John McKenzie
@jwmckenzie.bsky.social
Father. Trial lawyer. Curious. Persistent. Posts are not legal advice. All views are mine alone.
Reposted by John McKenzie
do I have these numbers right:
SCt appointments since 1976:
GOP - 10
Dem - 5
Presidential terms since 1976
GOP - 6
Dem - 6
SCt appointments since 1976:
GOP - 10
Dem - 5
Presidential terms since 1976
GOP - 6
Dem - 6
December 4, 2025 at 5:13 PM
do I have these numbers right:
SCt appointments since 1976:
GOP - 10
Dem - 5
Presidential terms since 1976
GOP - 6
Dem - 6
SCt appointments since 1976:
GOP - 10
Dem - 5
Presidential terms since 1976
GOP - 6
Dem - 6
This logic torpedoes any challenges by the GOP to California’s maps as well. Of course, I am aware that an imaginative Court can always conjure up some distinction. But I don’t think the Court will here. Both elections are close, so we can’t change anything.
Supreme Court Conservatives Reinstate Texas’ Gerrymandered House Maps talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme...
Supreme Court Conservatives Reinstate Texas’ Gerrymandered House Maps
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 order, has put on hold a...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:46 PM
This logic torpedoes any challenges by the GOP to California’s maps as well. Of course, I am aware that an imaginative Court can always conjure up some distinction. But I don’t think the Court will here. Both elections are close, so we can’t change anything.
Reposted by John McKenzie
GOP Rep. Mike Turner: "This activity that's happening in the Caribbean where they are hitting these boats -- these individuals if they were captured and tried and convicted, they would be guilty of criminal activity for which they're not subject to capital punishment. These people are being killed."
December 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM
GOP Rep. Mike Turner: "This activity that's happening in the Caribbean where they are hitting these boats -- these individuals if they were captured and tried and convicted, they would be guilty of criminal activity for which they're not subject to capital punishment. These people are being killed."
Ahhh. The famous “it’s called governing” exception to following domestic and international law.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna endorses Hegseth's murder strikes: "This is called governing"
December 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Ahhh. The famous “it’s called governing” exception to following domestic and international law.
Reposted by John McKenzie
The boats the regime is claiming are going from Venezuela to the US would need to refuel over 20 times to get to Miami.
They are lying to us.
They are lying to us.
December 3, 2025 at 5:40 PM
The boats the regime is claiming are going from Venezuela to the US would need to refuel over 20 times to get to Miami.
They are lying to us.
They are lying to us.
The United States Department of State website disagrees with Leavitt:
travel.state.gov/content/trav...
travel.state.gov/content/trav...
December 4, 2025 at 12:06 PM
The United States Department of State website disagrees with Leavitt:
travel.state.gov/content/trav...
travel.state.gov/content/trav...
Reposted by John McKenzie
Trump calls human beings “vermin,” “garbage,” “diseases,” “poison,” and “animals.”
Then, when I rightfully point out that the same dehumanizing language has been used by fascist regimes to justify humanity’s worst atrocities—Republicans lose their minds.
Give me a break.
Then, when I rightfully point out that the same dehumanizing language has been used by fascist regimes to justify humanity’s worst atrocities—Republicans lose their minds.
Give me a break.
Trump on Somalis: "We're gonna go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage."
December 3, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Trump calls human beings “vermin,” “garbage,” “diseases,” “poison,” and “animals.”
Then, when I rightfully point out that the same dehumanizing language has been used by fascist regimes to justify humanity’s worst atrocities—Republicans lose their minds.
Give me a break.
Then, when I rightfully point out that the same dehumanizing language has been used by fascist regimes to justify humanity’s worst atrocities—Republicans lose their minds.
Give me a break.
May your day is lacking a breathy, Irish baritone? Fortunately, there is a cure: Hozier.
December 3, 2025 at 1:56 PM
May your day is lacking a breathy, Irish baritone? Fortunately, there is a cure: Hozier.
Isn’t it more like the fog of boat “drive-bys”? War implies the other side is using weapons to attack you, but that’s not what’s happening here. Also, the “fog of war” makes you shoot repeatedly at wreckage that is already on fire? And his Pentagon office lacks air conditioning?
Q: So you didn't see any survivors after that first strike?
HEGSETH: I did not personally see survivors. The thing was on fire. This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don't understand. You sit in your air conditioned offices and plant fake stories in the Washington Post
HEGSETH: I did not personally see survivors. The thing was on fire. This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don't understand. You sit in your air conditioned offices and plant fake stories in the Washington Post
December 3, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Isn’t it more like the fog of boat “drive-bys”? War implies the other side is using weapons to attack you, but that’s not what’s happening here. Also, the “fog of war” makes you shoot repeatedly at wreckage that is already on fire? And his Pentagon office lacks air conditioning?
