How does Justice Thomas purport to know what was in the minds of those who approved the 14th amendment, as if they didn't realize that birthright citizenship was defined broadly and would certainly extend far beyond the lives of former slaves who were granted citizen status? Not going to read his 91 page opinion, but WOW, what an interpretation.
Jasper’s a black cocker spaniel (full-sized) with a white ruff in the front. He’s s total sweetie. And compared to the Irish setters my late husband and I had, really easy! Labs are great dogs, but I like my live stuffed animal.
Unfortunately, he's my city, Savannah's "gift" to the US. Every time I drive through the major I-95/I-16 interchange here which is named for him, I curse him.
He should know - at least what they said if not what they thought - but truth escapes him. The Congressional Record contains floor debates on legislation. Therefore we know the issues raised about the 14th Amendment, Section 1 & what was argued. Justice Jackson was on firm ground when she called Thomas out. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5948630-justice-jackson-clarence-thomas/ Just as letters & other writings by the Founders are used in legal arguments to show their reasoning so are statements from floor debates.
Sen. Jacob Howard from MI was the main sponsor. “When critics worried that this would grant automatic citizenship to the children of Asian and European immigrants, Howard and allies like Senator John Conness countered that the law must apply broadly to ‘children of all parentage’ to ensure equal civil standing.” Brennan Center on birthright citizenship (from July 2025, updated July 25, 2026). https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/birthright-citizenship-under-us-constitution
This ground has been plowed before. About 30 yrs after the Amendment was adopted, a landmark case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark was decided. He was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents who were barred from becoming U.S. citizens due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. After a trip overseas, he was barred from re-entering the US & told as the child of Chinese nationals he could never become a citizen. He prevailed & this case is often cited as the proper SCOTUS precedent to decide the issue of children born to immigrants. Another reason Thomas and those who agreed with them know better & the reason Chief Justice Roberts cited it in his opinion. He also states: “The Court exhaustively canvassed the text and history of the Citizenship Clause and at no point identified any evidence that the ratifiers thought themselves to be imposing a domicile limitation. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/supreme-court-strikes-down-trumps-birthright-citizenship-executive-order-in-landmark-decision
(Too long, I know. Just too infuriating to hear “Justices” lying to our faces.)
Steven, I am glad you will not mince words. For all intense and purposes, we are living through a soft coup by; executive order, elimination of independent institutions, and a corrupt Supreme Court. Additionally, we have a corrupt two-party political system, and an ill-conceived Electoral College process which violates the popular vote of the President and Vice President, and aggressive state gerrymandering by both political parties. Got any idea who is actually working on these issues and what if any solutions are being proposed and discussed? I hear very little chatter regarding actually fixing these fundamental foundational flaws. How about you?
Trump was trying to prevent persons from "sh-thole" countries get birthright citizenship because face it, he's a racist. But he and his sycophants forget the many, many (millions?) of European immigrants who, upon arrival to this country, conceived children within a few years of arrival here before they had become US citizens. Alito's of Italian descent. Does he have any distant relatives who fit that bill?
I'm Jewish and I know there were plenty of American Jews from the late 19th century, early 20th century and right after WW2 who fit that bill.
My great-grandparents were immigrants who married here on the Centennial 4th of July (also our anniversary, albeit over 100 yrs later!). Were they US citizens when my great-aunts & great-uncles were born? I don't know. (they probably were by the time my grandmother, the youngest of 8, was born in 1890).
America was built by immigrants. Trump & his cronies either don't understand this or just won't accept it
— 2 of Drumpf’s 3 wives were immigrants. His grandfather was escaping the draft as a teenager and came to the US from Bavaria. Went to the Yukon and returned to Bavaria only to be turned away because his revoked citizenship over the draft issue would not be reinstated. A real shame because he returned to the US. That’s how we wound up with him. https://nycwalks.com/blog/generation-i-grandfather-frederick-trump-the-founder-of-the-family-fortune/
— Howard Lutnick oversees the Golden Visa program. His paternal grandparents were Eastern Europe Jews who arrived in the Bronx around 1900, give or take a few years.
Thanks Steven: It is a mild win for the constitution and democracy , ruling in favor the the 14th amendment but the bigoted, racist vile administration cabal along with Stephen Miller are not going to let up. The White Supremacist , Christian Nationalist do not want any black or brown folks in the country. Check out the concentration camps around the nation.. Mostly brown and black immigrants, possibly a few white folks . Then you have the TPS issue: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the administration can end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. Although protections are currently active while lower courts finalize the ruling, the program's termination is expected to take effect within the coming weeks. All this that is going on is like a mild ethnic cleansing of the populace. I'm not sure what else to call it.
A century ago, SCOTUS declared that the Founding Fathers didn’t have Asians in mind, and refused to allow the naturalization of a Japanese immigrant who had lived in California for seven years. However, they did not also deny citizenship to his children, who had been born here. That’s how strong birthright citizenship has been historically.
