Today, in Texas, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor undercut a key part of the Affordable Care Act, more popularly known as Obamacare. That law assigned to three different government bodies the task of deciding what preventative treatments—cancer screenings, vaccines, and so on—health plans must cover.
What happened to the idea behind the Social Contract? As a society, we are better off pooling our resources to help one another than selfishly going it alone. Do these folks not need the fire brigade, the police force, schools to educate their grandchildren, hospitals when they get sick? How discouraging it is to hear these kinds of blinkered, selfish arguments being given credence in courts of law!
Grumbach identifies 2010 as a crucial shift for democracy in a number of states. “It’s all about [Republican] control,” he says. “When the [Republican Party] wins your state, it will reduce democracy.” The changes don’t reflect major changes in the states themselves; rather, both the big money interests of the Republican Party and the electoral base, which is motivated by white identity politics, want to keep voting limited.
And thank you Rahm Emmanuel, you #$#@@!! fuckwit. And thank you Barack Obama, for being naive enough to appoint your "good buddy" Rahm as your Chief of Staff in 2009, so he could fire Howard Dean at the DNC and get rid of the "50 State Strategy" that put you in office and gave you the 62 vote Senate and House majority you needed for health care reform, so that Rahm could go back to funding "winnable races only." And that is how we came to the situation we have today, and there are the two culprits responsible.
I hate saying that about Obama, but the facts are the facts. He screwed himself sideways with most of the appointments he made in 2009, due to his lack of experience.. And we pay for those mistakes today.
Oh, and thank you both also for getting rid of Obama For America, the grassroots organization that got the votes to win in 2008, a month after the inauguration. The loss of OFA and Obama's failure to go out and mobilize the party for the 2010 election, is the defeat that lasts and lasts.
The plaintiffs say they do not need such care and being forced to participate in plans that cover that care “violates their religious beliefs by making them complicit in saving lives of people they don't like.
So, the thugs want to gerrymander and cherry pick their way to minority rule essentially with their idea of "states rights". Ok, so if they want to control their states with their illegitimate minority it can't be with the majority's Federal tax dollars funding them. F' that. Since they want to stand alone then they need to fund themselves alone. Time to stop the never-ending flow of Federal dollars into the black hole also known as red states that suck in two and three times what they pay back. Try to support your gerrymandered states (KY, MS, AL, MO,...etc) on what you make yourselves. Good luck with that.
Think of what the blue states and urban centers could do with Their Own tax dollars. Imagine that. What a novel idea. Why should the Federal Govt (We) support the very states that are openly trying to overthrow us and rid us of the democracy that made us the wealthiest nation on the planet? We've carried them far too long.
Apologies to those of you that still may live in some of them but, it's time that pressure is brought for sucking us dry while slitting our throats. As Biden said (in so many words), you can't have it both ways,....being a patriot while supporting an insurrection,....translation: you can't gerrymander your state to minority rule while doing it with "the People's" money.
"Independent state legislature doctrine" is looming for Republican state legislatures to throw out the will of the people and send their own Republican electors for the Electoral College, rather than the electors for whom the majority of We the People voted. Heather sounds the alarm today. What can we do? Channel our fears, worries, and frustrations through our thinking brains.
The States Project does the research to see which state legislatures are pivotal--with either a Democratic majority we need to keep, or one that is close to getting. That makes about 10 of our 50 states flippable, and THESE are the states in which WE can make a difference! If you haven't already, check out The States Project and "why states matter:"
What Heather does repeatedly say in her video chats is that it is up to US to make our voices heard, and now is a critical moment for all hands on deck. The States Project has organized Giving Circles to do the fundraising for good candidates running for seats in these pivotal state legislatures. We have until October 3, which is less than 4 weeks away. On October 3, The States Project distributes the funds to the candidates, thus freeing them to focus on meeting voters, which is the most effective way to get votes in the November 8 election.
Some of us have put the pedal to the metal and organized the HCR-inspired Tending to Democracy Giving Circle. Check it out now, and you can also join our Zoom event to hear directly from Melissa Walker of The States Project: Sunday, September 18, 8:00 pm ET (5:00 pm PT).
Our small dollars add up to make a difference. We are making our history. No more hesitation--now is the time for all of us to step up for our democracy. Join us!
It is ironic how “freedom of religion” gets twisted into being the promotion of evangelical zealotry. However, that has been part of our political DNA since our beginnings in the Massachusetts colonies of the early 1600’s. The Pilgrims and Puritans didn’t come to North America to escape religious intolerance, they came here to institutionalize religious intolerance. It was their humorless, grim, rigid Calvinism, or else!
The monster hibernates for a time, and then reawakens. It never dies.
This LETTER’S content terrifies me. It portends darkness - long unending darkness. We’re so close to losing our democratic republic. Our democracy. Our dignity.
just home now, to read this. Delightful. It appears democracy is dead. We are all f*d, unless i'm missing something. The inmates may be running the asylum until there is revolt? i used to subscribe to the concept of, "there are more of us than them," but apparently that doesn't much matter. They (now) have the Courts, so they have the Country (good job Federalist Society). Am I missing something?
