That new blockbuster movie “The Hunger Games” is about a tyrannical government that takes unwilling tribute from an oppressed American people. Sound like the “individual mandate” to you? How many people want to be unwillingly indentured to insurance companies for most of their lives? by State fiat?
On that note, see the “Healthcare Games” Twitter account at https://twitter.com/#!/HellthcareGames . It has contact info for you to contact the Supreme Court and tell them what you think, e.g., whether you want to be a servant to the insurance corporations or not. If you don’t fight, you may have no one to blame but yourself if you lose.
Okay, even I’m getting tired of writing diaries against Kagan’s nomination, but it’s not over yet…and the symbolism of “Judge” Vaughn Walker in sunny San Fran overturning the people’s will to decide on marriage issues today, just before the Senate caves and puts a terrible candidate on our Supreme Court, is just too much to resist writing about.
Again, at least try to get the Senate to delay the nomination until after summer recess, so that Kagan’s possible plagiarism issues, etc., can be more fully considered by the American people.
With gay marriage forced through now, we can afford Kagan on the Court even less than before. Again, the coincidence of what the federal court in Northern California is doing at this time, happening at the same time as the Kagan hearings, has incredible symbolism vis-a-vis Kagan and the corruption of our judiciary.
Jeff Sessions can be phoned at (202) 224-4124, or faxed at (202) 224-3149. Or, Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121. Again, “Senator Sessions, please put a hold on Kagan’s nomination untll after summer recess. Her enabling plagiarism at Harvard Law must be fully investigated, along with any other possible charges. And this is more crucial now after the incorrect gay marriage ruling in California. Thank you.” or such may work. Or words of your choice.
Thanks for your patience, and keep fighting till the fat lady sings. (No pun intended)
Yes, I’m aware that debate has already started on Kagan, as the front page notes. (Hat tip to Brian Darling) However, the situation is so egregious, and extraordinary, that maybe because of what the debate does reveal (the sorriness of Kagan as a potential Justice), and the lack of full debate or information on things like her, uh, possibly coddling plagiarism at Harvard Law…whoops!!) are more than enough reason to delay the final vote until after the summer recess. What’s the rush, unless you’re Obama and afraid to let folks have some time to think about what your nominee’s really like?
So, call it futile, but in any case, do CALL, to Sessions at (202) 224-4124 and say something like, “Senator Sessions, please put a hold on Kagan’s nomination untll after summer recess. Her enabling plagiarism at Harvard Law must be fully investigated, along with any other possible charges. Thank you.”
Or call your own rep via Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. And call again tomorrow, too, for good measure, if you can.
“U.S. Senator John McCain said on Monday he would allow a Senate vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee to be U.S. intelligence chief as soon as he receives an intelligence report he requested 18 months ago.
But another senator, Kit Bond, said he might also move to block a vote on the spy chief nominee in order to pry loose a separate intelligence assessment on Guantanamo detainees.
McCain, a Republican, has placed a “hold” — a procedural move blocking a Senate floor vote — on the nomination of James Clapper as director of national intelligence. But he told reporters he actually had no objections to Clapper taking the post. …”
Well, we who DO have objections to Kagan taking the post, and have seen no real vetting of the plagiarism issue (or maybe other issues…), have every right to ask for a hold until the American people can be shown past the smoke and mirrors and to the full truth about Kagan.
Keep fighting. It looks dark, but it’s not over yet. Thanks.
Supposedly, Jeff Sessions and others were informed of this all, but: for those who haven’t heard, there is some ugly scuttlebutt about Elena Kagan turning a blind eye to faculty misbehavior at Harvard Law School. Does this make her a good choice for an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court?
