Summary
Justice Samuel Alito, a self-described Originalist, has been criticized for allegedly disregarding the Constitution’s text when it conflicts with his personal views.
Recently, it emerged that Alito accepted a knighthood from a European order, despite the Constitution’s ban on foreign titles for U.S. officials.
This title, from the House of Bourbon–Two Sicilies, raises questions about Alito’s commitment to American democratic ideals, which the Framers aimed to protect from foreign influence.
Critics argue that Alito’s actions reflect hypocrisy in his supposed adherence to Originalism and constitutional principles.
This title, from the House of Bourbon–Two Sicilies
Didn’t that family go extinct some time after the Italian unification?
I feel like I’ve just started listening after zoning out while someone is trying to explain a new TTRPG.
Not quite but they did sober up and stopped seeing double.
can he be kicked out for it though?
With a 50% vote in the house and a 66% vote in the senate
66 is only because of the filibuster right? Bit they could get rid of that if they would get a majority in the Senate… I know, its copium.but today I’m taking copium.
No, it’s because the process of removing a supreme court justice is the exact same impeachment process that applies to presidents
seems like the president has so much immunity for official actions that Alito accepting his knighthood should be an automatic empty slot on the court, Harris should appoint his replacement immediately so Alito can concentrate on his royal duties.
And when she does, she should point out the law, and Alito’s dedication to originalist interpretation of said document.
Alito has a chance here to prove originalisim is an actual, good faith interpretation of the Constitution, and not just rhetoric pulled out to get what you want. All he has to do is step down.
Any other CK3 players eyebrows up in this thread?
HOI4 here wondering when the French heavy armor starts rolling…
Your username has always caught my attention… ofc you’re one of those hoi people 😜
Haha, yeah.
Looking forward to EU5?
I’m actually waiting for a particularly clear period in my life to lose a month to CK3.
Looks like I’m gonna have to start pumping out kids to secure those alliances.
Took me a moment to understand how funny this is, given the context, and not just a passing comment on “stuff you do in game” 😁
Context?
The game is not about the nation state like most games, but the player and their dynasty/lineage per se. So it’s all about individuals’ titles, rules of who is applicable in succession, etc
To be fair, I could have made the same joke about anyone interested in noble house history, heraldry, knights being rad, etc
that’s fine, if he wants to be a knight he totally can. And it seems like he’s made his choice so let him be.
Harris will be happy to appoint his replacement.
Boot his worthless MAGAT ass out of the Supreme Court and he can take his shitty Appeal to Heaven flag with him.
That’s one of the funnier parts of the article:
Alito’s “An Appeal to Heaven” flag is a reference to John Locke’s argument in favor of a right to rise up against monarchists. Alito himself accepted a knighthood from an order managed by the House of Bourbon–Two Sicilies. The grand prefect of the order’s son is a pretender to the Imperial Throne of France.
Guys, I’m starting to think Alito doesn’t even understand the history he haphazardly quotes.
Maybe it’s time to ratify that “Titles of Nobility” constitutional amendment?
Doesn’t matter here. The Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) bans public officials from receiving titles of nobility. Alito already falls under this. The writers of the Constitution thought this one was so important that it’s not even an amendment. It’s in the OG document.
I think it means titles of nobility from a state, no?
" . . . from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
Still the one in the article sounds like it’s something from a private club, not any kind of sovereign power.
It’s in the OG document.
Alito has the true original Constitution that says otherwise. Before any asks, only Alito can look at it.
This has the added benefit of stripping Meghan Markle of her citizenship as well.
I really have no opinion of Meghan Markle but thought this was funny. It’s insane that it’d be easier to ratify an amendment from 1810 which would impact a good handful of people to target Alito, than implement robust Supreme Court ethics reforms.
She’s too hot to disown.
Dude. Come on. Really?
No, a citizen can accept a title. But they cannot hold a title and an office. However Prince Harry would have to give up his title to become an American citizen.
Also the OG document bans exactly what Alito did.
The fact that the war of 1812 didn’t spur overwhelming support for this amendment is kinda funny, tbh
The Australian woman who married into the Danish royal family had to renounce her Australian citizenship, so that would be fair enough.
Removed by mod
Except the title is not from the UK? Can you at least read a bit more than the title before commenting?
Heck, OP even put it in the effing summary. No need to click the article even.
Whoops a knee jerk reaction, my bad
W.T.F.
The US needs to clean house, expand the SCOTUS to put these corrupt judges firmly in the minority so they’re ineffective for the rest of their miserable life-long-unelected-terms, if it can’t outright impeach them!
Why did Joe Biden do nothing to rebalance the Supreme Court in all his 4 years of being President?
Because he’s a typical Clintonite conservative Democrat. 9/10 times he’s on the side of defending the political institutions and, at most, patch them up here or there.
He was never going to be a great reformer. Just like he remains a staunch Zionist in spite of 75 years of apartheid rule and other crimes against humanity, he remains firmly convinced that the American political system is fundamentally just and that changing it would be worse than the inequities that come from NOT doing so.
Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed on April 7, 2022.
Well that’s a start, but not enough in itself to fix the problem. He could have done more, and we wouldn’t be looking at a Supreme Court eager to support Trump’s re-election.
He’s still got a couple months, but it shouldn’t be about packing the court. It should be about removing the corrupt ones. They need, NEED to have accountability.
Probably because (just like almost everything else) he isn’t a dictator that can unilaterally reshape a whole branch of government. Congress sets the number, not the President. If you want to actually see reforms go out and vote in more Representatives and Senators.
