Wading Thru Roe v. Wade’s Deep End

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Preface: The original, official WP Time Stamp:
CommonSenseTom 12:31 pm on May 8, 2019
3-fold motivation to reblog my 3-year-old post:

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• The May 3, 2022 leaking of Supreme… correction… Extreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s rough draft; one that virtually vows to run roughshod over Women’s Rights; i.e., by overturning the Supreme Court’s, 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which had legalized abortion. Beyond that, now that Alito’s views are in the public domain, among his five conservative bench-mates, who’d ever feel free to possibly mitigate their colleague’s hardcore harangue; perhaps present their own dissent?
• While I steadfastly believe in gender equality / women’s rights; maintain that misogynistic, big government control freaks have absolutely NO RIGHT to intrude in the procreative process (one of the most personal issues conceivable); NO RIGHT to insist every pregnant person gets left holding the (unwanted) baby; that I, myself, have NO RIGHT to impose my own life-begins-at-conception belief upon anybody else, NONETHELESS, I cannot help but wonder how we ever wound up with a society that, apparently, doesn’t give a F about parenthood?*
• Seeing how I don’t have all the answers to such a complex issue, I am interested in your thoughts; perhaps reactions to my past post, “The Right To Choose: An Evolution? A Revolution?” as well as any other articles / videos you’ve read / viewed? Let’s meet up, BACK HERE, to start and sustain an intelligent, courteous, comment section thread.

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*BTW, I’m not excluding myself from my own societal critique; tho my (from age 12 onward) opt-out from parenthood is deeply rooted in my ongoing ecological, ideological and socioeconomical misgivings; belief that our world is unfit for human habitation.

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The U.S. Extreme Court is Coming!

 

Preface: Regrettably, women maintaining full, legal control over their own bodies, rarely, if ever, is assured. While, in a perfect world, they’d rarely, if ever, need to seek abortions, such perfection rarely, if ever, is attainable.

Ever since Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s demise, misogynistic senators have been in hog heaven, while waddling about DC’s metaphorical barnyard and wallowing in its standard issue mud puddle. They’ve been gleefully oinking, snorting and squealing about getting another crack at loading up the U.S. Supreme Court bench with, yet, another intolerant, injudicious ideologue.

Hell, these porkers have already summarily approved Donald J. Trump’s nominee; even though they know not who “The Chosen One’s” chosen one will be. All we really know is that the fake prez will be handpicking a woman, who is only a woman at the XX chromosome level. Functioning only at an atypically inconsiderate level, she will strike down Roe v. Wade; thereby, eventually, rendering all abortion (maybe even contraception) illegal.

Of course, such a political approach rarely, if ever addresses the root cause of abortion’s demand; namely, poverty. The  rarely, if ever answered question:

Why should rock-a-bye baby raising be a bough breaking, break the bank prospect?

Such a discussion could go on and on, but for the sake of brevity, let’s now cut to the chase.

Each and every feminist, now dwelling within Donny’s Dystopian America, must prepare herself for life overruled by a radical Supreme Court; an Extreme Court. In response, she must militantly nail her manifesto to her boudoir door to proclaim:

“So long as congressmen and judicial hacks insist on controlling women’s bodies, I will be controlling men’s bodies. If the only way for me to prevent problem pregnancies is to avoid sexual congress, then so be it!”

Perhaps, at that juncture, knuckle dragging senators’ feminist-idled gonads would cause them to go mad, leaving them little choice but to surrender to womankind’s demands for gender equality and the right to choose?

Granted, such a scenario is neither practicable nor sustainable. At best, this only illustrates the extreme measures it would take to trump Trump’s mucked up, U.S. Extreme Court; if that’d even be possible.

 

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If we build it, fair play will come?

 

The intent of America’s Founding Fathers had been to establish a Supreme Court staffed by non-partisan, scrupulous judges, whose main function was (still should be) to deem laws either fair or foul. Sounds straightforward enough, huh?

To employ a baseball metaphor, that’d make each judge akin to an umpire who declares base hits / line drives EITHER fair and in play OR foul and out of bounds.

Expanding on that trope, just as umpires are not supposed to be rewriting Major League Baseball’s rule book, judges are not supposed to be rewriting laws / the U.S. Constitution.

