Mike: You thought about guns in schools; I thought about all the immigrant families who are going through much worse than Amy Barrett can even imagine: Watching parents torn away by ICE; watching your dad be shot and killed by ICE; watching your journalist mom be grabbed by police. And, yes, the Supreme Court justices are responsible for supporting all of it.
Yeah, I definitely do not “feel for her” for experiencing the stress that the SCOTUS and republicans have inflicted on all of us. Difference is she will get the protection she asks for while we all fend for ourselves.
Why should I give her the sympathy for the environment she helped create?
I agree; it's a scary place. I hate that she's going through this, but it's the one who got her into this court that causes all the violence. His supporters are the violent ones.
I have completely lost faith in SCOTUS and DOJ. Sad but true. I trust the news from the Iranian government more than what Trump and his sycophants say. I don't see this changing as long as Trump is president.
And Amy Coney Barrett's reaction to being swatted is only to ask for more protection for HERSELF? How about proposing something to reduce the incidence of swatting for everyone else in public life?
Gretchen Whitmer had to explain to her kids that there was a real plot to kidnap her and execute her for treason, with actual people convicted of the crime
Josh Shapiro had to explain to his family about the arsonist who set fire to the governor's mansion in PA
Nancy Pelosi had to tell her kids that her husband was critically injured in an attack at their house, and the attacker was looking for her
You know what, Justice ACB: F*ck off. You're in your office because of the maggots that feel enabled to do this kind of stuff. Live with it, or at the very least, don't count on us taxpayers to help you out.
Mike you are so right. How did we ever become this country? Blame is square on the shoulders of Republicans who have systematically turned us into the ugly mess we are today. They claim the Constitution and then work to undo it. They hang on to guns like it is normal to own an AR-15 or other weapon of mass destruction. I don’t feel sorry for Amy. She is part of that problem.
I agree with what you wrote. I would also share that I started public school teaching in the latter half of the 60’s. We did drills with children then against bombing from Russians but also other dissenters. The drill was similar in case of a tornado as we had lots of those in that part of the country as you would well know. I can still see in my memories my kinders huddling in a hallway with their heads tucked between their knees & their arms over their heads.
The major difference between then and now is that there were no nuclear attacks on the US during the cold war. But nationwide, American children were subjected to 233 school shootings in 2025.
We had a shooter threat at my kid's high school. However, 2 days before the threat was supposed to become realized, the police and school officials notified everyone that it was highly likely not going to happen. But, the school excused any student whose parents/guardians gave him/her permission to miss school that day. We asked our kid if she wanted to go or stay home. She said she'd go, but we prepped her. She walks to school every day. There were police cars all around the campus that day. Surely enough, nothing happened, but when she came home, she said probably 30% of the school wasn't there. In one class, she was one of five students present. Crazy day.
In my day the drill was to duck under our desks and cover our faces -as a response to a nuclear bomb. My generation also lived thru WW Ii, the Korean War, and Vietnam. So stop whiinging and give your child an explanation appropriate to his age.
You're correct, but all those dangers were also far away from most of us. No one was entering our classrooms with any kind of gun...especially not an assault weapon. This would have benefited from a bit of compassion.
A great column, as always, Mike. But I want to add something to it and of course it’s going to be my usual issue.
I’m not a parent. I’m simply a gay man that has been fighting for the rights of LGBT people, especially LGBT kids, for 55 years. As far as I know, none of my nieces or nephews or grand nieces or grand nephews, are LGBT. None of the children or grandchildren of my friends, both gay and straight, are LGBT, as far as I know. So this isn’t something that affects me personally, but it is definitely something that affects me.
The Republican party, the Christonazis, the far right using the government, have been attacking and attacking LGBT kids for nearly 50 years. They’re not only attacking those kids, they are attacking their right to exist as they are made, their right to be safe in their schools, their right to accurate information about themselves. Their right NOT TO BE BULLIED by far right adults-in-cults, or the spawn of the far right.
And these BULLIES control enough of the government, including the Supreme Court, to enable and justify the government to attack those kids and theit right to exist and grow up to be happy, healthy, functioning adults. Or even just to be able to fucking grow up, period.
