AMA: Fuzzy Bear

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Hypothetically, if you were a senator voting on confirmation of a pro-choice justice, with full knowledge that said vote would be the make-or-break deal on Roe, and said justice condemned both the BLM/Antifa rioters and the Grand Mufti of Jersualem, would you vote to confirm that justice?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Hypothetically, if you were a senator voting on confirmation of a pro-choice justice, with full knowledge that said vote would be the make-or-break deal on Roe, and said justice condemned both the BLM/Antifa rioters and the Grand Mufti of Jersualem, would you vote to confirm that justice?

Possibly, but it would depend on many factors.  BLM and the Grand Mufti roundly deserve condemnation. 

I am an "originalist" in that I think that great weight should be placed on the knowable opinion of the Framers of the Constitution, or the intent of those that sponsored later Amendments.  I do not support this "Living Constitution" nonsense; that's just back door justification for Judicial Activism.

[Kingpoleon]

Does it bother you at all that MLK Jr. was a socialist who accepted the Margaret Sanger Award and whose top advisor was a major advocate for gay rights?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Does it bother you at all that MLK Jr. was a socialist who accepted the Margaret Sanger Award and whose top advisor was a major advocate for gay rights?

During MLK's lifetime, Planned Parenthood was far more focused on Birth Control and not abortion.  In that context, that doesn't bug me.  I do not believe that there are Biblical prohibitions against contraception.

My opinion of MLK is based on the entire body of his work, which was transformative in a positive manner.  He led a non-violent movement that changed America for the better that took courage and was long overdue.

[Calthrina950]

Why do you support Amy Coney Barrett's nomination? What were your thoughts about the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and do you think her dying wish for her seat not to be filled at this juncture, should be honored? Do you think Democrats have became too extreme when it comes to judicial nominations?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Why do you support Amy Coney Barrett's nomination? What were your thoughts about the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and do you think her dying wish for her seat not to be filled at this juncture, should be honored? Do you think Democrats have became too extreme when it comes to judicial nominations?

Barrett is an originalist, as am I.  In interpreting the Constitution, I believe that great weight needs to be given to the intent of those that framed the Constitution, or the particular amendment to it that is in question.  The "Living Constitution" nonsense means that the concept of the Constitution as a Framework for governace is out the window.  Words have different applications over time, but it is the intent of the Framers of the Constitution (and of its subsequent Amendments) to bind future generations from deviating from the limits their work was meant to impose.  This is what opens the door to "Judicial Activism" which is a double-edged sword.

RBG was a successful jurist.  I'd rank her about even with William O. Douglas.  Douglas was a jurist who was a celebrated liberal who was not beyond a sloppy opinion or a guy that created tension without contributing to the work product (source:  Bob Woodward's "The Brethren").  RBG was a little better in that regard.  RBG is to William O. Douglas as Elena Kagan is to William Brennan.  One is a bit of a showhorse while the other is the workhorse.  Kagan is the real intellectual leader of the liberal bloc of Justices these days.

RBG's dying statements should have no bearing on the process.  Her seat was not "hers" to give and it doesn't pass through her will.  Truthfully, her family used bad judgement in making that statement public, but I suppose they're Democratic partisans, and that's OK.  But it's not wrong for Trump to blow that off.  Indeed, Trump would not be keeping faith with his supporters if he did, and he wouldn't be keeping faith with "the whole country" if he took RBG's wished to heart and didn't make an appointment.

[Calthrina950]

Let me follow up with a few more questions then. At this point, what are your greatest concerns about Joe Biden? Do you think he's been repeating Hillary Clinton's mistakes from 2016? Or do you think he will be a more unifying President than Trump, if that's even possible?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Let me follow up with a few more questions then. At this point, what are your greatest concerns about Joe Biden? Do you think he's been repeating Hillary Clinton's mistakes from 2016? Or do you think he will be a more unifying President than Trump, if that's even possible?

My greatest concern about Joe Biden is (A) that he's senile, and (B) Kamala Harris has been a shameless practitioner of Identity Politics (though, admittedly, not the worst).

