women’s rights

Supreme Court Reputation At All Time Low!

The Supreme Court of the United States once was the most highly honored government institution, with a reputation of having the highest ethics, and beyond politics!

However, the Roberts Court, in place now for 18 years since 2005, has lost all credibility, as it has struck out against basic constitutional rights relating to women, race, and sexuality, and has promoted a gun culture; advocated religion (Christianity) over civil rights; and worked to limit voting rights.

The two Bush appointees—Clarence Thomas (George H. W. Bush), and Samuel Alito (George W. Bush) have become the most horrendous, narrow minded Supreme Court Justices of the past century, more so than Antonin Scalia and William Rehnquist, in their negative influence on constitutional law.

Roberts himself, who is so concerned about the negative image of the Court, has been unwilling to promote the concept of ethics reform, despite the clearcut scandals of both Thomas and Alito, but also including himself and even some by other Court members.

So Roberts, the 17th Chief Justice in American history, will not have a great historical reputation in the future, and the Court’s misbehavior will lead to a move to change the future of the Court, including, possibly, future expansion of the Court; or term limits for future Justices; and mandated ethics reforms when and if the Democrats can have solid control of the legislative agenda in some future Congress, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Roberts, himself, has already served as Chief Justice longer than most of that select group of 17, and it would be a good situation if he, with 18 years; Alito with 17 years; and Thomas with 32 years (12th longest of all Supreme Court Justices) were to retire soon, but that is very unlikely to occur anytime soon!

Another Florida Republican Presidential Contender Flops: Florida Is NOT America!

The state of Florida may be the third largest state in population, but it is clear that despite the Republican Party domination of state government in the past generation, that its office holders have very little appeal nationally.

So in 2016, former Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio both flopped badly, and now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, despite an early boost after his 59 percent victory in the gubernatorial election is 2022, is on the way to a total collapse in his campaign to stop Donald Trump from being the 2024 Republican Presidential nominee.

Even in Florida, DeSantis is way behind Trump in public opinion polls, and his extremist right wing agenda is not having any success on a national level.

Trump, himself, resides in Florida part of the year at Mar a Lago, but was really a New Yorker, and has never run for public office in Florida.

DeSantis’s mean spirited, nasty, narrow minded, and unlikeable personality is flopping badly, and law suits are in process to stop his hateful legislation toward women, African Americans, Gay and Transgender Floridians, undocumented immigrants, and his censorship in Education, and Health Care intervention in a dictatorial manner!

Clearly, Florida is NOT America!

Factors Favoring Democrats In 2024 Presidential Election

The Democratic Party has several advantages going into the Presidential Election campaign of 2024.

Among them are:

Women in large percentages are outraged by the Supreme Court ending legal abortion protections on the federal level, and the actions by Republican state legislatures to prevent abortion rights further should favor Democrats in 2024, state and national levels.

African Americans are likely to continue to support Democrats with the new attack on “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”, including the words and actions of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but also the broad attack on civil rights by Republicans at all levels.

Young people, particularly those of Generation Z, born from 1997 onward, are strongly moving toward the Democrats.

College educated people are becoming more strongly Democratic across the nation.

Gays, lesbians, and transgender Americans clearly see the Republican attack on their basic civil rights as a dire threat.

Suburban voters have become more Democratic in recent elections, and are likely to continue in that vein.

Religion has declined rapidly, which also helps promote Democrats.

Supreme Court decisions have been highly unpopular, and helped to shift many voters toward Democrats.

The continuing danger of Donald Trump has motivated many voters to turn to the Democrats.

Joe Biden’s two and a half year record, arguably the best in domestic affairs since Lyndon B. Johnson, boosts his candidacy, including the economy which has been better under Biden than any earlier President at this point, and with the one problem, inflation, rapidly declining, but with unemployment at a more than 50 year low.

The biggest problem is the uncertainty of the Hispanic-Latino vote, particularly among Cuban Americans, and those from Nicaragua, and Venezuela heritage, but even among Mexican Americans who have become more skeptical about Democrats.

Also, elderly Americans are less Democratic than they have traditionally been, and the Trump support is about one third of the electorate.

The less educated whites are declining rapidly, but are still strong supporters of Republicans, because of racist tendencies.

So the election will be highly contestable, and some experts say the election will come down to four states—Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and Wisconsin!

247th Anniversary Of American Independence, And Nation’s Democracy Is Endangered!

