Author: Ronald

Voting Rights Repressed In 17 GOP States And Counting, As Joe Biden Gives Strong Speech At The National Constitution Center In Philadelphia!

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Joe Biden gave a stirring speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia yesterday, condemning the attack on the most basic right every American should have—-the right to vote.

The 15th, 19th, 23rd, and 26th Amendments, along with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were designed to insure that no state could deprive anyone who is a citizen and at least 18 years of age, of the right to vote.

But 17 states (Southern and Western and Republican controlled) have made it more difficult for many Americans, particularly young, disabled, poor, or people of color to vote, including the following states:

Florida
Georgia
Alabama
Louisiana
Arkansas
Texas
Oklahoma
Kansas
Iowa
Indiana
Kentucky
Arizona
Utah
Nevada
Wyoming
Idaho
Montana

Republicans currently control both chambers of 30 state legislatures, and the number of states that are attempting to add to this list is alarming.

Texas Democrats have left the state, and face the possibility of arrest and fines when they return, but the idea that this could happen makes the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, practically a dictator of Fascist orientation.

But the Democrats have every right to fight against the authoritarian bent going on in Texas and elsewhere.

The only way to stop this is national legislation, as with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which has now been emasculated by the right wing Supreme Court, which has gone way beyond normal limits.

The John Roberts Court has brought us back to the 1930s!

It is urgent for the Democrats to unite and end the crisis in Texas and elsewhere by passage of (HR 1) For the People Act, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, (HR 4)!

The Fight For National Voting Rights Is Intense!

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Texas Democrats are in Washington, DC as they work to prevent the state legislature from passing massive limitations on voting rights.

Many Republican states have done or are doing the same, promoting the return of “Jim Crow” laws, as if the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under Lyndon B. Johnson had not become law six decades ago!

But the disgraceful right wing Supreme Court has done great harm to that signature law, and has complicated the fight to restore and preserve national voting rights.

So the Democrats, with their razor thin majority MUST push to end the filibuster, at least for the basic right to vote, and Joe Biden gave a speech in that regard today in Philadelphia.

Pressure must be brought against Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to do the right thing, as otherwise, what is the point of having a majority?

The Lunacy Reigning In The Republican Party In Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Alaska

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The Republican Party in many states is going total lunacy, as they work at praising Donald Trump and continuing to promote the “Big Lie” about the Presidential Election of 2020.

In Texas, the move is on to create the greatest restrictions on voting rights, which might force legislative Democrats to leave the state in order to prevent action.

Also, total whacko Allen West, the former head of the Texas Republican Party, after earlier being a nightmare in Florida politics, including one term in Congress a decade ago, is now challenging right wing governor Greg Abbott for the gubernatorial nomination in 2022, as if Abbott is not far enough to the Right!

Additionally, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held a gathering this weekend, including Donald Trump ranting and raving about the election being stolen.

In Oklahoma, Senator James Lankford, a solid conservative but not extreme in rhetoric, has been condemned by the state Republican party chair, and is now facing a primary to kick him out, totally off the wall!

And in Ohio, with Senator Rob Portman, a mainstream conservative retiring next year, the battle is on between extremist right winger Josh Mandel, who swears total loyalty to Donald Trump, and now the entry into the race of author and activist JD Vance, who had been very critical of Trump in 2016, but now swears loyalty to Trump, and says all Republicans must “suck up” to Trump, demonstrating that he is a total coward and phony with no basic principles except to advance his desire to be a United States senator!

Finally, in Alaska, Senator Lisa Murkowski was rejected by a vote of the state Republican Party, who endorsed her challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, but Murkowski overcame a similar situation in 2010, and ran as a write in, overcoming a Tea Party candidate, so do not count Murkowkski out.

A 50-50 Democratic Controlled Senate Could Any Time Switch To Control By Republicans!

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With the reality in 2021 of a 50-50 US Senate, the ability of the Democratic majority to get the Joe Biden agenda adopted becomes a constant headache, and the inability to adjust the filibuster to allow votes on some issues without a 60 member majority support is infuriating.

And behind the scenes, there are concerns over the distinct possibility that were a Democratic Senator to die or become incapacitated and be unable to vote, such event would literally switch control of the Senate back to the Republicans, and Mitch McConnell.

The Senate has 5 members over 80, and 25 members in their 70s, an all time high such number, and the average age of all Senators is 63, also the highest in the history of the Senate.

18 of these 30 members over 70 and into their 80s are Democrats, so in many respects, the clock is ticking, and it is essential for quick action on a multitude of issues before a possible tragedy occurs.

Also, history tells us that the party NOT in the White House tends to gain seats in the midterm elections that follow, and that portends a disaster for the Democrats, with an evenly divided Senate and only a 6 vote margin in the House of Representatives.

Of course, the tumult around Donald Trump and the “Big Lie” might help the Democrats to gain seats, and history is not a guarantee for the party out of power in both houses of Congress.

But this is certainly a time of concern, including the possible future retirement, although clearly not imminent, of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer!

Time For Washington DC To Be The 51st State

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Washington DC has more population than two states, Wyoming and Vermont, and not much lower than Alaska and North Dakota.

Washington DC has a higher educational and income level than the above named states.

Washington DC had a proposed statehood amendment passed through Congress in 1978 that failed to be ratified within the seven year limit, only gaining 16 states approval.

