Is "hinge moment" becoming a common expression? I like that it seems like a replacement for "inflection point," which has always annoyed me.Today is a hinge moment in the political history of Wisconsin: we go from a far-right state Supreme Court majority to a progressive one. At 5 pm, Janet Protasiewicz—who won the April 4 election—will be sworn in. The path here is a testament to the power of grit. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/JQfNU1V6ez
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) August 1, 2023
Looking up "hinge moment," I see that it's used in aircraft engineering — "the hinge moment is the moment acting about the hinge line of a control surface that must be overcome to move the control surface"— and Christian sermonizing— "Just like hinges on a door allow the door to open or close, so also there are a few hundred moments of our lives that have a disproportionate impact."
Speaking of political history... we're very far along from the time when political speakers — Ben Wikler is the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin — would take pains to pose as if they treasured the belief that good judges are not at all political but decide cases straight down the line as required by the law. Wikler exults that one new justice has transformed the court into a progressive court and the state into a progressive state.
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75 comments:
Yeah, ignore the facts and law.
Wisconsin needs to follow Nebraska: No election of judges. The Governor picks the best person for the job. Novel.
She won with huge campus turnout. Remember in 2000 when enough responders to a survey of Marquette University students claimed to have voted twice to swing the election to Bush? I am not taking about taking the percentage as a coefficient and applying it to the numbers, I am talking about the raw count of students who claimed to have voted multiple times and answered the survey.
Do you still have a make-believe legislature in Wisconsin, or has all power been ceded to the Supreme Legislature?
So courts are merely political. There are "progressive" courts (those controlled by Democrats) and "far-right" courts that have Republican justices.
Nowhere in any of these statements is there the concept of the rule of law. Nothing about the court should change merely because Democrats have taken over. The laws haven't been rewritten have they?
This is an admission against interest on the part of the Democrats of Wisconsin. We'll see how they fare once their political decisions leave their jurisdiction and head on up to the Supreme Court - which will be controlled for the next 20 years by those evil far-right judges.
So apparently it's fine now to celebrate judges' political leanings, if they're progressives. That was pretty in-your-face... Not even a pretence of "Finally, we're going to get some good, solid jurisprudence here!"
Litmus test, anyone?
It replaces "turning point".
Good luck, Wisconsin. Remember, California is not an operations manual.
Maybe some day, someone who calls themselves 'progressive' could point to our most progressive cities and explain to me how they're actually working well for people. They seem pretty regressive to me.
Forget the rule of law! We get "justice" If you aren't eye-rolling at the word "justice" by now, you aren't paying attention. Congratulations on permanent COVID election regulations & turning Wisconsin into New York.
A shear flow is unstable at the inflection point of the velocity profile.
Sounds like an unhinged moment.
Now you can be annoyed by "hinge moment".
Wisconsin is about to pay a big price for GOP intransigence and political incompetence on the abortion issue post-Dobbs.
I hope and dream that the vague term "geometric" change is someday more precisely described as "linear" versus "exponential" change. But popular press and politicians speak in the vocabulary they know.
Door-hinge Man Bad!
Dave Begley said..
The Governor picks the best person for the job.
and that would change things in Wisconsin.. HOW? Who do YOU think Evers would think is "best"?
We really need to raise the vote age to 25. Adults only, please.
Of course the left are trying to lower it to age 12.
It's always a celebration when the radical left win.
Hinge: &now the door is closed.
Let’s pray for an open window.
"Wisconsin needs to follow Nebraska: No election of judges. The Governor picks the best person for the job. Novel."
Elections are more democratic. Governors may (and often) choose to appoint not the best person for the job but judges that align with their political and/or personal and financial concerns. Look at our most recent appointees to the Supreme Court.
When the (critical race) theory that law is merely the raw exercise of power meets the reality of a Progressive state Supreme Court, what do you expect? In power, these people have no constraints, they answer to no higher principle than their own concept of the "Right Side of History" (or Who, Whom as Lenin put it).
"We really need to raise the vote age to 25. Adults only, please."