Today is the 247th Anniversary of American Independence, and with only three years until the Semiquincentennial of our nation’s history, American democracy is in great danger!

The threat that Donald Trump might return to the White House and promote revenge and fascist demagoguery is horrifying, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also presents a “clear and present danger” to our nation, with his attacks on the rights of women, racial minorities, gays and transgender people, and his promotion of an extremist Christianity and authoritarianism that represents great harm!

The Supreme Court is the most extreme in a century, taking away basic human rights that were extended by earlier Supreme Courts, but now effectively robbing Americans of rights they have worked so hard to attain!

Many state legislatures are undermining the right to vote, and interfering with education, health care, and at the same time expanding gun rights leading to mass murders with no regulations of who can have what firearms in their possession!

Just as Abraham Lincoln was in the right place at the right time in the 1860s; and Franklin D. Roosevelt in the right place at the right time in the 1930s and early 1940s; so is Joe Biden today’s equivalent of what is needed to preserve democracy!

The efforts must be made to assure that Biden can continue his good deeds after two and a half years in office, and overcome the many crises the nation faces, the most dangerous since the 1960s, and in many ways on the level of the 1860s and 1930s-1940s!

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas On Campaign To Take Away Indian Treaties!

Native American rights and enforcement of treaties with the US government are, historically, a major problem.

Associate Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has become a champion of such rights, but the Court overall has typically undermined the rights of indigenous peoples.

And now, Gorsuch’s colleague, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, is on a tear to strip native Americans of protections that they do have, a real oddity why Thomas is involved in a growing feud with Gorsuch and supporters of native American rights and treaties.

Thomas is clearly a mental case, out to destroy all amity and decency in his quest to undermine rights not only of women, native Americans, and even people of his own race, but also that of gays and transgender Americans.

Thomas has been on the Supreme Court for nearly 32 years, and it is long overdue for him to retire, particularly after the revelations of ethics violations with his accepting financial advantages from billionaire Harlan Crow.

If he stays on the Court until early 2028, approximately another five years, Thomas will surpass the longevity of the longest serving Supreme Court Justice, William O. Douglas. He is already the 12th longest serving member of the Supreme Court in American history!

Ron DeSantis Strikes Out On Day One, And All Downhill From Now On For Good Reasons!

Ron DeSantis “struck out” on Day One, having problems on Twitter Audio with Elon Musk, and it will be all downhill from now on.

Instead of speaking before an audience of supporters, DeSantis is isolating himself, and talking only to right wing cable and radio shows.

And he is telling us he will be more hardline than Donald Trump was on immigration! And he will consider giving pardons to Insurrectionists from January 6, and even to Trump, if he is convicted!

So DeSantis is against the rule of law, and supporting the sedition and treason of the Insurrectionists, which should, automatically, kill his candidacy!

DeSantis is coming along more than ever as an extreme right wing Fascist, who wants to take away the freedom of women, gays and transgender people, and immigrants!

And he is ignoring evidence of antisemitism in Florida, and warring on Disney, and banning books, and dictating curriculum in public schools and universities, and promoting racism and white supremacy!

Remember he was one of the founders of the Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives, and a TEA PARTY activist under Barack Obama’s Presidency!

And he wanted to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid while in Congress, and has used his power to fix legislative and congressional districts to promote gerrymandering, which took away representation from African American in the state of Florida!

He has a wife who is very ambitious and dominating, and he has come across as very phony in his public persona, laughing hysterically that looks preposterous, and lacking any empathy, sincerity, compassion, or common decency!

He is the direct opposite of the personality and character of President Joe Biden, and for anyone to support him as the “better” alternative, would need his or her head examined!

Republicans, Conservatives, And Disrespect For Immigrants: Infuriating!

America is a nation of immigrants, and all of us are “immigrants”, in the sense that our ancestors, if not us, migrated to America, and found the only true “natives”, native Americans, whose land and resources were taken from them by European settlers.

America, historically, has mistreated native Americans in a horrible, horrendous fashion, and still do so when they decide to do mining on native lands, one of the major reasons why organizations, such as the Conservation Lands Foundation, exist, to promote proper treatment of the “original” Americans.

But America is also a nation that constantly, throughout history, has treated various groups migrating to North America, in a totally unacceptable fashion.

