Author: Ronald

The Growing Battle Of Blue Vs Red States: Gavin Newsom Vs Ron DeSantis

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The battle between Democratic (Blue) states and Republican (Red) states is on, as we start to look to the upcoming Midterm 2022 Elections and the beginnings of the 2024 Presidential Election scene.

The odds are growing that, in the end, neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden will end up as the nominees of their parties.

So innumerable Democrats and Republicans are “testing the waters”, and the battle for the future of the nation, after the shocking right wing extremism of the Supreme Court in the term recently ended, has begun.

So we see California Governor Gavin Newsom taking on the fight against the right wing as exemplified by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Both could, in theory, be opposing each other two years from now, and Newsom is taking a very aggressive approach toward the disgraceful record of Ron DeSantis on so many issues!

Supreme Court Most Right Wing Since 1931!

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The last time the US Supreme Court was as right wing in its decisions as it has been in 2022 is 1931, 91 years ago!

The nation is in danger from a Court which is promoting anti abortion, pro gun rights, promoting expansion of religion in public places, and making it harder to address climate change!

The conservative majority is advocating “Originalism”, which threatens the entire constitutional decisions from the New Deal onward, and there is concern that the next Supreme Court term will be even more controversial and confrontational than the present one has been!

Supreme Court Declares War On Environmental Protection Agency

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Republican President Richard Nixon signed into law the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, and goes down as one of the best environmental Presidents.

Fifty years later, the Right Wing Extremist Supreme Court has declared war on the EPA, and it indicates the beginning of a direct attack on the “Administrative” state and the “Regulatory” state for the long term.

With the growing global warming and climate change crisis worldwide, the United States is being prevented from curbing carbon pollution from coal and oil.

This is short term and long term suicide for the US and the planet, and can only be curbed, as things stand, by adding members to the Court under a Democratic President.

We are in a constitutional crisis with an extremist, runaway Court out of control, and promoting only what is good for the wealthy upper class, while the middle and lower classes will face the dangers of the damage the Supreme Court is engaged in!

Retirement Of Stephen Breyer And Swearing In Of Ketanji Brown Jackson To Supreme Court

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Yesterday marked the end of 28 years of devoted service of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, and the swearing in of new Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace him.

We now have the third African American in Supreme Court history, and the first woman, following Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas.

Jackson will be, as Breyer had become, a member of the minority liberals on the Court, and it will likely be very frustrating to work with the most extreme right wing Court in a century, and with no likelihood of a move toward the political center.

Let us all wish Breyer a long retirement, and Jackson a successful few decades on the Supreme Court!

Secret Service Has Been Compromised Before, And Now Seems Likely Once Again!

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The US Secret Service has gone through difficult times, with corruption, incompetence, and scandal in recent years.

Also, the US Secret Service has, by observation of Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post in her book, “Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service”, published in 2021, developed a special loyalty among some of its agents to Donald Trump.

As a result, the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, regarding what she was told by two agents with Trump on January 6, 2021, is being challenged. But Leonnig this morning has claimed that Tony Ornato and Bobby Engel are Trump loyalists, and are willing to lie over what happened.

The indications are strong that these agents told her what she said, that Trump lunged at the driver of the SUV, trying to force the Secret Service to take him to the US Capitol to lead the attack on Congress, as there is no reason for her to make that up, but is simply reporting what she was told.

No Secret Service agent should feel such personal loyalty that they compromise the truth.

If this is simply male braggadocio, that requires higher level appropriate action, and if they lie under oath to cover up, they should face prosecution!

The Trump Presidency Reached A New Low With Cassidy Hutchinson Revelations Yesterday!

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After seven years of the Donald Trump nightmare, since he announced for President on June 16, 2015, a new low has been reached, with the Cassidy Hutchinson revelations yesterday before the January 6 House Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Insurrection on the US Capitol.

It is now clear that Donald Trump wanted to lead the Insurrection himself by going to the US Capitol in support of armed supporters, and that the Secret Service agent was physically under threat from Trump, trying to force his automobile to take him where the threat was massive.

Nothing that Richard Nixon did a half century ago comes anywhere near the lawlessness and lack of concern for the Constitution and rule of law by Donald Trump!

Cassidy Hutchinson clearly is the equivalent of John Dean and Watergate fifty years ago, and realize she is the latest in line of a long list of Republicans who have testified, not Democrats!

And yet, delusional and clueless Trumpites still, somehow, can defend a man who had no regard for human life, except his own!

