Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health Organization

Wisconsin State Supreme Court Victory For Progressivism!

Ronald 5 Comments

Wisconsin, the site of the rise of Progressivism more than a century ago under the esteemed “Mr. Progressive”, Republican Governor and Senator Robert M. LaFollette, Sr., has gone through a long reactionary period in the past 15 years under former Republican Governor Scott Walker.

But yesterday, a state Supreme Court victory for the “progressive” candidate, Janet Protasiewicz, marked a turning point for the future on the significant issues of abortion rights and redistricting, which has been horribly distorted to make Wisconsin one of the most gerrymandered states for the state legislature and US House seats.

There will now be a progressive majority on the State Supreme Court after a decade and a half of horrendous right wing control of that body!

Once again, in so many races since the Presidential Election of 2020, liberal and progressive candidates have triumphed in elections, and abortion rights have been upheld in many state referendums and elections since the Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade in June 2022 in the Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health Organization!

The Supreme Court At Its Lowest Public Opinion Rating In Modern Times!

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The US Supreme Court has been part of American government since the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789.

There have been 17 Chief Justices and a total of 116 Justices, including five who served both as Associate Justices, and as Chief Justice.

We have seen diversity on the Supreme Court in recent times, with two African American men and one African American woman; a Latina woman; six Jewish men and two Jewish women; six women overall; two Italian American Catholics; 15 Catholics overall; and 92 Protestants.

The present Court has four women, and five men, but the Court’s ideological tilt is way far to the right, and it has caused a loss of favorable public opinion toward the Court, with confidence in the fairness and objectivity of the Court at an all time low in public opinion, since polls began in the 1930s.

This is a crisis, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who so much wants a good reputation for the Court which has its name as Chief Justice, has clearly lost control of the agenda of fairness to the hard right nastiness and narrow mindedness of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, each being appointed by the first President Bush and the second President Bush.

The Report on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization “Leak” is a farce, as the members of the Court were not put under sworn testimony as Court staff was, and no result as to how the leak occurred has been concluded, which seems like a coverup!

This will reflect over time in rankings of the Bush Presidencies, as constitutional law has been distorted by the decision of the Court to reverse abortion rights of nearly 50 years standing, after its members did not indicate in their confirmation hearings that they wished to void the basic right of privacy that has become part of the history of America since the Warren Court of the 1950s and 1960s!

50 Years Since Roe V Wade: The Battle Is Not Over, And Must Continue!

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Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Roe V Wade Abortion Rights decision, written by a 7-2 majority of the Supreme Court, including five Republican appointments to the Court, including the author of the opinion, Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (appointed by Richard Nixon). Chief Justice Warren Burger, and Associate Justices William Brennan, Potter Stewart, and Lewis Powell joined the majority, along with Democratic appointments William O. Douglas and Thurgood Marshall. The only dissenters were Democratic appointment Byron White and Republican William Rehnquist.

After a half century, one would have thought that the right of a woman to control her own health care, and her body, would have been clearly permanent law.

But, instead, the extremist right wing Supreme Court, with appointees of George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, by a 6-3 vote eviscerated abortion rights in Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health Organization, on June 24, 2022.

This caused nationwide reaction, leading to six states insuring the right of abortion by vote of the people of those states, and defeat of extremist anti abortion candidates for Governor and other state wide executive offices in many states by the time of the Midterm Elections of 2022.

But the anti abortion extremists are now out to create a nationwide ban on abortion, which, if the Republicans win the US Senate and the White House in the 2024 elections, could be a reality!

This has been a 50 year effort by so called “Pro Life” forces, which want to impose their personal and religious views on the entire population of the United States, including young girls who should not be having children before adulthood, and also undermines the basic physical and mental health of women, without any concern of the impact.

So the battle for individual freedom must go on, with no relenting on the issue!

Donald Trump, Election Deniers, Dobbs Decision Are Losers In Midterm Election!

Ronald 10 Comments

Not all election results are in this quickly, but it is clear that the Republican Party has NOT had a “Red Wave”, and at most, might have a “Pink Splash”, as it now seems that while they may control the House of Representatives, it will be a razor thin margin!

Also, the Senate may end up 50-50 again, or with John Fetterman’s victory in Pennsylvania, might end up with a 51-49 Democratic controlled Senate.

Clearly, Donald Trump was a loser in this election, with many of his choices losing, although not all, and “Election Deniers” losing in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania at the least, with Arizona still up in the air!

The Dobbs decision against abortion rights also was a loser in many states, and the chances of a national abortion ban is no longer possible.

So overall, on first examination, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party managed to do better than any party in the White House in a midterm election could have imagined!

With Two Weeks To Go, Voter Enthusiasm And Participation Is Highest For Midterm Election!

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With early voting having begun, already there are strong indications of voter enthusiasm and commitment, so the participation in voting in midterm elections is on the road to an all time high level.

The question that remains unanswered is whether the enthusiasm is centered about the danger to American democracy presented by MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump, and the issue of the Dobbs V Jackson women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case on destruction of abortion rights as was declared in Roe V Wade a half century ago.

The polls are so conflicting, and often have been incorrect, after the fact, so there is a waiting game as to how the American people at large are expressing their views.

Hopefully, we will not discover that Donald Trump and his minions have managed to “pull the wool over one’s eyes”, and have Trumpites showing greater strength than the approximate one third of the population believed to be vehement Trump supporters!

The Supreme Court Opens Its Most Controversial Term In Decades!

