USA News and Discussions

[caltrek]

Normally, I am not fond of Twitter. One approach I do like is when someone takes the trouble to assemble quotes on a topic of the day and include their own introduction. Case in point:

Rand Paul Torched on Twitter After Attempting to Stall SCOTUS Confirmation
by Meaghan Ellis
April 8, 2022

https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/rand-p ... firmation/

Introduction:

(Alternet) Like many other Republican lawmakers, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wasn't thrilled about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation. In fact, Paul even attempted to delay the judicial process — sparking mockery on social media.

On Thursday, April 7, lawmakers voted 53-47 to confirm Jackson as the next Supreme Court justice. Although it was clear that Jackson would be confirmed, Paul, according to HuffPost, was the cause of a 15-minute delay in her confirmation.

As lawmakers were casting their votes, Paul was late and reportedly offered no excuse to explain why. As the vote stalled at 53-46, Paul cast a final opposing vote from the cloakroom. He and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) remained mostly out of public view because they weren't wearing suits.

But despite not being publicly seen, Paul did not escape backlash from Twitter users. Many fired back with scathing remarks about the lawmaker's actions.

Sample remark:

"The person who single-handedly blocked the Emmett Till Anti Lynching Act is currently the only Senator that is holding up the confirmation of the first black woman to join the United States Supreme Court. His name is Randal Howard Paul."

[weatheriscool]

I am sorry but anyone that goes soft on pedo's as a parent of a daughter doesn't deserve to sit on any court. That is just how I feel.

[caltrek]

Want to fight inflation?

Here is an idea. Just vote for Republicans. they will be sure to take all your money away. Presto! No inflation!

He Raised Millions for a Crowdsourced Border Wall. Now He’s Pleading Guilty to Federal Crimes.
by Tom Philbot
April 9, 2022

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... -the-wall/

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) The right-wing grift, long a staple of the US political scene, reached a kind of apotheosis under Donald Trump, the reality TV mogul who built an empire licensing his name to various dodgy enterprises. Fittingly, the trope he rode to the presidency—that the United States needed to build a wall along our 2,000-mile southern border to keep out undesirables—also anchored a money-making scheme for some of Trump’s political allies, according to a 2020 federal indictment. Last week, one of the principles in the case, Brian Kolfage, agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and three tax charges after raising $25 million in a GoFundMe campaign called We Build the Wall.

The most high-profile figure associated with the scheme, one-time Trump Svengali and “stop the steal” stalwart Steve Bannon, won’t deal with legal consequences for the alleged crime. That’s because on his last day in office—two weeks after the January 6, 2020, Capital riot—Trump pardoned Bannon.

Even by the standards of right-wing griftery, We Build the Wall was bold stuff. According to the Justice Department’s 2020 press release, “to induce donors to donate to the campaign, Kolfage repeatedly and falsely assured the public that he would ‘not take a penny in salary or compensation’ and that ‘100% of the funds raised…will be used in the execution of our mission and purpose’ because, as Bannon publicly stated, ‘we’re a volunteer organization.'”

In reality, however, Kolfage “covertly took for his personal use more than $350,000,” while Bannon grabbed enough to “cover hundreds of thousands of dollars” in personal expenses. At a 2019 telethon to raise funds for the project, Bannon infamously joked that “we’re on the million-dollar yacht of Brian Kolfage. Brian Kolfage—who took all that money from Build the Wall.”

According to the indictment, the defendants actually did funnel We Build the Wall Funds into purchasing a yacht—a big 40-foot beauty they deemed “WarFighter.” It even appeared at one of those infamous “boat parades” to support Trump’s presidential campaign in 2020.

[caltrek]

I am sorry but anyone that goes soft on pedo's as a parent of a daughter doesn't deserve to sit on any court. That is just how I feel.

Don't be so incredibly naive.

Do you honestly think the Republicans really give a damn about pedo's?