If you're old enough to join the military, go to college, get married, have children, etc., you're an adult. Where does this completely arbitrary age of "25" come from?
Maybe some day, someone who calls themselves 'progressive' could point to our most progressive cities and explain to me how they're actually working well for people. They seem pretty regressive to me.
@Temujin, + 1
"It's always a celebration when the radical left win."
How many "radical left" judges are there in the US, or "radical left" public officials of any kind? I'm sure the kooks will shout "lots!" while the reality is "barely any."
I’m sure Wisconsin will get what it deserves.
Wisconsin is about to pay a big price for GOP intransigence and political incompetence on the abortion issue post-Dobbs.
@Amadeus, the possibility that more biological women (that have functioning uteruses) prefer the Republican position to abortion or a healthy infant in a healthy mother right up to the 39th week eludes you and Althouse alike.
Is brightlinewatch.org going to be on this tweet as a threat to democracy? If they're serious about what they're about, they should be.
Well, there goes Wisconsin. Always wanted to visit, now it will be ruined like every other Progressive run place in America.
That pic Althouse posted shows someone with the same nice-nice-not-a-serious-thought-in-her-head expression as pics of Amy Klobuchar.
"Wikler exults that one new justice has transformed the court into a progressive court and the state into a progressive state."
Progs have shed their fig leaves. Law is the continuation of politics by other means. They do teach that at UW law, don't they?
Of course, the Universal Theory of Progressive Instrumentalism expects nothing less. But let's not have any more fairy tales about the "rule of law."
There ain't no rhyme for oranges ...
... unless you're Meade!
The term, " justice" to a progressive means; we will get our way. It has nothing to do with equal justice under the law. And "hinge moment" simply means they are going to do everything they can to get around the Constitution.
Cook - Still waiting for your opinion on Joe Biden's corruption.
Big Mike--talk to some women sometime. My observation is that most women believe, whatever their general views of abortion, that a pregnant woman should have the right to decide whether to go forward with a pregnancy, particularly in the early stages.
Whatever happened to that red wave in 2022?
Hide yo cisgender kids, hide yo cisgender wife.
Update your memes.
Robert Cook: how, exactly, do you define radical left? Confine yourself to actual leftist issues (bar one): immigration, abortion limits by week, Biden's Burisma scandal, crime and incarceration, defunding police, eliminating private property rights, gun ownership, ending capitalism, and the homeless/drug legalization crisis in cities.
I really want to know.
Nobody and nothing are described any longer as "right" or "right wing." It's always "far right" in the same way there are no longer models, only supermodels. (When will "farright' become an accepted portmanteau?).
The same guy… good catch Althouse.
Surely he means a "cringe moment." Must be a typo.
Whatever happened to that red wave in 2022?
it's not the votes that count, it's the person in charge of the voting machines that counts
That engineering definition of "hinge moment" juxtaposed with the hack political usage is making me laugh. It's not the same usage of "moment". It's OED sense 8 rather than sense 1, so Wikler's statement becomes satisfyingly absurd if you think of it that way. At least "inflection point" actually had a well recognized technical meaning that was congruent with the meaning the hacks were aiming at.
..and what's the first thing the court did? Fire someone who was doing an award-winning job of administering the court system! I'm not sure why, maybe because they didn't like his politics? Because he was a white man?
Because no reason was given, feel free to speculate.
"The power of griFt."
There. Fixed that for you Benny "iheartbrettblomme" Wikler.
"Wikler exults that one new justice has transformed the court into a progressive court and the state into a progressive state."
Democrats have stopped pretending that they care about the rule of law, confident that they have the support of the media and a cohort of voting scofflaws.
there definitely is hinge moment when door slams shut -
just need to be on the right side when that happens.
"Cook - Still waiting for your opinion on Joe Biden's corruption."
If there is indication of corrupt/illegal activities on his part, he should be investigated and, if sufficient evidence is found, indicted and tried.
