WHEN SUPREMES GO ROGUE

by Ruth A. Sheets

There are almost no words to describe the anger and frustration I am feeling now toward 6 Supreme Court justices who have decided they don't give a damn about women and our rights.  For them, our rights are open to being given and taken away at the will of an unelected body that has become hyper-partisan.  They need no reason except their own personal beliefs and religious biases.

All but one of the six are Roman Catholics, and the sixth (Gorsuch) might as well be.  The Catholic bishops are frightened that their power over people is waning, so they are using their influence to threaten elected officials of this nation to withhold the sacrament of Communion, a sacred part of the faith, and demand loyalty from practicing legislators.  Why would these men do that?  Their targets believe women should have the right to make decisions regarding their own bodily autonomy.  Can’t have that now can we?  Besides, those targets also think the separation of church and state is critical to maintaining our democracy.  Hmmm!  Can’t have that either!

Catholicism has become even more authoritarian than it was a half-century ago when Roe v. Wade was handed down with a 7-2 decision from a conservative-leaning Court. 

The misogyny of the Catholic church is the main reason I left the faith as a teen.  What is amazing to me since then is that the church has doubled down on keeping women out of power and unable to make bodily decisions for ourselves.  A majority of Catholics want bodily autonomy but remain in the church hoping, I guess that they can bring about real change.  I can sadly inform them, it will not happen.  Those of course, men, who rule the church under the Pope are selected for their conservatism and adherence to certain points of doctrine, even if far outdated and destructive. 

Abortion was not declared a sin until around 1869, but it has become one of the pillars of the Catholic Church.  The mid-19^th century was the time when women found out in large numbers that they didn’t have to be pregnant all the time and watch so many of their children die in infancy.  Abortion did not have to be a hit or miss operation performed by midwives and other community women with few resources but a lot of knowledge.  Doctors (men) could now do it, and for money.  Done right, it could be safe.  That meant women (admittedly rich women for the most part) could enjoy sex without as much fear.  It would be harder to shame women for getting pregnant out of marriage.  Can’t have that! 

This play for more power and influence in our government by the bishops is disgusting.  It would be great if a whole lot more women left the Catholic church.  It would be let’s say, fun to see how men try to keep the church going without their female handmaidens.

When Supreme Court justices pander to a church that is out of touch with what it means to be a loving caring, honest human being, we are in trouble!  And we ARE in trouble.

The Supreme Court has just stripped away our Constitutional right to abortion, citing as a reason, the writings of a 17th century guy who was into killing women as witches. Of course he opposed abortion because even at its most primitive, abortion sometimes led to freedom from constant male pressure to satisfy his “sexual needs” without having to bear another child, which of course, the father would not actually be raising.   

After its success with overturning a 108 year gun law in New York and the 49.5 year ruling that the right to abortion is Constitutional,  The Court is on its way to taking away more of our rights as Americans, just because.

Clarence Thomas, the justice whose wife helped organize an insurrection is saying that a bunch of other rights are on his hit list.  Why was he even allowed to rule on abortion rights since he was a credibly-accused sexual harasser in the workplace?  And why was Kavanaugh permitted when he was credibly accused of attempted rape by one woman with credible charges by other women the Judiciary Committee was never able to interview and the FBI under Trump didn’t investigate?  Two men with that history tied up with their Catholicism made them sure bets for voting to overturn Roe.  They should have had to recuse themselves, but alas, the Supreme Court has no code of ethics to follow and we know their personal ethics have a lot to be desired. 

So, Thomas has the next targets:  LGBTQ persons, birth control (I guess banning abortion is not enough to keep women barefoot and pregnant), and giving corporations more rights to harm us and our planet (OK he didn’t state it quite that way, but pretty close).  How much more of this infringement on our rights are we going to tolerate?  When will we as a people rise up and say “no?” 

It had better be soon because the Republicans are studying the Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán to see how to make our country a dictatorship with them at the top.  Yes, what fun it will be ruled by a bunch of fools who have no idea how to govern but are sure that everyone but the very rich white folks is a taker while those good rich white guys are so generous and will teach those awful poor people they have to work at whatever pay the boss wants to give them and the women stay home with the kids they are forced to give birth to.  Poverty is just what happens!  Homelessness is what poor people deserve because their 60 hour work weeks just aren’t long enough.  If they had worked harder and longer, they would be able to afford housing.  The government shouldn’t have to pay for them, those losers!

They will insist everyone but themselves and their donors are lazy and they will pump that message out with the rest of the BS people will have to consume since they will control the media.  The courts will be delighted to take away more rights and dismiss the Constitution because those Republicans just don’t like it.  They don’t want people to protest or complain about their rights either. 

One may wonder what will happen when the effects of global warming hit. Well, who knows.  Because Republicans dismiss science except when it is finding a cure for their cancer or other personal complaints, they will have no clue what to do and those who do know will be out of power – remember COVID?

I wish I had a more positive outlook, but things are not looking good.  When one political party has no vision and no good ideas, it is hard to make a democracy work.  When that same party has the goal of taking away rights that have been enshrined in our Constitution for 50 years and more, then encourage the states to do as much harm to women (and their citizens in general) as possible, there is not a lot of hope.  And, when guns have more power than the people who will be harmed by them and when fetuses have more rights than the woman carrying them, it is hard to see any sanity reentering our lives any time soon unless Republicans are voted out of office all around the nation.

However, there are some things we can actually do if we have a mind to.

• Start with the President.  He could approve opening abortion clinics on federal lands.  There are federal lands in every state.  That is a stopgap, but could work for a while. Temporary pop-up clinics could be set up with housing for the staff and any other resources necessary on military bases and other federal installations.  
• Federal contracts should be given only to corporations that support women’s bodily autonomy actively and through medical insurance coverage
• A serious underground for abortion services and medications should arise training all kinds of women to perform basic abortions through 15 weeks, then only spend money to send at-risk women out of state.  There are homemade abortion devices that are safe and effective and could be taken apart quickly into the basic components if people come snooping around.

- Every woman from age 10 to death should go online and look up information about abortion clinics and abortion care every week so it won’t matter what information Google reports, no one will be put at risk since everyone will be looking.

• Give funds to states that offer abortion services to help with extra costs for women in the Confederacy and Confederate wannabee states who come for help.

- Vote vote vote!!  Choose candidates who stand for the rights of the people over corporations, over religious beliefs, over partisan garbage.  Ask each candidate to swear on their religious book that they will work to insure the rights of women, people of color, disabled persons, LGBTQ individuals, and more.  If they can’t swear to it, they do not deserve your vote.  Today’s Republican Party is not your mom’s Republican Party, so don’t vote for them on auto pilot.

• Make some waves: 
• - declare Lysistrata months when no woman will have sex with men at all;
• -conduct strikes of various kinds that let people see just how much women do;
• -make and regularly publish lists of the women who have died either in childbirth or while pregnant because they are forced to remain pregnant;
• - Sue the Confederate and Confederate wannabee states as well as the Republican Party  for the care and suffering of children born with extreme disabilities that forced-birth laws required to be born.
• -put up billboards with the names of convicted rapists in communities;
• -leave churches that consider women nothing if they are not virgins or moms with lots of kids (Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons, etc.);
• expand the process for getting women to safe abortions and getting abortion pills to women even before they become pregnant - perhaps have a neighborhood supplier;
• -shame huge corporations who have stood against women’s rights into getting them to fly charter planes from red states to places where women can get quality abortion care.

In short, there are things we can do.  I suspect some of these could get attention and help women while we work to overturn the current Supreme Court.  It’s time all of us get involved.  Change will not happen unless we demand it and we had better demand it!

A NEW POLICE STATE?

by Ruth A. Sheets

A bunch of religious fanatics have been working hard to take over our nation.  We have freedom of religion enshrined in our Constitution, yet these fundamentalists ignore that and have purchased the Republican party and our Supreme Court recruiting mostly white folks who want to make their own ultra-conservative beliefs the law of the land.  The rest of us are to get no say while our rights are being torn away.  Beyond their own personal religious dogma, these Roman Catholics and Protestant Evangelicals have no honest reason to do this than that they want their personal beliefs to be imposed on everyone.  To stop this religious power-grab, Congress must step in. 