All of the attacks on Trump have been proven bogus.  Russiagate was absolute nonsense that will ultimately backfire on Obama and Biden themselves.  Ukrainegate was purely political and begs the question of Hunter Biden.  Charlottesville is an example of twisting words grossly for a narrative; Trump didn't mean there were "good people on both sides" amongst the protesters, only on the issue of the statue in general.  Everyone's gotten traction out of that lie.  Then, there is the riots, which have been tacitly supported by much of the Democratic Party by their silence (although some, without condemnation, continue to encourage "unrest" in the streets).

Trump is a long way from perfect.  He's picked silly fights and there have been times where he doesn't seem to know how to act, but "The Resistance" has been preposterous.  It is deeper than originally thought, and it now includes tacitly sanctioned violence.  I consider my vote for Trump a vote that says that all of "The Resistance" cannot go unchallenged.

The press has given BLM and Antifa a free ride.  They have given Hunter Biden a free ride.  They are giving Joe and Kamala a free ride; you NEVER see them asked a tough question.  We're way beyond "liberal media bias" nowadays and into full bore media activism where all of the national media (save FOX News) are blatant Biden outlets, as well as most newspapers.  CNN and MSNBC are the equivilent of Radio Moscow into Czechoslovakia in 1968 during the Dubcek regime.  It's that bad.  So I'm voting against The Resistance.  I'm voting against All Of The Above.  What has been done to Trump over the course of his Presidency is as grossly unfair as anything I've ever seen times 100.  I'm voting against the stacked deck.  Honestly, nothing could change my mind at this point.  So much against Trump has been proven to be not what it was packaged as to the point where, at this late date, I'm not capable of believing any October Surprise if people who have repeatedly lied about the violent nature of the "mostly peaceful protests" are the ones doing the reporting.

[Calthrina950]

Given your admiration for Jimmy Carter, how do you square such admiration with your support for Donald Trump, who is the opposite of Carter in every way (at least on a personal basis)? Do you think Trump has been a better President then Barack Obama? What about Bill Clinton? And what do you think of Trump contracting coronavirus? Is it emblematic of his response to the pandemic? Or do you think he's done an excellent job in handling it?

[T'Chenka]

Are you a fan of the movie Aladdin? I thought I saw you make an Aladdin reference today, but it very well might not have been.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Are you a fan of the movie Aladdin? I thought I saw you make an Aladdin reference today, but it very well might not have been.

I'm not a real fan, but I've pretended to be for the sake of my grandchildren and my youngest son.

[Joe Republic]

My greatest concern about Joe Biden is (A) that he's senile,

...

I consider my vote for Trump ...  Honestly, nothing could change my mind at this point.

The cognitive dissonance here is frankly astonishing.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Does the fact that Donald Trump, who by all accounts has resigned himself to his defeat next month and is openly spiting Americans by walking away on the stimulus bill negotiations, in any way move your opinion of him or the way you intend to vote?

[Hindsight was 2020]

You’ve made it quite clear that you give Trump a pass on his awful personal behavior because he appoints pro-life judges. So why do you get so mad at the rest of us who don’t care about pro-life judges and thus in turn have no motivation to diminish his awful behavior and are horrified with it? Like him saying “George Floyd is smiling down from heaven over the jobs report” is straight sociopathic behavior beyond partisan politics yet you were the first to defend it.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Does the fact that Donald Trump, who by all accounts has resigned himself to his defeat next month and is openly spiting Americans by walking away on the stimulus bill negotiations, in any way move your opinion of him or the way you intend to vote?

I'll answer the last point first.  I am voting for Trump.  Nothing has changed my mind.  The collective response to Trump, from the spying on his campaign, the attempts to sabotage his Administration before it started, the false narratives, the purely political impeachment (driven by the far left in the Democratic Caucus).  The apologia for riots, the lying descriptions of them as "mostly peaceful protests", the demands that Trump "condemn white supremacists" (which he's done repeatedly, and people know it) coupled with the refusal of the left to condemn BLM and Antifa, even to the point of acknowledging (A) the violence they are unquestionably doing, and (B) the fact that BLM and Antifa are, indeed, doing gross violence to the American people.  To say nothing of the doctrines of Critical Race Theory and the 1619 project, which are surefire tickets to bring people to hating one another.  I have come to believe that The Resistance are fine with people hating one another as long as they view themselves as having the upper hand.

https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?action=post;quote=7629800;topic=291676.250;num_replies=263;sesc=c64026d4263b98dbaad6e64292195efe

So, to sum all of that up, I'm voting against all of that.

