Free Republic

I spend a lot of time talking about how western civilization – in particular as driven by the United States – is easily the greatest that mankind has yet created. If one looks at it objectively, it’s not even close. The list of things that are part of the everyday life of people around the world is basically a list of things that were invented or developed in the west. From cars to planes to advanced agriculture to elevators to plastic and mobile phones and computers and DNA and much, much more. But every now and then something happens that...

Statistics showing that Associate Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson has spoken more words than any other Supreme Court Justice since she joined the Court in 2022 has inspired her to demand a pay raise. "Data compiled by the New York Times show me far ahead of the others," she said. "I have spoken more than twice as many words (11,003) as second place finisher Amy Coney Barrett (4,475), more than three times as many as Chief Justice John Roberts (3,469), and more than 100 times as many as Clarence Thomas. Yet, I am still the lowest paid member of the...

The justices left in place a lower-court decision that allows the transfer of land in central Arizona known as Oak Flat that is sacred to Western Apache Indians.The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the federal government to transfer thousands of acres of national forestland containing a Native American sacred site to a copper-mining company. The justices left in place a lower-court decision that allows the transfer of land in central Arizona known as Oak Flat. The land, which has great spiritual value to the Western Apache Indians, sits on the world’s third-largest deposit of copper ore. Justice...

The decision revives a lawsuit against a Texas officer who shot a driver after endangering himself by jumping onto a moving car. ============================================================= During a routine traffic stop near Houston in 2016, a police officer killed Ashtian Barnes by blindly firing two shots into his car after jumping onto the doorsill as Barnes began to drive away. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the shooting was justified by the threat that the officer, Harris County Constable Roberto Felix Jr., faced when he shot Barnes. Last Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected the...

During Supreme Court oral arguments in the Trump v. CASA, Washington, and New Jersey cases, Justice Clarence Thomas delivered a surgical takedown of the legal rationale for nationwide injunctions, using just one line.The case centers around whether lower courts can issue sweeping injunctions that block federal policies nationwide, even when only a handful of plaintiffs are before the court. Representing the United States, Solicitor General John Sauer argued that such broad orders violate established legal norms and Supreme Court precedent.“We believe that the best reading of that is what you said in Trump against Hawaii, which is that Wirtz in...

No matter what his detractors have thrown at him, Justice Thomas has stayed the course and remained true to his principles. An absolute legend.

"American heroes such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Sowell, Justice Clarence Thomas, and countless others represent what is best in America and her citizens. Their achievements, which have monumentally advanced the tradition of equality under the law in our great country, continue to serve as an inspiration for all Americans."

The federal U.S. Judicial Conference on Thursday said it will not be referring Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Justice Department over allegations that he could have violated ethics laws. Thomas has been accused of violating the court's ethical guidelines by failing to report certain luxurious trips that was [sic] covered by close friend and mega Republican donor Harlan Crow. Thomas claimed he was told that he did not need to report the trips because of his close relationship with Crow and his wife. U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad, who serves as the conference's secretary, also noted that Thomas...

Biden and Thomas on the Natural LawRecently, I watched an excellent documentary called Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words. That movie includes the 1991 Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings where Clarence Thomas had to defend himself against the false-accusations of Anita Hill in regards to verbal sexual harassment. Most people in the 1990s were fascinated by the racy language surrounding things like “Long Dong Silver” and other odd statements from Hill. But what I found most interesting in the movie was that the then-Senator Joe Biden tried to hang Clarence Thomas on these false-accusations mainly because the Democrats were...

Kamala Harris has strong ties to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves and his activist wife. Which is why a Harris Department of Justice could be more dangerous than Biden's DOJ. Democrats ended their four-day convention on Thursday with a vacuous speech by the party’s installed candidate, Kamala Harris. Her short stint on the main stage made the regime media, which has blessed her with 84 percent positive news coverage since the Pelosi coup according to one analysis, drunk with joy. Harris, like the roster of speakers before her, spent most of the speech demonizing her general...