He could always send up a nomination. There’s nothing illegal about that. If Congress accepts it then their law is moot by their own action.
Because the Democratic Party puts a lot of value on norms and mores. Blowing up the Supreme Court (and then having to deal with whatever reaction that the GOP has when they get power again, which I’m sure would be totally rational and proportionate), is just too much of a massive change in the status quo for Biden.
I think there are pros and cons to these ideas for expanding the court, etc. But I think it is important for people to realize that it’s not just as simple as flipping a switch or something. The implications and consequences would be massive, and impossible to predict completely.
No idea! I have wondered that myself. In fact why doesn’t he do it now, he’s the ultimate lame duck prez, there’d be no consequences for him so he absolutely should a few days after the election – if he truly could (I don’t know enough about the details about how he could so do).
If your question is not just rhetorical, I totally agree, 100%.
In fact I wish he’d declare he’s dissolving SCOTUS completely, plus a few levels of courts below and appointing non-partisan judges across the board to clean house and reset the decades of theocratic-proto-fascists that appear to have infiltrated the system at all levels. He could, after all, do anything right? The SCOTUS ruled this summer that Presidents have ‘absolute immunity’, so why not? It would be the ultimate F*ck You to their corruption and would be a historically beautiful way to bow out.
I mean, he could, but wouldn’t he need Congress to confirm his appointments? They’d just do what they did while Obama was in office and block any motion for a vote, especially since the Democratic party doesn’t hold a filibuster-proof, 60-member Senate majority. Although, Obama had that and still blew it, the price of believing one can still engage in good faith negotiations with bad faith actors, I’m afraid.
They’re already declaring their intentions to not negotiate with Harris in good faith, should she win the election, and to block all Presidential appointments. Hopefully she will go ahead and do it anyway. SCOTUS does get the final say in what does and does not constitute an “Official Act”, but they don’t have any enforcement mechanism. All they can do is send a strongly-worded letter, asking her to stop, but they can’t force her to stop.
I mean, he could, but wouldn’t he need Congress to confirm his appointments?
Just a simple majority in the Senate. And since he has absolute immunity, he can just order the executions of a sufficient number of Republican senators to ensure his appointments make it through confirmation.
He could, after all, do anything right? The SCOTUS ruled this summer that Presidents have ‘absolute immunity’, so why not?
I am so sick of seeing this argument. SCOTUS didn’t give him any more actual powers, they shielded him from prosecution. He can’t just unilaterally declare he’s dissolving a whole branch of government, because he never had that power in the first place. What do you expect him to do to actually back that up? March the army in?
For a bit of context: the house of Bourbon - Two sicilies has no land for 150 years. They used to rule the south of Italy but after the Italian “unification” (or conquest) they got kicked out and have no real power.
While this may still be a conflict of interest since I am pretty sure they are still filthy rich and they may have economic interests in the US. But there is no foreign power interference here since there is no foreign power 🙂
Sure but it’s the idea that counts.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
By the strict wording it’s a violation because they absolutely style themselves as princes to a throne in exile.
Do they need to be recognized by the US as a foreign prince for it to count?
If not, could Will Smith “The Fresh Prince” grant a disqualifying title?
Interesting issue. Does their belief in their right to power control? There’s that crazy lady in Canada who calls herself the queen of Canada and issues edicts and whatever every now and then (somehow connected to qanon, I don’t remember the details). Could a US official accept a “title” bestowed by her, since she claims nobility and authority?
My recollection on the emoluments issue was SCOTUS punted in the same way they did with respect to Trump’s ability to run for office after the insurrection - Congress must declare the violation, and the remedy is presumably impeachment. So the practical effect is zero, since Congress would never take this up, let alone impeach and remove. I’d love if Dems did though, it would be fun seeing Republicans defend their justice receiving nighthood from some weird ass secret society thing.
That would be an issue for a court but it would be really hard to make the case that actual nobles bestowing actual titles in actual knight orders isn’t a violation.
It would be an impeachment regardless because the remedy is to fire them and that’s how you fire a SCOTUS judge.
Rules for thee and not for meeeee, wheeeee
The $upreme Court is a complete joke and they did it to themselves
And we did it to ourselves.
If we are talking emoluments,I am less offended by Alito taking a title than Trump spending over $135M of taxpayer dollars on various trips to Trump hotels. Nothing ever came of that, so I bet we know what will happen here.
Trump spending over $135M of taxpayer dollars on various trips to Trump hotels
He really took moves from United Russia playbook, didn’t he?
Is Trollito in any secret societies like Opus Dei?
Knights of Malta are having a rebirth and have been active with his sort.
(Edit: well, waddaya know: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/justice-alitos-royalist-cosplay.html
Conservative lobbyist and court-packer Leonard Leo belongs to the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta, a Catholic lay order that dates to the Crusades. The Opus Dei organization, best known for its super-kinky corporal-mortification rules, sent a priest wearing a spiked garter under his cassock to convert a swath of Republicans in Washington — a project that has proved quite successful.)
He does fly this flag at his home, though
It’s not because of it’s original use.
It’s because he’s a major player/member in the NAR (the new apostolic reformation) which is an accelerationist movement with the explicit intent to bring about Armageddon so Jesus can return.
I shit you not.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/appeal-to-heaven-flag-nar-alito
Lol what a shit flag. It looks like fucking clip art. Some of the most boomer-coded shit I have ever seen in my life.
without Consent of the Congress. theres his out.
No, that’s actually extremely funny. Make them vote on whether or not he’s french nobility. I need more Looney Toons C-SPAN coverage.
I thought the 13th amendment of 1812 didn’t pass?