Ronald 2 Comments

Today is the opening day of the Supreme Court term, and it likely will be its most controversial term in decades.

With a solid right wing tilt of six Justices, the Court seems likely to go against public opinion on many areas of constitutional law, including

Affirmative Action
Gay Rights
Voting Rights
Environmental Regulations
Religion
Free Speech
The Powers of State Legislatures

Public opinion image of the Supreme Court has dropped dramatically, and there have been massive negative reactions to the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in late June which declared abortion unconstitutional, nearly 50 years after Roe V Wade was decided in 1973.

The minority liberals on the Court, specificially Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, have been very outspoken in their criticism of the extremist agenda of the present Court, the most conservative, by far, since the 1920s!

There is much to fear as basic constitutional rights are being eliminated, it seems, with glee, led by Justice Samuel Alito (appointed by George W. Bush) and Clarence Thomas (appointed by George H. W. Bush), but joined in by the three Donald Trump appointees (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett) in most decisions, leaving Chief Justice John Roberts almost as an outsider, having little impact on trying to tame, to some extent, the rightward swing of the Court!

The only good news is the coming to the Court of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American female in the history of the Supreme Court, and the fact that all three liberals now on the Court are women, along with Amy Coney Barrett.

But the future of constitutional law is in danger from the extremist agenda of the majority, an alarming situation!

Democratic Party Fundraising Overwhelms Republican Party Fundraising: Donald Trump And Abortion Rights Effect!

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The Democratic Party is on a roll, mostly caused, it seems, by the outrage over abortion rights being taken away by the Supreme Court in Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Hospital in late June.

The Republican Party is in serious trouble regarding financial efforts to back their candidates for the US Senate and for the Governorship races.

It seems as if the Republican Party will have to be vanquished to move them away from the insanity and craziness of the Extreme Right Wing and Donald Trump!

An Amazing Week For Joe Biden And Democrats!

Ronald 1 Comment

The past week has been an amazing time for Joe Biden and the Democrats!

Many are saying it is the best week of Joe Biden’s Presidency, and accomplished by “Reconciliation”, meaning just on a party line vote in the US Senate.

All Democrats were finally united, and Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie breaking vote against united Republican Party opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, taking action on climate change, taxes, and health care.

While this is much less than the proposed “Build Back Better” proposals of a year ago, it is still seen as a major piece of legislation, and many observers have declared that, along with earlier legislation, it makes Joe Biden in many ways the most accomplished President on passage of major bills since Lyndon B. Johnson!

But also, in the past week, there was major job growth of more than a half million, double what was expected, and the job losses in the pandemic have now been totally wiped out!

The veterans health care legislation, to deal with exposure by millions of veterans to burn pits during their military service, finally was passed after a temporary reversal by many Republicans, but forced by criticism to reverse their negative votes.

Also, the successful elimination of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri by action of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan was a significant action, for which the President gains kudos.

Also, gas prices have dropped for six weeks, and more than a dollar over that period, so in many areas below $4 a gallon.

And finally, the decision of Kansas voters to insure abortion rights remain in their state constitution is a major victory that will have an effect on the fight to overcome the Supreme Court’s horrendous decision in Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24!

Abortion Rights Gain Massive Victory In Kansas, Making It An Issue In November Elections!

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In the wake of the shocking Supreme Court decision in Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June, reversing Roe V Wade and abortion rights, yesterday Kansas, a strong Republican and conservative state, chose to continue to keep abortion rights in the state constitution.

The vote was 59 percent to 41 percent, and the turnout was twice the normal amount in a midterm primary in Kansas, 900,000 votes, instead of about 450,000 votes.

This gives hope that abortion rights will be a major issue in November, and help Democrats keep control of Congress and win many state election contests.

Women, young people, and educated suburbanites are seen as outraged by the Supreme Court taking away a right granted 49 years ago, and hopefully, abortion rights will be protected after the election, as pro choice people are going to fight tooth and nail in every state, as they just did in the “Sunflower State”!

The Supreme Court Has Lost All Dignity, Respect, And Legitimacy, And The John Roberts Led Court Will Face Historic Repudiation!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Supreme Court of the United States was created in 1789 to judge the constitutionality of all laws and actions, and promote the rule of law.

In recent decades, it has become a weapon of right wing extremism, and has lost all dignity, respect, and legitimacy, and is in the worst constitutional crisis in a century!

The conservative movement to promote an extremist Court will cause a repudiation in history, as they have done great damage in the past generation in such cases as Bush V Gore in 2000 (interfering in the Presidential Election of that year); Citizens United in 2011 (that allowed corporations to be considered people); Shelby County V. Holder in 2013 (gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965); and now are almost certain to do in the abortion case before the Court (Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health Organization).

Never has the Supreme Court taken away a right once granted, as in the case of Roe V Wade, alloing abortions in the first two trimesters of a pregnancy, and including the factors of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

It is unseemly, and reprehensible, that women are being informed that religious fanatics can interfere with their personal rights to control their own bodies, and it will lead to many self mutilations and suicides by women desperate to end an unwanted pregnancy, often brought about by violence perpetrated by men!

The Chief Justice, John Roberts, will see his reputation as the 17th person to hold that position, sullied and repudiated in history, if he cannot convince at least one other conservative Justice to join him and the three Democratic appointments to uphold Roe V Wade!

The move to add membership to the Court, and promote term limits in the future, will be encouraged to occur, as the Supreme Court has lost whatever halo it has had over the past generations!