These religious fanatics will not quit after abortion restriction is in place.  Their hijacking of an entire political party has given them enormous confidence.  They believe they have god's approval and whatever they want is from God's lips to their ears.  Such belief in their own divinity let's believers think they have the "right" to act on behalf of their ideas:  white men should be in charge, women are men's handmaids and deserve as little power as they can be kept to, and the fetus is more holy than the tainted woman who carries and nurtures it.  People of color have no place in the new order except as servants to the white masters (sound familiar).  Such self-interested thinking should let everyone know for sure it is not of god; it's a power play.  It's their smug feeling that whatever they think, must be right.  

This anti-woman, anti-people of color  power-grab will need collaboration.  It will require substantial participation by law enforcement, religious establishment leaders, local and state elected officials, and more. 

Intense participation by the powers that be was also necessary to maintain Jim Crow after the Civil War.  There were few efforts to stop the violence and destruction done by white men against Black citizens or to hold anyone accountable.  Objections to lynchings, burnings, removal of whole communities from the map were met with indifference; active participation in the racist acts; "legal" approval of the actions by the Supreme Court , state governments, and local officials mostly in the former Confederacy.  Those groups turned their back, self-righteously pontificated about, or enshrined in law the second-class citizenship of everyone in this country who was not white (women were already considered second-class citizens at best).  Just to be clear, this treatment was forbidden by the 13^th through 15^th amendments.  That fact was set aside just as the current Supreme Court is planning to set aside the 14^th Amendment and our right to privacy.

People of color are still targets in the former Confederacy and Confederate wannabee states:  passing voter suppression laws, refusing Medicaid expansion, allowing super-polluters to continue polluting low-income/Black communities, etc.  Harming those groups has proven effective but insufficient for the power-grabbing white population.  The next target is now women's rights.  It is not that women have not always been targets of men of all races, but now, white men and their female surrogates are attacking a woman's right to bodily autonomy, a right women have had to various degrees for nearly 50 years.  If they succeed, it appears only white men will have bodily autonomy (white men refuse to be vaccinated or wear masks against COVID because it is uncomfortable and they can't have that).  Infecting others with COVID and their deaths are just unfortunate side effects of male bodily autonomy.  However, losing bodily autonomy for women could mean death too!

Women are more than half the world's population so it is going to take a lot for white men and their female surrogates to keep women barefoot and pregnant, but the tyrannical white men and their handmaids will do their best.  As with Jim Crow, these guys will have a lot of help, mainly, the conservatives on the Supreme Court.  The conservative Roman Catholics have decided that their god doesn't want women to make reproductive choices for themselves.  Those 5, plus 1 RC wannabee (Gorsuch), will take down Rowe v. Wade, a nearly 50 year precedent with no logical compelling reason to do it.  And, they don't have to have one.  They are the Supreme Court, after all.

The leaked draft decision written by Samuel Alito, a white man who can never become pregnant, has bowed to the American Catholic bishops who demand this ruling on pain of hell for the Catholic justices.  Alito's draft leans heavily on a bunch of nonsense pumped out by men from the 17^th century and before.  Yes, let's look to scared English guys who still thought witchcraft was a thing that should be responded to with death for the "witch" to rule on 21^st century issues.  Something like that was in the minds of white men in robes murdering "uppity" Black folks.  You don't need a real reason to condemn to death people you fear, who don't look like you or see the world the way you do.  Remember, at the same time these scared white Englishmen were pushing death for "witches," Christians were killing each other to prove whose brand of Christianity was best.  It seems leaning to heavily on history might not be a great idea.  It can lead to bad outcomes. 

Most women will not go quietly into that dark night, nor should we.  When a significant group of religious zealots try to take over our government, everyone should be afraid.  The fear is warranted but should activate, not cripple us.  Look at what is happening in Afghanistan now.  We needed to leave because conditions were not improving and too many didn't want us there, even after 20 years.  When a large part of a society is still living under Medieval laws and practices, it is impossible to make permanent changes in 20 years that involve the entire society.  The Taliban "promised" a whole lot of things to the people of Afghanistan and like the scared conservative white men in power in the United States, they knew promises mean nothing if you can get your way, get a lifetime appointment to the Supreme court, or gain some other advantage by not keeping the promise (lying). 

women in Afghanistan now must wear burkas with face coverings (be invisible because all men's crimes against women are the woman's fault since seeing a woman makes men crazy.), girls can't attend school past 6^th grade (keep girls ignorant so you can do whatever you want to them and they won't know or expect better). women are no longer allowed to hold office even though elected (men must make all the laws; in their warped minds, men think they always "know" best).  All of these limitations on women arise from scared men who should know that the problem is not women, it is they themselves who are not functioning well and need someone to blame, someone they can claim they are superior to. 

So, women, and men who actually care about your own rights and freedoms.  White men in power and their female surrogates have a playbook of rights elimination.  They are angry they can't control everything as they imagine their grandfathers did.  They want to reinstate the mythical land of America before those horrible people started taking over.  "Our Country's gone to hell since they got in charge."   

When the Supreme Court decision comes down in the near future (whenever they feel it can do the most harm), it will require a whole lot of folks to enforce it.  Abortion has been part of many women's reproductive life for millennia.  Since 70% of the American people don't want this new attack on women, many extremely restrictive laws are going to be passed in states; a lot are now waiting.  Some of these misogynistic laws are in use in Texas as we speak.  The fetus faction will need law enforcement and vigilantes to do their bidding.  In the "white" states, police who are already primed to do harm to mostly men of color will now also be able to turn their venom on women, particularly women of color, but a few white women, if they are poor enough or problematic, will get caught up too.  Law enforcement has already worked hard to ignore crimes against reproductive health clinics and workers.  Some state legislatures plan to make it illegal to travel to other states to obtain an abortion (How will they know?  Will women have to get a pregnancy test before they can travel?)  Then, will those former Confederate states and Confederate wannabees construct border walls to keep women from travelling to  and from "blue" states? 

As laws become more extreme, police may be able to get the phone records of women so they can see whom those women are contacting and what they are saying.  That ultimately, won't be enough, so police will be further weaponized by legislators declaring abortion murder.  The bloodthirsty "Christian" desire of these same anti-democrats who propose to kill women for having an abortion will never be satisfied.  Yes, sisters, the fetus, wait, even a zygote will have more rights to life than you do.  To further divide our nation, vigilantes will be encouraged to track down women who choose life for themselves and have an abortion.  Citizens will benefit from betraying fellow citizens because of Medieval religious beliefs! 

Yes, Justice Alito, as you mention in your diatribe, there is a lot of divisiveness in this country related to abortion rights, but most of it has been manufactured by you and your religious fanatics who are scared you are losing ground to people who want the same rights you white men have to affect their own lives.  You competently demonstrated your contempt for women in your draft.  You and the ultra-right "brethren" had already decided how you would rule before even hearing the case, you did what every intelligent student and scientist is told never to do, have an outcome you want then find proofs for your opinion.  Your "proofs" are really poor, Medieval, and unamerican!  You have again demonstrated your lack of empathy which you share with the other conservative justices. 

It is hard to believe, but it seems a bunch of white folks, mostly male, are planning a system which builds non-trust (divisiveness) among citizens.  Remember how well that worked in the 1950s when Joe McCarthy used such tactics to "track down Communists" here in the US.  Some people approved of the lying and framing, but most didn't and he was deposed, but not soon enough. 