Granted, there are times when judges must strike down foul laws. And in that sense, this is legislating from the bench. Obviously, that’s not all bad. At that juncture, it merely becomes incumbent upon the actual legislators to mitigate that judicial power; i.e., by enacting unprejudiced legislation that’ll pass subsequent Supreme sniff tests.

Let’s look at this from the fair-minded baseball fans’ perspective, too. Just as we’d never want to witness an umpire wearing a hometown baseball cap / waving a home team pennant behind home plate (or anywhere else on the damned diamond), we sure as hell would never want to see a SCOTUS judge donning a dumb-ass MAGA hat or waving a freakin’ Trump flag.

Factoring in the odious Trumpian republic, for which that flag stands, We the decent People would never want any of HIS damned judges donning brownshirted or white robed / hooded uniforms, either.

Truth be told, tyrant Trump no longer even attempts to hide his raw, rabid racism and every other nasty “ism” known to humankind. As such, not unlike his (figurative) Fascist diaper, he’s been loading up HIS Supreme Court (lower Federal courts, too), with judges who wind up forever beholden to him.

Seeing how Trump already owns HIS supreme cronies, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, they’ll be doing their damnedest to pleasure him / permit him to muck up free elections with impunity. Talk about a corrupt quid pro quo, huh? So much for non-partisans, huh?

Let’s shift gears a bit. America has a wealth of racial, ethnic, gender and religious / secular diversity. Should not our Supreme Court Bench actually reflect everything positive associated with each of those qualities?

More to the point, seeing how, as of 2018, 35% of Americans describe themselves as conservative, 35% as moderate and 26% as liberal, what part of Trump stacking HIS court with a conservative 6 to 3 majority involves justice for all?

Considering that formidable 61% moderate / liberal bloc, it’s, indeed, astounding how the 35% conservative minority still dominates and debases the political playing field.

As such, it would prove difficult to usher in the much needed and long overdue Supreme Court image makeover; one which could, someday, see those 9 judges mirroring America’s robust, full-bodied diversity.

Hell, factoring in Trump’s looming Fascist overthrow, even hopes for a 3 liberal – 3 moderate – 3 conservative split would be asking for too much.

Would it shock anyone were he to fire these Supreme Court judges after the November elections?

Or, at the very least, demote them to Court Jesters?

 

 

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Thinking About King

 

On both of former President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Days, I felt a surge of pride… truly believed that We the People… who had finally flipped off America’s racist past… were now in the voting majority. As such, We were now destined to, forevermore, build upon the sturdy foundation of inclusiveness… best exemplified by Martin Luther King’s I’ve got a Dream Speech and Obama’s Change We Can Believe In.

Then came Inauguration Day 2017. The End.

And what will happen come Inauguration Day 2021?

Let’s consider this plausible sequence of events…

• The owned by Donald J. Trump, Senate Majority “Leader” Mitch McConnell and his right wing, underling legislators can all be counted on to never convict the impeached prez and, once bogusly exonerated and unduly emboldened. Donny will run amok and successfully run for reelection (due to his bff Vladimir Putin’s meddling and Electoral College math).

• With all 435 U.S. Representatives and 33 out of 100 U.S. Senators up for 2020 reelection, to rein in Trump, We would need to maintain a House Democratic majority AND establish a Senate super majority. But what would any of that even mean when we’ve seen how Trump already disses House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and defies all her attempts to hold him accountable? Hell, he’d just as easily flip off a Democratic Senate and do whatever he damned pleases.

• Since Trump has been swamp dredging to find nominees to load up the federal judiciary (inclusive of his two suck-up, SCOTUS cronies Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh), who’d ever rule against Donny? Again, he’d do as he damned pleases.

• Even if Trump loses his bid for re-election, the question then becomes, will he accept defeat? Will his sycophantic, barbaric, armed to the teeth, revolting supporters accept his defeat?

• The 78 days between Election Day and Inauguration Day could provide too damned much time for his goons to go on a bulldoze-America-down-to-rubble rampage (with Donny ecstatically and emphatically egging and cheering them on. He’d likely hole up in the White House and continue to do as he damned pleases.

