former buddies in the Southern Military, thinking the South would eventually come around to their way of thinking.  Grant and Sherman understood that if they wanted to end this war, they needed to break the South over their knees, and they did.

Sherman wasn't perfect.  He was cruel to the freed slaves, viewing his job as more beating the South versus being a great liberator, but he sure did understand how to send a message in military terms. 

The folks at '55 Folks' have a great breakdown of Sherman and his war-ending actions in Georgia. 

Finally tonight, the Daily Show takes on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s insanely stupid campaign for President.

Have a great weekend everyone and remember to keep your vaccinations up to date!  I don't want you sick, dead, with long COVID, or bankrupted by medical bills.