Those like you are McCarthy's spiritual descendants.  Like him you are OK with removing rights based on only your own beliefs, no proof, but who needs proof when you have god's ear or some such nonsense.  You have forgotten, if you ever understood, the Supreme Court is supposed to impartially judge cases that come before you.  What you should not be allowed to do as a Court is to remove rights from American citizens, or anyone else for that matter which we already have, particularly privacy.  You have given rich corporations and gun-toters more rights than women have after your pathetic disgusting decision, but you don't care,  you will never be pregnant, never be female and feel what it is like to be looked down on by rich white men like you.  How sad for all of us men like you and your female surrogates have warped our society so you can remain in power no matter whom you harm.  Can you identify a single Supreme Court case you have ruled on positively or negatively that has helped anyone but rich, white, "straight," males or rich white male-led corporations?  You have not.  We saw from your pathetic draft you will be right there leading the other conservative Catholic justices and Gorsuch to remove rights from folks you don't like and you will as usual, make up a reason for it as you go along.  I am sure your clerks are carefully chosen for their delight in messing with our Constitution and our rights in this way at your behest.  Shame on them and you!  You are the ones wrecking the reputation of the court.  It isn't the leak.  That was a great thing.  It's your draft that isn't great!

WHAT'S THE END GAME?

 by Ruth A. Sheets

On Monday  evening, May 2, 2022, a rare leak from the Supreme Court hit "Politico."  It was a 98 page male diatribe against women's right to bodily autonomy in the guise of "States rights," and a fortunate event so we can see what the plan is.

Justice Samuel Alito, a white male wrote in this draft for the Court that the original Rowe v. Wade decision 49+ years ago was wrong.  He makes a claim that abortion is not in the Constitution so the Court should not have permitted it on a Federal level. 

Uh-huh!  Not in the Constitution, huh?  The  Constitution does not talk about a lot of things like lying, cheating, killing, using drugs, allowing corporations to deny people rights, and more, yet the Court over the past 233 years has ruled on them.  Our Constitution did not say that all Black persons should be slaves and that they could never be citizens, yet the Court ruled on those things and not in favor of Black persons on the whole, until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 despite the passage of the 13^th through 15^th Amendments, and they even struck down the 1875 Civil Rights Act.   As if that were not enough, in 2013 they struck down the most important parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act because one of the worst offenders before that act was passed, Alabama, didn't want to let Black people vote anymore.  

There is no "God" in the Constitution as most of those at the convention were deists who did not believe in dictating one's religion, yet the Court has permitted businesses and others to deny rights to people on religious grounds.  There is nothing in the Constitution about campaign financing yet the Roberts Court had little trouble calling money speech and forbidding any campaign finance limitations by state or local governments through "Citizens United."  Therefore, Alito's argument is ridiculous, but I am sure it made him feel good writing it and doing just what the Roman Catholic American bishops wanted him to do.  And, I suspect he caucused with the other 4 conservative Roman Catholic justices to make sure he got the argument just right (or Right enough). 

Keep in mind, there have probably been more lies tied to Rowe v. Wade and abortion rights told by Republicans than for any other issue in our lifetime.

The archivist who should have published the ERA as the 28^th Amendment to the Constitution, ducked out recently on his responsibility to publish the ERA as the 28^thAmendment by retiring.  No supporter of democracy will thank him for that.   The ERA could have given women bodily autonomy as men have, and make the whole abortion challenge a moot point.  That could still happen, but . . . . 

I've heard it said that Donald Trump wanted Amy Coney Barrett to write the anti-abortion, anti-Rowe v. Wade ruling as a slap in the face to all women since it would be a woman who would be taking away their rights and justifying it.  That's why she was nominated in the first place,  to replace a feminist icon, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, after 2 definite anti-Rowe v. Wade white men were nominated by Trump, one of them credibly accused of attempted rape (perhaps of other things too, but the FBI never allowed those other reports to be seen.).  I guess the men didn't trust their misogynistic ruling to one of the most misogynistic women anywhere.

I understand there was no consideration of the impact of reversing Rowe v. Wade on the American people in the leaked draft.  The reason, the correct people will be harmed, so, no need to address it.  All of those impacted will be women of reproductive age.  The middle and upper class women can get to an abortion site while disadvantaged women of all hues will be stuck carrying pregnancies they should have been able to terminate if they chose too, forced-birth. 

The conservatives on the Supreme Court have only contempt for women and show it by letting illegal laws go into effect (the shadow docket), by not hearing cases that would give women rights declaring the lower court case should stand, and more.  In short, women are the targets of this punitive ruling whatever it looks like in its final form.  Poor women and women of color will pay the price for this smug conservative ruling that "States' Rights" is at play here.  Of course it isn't.  It's fear that women will be stepping up to claim a full place in the power structure of this country, and that white men won't be able to control them anymore. 

Poor women and women of color already receive the worst healthcare in this country because medical corporations have decided that is acceptable.  Hospitals and clinics regularly close, refuse to see, or treat people badly if they live in rural areas or in communities of predominantly Black and Brown people.  The huge urban hospitals do not want to meet the needs of those who can't afford their services, particularly if they don't have the high-end insurance that the hospitals feel warrant excellent care.  Reproductive service centers provide a lot of the best care for these women and now will be forced to close, leaving the women with nothing.  VICTORY! 

John Roberts whined, in writing,  after the leak that someone had "violated the confidences of the Court" but he doesn't mind his court violating the confidences of women who choose or need to secure abortions.  Yep, hypocrisy.  This Court has it in abundance yet the justices want us to respect them and their decisions.  Brazen, but typical of white males in power these days.

What is the end game?  Republicans/conservatives erroneously named themselves "Right to Life" back 40 years ago or so, but what they really were and are is anti-women with an anti-abortion emphasis.  They are salivating now that they have their goal in sight.   They have wrapped their heads around this single issue for so long, they will need something to prove they remain just as mean and hateful, to keep the attention of their base.  There is no end game.  Republicans will continue to do as much damage to our nation and its people as possible and they will always have excuses for their stances.  I suspect the next immediate targets will be:

- get the states to pass the most restrictive abortion bans possible.  The private for-profit prisons are emptying of drug users and innocent people.  Women and abortion providers can fill the empty spaces to fulfill the contracts.   Some states even want to put women to death.  Well, women will already be dying because a lot more women die from pregnancy than abortion (14 times the number), that is when abortion is safe and legal.  The rate will be higher when abortion is illegal because abortions will still happen just as they have for thousands of years.  They might end in death as the forced pregnancy might too.

- Contraception is incorrectly called abortion by the anti-science conservatives who are ignorant of just about everything related to the human body.  It seems what they want is forced pregnancy, some kind of "god's will" nonsense.

- Abortion has nothing to do with "gay marriage," but that is a next target.  Those antis fear everything they don't understand and everyone who does not see the world the way they themselves do.

- Allowing states to ban interracial marriage is another hopeful arrow in the conservative quiver.  They hate anyone who is not white and "pure-blooded."  It is disgusting that people with such backward racist beliefs have so much power and influence in our democracy.

- Maybe men, particularly non-white men will be targeted too with DNA tests to prove they are the fathers of the babies born to women who have experienced forced-births but can't support the child.  Ooooo!  You one-stand men might owe child-support.

There are a few things we women and our supporters can do:

- If you have the slightest chance you might be pregnant, get a test now and arrange an abortion ASAP if you want to discontinue the pregnancy.   Some organizations are helping women get to where they need to go to get one.  Take advantage of their help if you need it.

- Women, get an IUD or implant birth control device ASAP if you don't want to become pregnant in the next few years.  The crazies are on a roll and you should feel the target on your back because it's there.  Some organizations can help with this too.  Check with Planned Parenthood or NARAL for suggestions.    

- Men, if you do not want to be involved in child-support and don't want to father another child, get a vasectomy.  A few days of pain and discomfort could save a woman's life and your reputation.

- VOTE VOTE VOTE!!! for people who believe in women's rights of bodily autonomy.  Be a single issue voter for a time or two.  Just because Republicans did that and now have a pathetic base who goes along with whatever Fox "News" says and can be easily manipulated doesn't mean it will happen to folks who actually think things out.  Besides, it would only be for a short time.  You know there are so many other important challenges to our society and world.  Republicans don't! 

- In every place possible, speak up for women's right to bodily autonomy.  That should be one of the most basic rights, one which the Supreme Court should not be able to deny.  Seeing women as having an innate right to bodily autonomy, could end the whole cascade of other rights-warping Republicans want to do.

Remember, there is no Republican "end game."  They will continue to take away people's rights as long as we allow it, so let's stop allowing it!

