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| Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the Democratic Ticket in Novermber's Election |
Many Republicans, either openly or quietly, will be supporting Kamala Harris. Some even spoke at the Democratic Party’s convention. Unfortunately, those Americans who choose to depend upon news sources such as Fox News or Newsmax are not being given that news. It will be up to the Democrats to publicize the numerous Republican defections.
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Fixing the SCOTUS
If the Democrats win the presidency and both Houses of
Congress in November, which I predict they will, that would leave the Supreme
Court as the only part of our government not responsive to the will of the
people.
I wonder if President Harris will threaten them with an expansion of the SCOTUS, as FDR did, to get them to recognize that the nation they serve today is very different from what it was at the time of their appointments to the Court.
Of course, this is what the Constitution intended their role to be, as a brake on runaway democracy, a respectful nod to the past, but it never anticipated the present Court’s denial of the legal principle of ‘stare decisis,’ that of basing decisions on legal precedents made over the years.
Expansion of the SCOTUS may be the only way to produce a decision that reinstates
Roe vs Wade. I hope it doesn’t come down
to that having to be done because that, in itself, would be an undesirable
precedent for future presidents. But as Bob Dylan sang, “things may be a-changin’.“ And for the better!
JL
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The Pursuit of Happiness Under Threat
Did you know that the Declaration of
Independence’s promise that ‘all men are created equal’ was not
fulfilled by the Constitution, thirteen years later? The final member of the Declaration’s
new triad of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ quickly
reverted to the more traditional trio of ‘life, liberty, and property,’
negating the spirit of both of those documents.
In fact, it took until the 1840s for ownership of
property to be gradually phased out as a voting requirement in most States. But there still were many who could not vote, including recent immigrants,
women, and of course, slaves. It took
the Civil War in the 1860s to emancipate America’s slaves, giving them the
vote, but there still were many who believed that ‘property,’ and not the
Declaration’s ‘pursuit of happiness,’ was the keystone to American democracy,
and they worked hard to keep it that way with local laws establishing what
amounted to separate classes of citizenship.
These laws centered on restricting voting.
These people felt it were their efforts, exemplified by the
property they and their families had acquired, that were the engine that drove
the nation’s economy. Their business
enterprises and their investments fueled the country’s economy and that is why
the protection of their ‘property’ was more important to them than the ‘pursuit
of happiness.’ Abraham Lincoln thought this was bullshit and said that
government ‘of, by, and for, the people’ was more important, regardless of
whether or not they owned property, or even were enslaved.
But those that thought Lincoln was a tyrant
put a bullet in his head and by 1876, a decade later, the Declaration of
Independence’s ‘equality’ became defined as ‘equal rights,’ but only for those
who possessed wealth and property. They were content that the needs of
those who did not fit that definition might be satisfied by their being
employed in their enterprises. Some
economists refer to that as how wealth ‘trickled down’ with the idea that every
boat, even those of working people, floats higher in a rising tide.
To keep things that way, it was important to those with
property or businesses that voting not be readily available to those who
were not able to contribute to the economy in the manner that they, the
propertied classes, were able to do, but only with their labor on farms, in
mines, and in factories. A class system was necessary to accomplish this, which
at a minimum would discourage ‘freeloaders’ on the economy.
Why? If working people voted in sufficient
numbers, they might then seek full and equal access to the rights mentioned in
the Declaration of Independence. That’s why!
Those in power felt that the government’s decisions should be made by
the economy’s ‘makers’ and not its non-contributory ‘takers.’ That, incidentally, is why ‘Reconstruction’
after the Civil War failed. The words of
our ‘better angels’ were drowned out by those who preferred things the way they
used to be.
This attitude still exists today. Talk to any Republican candidate for proof of that! ‘Gerrymandering’ by easily controlled State
legislatures unfavorably redistricts the votes of minorities of which many
workers form a part. Voting hours and
locations are reduced. More rigid voter
‘identification’ rules are mandated.
Voting by mail and early voting are made more difficult. There rarely is evidence of the elusive ‘election
fraud’ which is usually claimed to exist to justify such measures.
All of these are the tools of those who want to reduce the
voting power of honest working people, leaving legislation to those with wealth
and the businesses in which they invest.
Those who recognize and oppose this, including union organizers, are
often vilified as being socialists, or even worse, communists. Republicans even refer to Kamala Harris and
other Democrats as ‘communists.’
In Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech at the Democratic
convention, she talked about building an ‘opportunity economy,’ recognizing the
need to further empower working people. This
might cater to both ‘makers’ and those they employ. I don’t know how she plans to pull this off. But guaranteeing
the latter’s voting rights on a national basis should be the first step in this
direction. Passage of the John Lewis Voting Act
should have a high priority. That
would ensure equal access to the ballot box for all citizens, regardless of
skin color or language ability, and eliminate State measures which discourage
voting. It would open the door
to the ‘pursuit of happiness’ for all Americans.