Reposted by John McKenzie
Guess who suggested that illegal orders should be ignored when Obama was president?
2016 video shows Hegseth saying the military cannot carry out unlawful orders | CNN
Hegseth described the refusal of illegal commands as part of the military’s ethos — a message he now condemns Democrats for spreading.
www.cnn.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Guess who suggested that illegal orders should be ignored when Obama was president?
Reposted by John McKenzie
Federal Government Announces Racial Profiling Campaign, Explains It’s Because of the President’s Personal Bigotry
Officials prepare immigration operation in Minnesota that would focus on Somali immigrants, source tells AP, as Trump says he doesn't want Somalis in U.S.
Federal authorities plan operation in Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrants, AP source says
Federal authorities are preparing an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, focusing on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S.
bit.ly
December 2, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Federal Government Announces Racial Profiling Campaign, Explains It’s Because of the President’s Personal Bigotry
They say he was born on Mt. Paektu, the mythical place of origin of the Korean people, and at the moment of his birth, a new star appeared above the cabin where he was born. They also say the star gave him the power to block hurricanes, but not to resist dozing off during cabinet meetings.
Kristi Noem: "Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. You kept the hurricanes away. We appreciate that."
December 3, 2025 at 12:27 AM
They say he was born on Mt. Paektu, the mythical place of origin of the Korean people, and at the moment of his birth, a new star appeared above the cabin where he was born. They also say the star gave him the power to block hurricanes, but not to resist dozing off during cabinet meetings.
Sometimes your political adversary comes up with a good idea that puts you in a bind. You can agree with the idea and help your adversary. Or you can oppose the idea and look like a heel.
Trump mercifully spares us these difficult choices by advancing no good ideas.
Trump mercifully spares us these difficult choices by advancing no good ideas.
December 2, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Sometimes your political adversary comes up with a good idea that puts you in a bind. You can agree with the idea and help your adversary. Or you can oppose the idea and look like a heel.
Trump mercifully spares us these difficult choices by advancing no good ideas.
Trump mercifully spares us these difficult choices by advancing no good ideas.
Reposted by John McKenzie
Drugs are not weapons.
Drug traffickers are not terrorists.
The US wasn't attacked.
Boats on open water far from US coasts aren't a security threat.
There is absolutely no argument for self-defense in Caribbean boat strikes, nor in possible war with Venezuela.
This campaign is lies upon lies.
Drug traffickers are not terrorists.
The US wasn't attacked.
Boats on open water far from US coasts aren't a security threat.
There is absolutely no argument for self-defense in Caribbean boat strikes, nor in possible war with Venezuela.
This campaign is lies upon lies.
This is fundamentally the wrong way to deal with drug problems.
The campaign is built on lies.
The campaign is built on lies.
The White House's lies about the illegal Caribbean boat strikes are so obvious and about such serious matters that they're floundering.
As @gregsargent.bsky.social and @jenrubin.bsky.social explain, specific strikes are criminal, but even more so, the entire campaign is blatantly illegal and wrong.
As @gregsargent.bsky.social and @jenrubin.bsky.social explain, specific strikes are criminal, but even more so, the entire campaign is blatantly illegal and wrong.
December 2, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Drugs are not weapons.
Drug traffickers are not terrorists.
The US wasn't attacked.
Boats on open water far from US coasts aren't a security threat.
There is absolutely no argument for self-defense in Caribbean boat strikes, nor in possible war with Venezuela.
This campaign is lies upon lies.
Drug traffickers are not terrorists.
The US wasn't attacked.
Boats on open water far from US coasts aren't a security threat.
There is absolutely no argument for self-defense in Caribbean boat strikes, nor in possible war with Venezuela.
This campaign is lies upon lies.
Speaking of disobedience, Schmitt once argued that Missouri lawmakers could ignore the ballot initiative passed by Missouri’s voters that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.
December 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Speaking of disobedience, Schmitt once argued that Missouri lawmakers could ignore the ballot initiative passed by Missouri’s voters that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.
In medieval England, this was an actual punishment. Those who refused to submit to the law could have a writ of outlawry issued against them, meaning they had no protection from the law.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaw
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaw
December 1, 2025 at 12:36 PM
In medieval England, this was an actual punishment. Those who refused to submit to the law could have a writ of outlawry issued against them, meaning they had no protection from the law.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaw
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaw
Reposted by John McKenzie
Senator Kelly is correct.
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
November 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Senator Kelly is correct.
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
You’ll notice she didn’t answer the question but instead pivoted to her “activist judge” talking point.
The judge is not an activist. But no order is binding if there is an “activist judge” exemption to following orders. Can the next Dem president invoke this if he or she disagrees with SCOTUS?
