Banter Bites

Highest Court. Lowest Bar?

When the road to the highest court in the land is littered with the lowest levels of behavior and respect …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: The first black woman to be nominated as a Supreme Court justice is historic and should symbolize what America stands for, but watching the interviewing process concerns both of us, albeit for very different reasons.


As a lover of history, Red can’t help but focus on the past, when the U.S. Senate would put aside partisanship thoughts, look at the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and integrity, remembering that justices sit at the top of an independent branch of government. They voted on the person, not the party. (For example, out of 100 available votes, Antonin Scalia was confirmed in 1986 with 98, Anthony Kennedy in 1988 with 97, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993 with 96.)

It distresses her that the Republican members of the committee, instead of focusing on whether Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (KBJ) is qualified, seem more interested in trying to trip her up, using what Red see as “cheap tricks” (such as selectively discussing parts of a court case rather than providing the full context), all to make “points” for their side. Not to mention ignoring basic standards of decency, civility, and old-fashioned good manners. Things she instilled in her kids when they were still children,

I never thought I’d equate anything to do with the Supreme Court to being a mom, but if you wouldn’t let your five-year-old get away with that kind of behavior, should we let senators vetting a Supreme Court justice nominee act that way?!

Black, on the other hand, recognizes that mathematically KBJ has the appointment unless a Democrat votes “No” (which is highly unlikely). So, instead of grandstanding with an aggressively hostile (borderline toxic) partisan focus on mid-term election culture-war issues (not to mention “payback” for prior Republican nominee hearings and the blatant “I may run for higher office” campaign “speeches”), this was a wasted opportunity for a “reset” as the Senate could have created a historic bipartisan moment -- having a highly-qualified nominee become the first Black woman appointed to the highest court in the land.

And while Black believes that KBJ’s professional credentials, combined with her experience, which is different from the other justices, would bring a new and highly valuable perspective and insight to the Supreme Court (although it wouldn’t “overrule” the current dominance of conservative ideology), she also knows the value of the “soft skills” KBJ’s developed to deal with the challenges she’s faced her entire life,

Watching KBJ refusing to be drawn into a political fight and facing the harassment (from, dare I say it, white men) with poise and dignity made perfect sense because, as a Black woman, she has had to deal with that type of **it her entire life.

If you’re looking for a reason not to mow, there’s logic behind letting it grow …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: As is often the case, Red hadn’t heard of the latest trend, “No Mow May,” which is all about lawn maintenance (or the lack of it) until Black started sending her articles about it.

Keep Reading ...Show less
It’s hard to imagine one holiday celebrates … spring, women’s fertility, workers, and labor rights. But it shouldn’t surprise you that even though it dates back thousands of years, we each “dance around” different aspects of May Day.

If you’ve never thought about May Day, don’t worry, most of us haven’t.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red appreciates that some holidays have historical significance, some have ancient traditions, and some are opportunities for one of Black’s unexpected, but often amusing and clever, comments, but May Day checks all those boxes.

Keep Reading ...Show less

Spring’s supposed to be full of optimism as it represents a new beginning, with longer days, the trees and flowers blooming, the birds chirping, and a general feeling of rejuvenation. So, whose idea was it to rudely interrupt it with Tax Day? And the fact it’s April 18 this year instead of April 15 (when we ran the article below in 2021, we got two extra days) hardly makes it any less, well, … taxing.

This quote is perfect, except that we don't know who said it, "People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women."

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It's probably a safe bet (yes, the IRS even has specific rules on how to handle gambling income and losses) that no one looks forward to Tax Day, but it would be easy to make assumptions that how people approach this potentially stressful day would be impacted by how much, or how little, money they make …

Keep Reading ...Show less