If they applied the same standards to the recent Republican nominees that they did to Jackson, none of them would have been approved. Jackson followed the standards laid down for her. Standards established by Congress and the Supreme Court. Now, suddenly, that is a horrendous crime?

Give me a break.

Look at Thomas and Anita Hill. Kavanaugh and his sexually targeted victims. Did the Republicans care?

Not one iota.

So, please, no more of this naive talk about whoo cares about pedo's and who doesn't.

[caltrek]

[weatheriscool]

And you also have to consider that they also own the media and make up the narrative. They have us common folk running around in circles chasing our tails as they f*ck us. We seriously need to redouble our affords towards enforcing labor laws and breaking up these corporations...Don't let them focus our focus on woke trash as that is the narrative that they're pushing to create division.

[caltrek]

Liberalism, properly understood, is not "woke trash."

New Reporting Details Corporate Media's War Industry Pundits
by Brett Wilkins
April 12, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... ry-pundits

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) U.S. corporate media outlets are saturated with pundits—many of them ex-military or national security officials—who take to the airwaves to promote hawkish policies and actions in Ukraine and elsewhere without disclosing their own ties to the arms industry, according to a report published Tuesday.

Analyzing punditry across a range of outlets including CNN, MSNBC, and NBC News, Aditi Ramaswami and Andrew Perez at The Lever found that the networks failed to inform viewers that many of their expert guests who called for supplying Ukraine with more weapons to defend against Russia's invasion were currently employed by the weapons industry or its advocates.

"I think it's awesome you can be a consultant for a company that manufactures certain missiles and go on NBC or CNN and say how important it is that we get more of those missiles shipped out, with no one saying [by the way], this guy works for the missile company," Perez sardonically quipped in a tweet promoting the report.

The revolving door between the national security, private, and media sectors has become a prominent feature of the military-industrial complex. Perez and Ramaswami note that the media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) found that 20 of the 22 featured American guests appearing on corporate networks' Sunday politics programs in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year had ties to the arms industry or its boosters.

Unsurprisingly, many of these experts argued against ending the longest war in U.S. history. Few, if any, disclosed their conflicts of interest.

[caltrek]

Biden Celebrates KBJ Confirmation at White House Ceremony but Blasts GOP’s 'Vile, Baseless Accusations'
by David Badash
April 8, 2022

https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/ketanji-brown-jackson/

Introduction:

(Alternet) President Joe Biden blasted Senate Republicans and their enablers who mounted a smear campaign against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as he celebrated her historic confirmation in a White House ceremony on the South Lawn.

“I have to tell you,” President Biden said, Judge Jackson stood through “verbal abuse,” “anger,” “constant interruptions,” and “the most vile, baseless assertions and accusations.” Later in his remarks, he denounced the “harassment” and “attacks” from Senate Republicans.

“In the face of it all Judge Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses,” Biden said, as the audience stood up and gave her a standing ovation.

He praised her “poise and composure, patience and restraint, and yes, perseverance, and even joy.”

[wjfox]

"Small government".

-----

Oklahoma governor signs bill to make abortion illegal

By SEAN MURPHY
yesterday

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes it a felony to perform an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, as part of an aggressive push in Republican-led states across the country to scale back abortion rights.

The bill, which takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns next month, makes an exception only for an abortion performed to save the life of the mother. Abortion rights advocates say the bill signed by the GOP governor is certain to face a legal challenge.

Its passage comes as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court considers ratcheting back abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years.

“We want to outlaw abortion in the state of Oklahoma,” Stitt said during a signing ceremony for the bill, flanked by anti-abortion lawmakers, clergy and students. “I promised Oklahomans that I would sign every pro-life bill that hits my desk, and that’s what we’re doing here today.”