This has occurred to the Irish; the Italians; the Polish; the Jews; the migrants from Japan and China and elsewhere in Asia; people from Latin America; and of course the treatment of people of African origin, both slaves and those who have migrated since the end of the ugly institution of slavery!

It is infuriating when Texas Governor Greg Abbott makes the comment about the horrendous gun murders in Cleveland, Texas, referring to the victims as “illegal immigrants”, as if their status matters, as if their lives do not matter!

Immigrants come to America to excape persecution, bloodshed, discrimination, looking for a better life, as generations of immigrants have done, and they contribute their talents and skills to their adopted nation.

Just because they speak a different language, are possibly of different skin color and religion, does not make them inferior or unworthy of our sympathy, empathy, compassion, and to be treated with respect!

People like Greg Abbott, Ron DeSantis, and others who are bullies and have no regard for human life, unless it is white European Christians, need to be drummed out of office by demand of decent Americans, who do not want such despicable people to govern us!

It is past time for Republicans and conservatives who are only pro-life on fetuses, but not for gun regulation, or women’s rights, to be repudiated, and allow American to move forward in a positive fashion, and stop promoting hate!

Celebration Of Journalism At White House Correspondents’ Dinner!

Last night, for the first time since 2016, the profession of journalism was celebrated at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington DC.

The years in between had included Donald Trump boycotting the event, and then the COVID 19 Pandemic made such events not possible for a few years.

President Joe Biden saluted the importance of the profession of journalism, which has been under vicious attacks by the extremist right wing Republican party elements, led by Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and a multitude of other authoritarian leaders, with only a small percentage resisting such condemnation of the truth of events.

Journalism is what keeps a nation free and informed, and it is the job of journalism to expose facts, truth, reality, no matter what or who it exposes to the light of day!

Journalism and journalists are under constant attack, and in many nations, including the Russian Federation, Iran, mainland China, North Korea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and a multitude of other nations that attack democracy, journalists are arrested, tortured, and murdered.

These journalists are true heroes, and America must not allow the forces of evil in this nation to destroy the First Amendment, and suppress the reality of the attack on women’s rights, civil rights, gay and lesbian rights, gun regulations, voting rights, education, environmental advancement, and so much more!

Generation Z (1996-2012) Turning “Blue” On Abortion, Guns, Voting Rights!

Generation Z (1996-2012) is rapidly turning “Blue” on the major controversies that divide America’s political parties.

This is heartening news for the Democratic Party, as young people in large percentages support abortion rights, whether they are women and girls or their male supporters. This is the generation most impacted by courts and politicians attempting to control their reproductive rights!

Also, young people recognize that the gun culture in America worships the crazy need to allow semi automatic firearms to go unregulated while thousands upon thousands of young people become cannon fodder in a nation that believes every fetus must be born, but then you are on your own!

Also, young people are being prevented from voting when they go away to colleges and universities in many “Red” states, because it is realized that they tend to be more “liberal” by being exposed to varying ideas outside of their family’s views, if they come from a household with little education beyond high school.

The more educated one is, the more likely they will tend to be Democrats, because they realize that life is more than just making money, but also to have compassion, empathy, decency, dignity, and care about human rights for more than just themselves!

So in the midst of difficult, stressful times, the future seems bright for Democrats and for “liberal” and “progressive” values, as the Republicans are alienating millions upon millions nationally who value women’s rights, gun protections, and voting rights!

Reality: Most Anti Abortion States Were Slave States Before 1865!

It is sad but not at all surprising that when one looks at the map of states that have declared war on women’s rights, and specifically on abortion rights, all but three such states are from the “Old South”, the “Confederate South”, and the “Border South” of the American Civil War period!

The states that went to war to continue the ugly institution of slavery now are “enslaving” women and denying them the right to control their own reproductive rights, forcing even those who are victims of rape or incest, or whose lives are endangered, to follow through on their pregnancy and deny them medical and hospital services!

This is done in the name of “religious” indoctrination which should NOT be a factor in human rights in America!

But remember, many elements of organized Christianity endorsed and supported slavery all the way through the Civil War, and also backed Jim Crow segregation for the next hundred years, and even resisted the Civil Rights Movement, and stealthily supported the Ku Klux Klan in many cases!

Looking at the map, and seeing only Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina not restricting abortion rights, but all other “Old South” states and border states Kentucky and Missouri in that infamous group of denying human rights, along with Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Idaho, makes one ready to do everything possible to restore women’s rights to determine their own futures!