Supreme Court

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!

International Relations Becoming More Dominated By Authoritarian Leaders

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The world in 2022 is becoming more dominated by authoritarian leaders than any time since World War II, a sign of major challenges for President Joe Biden.

Already, the Russian Federation, China, North Korea, and Iran are constantly challenging America and its democracy.

But now, Saudi Arabia, under Mohamed bin Salman, in cooperation with Vladimir Putin, is cutting oil production, and creating an economic nightmare of higher oil prices, just as the Midterm Elections of 2022 come upon us in one month.

The Democrats already have problems with inflation and higher mortgage rates and this despicable action by Saudia Arabia, in lead with Putin, could very well undermine the push to protect American democracy in the upcoming elections, and prevent protection of abortion rights.

This will be a very difficult month, with growing sense that MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump could end up in control of government, and undermine, in league with an extremist right wing Supreme Court, many of the progressive
advancements in government and civil rights that have occurred in the years since the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson!

Republican And Conservative Advantage In House, Senate, Electoral College System, Despite Popular Vote Advantage For Democrats

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The American political system is in bad straits, in what seems like a losing battle for popular vote to determine who runs our government.

The system has become stacked to favor Republicans and conservatives.

Republican legislatures in many states promote gerrymandering, which hurts Democrats massively, not only in the state governments, but also in setting up House of Representatives seats. An example is Florida, which used to have four Congressional seats that favored African American representation, but now has been halved to two such districts.

Fewer people regularly vote nationally for Republicans, but they have near to a majority even before the election in 2022 for the House of Representatives, and it is likely they will control the lower house of Congress despite having fewer total popular votes nationally.

Also, the US Senate has a situation in which Republican Senators, presently half the Senate, are elected by a population of about about 142 million Americans, while Democrats, presently the other half of the Senate, are elected by a population of about 184 million Americans!

So 60 percent of the nation’s population is being underrepresented, while 40 percent is overrepresented.

The idea that Wyoming has two US Senators with only about 600,000 people, while California with nearly 40 million peoples has two US Senators, is an abomination, but simply has evolved that way over time, so the US Senate is anti democracy to the extreme!

Additionally, the Electoral College favors the small, mostly Republican states, this despite the Democrats winning the national popular vote seven of the last eight Presidential elections, from 1992 through 2020, with the one exception of 2004!

So the idea of democracy is under attack, and the right wing Federalist Society has managed to “fix” the Supreme Court, with a strong 6-3 margin, with only Chief Justice John Roberts able to be considered, most of the time, as “moderate”.

So a constitutional crisis exists, with white supremacists working to insure that American democracy fails completely as we reach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026!

Women Democratic Governors And Nominees Work To Insure Abortion Rights In Midterm Elections

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The Democratic Party has a substantial number of women governors, and women gubernatorial nominees, who would insure that abortion rights would be restored or kept as they are, despite the Supreme Court move against abortion rights in June!

This includes the following Governors:

Laura Kelly of Kansas
Janet Mills of Maine
Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico
Kathy Hochul of New York

Also, the following gubernatorial nominees:

Stacey Abrams of Georgia
Diedre Dejear of Iowa
Nan Whaley of Ohio
Nellie Gorbea of Rhode Island

And three open seats with Democratic women nominees:

Katie Hobbs of Arizona
Maura Healey of Massachusetts
Tina Kotek of Oregon

At this point, the odds would favor all five sitting Governors to be reelected; a tough battle for four nominees against sitting governors; and excellent possibilities for three open seats women nominees.

The elections most likely to gain attention are:

Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
Stacey Abrams of Georgia
Nan Whaley of Ohio
Katie Hobbs of Arizona

An Amazing Week For Joe Biden And Democrats!

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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 Fails In US Senate, And So Called”Supporters” Collins And Murkowski Bail!

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Abortion Rights has failed in the US Senate, by a vote of 49-51, not surprising, but two so called “supporters”, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, bailed on the legislation on technical grounds, along with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia!

Basically, both Senators showed they talk the talk but do not walk the walk.

So it seems certain that women will lose their rights to their own bodies’s autonomy, and there will be botched abortions and suicides rapidly increasing!

This is extremely tragic as women’s rights are going backwards, and yet, at this point, nothing can be done to stop it, unless by miracle, the Supreme Court backs away from its draft decision from February.