Modern aircraft control surfaces are often designed so aerodynamic and mechanical forces are balanced, reducing the hinge moment to near-zero. This inflection point in design occurred in the early 60s IIRC.
"I like that it seems like a replacement for "inflection point," which has always annoyed me."
The nearly-universal misuse of "inflection point" is strong evidence that mathematical education is wasted on most people.
It's actually a cringe moment. The female, liberal majority will act as a super legislature.
This is what the majority in Wisconsin voted for - one party rule and no guardrails. Common sense used be a guardrail.
Robert Cook: "We really need to raise the vote age to 25. Adults only, please."
If you're old enough to join the military, go to college, get married, have children, etc., you're an adult. Where does this completely arbitrary age of "25" come from?
I would imagine it comes from the same place as the completely arbitrary age of 18 came from.
By the way, people in the US have gone to college as young as 8 and given birth as young as 10. I think you need to clarify your definition of "adult".
cassandra lite said...
"Nobody and nothing are described any longer as 'right' or 'right wing.' It's always 'far right'..."
Whenever I hear something described as "far right", I hear the old hippie slang "far out" - as in being really cool (or "kewl" as they say today).
Robert Cook said...
"If you're old enough to join the military, go to college, get married, have children, etc., you're an adult. Where does this completely arbitrary age of '25' come from?"
You'll have to ask neurologists, health care insurance requirements, and car rental agencies that question.
But I agree with your bigger point that we shouldn't tie initial voting age (or adulthood for that matter) to a minimum age.
However, I disagree with your list: The number of people who can meet all those criteria is surprisingly small.
And taken individually, they are either too simple or already age-restricted (or at the very least frowned upon when doing too young). College being the only exception; but having a well developed young intellect can sometimes include a lesser developed emotional state or maturity.
Owning real estate or paying taxes without receiving government money are two other possible candidates for a threshold. But the idea needs to be fleshed out some more.
Another cheesy move. Good n’ hard, Wisconsinites!
“Wisconsin is about to pay a big price for GOP intransigence and political incompetence on the abortion issue post-Dobbs.”
Indeed.
Janet's horrible haircut, double chin, and bad teeth are perfectly representative of the college educated white woman syndrome that is destroying America, and now going to wreck Wisconsin.
The lawsuit to have this liberal court redraw Wisconsin congressional maps has already been filed. Beta Cuck Gov Evers already out with statements in full support. They will strip rural areas of WI along with Washington and Waukesha County of as much representative power as possible.
The goal is to consolidate ALL WI state power to the totalitarian liberals that live in Dane county. The entire county if filled with college educated white women and beta males.
Thank GOD for the Tavern League.
wendybar said...Well, there goes Wisconsin. Always wanted to visit, now it will be ruined like every other Progressive run place in America.
Wisconsin does have it's charm. The rolling landscape is beautiful along with its thousands of fresh water lakes.
But my favorite part is the excessive drinking.
"This is what the majority in Wisconsin voted for - one party rule and no guardrails"
Someone clearly has no idea what party controls the Legislature and has for over a decade.
Most people saw the prior court acting as a rubber stamp for the Legislature and consider this flip adding a guard rail.
This is all apiece with the attack on the SCOTUS as 'illegitimate' because it's not a progressive court. If this is a hinge moment (nasty phrase, that), it's because the Dems have given up on the idea of judges as neutral arbiters. Yes, that idea was never completely accurate -- judges are just like the rest of us and have their biases and values -- but it was also never completely wrong. Trying to apply the law rather than imposing one's own view about what the law should be is inherent in the judicial role.
If it's not and all that matters is appointing judges who will rule according to some partisan agenda, there is no longer any principled argument for judicial review at all.
The hinge is what enables the walls to close in.
It sounds like a dumbed down way to say "pivotal moment."
"What's pivotal mean?"
"Oh, nevermind. This is a hinge moment."
"Of course the left are trying to lower it to age 12."
Someone should point out to the Left that if a 12-year-old is mature enough to vote, then they are most certainly mature enough to stand trial as an adult.
