Today, I’m watching some stories that have immediate significance, but also indicate larger trends. First, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has asked the Justice Department, now overseen by Attorney General Merrick Garland, to look into the unusual circumstances through which Brett Kavanaugh’s large debts disappeared before his nomination to the Supreme Court. While this question is important to understanding Kavanaugh’s position on our Supreme Court, it is more than that: it is part of a larger investigation into the role of big money in our justice system.
With much to unpack in tonight’s fascinating letter, I am focused on Brett Kavanaugh. His confirmation hearing revealed an intellectually impotent, emotionally weak and immature person. His demeanor was, at times, sarcastic, rude and it smacked of a bloated, over privileged, mean spirited frat boy. Nothing would make me happier than seeing him booted from SCOTUS.
On Saturday, in Indianapolis, a man killed four people with a firearm in a dispute with his girlfriend over sharing her Covid relief check.
Last night, in the small town of Acworth and later in another town outside of Atlanta, a young man shot and killed a total of eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
“Jacob Kimmons, an employee at AutoZone [in Acworth], said this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” “You never see it in a decent area like this. Just to see something like that happen is crazy,” he said. “I just thank the good lord he didn’t come over here and do anything.””
I have a bone to pick with Mr. Kimmons – particularly his characterization that “this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” This kind of violence – killing each other and ourselves with guns – is all too common in every corner of the country – and the good Lord (with respect) has nothing to do with it.
But the lion’s share of my ire this morning, and frankly, my sorrow, stems from the leadership of the Republican party and its twin pillars of pain and prevarication – Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.
Kevin went to the border this week to lend his support to our government’s efforts to safely and humanely process children trying to enter the country. Wait – sorry, Kevin was there to shine a bright light on anything other than the President’s success in providing real assistance to Americans struggling to survive the pandemic.
Don’t pay attention to the old guy who just cleaned my clock, pay attention to the mess at the southern border. Damn – if we had only finished building that wall, we wouldn’t have this problem and by the way, Biden is letting terrorists into the country! I know it’s true because the orange guy told me and I think I heard someone say something that sounded like terrorist watch list – could have been “Ted washed last” but that’s not important – what is important is that I have nothing constructive to propose on any subject of concern to the American public and the weather was awful in Washington, so here I am – pay attention!
This while MM thrashes through the Senate rotunda waving threats of open-carry legislation if he ever gains the majority again. That’s right – he will ram through this important piece of legislation that will help so many Americans realize their dreams and true potential.
Legislation as Revenge! Finally, the Republican party has found a purpose that suits its nature. And who better to lead them than the man whose moral compass has the stability of mercury on horseback heading for the barn.
Food for sorrow:
Cause of Death - All races and origins, both sexes, ages 15–34 years
1. Accidents (unintentional injuries)
2. Intentional self-harm (suicide)
3. Assault (homicide)
Source: National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 68, No. 6, June 24, 2019
In 2017, the states with the highest rates of gun-related deaths – counting murders, suicides and all other categories tracked by the CDC – were Alaska (24.5 per 100,000 people), Alabama (22.9), Montana (22.5), Louisiana (21.7), Missouri and Mississippi (both 21.5), and Arkansas (20.3), followed by South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, and West Virginia.
The states with the lowest rates were New Jersey (5.3 per 100,000 people), Connecticut (5.1), Rhode Island (3.9), New York and Massachusetts (both 3.7), and Hawaii (2.5).
States with least restrictive gun laws: Alaska, Alabama, Montana, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Maine, Texas, Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota, Arizona, and Kentucky.
So, Senator McConnell threatens more guns, ready at the hip, in more hands if the Democrats dare to disable the filibuster to pass S-1 (For the People Voting Rights Act), because that is what this is all about. He would rather people die, in larger numbers than they already do, in order to deny the right to vote to people who may disagree with him on lowering taxes for the already wealthy.
It saddens me, truly, that this is the state of the loyal opposition. While President Biden is doing all he can to move the country forward toward a more equitable future, the Republican party is hunkering down for a fight to reassert its strangle-hold on government. A philosophy of revenge, racism and avarice guiding their every move.