Right on, brother! I think one of the first ten things a new Dem president and Dem Congress must include is the expansion of SCOTUS. Term limits. Ethics, in writing, with penalties. Age limits. The court has become a joke, a rubber stamp, a happily willful enabler of Project 2025. When we assume a trifecta in 2029, there will be much to do. But top ten? Reform SCOTUS. Best to have a fair and reasonable backstop to all the reforming we are going to have to do, Every Thing, Every Where, All at Once.
And a cliff hanger vote on Birthright Citizenship.
Then
The decision giving Trump more power to levy threats and stack agencies according to egregious agendas unacceptable.
Excerpt:
“But we should not minimize the threat this Supreme Court represents to our democratic republic in its rejection of equal justice and its desire to maximize presidential power.
Reforming the Supreme Court must be at the top of the agenda for Democrats in the midterms and in 2028.
That includes expanding the Court to dilute the extremists’ power and ending lifetime appointments.”
The $$ for her is held in some kind of escrow account. The Orange Menace has no control over it. I read (reputable source) that as soon as this case reached the end of the line (it has), if she won, the $$ will be automatically distributed to her in days, less than a week. Thus we're gonna miss the cheap thrill of seeing him write a check to her for $5M
Thanks. Sadly, I'm at the point where I'll believe she has the money when she says she does. Show, don't tell. I start that with kids when they are young enough to understand real apologies. Show me, don't tell me. I started doing that in the early 1990s. I shouldn't have to say that about adults, and yet, I do.
Stacking the court was tried and died under FDR. How about an enforceable ethics code, along with term limits?
While we were distracted, a $500M check was given in a no-bid process to build his ballroom. I wonder if this will turn out like the Reflecting Pool remodel, which we also paid for?
The Supreme Court seems to be in Trump’s back pocket. The 6 anti-constitutionalists should be impeached, but the 3 who voted against this amendment should be impeached immediately.
How does Justice Thomas purport to know what was in the minds of those who approved the 14th amendment, as if they didn't realize that birthright citizenship was defined broadly and would certainly extend far beyond the lives of former slaves who were granted citizen status? Not going to read his 91 page opinion, but WOW, what an interpretation.
91 pages??!!
You’re assuming Thomas is rational. That’s a pretty outlandish assumption!
No not assuming that. He's shown who he is, as has Alito. By the way, I have a black lab that looks similar to your pup.
Jasper’s a black cocker spaniel (full-sized) with a white ruff in the front. He’s s total sweetie. And compared to the Irish setters my late husband and I had, really easy! Labs are great dogs, but I like my live stuffed animal.
There will be a massive celebration when thomas dies. That's the nicest thing I can say.
Unfortunately, he's my city, Savannah's "gift" to the US. Every time I drive through the major I-95/I-16 interchange here which is named for him, I curse him.
He should know - at least what they said if not what they thought - but truth escapes him. The Congressional Record contains floor debates on legislation. Therefore we know the issues raised about the 14th Amendment, Section 1 & what was argued. Justice Jackson was on firm ground when she called Thomas out. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5948630-justice-jackson-clarence-thomas/ Just as letters & other writings by the Founders are used in legal arguments to show their reasoning so are statements from floor debates.
Sen. Jacob Howard from MI was the main sponsor. “When critics worried that this would grant automatic citizenship to the children of Asian and European immigrants, Howard and allies like Senator John Conness countered that the law must apply broadly to ‘children of all parentage’ to ensure equal civil standing.” Brennan Center on birthright citizenship (from July 2025, updated July 25, 2026). https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/birthright-citizenship-under-us-constitution
This ground has been plowed before. About 30 yrs after the Amendment was adopted, a landmark case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark was decided. He was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents who were barred from becoming U.S. citizens due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. After a trip overseas, he was barred from re-entering the US & told as the child of Chinese nationals he could never become a citizen. He prevailed & this case is often cited as the proper SCOTUS precedent to decide the issue of children born to immigrants. Another reason Thomas and those who agreed with them know better & the reason Chief Justice Roberts cited it in his opinion. He also states: “The Court exhaustively canvassed the text and history of the Citizenship Clause and at no point identified any evidence that the ratifiers thought themselves to be imposing a domicile limitation. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/supreme-court-strikes-down-trumps-birthright-citizenship-executive-order-in-landmark-decision
(Too long, I know. Just too infuriating to hear “Justices” lying to our faces.)
Thank you for providing the background to this important Constitutional Amendment.
Steven, I am glad you will not mince words. For all intense and purposes, we are living through a soft coup by; executive order, elimination of independent institutions, and a corrupt Supreme Court. Additionally, we have a corrupt two-party political system, and an ill-conceived Electoral College process which violates the popular vote of the President and Vice President, and aggressive state gerrymandering by both political parties. Got any idea who is actually working on these issues and what if any solutions are being proposed and discussed? I hear very little chatter regarding actually fixing these fundamental foundational flaws. How about you?
Trump was trying to prevent persons from "sh-thole" countries get birthright citizenship because face it, he's a racist. But he and his sycophants forget the many, many (millions?) of European immigrants who, upon arrival to this country, conceived children within a few years of arrival here before they had become US citizens. Alito's of Italian descent. Does he have any distant relatives who fit that bill?