The 23rd Amendment, giving DC residents the right to vote for President, and giving DC three electoral votes, was ratified in 1961, and in 1964, for the first time, DC participated in the Presidential Election of 1964.

In a 2016 DC Statehood referendum, 85 percent of the residents in DC supported statehood.

DC would be first in Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (nearly two and a half times the next state), and first in Educational Attainment, with 60 percent having an advanced degree, and 34 percent having a bachelor’s degree.

The Disaster Of The US Senate

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This author, scholar, and blogger has long studied and been fascinated by the institution of the US Senate, only second to the office of the American Presidency.

There have been many great US Senators, out of the nearly 2,000 who have served in that body.

But there have also been many disgraceful, disastrous US Senators, who have undermined the reputation of that institution, and too often, have stood in the way of progress and democracy.

This reality has become much more prevalent in recent years, as one party, the Republicans, have set out to promote only the interests of the wealthy and corporations, while utilizing the race card, to keep working class and lower middle class whites loyal to a party which promotes racism, nativism, misogyny, and promotion of Christian theology!

And as the population of the nation continues to grow, the undemocratic nature of the US Senate becomes ever more tragic and unrelenting.

The facts are that 15 states, with 38 million people, elect 30 Republican Senators dedicated to negativism and stalemate, while California, with 40 million residents, elects two Democratic Senators.

With the population trends of the nation moving forward, by two decades from now, 2040, close to 70 percent of the nation will be represented by 30 Senators, while the remaining Americans, disproportionately whiter, older, and more rural, will have 70 US Senators!

This reality will, long term, harm any possibility of major reforms and change, such as represented by the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson!

The Unpredictability Of Supreme Court Justices Continues!

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The Supreme Court has proved once again that, despite which President chooses them, and their political ideology, that being on the Court has an effect, and causes surprises.

All three of Donald Trump’s appointments (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett) have surprised on some cases, so while all are conservative in nature, one sees unusual alliances on some decisions, including being on the same side at times with Democratic appointments (Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan) to the Court.

So no President can ever be certain that his appointments will vote the way he might wish, as Trump has seen that his nominees have not sided with him, including on the claim that the Presidential Election of 2020 was “stolen”!

So it is really a case of unpredictability on the future of the present Court, although clearly, it is still the most conservative Court since the 1930s! Even Chief Justice John Roberts, however, is sometimes surprising in his views on cases!

One point is perfectly clear, however, that Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are the most right wing members of the Court!

White Supremacy March In Philadelphia On July 4: Alarming And A Warning!

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In the midst of the celebrations of Independence Day Number 245 since 1776, Philadelphia, the city where the Constitutional Convention took place in 1787, witnessed a White Supremacy-White Nationalist March of a few hundred young white men.

This reminded us of the tragedy of the Charlottesville, Virginia march of young white supremacists in the summer of 2017, where a woman was killed, that was praised by President Donald Trump as having “good people on both sides”!

This Philadelphia march is alarming and a warning of the possibility of race war this summer and into the future, and the fear exists that Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” could incite civil war in the near future, particularly with the false claim by QAnon conspiracy theorists that Donald Trump will be reinstalled in the Presidency on Friday, August 13!

Six Months Since January 6 US Capitol Insurrection

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It has been six months since the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

Over 500 seditionists and traitors to the US Constitution have been arrested for the domestic violence, bloodshed, and destruction they perpetrated on the cradle of American democracy, and they need the full effect of law enforcement to be brought upon them.

The investigation of what happened that day is moving ahead whether or not Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell and the Republican Congressional members want it to procede.

Those members of Congress or their staffs who collaborated in the events of that day need to be prosecuted and expelled from Congress.

White supremacy must be eliminated from the halls of Congress, and Donald Trump needs to be indicted for insurrection, treason, and sedition, and be shown in handcuffs, and sentenced to federal prison, as in the same disgraced company of such traitors as Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, Jefferson Davis and others in the American past!

A salute to Republicans Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for being supportive of the January 6 House Committee creation, and Cheney’s accepting membership offered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi!

Enhanced defense and readiness for the US Capitol is essential, due to the right wing threats of more violence, due to the QAnon promotion of the crazy idea of Donald Trump returning to the Presidency in August.

And greater protection is required of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, their families, and the same for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have expressed loyalty to the Constitution and rule of law!

Joe Biden And The True Meaning Of Patriotism: Get Vaccinated!

Ronald 1 Comment

President Joe Biden gave a memorable Independence Day speech from the White House last evening.

It was truly inspiring, and showed that Joe Biden knows how to deliver a message of unity and patriotism in a manner which he will be remembered in the long run of history.

Joe Biden is a man of great compassion, empathy, decency, sincerity, and dignity, and exudes optimism about the American future, that democracy will survive, and that the threat of white supremacy and hatred will be overcome.

One gets the feeling that Joe Biden will go down history in the same way of uniting the nation at a difficult time that George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt at other times of threat to the American nation.

And Joe Biden gave us a closing message:

If one is truly patriotic, one would get the COVID 19 vaccinations to protect themselves, their family members, their friends, their neighbors, and even strangers, as vaccination is the way to preserve, protect and defend America and the world!

There is no justification, none, for being selfish, self centered, egotistical, and uncaring about others, and all such people need to be ostracized as disgraces to the human race!