JL
* * *
World Peace
In addition to facing the continuing threats to our country
posed by Russia, China, and even North Korea (more about that in a future
posting), Kamala Harris will also have to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, of which the war in Gaza is only one aspect. It is even divisive to Americans and can
conceivably jeopardize her election on November 5.
She knows that a ‘one-state’ solution there is not a viable solution because by definition it ignores the interests of either the
Palestinians or the Israelis, depending on who gets to control that ‘one-state.’
Those advocating a ‘one-state’ solution
tend to be extremists, either Palestinian or Israeli, who would rather live with violence (which is easy) than solve problems (which is difficult).
In achieving a peaceful ‘two-state’ solution, the following
challenges must be met.
1.
Dealing with those who want to entirely eliminate the State
of Israel, including their prime supporter, Iran.
2.
Dealing with those who want an Israel of ‘Biblical’
dimensions, with Israeli settlers already occupying parts of what might be a
Palestinian state.
Part of the solution lies in replacing Iran as the
Palestinians’ prime supporter with the Arab states who are willing to accept
the existence of the State of Israel.
Everyone has their price, and that is what diplomacy and compromise are
all about. Achieving this while still supporting Israel, but without an
expanded war should be high on President Harris’ agenda.
Part of the solution is changing the mindset of the
Israelis who have, with their government’s assent, settled in areas that might
be part of a peaceful, neighboring, Palestinian state. They should be offered the choice of
uncomfortably remaining in a Palestinian state or being resettled in areas
within the State of Israel. The cost of
resettlement, directly or indirectly, should be shared by the State of Israel,
its supporters, and Israel’s more cooperative Arab neighbors.
Just as there must be changes in Iran’s position, there
must be changes in Israel’s government to accomplish this. A theocracy is what has ruined Iran, and Israel should
not be led down that path by those Israelis who think in that direction as
well.
Along with Russia and China, these challenges
will be sitting on Harris’ plate when she takes office. It is something about which Americans care
because of America’s traditional support of the democratic State of Israel as
well as their recognizing the needs of Palestinians, which to some extent are
parallel to those of the minorities in the United States who have not always
been treated fairly.
JL
* * *
Theocracies Ain’t Good Things
Two paragraphs above, I refer to ‘theocracy.’ Let me digress for a moment. That alone is an enormous challenge
Everyone in this world should have the personal right to worship in any manner they wish or even deny the existence of any religion whatsoever! Beyond that, religion should be
limited to houses of worship, one’s home, or even the magnificent venues around
us provided by the wonders of nature but be specifically kept out of any and
all instruments of government or legislation. No denomination nor religious group should
be involved in elections, either! It may be difficult for religious people to accept it but
concepts such as an ‘Islamic Republic’ or a ‘Christian Democracy’ are
obscene!
The Roman Empire’s decline began when Constantine became a
Christian back in the Fourth Century, initially tolerant of other faiths, but
not for long. There was nothing ‘Holy’ about the “Holy Roman Empire’ which
was part of European politics for a millennium starting in the Middle Ages.
Centuries before, a progressive Rabbi in what was then the
Roman-dominated State of Israel recognized that it was appropriate to ‘Render
unto Caesar (representing civil government) the things that are Caesar's, and
to God the things that are God's.’
Although this comment was about paying taxes, it applies to much
more. There should be a wall between religious belief, even that of religious leaders, and political belief.
Even legislation (and this includes the First Amendment to
our Constitution) designed to protect one’s right to believe in a religion of
their own choice should never be allowed to negatively impact those who do not
similarly believe.
JL
* * *
Please Explain Cryptocurrency to Me
Can someone explain to me why cryptocurrencies are nothing more than manifestations of a lack of faith and confidence in the United States government as the guarantor of the value of the pieces of paper in your wallet and bank accounts?
Precious metals like
gold and silver, usually in the form of ‘collectible’ coins, have traditionally
filled that role, but at least they are tangible, something you can grasp with
your hands and keep in a secure place. You can’t even keep cryptocurrency under
your bed. Could it be that those who
want to bring down our system of government are hiding behind such an elusive alternate
system of finance?
JL
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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri
Strange “Hits’! The large number of those accessing
Jackspotpouri from Singapore and Hong Kong has somewhat lessened. I
suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions,
possibly to try to identify who is reading them.
Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me
alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me
your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a
posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be
similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at
jacklippman18@gmail.com.
Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to
anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives,
enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to
check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide
a link to that address in your email to them. There’s another, perhaps easier,
method of forwarding it though!
Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is
prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the
arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up
to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with
a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will
directly connect them to the blog.
Either way will work, sending them the link to
https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom
of this posting.
Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you
think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered
voter. This is an election year. Spread the word.
JL
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