My Lord What a Court!

by Ruth A. Sheets

I am not sure how many people watched the Senate “hearing” for Brett Kavanaugh after his nomination to the Supreme Court by Donald Trump a couple of years ago.  I was pretty sure Trump would pick people for the Court who were somehow problematic, and the hearing exposed what kind of problematic guy he picked. 

Trump had already, with the help of Mitch McConnell, shoved through Justice Neil Gorsuch, someone they hoped would be “ordinary” enough to placate non-conservatives and throw them off the track of what would come next.

From the beginning of the Kavanaugh “hearing” we who actually paid attention knew there was a problem with what was going on, the disrespect shown Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who had accused Kavanaugh of attempted sexual assault, the childish behavior of Kavanaugh and his pathetic answers to sensible questions, the ignoring of the other women who had legitimate complaints about the nominee’s behavior, his whining about beer. 

We didn't know at that time that the FBI, our high-quality law enforcement agency in the Department of Justice was cheating all of us of the knowledge of what was really going on around Kavanaugh.  The FBI is supposed to thoroughly investigate all nominees for high-level positions.  This time, they didn’t.  Inquiring minds want to know why.

I have read different accounts of how many tips related to Kavanaugh came into the FBI that were not followed up.  I am guessing it is somewhere between the low of 400 and the high of 4,000 tips.  How is that possible?  Was there interference with the FBI by the administration, from the Justice Department,  or from within the FBI itself?  In any case, that does not bode well for the FBI being separate from a current administration.  It’s like going back to the “good ole days” of J. Edgar Hoover whose corruption of the FBI was massive and generally permitted by each administration for 50 years.  Pick and choose who will be investigated and which evidence to present.

Without addressing the “tips” that came into the FBI related to Kavanaugh, he should never have had a hearing at all.  The information was not available so senators could make an informed decision about putting him on our highest court.  No problem, right?  Republicans in the Senate with Mitch McConnell in the lead chose to ignore everything negative about Kavanaugh because they wanted to own the Court.  Qualifications or past behavior for them seemed irrelevant as long as the candidate was a guaranteed vote for whatever corporate America wants.  Republican senators never had to state their purpose to put women, the poor, Black voters, and others who are not rich white men and corporations in their place.  That was a given.  And, that is not a new Phenomenon either, although highly developed under Mr. Trump.

We can expect that presidents want to put justices on the Supreme Court who reflect their own understanding of “fairness,” their own ideological position.  And, it is possible to learn quite a bit about a president and the people he surrounded himself with by the nominees he has chosen for the Court. 

Lyndon Johnson punctuated his position on Civil Rights by appointing Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice, a Civil Rights icon.  George H.W. Bush appointed Marshall’s successor, of course, Clarence Thomas, a Black man, but one who would take the “majority” position related to race whenever possible, and a sexual harasser too, and a Catholic, a conservative bonus when religion comes before the Court.    Bush chucked the Black community under the chin with Clarence Thomas, clearly implying, “see I appointed a Black justice for you.”  (So what if he has little experience and erroneously thinks he got where he is totally without help.)

In case Americans weren’t aware of his deep racism, Richard Nixon attempted to appoint to the Court two judges, Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell, who had histories of racist positions while on the lower courts.  Fortunately, the Senate rejected both, a very rare occurrence for any Senate.

Ronald Reagan nominated Judge Antonin Scalia, who believed that somehow he could discern what the Founders would decide about everything brought before the Court (originalist) and that this was the only way to rule on cases.  That, of course is nonsense since the Founders weren’t always sure what they themselves meant.  It made it seem that his pronouncements were straight from the minds of James Madison or Alexander Hamilton or . . ..  Since by the time Scalia was nominated, Reagan was already seriously impacted by Alzheimer’s it is unclear who put Scalia forward.  Reagan was OK with it though.  Scalia was brilliant, you know, not too fond of rights for women, immigrants, minority citizens, but brilliant.

Bill Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg who had a lot of experience and a long history of standing for human rights, women’s rights in particular.  Clinton was trying to show his acknowledgment of women’s importance in society, possibly to make up for the scandals he had been caught up in.  When Ginsburg passed, Trump was president, a well-known misogynist.  Just as Bush Senior got Thomas onto the Court to slap down Black Americans with one of their own, Trump nominated an inexperienced woman, Amy Coney Barrett  who could be counted on to rule against women whenever possible.  She is a good little Catholic too and will stand with the patriarchal Church to do their bidding, particularly against women’s right to choose.  She was barely investigated at all because McConnell and his Senate allies had to push her approval through in case he wasn’t majority leader after the election.  He just made up the rules as he went along, impacting the Court for years.

George Bush the younger nominated Samuel Alito, the son of immigrants who believes only the “right” immigrants should come here and those on the Southern border are not they.  A Catholic too, he can jump in to see that Catholic plaintiffs or defendants will get exactly what they want, most of the time.  That LGBTQ thing is still a thorn in his side, though.

My Lord what a Court, probably no better than the Court was throughout most of our history.  That is not a compliment, though because we now need thinking, caring people on the Court no matter whether conservative, liberal or neither.  What we now have is a 6-3 conservative majority, 6 Catholic members, 2 Jewish members, and 1 Episcopalian, not exactly representative of the United States religious population.

The religion of the justices should not be an issue, but alas, it is and has seriously impacted the justices’ rulings.  It is sad for all of us because the American Catholic Church has become more and more conservative over the past 40 years or so, threatening to ex-communicate any Catholic who does not agree with their oppressive stances in issues from women’s rights to immigration, to Black history to religious freedom/separation of church and state, to the environment and more.  Our Founders were worried that religion could have an outsized influence on our government.  Their worry may be justified with our current Supreme Court, not representative of the American people.  Well, maybe it is, 2 men legitimately accused of sexual harassment, a misogynistic woman, an immigrant-despising son of immigrants, a couple of careful thinkers who are blanked by the biases of the others, a couple who had working-class upbringings. 

However, in other ways, the Court is quite different from the American people, Nearly all the Justices attended one of two law schools.  In addition, all are in some way privileged.  7 are white, 3 are women, 1 is Hispanic and 1 Black.  That is not the configuration of the United States.

Poll after poll reports that the American people want the right of women to choose regarding reproduction.  We want sensible gun laws and do not believe money is speech.  No one should be above the law and global warming is real so corporations need to stop polluting with greenhouse gas.  Voting should be an automatic right of all US citizens.  The conservatives on the Court go along with none of these things, probably because the corporations who helped nurture them do not and because their church does not either.  Too many rights for the unworthy.

I hope the Court can be enlarged and that terms on the Court are limited to 18 years when the justices can either retire or move to another of the Federal courts.  That would hopefully help us to get more variety on the court with decisions that increase or enhance the rights of more Americans than just rich, straight, Evangelical or Catholic white men. 

Sometimes, I think our Supreme Court is a bit of a joke played on the American people, that is not very funny:  a Black justice who hates Black people; a conservative woman who hates women and is just about as confining to women (except herself, of course) as some Medieval rulers; a man whose family were immigrants but because Italians are now seen as white, resents and wants to exclude non-white immigrants; a Chief Justice who claims to care about the rights of citizens while he stands against voting rights - Oh, he's pretty racist too; and a sexual harasser- possible abuser - who never was fully checked out by the FBI or anyone else for that matter except perhaps the Federalist Society, not a good judge of judges’ quality, just political ideology. 

This week, the Court ruled the Centers for Disease Control had no right to set a moratorium on evictions, even during a pandemic with a 6-3 decision, and you can guess which 6.  Yep, rich justices saying a health organization can’t decide how to keep people safe during a pandemic because landlords don’t like it.  I can’t wait to see their rulings on mask mandates.

My Lord what a Court!

MAY BE SUPREME, BUT FAIR?

by Ruth A. Sheets

The Supreme Court ended its 2020-2021 session with a bombshell.  It was dropped on July 1^st and essentially told Arizona it can make restrictive voting laws if it chooses and there will be ways to claim they are not discriminating against Black Americans and other people of color.  The Court essentially told Arizona and any other state that is interested, that voting restriction can be a viable means of keeping unwanted votes from entering the election, and the Court will approve if the law doesn’t specifically say “to keep Black people from voting.”

