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They Chose Dishonor: A Call to Action for Our Nation [1]

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Date: 2025-01-05

When the Republicans realized they would face very long odds in an election for dog catcher, if they got on the wrong side of Trump's supporters,they were faced with the prospect of death or dishonor. They chose dishonor and this led them to embrace cancelling democracy in order to survive.



The Supreme Court is the most impaired branch of our Government. All of the decisions rendered by an ideologically biased majority (Court) since the year 2000, were flawed. The dissenting opinions were far better examples of sound legal reasoning. It seems that these Justices constructed poorly reasoned arguments to justify the outcome their ideology required. They were practicing activism not jurisprudence. The resulting decisions have done grievous harm to our Nation, as you will see as we dissect each one below.



In the year 2000 the Court intervened in a matter involving the contested results in the state of Florida. What did it matter that "we counted once, we counted twice, we counted three times", when there were serious unresolved irregularities in a state governed by the brother of one of the candidates? No stone should have been left unturned until there were reasonable assurances that the results were accurate. The Bush administration the Court enabled did grievous harm to our Nation and when we consider how much further along we would have been had there been a Gore administration, the implications are incalculable and no one can be sure that a tainted election was decided correctly. Recently the Court ruled, in a matter involving extreme gerrymandering, that such matters are best resolved by the State courts. Which is it?



If you asked any high school kid in the year 2010, "What would happen if unlimited amounts of money were allowed to influence our elections?" The answer would be, "We would have corrupt elections and by extension a corrupt government". If you said to the same kid, you know ours is a post racial society. "Yeah right". The Court, in an amazing display of ignorance, wrote opinions stating exactly the opposite in Citizens United and when they gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Those two decisions have severely compromised the electoral process in our Nation.



When the Court decided to modify the Affordable Care Act they gave State governments the ability to refuse the Medicaid expansion the law mandated. Predictably, many States did exactly that, for no other reason than to tarnish Obama's legacy. This has led to countless preventable deaths in those States. Do we dare call it murder? Are those extremist Justices, accessories to murder?



The three Justices Mitch McConnel "pushed through" the Senate, are highly questionable appointments. The Gorsuch appointment was available because Mitch denied it to President Obama; a truly shameless power grab. Then in order to push it through he had to carve out an exception to the filibuster rule and the appointment was confirmed without a single vote from the de facto majority party. Would an honorable person accept such an appointment? The Comey confirmation is similarly tainted, except that this time it was accomplished within two weeks of an election; another shameless maneuver by Mitch McConnel. The Kavanaugh appointment is especially troubling. There are some serious unresolved issues with respect to his character and integrity; not to mention the vacancy he filled may have been coerced. This iteration of the Court then proceeded to issue the Dobbs ruling. The extreme abortion bans, which by the way were legislation in waiting, that were enacted are expected to exacerbate our already dismal maternal mortality. Once again the Court has delivered death. The argument employed to justify this atrocity, was that there was not a historical predicate for reproductive rights. Was there one for corporate rights? The Dobbs decision is the crown jewel of this litany of judicial malpractice. When the Republicans realized they would face very long odds in an election for dog catcher, if they got on the wrong side of Trump's supporters,they were faced with the prospect of death or dishonor. They chose dishonor and this led them to embrace cancelling democracy in order to survive.The Supreme Court is the most impaired branch of our Government. All of the decisions rendered by an ideologically biased majority (Court) since the year 2000, were flawed. The dissenting opinions were far better examples of sound legal reasoning. It seems that these Justices constructed poorly reasoned arguments to justify the outcome their ideology required. They were practicing activism not jurisprudence. The resulting decisions have done grievous harm to our Nation, as you will see as we dissect each one below.In the year 2000 the Court intervened in a matter involving the contested results in the state of Florida. What did it matter that "we counted once, we counted twice, we counted three times", when there were serious unresolved irregularities in a state governed by the brother of one of the candidates? No stone should have been left unturned until there were reasonable assurances that the results were accurate. The Bush administration the Court enabled did grievous harm to our Nation and when we consider how much further along we would have been had there been a Gore administration, the implications are incalculable and no one can be sure that a tainted election was decided correctly. Recently the Court ruled, in a matter involving extreme gerrymandering, that such matters are best resolved by the State courts. Which is it?If you asked any high school kid in the year 2010, "What would happen if unlimited amounts of money were allowed to influence our elections?" The answer would be, "We would have corrupt elections and by extension a corrupt government". If you said to the same kid, you know ours is a post racial society. "Yeah right". The Court, in an amazing display of ignorance, wrote opinions stating exactly the opposite in Citizens United and when they gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Those two decisions have severely compromised the electoral process in our Nation.When the Court decided to modify the Affordable Care Act they gave State governments the ability to refuse the Medicaid expansion the law mandated. Predictably, many States did exactly that, for no other reason than to tarnish Obama's legacy. This has led to countless preventable deaths in those States. Do we dare call it murder? Are those extremist Justices, accessories to murder?The three Justices Mitch McConnel "pushed through" the Senate, are highly questionable appointments. The Gorsuch appointment was available because Mitch denied it to President Obama; a truly shameless power grab. Then in order to push it through he had to carve out an exception to the filibuster rule and the appointment was confirmed without a single vote from the de facto majority party. Would an honorable person accept such an appointment? The Comey confirmation is similarly tainted, except that this time it was accomplished within two weeks of an election; another shameless maneuver by Mitch McConnel. The Kavanaugh appointment is especially troubling. There are some serious unresolved issues with respect to his character and integrity; not to mention the vacancy he filled may have been coerced. This iteration of the Court then proceeded to issue the Dobbs ruling. The extreme abortion bans, which by the way were legislation in waiting, that were enacted are expected to exacerbate our already dismal maternal mortality. Once again the Court has delivered death. The argument employed to justify this atrocity, was that there was not a historical predicate for reproductive rights. Was there one for corporate rights? The Dobbs decision is the crown jewel of this litany of judicial malpractice.

