It Appears That a Lot of Arrogance is About to Pay the Price
Dues Will Be Paid
One of the more irritating elements of modern politics is the number of politicians and others with power seem to think they can do whatever they wish, with no attention paid to public opinion, social norms, or the law. A nice pattern of that sort of thing is popping up all over the country. Glad to see it.
Voters Speak Out
Florida has a 6 week abortion ban coming into effect next month. One generally does not even know they are pregnant at this point. Arizona is reimplementing an abortion law passed over 100 years ago by a legislature from its territorial days – not even a state legislature. It is a law written by a man who was famous for abusing women.
But in both states, it appears likely that protection of reproductive freedom as a state constitutional guarantee is very likely to make it to the November ballot in both states, a result of massive petition signature lists to do so. I have zero doubt about the outcome. Both initiatives will pass by large margins; this alone will drive record voter turnout. While in the voting booth people will reflect on which party tried to impose this on everyone.
And in case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago a female Democrat won a special election in a profoundly red part of Alabama. She ran primarily on abortion rights and keeping the government out of people’s private lives.
Watching Republicans try to dance out of their positions and the results of their actions on people’s lives is almost comical. We have way too many copies of texts and videos of these same people trampling all over the lives of women and their families. Everyone from Trump on down is trying to talk nice. Not going to work.
The Legal System Comes to Bear
The courts can, of course be a mess, and painfully flow. The Supreme Court has agreed to get into some cases it should have refused. Judge Cannon in Florida seems to be doing her best to give Trump a pass. But elsewhere, the system is working.
By the time you read this, the Trump criminal trial in New York wil be in its second day of jury selection. Speculation is that jury selection will be a bit of a mess that will take time, but that the trial itself is liable to be pretty crisp – in the 5-6 week range. The potential witness list must be keeping Trump awake at night. This is not actually all that complicated a trial, and the evidence looks impressive.
A Trip to Where?
The governors of Florida and Texas think they have been clever in sending migrants to other states under false pretenses and with zero coordination with anyone else. Now a judge has agreed that those sent from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard under false pretenses have grounds to sue and the standing to do so.
This will not be the last such case and I would bet they win easily. At some point the voters of these states might want to question the wisdom of using state funds to illegally transport people, then pay large fines for doing so. Maybe they should put their governors on a bus.
Two Completely Unrelated Notes
The latest Biden round of student debt relief is a good thing. No doubt someone will challenge this in the courts, but the Administration seems confident that they can win in court with the current approach. Just for the record, I am not a fan of completely free higher education for everyone – people should pay what they can. But the student load environment is full of abuse – a system really promoted by the Trump Administration.
In many cases, the system reminds one of the old company stores that used to exist in mining and mill towns. People were always in debt, with interest costs exceeding the amount of loans. The Biden effort frees people up from a life of debt and releases their funds to go into the economy and not into the pockets of greedy lenders.
On another topic, read a fine article this week about the 5 Hour Rule – the idea of setting aside at least an hour a day, at least 5 days a week, strictly for learning and thinking. It’s pretty much a system I have long tried to follow, and it works. If you are not doing something like this deliberately, read the article and think about giving it a try. You will be glad you did.
https://bigthink.com/smart-skills/5-hour-rule/?ref=refind
See you next week.
Bill Clontz
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Really enjoyed the article about the 5 hour rule. Thanks!
It really works pretty well. Try e other one I try to follow (with mixed success) is to read at least 20 pages a day in a book, vs periodicals or on line. Seems I always have a long list of books yet to be read.
At the risk of being pious, Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that shall he reap.” I surely hope it’s reaping time!!
It is my profound hope that during this election cycle, the Access Hollywood recording will be played widely and in full. Never mind the “offensive words” that Donald Trump uses, not to mention the attitudes he espouses, lest they harm the delicate ears of sheltered MAGA-ites. Let the world again see his true character and realize he is unfit for office.
I also hope that a news agency tallies up the numerous bankruptcies Trump has accumulated over his career and counts up the number of small businesses who lost money as a result, all while The Donald lived in the lap of luxury. Let Joe Plumber be reminded of Trump’s true character and realize he is unfit for office.
Further would be a good idea for us all to learn what foreign entities have lent Trump money or invested in his businesses (or his family’s businesses). Talk about a risk of foreign influence on someone seeking to lead the Free World!! Conflict of interest barely begins to describe the situation. Let all Americans be reminded of Trump’s true character and realize he is unfit for office.
And finally let’s see multiple replays of Trump’s answer to that question of whether he would be a dictator.
True character. Unfit for office.
Agreed. In an odd variation of options, I understand the judge in the trial now underway has ruled that the tape cannot be played in court, but the transcript can be read aloud. Hope they have a prosecutor with a Donald-like voice.