For God's sake, America, get a grip of your (non)judicial courts!

I have, many a time and oft', taken a swipe at what is laughingly known as the American 'justice' system - and yes, I know ours isn't that terrific but, by and large, bit by bit, it gets on with it and comes to a decision.  Not so 'over there'!  

It is now nearly ten years - TEN YEARS! - since that global warming fraudster, Michael E. Mann began legal proceedings against the National Review [NR] magazine (and Mark Steyn) when they published criticism of his so-called 'scientific proof' that the world was warming. 'Prof.' Mann instantly re-acted with a legal attack against both which, interestingly, both recipients eagerly awaited their day in court.  It's a good job they didn't hold their breath waiting because, as the NR makes clear, nothing, absolutley nothing, has moved on in the glutinous swamp that is the American court system.  As the NR puts it:

A few days before launching his lawsuit against what he called “this filthy organization,” Michael Mann wrote that there “is a possibility that I can ruin National Review.” Nearly a decade later, we are still fighting his attempt to do precisely that.

[…]

We’ve said we’d use every tool and argument at our disposal to defeat Mann, and that’s what we’ve done. Mark Steyn posted the blog item in dispute in July of 2012. Mann sued in October of that year, and we filed our first motion to dismiss in December of 2012.

When that was denied by the trial court, we filed a motion to reconsider. When that, too, was denied, we appealed to the D.C. Court of Appeals — twice. This brings us to 2014. After oral arguments, the Court of Appeals sat on the case for two years. Then, the court denied our appeal. This was in December of 2016. Because the opinion had myriad obvious flaws, we petitioned for a rehearing. Incredibly enough, the court then delayed for yet another two years. When the court finally issued an amended opinion, all it did was add one footnote and amend another.

In some desperation - and who can blame them? - the NR reaches for a Churchillian quotation to express its rage at the utter uselessness of the American courts:

So far, the courts have, to quote Churchill, elected to “go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.” They brushed past the anti-SLAPP statute that was designed to prevent this from happening. Our hope is that the same won’t happen with Section 230, which is also meant to protect the free-speech rights of online publishers.

It is a matter of considerable irony that the only “malice” that the discovery process has uncovered is that exhibited by Michael Mann. When planning his suit, Mann described National Review as a “threat to our children,” beholden to “greedy fat cat corporate masters.” His stated intention was to bring us “down for good.” Needless to say, this is not how a country with a First Amendment or a culture of free speech is supposed to work. It’s past time that this suit is dismissed as incompatible with both, and a failure on the facts and the law.

For Gods sake America, get a grip, I'm losing faith in you!  This might happen in Russia but . . . !  And I bet Atticus Finch didn't have to put up with that sort of terminal sloth in his court!

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Bob]

You're not alone in losing faith in the US.

[David Duff]

Before you claim me as an ally, Bob, I should make clear that my loss of faith in America is mainly confined to your (non)judicial system.

[Bob]

I can read David. I'm also capable of being just as disingenuous as you.

[Bob]

David,

The above was too curt. I really did start reading your blog because I thought you had a sense of humor and were an interesting bloke in other ways. You certainly have a better grip on reality than Carpenter, which I can appreciate.

Free advice is worth what it costs, but you're probably losing readers because wingnut trolling isn't what it once was. In the current context it's just bad old schtick, kind of like The Three Stooges. People of a mind will always like it, but most grow up some day. Whitewall didn't even bother to drop one of his canned responses here. You might try making a more legitimate effort to write on conservative issues or write about other things.

Btw, if you hear from JK tell him I hope he's OK.

[Loz]

"Tyranny begins where the law ends", eh Gaffer?

Funny, you spent the latter half of last year whingeing about the courts holding Blighty's government to account over Brexit legal procedures! Why this sudden support for unelected legal official roles all of a sudden?

Starting to worry that "The will of the people" as exerted through a democratic executive might need its "- dread words!" suffix tacked on the end after all?

SoD

[Whitewall]

Ahhgghh...time is short lately. Wife, hosptal, operation. Retirement is challenging at the moment. So are square meals.

[David Duff]

'Whiters', I do not like the sound of your somewhat cryptic note above. No need to go into details, just please accept my very best wishes to you both which I am sure is supported by all the regulars here at 'D&N'.

[David Duff]

Bob, in my old-fashioned book, being 'disingenuous' is the equivalent of being a liar. I am neither!

[Loz]

Best wishes Whiters.

SoD

[AussieD]

Stick with it Whitewall.

Hope all turns out OK for you and "the missus"

[Mary]

We've all lost faith in governments everywhere, specifically western democracies where it was presumed that we were inoculated against the worst corruption. We're not, and our recently elected leaders demonstrate that.

Bob says that you have a sense of humour and he's right. Being a bit less intense is attractive, approaching serious issues without going overboard on the hysterics is good but it does get tired, especially when your prejudices are so ingrained.

As for Carpenter, whose views align much more closely with mine, I have given up. Not because I don't agree with him but because his complete intolerance for those who disagree with him had become jarring, as has his aggressive demands for money. NOW. (since deleted). It put me right off.

[Loz]

We've all lost faith in governments everywhere, specifically western democracies where it was presumed that we were inoculated against the worst corruption. We're not, and our recently elected leaders demonstrate that.

You're on the road to recovery, Mary. You're no longer in denial, the first and biggest step.

Next up, just keep attacking them, everywhere, always, blue, yellow and red, maximum violence on the battlefield, like a paratrooper on acid.