Unelected jurors should not be able to invalidate legislation enacted by the people's representatives, unless clearly and unequivocally prohibited by the constitution and the decision is unanimous..

When Ronald Reagan trickled on our legs and told us it was wealth, the religion of the Republican party became the unwavering belief that the way to feed the birds is to give the elephants more peanuts. They have been practicing their religion for more than 40 years resulting in the current Gilded Age. The last one led to the Great Depression which engendered FDR's New Deal and the creation of a vibrant middle class. The current one led us to the Great Recession, a bailout, and the further erosion of a decimated middle class. This entrenched concentration of wealth is an existential threat to our Nation and must be corrected. The Climate crisis, the Gun Violence crisis, and the Healthcare crisis are a direct result of this tyranny of wealth. There's no reason why we cannot be a Nation or haves and have enough with a dominant middle class which does not constrain free enterprise and wealth building. The Republicans call this communism. It doesn't matter what you call it but whether a Nation of haves and have nots is preferable. The Republicans have convinced Christian voters that they share and will defend their beliefs but they know very well that for them there is no God but the elephants.

The oligarchs buy the suits that control our government and now they control pretty much the entire information ecosystem, which is littered with all manner of propaganda, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. This is disrupting the mental health of our citizens, much like greenhouse gases are disrupting our climate. Both need our urgent and undivided attention.

I envision a subscription only service without advertising, with all the friends and family functionality of Facebook. Information sources would initially have unobstructed access to all subscribers. An organisation like Politifact would provide a score for each post indicating whether it is mostly propaganda, misinformation, or a conspiracy theory. links to counter arguments and undisputed facts will be provided for subscribers who wish to dig deeper. Subscribers may elect to disengage from the fact checking or alternatively, elect to trust the fact checking and block any post that has a disqualifying score. Ultimately each subscriber will have a reliable information feed without having to wade through all the litter. Alternatively, information consumers might subscribe to an AI tool which they can use to authenticate content they encounter. This may sound like a pipe dream but many successful endeavors began with a pipe dream. If the pipe dream that we can find a way to reverse global warming is not realized, humanity will face some very dark times.

The government and the economy only work for the people at the top. Republicans like it that way and Democrats have only succeeded in cleaning up the messes that Republican administrations leave behind. Nothing changes for the underclass and that's why we keep voting for change. We the people have to take matters into our own hands and not allow our elected representatives to treat us like subjects instead of the bosses. If those at the head of the line would consider that all they're getting is a little more crumbs than those behind them, and that if everyone came together in solidarity, they could all get a piece of the pie. We have to create the change we want!

First we need to develop a people's agenda then elect candidates that we can trust to enact it. We can turn to organizations that are fighting for renewable energy, universal health care, gun control, voting rights, reproductive rights etc. to write the legislation. Then we enlist politically unaffiliated candidates that are willing to run on our behalf. They would be respected members of our communities especially if they would rather cut off their noses than get involved in politics. This is not about politics but a movement to create a fair and just Nation that works for everybody. These candidates would run everywhere there's an entrenched Republican. The Democrats would help us because our candidate would be better than a Republican even if they are not a compliant Democrat.

Our nation is broken and we have to do something!

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