Judicial Dinosaurs from the swamp

The latest pick from a republican president* for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, is supposedly a "nice" guy who will decide cases based on an originalist view of the Constitution.   Of course, somehow, the originalist take on almost any case hinges on whether it is beneficial to corporations, the wealthy and the socially conservative.  Funny how that works.  However, in the 21st century, the government or more descriptively, the regulatory state cannot be hobbled by the interpretation of an 18th century document written by men with no notion of what technology would do to change their world.  Citizens today expect to be able to breathe clean air, drink clean water and avoid environmental carcinogens.  They also approve of the social safety net and want it strengthened.  An 18th century government cannot do these things in the face of globe spanning corporations with the clout of IBM, Boeing, Google, Facebook, et. al.  A government of the people, by the people and for the people must have the ability to regulate corporations for the public good.  Kavanaugh and his ilk propose a government by corporations.  It is a stark choice and we need to exercise our limited franchise to make sure this is the last disaster the GOP can foist upon us.

Another brick in the wall

Cheeto Jesus' disregard for the rule of law and its place in American jurisprudence were on full display last night as he plucked yet another right wingnut judge from the circuit court system to fill Anthony Kennedy's seat on the Supreme Court.  Brett Kavanaugh is a 53 year old republican party partisan who was part of Ken Starr's penis hunt in the 90s.   He also fought for and celebrated the Bush vs. Gore ruling which installed the Shrub in the Oval Office.  You can expect him to hold the president* has virtually unlimited power and cannot be investigated or indicted while in office.  Voter suppression, gerrymandering and other non democratic means of holding onto power will also get favorable rulings.  As one pundit put it, it's exactly what you would expect from any republican president and that is the problem.  As a shrinking minority party, the GOP can no longer pretend it holds American democratic values dear.  It has devolved into a party which will attempt to hold onto power by any means, even collusion with a foreign power.  Kavanaugh is merely a symptom of this disease.

Milestones

Families grow by various means.  Marriages, childbirth, and adoption are the most common ways.  Our family celebrated the latter over the weekend as a gathering of family and friends officially welcomed Erica Justyce Groleau to the clan.  Erica has been with Alicia and Rick for more than 5 years now and we have seen her grow into a bright, inquisitive, beautiful 9 year old who handles her status with aplomb.  She has managed her integration into our extended family while retaining ties with some members of her birth family.  I hope she is able to continue this intricate dance and reap the benefits of knowing her origin as well as her future.  As always, a strong family feeling is key to success in interpersonal relationships and Erica is well placed to benefit.  The party was a great success due to Alicia and Rick's efforts and it was a pleasure to catch up with everyone who made the trip. 

Casual cruelty is the new norm

At a rally attended by 6500 cheering morons, Cheeto Jesus casually mocked George H.W. Bush and his "Thousand Points of Light" and went after John McCain for his vote against Obamacare repeal even as the Arizona senator fights for his life.  As Joe Scarborough pointed out, it is as much on the cheering throng as it is on the president*.  If those cheers had turned to boos, perhaps tRump might have started thinking about the road he is forcing the country to travel.  While civility is perhaps overrated, mocking those who gave most of their lives in service to America is just one in a series of new lows in our social discourse brought to us by the mountebank who managed election due to a series of fortuitous coincidences and the intervention of the FBI and Russia on his side.  We are stuck with this suppurating boil for at least 2 more years.  Let's call his boorish behavior out at every opportunity and hold him accountable for lowering the level of our polity.

Exceptional

Many, if not most Americans are willing to give much of our nation's sordid history a pass, at least every 4th of July.   Founded on the genocide of the native population, built on the backs of millions of slaves and finally as it became a world power, allowed a gilded age of robber barons and unspeakable poverty to exist side by side.  That's a lot to answer for, but as our history is sanitized and taught by our school system we are not encouraged to ask the questions that might tarnish our belief in American Exceptionalism.  To be sure, there is much to be proud of in our history, but the racism, nationalism, misogyny and various other isms which have plagued us get a rose colored eyewash amid the picnics, fireworks and other holiday activities.  My 9 year old granddaughter was moved to sing " America the Beautiful" at the sight of our country's flag hung on our back porch last evening.  It is good to celebrate the triumphs in our heritage, but also to note the stains on our honor.  To resolve to enact a more perfect union among our modern day melting pot of citizens is a worthy endeavor we can all get behind.  May the Flying Spaghetti Monster bless America.

Independence Day thoughts

If you are a thinking citizen, the July 4th holiday is probably going to cause melancholy reflections on the state of our union.  Ripping apart families trying to immigrate to our country, starting trade wars with our closest allies, denigrating and destroying American institutions such as the EPA  and the FBI are not the actions most of us would think to take if we were running the country.  However, Cheeto Jesus and his enablers in the government and the media are doing just that and more.  The groundswell of popular revulsion which started with the women's march right after the inauguration and continues  with protests against the almost daily outrages committed by this administration continue.   Despite attempts at voter suppression by states controlled by the GOP it looks like citizen activism will result in some changes after elections in the fall.  That alone makes July 4th a day to contemplate the American experiment and gives hope for its continuance.  We all must take our duties to the country seriously, lest our democracy wither due to inaction.

Nothing to see here, just move along

Today's high should be in the mid to upper 90s on the NCR and not many people are happy about it, especially those of us without central air conditioning.   Very few houses in the north country have this particular amenity because historically, temperatures as hot as today's predicted 98 degrees are so rare as to be a curiosity.  Of course most new construction features air as the summers now usually contain several periods of severely hot weather.  Meanwhile, the garden is showing the effects of the warmer weather.  Summer squash, peppers and tomatoes are thriving, while lettuce is getting ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.  succession planting is difficult under these conditions, as keeping seeded areas moist until germination occurs is a daunting task.  Hopefully the weather will break with thunderstorms on Thursday, solving both the heat and moisture problems.