Your victories will come with every debate because it isn't possible to have a richer target environment than that of pols, everyone of them is easy pickings, low hanging fruit.

At best there is nothing they do that produces more than it costs (otherwise they'd be CEO's which they failed to be or even tried to be) so any of their outputs could be made by the market and bought for a saving. And at worst they're killers and abusers. Yet still they think they should be in charge (psychotic) and they have no empathy for the suffering they cause (psychopathic).

Once in a while, and it's rarer than rocking horse shit but thank the Lord he sends them occasionally, one or two appear who are also, like you, not in denial. Be wary, but embrace them. They fall into two categories to look out for: -

(1) The CEO with a track record who knows that monopoly operation by power alone is a failure. This person knows that competition - fear and greed - is the life blood of his own productivity and performance and of the people he engages. Without competition even he, successful CEO, would wreck an industry if put in sole charge of it. He gives great tax cuts at home and drains the swamp of pols.

(2) The recovering Pol. One of them who has seen the light of their own evil. Who has the truth gene in slightly more abundance than the Pol gene. Who maybe tastes the sweet liquor of satisfaction by destroying his Pol enemies and their power and has this as the comfort for their not taking power for themselves; fessing to the truth of "power is the problem, not the solution" and being consistent about it. Huge evil empires fall at the feet of these ones.

No prizes for guessing who falls into those categories from recent history and current affairs. Maybe a little puzzle to entertain you while you're recuperating and on the road to recovery?

SoD

[David Duff]

Mary, you say "We've all lost faith in governments everywhere, specifically western democracies". Well, I haven't! Yes, they make mistakes but don't we all? But in:

"This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,--
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England."

We totter on, making mistakes, going in the wrong direction, correcting them - gradually - and bit by bit things improve. On my first Birthday in 1940, although I didn't know about it at the time, we appeared to be in imminent danger of invasion by ferocious, murderous madmen but, somehow, in someway, we dodged it and ever since life has just got better and better. of course, not everything went right all the time but it went 'right' enough to get over the errors and mistakes.

'SoD' getting hysterical over the low quality of politicians is laughable, it's the dreaded 'Peeps' he should worry about and he could start by looking in the mirror!

[Loz]

Oooh, look at that! "Referendum sch-weferendum! Will of the people - my arse! All hail the pols!", he says now! Slightly different angle on it a year ago eh?!

Now the blue, yellow and red socialists have lined their ducks up the peeps are the only worry for Capt Mainwaring and the country-bumpkins!

I tell ya, when Mary and the rest of us get going your arses will be grasses.

That's if corona-virus doesn't wipe the wrinkly Capt Mainwaring country-bumpkin class off the face of the earth beforehand. That useless waste of space called the NHS is already giving us a glimpse of the spectacular clusterfk that it's going to make of the pandemic when it arrives ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51660694

Perhaps corona-virus will be the great wake-up call and catalyst for the counter-revolution against the "take back control" authoritarians: The in-your-face mass slaughter of Brits by the so called "envy of the world?

Put it this way: if that doesn't woke everyone and roll back "take back control" authoritarianism then nothing will and we're all dead already.

SoD

[Glesga]

Cheer up everyone I am in York with the 2nd Mrs commemorating our 27th year of Marriage! The River Ouse has overflowed due to the weather, however the youngster's are still on the streets enjoying themselves. Life goes on as Great Britain does.

[Mary]

Glesga, we have just decided not to buy a house in York because it appears to be inundated. (The students can carry on playing). if you're asking a million pounds for a house you should expect potential buyers to do due diligence. We did.

[David Duff]

Mary, if you are looking for somewhere to buy a house get yourself 'down 'ere to zunny Zummerzet'! Truly, God's little acres!

[Loz]

We totter on, making mistakes, going in the wrong direction, correcting them - gradually - and bit by bit things improve. ...ever since life has just got better and better.

This gets to the nub of your delusion, Gaffer.

Things improved in spite of pols, not because of them.

Things improved because that sector of economic and social life outside of their scope was given some respite from them for some reason and flourished.

The examples are Thatcherism and the single market.

Your obsession with the state of play only being caused and measured by what "we-we-we" are doing, that is the pols, gives false credit to them for the good times and the advances because always and everywhere those good times and advances were achieved when for some reason there was an absence or reduction in pols and their activities!

SoD

[Loz]

Mary, if you are looking for somewhere to buy a house get yourself 'down 'ere to zunny Zummerzet'! Truly, God's little acres!

Mary, last time I spoke to him he spent the whole time moaning about the bloody weather in Dorzet / Zummerzet!!

SoD

[Glesga]

Mary, if I had a million quid I would move to higher ground and spend a few bob on important things like good wine before the high waters arrive.

[Mary]

It's getting late around here so it'll probably be a response that doesn't get noticed,,which is fine. If I'd been told as a child that we'd have a million dollars to spend on a house I would have imagined riches. Instead, we can look at a two bedroom flat in London. Our old London flat is forever beyond our reach as is our house in Cambridge. So we don't feel particularly rich or lucky. That said, we know that's okay and we recognise that we're lucky...we just could have been luckier!

Maybe we'll move to Scotland. Better still take David's suggestion of Somerset. Our good friends live in bath in a gorgeous house that we could live another twenty lifetimes to afford. We get to stay there! My husband was raised in Gloucestershire. So, he's a close relative to you Somersetters. (A word that I've just made up).