[ GOP logic] He was lying then so it doesn’t count. [/ GOP l]
I hope someone is guarding the coffin as the late Justice Ginsburg lies in repose in the Capitol; the Republicans are so without honor that I wouldn’t put it past them to rob her corpse.
Technically, as someone who was part of the U.S. government or a member of the military, she is “lying in state” in the U.S. Capitol. Rosa Parks lay in honor after her death in 2005. When Ted Kennedy’s casket was displayed at the John F. Kennedy Library (a non-governmental building) he was lying in repose.
I just looked this stuff up yesterday. I hadn’t realized the distinctions before.
I just saw a report that said she’s going to lie in repose at the Supreme Court and in state at the Capitol.
After the voters in Florida passed a proposition which allowed felons to vote, the legislature passed a new law that said, “OK, you can vote, so long as you pay off the costs of keeping you in prison first.” A state court ruled the law is constitutional. And so Michael Bloomberg claims he has raised $16 million to pay off the obligations of some 30 thousand felons.
That’s a spectacular “fuck you” to the Republicans. I assume they will now accuse him of buying votes.
I will point to the Republicans that in previous discussions it was noted that being an ex-felon is not a guarantee that they would vote for democratic candidates. AFAICR there were reports that a democratic lean is due because it is mostly the Democrats the ones who are willing to return a right to guys that already did pay their debt to society with their time in prison.
Relying on my memory because a quick Google didn’t find a cite for this:
There is also the issue that no one knows for sure what people owe, and even if they pay what someone tells them is the correct amount, if it turns out that they still owe something and vote it is apparently a felony.
Yeah, that’s fucked up, but it is Florida after all.
Only possible because they put a dollar-price on the votes to begin with. (My emphasis.)
Only the most gymnastic right-wing mind could define the ‘must pay all fines + restitution’ ruling as anything other than a poll tax—which, of course, is specifically prohibited in the U.S. Constitution (24th Amendment).
(AP on the ruling: Judges: Florida felons can't vote until they pay fines, fees | AP News )
So my question is: raised? Raised? The guy with $55 billion dollars to his name “raised” $16 million? FFS, Mike Bloomberg could drop $16 million dollars more than 3400 times. He’d never notice it was gone if he did it just once AND the interest he makes on his money would prolly cover the loss in a day or two. I’m not impressed by a guy who’s rich as fuck “raising” money.
If he’s ALSO giving millions, then the “raising” seems reasonable. When people give money, they become more invested in an outcome. Bloomberg may be doing more than simply providing cash–he may be encouraging activism.
The argument could be that criminals lose their rights upon conviction, so Constitutional protections do not apply to them. Because, nowhere in there does it say anything about “cruel and unusual punishment”.
There also does not need to be a way to find out how much is owed.
Pennsylvania:
This could have a huge impact all over the US.
But she’ll spin with great angular momentum in her grave when when she sees that the Repubs do to her seat on the Court.
May she lie in repose while she can.
I read, somewhere, an article clarifying that:
Nobody knows the total amount owed by all ex-cons statewide. That’s because they are scattered among state and local jurisdictions all over the state, and those can’t easily be all collected and added up. However, for any particular individual in some particular jurisdiction, that jurisdiction would know exactly how much that person owes.
From the September 11 AP story:
“But Pryor wrote that it’s not the state’s responsibility to create a system to let felons know what they owe.”
Ted Cruz blocks a Senate resolution honoring RGB because it mentions her dying wish.
Conservative pastor says his prayers were responsible for RBG dying.
That’s just unconscionable. I want to hear how big his congregation is, and how they react to sacrileges like that.