Lonestarblue
Lonestarblue's JournalOnly 35% of Americans trust the US judicial system. This is catastrophic
Not much in this article will be new to most of us, but I post it here as a reference for what Democrats need to do going forward. Presenting the case to the US public for court reform will be even more important as Trump appoints more of his loyalists to the federal courts.
“What is deeply frustrating is that Democrats refuse to make the case for reforming a captured court even given its widespread unpopularity and even during a close and bitterly contested race for the White House that probably sealed rightwing dominance of the supreme court into the 2060s, if not beyond.
Snip
The Democratic party’s failure here goes well beyond this most recent campaign. Democrats had a trifecta in Washington after the 2020 election and made no serious effort on judicial reform. The judiciary committee, under the toothless leadership of Senator Dick Durbin, botched every opportunity to hold hearings and demand accountability after the revelations of vacations and other gifts awarded to the conservative justices. In 2016, Democrats nominated the milquetoast Merrick Garland to fill an opening presented by the death of Antonin Scalia, then barely bothered to fight for their nominee in the face of Mitch McConnell’s unprecedented blockade.
And while conservatives spent five decades building their own alternative legal establishment – complete with the Federalist Society as its credentialing factory, and presidents who agreed to outsource supreme court and other judicial appointments to extreme rightwing activists – Democrats trusted blindly and foolishly in the rule of law and the strength of institutional norms. They built little of their own. They failed to sound the alarm. They never bothered to build a mandate for popular fixes.“
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/21/americans-trust-supreme-court
I have a favor to ask of anyone here who subscribes to the WSJ.
In 2010, the WSJ published an article by Karl Rove outlining the Republican plan to take permanent control of government. I cannot access it since I’m not a subscriber. Here is the title.
The GOP Targets State Legislatures
He who controls redistricting can control Congress.
By Karl Rove
March 4, 2010 at 5:01 am ET
I would appreciate it if someone could post a free link to the full article.
Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win
Republican voters think it’s fine to destroy their own economies by deporting immigrants. This will be happening throughout the country as undocumented workers move to cities to better escape notice or try to leave the country.
“For companies in Springfield and in nearby communities that depend on Haitian labor, Trump’s comments could prove damaging. The Haitians who filled thousands of jobs at area packaging and auto plants have helped rejuvenate once-blighted neighborhoods and contributed to the local economy in myriad ways.
While many food products lining the shelves of Springfield’s Caribbean stores are imported, many items – bread from Florida and pinto beans from Nebraska – are American. Chicken, beef and eggs served at Haitian restaurants are regularly sourced from local farms.
Recently, a Haitian community organization bought a former fire station it hopes to turn into a facility for English language classes, drivers’ education and a meeting spot.
“I pay thousands of dollars in income and property taxes every year,” said Payen, “and – because I work with Haitians to file their taxes – I see their W-2s and so on. If these people leave, that money is gone from the city and the local economy.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/17/haitian-immigrants-springfield-ohio-trump-election
The boys in our liberal school are different now that Trump has won
I earlier posted an opinion piece from the NYT by a 16-year-old girl and her reaction to Trump’s win. This one is similar, but it’s by girls in a progressive area and school elaborating on how Trump’s focus on masculinity has changed boys’ attitudes. I see this as a growing problem, not only for women’s safety but also as a threat for the future of women’s rights and indeed who gets elected. The extremist attitude toward women represented by Nick Fuentes, of “Your body, my choice” fame may be more prevalent than we assume.
“When we walked into school on the morning of 6 November, we exchanged quick glances with the other girls in our social circle – looks filled with uncertainty and dread about the future. Because we are applying to colleges all around the country and about to leave our homes in the Hudson Valley, political issues suddenly have begun to feel a lot more personal.
Access to abortion and contraception, protection of the environment, and the growing hate and violence toward marginalized groups all have the potential to greatly impact our lives. We had only brief conversations about why Trump’s victory felt so defeating, but our shared disappointment stuck with us as we walked to our first period classes.
But as we sat down at our desks, we noticed a very different attitude among our male peers. Subtle high-fives were exchanged and remarks about the impending success of the next four years were whispered around. It didn’t make much sense. We live in a mostly liberal town in the Hudson Valley where Harris-Walz signs were posted outside of most of our friends’ houses. This is not to say that families with dissenting opinions don’t live in our town. But the boys that were the most vocal in their enthusiasm about the election results have progressive parents just like ours.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/15/the-boys-in-our-liberal-school-are-different-now-that-trump-has-won
I'm 16. On Nov. 5 the Girls Cried, and the Boys Played Minecraft.
This election, voters sent many messages, but perhaps one of the most disturbing is to young women that their lives and futures simply don’t matter. This election was all about men and boys and how they needed strong models of masculinity because young white men are being left behind. Girls and women, according to Vance and other Republican candidates, were destined only for motherhood. They should just forget their dreams for careers and economic independence.
“Eight years ago, I was too young to feel the full force of Hillary Clinton’s loss. Now at 16, I’ve had the wind knocked out of me. On Wednesday, I was flush with anger — but it was diluted by an even stronger feeling: defeat. I saw it in the eyes of women in my subway car that morning. I saw it in the barista at the coffee shop on the corner, the female security guard at my school and in the face of my history teacher.
