As I recall, JMJ posts from back in the day strongly implied that he was a lawyer who once had a job in the Justice Department, maybe in the Bush 1 or Clinton eras. He seemed knowledgable about the way lawyers in the department would approach Constitutional challenges to government policies. Or maybe he just clerked for a federal judge in Washington?
Anyway, I find it plausible that he knew Gorsuch through work years ago.
Which is fine really, and I am not sure why he removed the post other than he got partially grilled about who he was.
The thing is… the seat was stolen. I don’t think Gorsuch is the worst choice they could have gone with out of other judges available, but they shouldn’t have had the choice in the first in place.
Oh come on, grilled? I asked who he was. Saying you know the current SCOTUS nominee and can attest to his character is a pretty big claim, especially using a screen name on gaming forum. I wasn’t asking him to prove anything, just give some context.
Look, don’t stake it personally. Most of us post things on this message board, and we take it for what it is. How often do you see someone ask someone else to prove what they’re saying is true, as in their background, not public or news based facts? To give a background that wasn’t given voluntarily? It’s not really seen that often here. Since I’ve been here, i don’t see this grill each other for qualifications kind of tilt. It’s fairly friendly community that generally takes people at their word.
Your question surprised me more than his claim, but I didn’t really alter my perception towards either of you due to your posts here.
People don’t question others on forums like this, but again, this was a much bigger claim than what we usually talk about, especially from someone who doesn’t seem to post regularly (I tried to check his post history to see if he was a lawyer or something). Anyway, it wasn’t that I didn’t believe him so much as I wanted to know how he knew him. Did they used to drink at the same bar when they were younger or, as @antlers added, did they had some sort of working background? Before it was just some guy on the internet, but with the added info, his comments are much more interesting. It’s too bad he deleted them.
Eh, we question each other all the time.
I think JMJ’s story was awesome, and i have no reservations about its veracity. Not sure why it was removed. Didn’t think anyone was out of line in wanting to know more about the context, purely because it was so interesting.
I was replying to this line:
Hi, guys. I hadn’t been to Qt3 more than a couple of times in the past few years, but I visited on a whim to see what P&R was saying about the new junta. And then I posted on a whim because I happen to know Neil Gorsuch.
When I checked back a bit later, I didn’t think LeeAbe’s question was out of line at all — I just thought, Oh, people here don’t even know my screen name anymore, so I won’t bother them, and deleted my post. I came back yesterday as the appointment was wrapping up to see if anyone had said anything.
I think you’ve got me switched with ElGuapo. :)
Neil Gorsuch and I attended Oxford at the same time on the same scholarship. My deleted post had anecdotes in it about what kind of guy Neil was then: a square, friendly, earnest 1950s-esque guy who was already a serious legal scholar. He had none of the thoughtless contempt for the poor, non-Christian, or sexually active that Bobby Jindal had (he was there at the same time, and I knew him too).
So I see Neil as a highly qualified judge who knows that there’s supposed to be more to Constitutional interpretation than getting up on the bench and being as conservative as possible. It’s just too bad he was nominated by a President who doesn’t know that at all, and with a stolen nomination to boot. If there were a way back to reclaim the nomination, I’d be screaming for it, Meanwhile I just hope Trump is disappointed in him.
Well you and me both then.
Well, it’s good to hear my view of him is reaffirmed a bit. I don’t agree with his process necessarily, but when it comes to stopping someone like Trump and Co, it might be the best thing. I’m almost positive Trump will be very disappointed in him… assuming Trump makes it long enough to matter.
I really don’t think Trump cares or thinks that much about court rulings, as long as they don’t get in his way. We do not have a thinking president.
I suspect that Trump will rue the day that he nominated Gorsuch. The power of the presidency has expanded greatly since the founders day, and Trump take the concept of the imperial presidency and moves it into the God-King Relm.
I’m very much looking for the first opinion from Gorsuch when he slaps down Trump.