Voting Rights

The Supreme Court Opens Its Most Controversial Term In Decades!

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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!

Joe Biden Goes After “MAGA” Republicans As 2022 Midterm Election Campaign Begins!

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President Joe Biden went on the offensive yesterday in Maryland, making clear what the issues are, as the Midterm Elections 2022 campaign has begun.

He attacked the “MAGA” Republicans, those who back and support Donald Trump even after all of the horrors of the January 6, 2021 Insurrection have been exposed!

This is the beginning of a nationwide campaign, and Biden was fired up, and looks in great shape as he speaks, inspired by true commitment to exposing the dangers of “MAGA” Republicans!

Biden said violence and hatred have been promoted by the “MAGA” Republicans, and called them “Semi Fascists”!

He said American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law are in danger.

He made it clear that abortion rights, climate change, voting rights, gun threats, college student loan debt forgiveness, and protection of Social Security, Medicare and Veterans Benefits from proposed Republican desire to phase these “entitlements” out in a five year period, are part of the Democratic Party crusade!

He made it clear he could work with Conservative Republicans such as Larry Hogan, the outgoing governor of Maryland. But he was clearly backing away from the concept of working “across the aisle” with extremist right wing Republicans, and attacked Donald Trump as a “defeated” former President!

Republicans Using “Grooming” Accusations And Anti Trans And Anti Gay Attacks Against Democrats!

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The Republican Party in the age of Donald Trump is lowering its reputation and image constantly, including demonstrating willingness to exploit fears of parents that, somehow, Democrats and liberals are exploiting their children, grooming them to become involved in illicit sexual activities!

This began as part of the QAnon conspiracy theories, but has been escalated to an extremely dangerous extent that threatens the well being of children, in the name of so called “Christian” morality, which is certainly not reality!

This has led to such legislation as the so called “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida, and also constant assault on the rights and freedoms of gays and lesbians, and also transgenders, in numerous other Republican states.

This includes interfering with parental rights to deal with children that do not fit the mold of what some people consider “normal”, and allow them to be accepted and appreciated in society!

Republicans have no scruples, ethics, or morals, as they will do anything to gain and keep power, including working to limit the right to vote!

This is not an issue of disagreement, but rather of gross misbehavior and promotion of hatred, and Democrats must not back off from fighting against such bigotry and hatred!

Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott Declares War On The Poor, Women, Education, Immigrants And More!

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Florida Senator Rick Scott, former governor involved in Medicare fraud, but winning two terms as Florida Governor and his one term in the Senate by very small one percent margins each time, is clearly thinking ahead about running for President.

It has been said that he resembles the villain Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series in appearance, except that his nose is not punched in as in the films, lol! 🙂

Scott is a miserable human being, who has no concern or empathy for anyone, and is one of the worst of the worst in the Republican Party!

He is now promoting a Republican agenda if they win control of both houses of Congress in the Midterm Congressional Elections of 2022.

If this is not enough to motivate Independents and Democrats to organize and vote in November, then nothing will!

Scott promotes a war on the poor, on women’s rights, on the teaching of American history and government, on immigrants, and on trans and gay people!

Scott also wishes to promote gun culture and make Christianity a part of government as theocracy, as well as violate voting rights, and revive the idea of a border wall with Mexico, that would be named after Donald Trump! 🙁

The code words of “socialism”, “wokeness”, and “globalism” are used as weapons to promote an extremist right wing agenda!

Florida Under Authoritarian Oriented Governor Ron DeSantis!

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The state of Florida s governed by an authoritarian oriented Governor, Ron DeSantis!

DeSantis is promoting limits on women’s rights to an abortion as Mississippi has done, and which now is a case before the US Supreme Court!

DeSantis is working to limit voting rights, even though there were no issues with voting in the 2020 state elections!

DeSantis is working to limit educators in teaching about the truth of American history, including the realities of racism, slavery, and segregation!

DeSantis is working to prevent any discussion of sexuality, and victimizing children who may have sexual feelings other than being straight, including reporting any such evidence to parents, thereby threatening the emotional, mental, and physical health of adolescents!

DeSantis is working to penalize school boards which want to protect children from COVID 19, by stripping funding from counties that defy him, undermining public education from needed financial support!

DeSantis is working to silence free speech and any criticism, by being arrogant and authoritarian toward any criticism from university scholars and the news media!

DeSantis is trying to interfere with redistricting and reapportionment of the state legislative districts and Congressional districts to undermine minority representation after the Census Bureau count of population!

DeSantis has called for the right of citizens to use deadly force with their automobiles at demonstrations that block traffic, an extension of the state “Stand Your Ground” law, and is against any gun control regulations!