Under the bill, anyone convicted of performing an abortion would face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. It does not authorize criminal charges against a woman for receiving an abortion.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-okl ... 2f02839e6e

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Following Draft SCOTUS Opinion, Legislative Leaders and Governor Newsom Announce Constitutional Amendment to Enshrine the Right to Choose in California

Published: May 02, 2022

SACRAMENTO – Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and Governor Gavin Newsom released the below statement following news reports detailing a preliminary U.S. Supreme Court majority draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and end federal constitutional protections for the right to abortion:

“California will not stand idly by as women across America are stripped of their rights and the progress so many have fought for gets erased. We will fight. California is proposing an amendment to enshrine the right to choose in our state constitution so that there is no doubt as to the right to abortion in this state. We know we can’t trust the Supreme Court to protect reproductive rights, so California will build a firewall around this right in our state constitution. Women will remain protected here.”

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/05/02/follo ... alifornia/

[weatheriscool]

Roberts says leaked Alito draft opinion is authentic but not final, opens leak investigation
Source: Washington Post

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said in a statement Tuesday that the leaked draft opinion that proposes overturning Roe v. Wade is authentic but not final, and he is opening an investigation into how it became public.

“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed,” Roberts said. “The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.” While the statement said the draft provided to Politico was genuine, “it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”

The Politico report said that five justices had decided to uphold a Mississippi law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks, and overturn the decision that established a right to abortion nearly 50 years ago.

The press release was another extraordinary development in the court’s normal procedures, which generally is to pay no attention to outside influences. It was a sign that Roe v. Wade is too important, and the breach of Supreme Court too monumental, to ignore.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... -roe-wade/

[caltrek]

Susan Collins Is Surprised That Conservative Justices Are Doing What Everyone Else Knew They Would Do
by Abigail Weinberg
May 3, 2022

https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2 ... lible-oof/

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine who purports to support abortion, is surprised that the hard-right conservatives she voted onto the Supreme Court are willing to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office,” she said in a statement.

Let me put it another way: It sounds like Gorsuch and Kavanaugh lied to Collins to win her vote, and Collins was gullible enough to believe them.

The nominees used vague language concerning Roe during their confirmation hearings. Gorsuch called it “settled law”—“in the sense that it is a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.” (Tell me something I didn’t already know.) Kavanaugh was even vaguer, calling it “settled as precedent.” Collins implied today that both justices made clear to her in meetings that they would not end Roe. Well, wrong. Now, the justices’ willingness to overturn settled law is all but confirmed.

[weatheriscool]

Hochul Chooses Antonio Delgado as New Lieutenant Governor
Source: New York Times

Gov. Kathy Hochul selected Representative Antonio Delgado as her new lieutenant governor on Tuesday, elevating a fellow moderate from outside New York City to be her second-in-command and running mate in June’s Democratic primary.

Mr. Delgado will take the oath of office in the coming weeks, replacing former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who resigned last month in the face of federal public corruption charges. A special state committee also moved swiftly Tuesday morning to add his name to the primary ballot as the favored Democratic candidate in place of Mr. Benjamin.

The swift selection comes as Ms. Hochul and her allies undertake remarkable steps to try to stabilize her young administration from the aftershocks of Mr. Benjamin’s arrest, and reset her campaign less than two months before she will face primary voters.

It comes just one day after state lawmakers passed legislation, pushed by Ms. Hochul at considerable political cost, to allow Mr. Benjamin to be removed from the state Democratic primary ballot and replaced with another candidate. Republicans, and even some members of Ms. Hochul’s own party, decried the legal change as underhanded.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/nyre ... ochul.html

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

After Roe: What rights the Supreme Court Might Target Next
by Sean Illing
May 5, 2022

https://www.vox.com/23055107/supreme-co ... nstitution

Extract:

(Vox) Melissa Murray, law professor, New York University:

Although Justice Alito insisted that the draft opinion’s antipathy for settled precedent was limited to abortion, the opinion was littered with casual references to Lawrence v. Texas, a 2003 decision decriminalizing same-sex sodomy; Obergefell v. Hodges, a 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage; Griswold v. Connecticut, a 1965 decision that legalized contraceptive use; and Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 decision legalizing interracial marriage.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, law professor, Stetson University:

Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated an anti-miscegenation law, as well as Windsor and Obergefell, which articulated a right to marriage equality for same-sex couples.

