Think of this series of posts as a trial – the trial of the rich and corporations for the damage and destruction they have committed against American democracy: “We, the People – vs – the rich and corporations

I. The CHARGES – the rich and corporations have corrupted the American legal system; they have corrupted American
government; they have corrupted the American economy; they have corrupted the tax system; they have
sabotaged the ability of ordinary people to achieve The American Dream.

II. They have done this, and much more, by changing the rules; by spending immense amounts of “campaign funds”
and other political favors to buy results; “justified” this by massive amounts of lying; creating new, radical,
reactionary ideology and weaponizing information; they have done this for simple. GREED.

III. “We, the PEOPLE of America will prove our case by using unspun NUMBERS from the Census Bureau, IRS, GAO, CBO;
using legal cases and guilty pleas; showing PATTERNS of corrupt and criminal behavior; disproving the massive
LIES of the rich and corporations; b y testimony of numerous qualified great historical figures.

IV. This trial will show that the rich and corporations, for GREED, CRUELTY, and CORRUPTION, deliberately sabotaged
the STATISTICAL peak of American middle class civilization, achieved 1947-1973, when America’s wealth was more
equitably shared, when corporate cultural NORMS supported more equitable distribution of wealth, when
government invested in the American people and society.
The result of this GREED and CORRUPTION is that, steadily, from l980 onward, life for “average” Americans
became more difficult, more expensive, less secure.

*** President Herbert Hoover: “You know, the only trouble with capitalism is capitalists. They’re too damn greedy.”

V. GREED
A. Perspective: if Joe Sixpack works l8-68, makes $50,000 every year, his LIFETIME earnings will be $2.5 million: if Suzie Sorority works 22-68, makes $100,000 every year, her LIFETIME earnings will be $4.6 million; the American president, supposedly THE most important person in the world, makes $400,000 a year.
B. CEOs often make $5-$l0-$20 million in ONE year; some financiers make billions.

***Wall Street Journal Reports [4/18/90]: “The market value of top managers “has been grossly inflated by prattle about the rarity of their talents..Executive talent is far, far more common than the talent..to spear a ground ball hit to the hole..”

C. “The most recent data shows..the top 1% of the national income and wealth now owns 31.4% of American wealth, more than that of the entire bottom 90%.” [11/19/23 N.Y. Times; Petrou; “Bidenomics..”]

***Adam Smith: “No society can..be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of..members are poor and miserable..It is but equity..that they who feed, clothe, and lodge the whole body of the people, should have..and share of the produce of their own labor as to themselves tolerably well fed, clothed and lodged.”

VI. NUMBERS – everybody has “opinions”; some have REAL numerical FACTS. A major part of any serious criticism of the tragedy that oppresses post-1980 America is based upon UNSPUN FACTS – from Census Bureau, IRS, GAO, CBO.
YOUR own serious research must start with PATTERNS of 1946-2023; putting your research IN CONTEXT. WHY is 1980 often seen as a numerical dividing point??? What where the NUMBERS for 1946-1979 tax burden, tax rates, incomes, wealth??? What are the NUMBERS for 1980-2023???
The STATISTICAL peak of American middle class society was reached in 1947-73. WHY??? Though plagued by racism and misogyny, a mixed blue and white collar mass society was achieved for average people.
One of the major charges against the rich and corporations is they DELIBERATELY SABOTAGED what 1947-73 achieved, which means YOU. don’t live there. WHY can serious analysts say this???

***Nobel Prize winner Joe Stiglitz: “..the marked reduction in inequality..between l950 and 1970 was due partly to developments in the markets but even more to government policies..In the years after the “Reagan Revolution.” by contrast, the divide in market incomes increased and..government initiatives designed to temper..inequalities of the marketplace were dismantled , taxes at the top..lowered and social programs were cut back.”

***”The One Percent Solution”: for the first time ever, in 2012 more than half of all income went to the richest 10%; “the richest 400 individuals now exercise a degree of influence comparable to rulers of ancient Rome.”

“$ervants of Wealth”: “From 1973 to 2003, median American family income rose only 22% after doubling between 1947-73. Average top 1% income more than doubled in the same period, top 0.1% tripled.”

VII. LYING – “alternative facts,” bogus ‘legal’ theories, misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, half-truths, truth denial, “reverse engineering”, “the firehose of falsehood”, the “tobacco defense.” The American right has conducted a war on the truth for a hundred years, and more.

*** ex-Republican Josh Barro [2016]: “If [conservatives] look honestly enough, they will realize the conservative information sphere has long been full of lies. The reason for this..lying has been the most effective way to promote many of the policies favored by donor-class conservatives, and so they built an apparatus to invent and spread the best lies.” [“The Scheme”] note: perhaps the right’s biggest lie is that they are “conservative” – but then
REACTIONARY is – and sounds – far more threatening

*** Frank Luntz [2002 memo to GOP candidates]: “Should the public come to believe the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly. therefore, you need to continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue in the debate..There is still a window of opportunity to challenge the science.” [“American Amnesia’]

*** Steve Bannon: “The Democrats don’t matter. the real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.” [“On Disinformation”]

*** “Merchants of Doubt”: “The Internet is flooded with the assertion..Carson was a mass murderer, worse than Hitler..In the demonizing of Rachel Carson, free marketers realize..if you could convince people..an example of successful government regulation wasn’t, in fact successful – that it was actually a mistake – you could strengthen the argument against regulation in general.”

The far right WAR ON TRUTH covers every possible method and strategy you can think of, and many you won’t. In EVERY sphere of life, every industry [almost], the plan is to CHANGE. HOW. AMERICANS. THINK, to provide “justification” for those changes. Literally A WAR ON TRUTH [inconvenient truths]. “The firehose of falsehoods” – the Putin model, is an “unremitting, high-intensity stream of lies, partial truths, and complete fictions spewed forth with tireless aggression to obfuscate the truth and overwhelm and confuse anyone trying to pay attention.” [“The Death of Truth’}

VII. CHANGING THE RULES – to destroy the 1947-73 middle class prosperity, the far right simply changed the rules: for government, for the economy, for taxes, for the law.