I'm Jewish and I know there were plenty of American Jews from the late 19th century, early 20th century and right after WW2 who fit that bill.
My great-grandparents were immigrants who married here on the Centennial 4th of July (also our anniversary, albeit over 100 yrs later!). Were they US citizens when my great-aunts & great-uncles were born? I don't know. (they probably were by the time my grandmother, the youngest of 8, was born in 1890).
America was built by immigrants. Trump & his cronies either don't understand this or just won't accept it
They are hypocrites.
— 2 of Drumpf’s 3 wives were immigrants. His grandfather was escaping the draft as a teenager and came to the US from Bavaria. Went to the Yukon and returned to Bavaria only to be turned away because his revoked citizenship over the draft issue would not be reinstated. A real shame because he returned to the US. That’s how we wound up with him. https://nycwalks.com/blog/generation-i-grandfather-frederick-trump-the-founder-of-the-family-fortune/
— Stephen Miller is a descendant of Russian Jews escaping the pogroms. His family is outraged. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/13/stephen-miller-is-an-immigration-hypocrite-i-know-because-im-his-uncle-219351/
— Howard Lutnick oversees the Golden Visa program. His paternal grandparents were Eastern Europe Jews who arrived in the Bronx around 1900, give or take a few years.
They all likely have such histories and know it.
Thanks Steven: It is a mild win for the constitution and democracy , ruling in favor the the 14th amendment but the bigoted, racist vile administration cabal along with Stephen Miller are not going to let up. The White Supremacist , Christian Nationalist do not want any black or brown folks in the country. Check out the concentration camps around the nation.. Mostly brown and black immigrants, possibly a few white folks . Then you have the TPS issue: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the administration can end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. Although protections are currently active while lower courts finalize the ruling, the program's termination is expected to take effect within the coming weeks. All this that is going on is like a mild ethnic cleansing of the populace. I'm not sure what else to call it.
A century ago, SCOTUS declared that the Founding Fathers didn’t have Asians in mind, and refused to allow the naturalization of a Japanese immigrant who had lived in California for seven years. However, they did not also deny citizenship to his children, who had been born here. That’s how strong birthright citizenship has been historically.
Queens... .
Right on, brother! I think one of the first ten things a new Dem president and Dem Congress must include is the expansion of SCOTUS. Term limits. Ethics, in writing, with penalties. Age limits. The court has become a joke, a rubber stamp, a happily willful enabler of Project 2025. When we assume a trifecta in 2029, there will be much to do. But top ten? Reform SCOTUS. Best to have a fair and reasonable backstop to all the reforming we are going to have to do, Every Thing, Every Where, All at Once.
I wonder how Thomas would vote of there was a challenge to Loving v. Virginia (1966). How would he write a majority opinion to overturn this decision?
Yes
Mixed SCOTUS decisions this week;
And a cliff hanger vote on Birthright Citizenship.
Then
The decision giving Trump more power to levy threats and stack agencies according to egregious agendas unacceptable.
Excerpt:
“But we should not minimize the threat this Supreme Court represents to our democratic republic in its rejection of equal justice and its desire to maximize presidential power.
Reforming the Supreme Court must be at the top of the agenda for Democrats in the midterms and in 2028.
That includes expanding the Court to dilute the extremists’ power and ending lifetime appointments.”
I too do insist on reform of the Supreme Court.
Democrats must take on this task.
. ..
Yes!
Trump will try to appeal, even though he can't.
The birthright citizenship case shouldn't have even been a case to begin with. I'm so disgusted with the kkkkkristians in politikkkks.
As far as E. Jean, I'll celebrate when she has money. As far as Marc Elias' case, I'll celebrate in November after the results are in.
The $$ for her is held in some kind of escrow account. The Orange Menace has no control over it. I read (reputable source) that as soon as this case reached the end of the line (it has), if she won, the $$ will be automatically distributed to her in days, less than a week. Thus we're gonna miss the cheap thrill of seeing him write a check to her for $5M
Thanks. Sadly, I'm at the point where I'll believe she has the money when she says she does. Show, don't tell. I start that with kids when they are young enough to understand real apologies. Show me, don't tell me. I started doing that in the early 1990s. I shouldn't have to say that about adults, and yet, I do.
Hes uppity. In an obnoxious white stereotype kind of way.
Stacking the court was tried and died under FDR. How about an enforceable ethics code, along with term limits?
While we were distracted, a $500M check was given in a no-bid process to build his ballroom. I wonder if this will turn out like the Reflecting Pool remodel, which we also paid for?
Trump is from Queensland. He went to foreign hills hill. His parents sent him ti military academy. He needed enormous discipline.
The Supreme Court seems to be in Trump’s back pocket. The 6 anti-constitutionalists should be impeached, but the 3 who voted against this amendment should be impeached immediately.
I propose that you add a “6 Questions” episode with your brother, an expert on the presidency.