I was not surprised at this ruling.  I knew when the Court’s conservatives let the Affordable Care Act (ACA) stand there would be a destructive decision to come.  I was not sure exactly which it would be, but it was a guarantee.  When I realized that voting rights were among the final rulings to be handed down, I was pretty sure it would not be good for those who are against voter suppression.

The Court conservatives for the past few decades have done what they can to represent the interests OF white, male, wealthy individuals and corporations.  They have done a pretty good job of it too. 

To seem to be “non-partisan” one or two members will occasionally rule against the desires of their constituency, in ways that don’t usually directly impact them.  Acknowledging same-sex marriage is an example of this.  In exchange, they gutted the Voting Rights Act despite its recertification by nearly everyone in Congress.  They ruled that it is acceptable to discriminate against people you don’t like on religious grounds (Christian, of course).  They claimed money is speech and said it does not matter how much money people put into a campaign it is acceptable.  They even told California this year that it doesn’t matter what they want.  Corporations, rich individuals, PACs, and anyone else with lots of money can contribute to anyone they want and no one has the right to know.  So much for state’s rights.

The conservatives on the Court claim to mostly be originalists which means, somehow, they know the minds of the founders who didn’t even know their own minds on many of the issues they were voting on in the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  That’s pretty amazing!  It’s almost as good as having the ear of God.

Who are these conservatives?  Clarence Thomas was George H.W. Bush’s slap in the face to Thurgood Marshall, the man he would replace as well as Black Americans in general.  Two of the conservatives, Thomas and Kavanaugh  have credibly been accused of sexual misconduct, but that’s OK as long as they are guaranteed votes on most, if not all, rulings that benefit rich white males and are against women’s rights.

The conservative test to be approved for the Court has been anti-abortion which means, anti-Rowe v Wade.  Why this should in any way concern men who will never be pregnant is unclear.  Amy Barrett was the slap in the face for women who support women’s rights and Ruth Bader Ginsberg whom she was carefully picked to replace.  Just as Thomas is the token Black man who will stand against the rights of Black people, Barrett will do the same to women.  Misogyny is alive and well among all six of the conservatives and maybe racism is sneaking around that group too.

One way the Court can be brought to a more balanced place, perhaps, is to expand it.  I am thinking 4 additional seats would be a good start.  I would also like to see the terms limited to 18 years, then the justices can either retire or move to one of the other Federal courts to finish serving their lifetime terms.  These changes are worth a try since the trick now with Republicans is to stack the Court so they will get the rulings they want/need to help keep themselves in power.   

The Court’s current “liberals” seem to be standing for people’s rights but that may not always be the case.  Therefore, more members of the Court and limited terms may help justices to think about the fact that there is life after the Court and maybe better decisions will be handed down that positively impact citizens, not just citizens of one race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, region, etc.  Will that be fair?  It’s worth a try to find out because right now, it’s not. 

SUPREME COURT NOMINEE, A BAD CONSEQUENCE

 by Ruth A. Sheets

I find it interesting the way Republicans just change the rules to fit whatever they want to do.  It reminds me of the old "Truth or Consequences" game.  Contestants were supposed to answer a question correctly or face the consequences.  The questions were outrageous, of course, but if a contestant guessed the right answer, another question would be added, then another until they could no longer answer correctly because the question had no answer, SO they faced the consequences, usually a silly game or stunt.  That was OK for a TV game show, but not for real life.  Republicans don't like the “truth” part, so they change the question so we, the contestants will face the “consequences.

Republican Senate leaders now get to approve a lifetime appointment supreme court justice who is really not qualified but has proven she  is amenable to whatever Republicans want her to do, and, just a few weeks before a presidential election. 

The question to Mitch McConnell and his club, why will you not give Merrick Garland a hearing to replace Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court?  The answer, “because it is an election year.  OK, possibly true, so, there is a next question which came an hour after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Why are you planning to approve a nominee for the Supreme Court when it is only weeks until the election, in an election year.  The answer because we can.  That’s the wrong answer, so we get the consequences, ultimately , loss of our right to choose, loss of health care, expulsion of immigrants, and so much more.  

Those consequences also immediately involve a Senate procedure the American people don't want.  It turns out though, Democrats can’t even claim it’s unconstitutional because, as “newsman” Jake Tapper pointed out.  The displeasure of the American people is only a poll and those in power can do pretty much whatever they want since they were elected and it’s not exactly in the Constitution.

So, before Justice Ginsburg was even in her grave, Republicans were working to continue their packing of the Supreme Court.  I thought it interesting that during the Vice-Presidential debate on October 7^th, Kamala Harris was asked about Biden and packing the Court when it was Pence, Trump, McConnell and their Republican allies who were already in the process of doing it.  Yep, that was pretty brazen!

These Republican moves are   Hypocrisy, of course, but hypocrisy has become the currency of the Republican Party.  Its other denominations are lying, corruption, and deceit.  They now do all of these right out in the open.  For example, Attorney General William Barr has no trouble investigating those who focused attention on Republican cheating and corruption, hoping to find something to blame Democrats and others for, dragging issues through the courts hoping to get something to stick, to distract the people from the consequences of Republican practices, like a rushed Supreme Court appointment.

The Trump nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney, Barrett, has been on the Republican radar for quite a while, after all, she was seen as fit to serve on a lower court by the Federalist Society, the conservative court packing clearing house and had no opposition from Republican senators. 

One might wonder why she was and is such a good fit for Republicans.  Well,

- She is a woman who has a record of dismissing women and their needs, an avowed pro-lifer.  She does not believe women should be allowed to make their own decisions as to their bodies and their reproduction, no matter what the law says.  CHECK!

- She has learned to hide her personal beliefs and opinions behind “the law” and makes it sound as though if you don’t go along with her, you don’t know the law.  PERFECT!

- She is easily manipulated by men, forming her opinions to fit their wants through her religion.  She formed basic opinions under Antonin Scalia, a justice who also hid his comfort zone behind the law.  She learned well and can be counted on to do her Republican duty.  YESSSS  PERFECT AGAIN!

- She has ruled against desperate immigrants in her current position.  She has the right view of immigrants and since the Constitution doesn’t say much about immigrants except that they can become citizens and should have full rights of citizenship, she can and will do everything she can to exclude as many as possible.  HURRAY!  RIGHT AGAIN!

- She has seven kids.  That is great because that makes her look like the perfect mom.  One wonders how she managed her law career while raising 7 kids.  Is she supermom or one who had sufficient money and resources to have lots of help.  She clearly didn’t think birth control was worth her time or perhaps thought it was a sin, who knows which, but it matters which, but not to Republicans.  ALL GOOD SO FAR!

- She doesn’t think the Affordable Care Act should be legal even though she claims to believe the Courts should not be legislating and that that should be done through the Congress and executive branch.  The ACA meets both those criteria, passed by elected persons in Congress and signed by the president.  But, as with her former and current bosses, she doesn’t care because it isn’t what she likes, so she will make sure the law fits what she likes.  THAT WAS EASY!

How do We the People deal with this?  Well, it is unlikely Republican Senators beyond the two who have already declared they will not approve Ms. Barrett, can find their backbone in time to stop this sham appointment.  So, I am thinking the only honest way to address  this problem is to expand the Supreme Court, (and possibly other courts)  to balance the Court toward more fairness.  On the Supreme Court, we will need at least 4 new justices who actually care about the needs of the American people, not just the anti-woman, anti-people of color, anti-LGBTQ, forced birthers, immigrant haters, corporations, and planet destroyers for the money.  We need people who are not ideologues whose views can be twisted into denying people their rights, using the law to justify their inexplicable rulings.  They’re out there, those fair, qualified people. 

A woman-resenting woman like Barrett is just like the Black persons-resenting Clarence Thomas.  They'll make a great pair working together to try to set our nation back a century, back into a time when women only get the rights white men allow them and Black people, except for a few sports and entertainment figures. go back to the ghetto poverty of the past.  Yes, a great team!