Against that Trumpian nightmare backdrop… perhaps even inclusive of a Revolutionary War battlefield… how could We ever expect Martin Luther King’s impassioned pleas to ever blossom into a wide awake, American Dream come true?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lesley’s Lessons ~ Vid of the Day

One week ago, during Brett Kavanaugh’s p.m. Q ’n’ A portion of the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, Republicans’ demeanor had become literally LOUD and clear. Reading between their lines, their ‘tude could be summed up, thusly…

Let’s get this GD thing over with so we can summon the tailor for our boy Brett’s SCOTUS robe fitting!

Little doubt, they had already had this thing all sewn up, anyway! Hell, about the only one missing was the needle and thread expert who had custom made the window dressing for the Senate Chamber.

To better identify the bad actors in question, we are speaking of a Men’s ONLY, Republican cabal boasting 11 wackadoodle Senators and 1 beer addicted, wigged out, wannabe SCOTUS judge. Stunning ignorance, rabid irritability, glaring irrationality, wild irrelevance, social ineptness and crude, rude insensitivity are the individual components that… when combined… become this unbecoming, dirty dozen’s ferocious misogyny.

I could not and still cannot help but wonder how I could come of age within that same, eons old, sexist era… which they had… YET… emerge with my soul / DNA-deep respect for women and sensitivity to gender equality issues.

I believe that playing a significant role in my proper upbringing was the song featured in this post’s Vid of the Day… (to now quote Wikipedia) “the feminist-themed million-selling You Don’t Own Me, which held at No. 2 for three weeks behind the Beatles’ I Want To Hold Your Hand.” But, far more impressive than these stats were Lesley’s Lessons.

I was barely a 9-year-old when I first witnessed the courageous, progressive, 17-year-old Lesley Gore march up to the front-lines of a male dominated world to boldly proclaim, “You Don’t Own Me!” She had arrived at an opportune moment to instruct a boy, who’d soon be heading into adulthood, that no woman ever wants to be owned and objectified. A real man always respects a woman’s feelings.

On a related matter… while visiting any social network, YouTube included, it has become second nature for me to peruse the comment sections. I certainly was pleased to discover I had not been the only Sixties era, young male who had benefited from Lesley’s Lessons. Said Mr. J.G….

“Awesome lyrics and moodiness– perfect for the sixties. Some guys I knew back then were pigs, and many of them married and dominated and abused their wives who said very little about it to anyone. The seeds of Women’s Lib movement being sewn [sic] in songs like these.”

Males who can properly navigate You Don’t Own Me’s straightforward sentiments will never be steered wrong.

My interpretation of Lesley’s Lessons and (for the benefit of any righties who might accidentally click by to read this) my translation from English to Republican vernacular…

A relationship must ALWAYS be an equal partnership… NEVER a hostile takeover!

It would be totally fitting for me to give the late Ms. Lesley Gore the last word to reemphasize her vital, timeless message… via her decades later reprise of You Don’t Own Me.

 

 

 

 

Don’t Thumb Noses at the Constitution… Thumb Thru It!

 

Blog Subtitle: An Open Letter to All Wayward Republicans

 

To all who this must concern…

Some friendly reminders. Be you a bad actor president or congressperson, none of you are our bosses! We the People are your bosses… even We… who did not vote for you! Even if you’re a judge who the president selected, it’s no different! Indirectly, We still are your bosses! You must remain mindful that ballots can both hire and fire. If you demonstrate that your Lust for Power is greater than your Love of Country, We will ensure that… ballot-wise… ASAP… it’ll be that latter eventuality.

Furthermore, the U.S. Constitution safeguards against absolute power corrupting absolutely. That’s the system of checks and balances / separation of powers. More specifically those are the provisions, which unequivocally stipulate that the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches each wield no more than 33 1/3 percent of the power… and that everyone keeps a watchful eye on everyone else.

Translation: The prez is not the boss of congresspersons and judges.

If this reality check cannot get your patriotism to kick in, maybe your sense of self preservation will? If not… then someday… likely soon… the autocratic prez could stage a coup d’état, bark out his “You’re Fired” and kick out all 435 U.S. Representatives, all 100 U.S. Senators and all 9 SCOTUS judges. After all, why would any dictator even need any of you when he, alone, is calling all the shots?