If Mitch McConnell's "scorched earth" threat does not result in IMMEDIATE revocation of the filibuster by Democrats, followed by cramming every conceivable piece of progressive legislation down his lying, conniving throat and and if humanly possible through his disgusting quadruple chin) ... if that doesn't happen (and let me repeat IMMEDIATELY), then there is absolutely no hope for decent Americans. Unfortunately, chickening out would be par for the course. Talk about a line in the sand. If that insulting POS gets away with this, OMG ... SURELY this will be the hormone injection that enables even our neutered and spayed disgraces to figuratively grow a pair.
Thank you so much brining forth the name of a grand patriot, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse! I remember his insightful and courageous analysis of the corporate ownership of the courts, and our democratic process, through conservative financing from patriarchs of the right, such as Scaife, Coors, Olin.
I’ve read a huge number of comments this morning and, perhaps more than any other day, I feel the rage being poured out.
Between the Whitehouse/Kavanaugh imbroglio and the threats issued by McConnell yesterday, there is certainly a lot of vitriol being poured out. Again I must apologize for not *feeling* what all you are feeling today. There are days when it’s very weird being a part of this site.
It’s also deeply humbling. We in Canada have nothing, nothing whatsoever to compare to the level of venality in government and the role of big money in producing that venality. What we consider dirty pool in government is usually exposed by the Globe and Mail and in any case would not rise to the level of corruption your country endures. It’s not that we are better people of course. We have our own share of terrible scoundrels.
My conclusion is that America has a bad system of government which has been given bucketloads of positive reinforcement over time. The Founding Fathers are revered as men among gods. The Constitution is a sacred document whose words are parsed to the bone when a situation arises that your Founding Fathers could not possibly have predicted.
In reality, the Constitution seems to me to have been a brilliantly written document - *for the times during which it was written*. Sadly, those times have long passed.
It is overly specific as its architects tried to envision every possibility that could arise. Way, way too specific. Franklin, when asked by a woman at the close of their deliberations and writing, “What kind of government do we have?”, to which he replied, “A Republic - if you can keep it”.
Well, to these eyes, it is getting harder and harder to “keep it”. Your two party system leads to the (what I consider idle) threats of a Senator, expert in all the arcane measures of that body for all the wrong games.
The elaborate system of checks and balances leads either to paralysis or unseemly tricks to thwart the opposition and get something through. Any government which has to depend upon such a feeble rule as Reconciliation to pass legislation of monumental importance is a government wrapped in chains.
The filibuster is an absurdity, born out of a desire of one race to constitutionally continue to subjugate another race. Ironically, it has now led to a point where it can be used as a weapon to protect the legislative “right” to cancel out perfectly legitimate votes.
And then there is the Second Amendment. There are more guns than people now in America because of your right to “a well-regulated militia”. Is this what was intended?
And now your rules have allowed those cloaked in patriotism to create massive openings for vast amounts of money to slosh around the system, utterly corrupting it in the process. McConnell and Kavanaugh are two sides of the same coin in this regard. There is a wonderful kind of felicity in how they are linked at the hip. Both paid for. Both bought. Both exploiting a hidebound system to their own ends.
There is no way out of this except incrementally. The Democrats must at least narrow the filibuster and then pass HR1 and various other bills to palliate America. They must (and will, I think) win a series of elections. The Constitution at some point must be tackled in order to modernize and simplify it.
This is a deep, deep hole. You gotta get to the bottom of it. I do not want to be part of a world order where the dominant countries have totalitarian rule - and China seems to be creeping up. Any rational outsider feverishly hopes for America to regain its greatness and be “the” force for good in the world.
Thank you for these daily summaries, and for your afternoon video chats. I expected a picture this evening... instead, here is yet another informative letter. Your devotion to and passion for teaching is obvious! I hope your student's Ph.D. defense was a joyful moment in your day. Here's to a much-deserved restful evening and night.
