The controversy over medical abortion pills (actually, the non-controversy as it is safe and effective) is just one issue that Republicans/Conservatives/MAGAs are using to attack and remove ALL government regulations. Let's be clear, they want to replace EXPERTS with political appointees who will carry out their agenda.
Human knowledge has progressed exponentially since the dawn of modern science. It is no longer reasonable to accept claims without sufficient objective evidence. The harm from religion, alternatives to medicine, conservatism, and all other false beliefs will be exposed on this blog by reporting the findings of science. This blog will also reinforce what should be the basics of education: History, Civics, Financial Literacy, Media Literacy, and Critical/Science Based Thinking.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Deregulation: A Base Motive Of Republicans
Monday, November 20, 2023
Neoliberalism And Libertarianism: They Must Be Defeated
Friday, November 17, 2023
The Supreme Court's New Code of Conduct Is A Paper Tiger
"In the full episode, they discuss the leaked video of former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis’ proffer session with Georgia prosecutors, the positions taken by federal prosecutors and Donald Trump on the issue of publicly broadcasting Trump’s upcoming election interference trial and the New York Attorney General’s ongoing civil fraud trial against Trump."
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
The US Supreme Court: It's Worse Than You Thought
"In this episode, Jim Underdown speaks to Nick Little, former Director of CFI’s Legal department, and Eddie Tabash, Chair of the CFI Board of Directors. The two lawyers talk about the state of the court, recent decisions, and the problematic future for secular Americans."
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
A Look Into The Sneaky Work Of The US Supreme Court
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Affirmative Action: Its Importance
"Those precedents are now in jeopardy, serious jeopardy. Now, it turns out that several of my law partners at WilmerHale have been representing Harvard in defense of affirmative action, from the trial court all the way to the Supreme Court, and one of those lawyers is my guest today, longtime Civil Rights Lawyer, Debo Adegbile. Debo currently serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Litigation and acting President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He’s also served as Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Debo, welcome to the show."
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Conservatives And Activist Judges
Saturday, May 28, 2022
The Truth About The 2nd Amendment To The US Constitution
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Challenging Anti-abortion Dogma
"Life begins at conception" is the major reason given by the anti-abortion folks to make it illegal. The following links are to sources challenging this unsupported dogma: (1)(2)
If you agree with these challenges but argue for the personhood of the fetus, this link, and this link, challenges that view.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
- Virtually all opposition to Roe v. Wade is religiously motivated.
- Morality based on religious dogma is unconstitutional under the secular law of the USA.
- Rose v. Wade has strong precedence in US law.
- Morality clearly comes from biology and social interactions, not from religious dogma. It is complex with multiple effects from actions. Objective analysis clearly shows that less harm is done to society under Roe v. Wade.
Saturday, December 4, 2021
History Of Legal Precedent And Greater Recognition Of Human Rights
The Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court is universally recognized as its worst because of its support of slavery. The Civil War and the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery and led to a period of "Reconstruction." However, such was resisted through Jim Crow Laws, which peaked with Plessy v. Ferguson legalizing "separate but equal" in 1896. It wasn't until 1954 that this Supreme Court case was overruled by Brown v. Board of Education. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade decision recognized the right of a woman to choose abortion up to the time of viability.
The only way women and minorities have gained recognition of their inherent rights is through court decisions actualizing the US Constitution and the use of the legal principle of precedent, which directs a court to look to past decisions for guidance on how to decide a case before it. The history of Supreme Court decisions has been a bumpy ride toward greater recognition of human rights. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it would be another unfortunate case of a recognized human right being no longer so!
Regarding women's rights, it's more than time for the USA to wake up to the fact that the Republicans are attempting to continue a history that has been within the USA since its founding: stripping women of political and economic power.
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
The US Government And Vaccines
U.S. Supreme Court
Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)Jacobson v. Massachusetts
No. 70
Argued December 6, 1904
Decided February 20, 1905
197 U.S. 11
"It is within the police power of a State to enact a compulsory vaccination law, and it is for the legislature, and not for the courts, to determine in the first instance whether vaccination is or is not the best mode for the prevention of smallpox and the protection of the public health."
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Has Magical Thinking Won?
The history of humanity has mostly been dominated by magical thinking (ignorance, superstition, dogma, and religion). Thus, science-based thinking essentially has only been around for about .25% of our existence (500 years of science out of 200,000 years). Science since its beginning has had to battle against these negative forces, of which the most prominent example has been religion. The Enlightenment and the US Constitution have been in the vanguard of opposing these forces.
In the USA, a minority of its people (conservative Catholics, evangelical Protestants, and ultra-orthodox Jews) began to gain power exceeding their numbers after President Nixon's perfection of the Republican "Southern Strategy." These political forces have slowly been gaining power to the point of causing the election of Donald J Trump as President. In other words, this aggressive magical thinking minority has hijacked one of the two major political parties. Since Trump's election, this power continues to gain strength, in spite of his total depravity and lack of fitness for the office. The clearest example of this power has been the appointment of several conservative Federal judges throughout the USA and two Supreme Court Justices. Most of us science-based thinkers have been on pins and needles regarding Ruth Bader Ginsberg as a strong liberal Justice in a conservative-majority Supreme Court. In my opinion, yesterday, September 18, 2020, was another "date that will live in infamy." Yes, strong words. However, just ponder the effects of magical thinking that suddenly now, in the face of massive fires in the West and a pandemic, have a clear path to political dominance for decades, for example:
- Evolution denial
- Climate change denial
- Medical science denial
- Economic and social inequality
- Theocratic authoritarian government
- Going against the political norms of representative democracy: Gerrymandering; voter suppression; support of non-representative Electoral College; abuse of Senate protocol.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
A Look At The US Constitution "Reconstruction Amendments"
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Long Term, Republicans Had Best Be Careful
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Science, The Supreme Court And The Law
Scalia’s Supreme Court Replacement Should Respect Science