Turning now to some friendly reminders to the Senate Judiciary Committee Republican majority…

America, most assuredly, is not comprised of 100 percent righties. In fairness to ALL 327+ Million people, whose lives and livelihoods the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions directly impact… you must keep in mind that, in theory, the judiciary is not supposed to have even the slightest whiff of partisanship. But since, in practice, we do know that’s not the case, what would be wrong with striving to, eventually, balance out this court with 3 conservatives, 3 liberals and 3 moderates? That’d be more in keeping with America’s political demographics. That’d also mean that Brett Kavanaugh’s rightwing extremism, alone, should be reason enough to disqualify him.

As for Kavanaugh’s accusers Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez… in fairness to both of them, you cannot and must not summarily dismiss their allegations. What if their accounts are spot on? What if he’s not an honorable, law abiding man, worthy of wielding the enormous power, which a lifetime position on the highest court of the land would afford him?

True, in America, the principle of innocent until proven guilty must rule. Even so, you guys are taking an enormous leap of faith based on hearsay, alone… i.e., you’re assuming he’s a decent, squeaky clean dude just because he says so.

To keep this totally real… I cannot say, with certainty, that Kavanaugh is guilty any more than you can say, with certainty, that he’s innocent.

Do your damned job and dig deep to get at the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. First of all, how about insisting that Kavanaugh submit to a polygraph test? You also must let the FBI take as much time as is needed to rigorously re-investigate him. You do realize that investigating is the FBI’s stock-in-trade, doncha? Hell, what do you suppose the “I’ in “FBI” stands for, anyway?

After that, whenever / wherever possible, transparency must rule re the FBI’s findings, the lie-detector test results and the testimony. Most importantly, take as much time as is needed to fully and thoughtfully deliberate these findings. In the end, if reasonable doubt remains you must not approve him.

Consider what could happen were you to shirk your duty. You might wind up seating a guilty as hell judge who… to avoid a conflict of interest… would need to recuse himself every time a women’s rights case is heard by the court!

SIDEBAR: Gawd… I had to go back to reread that above paragraph several times… and you know what? The mere thought of such a compromised, dysfunctional court still stuns the hell out of me!

But let’s hope you still have enough common sense to never muck up the SCOTUS in that manner.

True, it’d be better to have a fully staffed Supreme Court… but… rest assured… even if filling that one vacant seat takes awhile… the 400+ day vacancy following Judge Antonin Scalia’s death did set a precedent…. one which has amply proven that America can and will survive with only eight SCOTUS judges.

If you’re worried that those eight judges will fail to protect Donald J. Trump from the long arm of the law / from Robert Mueller’s “long arm”… TOUGH $#!^

Constitutionally speaking, protecting a corrupt president has never been… is not now… and shall never be the function of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. If you won’t take my word for it, thumb through the U.S. Constitution… instead of thumbing your collective Republican nose at it.

E-Signed,

CommonSenseTom

 

 

The ReVictimization of Ms. Christine Blasey Ford

Christine Blasey Ford alleges that three+ decades ago (as teenagers), [1] Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her, [2] he could’ve accidentally suffocated her to death, [3] his male friend aided and abetted his savage assault AND [4] she had narrowly escaped owing only to her assailants’ drunkenness, her quick thinking, strong survival instinct and a timely assist from Lady Luck… read her full story here.

Both Brett Kavanaugh and his friend have denied her accusations.

A prime example of the classic she said / he said stalemate. However, based upon Ford’s account of this incident, this psychological profile emerges…

Ford was victimized by disgusting, sadistic males, who wrongfully believe it their birthright to deliberately dehumanize, disrespect and dominate womankind.

In a less politically fractured, more humane era, one could’ve expected Ford’s credible allegations to even motivate a predominately Republican Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC)… indeed, the entire U.S. Senate… to [1] set aside their partisanship, [2] indefinitely halt Kavanaugh’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court AND [3] approve Ford’s most recent request for a rigorous, external, impartial investigation PRIOR to her appearing to testify.

While it’s true that these SJC righties have been, OUTWARDLY, attempting to “make nice” with Ford, make no mistake, ONLY election year, political expediency is motivating them. Yep, they can dig how liberal voter backlash is brewing… enough to boot their archconservative asses out of DC.

Additionally, I’d hardly call it nice of these Republicans to [1] flat-out deny this woman’s reasonable request for an independent investigation, [2] only permit Kavanaugh and Ford to testify (which can only end up in yet another she said / he said stalemate) AND [3] continue to courteously offer a Supreme Court chair to someone who, in the minds of all ethical people, will forever remain a suspected rapist. However, based upon these Republicans’ words and deeds, this psychological profile emerges…

Ford is being victimized by disgusting, sadistic males, who wrongfully believe it their birthright to deliberately dehumanize, disrespect and dominate womankind.