I was outraged when Clarence Thomas was approved for Supreme Court as I watched Anita Hill. Then we are treated to Mitch forcing Brett Kavanaugh down our throat. The honorable justices??? The Supreme Court has lost its status. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is the Supreme Court Justice who brought honor to the Supreme Court. Thanks to Mitch he has added his touch to destroy the sacredness of the Supreme Court evidently with the help of big Republican money.
I'm sorry but you just cannot work with these people. If Dems don't reform voting rights, they will not win ever, even 2042+. Our state legislature today, hostage to gerrymandered Republicans, insisted on passing a bill honoring Rush Limbaugh after refusing to pass a bill honoring Black History Month. Their crisis event recently was emergency legislation insisting that "hunters" be allowed to slaughter about 20% of our state's wolf population during breeding season before they are relisted as endangered. Their main Coronavirus response over the part year has been to block and rescind our (thank the gods) Dem governor's mask and distancing rules. Other states' Republican parties are censuring their own R senators for lack of fealty to Trump. If Congressional Dems don't act on voting rights, whatever it takes, the states' Rs, much more rabid than those in Washington, will royally have their way with democratic elections far into the future. My opinion.
One of the reasons I feel so pessimistic about the direction of the country is that II suspect the Republicans have so rigged this political game through dark money that the Deocratic efforts at reform will prove to be a case of “heads you win, tails I lose”. The truth of the matter is that the Republicans and their financial masters believed they could get away with it and they have invested in a mulsti-front effort; the courts, voter suppression, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a proposed constitutional convention which has already passed in many states. As the November 17, 2017 article in the online Democracy Guardian says in an article entitled “Republicans Move States Forward In rewriting The Constitution”,
"A constitutional convention, something thought impossible not long ago, is looking increasingly likely. Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, if 34 state legislatures “issue a call” for a constitutional convention, Congress must convene one. By some counts, the right-wing only needs six more states. Once called, delegates can propose and vote on changes and new amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which, if approved, are currently required to be ratified by 38 states.
"There are two major legislative pushes for a convention at the state level. One would attempt to engineer a convention for a balanced budget amendment only, and the other tries to secure an open convention for the purpose of limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. But once a convention is underway, all bets are off. The convention can write its own rules, resulting in a wide-open or “runaway” convention that can make major changes to the constitution and, some argue, even change the number of states required to ratify those changes.”
It’s worth remembering that under Trump, the GOP held 33 state legislatures. It only takes 34 states to call a convention under Article V. This is scary stuff. It’s where the real conspiracy in the United States is taking place: In the parlors of Billionaires obsessed with claiming the freedom to do whatever they want. Despite our use of the euphemistic term “Dark money”, the odds are that we all know from whence much of it flows: from the Koch family, the Mercer family and others of the 1 % who despise being subject to government regulation. Which is to say they despise muscular democracy. They want the same power Putin’s oligarchs have in Russia.
For further insight, see Nancy MacLean’s 2017 eye-opener of a book, "Democracy in Chains,” a well-documented account of the relationship between the Kochs and their hired intellectual guns.
A couple of years ago, I asked a friend who is a District Court Judge if we still had a democracy. He replied as long as the Rule of Law is intact we'll be all right. Next time I see him I'll ask where he thinks we are today. Not good! It is imperative that HR 1/S1 For the People Act become law. This is the pivotal year for saving democracy between the control of redistricting and drawing of Congressional Districts for the next ten years mostly by partisan legislatures and the number of voter suppression "integrity" laws being passed in 43 states. That will make it very difficult for the Democrats to hold the House and Senate in the 2022 election. America will clearly and truly be an oligarchic kleptocracy with the last election to be held in 2024 to install a Republican president. As Tim Synder warns in his book Tyranny, vote as if this is the last election you'll be allowed to vote in because it well be. Brett Kavanaugh was such a joke in his Senate hearing crying over his beer. If he had been a woman her nomination would have been withdrawn within 24 hours as too emotional. You can certainly see the impact of Citizens United amendment to the Constitution legalizing corruption and dark including foreign money in campaign financing. I belong to Wolf-PAC which is proposing a Convention of States to override Citizens United and reform campaign finance. A resolution on this has passed in 5 out of the 38 states needed so this is too long a process. The only hope is HR1/S1. What I learned this week was that the Constitution anticipated what is happening now and not trusting the state legislatures. Article I Section 4 of the Constitution states: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators." Notice the but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter the states election laws. Write both your state representatives and your US Representatives and Senators that you support HR1/S1. Put pressure on corporations and businesses to support HR1/S1. Here's an annotated guide to the For the People Act from the Brennan Center: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/annotated-guide-people-act-2021
Please make this a priority in any way you can. If this doesn't pass we won't get moving on the Climate Crisis making this existential.