I'm not convinced that he's "resigned to his defeat".  He certainly must know that the chips are down.  While I am hoping Trump is re-elected, I recognized the stacked deck against him (and it IS a stacked deck in the media and "institutions" like the debate commission; people don't really hide this anymore) and I, personally, don't expect a miracle ending. 

And I don't think he's "spiting" American on the Stimulus Bill.  The Democrats are trying to get things jammed into this bill that millions of people don't agree with it.  It's the moral equivilant of price gouging.  There is a consensus in both parties for a certain degree of stimulus, but there are attempts to load up the bill with all sorts of things that there is NOT consensus for.  Stimulus monies should not be linked to other issues (e. g. M4A, mail-in voting, aid to cities whose mayors basically allowed the riots to happen for political reasons or cowardice).  Americans expect their police to enforce the law.  This didn't happen in Portland, Minneapolis, and Seattle (at a minimum), and aid to people legitimately suffering there should be conditioned on guarantees that their cities will maintain adequate police forces and willingly prosecute those that riot, no matter what the politics.

I wish to aid legitimately suffering people.  I think it's a fair question as to how much aid should be given to cities and states where police did not provide the kind of forceful response to BLM and Antifa rioting and where local prosecutors refuse to prosecute the persons whose actions in the riots were criminal.  Refusing to enforce the law for political reasons should not be rewarded with money.  So there are two (2) principles in conflict.  Taxpayers deserve to know that they are not rewarding rioting enablers.  Trump has respect for that principle and, quite frankly, today's Democrats seem not to.

[Fuzzy Bear]

You’ve made it quite clear that you give Trump a pass on his awful personal behavior because he appoints pro-life judges. So why do you get so mad at the rest of us who don’t care about pro-life judges and thus in turn have no motivation to diminish his awful behavior and are horrified with it? Like him saying “George Floyd is smiling down from heaven over the jobs report” is straight sociopathic behavior beyond partisan politics yet you were the first to defend it.

I don't "get mad" at people for this.  I consider most of these criticisms pure politics and beside the greater point.

I do think that much of Trump's "awful behavior" you mention have ben lies (e. g. the idea that Trump "refuses to condemn White Supremacy).  This example is the most ridiculous, but there are others.  I'm not going to sign off on every silly thing Trump does.  Are you going to sign off on the rioting activities of BLM and Antifa?  They were, and are, riots and not "peaceful protests".   I do have frustration that you, and others on the left, can't say, unequivocally, "BLM and Antifa are rioting and this needs to stop immediately." or something like that.

My vote is a vote for which public policies will be enacted and which will not be.  The appointing of Strict Constructionist and Originalist SCOTUS Justices is an important priority for me.  The preventing of political activist SCOTUS Justices is something I wish to block.  That's one example.  You and I likely have many differences on public policy (although I suspect we have some areas of agreement).  Voting isn't an endorsement of a candidate's entire set of issue positions; it's a statement that the outcome of one person being elected would be better than the other in terms of overall policy outcomes.

[Hindsight was 2020]

You’ve made it quite clear that you give Trump a pass on his awful personal behavior because he appoints pro-life judges. So why do you get so mad at the rest of us who don’t care about pro-life judges and thus in turn have no motivation to diminish his awful behavior and are horrified with it? Like him saying “George Floyd is smiling down from heaven over the jobs report” is straight sociopathic behavior beyond partisan politics yet you were the first to defend it.

I don't "get mad" at people for this.  I consider most of these criticisms pure politics and beside the greater point.

I do think that much of Trump's "awful behavior" you mention have ben lies (e. g. the idea that Trump "refuses to condemn White Supremacy).  This example is the most ridiculous, but there are others.  I'm not going to sign off on every silly thing Trump does.  Are you going to sign off on the rioting activities of BLM and Antifa?  They were, and are, riots and not "peaceful protests".   I do have frustration that you, and others on the left, can't say, unequivocally, "BLM and Antifa are rioting and this needs to stop immediately." or something like that.