*** President Andrew Jackson [1832]: “It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes..when the laws undertake to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society..who have neither the time or the means of scoring like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government.”

*** “Tax The Rich!”: “..essentially all..economic gains of the last 20 years have gone to a tiny sliver of the wealthiest Americans, and that’s not by accident..It’s by design..The wealthy have paid for the ability to stand at the drawing board and plan out big parts of the economy so..the whole thing works particularly well for them.”

*** “tax the Rich!”: “A study by Princeton professor Martin Gilens shows..between the 1980s and..2020s, policies supported by the rich ended up being passed into law between 60% and 70%..not a single policy supported by the majority of voters but opposed by the rich and the business community ended up being passed into the law.”

*** Right-Wing activist Paul Weyrich warned: “We are different from previous generations of conservatives. We are no longer working to preserve the status quo. We are radicals, working to overturn the present power structure of the country.” [D.Gann; New Republic; 10/27/97]

Begin YOUR research with double Pulitzer Prize winners Barlett & Steele”s “The Betrayal of the American Dream” and Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith’s “Who Stole the American Dream?”

IX. DESTROYING DEMOCRACY – the far right has worked, quite successfully, to remake America into a theocratic oligarchy. the pre-1980 America that was reaching toward aa all-inclusive democracy has been systematically changed. We will present SOME of the mountain of evidence to this great THEFT.

*** Nobel Prize winner Joe Stiglitz: “Of all the costs imposed on our society by the top 1%, perhaps the greatest is this: the erosion of our sense of identity in which fair play, equality of opportunity, and a sense of community are so important…our democracy is being put in peril.”

*** Nancy MacLean: “In writing this book..I have found myself more and more fixated on one gnawing question. Is what we are dealing with merely a social movement of the right whose radical ideas must eventually face public scrutiny and a rise or fall on their merits? Or is this the story of something quite different, something never before seen in Americsn history? Could it be – and I use these words hesitantly and carefully – a fifth column assault on American democratic government?……..
Pushed by relatively small numbers of radical-right billionaires and millionaires..profoundly hostile to America’s modern system of government, an apparatus of decades in the making, funded by those same billionaires and millionaires, has been working to undermine the normal governance of our democracy..”[“Democracy in Chains”]

*** U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman: “..the Court’s hard right majority is actively participating in undermining American democracy..the Roberts Court has contributed to ensuring..the political system of the United States pays little attention to ordinary Americans and responds only to the wishes of a relatively small number of powerful corporations and individuals.” [Harvard Law & Policy Review, “The Roberts court Assault on Democracy”}

X. CORRUPTION AND CRIMINALITY – Weekly, if not daily, corruption and criminality reports are in the news. But – this has long been recognized”
*** Chief Justice, Wisconsin supreme Court [1873]: “There is looming up a new and dark power..The enterprises of the country are aggregating vast corporate combinations of unexampled capital, boldly marching, not for economic conquests only, but for political power..money is taking the field ax an organized power. the question will arise..which shall rule – wealth or man, which shall lead – money or intellect; who shall fill public stations – educated and patriotic free men, or the feudal serfs of corporate capital?” [speech to U of Wisconsin grads; “Selling Out”]

This trial will produce a small part of the MOUNTAIN OF EVIDENCE that the far right threat to democracy by the very rich and the corporations they control is very, very real; has been escalating since 1980; and in left unchecked – will result in a theocratic oligarchy.
Heed the words of Theodore Roosevelt’s Mount Rushmore plaque:
“WE, here in America, hold in our hands the hope of the world, the fate of the
coming years; and shame andf disgrace will be ours if in our eyes the light
of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men.” ? ……..

The following was a talk given at a funeral.

The words that begin to define Sandy are Character, class, compassion, and. courage.
I first met Sandy in late July, 1970. Our first date was walking around in a local park. Our second was walking around at a local county fair. After that I never dated another woman. I never wanted to.

Five months later, on Christmas Eve, upstairs at her parent’s home, I proposed to Her. Fortunately, She said “Yes.”

We became partners in life – in every sense of the word. Sandy was my best friend. My soul mate.
My teacher. I was addicted to. HER.

Since I was told of Her death, many people have said. “We’re sorry for your loss.” I’ve said thanks. But at the risk of offending you – you really don’t know what my loss is. Some here have been married 20-30-40-50 years. I don’t want to be seen casting dirt on that.
But – my loss is that I no longer have a nearly perfect human being living with me. A nearly perfect human being.

You have sen bits and pieces of her. I’ve seen HER 24/7 for 52 years.
SHE did have one minor defect – She had no athletic talent. And She didn’t really like attending games.
And – in recent years – the shock of all shocks – She told me She hated one person, who will go nameless here.
I used to tease Sandy that if She saw two people arguing about Adolf Hitler, She would likely find something good about him – he liked dogs and playing with little kids.

Part of our courtship was built around attending the hockey season tickets I had. She drover up when they played here. I drove to her job city when they didn’t. Being Sandy. – She covered up her distaste for sports to be with me.

We bought a wooded lot around 1972-73. Then we designed, together, that home. Sandy had gardens all over that lot – front, sides, back. We cleared out the brush. I built walking paths all over the back. So She could walk around to all Her gardens. Sometimes She would sit back there and read.
When it became too difficult for Sandy to live there, we bought our current home. Sandy and Jill designed that home. And, of course, Sandy has a small garden in the back. This year, it was Her best effort – ablaze in color.

We didn’t have “sex.” WE made love – some times twice a day. It might have been after dinner, movie, Brandy Alexanders. It might have been totally spontaneous – like the time She requested before I lefty to play hockey for a l0:30 game. We were asked to leave a certain restaurant by offended patrons. Then there was the time we almost got caught by the Sheriff……………

When we were trying to have children, one day Sandy told me she was pregnant. For a while I didn’t like that. – I didn’t want to share Her with anybody.
But – sharing Sandy with the world is what made Her Sandy. Allowing Her to fly free like the birds she photographed spread Her around to others.