This would require Chief Justice John Roberts to influence at least one of the five Justices in the majority, likely either Brett Kavanaugh or Amy Coney Barrett, to join him and the three Democratic appointments on the Court.

But there is no way to know if Roberts might in the end join the five other conservatives, and make the final vote in June 6-3 instead of 5-4!

Conservative Counter-Revolution Against 20th-21st Century Constitutional Law!

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America is facing a conservative counter-revolution against 20th-21st Century Constitutional law!

We have Supreme Court Justices and their right wing ideologues who wish to bring back the 18th century Constitutional Convention of 1787, a time when women were totally under the control of their fathers, husbands, or other male relatives.

They also want to bring America back to a time when African Americans were slaves, or if that is not tenable, then back to the era of segregation and lynching.

They also want to bring America back to a time when interracial marriage and gay marriage were forbidden.

They also want to bring America back to a time when there was no right of privacy, because such a term was not mentioned in the Constitutional Convention or in the document produced for ratification in 1787.

The concept of originalism is preposterous, that all constitutional law since 1787 is null and void unless it applies to the exact language adopted 235 years ago!

It would put America back to a time when democracy was only for white male Protestants of property!

This battle is one that must be fought all the way to victory, as otherwise, how is America any different than an authoritarian dictatorship, run with the backing of powerful corporations and wealthy people, and based on the concept of theocracy, allowing so called “religious” values to dictate the lives of 330 million Americans?

Marjorie Taylor Greene And Other Extremist Republicans Use Pedophilia Accusation Against Critics

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Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and other extremist Republicans in Congress are using a Pedophilia accusation against critics, within and outside the party.

This is part of the QAnon Conspiracy theory, which includes claiming Hillary Clinton was engaged in such activity in a pizza parlor in Washington DC years ago.

Now Greene is saying that those three Republican Senators who voted for confirmation of Ketanjai Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court—Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Sudan Collins–are pedophiles.

And Republican Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee–including Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley—implied that Jackson was out to protect child pornographers.

This outrageous behavior and utterances are not being responded to adequately by mamy other Republicans, as the party veers ever further to the far Right, and conspiracy theories, that undermine any possibility of progress and ability to cross the aisle and do the work of the American people!

“The Good Old Days”: Barack Obama Returns To The Joe Biden White House To Celebrate “ObamaCare”!

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Yesterday was a delightful day in a stressed world situation!

The most impressive President of modern times, Barack Obama, returned to the White House, and the memories of the Obama Presidency, with Joe Biden as Vice President, was revisited.

There was humor, comedy, and light hearted banter, a massive difference from the Donald Trump years.

Obama saluted the survival and success of the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, something that the Republican Party continually tried to destroy, but which has been a major success for 30 million people!

And it came a day before Ketanji Brown Jackson was finally confirmed to the Supreme Court today by a bipartisan vote of 53-47, making her the first African American woman on the Court, and with the announcement of the vote by the first mixed race woman, Kamala Harris, to be Vice President of the United States!

So the significance of Barack Obama, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Kamala Harris are there for all the bigots and monstrous racists to have to swallow, as Joe Biden has moved forward from the progress of the Barack Obama Presidency!

Investigation And Accountability Of Donald Trump Moves Ahead In Multiple Locations!

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The investigation and accountability of Donald Trump is moving ahead in multiple locations.

In Georgia, the move is on to form a special grand jury to pursue Trump on his interference with the Georgia Secretary of State, trying to have 11,780 votes found that would win that state for Trump, rather than Joe Biden, who won by 11,779 votes. The phone call between Brad Raffensperger and Donald Trump is clearcut evidence of illegal tampering.

In New York State, and New York City,Trump and his family are being investigated for tax fraud about his properties, and NY Attorney General Letitia James is on the case full time.

With evidence of attempts to send alternative slates of electors for Trump in states Biden won, we are having legal action in Michigan, Arizona, and five other states moving forward.

With the Supreme Court allowing Trump documents from January 6, 2021 to go to the House January 6 Committee (Trump V Thompson), we are learning about all kinds of illegal actions and conspiracies by Trump, his family, and close associates. The House Committee is getting ready to take action against Trump conspirators and the President and his family members as well, holding them accountable for the attack on the US Capitol on January 6.