You bet I’m angry. I am angry about every single LGBT kid that doesn’t grow up at all, who commits suicide because they think that maybe it’s better to be dead than gay. I’m angry about every single LGBT kid that gets bullied because of the messages the parents and the passtors of those bullies routinely deliver. I was bullied a great deal as a child for being the obviously gay kid, the obviously weird kid, the Jewish kid, and the only thing worse from my point of view than adults enabling children to be bullies is adults that prefer to skip the middleman and do the bullying themselves.
Former Senator Rob Portman of Ohio is a perfect example of what I’m getting at. He was very much against same-sex marriage until his own son came out and wanted to get married. When it finally affected him, he cared enough. But he didn’t care about anybody else else’s sons or daughters.
The don’t-say-gay laws, opposition to anti-bullying laws, laws targeting transgender kids and their families, laws denying gay kids the information they need to grow up happy and healthy…
These are all part and parcel of the mindset which creates the laws which refuse to do anything
at all about the proliferation of guns and weapons of mass murder in our society. Rights without responsibilities are simply anarchy at Best and unearned privilege at worst. It’s the mindset that says “muh rights” supersede your right or your kids’ rights to remain alive. It is the mindset that underlines vaccine denial and sound public health policy based upon 200 years of experience.
And that is part and parcel of the mindset that says being an iggerunt sociopath and the living embodiment of assholery is the highest social good.
It’s not just about the guns, although it is certainly about that. The social psychologist in me can see clearly that it is about the tribalistic, sociopathic, despite-filled mindset that says “I am better than you, and I will make sure that you know it. Whatever I do to you, whatever happens to you, simply doesn’t matter to me, because I am better than you.”
Mike: You thought about guns in schools; I thought about all the immigrant families who are going through much worse than Amy Barrett can even imagine: Watching parents torn away by ICE; watching your dad be shot and killed by ICE; watching your journalist mom be grabbed by police. And, yes, the Supreme Court justices are responsible for supporting all of it.
Love,
Susan
BINGO, Mike! Once again, you have hit the nail on the head ....
EVERYONE'S children deserve to be safe!
Maybe Ms. Coney Barrett could wake up and see that she COULD do something about the danger to EVERYONE'S children - if she only gave a damn!
Yeah, I definitely do not “feel for her” for experiencing the stress that the SCOTUS and republicans have inflicted on all of us. Difference is she will get the protection she asks for while we all fend for ourselves.
Why should I give her the sympathy for the environment she helped create?
I agree; it's a scary place. I hate that she's going through this, but it's the one who got her into this court that causes all the violence. His supporters are the violent ones.
I have completely lost faith in SCOTUS and DOJ. Sad but true. I trust the news from the Iranian government more than what Trump and his sycophants say. I don't see this changing as long as Trump is president.
And Amy Coney Barrett's reaction to being swatted is only to ask for more protection for HERSELF? How about proposing something to reduce the incidence of swatting for everyone else in public life?
Oh, and as a side note for Justice ACB:
Gretchen Whitmer had to explain to her kids that there was a real plot to kidnap her and execute her for treason, with actual people convicted of the crime
Josh Shapiro had to explain to his family about the arsonist who set fire to the governor's mansion in PA
Nancy Pelosi had to tell her kids that her husband was critically injured in an attack at their house, and the attacker was looking for her
You know what, Justice ACB: F*ck off. You're in your office because of the maggots that feel enabled to do this kind of stuff. Live with it, or at the very least, don't count on us taxpayers to help you out.
Mike you are so right. How did we ever become this country? Blame is square on the shoulders of Republicans who have systematically turned us into the ugly mess we are today. They claim the Constitution and then work to undo it. They hang on to guns like it is normal to own an AR-15 or other weapon of mass destruction. I don’t feel sorry for Amy. She is part of that problem.
I agree with what you wrote. I would also share that I started public school teaching in the latter half of the 60’s. We did drills with children then against bombing from Russians but also other dissenters. The drill was similar in case of a tornado as we had lots of those in that part of the country as you would well know. I can still see in my memories my kinders huddling in a hallway with their heads tucked between their knees & their arms over their heads.