Much of all of this can be summarized by one word: CHARACTER – which you all know She had in great abundance. If you haven’t – there are high school yearbooks with notes written by adoring students, cards and letters from friends – in the other room. In the other room, we set up three tables: education….family and friends…photography – so you could begin to understand what I said earlier…a truly one in a million woman – in both talents and in the way She trated others.

And then – unfortunately revealed by tragedy – COURAGE. Ever since we injured her knee on Colorado’s “Hanging Mountain” – Sandy has been in pain, which has been increasing.
She shielded me from most of it – but I could see it in her face. I knew that life was getting more difficult for Her. She had trouble with any steps.


And now She’s gone. I got to talk with Her for about an hour on Saturday. I told Her how much I loved Her. And how very proud She should be that HER children were absolutely magnificent in how they were building Her celebration of life. – the kids and their spouses.

But even this isn’t the complete story……….. Unsaid are all the little things between the TWO. OF. US over 53 years…..
LOVE AND LAUGHTER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please forgive me for bragging on. SANDY…….. but remember………..this beautiful, intelligent, kindly, talentred WOMAN for some incredible reason fell in love with me……..so………
I was granted the ability to live with. HER for 53 years…………….a nearly perfect human being.

People have said they were sorry for. “MY” loss. Sandy was much bigger than me.
Our entire family has suffered an irreplaceable loss. Sandy was much bigger than this too.
All of you who have come here have also suffered a loss.

A nearly perfect human being.

Our “friends” on the far, reactionary “right” would like YOU to believe a number of fantastic fairy tales – that unscrupulous Americans are seeking to sabotage America by use of a large number of “witch hunts.” Some are these:

1) the plot to get Senator Joe McCarthy. While “Tail gunner” Joe was conducting his hunt for “communists” under American beds, especially in the State Department, certain “unAmerican” people began persecuting our Joe. He was accused of sloppy math , having stated 57, 81, 205 “Communists” were sabotaging America’s heroic struggle against Stalin and assorted Kremlin villains.

2) the plot to undermine the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. “Patriotic” Congressmen were themselves accused of unAmerican activities because their “investigations” put the heat on a number of “suspicious” people who either had been or were suspected of being members of the Communist Party. Instead of being celebrated as the true heroes they were, HUAC members were denigrated and vilified.

3) the plot to get the automobile companies. A consumer advocate zealot published evidence American car manufacturers had knowingly produced cars “unsafe at an speed..” People got upset because the car manufacturers did “adversary intelligence” by hiring detectives to follow and investigate the consumer advocate himself.

4) the plot to get Richard Nixon. The center-left hated Nixon. They finally got him for covering up 1972 election “adversary intelligence” operations at the Democratic Party headquarters. “Watergate” is thus a monument to the left’s 25 year campaign to get Richard Nixon, not a monument of patriotic truth.

5) the plot against the pesticide industry. They were accused of unfairly attacking Rachel Carson for her book, “Silent Spring,” about pesticides accumulating in the food chain and damaging the environment, for calling her a “hysterical’ female. Criticism of pesticides invokes bees and butterflies being endangered.

6) the plot against Ronald Reagan. The center-left disliked Ronald Reagan. They finally almost got him in the trumped up “Iran-Contra” hoax. The Reagan administration was accused of unConstitutional activity while they defended America from our enemies in Latin America and the Middle East!!! Impeachment of Reagan was even discussed.

7) the plot against the tobacco industry. Since tobacco kills its customers, it represents an easy target. Tobacco executives were forced to testify before Congress. People want to smoke, why not let them exercise this freedom? This is an obvious “personal responsibility” issue – and an obvious big government nanny example.

8) the plot against “pro-life” people. The center-left despises the “Pro-life” movement, saying this is an obvious First Amendment vilation by imposing their religious views on all Americans. Wrong!!! This is a “free speech” issue!!! “Pro-lifers” have a right to present their case for defenseless babies before the public and demand government protect the innocent babies from people who want to murder them.

9) the plot against President George W. Bush. The center-left despises Bush. They said he was illegally placed in office. Wrong!!! The Supreme Court approved his election!!! Center-left people criticized Bush”s invasion of Iraq. Some compared it to Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland. They criticized his tax cuts as unfairly favoring the top 1% and his “faith-based” policies as First Amendment violations. If he was so bad, why did he get re-elected?

10) the plot against gun manufacturers. They are selling a legal product!!! People have a “Second Amendment right” to have guns. Thousands of respectable, honest, good people aren’t committing crimes – why punish them?

11) the plot against conservative speech. The center-left insists conservative speech is a threat to American democracy, saying it is anti-American in its content: inciting violence, hatreds, and many prejudices; and also – fomenting many obviously false “alternative facts.” Conservatives have a First Amendment right to speak their views.

12) the plot to steal the 2020 election. The 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump – by Democrats, libs, Antifa, and others who hate America.

13) the plots against Donald Trump. the center-left hates Donald Trump. Trump is being persecuted for his “perfect phone calls” to authorities in Georgia and earlier, Ukraine. The center-left falsely insists he is guilty of numerous crimes. This is a weak case, a hoax, an obvious political persecution, obviously without merit.

l4) the plot against the fossil fuel industry. For 300 years, fossil fuels have powered “the industrial revolution” which modernized civilization. Misguided center-left people want to end all this progress because, THEY say, it is harming the earth. this evidence is in dispute – so why follow it?

Notice all these targets of witch hunts are on the conservative side. this therefore must confirm what the Fox News – talk radio echo chamber has said for years: the center-left is “out to get” the “true Americans” listening to Fox and talk radio. What else could explain all this?
The only presidents on the list are ALL Republicans What more do we need to know? Two other victims were attempting to expose Communists sabotaging America from within. What more do wee need to know?


Are the l4 cases above true witch hunts? Dictionary definition of witch hunt: “an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.”

THINK. on the last part of the definition: “..usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.”
WHO. REALLY. has done this since 1945? WHO is floating rumors and conspiracy theories???
WHO said they’d supplied “alternative facts”? WHO has pushed DOCUMENTED lies on almost everything?

