Chris Seaman

I cannot accept this invitation, for I do not believe that the mean- ing of the Constitution was forever "fixed" at the Philadelphia Con- vention. Nor do I find the wisdom, foresight, and sense of justice exhibited by the framers particularly profound. To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring sev- eral amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, that we hold as funda- mental today. When contemporary Americans cite "The Constitu- tion," they invoke a concept that is vastly different from what the framers barely began to construct two centuries ago

At an event commemorating the 200th birthday of the United States, a sitting Supreme Court Justice was invited to celebrate "the memory of the Founders and the document they drafted in Philadelphia."

Justice Thurgood Marshall declined

Bouie draws a stark parallel--white supremacist Reconstruction/Jim Crow era violence left 15th Amendment as merely nominal commitment to racial equality. Goal of gutting the Voting Rights Act is same: "a toothless nullity to be ignored by those who fear the ballot and the power of a free choice."

Another must-read by Jamelle Bouie ⬇️

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds The Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration, by abruptly canceling NIH grants, had violated a 1974 federal law

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/g...

We figured out to *cure cancer* (ref: last year’s pancreatic cancer trials) and the Trump administration decided “nah.” That a society could reject a cure for cancer is astounding.

We could have had cancer vaccines, and instead the United States will contribute nothing whatsoever to mRNA research, condemning millions of people worldwide to unnecessary illness and death

kennedy is going to kill a lot of people

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

I'm reading through the lawsuit now, and I'm going to live-post my reactions to it. The lawsuit is linked below. My immediate reaction: this is really bad, and egregiously misstates the law in a painfully obvious way.
gov.texas.gov/uploads/file...

I love how an official says outright that Brown, unlike Harvard, did not sue the administration so Harvard needs to bend the knee deeper, and somehow the issue is that Harvard’s negotiators “perceive” punitive intent. Straight up punishment for opposition.

This is amazing.

The idea that President can negotiate/dictate bilateral “deals” by using the full force of the federal government to punish and humiliate his perceived enemies goes against the whole idea of the rule of law. That should be the story, rather than normalizing this authoritarian behavior.

In light of the current goings-on in Texas, I post Julian Bond’s 1975 “Remarks prepared for the Southern Conference of Black Mayors,” in which he discusses gerrymandering, along w/other tactics designed to restrict Black participation in electoral politics.

bondpapersproject.org/document/145

The Republican governor of Texas has directed state police to arrest his Democratic opponents

Yeah, but I still enjoyed the schadenfreude for about 5 minutes 🤣

Great job Congress. Mortgaging our kids’ futures so billionaires can get a tax cut.

New analysis: CBO says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will create $718 billion in additional debt-service costs, which brings the law's overall red-ink projection up to $4.1 trillion. www.cbo.gov/system/files...

Screen shot of a Just The News article saying: “National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, meanwhile, is fending off a mutiny by nearly 500 self-identified staff — some perhaps laid off in reduction-in-force plans — based in part on an alleged "list of banned words" in grants recommended for funding, especially those related to diversity, equity and inclusion. "This one is really frustrating," Bhattacharya told Just the News. He informed representatives of the "Bethesda Declaration," named after NIH's Maryland home base, at their July 21 meeting that "I ordered there be no banned list" to his staff months ago, but some program officers "took it upon themselves" to create ad hoc, unofficial lists. “

Wow! So Bhattacharya is now saying in right leaning rags that it’s been rogue program officers that created banned words lists at NIH. 🤣

What a sad, small person he is!

“Program officers ‘took it upon themselves’ to create ad hoc, unofficial lists…”

Chapter Awards - The Federalist Society at UVA Law The Paul G. Mahoney Award The Paul G. Mahoney Award is named for Paul G. Mahoney of the University of Virginia School of Law. He is the David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor and served as de...

He’s also ideologically aligned with the Youngkin appointees on the BOV - longtime supporter of UVA’s FedSoc chapter. www.fedsocatuvalaw.org/chapter-awar...

shocked just shocked they picked a fedsoc guy

Jeanine Pirro is an election denier who called the J6 attackers "hostages" & has unfairly attacked DOJ

She is the latest Trump nominee to be confirmed by a MAGA majority in the Senate that has abdicated "advise & consent"

I explained @theweekendmsnbc.bsky.social @msnbc.com

www.rawstory.com FCC commissioner admits Colbert's firing is 'a consequence that comes from Trump'

FCC commissioner admits Colbert's firing is 'a consequence that comes from Trump' https://twp.ai/4ioypN

A nontrivial chunk of chapter 3 The Originalism Trap is me being like, let me count the ways in which Shelby County reads like each of John Roberts's braincells were replaced by rocks. And also the rocks were racist.

Supreme Court signals it may rule on law protecting power of minority voters The justices asked opposing parties in a battle over a Louisiana voting map to submit briefs addressing the matter.

The Supreme Court has signaled that it may rule on the constitutionality of a key section of the Voting Rights Act that allows states to draw voting districts to protect the power of Black and Hispanic voters.

Virginia General Assembly demands answers about Ryan's resignation in Aug. 1 letter In a 10-page letter obtained by The Cavalier Daily, State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, demanded written responses and documentation from University Rector Rachel Sheridan and University Vice ...

www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

Opinion | First thing we do, let’s fire all the statisticians The Trump administration’s strategy in dealing with tough numbers: Don’t count them.

Just remembering I wrote this ~3 weeks ago. For once wishing I’d been wrong. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

For no particular reason, here's a chart of Louisiana's congressional delegation, by race, for every Congress since the Civil War. Top red line = end of Reconstruction; bottom red line = Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The latter is going to be teed up in a separate case (Turtle Mountain Band), but yes, it’s looking dire for Section 2. (I have a forthcoming article on the private right of action issue that I’ll be posting shortly.)

It doesn't get much more John Roberts than the trajectory from "don't worry about us ruling preclearance unconstitutional when Section 2 remains in force" to "whoops, come to think of it Section 2 is also unconstitutional"

The Supreme Court knocked down one of the two pillars of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 in the Shelby County case. It has now gone out of its way to consider whether it should knock down the other, by rescheduling arguments in a case it could have resolved in June under existing precedent.