There is no way to give Donald Trump a pass, and he MUST be prosecuted for a whole group of crimes that no one else could escape prosecution, and he must be prevented legally from ever running for public office again!

Senators Susan Collins And Joe Manchin Were Bamboozled By Supreme Court Nominees!

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It is now clear that Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia were bamboozled by Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

All three claimed that they understood that Roe V. Wade was established law, and that they had no intention of conspiring to reverse abortion rights.

This is a major embarrassment for both Collins and Manchin, and sullies their reputations long term, although it seems clear that they are arrogant personalities, who really do not care about public opinion, which is overwhelmingly pro choice on abortion.

The three Supreme Court Justices, by all ethics and morality, should be forced off the Supreme Court for lying under oath before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, but of course they will face no such action.

And all three were chosen by a President, Donald Trump, who lost the popular vote by 2.85 million, and who was put into office by Russian collusion, confirmed by a Republican Senate majority in 2010 to be reality.

The Supreme Court has lost any respect or reputation, and clearly has become a right wing extremist group wishing to destroy much more than abortion rights!

A move to add members to the Court seems urgent, but can only happen as a long shot at this point, so the nation is a victim of right wing extremism, very disconcerting!

The Bush Presidencies Will Be Forever Stained By Thomas And Alito Appointments!

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Every President has policies and appointments that historically make him look positive, but they also have policies and appointments that historically make him look negative.

The two Presidents Bush, father and son, will never be forgiven for their horrendous appointments of Clarence Thomas in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush, and Samuel Alito in 2006 by President George W. Bush!

And the appointment of Alito could have been even worse, as if timing had been different, he would have been Chief Justice instead of John Roberts!

Roberts was scheduled to be an Associate Justice nominee to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, but the day before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings began, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, and George W. Bush, overnight, decided Roberts would be his replacement, and later selected Alito to replace Sandra Day O’Connor.

The thought of a Chief Justice Samuel Alito is horrifying, although Alito has done tremendous damage to the institution of the Supreme Court in his 16 years he has served!

As it is, Chief Justice John Roberts, like Alito, picked by a President who lost the popular vote in 2000, has not distinguished himself, has proved to be a weak leader, and will go down as a failure. His reputation historically will suffer in the long term!

Two Republican Majority Courts Supported Abortion Rights, But Not Now In 2022!

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In the case of Roe V. Wade (1973), decided by 7-2, Abortion Rights for women was made federal law, with five of the seven votes being Republican appointments:

Harry Blackmun (Nixon)
Warren Burger (Chief Justice) (Nixon)
William Brennan (Eisenhower)
Potter Stewart (Eisenhower)
Lewis Powell (Nixon)

In Planned Parenthood V. Casey (1992), a later case on abortion, with some limits, the decision was 5-4, with all 5 in the majority being Republican appointments:

Sandra Day O’Connor (Reagan)
Anthony Kennedy (Reagan)
David Souter (HW Bush)
Harry Blackmun (Nixon)
John Paul Stevens (Ford)

All of these Republican appointed Justices were considered to be “conservatives” in their time frame, although Blackmun, Brennan, and Stevens came to be seen as “liberals’ over time, and O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter came to be seen as “moderates”.

The definition of “conservative” has changed dramatically in the past half century, so all of the Republican Justices would be seen by right wing Republicans in 2022 as “RINOS”, Republicans In Name Only!

In 2022, in Dobbs V. Jackson’s Women Health Organization, all six Republicans voted to end abortion rights, although Chief Justice John Roberts wanted only further limitations on abortion, and therefore dissented while joining the other five Republicans.

These appointments were by two Presidents who lost the popular vote when they were elected by the Electoral College, along with Clarence Thomas appointed by George H W Bush.

Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh both had charges of sexual impropriety brought against them, while Neil Gorsuch gained a place on the Court that was meant for Barack Obama appointee Merrick Garland, and Amy Coney Barrett replaced the recently deceased Ruth Bader Ginsburg just a week before an election in which Donald Trump lost by 7 million votes to Joe Biden, who should have been allowed that appointment.

US Joins 4 Recent Nations Banning Abortion, While 59 Nations Have Expanded Abortion Rights!

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The United States, supposedly the leader of the “free world”, has now joined four other nations recently banning abortion, including Poland, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras!

Meanwhile, at least 59 other nations, which put America to shame, have expanded abortion rights, including all other democracies in Western Europe, some areas of South America and some nations in Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Most of the Middle East and Africa restrict or ban abortion, as well as areas of Latin America and Asia.