My vote is a vote for which public policies will be enacted and which will not be.  The appointing of Strict Constructionist and Originalist SCOTUS Justices is an important priority for me.  The preventing of political activist SCOTUS Justices is something I wish to block.  That's one example.  You and I likely have many differences on public policy (although I suspect we have some areas of agreement).  Voting isn't an endorsement of a candidate's entire set of issue positions; it's a statement that the outcome of one person being elected would be better than the other in terms of overall policy outcomes.

You’ve openly stated that you want Barrett confirmed so she can overturn Roe v Wade. How is that not being an activist judge??

[lfromnj]

You’ve made it quite clear that you give Trump a pass on his awful personal behavior because he appoints pro-life judges. So why do you get so mad at the rest of us who don’t care about pro-life judges and thus in turn have no motivation to diminish his awful behavior and are horrified with it? Like him saying “George Floyd is smiling down from heaven over the jobs report” is straight sociopathic behavior beyond partisan politics yet you were the first to defend it.

I don't "get mad" at people for this.  I consider most of these criticisms pure politics and beside the greater point.

I do think that much of Trump's "awful behavior" you mention have ben lies (e. g. the idea that Trump "refuses to condemn White Supremacy).  This example is the most ridiculous, but there are others.  I'm not going to sign off on every silly thing Trump does.  Are you going to sign off on the rioting activities of BLM and Antifa?  They were, and are, riots and not "peaceful protests".   I do have frustration that you, and others on the left, can't say, unequivocally, "BLM and Antifa are rioting and this needs to stop immediately." or something like that.

My vote is a vote for which public policies will be enacted and which will not be.  The appointing of Strict Constructionist and Originalist SCOTUS Justices is an important priority for me.  The preventing of political activist SCOTUS Justices is something I wish to block. That's one example.  You and I likely have many differences on public policy (although I suspect we have some areas of agreement).  Voting isn't an endorsement of a candidate's entire set of issue positions; it's a statement that the outcome of one person being elected would be better than the other in terms of overall policy outcomes.

You’ve openly stated that you want Barrett confirmed so she can overturn Roe v Wade. How is that not being an activist judge??

So were the judges being activist when they overturned Korematsu?


Also to Fuzzy whats your favorite small court case? I always found the tomato case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden that decided if a Tomato was a vegetable or a fruit interesting.

[Hindsight was 2020]

You’ve made it quite clear that you give Trump a pass on his awful personal behavior because he appoints pro-life judges. So why do you get so mad at the rest of us who don’t care about pro-life judges and thus in turn have no motivation to diminish his awful behavior and are horrified with it? Like him saying “George Floyd is smiling down from heaven over the jobs report” is straight sociopathic behavior beyond partisan politics yet you were the first to defend it.

I don't "get mad" at people for this.  I consider most of these criticisms pure politics and beside the greater point.

I do think that much of Trump's "awful behavior" you mention have ben lies (e. g. the idea that Trump "refuses to condemn White Supremacy).  This example is the most ridiculous, but there are others.  I'm not going to sign off on every silly thing Trump does.  Are you going to sign off on the rioting activities of BLM and Antifa?  They were, and are, riots and not "peaceful protests".   I do have frustration that you, and others on the left, can't say, unequivocally, "BLM and Antifa are rioting and this needs to stop immediately." or something like that.

My vote is a vote for which public policies will be enacted and which will not be.  The appointing of Strict Constructionist and Originalist SCOTUS Justices is an important priority for me.  The preventing of political activist SCOTUS Justices is something I wish to block. That's one example.  You and I likely have many differences on public policy (although I suspect we have some areas of agreement).  Voting isn't an endorsement of a candidate's entire set of issue positions; it's a statement that the outcome of one person being elected would be better than the other in terms of overall policy outcomes.

You’ve openly stated that you want Barrett confirmed so she can overturn Roe v Wade. How is that not being an activist judge??

So were the judges being activist when they overturned Korematsu?


Also to Fuzzy whats your favorite small court case? I always found the tomato case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden that decided if a Tomato was a vegetable or a fruit interesting.