In a less politically fractured, more humane era, one would think Ford’s credible charges would result in a virtually unanimous, supportive, public outcry on her behalf!

But, instead, we now witness Trump’s roused rabble venting their mindless, pointless outrage by targeting Ms. Ford with their vicious harassment and death threats. However, based upon Donny’s deplorables’ words and deeds, this psychological profile emerges…

Ford is being victimized by disgusting, sadistic males, who wrongfully believe it their birthright to deliberately dehumanize, disrespect and dominate womankind.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the repetitiveness within those above, three, indented paragraphs. What better way to point out how the attack, which Ms. Ford alleges… even now… 3+ decades later… is still being aided and abetted by the same rapist mentality of her (alleged) original assailants.

 

Will Kavanaugh’s Duds Be Judical Black or Prison Orange?

Palo Alto University Professor Christine Blasey Ford, most assuredly, does not share Donald Trump’s high opinion regarding his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Ford said…

“Brett Kavanaugh physically and sexually assaulted me during high school in the early 1980’s. He conducted these acts with the assistance of Mark Judge. Both were one to two years older than me and students at a local private school. The assault occurred in a suburban Maryland area home at a gathering that included me and four others.

Kavanaugh physically pushed me into a bedroom as I was headed for a bathroom up a short stair well from the living room. They locked the door and played loud music precluding any successful attempt to yell for help. Kavanaugh was on top of me while laughing with Judge, who periodically jumped onto Kavanaugh. They both laughed as Kavanaugh tried to disrobe me in their highly inebriated state. With Kavanaugh’s hand over my mouth I feared he may inadvertently kill me.

From across the room a very drunken Judge said mixed words to Kavanaugh ranging from ‘go for it’ to ‘stop.’ At one point when Judge jumped onto the bed the weight on me was substantial. The pile toppled, and the two scrapped with each other. After a few attempts to get away, I was able to take this opportune moment to get up and run across to a hallway bathroom. I locked the bathroom door behind me. Both loudly stumbled down the stair well at which point other persons at the house were talking with them. I exited the bathroom, ran outside of the house and went home.”

Kavanaugh said…

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

Judge said…

“It never happened. I never saw anything like what was described. It is not who he is.”

SIDEBAR: Rather than my repeatedly typing in the words alleged and allegedly, as you read onward, keep in mind that my commentary and characterizations are still unproven conjecture. That duly noted, let’s deconstruct those above three block-quoted passages in reverse order. 

Judge’s words, if uttered under oath in a courtroom, could be deemed perjury. His all too predictable “loyalty” to Kavanaugh could also be categorized as self-serving.  After all, to implicate his buddy, Brett, would be to implicate himself.

Kavanaugh’s all too predictable self-defense is that of a misogynist who’d say / do anything to sate his lust for power… to have his way with / force himself upon an entire nation… especially upon the entire female demographic of said nation.

Ford’s fully detailed, alarmingly chilling account is totally credible. She has finally managed to drown out those long ago decibels of excessively loud music and pry free that suffocating, grubby paw blocking her nose and covering her mouth. Her muffled screams and cries for help have now spanned the decades.

While nobody came to Ford’s rescue back then, it would not be too late for the Judiciary Committee’s Republican Senators to find their hearts… to gain some sense of the traumatic experience her attackers forced her to endure… to hear her cries for help. If these righties have even one shred of decency they’d vote along with the Democrats to, unanimously, deny Brett Kavanaugh that ninth seat on the Supreme Court bench.

As for Trump and his ilk, Election Day 2018 will be the pivotal moment. They do realize that defending Kavanaugh too strongly could easily infuriate voters to the point where Republicans will wind up losing control of both the U.S. House and Senate… thereby leaving Donny totally vulnerable to impeachment and removal from office. My recommendation to the entire American electorate is that we make damned sure that we make both of those Republican nightmares come true!

Their fears have been the ONLY thing, which has prevented the (similarly accused of sexual assault) sitting, ersatz prez AND the horde of his rapist sympathizing, congressional cronies from brutally, sadistically re-victimizing Ms. Ford.