NOW – the REAL facts on these supposed “plots”:

1) The effort to rid America of Senator Joe McCarthy and “McCarthyism” was based upon several years of his own, well-documented, virtually 100%, use of lies and false “evidence.” It began, documented, as a gimmick to get elected; was so successful in early Cold War America he kept doing it. He was undone by baseless attacks on the U.S. Army. The word “McCarthyism” is now used as a term of unAmerican behavior, of base and deceitful behavior.

2) The House UnAmerican Activities Committee was itself, by dictionary definition, a witch hunt. They used government power in the manner of the Inquisition. They made years of wild accusations against innocent people, ruined thousands of careers and lives, got people to turn on innocents to save their own skins, created an unAmerican atmosphere of fear and paranoia.

3) The failures of American car makers were documented, often obvious; emphasized “style” over technical quality. And – some American made cars were in fact “unsafe at any speed.” So bad were American cars that Honda, Toyota, other foreign cars became best-sellers, forcing American manufacturers to change.

4) Among the MOUNTAIN of evidence against Nixon and his cronies were tape recordings and confessions. “Follow the money” led to more DOCUMENTATION of efforts to manipulate the 1972 election. All so damning that Republican Congressmen told Nixon he had to go. He resigned before he could be impeached. “Watergate” is now used as a term for scandal.

5) Much international evidence was accumulated against DDT and other pesticides. The world is now worried about whether enough pollinators will survive to help produce the food we all eat. Rachel Carson has been overwhelmingly proven correct. This hasn’t stopped a new crop of Internet assassins from comparing her to Hitler as a mass murderer – in order to discredit her success, thereby aid all other industries under investigation.

6) President Ronald Reagan and his administration broke federal laws. there was enough evidence produced – including confessions by some of the perps – that serious legal minds said Reagan might have been impeached on “Ran-Contra”. ALONE. Reagan was forced to make a broadcast “apology” to the American public. Some of his cronies went to jail. An advisor told him he should consider contacting a criminal lawyer.

7) The infamous “tobacco defense” is now standard American industry playbook: muddy the waters and confuse people to create doubt [which various industries have been caught admitting they do!!!]. Tobacco itself must continually create new, young, customers because smoking kills people – which the tobacco execs publicly denied – so they must get people addicted, while denying this too.

8). “Pro-lifers” seek to impose THEIR. religious beliefs on America. This, by Constitutional plain English and 200 years of Constitutional law is unConstitutional. PERIOD. Separation of church and state is THE oldest American legal tradition. Religious oppression was one of the Founding Fathers 4 main fears in 1787. Study Roger Williams and his royal charter for Rhode Island; the 1657 Flushing Remonstrance; petitions by Virginia evangelicals; l776-1800 state constitutions [8 banned an active minister from their gov’t]; 1879 “Reynolds” Supreme Court opinion; and much more.
A “democratic” nation is going to. FORCE. a woman to carry to birth, even if the child cannot survive? This is what the Nazis said: you “owe” the state to carry children to birth.

9). By court decisions and prison sentences alone – G.W. Bush is one of America’s most criminal presidents. Add to this the massive damage done to American society: tax cuts for the rich, “faith-based” work taxpayers are force to finance, the 2008 Crash. His war on Iraq IS similar to Hitler’s 1939 attack on Poland – totally unjustified. Numerous documentation later revealed the mountain of lies told – not to mention massive incompetence and corruption in the war and afterward.

10) 50 years ago thr current death rate, mass shootings rate, and fear of gun violence did NOT exist in America. America is THE most unsafe advance nation by FAR. The Second Amendment does NOT cover civilians who are not part of a “well-regulated Militia” having the weapons they do – this would be the National Guard. In the old “Wild West” drunken cowboys were forced to surrender their guns before entering a town – the townspeople were tired of them shooting up their city. Now the “cowboys” ARE shooting up our towns – unConstitutionally.

11). By much DOCUMENTATION, what is said to be “conservative speech” is, in reality, antidemocratic and reactionary speech that not only involves much. LYING, but also incites violence and hatreds. A democracy runs on trust, tolerance, and truth – qualities the right-wing “echo chamber” violates – because it is THEIR BUSINESS MODEL {causing outrage}. DOCUMENTATION is found in right-wing media transcripts. A major scandal involved Fox “news” – not only saying one thing publicly over the air and the opposite behind scenes; but also, a major on-air personality was forced out because of his actions. Others have successfully been sued for defamation.

120 The “stolen” 2020 presidential election is Trump”s con job masterpiece. He lost the popular vote by 7 million votes!!! He lost in ALL the states he claims he won.. High-ranking members of his own administration said he lost.. Republicans in many states said he lost their state. He lost 60 court cases. Numerous Republican-led recounts proved he lost that election. The only bigger fraud is climate crisis denial.

13) Donald Trump is a CANCER. on America; a lying, cheating. demagogue. He is the anti-George Washington; THE person the Founding Fathers most feared. In Georgia he is #P01135809 because of numerous criminal acts by he and his cronies [“the perfect phone call”]. Federal charges on a wide range of felonious activity exist in multiple courts. His tax cuts go to billionaires – are 25% of the federal debt. He has filled federal courts with numerous dubious “judges.” The damage he has already inflicted on America so severe it worries countries around the world. He has profaned the office once held by Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and others.

14). Climate change denial is. THE. SINGLE. WORST. CRIME IN WORLD. HISTORY. For. GREED, the fossil fuel industry has sabotaged THE consensus. TRUTH {all outside their toadies]: humans are. DESTROYING. how the earth runs. We either stop burning fossil fuels or leave our children and grandchildren an earth that is uninhabitable. All-time heat records set almost every succeeding year; fires burning on several continents; “storms of the century” happening almost every year. Climate change migrants overwhelming other nations. Plants and animals moving away from the equator….. an on and on….

The far, reactionary “right” has polluted discussion with their LIES for 50 years, in ever increasing volumes . They. HAVE TO. LIE. – because. the factual truth is their enemy. “Witch hunts” are only the most sensational examples.

America once approached “perfection”. in 1947-73. That mixed economy, that ever increasingly democratic society. That society approaching a more equitable distribution of America’s wealth – was. STOLEN AWAY. by DOCUMENTED deliberate planning and execution – by the very rich and their corporations.

