These highlights of Ginsburg’s decisions and dissents on the SCOTUS are a joy to read. I used two sources, and decided to keep the overlap. Many highlight the reason she was affectionately known as the Notorious RBG. United States v. Virginia, 1996 In United States v. Virginia, Ginsburg wrote the majority
Continue readingTag: US politics
Scripturient: Socialism, Communism, and Liberalism
Watching American political dramas like their presidential elections is both entertaining and frightening. Yet it is also strangely educational. it has taught me a basic tenet: Americans as a people know little to nothing about politics. Not just about international politics, but their own. It is a commonly held belief
Continue readingwmtc: "fine. biden. but this is bullshit."
I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: Donald Trump is the single greatest gift the Democratic Party could ever hope to receive. The Democrats have finally achieved their most sought-after position: every thinking person must now vote Democrat, no matter what. They can now run whoever they want
Continue readingScripturient: Will communism as a dominant political ideology ever make a comeback
I took the title from a discussion on Quora about whether Communism is dead or will re-emerge, and if so under what conditions. I don’t believe that the author of the post (Susanna Viljanen, from Aalto University in Finland) who opens that discussion wanted to see Communism arise again, but
Continue readingScripturient: Where is Wat Tyler Now That We Need Him?
I was disappointed that the Occupy Wall Street movement, which began with such vigor and hope in 2011, soon petered out into a sputtering, unfocused political miasma barely a year later. I was even more deeply disappointed that the antifa (anti-fascist) protests, which also seemed to have such promise earlier
Continue readingScripturient: Lessons from History
It is common practice to look back and conflate the events of the past with those of the present, seeking parallels, resonance, and answers from previous events that help explain today’s. We learn from others, from their experiences, and we like to find commonalities in our shared experiences, even from
Continue readingScripturient: I Just Don’t Understand Americans
I’ve long been somewhat of a politics/history junkie, and as such I read a lot about both topics, from ancient times to modern; I read about events, wars, issues, personalities, elections, debates, governance, and the philosophy of politics. I read books, newspapers, websites, magazines, social media, and more books. I
Continue readingScripturient: The Talibangelist Conspiracy to Rule America and the West
Talibangelists (aka (aka the pseudo-Christian, far right) would love to force everyone believe in and obey their highly-adulterated pseudo-religion, and to punish those who don’t. Or won’t. Punishment is big on their agenda: unbelievers, those who stray, followers of a real faith, scientists, intellectuals, people of colour, gays, people with
Continue readingScripturient: Trump plays the god card
For a nation that allegedly separates church and state, Americans sure love to splash religion all over everything, their elections especially. So this week, Donald Trump made headlines by accusing the frontrunner, Joe Biden of being “against god.” Cue the angels with trumpets. Americans make big oompah sounds about their
Continue readingScripturient: The day that reason died
I’m not a believer in alien visitations and UFOs, but I’ll bet if an alien did swing by, after an hour or two observing us, checking out Facebook or Twitter, they’d lock their doors, hang a detour sign around our planet, and race off. They’d tell their friends not to
Continue readingScripturient: Whatever happened to conservatives?
It’s hard to believe these days, but in many nations, conservative political parties were once actually the defenders of the nation’s interests, of the greater good, of the public, and of the state. They weren’t always the corporate shills, protectors of billionaires, privatizing libertarians, lobbyist puppets, Talibangelist lapdogs*, and racists
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Will America Ever be Great Again? – Justin Webb
The upcoming election in the US, at least from a Canadian perspective, a bit lost in the deluge of media coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. The American Left business party has a chance to regain the White House, but Webb asks the question in his essay on Unherd, “What
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Inequality Poisons the Roots of Democracy – Paul Street
We need to flatten the wealth curve for our society to continue to move forward and prosper. The out of balance economic shakedown that has been the status quo for so long needs to change. Paul Street writing for Counterpunch lays out the grim details: “+ 23. Capitalist Inequality
Continue readingwmtc: 11 things you should know about u.s. presidential elections
Here are some facts about US elections. There are mountains of evidence to support each of these. If you have doubts, do some homework. This is merely a summary of facts. 1. The Electoral College. Up to 50% of votes in any state are wiped out. Canada has first-past-the-post voting
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Noam Chomsky on Bernie and Biden
I’m disappointed that Bernie Sanders did not get the Democratic nomination. I suspect the only way he will ever get into the race proper is if he runs as an independent. The structural opposition within the Democratic party is just too strong to overcome currently. I hope that Chomsky’s observations
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Austerity Is The Enforcement Mechanism designed to keep the Rich in Control of the American Political Economy – Rob Urie
Counterpunch columnist Rob Urie tackles some of the political consequences of the neoliberal choices we have made as a society. “The question of bailouts is fundamentally different from that of taking care of people. An adequate response to the pandemic will require years of dedicated effort, not tossing a
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Media Malfunction as Sanders Notes Positive Aspects of Latin American Socialism
By GREGORY SHUPAK When 60 Minutes (2/24/20) asked Sen. Bernie Sanders about his past support for aspects of Cuba’s socialist revolution, as well as for Nicaragua’s 1979–90 leftist Sandinista government, Sanders responded by saying Read more…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Bernie Sanders – A Glitch In the System
Is Bernie Sanders destined to become the next Jeremy Corbyn? A second excerpt from the Jonathan Cook essay we looked at yesterday. The Sanders threat Sanders is one of those glitches. Just like Jeremy Corbyn was in the UK. They have been thrown up by current circumstances. They are
Continue readingTattered Sleeve: It’s the Econom… I mean, Senate, Stupid!
For my younger audience, note that the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign was driven by the message: It’s the Economy, Stupid! (internally only). So… Super Tuesday results are coming in and I see three things: 1) Being unjustly targeted by Trump is turning out to be a very good thing for
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Robert Reich-What Bernie Skeptics Need To Know
What Bernie Skeptics Need to Know Before Super Tuesday The Democratic establishment is wrong to think Bernie Sanders is too progressive to win a general election. He's the Democrats’ best shot at taking back the White House.Share this with all the Bernie skeptics you know before Super Tuesday: Posted by
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