Corrupt judiciary? Anybody want to bet Kansas Shawnee county District Judge Penny Moylan (Kansas) who just excused the recent dui of Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop (drunk and driving the wrong way on I-70 outside of Wichita) is part of the Federalist Society? Think she’s gonna get a fat appointment someday? Moving on up...
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
If it is determined that big money was indeed involved in our justice system, I see no reason why it should not lead to judicial reform like "court packing." This will be an interesting story to watch!
Another thoughtful letter, Heather, for which many thanks.
The observations re: McConnell are striking. I think it's high time we reveal that empty bag of bones and skin for the blustering bogeyman he is. HR1 is absolutely worth going to the mat for and the filibuster must not be allowed to stand in its way.
Scorched earth Senate? We've already seen the worst he can do, had four years of it under 45 following eight years obstructing Obama. We remember he led Republickers to vote against measures they'd formerly supported just because a Democrat had the temerity to put them on the table. Call his bluff.
I can't wait to watch him wither and melt away, screaming like the wicked witch he is.
With much to unpack in tonight’s fascinating letter, I am focused on Brett Kavanaugh. His confirmation hearing revealed an intellectually impotent, emotionally weak and immature person. His demeanor was, at times, sarcastic, rude and it smacked of a bloated, over privileged, mean spirited frat boy. Nothing would make me happier than seeing him booted from SCOTUS.
Guns & Money
On Saturday, in Indianapolis, a man killed four people with a firearm in a dispute with his girlfriend over sharing her Covid relief check.
Last night, in the small town of Acworth and later in another town outside of Atlanta, a young man shot and killed a total of eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
“Jacob Kimmons, an employee at AutoZone [in Acworth], said this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” “You never see it in a decent area like this. Just to see something like that happen is crazy,” he said. “I just thank the good lord he didn’t come over here and do anything.””
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/16/atlanta-spa-shootings/
I have a bone to pick with Mr. Kimmons – particularly his characterization that “this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” This kind of violence – killing each other and ourselves with guns – is all too common in every corner of the country – and the good Lord (with respect) has nothing to do with it.
But the lion’s share of my ire this morning, and frankly, my sorrow, stems from the leadership of the Republican party and its twin pillars of pain and prevarication – Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.
Kevin went to the border this week to lend his support to our government’s efforts to safely and humanely process children trying to enter the country. Wait – sorry, Kevin was there to shine a bright light on anything other than the President’s success in providing real assistance to Americans struggling to survive the pandemic.
Don’t pay attention to the old guy who just cleaned my clock, pay attention to the mess at the southern border. Damn – if we had only finished building that wall, we wouldn’t have this problem and by the way, Biden is letting terrorists into the country! I know it’s true because the orange guy told me and I think I heard someone say something that sounded like terrorist watch list – could have been “Ted washed last” but that’s not important – what is important is that I have nothing constructive to propose on any subject of concern to the American public and the weather was awful in Washington, so here I am – pay attention!
This while MM thrashes through the Senate rotunda waving threats of open-carry legislation if he ever gains the majority again. That’s right – he will ram through this important piece of legislation that will help so many Americans realize their dreams and true potential.
Legislation as Revenge! Finally, the Republican party has found a purpose that suits its nature. And who better to lead them than the man whose moral compass has the stability of mercury on horseback heading for the barn.