We need to stop this if we can, but expand the court if we can't.  Limiting terms on the court would also help.  I like John Paul Stevens' idea of 18 years on the Supreme Court, then move to one of the other federal courts for the rest of their lives.  The court has just too much power for a lifetime appointment.  The founders did not anticipate that.  So much for originalism, a bogus concept that people who are extreme conservatives drag out to support their ridiculous rights-denying pronouncements.  Justice Scalia was a master of the bogus originalism.  Now his former clerk wants to do the women's side of it, the new Phyllis Schlafly.  Shame on any senator who votes for her.  She is neither qualified as a fair judge nor appropriate for the court.  Her appointment is a bad consequence for most of us. 

REPUBLICANS LEGISLATE FOR THEIR OWN COMFORT

I am amazed at the ways Republicans claim extreme patriotism.  I suppose if they claim it loudly enough their fans will keep believing it despite all evidence to the contrary.  Patriotism really does require more than parades and giant military budgets.

What is true?  The evidence seems to point to an understanding that Republicans believe in themselves alone.  They stand for what makes them feel good, important, powerful, comfortable.  And, they have very clever ad men and a few women who can craft ads and statements that make this self-centered approach to government seem right.  The problem with this form of governing is that a lot of people have gotten and are getting hurt.   

- IF Republicans (and conservatives) don't want to wear a mask to protect others from COVID-19, well, then, you feel you don't have to.  Demanding that you wear one is against your rights and no one else’s rights not to get sick count.

-   If you don't like the idea of abortion, or rather don’t like the independence the right to choose gives women, well, then, no woman should be able to have an abortion (unless, of course, the Republican woman (or wife or girlfriend of a Republican official needs one). 

- You Republicans don't want to pay taxes, no problem, pass a giant tax cut for yourselves and your rich friends and do it after midnight so it will be done before anyone or anyone who matters notices. 

- You want straight white men to rule everything like they used to in the "good ol' days,” no problem, pack the Supreme Court and other federal courts with judges who will work really hard to see that rich straight white men and their corporations win the most important cases (not all of them because people might notice and stop them). 

- Christian Republicans don't want their religious beliefs to be challenged, no problem, get the Congress and courts to let conservative Christian groups get all kinds of privileges that let them look holy, following “God’s will.”  You don’t want to bake a cake for a gay wedding, well, you don’t have to because such a simple act will defy God (or some other nonsense, as though God is so easily offended.  Hey, if you don’t want women to have access to birth control, claim God hates birth control – easy as pie when you have the courts packed and standing behind you.  And, more important, those religious claims only work for conservative Christians and perhaps some Jews, not Muslims,  Buddhists, or atheists, of course.

- Republicans really don't want to be acknowledged for the racists they often actually are.  No problem here either, when asked about Black Lives Matter, you talk about the “looting and violence perpetrated in the cities” (often caused by police and whites trying to incite trouble).  You deny the actions of white supremacists, claim they are “fine people” and essentially ignore their threats as so much less than what those NTIFA people are doing.  You are even given words to defend whites who were plotting to kidnap a governor, and you speak them aloud.

- You are OK with the way Donald Trump and his crew have handled COVID-19 because you are not on the front lines.  You do not live in the neighborhoods where the heavy pollution infests everything every day.  Your kids don’t attend schools that are poorly maintained due to lack of funds, so there is no effective ventilation.  You do not experience the stress of race and poverty every day of your life so your body is changed, making you more susceptible to the disease.      Therefore, you cry out that your kids NEED to be back in school.  Every store, restaurant, bar, salon, sports venue, etc. that you want to patronize should be open waiting for you, no matter the risk to the others in your community. 

- You have good healthcare, so anyone who doesn’t, it’s their own fault for not working as hard as you work.  You say nothing when your president and your attorney general bring a case through the courts to destroy the health program that is sustaining more than 20 million of your fellow citizens.

- You are afraid you might lose an election and might not be able to stay permanently in power.  Well, you’ve got that sewed up too.  You have a myriad of ways to suppress the votes of people you don’t like and whose vote you want to deny your opponents:  cut the number of polling places, try to stop vote-by-mail or make it really difficult – even during a pandemic, make anyone who has committed a crime pay all kinds of impossible fees and charges before they can vote even though the people of your state voted to give them back the vote, purge the voter rolls of as many people as you can get away with mostly people of color and young people, require voter I.D. even though ID fraud is very rare, make everyone voting by mail use 2 envelopes for their ballot or it will be discarded, work to destroy the post office when more people will vote by mail than ever before, and more.  

- You don’t like immigrants or fear they are too Democratic for your taste.  OK, just sabotage the census, counting only the people who look and act like you, who share your specific values (whatever those are).  Who cares what the US Constitution says!  You can also take kids away from their parents and toss them in cages to cause the greatest pain possible.  Oh wait!  you can force asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico where they fall prey to abusers.  You can keep believing a wall on the border will do something for you.

How is any of the above patriotic.  Patriotism is so much more than parades, flag waving, standing with your hand over your heart for the National Anthem.  Those are the easy things that prove nothing. 

So, ?again I say, I am amazed at the way Republicans/conservatives claim extreme patriotism.  There is nothing patriotic about the direction you Republicans have been driving our nation during the past 40 years or so.  You clearly have good PR, though.   

If you Republicans want to get back a small measure of your patriotism, well, you need to step up and do what you should have done back in May when the House passed the Heroes Act; Stand face to face (socially distanced) with Mitch McConnell and demand  hearings on the bill and vote on it.  Mutiny if you have to.  You need to skip the packing of the Supreme Court.  The people neither want nor need another rights denying Supreme Court justice.  We already have at least 3.  Spend the rest of Donald Trump’s term in office working for the people of this nation.  Pass the stimulus package to help even your constituents. 

I hear some Republicans and Donald Trump say they want to do a little something just before the election, perhaps to try to win over the gullible folks who can easily forget what you have done to them.  These are the ones you expect to believe your lies and ignore your cheating to maintain power.  I suspect those people are already snugly with you Republicans and their Donnie no matter what and no matter how much they are harmed by what you legislators have done.  After all, there’s always someone else to blame, a current Republican strategy.  

So, since it won't matter to your crowd, do the right thing for a change.  I know you've forgotten what that is since you haven't done it for so long, but I suspect if you ask a few Democrats and others who actually do care about this country and its people, you could learn or relearn how to do it. 

The GOP's End To Democracy

by muon

The word “coup” is defined as a seizure of power from the government, usually sudden and violent, usually having to do with military activity. But there’s another kind of subtle political coup that’s oh so much more diabolical because it happens slowly.

The government of the United States, as set down in our Constitution, is supposed to be a government of, by, and for the people. It’s a democracy in which its citizens ought to have the ultimate power by the use of their vote. And it was constructed with three branches ~ executive, legislative, and judiciary ~ which are supposed to remain independent of each other, so that no one man nor one group would be able to seize absolute power and destroy our democracy.

The Republican Party has been trying to do just that ~ stage a political coup at the Federal level of the government, and through non-democratic means. In order to maintain a majority in Congress, the GOP has developed gerrymandering and voter suppression to an art form. Because of Citizen’s United, they’ve been able to shift power from ordinary citizens to corporations and the very wealthy. Power has even been given to foreign interests who seek to fund candidates and influence elections.

In the past 2 years, the line between executive branch and the Republicans in the legislative branch has completely disappeared. Most GOP congressmen support Trump without question, giving him the confidence to act like a dictator, while they turn a deaf ear to the vast majority of voters. Laws these days aren’t legislated, but come down from the White House as executive orders, or as Trump probably thinks of them, empirical edicts.

Still, we used to be able to rely most of the time on the Supreme Court to be the fair and impartial conscience of the country (albeit, not always ~ Dred Scott, for instance). Now, beginning with the Merrick Garland fiasco, the GOP has repeatedly ignored procedures set down centuries before, in order to manipulate the judiciary to their own will instead of the will of the people.  The Kavanaugh nomination is only the latest symptom. Legal minds and institutions from all over the country say Kavanaugh doesn’t have the temperament for the Supreme Court. Even former Justice Stevens believes Kavanaugh shouldn’t be appointed. Yet, the GOP is plowing forward, ignoring prudence and precedence from the beginning. Nothing about this confirmation process has had anything to do with true democracy. It’s all about illegal seizure of power from the voters of the United States.