Sure. I don’t have necessarily a problem with activist judges. I just find this bit of calling liberal judges activists while calling right wing ones “strict constitutionalist” incredibly annoying and hypocritical

[Fuzzy Bear]

You’ve made it quite clear that you give Trump a pass on his awful personal behavior because he appoints pro-life judges. So why do you get so mad at the rest of us who don’t care about pro-life judges and thus in turn have no motivation to diminish his awful behavior and are horrified with it? Like him saying “George Floyd is smiling down from heaven over the jobs report” is straight sociopathic behavior beyond partisan politics yet you were the first to defend it.

I don't "get mad" at people for this.  I consider most of these criticisms pure politics and beside the greater point.

I do think that much of Trump's "awful behavior" you mention have ben lies (e. g. the idea that Trump "refuses to condemn White Supremacy).  This example is the most ridiculous, but there are others.  I'm not going to sign off on every silly thing Trump does.  Are you going to sign off on the rioting activities of BLM and Antifa?  They were, and are, riots and not "peaceful protests".   I do have frustration that you, and others on the left, can't say, unequivocally, "BLM and Antifa are rioting and this needs to stop immediately." or something like that.

My vote is a vote for which public policies will be enacted and which will not be.  The appointing of Strict Constructionist and Originalist SCOTUS Justices is an important priority for me.  The preventing of political activist SCOTUS Justices is something I wish to block.  That's one example.  You and I likely have many differences on public policy (although I suspect we have some areas of agreement).  Voting isn't an endorsement of a candidate's entire set of issue positions; it's a statement that the outcome of one person being elected would be better than the other in terms of overall policy outcomes.

You’ve openly stated that you want Barrett confirmed so she can overturn Roe v Wade. How is that not being an activist judge??

Roe v. Wade, itself, was an act of Judicial Activism.  It was a 7-2 decision, conceived out of whole cloth (the concept of "penumbras of privacy") in which only a 5-4 majority agreed with the reasoning.  Roe v. Wade is a long-standing precedent, but so was Plessy v. Ferguson, which was overruled in Brown v. Board of Education.

Abortion is the taking of innocent human life.  I will not back off from that position, period.  That being said, I am not optimistic that even a 6-3 conservative Court will overturn Roe v. Wade.  I do think that some of its excesses can be reversed (and ought to be reversed).  I certainly think that states should have the authority to ban late term abortions, regulate abortions for minors (parental consent laws).  Roe v. Wade talks about state interest arising in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and clear state interest in the 3rd trimester.  Judicial Activism has eroded these Black Letter Law portions of Roe v. Wade, and has often done it sub silentio. 

I believe that the Court's nullifying the acts of Legislatures ought to be done sparingly and as narrowly as possible.  That's where I find current liberals misspeaking; they are concerned about "democracy", but many of their favorite public policies have been ushered in by Judicial Activism, knowing that these measures would not come to pass through legislatures or referenda.  A democracy implies that the people rule.  A republic implies that people rule through the acts and judgement of their elected representatives.  Judicial Activism reverses the people's will on flimsy pretenses.  It also erodes the idea that the Constitution is a Legal Framework and not a Legal Code (as many State Constitutions actually are). 

[Fuzzy Bear]

Given your admiration for Jimmy Carter, how do you square such admiration with your support for Donald Trump, who is the opposite of Carter in every way (at least on a personal basis)? Do you think Trump has been a better President then Barack Obama? What about Bill Clinton? And what do you think of Trump contracting coronavirus? Is it emblematic of his response to the pandemic? Or do you think he's done an excellent job in handling it?

I'll quote my signature as to my feelings on Trump vs. Carter:

“For all his flaws, Donald J. Trump stands in forceful contrast to the relentless progressive attacks on this nation that deny and minimize the advances we have made over the decades to better reflect and honor our founding ideals. We must continue moving forward, that can’t be denied. But we must do so while embracing rather than destroying the principles of liberty and freedom that have made the United States a beacon for the rest of the world. Mr. Trump appreciates this while offering an economic vision well-suited to helping the country rebound from this pandemic. He deserves a second term.”

Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/04/2020

I need to think about the other questions you ask.  They are legitimate and require honest thought.