The judge is not an activist. But no order is binding if there is an “activist judge” exemption to following orders. Can the next Dem president invoke this if he or she disagrees with SCOTUS?
KARL: Did you know about the judge's order when you issued your order for the planes to continue?
KRISTI NOEM: This is an activist judge. We comply with all federal orders that are lawful and binding.
KRISTI NOEM: This is an activist judge. We comply with all federal orders that are lawful and binding.
November 30, 2025 at 6:54 PM
You’ll notice she didn’t answer the question but instead pivoted to her “activist judge” talking point.
The judge is not an activist. But no order is binding if there is an “activist judge” exemption to following orders. Can the next Dem president invoke this if he or she disagrees with SCOTUS?
The judge is not an activist. But no order is binding if there is an “activist judge” exemption to following orders. Can the next Dem president invoke this if he or she disagrees with SCOTUS?
Senator Kelly is absolutely correct. Orders are presumed lawful. Failure to obey an order is grounds for a court martial. That the order is unlawful is a defense, but it’s a difficult defense to establish. Service members confronted with lawless orders are between a rock and a hard place.
Mark Kelly: "My concern is with the service members -- we're gonna put these individuals in a really tough place. They may find our down the road that they did something that's illegal. It's not fair to them. That's why need presidents and secretaries of defense who understand the Constitution"
November 30, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Senator Kelly is absolutely correct. Orders are presumed lawful. Failure to obey an order is grounds for a court martial. That the order is unlawful is a defense, but it’s a difficult defense to establish. Service members confronted with lawless orders are between a rock and a hard place.
Reposted by John McKenzie
Klobuchar: "What the president has done is taken a horrific crime that occurred in DC and went 2,400 miles away to Somali & somehow indicted an entire group of people, 80k of them in my state, as well as all naturalized citizens. This is what he does. He tries to make people hate each other."
November 30, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Klobuchar: "What the president has done is taken a horrific crime that occurred in DC and went 2,400 miles away to Somali & somehow indicted an entire group of people, 80k of them in my state, as well as all naturalized citizens. This is what he does. He tries to make people hate each other."
Reposted by John McKenzie
Mark Kelly: "This president, when he says things like 'third world countries,' what is he really saying? I think what he's saying is he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that's disturbing. It's un-American."
November 30, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Mark Kelly: "This president, when he says things like 'third world countries,' what is he really saying? I think what he's saying is he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that's disturbing. It's un-American."
Reposted by John McKenzie
"If the U.S. military operation is not an armed conflict of any kind, these orders to kill helpless civilians clinging to the wreckage of a vessel our military destroyed would subject everyone from SECDEF down to the individual who pulled the trigger to prosecution under U.S. law for murder."
Here are US military lawyers stating clearly that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's "kill everybody" orders are either (1) war crimes or (2) murder.
Either way, expect prosecutions in the future.
www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/u...
Either way, expect prosecutions in the future.
www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/u...
November 30, 2025 at 4:39 AM
"If the U.S. military operation is not an armed conflict of any kind, these orders to kill helpless civilians clinging to the wreckage of a vessel our military destroyed would subject everyone from SECDEF down to the individual who pulled the trigger to prosecution under U.S. law for murder."
In addition to the due process clause, 18 USC s. 2441 prohibits the boat killings: “Whoever, … commits a war crime … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.” 1/
Stephen Miller’s Wife @katiemiller : “Can you cite the statute that makes the boat bombings illegal?”
@bakarisellers.bsky.social : “The due process
clause in the constitution.”
@bakarisellers.bsky.social : “The due process
clause in the constitution.”
November 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
In addition to the due process clause, 18 USC s. 2441 prohibits the boat killings: “Whoever, … commits a war crime … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.” 1/
2100 children have died from Covid. According to the this non-peer-reviewed FDA “study,” 10 children died from the vaccine. Vaccinate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/h...
F.D.A. Attributes 10 Children’s Deaths to Covid Vaccines
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
2100 children have died from Covid. According to the this non-peer-reviewed FDA “study,” 10 children died from the vaccine. Vaccinate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/h...
This is cold-blooded homicide. Suppose for a moment that the initial strike had a lawful military objective. The follow-on strike to kill people clinging to the wreckage did not. Killing them did not further any military objective, much less an objective proportional to the deaths. It’s just murder.
This would be a war crime even if there were an actual war and these people were actual combatants, which there isn't and they weren't.
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 9:30 PM
This is cold-blooded homicide. Suppose for a moment that the initial strike had a lawful military objective. The follow-on strike to kill people clinging to the wreckage did not. Killing them did not further any military objective, much less an objective proportional to the deaths. It’s just murder.