This is why the 2018 general election is so important. Voters on both sides of the political divide need to take their power back from congressmen who’ve been in office so long, they think somehow that it’s their birthright. We need to remove people from office who have no respect for the separation of the three branches of government, who think our government is about their own power and wealth.

Only one political party is seeking to merge the 3 branches of government into one. The Republicans are staging a coup, pure and simple. You need to vote this November before that right is taken from you as well.

WOMEN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE - 45 YEARS LATER

By Ruth A. Sheets

It's been 45 years since the Roe v. Wade decision came down from the Supreme Court.  Abortion still remains one of the most divisive issues in our nation.  I truly do not understand the "controversy."   Why are some people willing to harm others over whether a woman should be able to choose abortion?  Why is a president stroking his base by considering only candidates for the Supreme Court and other government positions who are against abortion? 

This nonsense regarding abortion has been going on for generations now.  Notice, I did not say millennia?  That's because the reason religious people stood against it a century and a half ago is that women, many women were dying in "back alley" abortions.  To convince women not to choose that deadly option, all kinds of religious tags were attached.  Today, abortion is safe and rarely problematic if conducted in a clean space by a well-trained professional.  In fact most abortions only involve taking pills. 

There just should not be a controversy about abortion.  It makes no sense that any man should have a say whatsoever in the decision of what a woman does related to her body, PERIOD, unless, that man is the woman's partner or doctor and she has chosen to include him in this decision.  Then, he is an OBSERVER/advisor, not a dictator. 

What is hard to understand is that in addition to men who believe they are in charge of women, a bunch of women have been convinced that somehow abortion is murder.  First of all, it isn't, so why do these women and so many men want to make it so?  You women who hate your sisters so much, what is wrong with you?  Just because you don't want to choose abortion should not mean  you can force others to make that same choice.  Life situations differ greatly.  You cannot know what a woman facing this decision needs to do.  Just as people have been telling you for years, if you do not want an abortion, DON'T HAVE ONE!!!.  It IS that simple. 

State legislatures and governors, majority white male, the Congress, majority white male, the president, white male, and the Supreme Court, majority white male should have no say in abortion.  If their body cannot bear a child, if they will never have to face carrying a pregnancy they do not want, cannot afford, or can handle, if their personal lives will not be impacted by carrying a pregnancy, they must just shut up and let women decide for themselves.

I understand it will be difficult for some pathetic men and women if abortion in certain states is declared illegal.  What will they scream, whine, and do to otherwise make life miserable for women, beware, they will find something because that is what powerful men do when they feel they are being challenged by intelligent, strong, decisive women.  Look out all of us!

Men, if you really care about the unborn as you claim, demand and pass legislation that will keep our environment clean, get people permanently out of poverty, ensure women's right to birth control, champion health care for all, INCREASE FUNDING FOR INFANT AND MOTHER PROGRAMS, PROMOTE PUBLIC EDUCATION, things that would really make a difference.  First, though, stop Mr. Trump's gag rule, you know, the one that tells medical personnel and fake medical personnel to lie to women about their reproductive needs. Legalizing lying is not acceptable. 

You say you can't do that?  Why?  Is the problem that attacking women's right to choose is easy, while making a real positive difference for women and the unborn is really hard, perhaps too hard for you!

Stop with your platitudes and lies.  And you Christians, Jesus knew about abortion and didn't condemn it.  He did condemn hate, treating people like garbage, lying, and a lot of other things.  Go with that.  Leave women alone to choose for themselves, then support them in their decision.  That is the truly loving, Christian thing to do. 

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE -- REALLY?

by Ruth A. Sheets

It's time the Senate wake up and notice the poor quality of people Mr. Trump is nominating to all really important positions in OUR government, remember it is the government of ALL of us, not just the rich, white, males.  The latest nominee is Brett Kavanaugh, a Yale trained lawyer and judge on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

There are problems already with this nominee.  It seems Mr. Kavanaugh does not think it matters if he tells the truth to the Senate, as exemplified in his previous hearing for a judicial position (which he got despite his lies).  The Senate did nothing about it back then and I predict Mr. Kavanaugh is sure they will ignore it again.  The Senate probably will, at least the Republicans will.

Mr. Kavanaugh served with Mr. Starr to indict Mr. Clinton for lying about stuff he should never have been asked.  Then, he writes about not ever indicting a sitting president because of the chaos it would cause.  Yep, he only worries about a presidential indictment after he tried to bring down a sitting Democratic president.  Mr. Trump is delighted because he knows Mr. Mueller's commission is looking into his activities that his handlers, at least, know are illegal and unethical.  Mr. Kavanaugh will save him. 

There is no evidence Mr. Kavanaugh cares about women's right to choose, in fact, there is plenty of evidence he is against it, despite the fact that a super majority of Americans want the right to choose. 

There is evidence this nominee does not respect the LGBTQ community or anyone who is not white for that matter.  He loves BIG BUSINESS and will give them everything they ask for, demand, or take without permission.  His prior record makes that clear. 

The environment, this is not anything Mr. Kavanaugh cares about unless he chooses to encourage drilling, pipelines , digging for coal, and more, none of which will benefit anyone but the company owners and shareholders.  This is obscene!  

Mr. Kavanaugh opposes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the few agencies to actually protect consumers from the harmful practices of BIG BANKS AND BIG BUSINESS.  What does that do for the people who are getting screwed by those companies?  Oh well, too bad guys.  We are so far above you, we just don't care, we conservatives, but we can pretend to care if you want us to.

In addition to all this, Mr. Kavanaugh tried to block an immigrant teenager in U.S. custody from accessing reproductive healthcare. His decisions for the 6th Circuit in Washington, D.C. show that He opposes affirmative action, promotes public funds being used for private school vouchers, and favors prayer in public schools (an issue decided more than 50 years ago).  How do these positions help ordinary Americans?  They don't, of course!!

Mr. Kavanaugh's prior rulings raise serious concerns for some about where he stands on issues like employees’ right to organize, workplace discrimination, voting rights, marriage equality, access to healthcare and corporate responsibility.  It is pretty clear to most of us where he stands.  What average Americans let alone special interest groups need is irrelevant to conservatives these days and Mr. Kavanaugh has a history of sticking to the conservative line and justifying it, no matter how crazy.

So, it's going to be hard to fight this one.  It's been 30 years since a Supreme Court nominee, Robert Bork, was rejected.  With 30 years of hindsight, we are hearing what a terrible thing it was to reject this "good man" as several Republicans and a few centrist Democrats have said, because now candidates will not answer any real questions about their positions.  But Bork was not that great.  He, too, had little respect for anyone who was not white, rich, straight, and male.  How would that have helped the majority of us?

We are so good at revisionist history that we have turned Ronald Raegan who allowed all kinds of illegal and questionable things to happen during his presidency into almost a saint.  He wasn't.  Mr. Bork was such a good man.  Not really!  Justice Kennedy  was such a centrist, our only hope.  This was true only when it suited him.

We still live with the consequences of Mr. Reagan's union busting, tax cutting, disregard for government operations, and the change of the American understanding that the government is for the common good.   We have already felt the devastation of Mr. Kennedy's vote on Citizens United declaring money as speech.  Really a stupid decision, but conservatives always have to side with the wealthy and business, no matter how ridiculous.  Voting rights was not Mr. Kennedy's big thing either. 

We don't know exactly what Mr. Kavanaugh would contribute to the harming  of the American system, but his influence would be considerable.  There is no evidence that Mr. Kavanaugh cares.  Perhaps, he will be like Mr. Trump who wants to cause as much chaos for as long as he can, raking in money and power with impunity. 

We have to find ways to reject Mr. Trump's crazy nominees for all government jobs, including Supreme Court justice.  Maybe if enough are rejected, he will start trying to find people who are actually qualified and who give a damn about the United States, its citizens, its allies, and our planet.

