Culture Warriors category archive
“A Republic, If You Can Keep It” 0
William Rivers Pitt fears that we cannot.
Courting Disaster 0
At the Des Moines Register, John and Terri Hale explain why they disagree with four recent, major Supreme Supremacist Court decisions. Their article is notable for its clarity and simplicity and I commend it to your attention.
Here’s their take on one of them (emphasis in the original):
Our view: Public dollars are for public schools that take on the challenge and the opportunity of educating everyone, regardless of skin color, abilities, beliefs, primary language, gender identity, or sexual orientation. They should not be used to support the teachings of any particular faith nor any institution that discriminates in admissions or hiring.
Tell Them What They Want To Hear 0
Jeff Shapiro writes of Virginia Governor Trumpkin’s–er–loose relationship with consistency, particularly as regards his position on abortion. A snippet (emphasis added); follow the link for the evidence.
Courting Disaster, Conflict of Amendments Dept. 0
At the Hartford Courant, Samuel Teixeira suggests that there is a logical flaw in Samuel Alito’s reasoning in his decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Of course, the moral flaw is obvious, but the law and morality are only occasionally related.)
Here’s a bit from hit article:
The Ninth Amendment effectively makes unconstitutional just one method of construing — interpreting –– the Constitution: an interpretation that denies or disparages a right because other rights are explicitly enumerated –– listed.
Teixeira’s reasoning is interesting, perhaps even correct, but irrelevant.
Alito’s opinion was not based on logic or reasoning and certainly not on precedent. It was based on dogma, and the arguments he made in it are nothing more than Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes for “because we can.”
(Broken link fixed.)
Courting Disaster, Creeping Theocracy Dept. 0
Sam and his crew dissect the slow-moving theocratic coup.
Restrictions Need Not Apply 0
Steve M. points out that the rich are different from you and me.
Lies and Lying Liars 0
The American Scholar points out–er– mistatements in Samuel Alito’s abortion rulingwrong concerning American legal and medical history.
Just read it.
When the Right Takes Away a Right . . . . 0
And Elise Kalin writes powerfully of the loss at the Des Moines Register. Here’a little bit of her article:
The Obvious Will Out 0
Emma points out, “Lay in bed with a tiger and it claws your face.”
He laid in bed with a tiger. It (figuratively) clawed his face.
Originalist Sin, Catch-22 Dept. 0
It’s the best catch there is.
Jonathan Wolf explains at Above the Law. Here’s a bit (warning: mild language):
Alienable Rights 0
Michael Paul Williams reminds us that the United States and its Supreme Court have a history of granting, then retracting rights. Here’s just one of the examples he cites (emphasis added):
“Every 15 years, the status of Black people changed according to the Supreme Court,” Perry* said. “Our rights are as firm as the people who vote to protect them.”
The battle is never over.
___________________
*Howard University political science professor Ravi Perry.
Republican Family Values 0
Aside:
When I was a young ‘un, back in the olden days, my mother subscribed to Lady’s Home Journal and McCall’s Magazine (both of which are now defunct). I read them, because I read everything I could get my hands on, even my father’s issues of U. S. News and World Report, which he subscribed to after Time Magazine ticked him off for some reason.
Those ladies’ magazines were not just about fashion and make-up. The death toll from back-alley abortions was a frequent topic. Because I was a young ‘un, I can’t say that I understood the physiology, at least not until later when I was not quite such a young ‘un, but I certainly understood the psychology: frightened women in crisis, feeling imperiled, futures and reputations endangered, desperately taking dangerous chances to protect themselves, their futures, and sometimes their families.
And today’s Republican Party would bring those days back.