In a terrible way, I’ve never felt more part of a sisterhood or more certain that pain is shared within that family. I wish the consequences of this moment for young women punctured the apparent indifference of so many men and boys I saw that day. I wish they could breathe in what the women and girls I know have been inhaling since Nov. 5.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/opinion/donald-trump-women-girls.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aU4.pF_7.2i0dKLnycjhQ&smid=url-share
None of the conventional explanations for Trump's victory stand up to scrutiny
Source: The Guardian
“I propose a different explanation than inflation qua inflation: the Covid welfare state and its collapse. The massive, almost overnight expansion of the social safety net and its rapid, almost overnight rollback are materially one of the biggest policy changes in American history. For a brief period, and for the first time in history, Americans had a robust safety net: strong protections for workers and tenants, extremely generous unemployment benefits, rent control and direct cash transfers from the American government.
Despite the trauma and death of Covid and the isolation of lockdowns, from late 2020 to early 2021, Americans briefly experienced the freedom of social democracy. They had enough liquid money to plan long term and make spending decisions for their own pleasure rather than just to survive. They had the labor protections to look for the jobs they wanted rather than feel stuck in the jobs they had. At the end of Trump’s term, the American standard of living and the amount of economic security and freedom Americans had was higher than when it started, and, with the loss of this expanded welfare state, it was worse when Biden left office, despite his real policy wins for workers and unions. This is why voters view Trump as a better shepherd of the economy.“
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/09/trump-victory-explanation-scrutiny
Interesting article and the first explanation I’ve seen that makes some sense for why voters think Trump will be better for the economy.
How the Christian right is twisting the legacy of an anti-Nazi hero
Source: The Guardian
“In the long run, experts worry that the push to liken American liberal democracy to Nazi Germany could spur political violence, citing past examples of Christian extremists who invoked Bonhoeffer to justify bombing and shooting up abortion clinics.
“We’re worried about post-election political violence, and this is a way of inspiring that,” said Victoria Barnett, a theologian and eminent scholar of Bonhoeffer and the Holocaust who has advocated for a nuanced understanding of Bonhoeffer and has cautioned against depicting Bonhoeffer as a kind of evangelical “Lone Ranger”.
According to documents obtained by the Guardian and Documented, the production and distribution of the movie, called Letter to the American Church, was coordinated by the rightwing group Turning Point USA and American Letter Productions – the film division of Metaxas Media, an entertainment business founded by Eric Metaxas.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/03/eric-metaxas-christian-right-dietrich-bonhoeffer
I have never heard of Metaxas and his effort to paint liberals as Nazis. I wish US media would report on groups like this and include facts instead of misleading claims because it’s really difficult to stay informed about all the right-wing groups trying to undo democracy.
Republicans' healthcare proposal if Trump wins? More private Medicare
Source: The Guardian
“Medicare Advantage plans can be enticing because they often include food or transportation cards, $0 monthly premiums and hearing, vision and dental benefits – none of which are included in traditional Medicare.
Kinsell notes that the problems usually start when people get sick.
“Patients have been unable to get into rehab, or stay,” she said. Others were charged $50 a day for rehab when the service is normally free for a short period in traditional Medicare.
“We’ve spent a lot of time in our district office with seniors who got hoodwinked by these corporate insurance plans,” said Democratic US representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington state. Jayapal has called for “urgent reforms” and consumer protections to be added to Medicare Advantage.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/26/trump-republican-healthcare-plan-medicare
Good article on how Medicare Advantage takes advantage of seniors. Republicans pushed Advantage plans as a way to save money, but they actually cost more. Such plans are estimated to cost the government $83 billion more just this year than traditional Medicare. As usual, insurers have learned to game the system to inflate their charges and earn more profit while denying or reducing care.
'Unlimited dollars': how an Indiana hospital chain took over a region and jacked up prices
This article is long, but it’s an important look at how for-profit healthcare organizations are gaining power and raising prices while also denying care. We need to stop giving tax advantages to these organizations in return for care for the poor and just tax them as the actual profit-making corporations they are. This Indiana company called Parkview is just detestable in its business practices. They are an argument for universal healthcare and big changes in how we tax such groups.
“Not-for-profit healthcare has been good business for Parkview as it has been for hundreds of other ostensible charities across the US which operate nearly half of the nation’s hospitals. In exchange for generous tax breaks, these institutions are required to provide free and discounted care to poor patients, but many have faced criticism for skimping on charity care, demanding high prices and giving executives exorbitant salaries.
Since 2019, Parkview has raked in more than $2bn in revenue annually, enabling the system to give dozens of its executives and top doctors six and seven figure annual compensation packages. Before his retirement at the end of 2022, Parkview’s longtime CEO, an avowed Christian who publicly styled himself as a “servant” leader, took home nearly $3m from the not-for-profit, according to the system’s last publicly available IRS disclosure.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/17/indiana-medical-debt-parkview-hospital
The path to destroy American democracy runs through Georgia
Good article by Lawrence Tribe and Dennis Aftergut. What Georgia is doing is likely to be copied by other red states. This is the nonviolent coup Republicans are planning.
“Trump and his Maga allies seek to permanently dismantle the architecture of government established by our founders 235 years ago. The route there this November runs through Georgia, a key battleground state where undoing any electoral victory by Kamala Harris would be vital to Trump’s return to power. Trump and his acolytes will do whatever it takes to win. That includes not certifying the people’s actual vote.
They are trying to turn a system of automatic certification, per our constitution’s design and as it has always been, into one where power turns on the people they have in place – in other words, a government not of law, but of men. If they can refuse to certify elections, they don’t have to worry about them in the future.
That is the path to power unconstrained by the people. To achieve it Trump and his Project 2025 architects need to strip institutional constraints set by the constitution and state law on a future president’s readiness to govern by force. Trumpism’s route to the White House is paved with bricks of election theft.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/28/the-path-to-destroy-american-democracy-runs-through-georgia
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