"How many "radical left" judges are there in the US, or "radical left" public officials of any kind? I'm sure the kooks will shout "lots!" while the reality is "barely any.""
Got a link?
Of course not.
"Always wanted to visit"
Come to Wisconsin. Smell America's dairy air.
“Well, there goes Wisconsin. Always wanted to visit, now it will be ruined…”
Good, stay away.
So will Act 10 now be invalidated or not?
"Most people" is a fine way of saying "George Soros, the corrupt WI Democrat Party, and fascists such as Mark and this Wikler twink". It was far from most Wisconsinites.
The fascist judge was not elected by Wisconsin residents so much as bought and paid for by Soros and his sycophants.
Mark said...
"This is what the majority in Wisconsin voted for - one party rule and no guardrails"
Someone clearly has no idea what party controls the Legislature and has for over a decade.
Most people saw the prior court acting as a rubber stamp for the Legislature and consider this flip adding a guard rail.
Funny how this "guard rail" is only celebrated and championed when it's used to establish the rule of law and the primacy of The Constitution in constitutional government.
Robert Cook said...
"Cook - Still waiting for your opinion on Joe Biden's corruption."
If there is indication of corrupt/illegal activities on his part, he should be investigated and, if sufficient evidence is found, indicted and tried.
Hunter Biden's laptop. How much more hard evidence do you need? Or are you deaf, dumb, and blind when it comes to looking at that and don't know what any of the rest of us are talking about?
DOn't know if the comment went through- I apologize if this is a repeat.
Robert Cook said...
"Cook - Still waiting for your opinion on Joe Biden's corruption."
If there is indication of corrupt/illegal activities on his part, he should be investigated and, if sufficient evidence is found, indicted and tried.
Hunter Biden's laptop. How much more hard evidence do you need? Or are you deaf, dumb, and blind when it comes to looking at that and don't know what any of the rest of us are talking about?
The Hinge Moment would be the perpendicular distance from the centroid of the gate to the projected line of the bolt of the hinge times the mass of the gate, for the case of one hinge.
"If you're old enough to join the military, go to college, get married, have children, etc., you're an adult. Where does this completely arbitrary age of "25" come from?"
I was authoritatively told by the Media that a person's brain does not mature until after the age of 25 years. so they should not be punished for crimes committed. I guess it may have come from that?
"The goal is to consolidate ALL WI state power to the totalitarian liberals that live in Dane county."
Progressive power in WI resides in Milwaukee, Madison, and union rich areas of Racine, Beloit, and Kenosha. Plus a bit of Green Bay. This is topped off with some old fashioned Northern European antediluvian socialism in the rural dairy belt.
"Cook - Still waiting for your opinion on Joe Biden's corruption."
I replied to this above in a rather general way, but here is an article that lays out well and explicitly a critique against Biden and the Dems. I don't know if the writer of this article is left of center, but the site on which this appears is certainly left of center.
The horrible reality is that we have no acceptable choice from among any of those who are likely to be our candidates in 2024, no choice who is not a horror show.
I was authoritatively told by the Media that a person's brain does not mature until after the age of 25 years. so they should not be punished for crimes committed. I guess it may have come from that?
Either that, or else the idea that you can stay on your parents' health insurance until you are 26. Which is now law.
Sheesh, a century and a half back, 26 would have been not all that far from the median lifespan in the US.
As for the "hinge moment," it's unbelievably silly. "Moment" in this context isn't a unit of time at all, and it's about as accurate as Sokal (in his well-known hoax paper) claiming that the "axiom of choice" has something to do with abortion rights.
Gusty Winds said...
"Wisconsin does have it's charm. The rolling landscape is beautiful along with its thousands of fresh water lakes.
But my favorite part is the excessive drinking."
When the newer property tax bills come in the mail, there will be hinge drinking.
In the 90's I thought Milwaukee was a magical city , the Clock House, The safe House, but it has all turned to dust. Democrat philosophy results in miserable dust.
"This is a single seat for a justice..."
2XL or 3XL? Maybe a bench would be better.
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