Category: Social Justice

Some Really Good News About the Supreme Court

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The Court Certainly Was in the Headlines Recently – Now We Live with the Results

Happy Fourth of July, America

Before today’s posting, a moment to wish everyone a good day celebrating our country’s birthday. For all the huge problems and threats we face (See the discussion below, for example), this still is a remarkable place to live and a grand experiment in the human species.  There is much to celebrate and much to face up to honestly. May we be mature enough and brave enough to both celebrate and face up – both are called for.

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Assorted Odds and Ends

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Nature’s Metaphor

We had a remarkably mild winter in my area of the Smoky Mountains. We had one cold snap, around Christmas and New Year’s Day. It was a short but ferocious cold snap. A lot of trees, shrubs, and small critters did not make it. It led me to a hard late winter. In short order, an early spring seemed to arrive. But too late for those who could not survive the earlier snap. In a sense, that is a metaphor for life more broadly. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to deal with challenges that seemed unimaginable just days earlier.

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That Was Quite a Year!

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Politics (and Its Many Step-Children) Never Had a Dull Day This Year

The Year That Was

I was tenuous about writing this, since when you receive it we will still have five days left in the year and anything could happen. Still, it is almost a wrap for 2022.

Lots of other publications are doing The Year in Review this week. This one is more modest – we are just going to recall a very few but very important things from this year in politics. What a year this has been.

What a year 2023 is likely to be.

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It’s Election Day, America – Hold Your Breath, Cross Your Fingers

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We Will Know Shortly What Our Fellow Citizens Have Decided About America’s Future

Well, Here We Are

I suppose at this point we are all, whatever our political persuasion, tired of hearing and saying that “This is the most important election of our time.” But once again, this one does seem to qualify.

This blog is being posted on Election Day. Many millions – a record number for midterm elections – have already voted, by absentee and through the mail. Millions more will vote today, in person. We honestly do not have much of a clue of how the election will go,

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Abortion vs Forced Birth in America

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Hard to Believe We Are Where We Are – But There Are Some Hopeful Signs

First, The No Surprises List

In anticipation of this Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a number of outcomes were forecast. So far, all have come true.

  • The Trump appointees to the Court all lied when they said in their confirmation hearings that they respected precedent and considered this settled law. This revelation should have surprised absolutely no one.
  • If Alioto was to write the majority opinion, it would be poorly written. True to form, his decision is a terrible read and short on logic or legal foundations.

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Whose Land Is This? Lessons from Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel – and the US

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Almost Every Place on Earth Has Had Previous “Owners”

What Conveys Whose Land This Is? It’s Tricky Applying Modern Standards to Historical Facts

I have a difficult time thinking of any sizeable piece of ground (or waterway) on this planet that does not come with multiple, conflicting claims of whose territory this is or should be. This disagreement has long been a leading cause of human conflict from our very beginnings as an identifiable species.

In the modern era (“modern era” being what we call the present time. Amusing to think about how others will call this ancient times before too long),

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Time to Declare War on the No Vaccines Crowd

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In Fact, It’s Way Past Time. These are Not Just Personal Decisions

Polio is Back. Can You Believe That?

Polio, which we defeated in this country in the 1950’s and which was only occurring naturally in two underdeveloped countries  in recent years has returned to the United States. Seems unimaginable. The vaccine is exceptionally effective, has absolute minimum risks, and widely available at little or no cost. Herd immunity across the US has further protected us all.

So, what happened? Anti-vaccine nonsense happened. It turns out that in some communities only about 30% of children,

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Good Days, Good News

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The Last Few Days Show Promise on Many Fronts

Public Perceptions Count

It seemed as though two thought patterns kind of ran through the country over the last few months.

One has been dissatisfaction with Biden, which in turn led to even worse than normal forecasts for the president’s party in the upcoming midterm elections. The other has been a general national grumpiness, post pandemic peak, which we have commented on in this space before. People, in their eagerness for normalcy, are in something of a bad mood generally, and that reflects back on politicians.

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The Week That Was

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A Few Less Obvious Reflections on the Past Week

Well, THAT was Quite a Week – We Were Deluged with News

We cannot say the past week was a boring one. A hastily schedule but powerfully executed January 6 Insurrection hearing. Important battlefield changes in Ukraine. A series of disastrous Supreme Court decisions. An historic NATO summit. And more, in every sector .

Today is the Fourth of July. We have much to think about, America. Somethings to celebrate, some things to regret. Let’s briefly observe some of the important side notes to some of these sagas.

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At What Levels Do We Connect and Decide?

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What Properly Belongs as Global, National, or State Level Decisions – The Balance is Not Easy

The Traditional Answers

The standard answer for years, to the question of at what level of government should laws be passed, and rules made, has been at the lowest level possible. The underwriting principle is that such government is more likely to be close to the people and more subject to their desires.

Sounds right, and a case could be made that this a good starting point for any such discussion. But the reality demonstrates this is often not the best solution.

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