Of course, my above observations are merely educated guesses, which, at this early juncture, do not count… and must not count! Why not?

Because here in America, we believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty and that a court of law… NOT the blogosphere… is the proper venue for establishing guilt.

Due process must run its course. FBI investigators need to do their thing. If they find Ford’s claims credible, then Kavanaugh should pose for mugshots, be fingerprinted and go to trial where a jury of his peers can hear the testimony, weigh the evidence during deliberations and then either acquit or convict him. If they deliver the guilty verdict… then he must do the time for committing the crime.

One would expect attorney Kavanaugh, presently a U.S. Circuit Court Judge, to respect / be an avid advocate of due process, right?

Of course, if he has one shred of decency left in him, he would offer his sincere apology to Ford AND avoid a trial / re-victimizing her by confessing.

Well, from this point onward, as we turn our attention to all things Trumpian, there’ll be no further need for the word alleged.

In spite of the fake prez’s totally out of character subdued public utterances, yesterday, it is reasonable to suspect that, privately, deep within the bowels of the Trumpian Universe, the whiny, childishly impatient, impetuous “prez” and his like-minded Senators are all infuriated because the Democrats have temporarily succeeded in delaying their concerted efforts to railroad their boy, Brett, through the confirmation process… get him seated before the 1st Monday in October when the eight other SCOTUS judges return from their summer recess.

Of course, these righties have no one else but themselves to blame for having taught Democrats delaying tactics. Have they already forgotten how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had marginalized both President Barack Obama and his SCOTUS judge nominee, Merrick Garland… forgotten how that resulted in the Supreme Court being minus one judge for over 400 days?

Anyhow, since America could survive that vacancy for over one year, we can certainly survive another one. All of us thinking adults would be willing to wait for as long as it may take to determine, beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether Brett Kavanaugh should don a Supreme Court black robe or jump into a prison orange jumpsuit.

 

RELATED ARTICLES:

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Is anyone seeing red yet?

 

In theory… the nine judges of the Supreme Court Of The United States (SCOTUS) are supposed to be politically neutral… i.e., prior to donning their black robes, they should be checking their red, blue and purple “party hats” at the door.

In practice… nothing could be further from the truth. Prior to Anthony Kennedy’s retirement last week, he had been the one moderate judge seated alongside four lefties and four righties. For many years, he had been the tie breaker within that deep political divide… part of the “5” in a slew of 5 / 4 court decisions… the judge who, at times, sided with the righties.

Case in point is how Kennedy, once again last week, had donned his red “party hat” in the case of Janus v. AFSCME… helped his righty pals legislate from the bench… conspired with them to do the dirty work “on behalf” of the individual 22 state legislatures, which have yet to legislate their own labor union busting, “right to work”, flawed laws.

Of course, phraseology such as “right to work”, on the surface, does tend to conjure up images of mom, apple pie and something liberating and uniquely American Dreamish. BUT, in reality, this is nothing other than cleverly branded, spin-doctored, conservative hogwash. In practice, “right to work” “liberates” hardworking average Janes and Joes of their living wage jobs and, in the end, morphs their existences into the American Nightmare.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of “right to work”, such flawed laws forbid labor unions from collecting dues from any workers who don’t want to pay them… in spite of the fact that such scofflaws are still benefiting from union negotiated contracts, which secure pay raises and benefits for all workers. From that point forward… no strike that… from that step backward… sans strong financial backing, labor unions die. And along with them go average, everyday workers’ hopes to live the American Dream.

For any doubting Thomases, out there, this Thomas asks: What do you suppose an oinking CEO would do with the corporate mega-profits when there are no labor unions to contend with? When there’s no collective bargaining on behalf of the time clock punchers of our world? You can bet your bottom dollar that that fat cat would fatten his own, already fat wallet at the expense of those already struggling to make ends meet. Eventually… the middle class will plunge into poverty… the already impoverished class will descend into squalor.

I now ask, who did the Supreme Court help other than those wallowing in obscene wealth? How could such a ruling ever help make America great again?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against people being successful in life. But, you won’t find me feeling charitable towards CEOs, who already wallow in immeasurable corporate/personal wealth, yet, flat-out refuse to pay living wages to their employees. Folks, that’s when I start seeing red… in more ways than one… and feel similarly each and every time the U.S. Supreme Court aids and abets corporate arrogance and greed. And I’d hope that I’m not alone in feeling this way.