That ANYA of these “witch hunts” could be taken seriously is proof of how badly , deliberately, misinformed. the American people are – have been artfully led down a number of rabbit holes.

Want proof? Look seriously at ALL. the “solutions” offered by the “right” since 1970. How many of them made life better for all average Americans – vs – how many made life worse?
look at “deregulation” [ Wall Street, Big Pharma, energy, trucking, etc. – 2008 Crash!!!}; look at the high cost of “health care” [insurance execs get more than doctors!]; look at WHO got the major benefits of Reagan, Bush II, Trump tax cuts; look at job security; look at income inequality; look at WHO. is trying to cut or privatize Social Security and Medicare; look at. WHO. appointed religious zealots to the Supreme Court; look at WHO. has tried to change the rules on almost everything that once made America “democratic”.

Keep electing Republicans and you’ll get more of this. ,

If Marc Antony were alive, his speech would have to be changed to: “Friends, Americans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury the “supreme court” not to praise them. The evil that men [ and women ] do lives after them.”

But – it is too late to bury this “supreme court.” You’ve already buried yourselves – under a mountain of corrupt, cruel, incompetent decisions. The EVIL you’ve already done, will, unfortunately, LIVE. ON. AFTER. YOU.
Few Americans will say you’re noble people. Far from it, at least one analyst already said this “court” is “Corrupt and Clueless.” Many others say you ARE what “justice” Barrett claimed you weren’t: a bunch of partisan political hacks. For proof they merely cite your opinions.

The question to be asked: WHY are more and more Americans saying this? What reasons exist for saying “our” “supreme court” is comprised of partisan political hacks who are “corrupt and clueless?
Are they saying all nine are “corrupt and clueless”? NO, they are not. Only six of you, the six who were appointed after a DOCUMENTED partisan process, often funded by anonymous billionaires, to ensure only “strict constructionists” would be on this “court.”
BUT – the “strict constructionists” have made a MOCKERY of that claim. The “constitution” the Seditionist Six claim to represent is NOT what the real authors of the real 1787 Constitution intended and actually wrote. There are many 2005-2023 examples of this; the most notorious and egregious are the manipulations of Amendments One and Two for partisan political hackery.

Amendment One: “make NO law respecting an establishment of religion..” The Seditionist Six HAVE done that, numerous times. At Amendment One’s creation, several nations had “established” religions: England, Spain, Sweden.
An “established” church REQUIRES citizens follow church doctrine. Citizens obliged to pay taxes supporting it. The Founding Fathers, and ordinary citizens – by DOCUMENTATION – DID NOT WANT ANY OF THAT.

For remedial history lesson, examine 1776-1800 state constitutions for provisions on religion. Typical is 1776 North Carolina, Articles XXXIV: “There shall be no establishment of anyone religious church or denomination in this State…neither shall any person, on any pretense whatsoever, be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith..nor be obliged to pay, for..any house of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes right..”
NOT ‘ON ANY PRETENSE WHATSOEVER”. these are the same people, in 13 states, who wrote Amendment One and Amendment Two. No “reasonable” person can possibly misconstrue this – unless determined to do so.

Compare grammar in Amendment One and language of 1776 North Carolina to Roberts “court” rulings FORCING Americans to follow doctrines of the “conservative” church the Seditionist Six were raised in; FORCING other Americans to financially support churches they do NOT attend or ‘BELIEVE RIGHT.”
The butchery of Amendment One is [so far] capped by the “reasoning” of the UN-AMERICAN, UN-CONSTITUTIONAL “Dobbs” abomination – a blatant FRAUD from its first paragraph; a monstrous historical LIE of unprecedented magnitude.
The Seditionist Six have so twisted “free speech” that it covers virtually everything, including bribing lawmakers with anonymous “campaign contributions.” One, perhaps. THE, fear of Founders was CORRUPTION – “Citizens United” stands as a “monument” to judicial ignorance, incompetence, malpractice, let alone abetting {DOCUMENTED] corruption, 20l0 – 20XX.

Amendment Two: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
The Roberts “court” flunked 9th grade English grammar with “Heller,” “McDonald,” and “Bruen.” Amendment Two is one sentence. The FULL MEANING of ANY one sentence is embodied only by considering ALL words, not just some.

People have “arms” to populate a “well regulated Militia..necessary to the security of a free State..” MILITIA and STATE are capitalized – “people” is NOT. Clearly, emphasis is on MILITIA and STATE.
The Roberts “court” is again historically ignorant. Both colonial and post-1789 states had REQUIREMENTS for 18-45 free, white, males providing MILITIA duty. The Seditionist Six, obviously, didn’t read the 1792 Militia Acts [May 3 & 8].-which require MILITIA duty; had military rules, colors, ranks; provided for wounded men in the MILITIA.
For over 200 years, through five Supreme Court rulings – THE interpretation of Amendment Two was the Militia meaning. A unanimous 1939 “Miller” ruling: the “obvious meaning” was a well regulated Militia. Nothing changed, except the “court” membership.

Chief Roberts: your “court” is also known for cruelty. Prime examples are “Ledbetter,” “Dukes,” “Dobbs,” and sentencing an INNOCENT man to do – for procedural reasons.

Few Supreme Court terms ever ended with such an UN-American, UN-CONSTITUTIONAL blow as the 2022 term. Your “court” violated 200 years of Supreme Court rulings and DOCUMENTED legislative intent, America”s “long standing history and tradition” on SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE; revealed egregious ignorance of Matthew 6:6-8; violated 50 years of Congressional intent to protect the environment; continued violating 200 years of American “history and tradition” on gun controls.

Among other damning evidence – your “court” track record for favored groups. Big Business have won 75% of their cases; the “religious right” 90% of their cases. During the Trump regime, the use of the “shadow docket” cases escalated far beyond the combined total for 16 years of Republican and Democratic administrations. The most favored winners: the Trump regime and the “religious right.”

The “shadow docket” is now coming under more criticism because it has all the trappings of a “Star Chamber”: secret meetings issuing blatant partisan rulings. What should a “reasonable person” think?

