Conservatives and the SCOTUS opening

Jeremy Peters was on Morning Joe this morning to discuss his NY Times piece concerning conservatives and the soon-to-be SCOTUS opening.

Some brief comments:

• Jeremy said conservatives bemoan the fact that historically they've been on the wrong side of many SCOTUS verdicts.

Hmm, maybe this is because they're on the wrong side of the law and Constitution. Yet instead they perceive it as the fault of a person, the Justice(s). See Souter, or Kennedy or Sandra Day O'Connor. They want someone who is not going to properly interpret the Constitution or what the founding fathers intended. Rather they want strict ideologues, to side with narrowly-focused beliefs, not legal mumbo-jumbo.

• Many evangelicals and/or conservatives voted for Trump for one reason only: abortion. In other words, SCOTUS picks to ban abortion. That's it. They ignore all of the voluminous filth and repugnant aspects of Trump, believing they're good with God & Heaven if they just ban this medical procedure. Trump may ruin the USA as we know it, but that's not going to stop these people from entering the pearly gates. And let's ignore the fact that the founding fathers specifically designated for the separation of church and state. We are NOT a country founded on religion, but rather a secular nation founded on laws. 

• Jeremy said on MJ that it's amazing to think Reagan -- "the conservative lion" -- appointed O'Connor and Kennedy. 

But not before the Democrats fought hard and got Bork borked. And note also that Reagan today would be a moderate centrist compared to the far right positions of the GOP. I maintain that if Reagan were alive today, running for president, and yet did not look like Reagan, Republicans would cast him out with fervent animus. 

Eagles, Trump & Fox News

Every morning I watch both Fox News and MSNBC, flipping back and forth to see the difference in coverage. It's really incredible. This morning I watch Doocy, Kilmeade and whatever beautiful babe sits between them go on and on about the Eagles visit to the White House being cancelled by Trump due to disagreement over kneeling during the national anthem. 

But the FACT is no Eagle player ever kneeled during the national anthem. It's another Fox News lie. And the pictures Fox showed of Eagle players kneeling were NOT during the national anthem but rather during prayer gatherings well before the game and anthem -- meaning Fox News purposely showed pictures out of context to prove their (false) narrative. Outrageous.

Fox does this all the time, I see it every morning, lies and distortions to mislead viewers. They violate Journalism 101 ethics regularly. The sad truth is too many Americans rely on Fox for supposedly real news and actually believe what they're being told, never fact-checking (as I do).

The FACT is most Eagles players had refused to show up at the White House because they disagreed with Trump on many political issues. Reportedly only 9 out of 70 Eagles were going to show, and because that made Trump look bad (which can NEVER happen), he cancelled the visit. It had NOTHING to do with kneeling and the national anthem, but that is what Trump tweeted and that is what Fox News conveyed to their viewers.

Speaking of facts, I'm still numb about Trump saying he can pardon himself. Yes, we have a president who has decreed himself a king, above the law. If he commits a crime, it doesn't matter, he believes he can just pardon himself. Imagine if Obama had said this, or Hillary as president, there would be nonstop calls for impeachment by Fox News and Republicans. But with Trump, nothing, silence.

The word "hypocrisy" has lost all meaning at this point.....