The tragedy here: The LURID RED of the U.S. Supreme Court! Truth be told…

Today’s typical conservative mindset does not represent where most Americans’ heads are at… and thank God for that! Most of us cannot stomach righties’ insatiable greed, unquenchable thirst for power and perverse penchants for war, torture, assault weapons, domestic / sexual violence, misogyny, child abuse and all other forms of human suffering! So then, why is it that within our system of representative government, we cannot automatically expect to find a Supreme Court bench more sensitive to and representative of WE the decent people?

At the very least…

We should expect to find three moderate, three liberal and three conservative judges seated at that Supreme Court bench.

Wait a minute! I do seem to recall some blogger saying…

“In theory… the nine judges of the Supreme Court Of The United States (SCOTUS) are supposed to be politically neutral… i.e., prior to donning their black robes, they should be checking their red, blue and purple “party hats” at the door.”

Hmmm… come to think of it… I was that blogger! Allow me, now, to briefly expand on that.

At the very most…

No President should ever appoint anyone to the Supreme Court who harbors hidden, wicked political agendas. The goal should be winding up with nine decent folks representative of a complete cross-section of America’s finest. When we hold up a mirror to them we should see a reflection of diversity! Be they able bodied or disabled… they must be representative of of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, age groups, classes and creeds (inclusive of agnostics and atheists)*. ONLY then can Americans ever expect respectable Supreme Court decisions… rulings that all can live with.

* As well as any other decent folks I may’ve unintentionally omitted here.

At the very extreme…

Long sigh… we now have little choice but to face down the cold, stark, harsh reality:

In filling the Anthony Kennedy vacancy, the “prez’s first… perhaps only… question to vet each wannabe will be…

Do you pledge 100 percent loyalty to me and to always rule in my favor… no matter what?

Whoever the “prez” handpicks will accomplish one and only one thing… namely… his successfully loading up the bench with yet another out of touch with decent America, rightwing, wingnut ideologue. His U.S. Extreme Court will never be representative of anyone other than Donald Trump and his icky ilk.

 

 

The “Heads I Win/Heads I Win” South Dakota Coin Toss

Blog Subtitle: Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?

 

Musical interlude time! First, give this catchy li’l tune a listen… then we’ll chat…

 

Say you and a buddy need a quick way to decide something… it matters not what. So… what options are at your disposal? In no particular order, here are several recommendations…

1. High Playing Card Draw
2. Rock – Paper – Scissors
3. Eenie-Meenie-Miny-Moe
4. U.S. Supreme Court (STRIKE THAT… DISABLE THAT LINK… BAD IDEA¹)
5. Coin Toss

If you’re opting for #5, do exercise a reasonable amount of caution. Be you an American or a stateside tourist (unaffected by the unamerican [sic] travel ban), when fishing out your pocket change, make sure you closely examine your 25¢ pieces!

In the spirit of fair play, if your quarter is part of the America the Beautiful commemorative coin series, avoid the one featuring South Dakota! Why?

Well, unless you call the toss, “heads”… most assuredly…

YOU WILL LOSE!

You see, to the best of this numismatist-blogger’s knowledge, ever since it was minted in 2013, that particular, peculiar coin became…

America’s, first ever, heads on both sides, legal tender quarter!

On the obverse, per usual (ever since 1932), appears President George Washington… BUT… on the reverse… well… that’s where we discover a zoomed-in, partial image of Mt. Rushmore where not only does gentleman George reappear but so does President Thomas Jefferson!

I do hope this heads-up (not meant to be taken totally serious) blog has helped everyone make heads or tails out of the chancy, “Heads I Win/Heads I Win” South Dakota Coin Toss”. The fate of the entire, decision-making free world just might, someday, hang in the balance??? 😉 (JK)

 

 

Footnote:

¹ Considering how five of those nine SCOTUS judges (the Floundering, UnFounding Fathers / muthas) are legislating from the bench… i.e. are hell bent on green-lighting all signed into law, U.S. Constitution gutting legislation… especially (f)laws, which deny average Jane and Joe citizens our freedoms… they would be far too busy to ever help us settle any garden-variety issues. Oh, btw… if you opt to watch this footnote’s linked video, you can save a bit of time by fast forwarding to the juicy details starting at 5:26.