After this [opinion], Loving, Windsor, and Obergefell are all on constitutionally thin ice. And the frustrating thing is Justice Alito’s ignoring the Ninth Amendment, which protects Americans’ unenumerated rights. …Roe recognized…the right to abortion…(as being) protected by the Ninth Amendment.

Victoria Nourse, law professor, Georgetown University:

Some journalists confessed shock at the Supreme Court’s leaked opinion overturning Roe. It should not shock. The “judicial philosophy” or textualist method is well-known. The word “abortion” is not in the Constitution — end of case. Lots of words are not in the Constitution, like marriage or contraception or education or living with your grandmother. Does that mean that a state can bar these things?
…
And then there is the claim that the word “legislature” means that state courts cannot interpret election law, and was the basis for John Eastman’s plan to overturn an election. Textualism is a wolf in sheep’s clothing that has already endangered the Republic. No one should be surprised when Dobbs yields extreme anti-abortion laws in the states.

[caltrek]

Schumer: Senate to Vote on Abortion Rights Next Week Despite Lacking Votes
by Shawna Chen
May 5, 2022

https://www.axios.com/2022/05/05/aborti ... te-schumer

Introduction:

(Axios) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that the Senate will vote next week to codify abortion rights into federal law even though Democrats lack the votes to ensure the bill's passage.

Why it matters: Abortion advocates and Democratic candidates have doubled down on calls for Congress to pass legislation protecting abortion rights since a leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was published.

The measure lacks even 50 votes, far short of the 60 votes it would need, as all Republicans are likely to vote against it and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) voted against similar legislation earlier this year.

What he's saying: "Republicans will have two choices: They can own the destruction of women’s rights, or they can reverse course and work to prevent the damage," Schumer said.

[caltrek]

Another Source of American Rage
by Daniel Cubas
April 27, 2022

https://manomagazine.com/americanrage/

Extract:

(Mano) The angry, flushed sensation of being disrespected is a core emotion, right up there with love and hate. And because everyone has it, the desire for respect can provoke people to do some pretty fucked-up things. Indeed, the craving to be acknowledged is a “universal and immutable aspect of human nature [that] has the potential to inspire great works but also tear society asunder.”

For example, studies reveal that fights over critical race theory are more likely in school districts where the percentage of white students has plummeted. The ludicrous, and occasionally violent, debate over CRT is “greatest in suburban communities with rapid demographic change,” and far less likely to erupt in districts “with minimal or no change in enrollment of White students.”
…
But a white person is allowed to feel dissed as hell if he sees fewer fellow whites in his neighborhood.

Once again, who is the snowflake here?

Regardless of the absurdity, systemic racism is “rooted in the motivation to put down one race to elevate another,” which allows those on top to earn more power, influence, and prestige in society. In other words, you get more respect if your group is in charge, even if you individually are no big deal, culturally speaking. It is the apogee of Lyndon Johnson’s axiom about convincing the lowest white man that he’s better than the best ethnic minority.

caltrek's comment: Although this article is intended to address conditions here in the United States, I think most of its points have a more universal application than that. Think of ethnic Russians in the Ukraine, who found themselves in a country now dominated by ethnic Ukrainians. Europe, with all of its immigration issues, also shows a lot of signs of this sort of thing.

[weatheriscool]

Mitch McConnell says a national abortion ban is 'possible' as GOP candidates dodge topic
Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON — Republicans are on the verge of a long-sought legal victory — striking down Roe v. Wade — but their political candidates are in no rush to talk about it on the campaign trail.

GOP campaign officials are advising candidates to downplay and soft-pedal the prospects of anti-abortion legislation as they battle pro-choice Democrats for control of Congress and various statehouses across the country.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told USA Today that a national abortion ban is possible if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Said McConnell: “With regard to the abortion issue, I think it’s pretty clear where Senate Republicans stand.”

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... ?gnt-cfr=1