See the strikingly named “Harvard Plagiarism Archive” by “AuthorSkeptics”, starting with the 7/20/10 entry Script and Synoposis of the July 8 “I’m Larry Tribe” Video,
“A reader suggested we post a script of the “I’m Larry Tribe” video (which summarizes the three ghostwriting/plagiarism scandals at Harvard Law School that Dean Elena Kagan was instrumental in whitewashing), released July 8, which we helped the Harvard Parody bloggers put together. …
…
1. Introduction and basic background concerning the March, 2005, Harvard Law School Drama Society parody show in which students made fun of Professor Laurence Tribe for his routine use of student ghostwriters, and for his recently discovered plagiarism, for which he had received no punishment. (0:00 to 2:15)
2 . Alan Dershowitz: an “orgy of plagiarism.” Evidence summarized on the AuthorSkeptics’ blog, and the detailed analysis of California attorney Frank J. Menetrez, together show beyond any doubt that Alan Dershowitz’s 2003 book, A Case for Israel, plagiarized extensively from Joan Peters’ 1984 book, From Time Immemorial — an “orgy of plagiarism,” as one reviewer commented shortly after the book appeared. Despite all this evidence, Dean Elena Kagan imposed no punishment on Dershowitz. (2:15 to 4:00)
3. Charles Ogletree: “Double plagiarism” and “tenure-revoking ghostwriting.” Interviews of Harvard Law Review editors and Harvard Law School professors, as reported by the New Republic in 1993, document that then-untenured professor Charles Ogletree was charged with having fraudulently hired students to ghostwrite his tenure article. Ogletree denied the charge. There was no conclusive proof of the ghostwriting, as no one was willing to come forward publicly as a witness for fear of being called racist. In this climate, Ogletree was granted tenure. However, a decade later in 2004 the original charges took on new credibility, when Ogletree was forced to admit to heavy reliance on student ghostwriters, after ghostwriters who drafted a just-released book for him plagiarized six consecutive paragraphs from a book by Yale law professor Jack Balkin. Dean Elena Kagan learned of the offense through an anonymous tip. She did nothing for months. In a Clintonesque effort to minimize news attention she waited until the Friday evening before Labor Day to release her brief internet statement on it (a tactic which backfired when several students, disturbed by such chicanery in an academic environment, started the “OgletreeSkeptics,” later renamed “AuthorSkeptics,” project in response). Kagan imposed no punishment on Ogletree, nor did she revisit the original charge that Ogletree had obtained tenure through fraud. Kagan imposed no punishment even after the Harvard Crimson reported in 2006 that Ogletree’s book contained four consecutive sentences which plagiarized from a 1996 book by University of California scholar Roy Brooks (the four sentences appeared in exactly the same order in Brooks’s book). (4:00 to 7:00)
…
5. Unanswered criticisms of Kagan and Tribe.
Kagan’s action met with severe and sustained criticism from Dean Velvel — in particular, her apparent decision that for a Harvard law professor to delegate the writing of a book to a law student, and take sole authorship credit, is not an offense deserving of punishment. … Tribe’s scholarly practices also came under sharp attack by noted historian Peter Charles Hoffer, who holds a Ph.D from Harvard and whose son was a student of Tribe’s. On national television Hoffer stated that Tribe “is misusing assistants”; that he’s “not a scholar anymore”; that he’s “sort of running a research corporation.” Hoffer further stated that he doesn’t see how Tribe can “stand up in front of a group of people as an author” when he’s actually “a compiler” of material drafted for him by others. Hoffer concluded that if he had been aware of Tribe’s scholarly practices while his son was at Harvard Law School, he’d have advised his son to “take someone else for constitutional law.” (12:00 to 16:00) …”
Video of Hoffer’s remarks below (as also YouTube-embedded at the Plagiarism Archive…so if the embedding here doesn’t work, just go over there):
In fairness, some say that the plagiarism was not deliberate; see, for example, MediaMatters, Right-wingers falsely accuse Kagan of covering up plagiarism at Harvard, which criticizes Michelle Malkin and Jewish World Review for their own critiques of Kagan, and tries to excuse Tribe and Ogletree to some extent. That article says nothing about the Dershowitz case, though.
I know Dershowitz may be popular here at RedState, but that’s not the issue, as we know; if he plagiarized, he plagiarized, regardless of his popularity rating.
There is much, much more to all this, but I’ve given you a taste: investigate further to your heart’s content.
If anyone can tell us that Sessions and friends already investigated all this and found Kagan to be squeaky clean, let us know. If not, though…we risk the corruption of our Supreme Court and our whole government by enabling cronyism and lies not just to be unpunished, but rewarded and advanced in power and position. What a disgrace.
Sessions can be phoned at (202) 224-4124, or faxed at (202) 224-3149. Or, if you prefer the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121 as always.
(And if you’d like to drop a line to the “AuthorSkeptics” at the Plagiarism Archive, either to thank them for their vigilance or to recommend that they talk to a major news outlet as soon as possible and get out their message: click on AuthorSkeptics@hotmail.com.)
“…In a statement released this evening, Sen. Nelson said, “I have heard concerns from Nebraskans regarding Ms. Kagan, and her lack of a judicial record makes it difficult for me to discount the concerns raised by Nebraskans, or to reach a level of comfort that these concerns are unfounded. Therefore, I will not vote to confirm Ms. Kagan’s nomination.”
Nelson is the only Democrat to oppose Kagan at this point. Five Republicans, on the other hand, have said they will support Kagan’s nomination, giving her more than enough votes to win confirmation. A vote is expected in the Senate late next week.
…
Nelson did note that if a procedural vote is held on Kagan, he will not filibuster, since he believes Kagan deserves an up or down vote. But on the final vote, Nelson is a no.”
Well well. We have a Democrat showing more sanity than “Lindsey Lograham” and other fine feathered RINO’s. (It’s sad that Ben isn’t willing to filibuster, but a no vote is still a no vote.)
Keep punching, and remember the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 if you want to beat Kagan the tough way, i.e., not a filibuster but 51 votes against her. It can still happen, but you have to make it happen.
“Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has written an extensive letter to members of the Senate calling for a no vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan. The letter focuses attention on the Clinton administration memos Kagan authored showing her attempting to manipulate abortion opinion. …
Whereas ACOG found no occasion in which the three-day-long abortion procedure is medically necessary for women, Kagan pressured ACOG to include language saying there may be instances where it is and the Supreme Court eventually relied on that language to overturn state bans on the abortion procedure.
That eventually kept partial-birth abortions legal for several years longer until the Supreme Court reversed itself when considering a national ban Congress approved with medical findings that partial-birth abortions are medically unnecessary.
In his letter, Koop calls “unethical” and “disgraceful” Kagan’s effort to persuade the medical group to change its expert opinion to conform to her political demands.
“She was willing to replace a medical statement with a political statement that was not supported by any existing medical data,” writes Koop.
“Kagan’s political language, a direct result of the amendment she made to ACOG’s Policy Statement, made its way into American jurisprudence and misled federal courts for the next decade,” he said.
He condemns Kagan for having “manipulated the medical policy statement on partial-birth abortion of a major medical organization.”
“In my many decades of service as a medical doctor, I have never known of a case where partial-birth abortion was necessary in place of a more humane and ethical alternative,” the 93-year-old doctor continued. “I urge the Senate to reject the politicization of medical science and vote no on the Kagan nomination.” …”
So even though NYT says Lugar has now declared for Kagan, getting the truth out about her could lead to a miracle before the final vote. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 as always for those who want to vent to their reps. The life you save may not be your own, but even life in the womb counts.
“Claiming to have an obligation to honor President Obama’s choice for a new Supreme Court justice — so long as she is qualified — Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina today joined Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee in approving Elena Kagan’s nomination to the court. …
Kagan, currently Mr. Obama’s solicitor general, has proven that she has a good character and understands the difference between serving as a politician versus serving as a judge, Graham said. President Obama chose ‘wisely’ in his nomination, he added. …”
Hopefully something can change his mind in the next month, but for now, it looks like our Constitution and liberties are going down the toilet at jet speed.
Sorry for using THE CAPS in title, but it seems like the sleeping giant known as the 41 Republican U.S. Senators might actually have some life in them. See Human Events, Jeff Sessions on Kagan: “Filibuster Is Not Off The Table”,
“…In an exclusive interview, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said that a ‘filibuster is not off the table,’ but cautioned that such a procedural tactic would only be employed under ‘extraordinary circumstances.’ Asked if Kagan’s penchant for judicial and political activism hit the benchmark of ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ Sessions wouldn’t commit, but noted how Kagan did not ‘help herself in her testimony.’ If confirmed, Sessions said that Kagan could very well be one of five judges ‘who can actually redefine the meaning of those words [the Constitution] that protect our liberties.’
‘Frankly, I don’t think she assuaged our concerns at the [confirmation] hearing.’”
Well, Jeff, I don’t think she assuaged a LOT of people’s concerns. Time to act, beats being a doormat. (And some Red State Dem senators might even follow, to separate themselves from Obama and his Harvardlaw cronies and big government gone nuts…(see the previous diary for more details))
To reinforce Sessions’ filibustory tendencies (and those of his fellow senators), call his office at (202) 224-4124, or send a fax to (202) 224-3149. Our senators are beginning to come around, let’s make sure they finish the job.
Orrin Hatch of Utah isn’t fond of Kagan–but isn’t fond of the judicial filibuster, either. Calling Senator Hatch: could one make an exception in a specially noxious case? What’s the point of being “against” Kagan if she slips through anyway?
Those who believe in God might see some divine providence in Scott Brown’s victory which gives Republicans the weapon of a filibuster, because of the magic number 41. In the previous diary, McChrystal v. Kagan: straight talk v. schmoozery. –Filibuster, it was mentioned that the McC’s, McCain and McConnell, could be useful in preventing Elena Kagan from traipsing onto our Supreme Court and enabling Nancy Pelosi to be the Daily-Fruit-and-Vegetable-Serving-Enforcer-in-Chief.
But if senators like Hatch disarm themselves in advance and surrender a venerable senatorial weapon like the filibuster…well, even those who dislike Robert Byrd (RIP) have to admit the old bird did respect the power of the Senate. Maybe Obama should be made to fear the power of the Senate himself, rather than just treating it as a rubber stamp.
You can contact Hatch by telephone at (202) 224-5251, or by fax at (202) 224-6331, and let him know what you think, e.g.,
“I want Senator Hatch to filibuster Elena Kagan, since she is bad enough that Hatch should do the right thing. This one really needs to be filibustered.”
The more he hears from you, the better this’ll work. Save the Republic, before it’s too late.
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Dan Spencer
Jeff Emanuel
Neil Stevens
Caleb Howe