A distinguished historian, Erwin Chemerinsky, wrote an entire book on one topic: “Closing the Courthouse Door How Your Constitutional Rights Became Unenforceable.” Documented in detail is the “court” track record of three Republican dominated “courts” denying Americans access to courts. Your “court” the worst offender.

SHODDY CRAFTSMANSHIP: The “Dobbs” decision is a shockingly historically inept BIG LIE. Contraception and abortion are recorded for 2000 years in most civilizations. 1600s immigrants brought English common law on abortion. It was commonly, and openly, practiced. No state seriously regulated it until 1821.
The contrast between “Roe’ and “Dobbs’ craftsmanship is absolute. The author of “Roe” spent a WEEK in a MEDICAL library crafting it. The ruling is based upon MEDICAL practice – NOT religion – as “Dobbs’ is. the stupidity and cruelty of “Dobbs” is now daily becoming evident. Women are subjected to violations of world wide standard reproductive care. Doctors are leaving anti-abortion states, because they can’t practice sound medicine – the same reproductive care they gave women prior to “Dobbs.” Medical school graduates are considering NOT practicing in anti-abortion states.
More SHODDY CRAFTSMANSHIP: “Shelby County” said “the South has changed.” Within 24 hours, Texas proved the author a fool – as it reinstated a law previously ruled un-constitutional. Other Southern and Southern-minded states followed Texas. The South, OBVIOUSLY, had NOT. changed.

John Marshall, “Bank”[1809]: “A constitution, from its nature, deals in generals, not in detail. Its framers cannot perceive minute distinctions which arise in the progress of the nation; and therefore confine it to the establishment of broad and general principles.” [in itself – an absolute refutation of “originalism”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

the Roberts “court’: “we rule by cherry picking words, then twist and manipulate them to reflect our bias and prejudice.” In one Constitution violating decision the “court” dwelled on “any,’ deciding this was discriminatory [against a favored group!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]. Webster’s New World Roget’s A-Z Thesaurus: “any” l. [Without discrimination]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More Roberts “court’ ignorance of grammar, let alone law and history.

Prior to 2000, the universally recognized worst Supreme Court decisions were: “Dred Scott,” “Plessy,” “Korematsu.” Then came “Bush-Gore,” Since 2005, added to infamy: “Heller,” “Citizens United,” “Shelby County,” “Espinoza” and “Carson-Makin.” failure to rule against gerrymandering; “Dobbs,” “West Virginia-E.P.A.”

The Constitution’s Preamble states the U.S. Government exists to “..form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility..promote the general Welfare.”
Mr. chief “justice”: your “court” track record is violation of those four principles and requirements; has made America less safe; more corrupt; more divided; enabled more injustice; less able to promote the general Welfare.

Serious, scholarly, articles, studies, and books are now being written expressing the FEAR that the current U.S. “supreme court” run by the Seditious Six is now THE single greatest threat to American democracy. There has been criticism of many previous Supreme Court – but. NEVER was it seriously, across a broad spectrum in these terms. NEVER.

Because of all this, and MUCH, MUCH MORE – The Roberts “court” historical evaluation will include loss of respect for the Supreme Court as an independent, HONEST, FACT-BASED provider of wisdom and justice, as it had been known, 1789-2005. Unless the reactionaries “on a mission” change their behavior on and off the “court,” your “court” is heading for the distinction of. THE SINGLE WORST SUPREME COURT in all American history – damned by your own track record. You’re called a “court” only because polite discourse requires. Because of this “courts”. egregious un-American and un-Constitutional decisions and rhetoric, you are now called a “Catholic Court,: an “imperial court,” a “Star Chamber,” or a branch of the Republican Party – a bunch of partisan political hacks.

“The evil men do lives after them.”

***”Judicial activism results from the enlistment of judges on one side of the culture war in every western nation. Despite its denials by some that any such conflict exists, the culture war is an obtrusive fact…Democracy and the rule of law are undermined while the culture war is altered in ways the electorate would never choose.” [Robert Bork]

V. Summary Big Picture – The FAR RIGHT corruption of American law – along the exact lines Robert Bork protested.
A. PRINCIPLES – ask YOURSELF – how [if] the 1969=2023 Republican dominated “courts” have honored BASIC American principles, as understood 1776-1968: “All men are created equal..the Pursuit of Happiness.” “We the people..form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility..promote the general Welfare.” “No man is above or below the law.” Fairness…Decency…Respect…Equality…Opportunity…the Common Good…Justice…Rule of Law.

***”Democracy rests upon two pillars; One, the principle that all men are equally entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and the other, the conviction that such equal opportunity will most advance civilization.”
[ Justice Louis Brandeis ]

B.PROCESS – ask YOURSELF -how [if] the Right Wing has demonstrated faith in, and an obligation to follow accepted, historic, legal processes – as understood 1776-1968. Specifically how “the law,” 1776-1968 was understood as a process of precedent and manner of dispensing “justice.” Was a “court” understood to be a vital part of American democracy – and therefore – expected to observe “American” values and codes people recognized and accepted as “just and fair”? Is “our” legal system seen as being “just and fair,” 1968-2023?

***”The success of any legal system is measured by its fidelity to the universal ideal of justice.”
[ Chief Justice Earl Warren ]

C. PURPOSE. – ask YOURSELF – what was the purpose of the American legal system, 1776-1968. Many would likely say to enforce the laws, as developed, 1789 forward. The assumption being that a court rendering judgment would be solely “legal”; that people would get “justice” from judges and juries that was “just and fair.” NOW – ask YOURSELF: does the DOCUMENTED evidence show this for 1969-2023 – OR – does it show a rigged system that operates from reactionary ideology and fringe “legal theories”?

***”In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it.” [ Pope Francis ]

D. PATTERNS. – ask YOURSELF – what is the DOCUMENTED PATTERN of 1969-2023 Republican dominated “courts”? What is the DOCUMENTED “win” and “loss” record, 1969-2023? WHO. have been the consistent “winners” and “losers”? How do these PATTERNS compare to 1901-1968 courts? What has been the damage to American society, government, economy, standard of living? When one favored group wins 75% of its cases, and another favored group wins 90% of its cases – would a “reasonable” person begin to question that “court’s” objectivity?