I believe it is time, before the election of 2024, to increase non-partisan judges on the Supreme Court. The current SC has five Federalist Society choices. I believe the court should be increased by one more justice to make it possible for Constitutional liberals to keep the Trump judges from using their majority to legislate conservative ideologies from the bench. Liberals should not pack the court to blatantly impose a liberal majority; it will be enough to stop radical conservatives from pushing a radical agenda to make them understand they can only make majority decisions with at least one member of the the liberal group. I'm not interested in pushing the ideological conservatives now reigning as the majority in the Supreme Court to war, only to allowing for a salutary deadlock for rule-twisting, Constitution revisioning initiatives on the court to succeed in helping to further deep reasoning meant to lock-in minority rule—minority rule of any stripe. Without an assured, rubber-stamp bench majority, the conservative gang members will be obliged to hone arguments that will clearly uncover partisan commitment. Let them hang themselves on their own words for all to see. Making the Court ineffective except for arbitrating fine details of the law consensually will remove the key to the present conservative effort to create an autocratic, obstructionist revolution by splitting legal hairs, i.e., without a fight. The future belongs to the community effort that joined to defeat Hitler in World War II and, after the war, continued to struggle up until Regan for a rule based extra-national order competent to face the collective value of a rule-based means for confronting world trade and development without continuation of serial World Wars, competent for dealing with global-scoped threats like global warming, mindless natural resource exploitation and failed governance corruption, nurtured incoherence, favoring the smallest-mined, most lawless over the most vulnerable. We are in a generational regime change, as has happened many many times befoe. The future will not be decided by narrow-minded nitpickers with short-term selfish goals who hide behind a system of laws that they believe will keep them alive forever. Doesn't work that way.
While we were sleeping...or driving our kids to soccer games...or arguing amongst ourselves...this has happened. // If you want to recharge your batteries, I urge you to watch the ceremony of the unveiling of Barack and Michelle Obama's White House portraits. The joy in the room was palpable, expressions of affection unrestrained. And the remarks of all speakers reminded us of the value of voting for goodness above all else. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h9tt88wWGQ
Feeling utterly powerless and afraid.
What happened to the idea behind the Social Contract? As a society, we are better off pooling our resources to help one another than selfishly going it alone. Do these folks not need the fire brigade, the police force, schools to educate their grandchildren, hospitals when they get sick? How discouraging it is to hear these kinds of blinkered, selfish arguments being given credence in courts of law!
Grumbach identifies 2010 as a crucial shift for democracy in a number of states. “It’s all about [Republican] control,” he says. “When the [Republican Party] wins your state, it will reduce democracy.” The changes don’t reflect major changes in the states themselves; rather, both the big money interests of the Republican Party and the electoral base, which is motivated by white identity politics, want to keep voting limited.
And thank you Rahm Emmanuel, you #$#@@!! fuckwit. And thank you Barack Obama, for being naive enough to appoint your "good buddy" Rahm as your Chief of Staff in 2009, so he could fire Howard Dean at the DNC and get rid of the "50 State Strategy" that put you in office and gave you the 62 vote Senate and House majority you needed for health care reform, so that Rahm could go back to funding "winnable races only." And that is how we came to the situation we have today, and there are the two culprits responsible.
I hate saying that about Obama, but the facts are the facts. He screwed himself sideways with most of the appointments he made in 2009, due to his lack of experience.. And we pay for those mistakes today.
Oh, and thank you both also for getting rid of Obama For America, the grassroots organization that got the votes to win in 2008, a month after the inauguration. The loss of OFA and Obama's failure to go out and mobilize the party for the 2010 election, is the defeat that lasts and lasts.
The plaintiffs say they do not need such care and being forced to participate in plans that cover that care “violates their religious beliefs by making them complicit in saving lives of people they don't like.
So, the thugs want to gerrymander and cherry pick their way to minority rule essentially with their idea of "states rights". Ok, so if they want to control their states with their illegitimate minority it can't be with the majority's Federal tax dollars funding them. F' that. Since they want to stand alone then they need to fund themselves alone. Time to stop the never-ending flow of Federal dollars into the black hole also known as red states that suck in two and three times what they pay back. Try to support your gerrymandered states (KY, MS, AL, MO,...etc) on what you make yourselves. Good luck with that.
Think of what the blue states and urban centers could do with Their Own tax dollars. Imagine that. What a novel idea. Why should the Federal Govt (We) support the very states that are openly trying to overthrow us and rid us of the democracy that made us the wealthiest nation on the planet? We've carried them far too long.
Apologies to those of you that still may live in some of them but, it's time that pressure is brought for sucking us dry while slitting our throats. As Biden said (in so many words), you can't have it both ways,....being a patriot while supporting an insurrection,....translation: you can't gerrymander your state to minority rule while doing it with "the People's" money.