Food for sorrow:
Cause of Death - All races and origins, both sexes, ages 15–34 years
1. Accidents (unintentional injuries)
2. Intentional self-harm (suicide)
3. Assault (homicide)
Source: National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 68, No. 6, June 24, 2019
In 2017, the states with the highest rates of gun-related deaths – counting murders, suicides and all other categories tracked by the CDC – were Alaska (24.5 per 100,000 people), Alabama (22.9), Montana (22.5), Louisiana (21.7), Missouri and Mississippi (both 21.5), and Arkansas (20.3), followed by South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, and West Virginia.
The states with the lowest rates were New Jersey (5.3 per 100,000 people), Connecticut (5.1), Rhode Island (3.9), New York and Massachusetts (both 3.7), and Hawaii (2.5).
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/16/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
States with least restrictive gun laws: Alaska, Alabama, Montana, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Maine, Texas, Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota, Arizona, and Kentucky.
Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/strictest-gun-laws-by-state
So, Senator McConnell threatens more guns, ready at the hip, in more hands if the Democrats dare to disable the filibuster to pass S-1 (For the People Voting Rights Act), because that is what this is all about. He would rather people die, in larger numbers than they already do, in order to deny the right to vote to people who may disagree with him on lowering taxes for the already wealthy.
It saddens me, truly, that this is the state of the loyal opposition. While President Biden is doing all he can to move the country forward toward a more equitable future, the Republican party is hunkering down for a fight to reassert its strangle-hold on government. A philosophy of revenge, racism and avarice guiding their every move.
If Mitch McConnell's "scorched earth" threat does not result in IMMEDIATE revocation of the filibuster by Democrats, followed by cramming every conceivable piece of progressive legislation down his lying, conniving throat and and if humanly possible through his disgusting quadruple chin) ... if that doesn't happen (and let me repeat IMMEDIATELY), then there is absolutely no hope for decent Americans. Unfortunately, chickening out would be par for the course. Talk about a line in the sand. If that insulting POS gets away with this, OMG ... SURELY this will be the hormone injection that enables even our neutered and spayed disgraces to figuratively grow a pair.
No SC justice has ever been impeached and convicted. This may be Brute Kavanaugh's best chance to make some history. Go for it, frat boy.
Thank you so much brining forth the name of a grand patriot, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse! I remember his insightful and courageous analysis of the corporate ownership of the courts, and our democratic process, through conservative financing from patriarchs of the right, such as Scaife, Coors, Olin.
https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/videos/watch/sen-whitehouse-questions-judge-amy-coney-barrett-on-the-3rd-day-of-confirmation-hearings
https://files.pfaw.org/pfaw_files/buyingamovement.pdf
Sen Whitehouse if a profile in courage, imho
I’ve read a huge number of comments this morning and, perhaps more than any other day, I feel the rage being poured out.
Between the Whitehouse/Kavanaugh imbroglio and the threats issued by McConnell yesterday, there is certainly a lot of vitriol being poured out. Again I must apologize for not *feeling* what all you are feeling today. There are days when it’s very weird being a part of this site.
It’s also deeply humbling. We in Canada have nothing, nothing whatsoever to compare to the level of venality in government and the role of big money in producing that venality. What we consider dirty pool in government is usually exposed by the Globe and Mail and in any case would not rise to the level of corruption your country endures. It’s not that we are better people of course. We have our own share of terrible scoundrels.
My conclusion is that America has a bad system of government which has been given bucketloads of positive reinforcement over time. The Founding Fathers are revered as men among gods. The Constitution is a sacred document whose words are parsed to the bone when a situation arises that your Founding Fathers could not possibly have predicted.
In reality, the Constitution seems to me to have been a brilliantly written document - *for the times during which it was written*. Sadly, those times have long passed.
It is overly specific as its architects tried to envision every possibility that could arise. Way, way too specific. Franklin, when asked by a woman at the close of their deliberations and writing, “What kind of government do we have?”, to which he replied, “A Republic - if you can keep it”.
Well, to these eyes, it is getting harder and harder to “keep it”. Your two party system leads to the (what I consider idle) threats of a Senator, expert in all the arcane measures of that body for all the wrong games.