DeSantis is against any support of refugees coming to Florida from foreign nations, seeing any such actions as undermining public order and safety!

DeSantis has worked to undermine any initiative by President Joe Biden, and has been extremely confrontional and arrogant, refusing to cooperate with the federal government on every imaginable issue!

DeSantis has supported Donald Trump in every way imaginable since the January 6, 2021 Insurrection, and clearly sees himself as the inheritor of the Trump tradition!

Voting Rights Takes Precedent Over The “Build Back Better” Bill!

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A major aim of the Biden Presidency has been to promote “social infrastructure” through the “Build Back Better” legislation.

However, it has been tied up in process due to the opposition of Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema Of Arizona, and it is now clear that it cannot be accomplished before the end of this year, sadly.

But the aim now is to promote the guarantee of Voting Rights, preventing Republicans from destroying the suffrage rights of millions of Americans, so the push is on to make certain that the basic and fundamental right to vote is insured.

It is a crucial battle for the survival of democracy, and it can be accomplished by “reconcilation”, as long as there are 50 votes, and it is hoped possibly one or two Republican Senators, such as Lisa Murkowski of Alaska or Susan Collins of Maine, will cross the aisle if it determines the basic prevention of the loss of voting rights!

Fingers are crossed that this can be accomplished!

Texas And Florida Governors Are Promoting Mass Death By Reckless Policy On Vaccine Mandates!

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The second and third largest states in population, with about 50 million people, are Texas and Florida.

Their Republican governors, Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, have demonstrated they are totally reckless in their attack on vaccine mandates, including dictating not only to school boards, but also all private businesses.

Both governors are promoting mass death, with 68,000 deaths and counting in Texas, and 56,000 deaths and counting in Florida.

So about one out of every six deaths is in those two states alone, as the COVID 19 Pandemic has killed about 700,000 Americans and counting.

And people of color are even more often the victims, and both governors have no concern, as they both work to be potential Republican Presidential candidates in 2024.

Both Abbott and DeSantis will go down in history as two of the absolutely worse governors in American history, and not just on vaccine mandates, but on so many other issues, including racism, women’s rights including abortion, and refusal to have serious attempts to promote gun regulations.

Additionally, both states are trying to deny people of color, poor people, young people, and the elderly the right to vote!

Automatic Mail Ballots Should Be Sent By All States To All Voters As A National Law To Insure Voting Rights!

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Nine states and Washington, DC send automatic mail ballots to all eligible voters who reside in their states.

These states include:

California
Colorado
Hawaii
Nevada
New Jersey
Oregon
Utah
Vermont
Washington State
Washington, DC

There is no viable reason why voters have to show up in person to vote, as long as they are registered and live in the state they reside in.

Such a system of mail in voting boosts voting, particularly of poor people, racial minorities, the disabled, members of the military, and the elderly.

Voting rights were guaranteed over time, and then added to by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, along with Constitutional amendments 15, 19, 23, 24, and 26, and so therefore, there should be ZERO boundaries for voting!

If we are to remain a democracy, this needs to become a national law that goes into effect by the Presidential Election of 2024, if not earlier with the Midterm Congressional Elections of 2022!

A Crucial Month For Joe Biden And America!

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The month of September is an extremely crucial month for the Joe Biden Presidency.

The issue of expansion of the national debt ceiling is essential.

So is how to bring about the two Infrastructure bills the administration has been promoting, one bipartisan and one by “reconciliation”.

Also, the need to deal with voting rights legislation; abortion rights guarantees to continue; the climate change crisis; the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to spread; and working to reform the Supreme Court and the filibuster.

Realistically, not all of these can be resolved that quickly, but progress is essential, as accomplishing change will not be easier in an election year, with the midterm elections of 2022!

March On Washington #2–1963, And Now 2021: Why Is This Necessary?

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On August 28, 1963, the March On Washington took place in Washington, DC, with the speech of Martin Luther King Jr. being the most memorable speech–“I have a dream” reverberating between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.—an appeal for civil and economic rights, and the end of racism.

At least a quarter of a million people of all backgrounds were there for that memorable event, and it was covered live on television and radio.

In the next two years, we saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other landmark legislation and actions, and we thought the issue was settled.

But now, half a century later, we have a right wing Supreme Court, Republicans in Congress, and many state legislatures negating all of the progress made in the 1960s and after.

So we are in a spiritual crisis where right wing Republican conservatism promoting racism and denial of civil rights has become the norm once again!

Today, there will be marches across the nation, not only in Washington, DC, that will call for the end of the loss of the right to vote, as is occurring in so many southern and western states, and the promotion of the restoration of the progress that was made six decades ago.

This is a struggle for peaceful restoration of basic human and civil rights, and the suppression of the ugliness of bigotry that has once again become endemic!