Well, fuck.
"Independent state legislature doctrine" is looming for Republican state legislatures to throw out the will of the people and send their own Republican electors for the Electoral College, rather than the electors for whom the majority of We the People voted. Heather sounds the alarm today. What can we do? Channel our fears, worries, and frustrations through our thinking brains.
The States Project does the research to see which state legislatures are pivotal--with either a Democratic majority we need to keep, or one that is close to getting. That makes about 10 of our 50 states flippable, and THESE are the states in which WE can make a difference! If you haven't already, check out The States Project and "why states matter:"
https://statesproject.org/why-states-matter/
What Heather does repeatedly say in her video chats is that it is up to US to make our voices heard, and now is a critical moment for all hands on deck. The States Project has organized Giving Circles to do the fundraising for good candidates running for seats in these pivotal state legislatures. We have until October 3, which is less than 4 weeks away. On October 3, The States Project distributes the funds to the candidates, thus freeing them to focus on meeting voters, which is the most effective way to get votes in the November 8 election.
Some of us have put the pedal to the metal and organized the HCR-inspired Tending to Democracy Giving Circle. Check it out now, and you can also join our Zoom event to hear directly from Melissa Walker of The States Project: Sunday, September 18, 8:00 pm ET (5:00 pm PT).
To register for the Zoom, email:
heathersherd@gmail.com
Our small dollars add up to make a difference. We are making our history. No more hesitation--now is the time for all of us to step up for our democracy. Join us!
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
🇺🇸🗽💙🇺🇸🗽💙🇺🇸🗽💙
It is ironic how “freedom of religion” gets twisted into being the promotion of evangelical zealotry. However, that has been part of our political DNA since our beginnings in the Massachusetts colonies of the early 1600’s. The Pilgrims and Puritans didn’t come to North America to escape religious intolerance, they came here to institutionalize religious intolerance. It was their humorless, grim, rigid Calvinism, or else!
The monster hibernates for a time, and then reawakens. It never dies.
Why does so much American political behaviour and policy seem to be driven by religion?
This LETTER’S content terrifies me. It portends darkness - long unending darkness. We’re so close to losing our democratic republic. Our democracy. Our dignity.
just home now, to read this. Delightful. It appears democracy is dead. We are all f*d, unless i'm missing something. The inmates may be running the asylum until there is revolt? i used to subscribe to the concept of, "there are more of us than them," but apparently that doesn't much matter. They (now) have the Courts, so they have the Country (good job Federalist Society). Am I missing something?
i see a very ugly future for us...
I believe it is time, before the election of 2024, to increase non-partisan judges on the Supreme Court. The current SC has five Federalist Society choices. I believe the court should be increased by one more justice to make it possible for Constitutional liberals to keep the Trump judges from using their majority to legislate conservative ideologies from the bench. Liberals should not pack the court to blatantly impose a liberal majority; it will be enough to stop radical conservatives from pushing a radical agenda to make them understand they can only make majority decisions with at least one member of the the liberal group. I'm not interested in pushing the ideological conservatives now reigning as the majority in the Supreme Court to war, only to allowing for a salutary deadlock for rule-twisting, Constitution revisioning initiatives on the court to succeed in helping to further deep reasoning meant to lock-in minority rule—minority rule of any stripe. Without an assured, rubber-stamp bench majority, the conservative gang members will be obliged to hone arguments that will clearly uncover partisan commitment. Let them hang themselves on their own words for all to see. Making the Court ineffective except for arbitrating fine details of the law consensually will remove the key to the present conservative effort to create an autocratic, obstructionist revolution by splitting legal hairs, i.e., without a fight. The future belongs to the community effort that joined to defeat Hitler in World War II and, after the war, continued to struggle up until Regan for a rule based extra-national order competent to face the collective value of a rule-based means for confronting world trade and development without continuation of serial World Wars, competent for dealing with global-scoped threats like global warming, mindless natural resource exploitation and failed governance corruption, nurtured incoherence, favoring the smallest-mined, most lawless over the most vulnerable. We are in a generational regime change, as has happened many many times befoe. The future will not be decided by narrow-minded nitpickers with short-term selfish goals who hide behind a system of laws that they believe will keep them alive forever. Doesn't work that way.
While we were sleeping...or driving our kids to soccer games...or arguing amongst ourselves...this has happened. // If you want to recharge your batteries, I urge you to watch the ceremony of the unveiling of Barack and Michelle Obama's White House portraits. The joy in the room was palpable, expressions of affection unrestrained. And the remarks of all speakers reminded us of the value of voting for goodness above all else. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h9tt88wWGQ
I'm getting depressed reading Heather's Letters lately. The stakes are so high, and the Trump years were so damaging.
What's the use of even hoping things will get better? Everything everywhere is stacked against justice and fairness.
Slow rolling judicial coup by activist judges conservatives used to decry