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Michael Fletcher

@mefletcher54.bsky.social

7.5K followers 2.7K following 3.8K posts

Retired Intelligence Analyst. Cold War era US Army Vet. Fairly familiar with System Dynamics and History. Personal eccentricities: Scadian KSCA, USCF NM&LM. Details and periodic commentary at http://mefletcher.blogspot.com/

mefletcher.blogspot.com

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 3h

A short discussion on court reform:

Updating how SCOTUS is configured would be one of the most impactful reforms ever.
I have advocated limited 5-7 year terms with members being randomly drawn from the Appellate pool (of around 200) to which they return upon completion of their term. /1

Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 16h

Yes. And notably, FDR, to see the New Deal through, had to effectively destroy the Supreme Court majority.

The Lochner-era Court killed the beginnings of the New Deal (the National Recovery Admin, for ex) and FDR had to threaten to expand the Court to bring it to heel and do the New Deal.
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John Castiglione @johncastiglione.bsky.social · 1d

In fact, one gets the sense that FDR encountered his greatest resistance when the oligarchy realized he was quite serious about seeing the New Deal thru. That’s when the vitriol comes out most, ca. 1936, not in 1932 or immediately thereafter. Obama dodged get that fight, intentionally and tragically

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 2h

Synonymous perhaps? 😎

Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 3h

The solution to that, something we have conspicuously failed to do leading to our current dilemma, is to change the system so that the influence to skew government through political influence is reduced. e.g. ending Citizens United and severely restricting the influence of outside money on policy./5

Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 3h

This would strengthen the court legitimacy and reduce power-play abuses by long entrenched factions.

Admittedly, there is no system that the unscrupulous and power hungry cannot corrupt given sufficient time and resources.
/4

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 3h

Change the dynamics of the court and reduce the likelihood of calcified judicial cliques such as the current conservative majority. It has become so embedded, corrupt and partisan that I dubbed it the Star Chamber Six.
/3

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 3h

Randomization would solve a whole rash of problem we observe on the court.

Reduce the death-match level political fights over confirmation to SCOTUS.

End the pooling of power for decades because of life appointments.

/2

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 3h

Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 16h

John Castiglione @johncastiglione.bsky.social · 1d

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 5h

Afterword: One thing the elite have excelled at is at the business practice Systems Thinkers call, "driving the positive loop."

They have been driving the positive feedback loops that build their wealth with consummate skill.

Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 5h

Claim: The elite are obsessively increasing their compensation package to obscene levels because they are doing such a great job.
Assessment: Not so much.

Hint: What do we label an organism that extracts resources from the host with no positive and often negative results for the host? A parasite.

Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 5h

Yay! Finally the most oppressed and suffering of people in the world are getting some relief.

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 5h

Breaking news: The Bank of England will cut the time senior bankers have to wait before receiving their full bonuses from eight years to four years on.ft.com/48xnmHm

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 5h

It's worth mentioning that numerous different investigations in the Systems and Social Sciences into social, cultural, and economic ills all triangulated on one powerful positive leverage point:

The Empowerment of Women and the End of Patriarchy.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Xi directs quashing of Chinese feminists even as he praises advances at women’s conference

Chinese president is behind patriarchal turn in politics with activists silenced for ‘promoting gender antagonism’

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Michael Fletcher

Amber Speaks Up @amberspeaks.bsky.social · 20h

🚨 BREAKING
The U.S. has carried out its fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean under Trump. More ⬇️

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Reposted by Michael Fletcher

Gloria Pan @glopan.bsky.social · 21h

Jason Houser, former ICE Chief of Staff: “This Isn’t Crisis Response. It’s Crisis Construction.”

"Immigration enforcement has become the administration’s primary political weapon — not to solve problems, but to manufacture fear, provoke outrage and stage an illusion of control."

#MomSky

Opinion | This Isn’t Crisis Response. It’s Crisis Construction.

www.nytimes.com

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 21h

True. No surprise there.

With the T and N duo, you knew there was always going to be a catch. It was only a question of when, not if.

Bruce Wilson @brucewilson.bsky.social · 21h

The deal didn't last long. But this is hardly surprising.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 22h

"a test"? you mean...a violation?

Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 23h

The frogs came again to make the lives of the wicked miserable!😎
OK, it's not going to turn me into a believer, but it's a righteous move.

Captain Fanta @sassy0210.bsky.social · 1d

Tuesday Friends #1
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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

Staying fit is dangerous! Don't do it! 😎

Reposted by Michael Fletcher

Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 1d

Apparently, they don’t hand out a Nobel Peace Prize to those who negotiated a ceasefire they had sabotaged a year ago just to get elected.

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

Oh Yeah!
Someone else mentioned that and I thought, "I forgot to mention that!" 😎

Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

They are rope-a-doping the courts, ignoring them while pretending otherwise. It's soft-core defiance. They know that Trump and the Star Chamber Six have come to an accommodation. When all is said and done, the lower courts are an annoyance, but don't really matter.

They have it all under control.

a cartoon character is smiling with the words oh yeah it 's all coming together below him

Alt: a cartoon character is smiling with the words oh yeah it 's all coming together below him

media.tenor.com

Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

Remember that other Republican maneuver (the one that bordered on treason) when Nixon torpedoed the Vietnam War peace talks so that he could be elected in 68?

That's just how the Republicans roll people. Peace, people, everything are all pawns to them in their power games.

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

This CJS ethics and procedure 101 level stuff. I'm not surprised the Departments of Homeland Repression and Injustice ignore these things given what they have become under Trump, but it takes some ignorant balls to state so openly in court. /3

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

In other words it's the duty of the criminal justice system to pursue and retain exculpatory evidence. To do otherwise, on purpose or through incompetence, destroys justice.

/2

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

"...but would have made the effort if it was inculpatory, just not if it was exculpatory."

Whoa there! That statement is giant humongous big red flag for the judge to consider. It flies in the face of ethical police and prosecutorial procedure. /1

emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 1d

Residovic then explained that he didn't know how to preserve video, but would have made the effort if it was inculpatory, just not if it was exculpatory.

Agent Residovic also acknowledged that he did not recover the video because he “didn’t
see anything in the video that was criminal.” Tr. 10/10/25 at 48. While he first stated that he
would not recover an inculpatory video because he didn’t know how, he admitted that if he saw
strong evidence for the prosecution, he would reach out to others to learn how to preserve the
video. He said that he did not try to learn how to preserve the video in question because it was
short and because it “didn’t show evidence of anything criminal.” Tr. 10/10/25 at 49-50. He did
not and could not express that he did not think it was possible to capture the video.

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

Government is moving from serving the people, to serving only power. It becomes "We who rule." We who know best."

They are taking away our ability to live with dignity as a free people, and turning us into a people that are only deemed worthy of being ruled - with fear, force and repression. /3

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

Though important, those issues pale in comparison to the loss of our supposedly guaranteed freedoms, the rule of law, the value of our vote, or even our ability to vote. These actions by Trump and his minions are a more serious than the price of eggs.
Government is no longer "We the People."

/2

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 1d

Democratic messaging concerns me on one level. We talk about what Trump and the GOP is taking away: healthcare, the social safety net, and the attacks on our pocketbook. /1

Mjkwho @mjkwho.bsky.social · 1d

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Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 2d

It's all part of the service. 😎