I remember the old tornado drills in school! Went through them for 12 years.
The major difference between then and now is that there were no nuclear attacks on the US during the cold war. But nationwide, American children were subjected to 233 school shootings in 2025.
"Only a fool would let his enemy teach his children." —Malcom X
https://tritorch.substack.com/p/demons-disguised-as-guardians-philanthropic
No sympathy for a judicial traitor
I totally agree with you. Now the shoe is on the other foot but they have more of a chance overcoming it. We don't and they won't help!
We had a shooter threat at my kid's high school. However, 2 days before the threat was supposed to become realized, the police and school officials notified everyone that it was highly likely not going to happen. But, the school excused any student whose parents/guardians gave him/her permission to miss school that day. We asked our kid if she wanted to go or stay home. She said she'd go, but we prepped her. She walks to school every day. There were police cars all around the campus that day. Surely enough, nothing happened, but when she came home, she said probably 30% of the school wasn't there. In one class, she was one of five students present. Crazy day.
In my day the drill was to duck under our desks and cover our faces -as a response to a nuclear bomb. My generation also lived thru WW Ii, the Korean War, and Vietnam. So stop whiinging and give your child an explanation appropriate to his age.
You're correct, but all those dangers were also far away from most of us. No one was entering our classrooms with any kind of gun...especially not an assault weapon. This would have benefited from a bit of compassion.
A great column, as always, Mike. But I want to add something to it and of course it’s going to be my usual issue.
I’m not a parent. I’m simply a gay man that has been fighting for the rights of LGBT people, especially LGBT kids, for 55 years. As far as I know, none of my nieces or nephews or grand nieces or grand nephews, are LGBT. None of the children or grandchildren of my friends, both gay and straight, are LGBT, as far as I know. So this isn’t something that affects me personally, but it is definitely something that affects me.
The Republican party, the Christonazis, the far right using the government, have been attacking and attacking LGBT kids for nearly 50 years. They’re not only attacking those kids, they are attacking their right to exist as they are made, their right to be safe in their schools, their right to accurate information about themselves. Their right NOT TO BE BULLIED by far right adults-in-cults, or the spawn of the far right.
And these BULLIES control enough of the government, including the Supreme Court, to enable and justify the government to attack those kids and theit right to exist and grow up to be happy, healthy, functioning adults. Or even just to be able to fucking grow up, period.
You bet I’m angry. I am angry about every single LGBT kid that doesn’t grow up at all, who commits suicide because they think that maybe it’s better to be dead than gay. I’m angry about every single LGBT kid that gets bullied because of the messages the parents and the passtors of those bullies routinely deliver. I was bullied a great deal as a child for being the obviously gay kid, the obviously weird kid, the Jewish kid, and the only thing worse from my point of view than adults enabling children to be bullies is adults that prefer to skip the middleman and do the bullying themselves.
Former Senator Rob Portman of Ohio is a perfect example of what I’m getting at. He was very much against same-sex marriage until his own son came out and wanted to get married. When it finally affected him, he cared enough. But he didn’t care about anybody else else’s sons or daughters.
The don’t-say-gay laws, opposition to anti-bullying laws, laws targeting transgender kids and their families, laws denying gay kids the information they need to grow up happy and healthy…
These are all part and parcel of the mindset which creates the laws which refuse to do anything
at all about the proliferation of guns and weapons of mass murder in our society. Rights without responsibilities are simply anarchy at Best and unearned privilege at worst. It’s the mindset that says “muh rights” supersede your right or your kids’ rights to remain alive. It is the mindset that underlines vaccine denial and sound public health policy based upon 200 years of experience.
And that is part and parcel of the mindset that says being an iggerunt sociopath and the living embodiment of assholery is the highest social good.
It’s not just about the guns, although it is certainly about that. The social psychologist in me can see clearly that it is about the tribalistic, sociopathic, despite-filled mindset that says “I am better than you, and I will make sure that you know it. Whatever I do to you, whatever happens to you, simply doesn’t matter to me, because I am better than you.”
Thanks Mike. I feel the same way
Excellent. Did this comparison get made during this hearing?