The elaborate system of checks and balances leads either to paralysis or unseemly tricks to thwart the opposition and get something through. Any government which has to depend upon such a feeble rule as Reconciliation to pass legislation of monumental importance is a government wrapped in chains.
The filibuster is an absurdity, born out of a desire of one race to constitutionally continue to subjugate another race. Ironically, it has now led to a point where it can be used as a weapon to protect the legislative “right” to cancel out perfectly legitimate votes.
And then there is the Second Amendment. There are more guns than people now in America because of your right to “a well-regulated militia”. Is this what was intended?
And now your rules have allowed those cloaked in patriotism to create massive openings for vast amounts of money to slosh around the system, utterly corrupting it in the process. McConnell and Kavanaugh are two sides of the same coin in this regard. There is a wonderful kind of felicity in how they are linked at the hip. Both paid for. Both bought. Both exploiting a hidebound system to their own ends.
There is no way out of this except incrementally. The Democrats must at least narrow the filibuster and then pass HR1 and various other bills to palliate America. They must (and will, I think) win a series of elections. The Constitution at some point must be tackled in order to modernize and simplify it.
This is a deep, deep hole. You gotta get to the bottom of it. I do not want to be part of a world order where the dominant countries have totalitarian rule - and China seems to be creeping up. Any rational outsider feverishly hopes for America to regain its greatness and be “the” force for good in the world.
Thank you for these daily summaries, and for your afternoon video chats. I expected a picture this evening... instead, here is yet another informative letter. Your devotion to and passion for teaching is obvious! I hope your student's Ph.D. defense was a joyful moment in your day. Here's to a much-deserved restful evening and night.
I was outraged when Clarence Thomas was approved for Supreme Court as I watched Anita Hill. Then we are treated to Mitch forcing Brett Kavanaugh down our throat. The honorable justices??? The Supreme Court has lost its status. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is the Supreme Court Justice who brought honor to the Supreme Court. Thanks to Mitch he has added his touch to destroy the sacredness of the Supreme Court evidently with the help of big Republican money.
I'm sorry but you just cannot work with these people. If Dems don't reform voting rights, they will not win ever, even 2042+. Our state legislature today, hostage to gerrymandered Republicans, insisted on passing a bill honoring Rush Limbaugh after refusing to pass a bill honoring Black History Month. Their crisis event recently was emergency legislation insisting that "hunters" be allowed to slaughter about 20% of our state's wolf population during breeding season before they are relisted as endangered. Their main Coronavirus response over the part year has been to block and rescind our (thank the gods) Dem governor's mask and distancing rules. Other states' Republican parties are censuring their own R senators for lack of fealty to Trump. If Congressional Dems don't act on voting rights, whatever it takes, the states' Rs, much more rabid than those in Washington, will royally have their way with democratic elections far into the future. My opinion.
One of the reasons I feel so pessimistic about the direction of the country is that II suspect the Republicans have so rigged this political game through dark money that the Deocratic efforts at reform will prove to be a case of “heads you win, tails I lose”. The truth of the matter is that the Republicans and their financial masters believed they could get away with it and they have invested in a mulsti-front effort; the courts, voter suppression, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a proposed constitutional convention which has already passed in many states. As the November 17, 2017 article in the online Democracy Guardian says in an article entitled “Republicans Move States Forward In rewriting The Constitution”,
"A constitutional convention, something thought impossible not long ago, is looking increasingly likely. Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, if 34 state legislatures “issue a call” for a constitutional convention, Congress must convene one. By some counts, the right-wing only needs six more states. Once called, delegates can propose and vote on changes and new amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which, if approved, are currently required to be ratified by 38 states.
"There are two major legislative pushes for a convention at the state level. One would attempt to engineer a convention for a balanced budget amendment only, and the other tries to secure an open convention for the purpose of limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. But once a convention is underway, all bets are off. The convention can write its own rules, resulting in a wide-open or “runaway” convention that can make major changes to the constitution and, some argue, even change the number of states required to ratify those changes.”