The next Supreme Court justice should be fair, independent and committed to safeguarding the rights and freedoms that protect everyone.  I suspect Mr. Kavanaugh cannot truthfully commit to this.  The current conservative justices claim fairness, independence, and the ability to commit to protecting the rights of all Americans.  They are none of these things.  How sad that conservatives have to harm everyone to keep their conservative bona fides.  I do not see Mr. Kavanaugh stepping up to be concerned for the rights of anyone but himself and those like him.  There is just no courage among Republicans or conservatives whether it is in Congress, on the Court, or as head of any of the executive branch departments.  That's too bad for all of us, since for now, they are in charge of everything.

WHEN HATRED AND LIES BECOME THE NORM

By  Ruth A. Sheets

Lying is an integral part of Donald Trump's public behavior.  He lies whenever it occurs to him that a lie might work better than the truth, that is if he has any idea what is the truth.   

Yesterday, the Supreme Court's conservative majority confirmed as acceptable, Mr. Trump's hatred of Muslims.  They used as justification Mr. Trump's lie that travelers from a specific set of countries, mostly Muslim, puts the security of the United States at risk.  Alas, there is no evidence of this, but the Supreme Court majority says, that doesn't matter.  Mr. Trump says it is, so it is.  Wow!  That's a lot of power for someone who didn't win the popular vote and has little regard for the Constitution.

Everyone knows that throughout his presidential campaign, Mr. Trump told the nation of his intent to stop all Muslims from coming here.  That intention was never hidden.  Like everything else he says in hatred and most of his lies, it was loud and clear and harmful to many people, the kind of people Mr. Trump doesn't like.

Lying and some hatred (of women and abortion) was front and center in another Supreme Court ruling yesterday.  The conservative majority  basically said it is perfectly OK to lie to citizens, particularly women about their health care options. 

Fake health care centers have been set up all over the country to lie to women.  They have no medical help to offer, only lies about abortion, pregnancy, and a host of other issues facing women related to health care. 

California decided to order fake clinics to inform potential patients that other facilities could take care of their needs, while the fake clinics could not.  The Supreme Court has now said the state can't make the fake clinics tell the truth.  They can lie through their teeth, trapping mostly poor women into maintaining pregnancies they can't afford or physically handle.  Yep, lying is in the ascendency.  Free speech, you know.

These rulings  coincide with the cheating allowed in the June 25th decision permitting racial gerrymandering in Texas and probably other places too.  The justification is not very clear.  Are conservative justices OK with cheating and subverting the American voting system?  Or is it something more? 

One might have expected Mr. Thomas, the African-American justice to stand on the side of voting rights in this decision, but alas, no.  It is no surprise, however, that white conservative men are in favor of whatever will give white people the most power.  Racial gerrymandering, why not!  We'll find a reason to OK it.

These days, one cannot be shocked that Mr. Trump lies about immigrants, the activities of his staff, and just about everything else.  His followers love it.  They, themselves must lie regularly to be so positive concerning the lies so freely tossed off.  It's like a kinship. 

Conservatives want to have the Ten Commandments in every courthouse.  How is that possible.  One of the commandments is "Thou shalt not bear false witness."  False witness means lie.  Have they convinced themselves that the things Mr. Trump says are not lies?  Isn't that a kind of pretense?  Another word for pretense is lie.  So, perhaps they are lying to themselves too.  If you can't tell the truth to yourself, who can you tell it to?

Which other president has lied to the American people more than 3,000 times in just over 500 days?  No one, of course.  Even if one did not agree with the person in the White House, there was a sense that the person had some integrity.  That cannot be claimed for this White House occupant.  His hatreds and lying make him unique, and not in a good way. 

I get it that Mr. Trump often has no idea what is true and really doesn't care.  As long as everyone is bowing to and cheering for him, giving him everything he wants, like a spoiled child, he is happy and can gloat.  He does not want anyone challenging his hatreds and need for vengeance.  And, for the most part, people comply.  Republicans in Congress and in the states comply.  We learned yesterday that Even the Supreme Court complies.  

Hatred, lying, and cheating, the three pillars of Mr. Trump's presidency do not seem to be helping anyone but him.  He hopes Americans will ignore his lies because if he says something long enough and loud enough, he thinks we will all believe it.  What many of us believe is that we don't want lying, hatred, and cheating to be a norm for our society and will do what we can to see that these three are ultimately moved off the main American stage along with Mr. Trump. 

WHEN THEY ARE WRONG

by Ruth A. Sheets

In the Pennsylvania legislature, Republicans are working to change the way judges in the state are elected.  This isn't because the current system is not working, but because it is not working for them. 

The Republican party is furious that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the Republican-drawn/gerrymandered districts as unfair.  Of course, the Republican legislators know very well that their district lines were not drawn fairly.  A lot of time and effort was put into making sure that despite the fact that Pennsylvania has significantly more Democratic voters than Republicans, the Republicans would always have most of the US Congressional and state representatives in their column.  They want the courts too.

This phenomenon is becoming a frequent presence on the American political scene.  Republicans are the most common practitioners.  What is this phenomenon?

When you are caught doing what you know or suspect is wrong, unamerican, or probably illegal, double down on your wrong actions.  If possible, make those you don't like or respect suffer even more.

-Don't hold hearings and a vote on President Obama's nominee for Supreme Court justice (as the Constitution requires), then approve someone perhaps, just barely qualified but conservative enough he will approve anything you want the Court to do for your party and your followers.  then approve only the most ult-right, compliant (to conservative whims) nominees for all Federal court positions, nominees who will regularly rule against women and minorities.

- Your voter I.D. law doesn't pass muster, so work to eliminate as many voting days as possible to inconvenience and discourage poor and minority voters.  Then, make voter registration as difficult as possible for those who don't have easy access to the few registration locations. 

- Purge voter rolls, close to Election Day, mostly of Democratic voters, of course, and when caught, take the case to the Supreme Court which 5-4 says, "OK," when they should have said "No.  Everyone has a right to vote."  Now it's legal, Don't get caught cutting too many minorities on purpose, though.  Just accidentally.

- Migrants and refugees are a terrible problem and those people just keep coming.  We'll build a fence, no, a wall, hire thousands of people to guard the southern border, destroy cashes of water and supplies that would help people crossing the desert.  Since the people keep coming, we'll call them animals and take the children from their mothers at the border as a deterrence.  Oh yes, then the Republican president claims these actions are the fault of Democrats, a lie, but what can you expect.

- Women want control over their own reproduction.  They are moving into the male sphere.  Tell women that birth control is harmful and that abortion will destroy them for life physically and emotionally.  Oh no!  Women know the truth!  We have to stop them, so we'll force insurance companies not to cover birth control.   We'll approve of clinics that lie to patients about everything related to their reproduction.  We'll keep making it harder and harder to get an abortion.  We want the Supreme Court, that we have packed, to say abortion is illegal.  Why is abortion so horrific, you might ask them.  Ummm, it must be in the Bible or something.  Oh wait, it's murder, or something.  Oh yes, it's definitely murder.  We should punish the women who have abortions and the doctors who perform them.

In case it isn't clear, the common factors in all these cases are race, sex, and poverty, white -- or wannabe white, rich -- or wannabe rich, male (Republicans) and everyone else (Democrat and Independent).  To indicate that a Republican might be racist is the greatest insult, they claim.  I don't understand this.  The amount of thought, scheming, and effort Republicans and their allies use to figure out these ingenious actions against African-Americans, immigrants, and women, one would think they were proud of their work and should stand up and state what all Republicans believe deep down.  White, rich men should rule because they know what's best for everyone else, the inferiors who must be kept in their place. 

This situation will not improve until more people stand up to the fear, anger, and privilege Republicans deliberately infuse into everything these days.  The media will not help because they have become lazy and just skim off the top the people and events they will cover. 

Voting at all levels is the key.  Candidates that spew phony patriotism, imply inferiority of any group of people, and toss off easy answers to complex problems do not deserve anyone's vote.  These candidates are wrong and will only double down on their racism, sexism, and xenophobia to no one's benefit but their own.  We must keep this in mind as we face the lies, deceit, and scheming of the 2018 election.