Joe Biden directed Department of Homeland Security boss Alexandro Mayorkas to assemble an “independent security review” of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13. The inclusion of Obama DHS boss Janet Napolitano ensures that this review will be anything but independent. Napolitano made her public debut in the 1991 campaign to keep Clarence Thomas off the U.S. Supreme Court. Anita Hill accused Thomas of sexually harassing her and Napolitano, then with a Phoenix law firm, represented Hill in the matter. In the confirmation proceedings, Hill’s witness Susan Hoerchner, “suddenly developed amnesia,” about parts of her story that contradicted...

On July 1, 2024 the Supreme Court ruled U.S. presidents have immunity for official acts with President Donald Trump at the center of the case. In his concurrence in the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas made the argument that Special Counsel appointments could broadly be unconstitutional, but especially if they are not appointed by Congress. "It is difficult to see how the Special Counsel has an office 'established by Law,' as required by the Constitution. When the Attorney General appointed the Special Counsel, he did not identify any statute that clearly creates such an office," Clarence wrote. "None of the...

A pair of Senate Democrats has asked the Justice Department to criminally investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over travel given as gifts and a loan for a luxury car from wealthy donor friends. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who chairs the Judiciary subcommittee on federal courts, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden of Oregon sent a letter last week asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to examine whether Thomas violated federal ethics and tax laws when he didn't disclose as income more than $267,000 of a loan that was allegedly forgiven in 2008.

The federal judge overseeing former President Trump’s classified documents case granted his request to delay a few deadlines further so prosecutors can evaluate the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Trump’s lawyers on Friday asked Judge Aileen Cannon for permission to file more documents to argue that the former president should be immune from prosecution in the case. In their motion this week, Trump’s team proposed a schedule that extends through early September, meaning a ruling wouldn’t come until at least the fall. On Saturday, Cannon, a Trump appointee, said prosecutors and special counsel Jack Smith had until July 18 to respond...

Some unhinged leftist tic tocker threatens Donald Trump and Clarence Thomas. Will the FBI and secret service do anything about it?

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas tackled a question in his presidential immunity opinion Monday that Donald Trump’s attorneys didn’t bring before the nation’s highest court: Was special counsel Jack Smith legally appointed? Thomas joined his fellow conservative justices on a blockbuster majority opinion that expanded the definition of presidential powers and narrowed the scope of Trump’s D.C. election interference trial. He also wrote a concurring opinion that delved into the separate question of whether Attorney General Merrick Garland violated the Constitution when he appointed Smith in November 2022 to oversee the two federal prosecutions of Trump.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas questioned, in a concurring opinion affirming presidents have “at least presumptive immunity” for official acts, whether Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office and appointment are constitutional in the first place.In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled presidents have “absolute immunity” for “actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority” and “at least presumptive immunity” for all “official acts.”The decision came after Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, indicted former President Donald Trump for questioning the administration of the 2020 election. The Supreme Court also sent several of the alleged actions...

Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas has questioned the legitimacy of Jack Smith's appointment as special counsel as the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump is partially immune from prosecution for actions taken while he was in the White House. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices returned Trump's case to the trial court to determine what is left of special counsel Jack Smith's indictment of Trump.

The Supreme Court issued a much-awaited ruling in a tax case, holding that the mandatory repatriation tax passed as part of the 2017 Trump tax cuts did not exceed Congress’ constitutional authority. The court’s holding was narrow, and significant in large part for issues it did not address, leaving open questions related to the constitutionality of alternative taxing schemes—such as a so-called wealth tax—for another day. The 7-2 opinion in Moore v. United States, authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, noted that Article I of the Constitution affords Congress broad powers to lay and collect taxes, both direct and indirect taxes,...

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a part of President Trump's 2017 'Tax Cuts and Jobs Act' that levied a tax on capital appreciation is constitutional. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented. The court ruled 7-2 that the mandatory repatriation tax, or MRT, is constitutional under the taxation regimes defined in Article I and the 16th Amendment. In short, the MRT imposed a one-time requirement for US citizens and companies to repatriate money held overseas.In 2005, Charles and Kathleen Moore invested $40,000 in an Indian business named KisanKraft, which marketed power tools...