It’s worth remembering that under Trump, the GOP held 33 state legislatures. It only takes 34 states to call a convention under Article V. This is scary stuff. It’s where the real conspiracy in the United States is taking place: In the parlors of Billionaires obsessed with claiming the freedom to do whatever they want. Despite our use of the euphemistic term “Dark money”, the odds are that we all know from whence much of it flows: from the Koch family, the Mercer family and others of the 1 % who despise being subject to government regulation. Which is to say they despise muscular democracy. They want the same power Putin’s oligarchs have in Russia.
For further insight, see Nancy MacLean’s 2017 eye-opener of a book, "Democracy in Chains,” a well-documented account of the relationship between the Kochs and their hired intellectual guns.
A couple of years ago, I asked a friend who is a District Court Judge if we still had a democracy. He replied as long as the Rule of Law is intact we'll be all right. Next time I see him I'll ask where he thinks we are today. Not good! It is imperative that HR 1/S1 For the People Act become law. This is the pivotal year for saving democracy between the control of redistricting and drawing of Congressional Districts for the next ten years mostly by partisan legislatures and the number of voter suppression "integrity" laws being passed in 43 states. That will make it very difficult for the Democrats to hold the House and Senate in the 2022 election. America will clearly and truly be an oligarchic kleptocracy with the last election to be held in 2024 to install a Republican president. As Tim Synder warns in his book Tyranny, vote as if this is the last election you'll be allowed to vote in because it well be. Brett Kavanaugh was such a joke in his Senate hearing crying over his beer. If he had been a woman her nomination would have been withdrawn within 24 hours as too emotional. You can certainly see the impact of Citizens United amendment to the Constitution legalizing corruption and dark including foreign money in campaign financing. I belong to Wolf-PAC which is proposing a Convention of States to override Citizens United and reform campaign finance. A resolution on this has passed in 5 out of the 38 states needed so this is too long a process. The only hope is HR1/S1. What I learned this week was that the Constitution anticipated what is happening now and not trusting the state legislatures. Article I Section 4 of the Constitution states: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators." Notice the but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter the states election laws. Write both your state representatives and your US Representatives and Senators that you support HR1/S1. Put pressure on corporations and businesses to support HR1/S1. Here's an annotated guide to the For the People Act from the Brennan Center: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/annotated-guide-people-act-2021
Please make this a priority in any way you can. If this doesn't pass we won't get moving on the Climate Crisis making this existential.
Corrupt judiciary? Anybody want to bet Kansas Shawnee county District Judge Penny Moylan (Kansas) who just excused the recent dui of Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop (drunk and driving the wrong way on I-70 outside of Wichita) is part of the Federalist Society? Think she’s gonna get a fat appointment someday? Moving on up...
https://apnews.com/article/kansas-wichita-arrests-topeka-driving-under-the-influence-7380a7e3e4fbe335536f78e0a5bf719d
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.aclu.org/
Common Cause
https://www.commoncause.org/
Indivisible
https://indivisible.org/
League of Women Voters
https://www.lwv.org/
Umbrella organizations:
Declaration for American Democracy
Reclaim the American Dream
Credit: Ellie Kona
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.aclu.org/
Common Cause
https://www.commoncause.org/
Indivisible
https://indivisible.org/
League of Women Voters
https://www.lwv.org/
Umbrella organizations:
Declaration for American Democracy
Reclaim the American Dream
If it is determined that big money was indeed involved in our justice system, I see no reason why it should not lead to judicial reform like "court packing." This will be an interesting story to watch!
Another thoughtful letter, Heather, for which many thanks.
The observations re: McConnell are striking. I think it's high time we reveal that empty bag of bones and skin for the blustering bogeyman he is. HR1 is absolutely worth going to the mat for and the filibuster must not be allowed to stand in its way.
Scorched earth Senate? We've already seen the worst he can do, had four years of it under 45 following eight years obstructing Obama. We remember he led Republickers to vote against measures they'd formerly supported just because a Democrat had the temerity to put them on the table. Call his bluff.
I can't wait to watch him wither and melt away, screaming like the wicked witch he is.