***”There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.”
[ Justice Black }

E. PROBLEMS – ask YOURSELF – how [if] rulings by Republican dominated “courts,” 1968-2023, have created..or..exacerbated..or..lessened..or..solved.. major problems facing American civilization: corruption…economic inequality…gun violence…voting rights…political money…gerrymandering…discrimination…economic functioning…poverty…government functioning… education…access to courts…rule of law…global warming…health care…social media…hunger…homelessness..addiction…deaths of despair……Is America better off, or, worse off due to 1969-2023 “court” rulings???

***”But humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.” [ Bill Gates ]

E. PERSPECTIVE. – ask YOURSELF – how do the Rehnquist and Roberts “courts” compare to other American courts, to foreign courts? Research “courts” in Nazi Germany [“Hitler’s Justice”], Soviet Russia, Communist China, Putin’s Russia, other authoritarian regimes; courts in England, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, Western Europe, Japan. Were there any 75% or 90% “win” rates for any group or government? Were their courts packed with ideologues? Research American courts 1789-1985. How does the “Lochner Era” compare to the Roberts “court”?

***”The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes awareness of other possibilities.” [ Allan Bloom ]

G. PEOPLE – ask YOURSELF – who are these “justices,” 1969-2023? Research Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Alito; Barrett, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh – both pre-court and as “justice.” What were their backgrounds, their DOCUMENTED biases, their recorded statements and job applications? What happened during their “Supreme Court” nomination process – before their reached the Senate? Do they reflect America?
Read: Millhiser’s “The Agenda,” Dworkin’s “The Supreme Court Phalanx,” Marcosson’s “Original Sin,” “The Rehnquist Court,” “The Rehnquist Choice,” “The Partisan,” “Capitol Games,” “Strange Justice,” “Courting Disaster,” “Closing the Courthouse Doors,” “Justice on the Brink,””Supreme Inequality,””The Case Against the Supreme Court”……………..

***”Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without strategy.”
[ General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. ]

H. PREVARICATION. – ask YOURSELF – how honest have 1969-2023 Republican “justices” been? Multiple books have been written asserting 1969-2023 Republican “justices” have committed perjury, lied under oath, blatantly misled Senators, broken promises not to do something, etc., etc., etc. If untrue, these authors could have been sued – none has. Lower court judges have done the same. This is all public record – research it – before you dismiss this. Then – they have lied in their opinions. “Dobbs” is one big lie, start to finish, so is “Shelby County” [Texas proved it within hours]. Read dissents – why did the dissenters say what they did, what did they accuse Republican ideologues of doing?

***”Anybody who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.”
[ Albert Einstein ]

I. PERVERSITY. – ask YOURSELF – how often have 1969-2023 Republican “justices” “turned away from what is right, good, or proper..” or. “to misconstrue or misinterpret, esp. deliberately; distort.” [dictionary definitions] On matters big [ideological and constitutional] and “small” [cruelty], the Rehnquist and Roberts “courts” have been tragically guilty. Review the “win-loss” record, 1985-2023.
The recent “supreme court” has perverted the First and Second Amendments – twisting the and distorting them – from 1789-1985 accepted meanings. “Speech” has now become virtually everything, including bribing politicians. By their definition – we need to re-evaluate history’s judgment of John Wilkes Booth – he “spoke” out his feelings with a gun.
They’ve, by testimony of state supreme court justices, perverted 1789-1999 understood principles of corporate law [Hobby Lobby]. They’ve invented bogus theories to deny people access to courts. They are perverting American law to favor Right Wing wish lists. They’re lying about American “history and tradition.”
That they are “judges” and “justices” is a perversion of the “conveyor belt” process by which reactionary Senators approved them; and – blocked Democrat presidents from approving many/any judges.
Republicans have made a MOCKERY of American law, of “the rule of law.” In so doing, they have also dramatically lowered living standards of people like YOU – a big part of the plan demanded by their rogue funders.

***”I am of the opinion that a good Judiciary lends much to the dignity of a state and the happiness of the people..On the Contrary a bad Judiciary involved in party business is the greatest Curse that can befall a Country.” [Andrew Jackson]

J. PREJUDICE. – ask YOURSELF – did 1969-2023 Republican nominated “judges” and “justices” enter the federal judiciary with, or without, definite legal prejudices? What does the KNOWN, DOCUMENTED, Republican nomination process tell you? What demands were placed upon those people? See the DOCUMENTED 2005 Miers controversy. – WHY. she was forced to decline – and then, WHO. was her replacement. – none other than a man often labeled a rigid, reactionary political hit man: Samuel Alito. Examine “justice” Alito’s pre-court positions, behavior as a “justice,” rhetoric, opinions. Would a “reasonable” person think “justice ” Alito is free of definite prejudice he has put into American law? Examine “justices” Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett similarly.

***”The greatest and boldest pleasure which man can have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices.” { Frederick the Great ]

K. PROSPERITY. – ask YOURSELF – have 1969-2023 “supreme court” decisions increased, or, decreased, middle class prosperity? Is the share of American income and wealth distributed – as it was in the great middle class golden age, 1947-1973? Research UNSPUN IRS, GAO, CBO official statistics for pre- and post-1980. Look at tax burdens for rich and middle class, corporations. Research tax evasion – WHO WAS [AND IS] doing it. Research court access denial [Roberts “court”], forced arbitration [Roberts “court”],; attacks on labor unions [Roberts “court”]; virtual unlimited rich and corporate “campaign donations” [Roberts “court”]; reducing health and safety regulations [Roberts “court”]. WHY is economic inequality increasing since 1973, and, especially the last 30 years? You are NOT gullible enough to accept this was/is a “natural” occurrence are you?

***”The most perfect community is one in which the middle class is in control and outnumbers both of the other classes.” [ Aristotle ]

L. POSTERITY. – ask YOURSELF – what will future American generations say about the 1969-202X Republican dominated “supreme courts”? Will they see ANY wisdom, ANY true justice, ANY decisions that made America better? When they examine the TRACK RECORD of “winners” and “losers,” 1969-202X – what will they say?
Prior to 1969, the universal worst Supreme Court decisions of all time were: “Dred Scott,” “Plessy,” “Korematsu.” All were later corrected. These have now been joined by: “Bush-Gore,” “Heller,” “Citizens United,” “Shelby County,” “Espinoza,” “Dobbs” [at the end, so far, of a long string of First Amendment assassinations]. None of these decisions made America a better place – and – current reality indicates a much worse country; a country convulsed with cruelty, crime, injustice, massive economic inequality.
No serious, mainstream, fact-based American historian can say that the 1980-202X Republican ‘court” created America is anywhere near the golden middle class prosperity of 1947-1973. THAT, at this point – May, 2023 – is the present and – the future created by 1969-2023 Republican “justices.” The “happiest people on earth”, for many years, live in Scandinavia. YOU might want to ask WHY.
YOU. might also ask. WHY, and HOW, the entire arc of American civilization, and the expectation, and over all trend of each succeeding generation doing better – has been DELIBERATELY REVERSED after 1980. This country has more wealth, in total – BUT – WHO has it? WHY is it said there are two systems of justice: one for the rich, and one for YOU and me? Why, and how – has the Rehnquist-Roberts “court” created SUPER CITIZENS – real human “people and paper people – who have been given special privileges?
THIS is why these posts ‘ “The FAR RIGHT Threat to Democracy” has been done. In the last 40 years, what should have been available to YOU, YOUR children, YOUR grandchildren – has been DELIBERATELY stolen fromYOU. Not by street thugs, but by white collar criminals – the corporations, the reactionary billionaire funders, the Republican “justices” placed on the “supreme court.” As Kurt Andersen said, the Democratic New Deal of 1933-1965 has been replaced by the Republican RAW DEAL of l980-202X.
There is no joy in what we’ve said here – but it is the FACTUAL truth. Compassion has been replaced by monstrous greed. Wisdom and justice replaced by manufactured hatred. Hope replaced by manufactured fear. “We’re all in this together” replaced by manufactured division [as in divide and conquer].

***”In Iroquois society leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.” [ Wilma Mankiller ]

“The judges need to be intimidated. They need to uphold the Constitution. [If they don’t
behave] we’re going to go after them in a big way.” [Tom DeLay; R-TX]

I. “The Far Right wants to control our federal judiciary..to enact its specific reactionary agenda..seem[s] to center on social issues..don’t be fooled. There is another insidious aspect..Economic and political issues are crucial.. If.. successful..this plot will have profound impact on citizens in every arena. They are making efforts to curtail federal regulation of businesses, environmental protections, worker’s rights, bankruptcy laws, tort liability, and property interests..
“This radical group also wants much more control exerted by the states..They want our individual guarantees surrendered back to the states, where enforcement will diminish and maybe disappear altogether.
“Despite the Far Right’s claims..to leave Congress alone, they actually aim to reduce congressional authority. They want ultraconservative judges to strike down a great deal more federal legislation and to negate decades of legal precedent – the very definition of “reactionary.”
“..the extreme Right..have nothing but disdain for the founding fathers’ belief in three branches of government and the prescient system of checks and balances..they are rewriting America’s revolutionary history to accommodate their point of view.” [Catherine Crier: “Contempt” *** this was written in 2005, THINK on how much stuff has happened that she feared would occur…]

*** “Corruption is never an individual act. It always involves groups of people bound by one fundamental rule of an exchange of favors..It allows crimes to be protected with impunity and is characterized by an intolerable arrogance.”
[Roberto Matta]

II.In the name of “religious freedom,” the Rehnquist and especially the Roberts “court” have violated the First Amendment, as understood, 1789-1985; violated the express, DOCUMENTED, intentions, spoken and recorded words; 1776-1800 state constitutions.
1] 1776 New Jersey state constitution, Article XVIII: “That no person shall ever..be deprived of..worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; nor, under any pretence whatsoever, be compelled to attend any place of worship..ever be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or any other rates..for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes right.” [E. Gaustad: Faith of the Founders}
2] Gaustad”s “Faith of the Founders”; pages 134-145 – 4 states prohibited a “Religious Oath of Office” [Article VI]; 8 states banned an active minister serving in their government; l0 banned an “established church” – THIS is what the First Amendment means. Period. The same generation which wrote the “Bill of Rights” wrote these state constitutions. If one wanted “separation of church and state – what bigger statement could be made than banning ministers from govt?

*** “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.” [Thomas Jefferson: “A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom”; 1779}

3]. “What unites Protestant fundamentalists and right-wing Catholics today, in both the religious and political arenas, is a shared hatred of secularism and the influence of secular values on culture and public life..At the highest levels of government, the alliance with the Catholic right has provided Protestant fundamentalists with cover against charges..the real goal of American fundamentalism is a right-wing Protestant theocracy.
“..nominations of conservative Catholics to high office carry an extra dividend: it is difficult for anyone to raise questions about conflicts of loyalty between American law and church doctrine without being accused of anti-Catholicism.
“Scalia, a profoundly conservative Catholic as well as a profoundly conservative jurist, has said bluntly..Catholic officeholders should resign if asked to uphold any public policies that contradict church doctrine..It is certainly not “anti-Catholic” to raise the question of whether anyone who owes his high allegiance not to American law but to Canon law belongs on the Supreme Court.”

*** “All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All separated from government are compatible with liberty.” [ Henry Clay ]

4]. “It was not constitutional analysis but religious doctrine that drove the opposition to Roe. And it was the court’s acknowledged embrace of religious doctrine that has turned American women into desperate refugees fleeing their home states..that very framing..gives away more than members of the majority, all five of whom were raised in the Catholic Church..” {“Religious Doctrine Drove the Abortion Decision”; Linda Greenhouse; New York Times; 7/24/22]

*** “.. no man shall or ought to be compelled to attend any religious worship, to contribute to the erection or support of any place of worship, or to the maintenance of any ministry, against his own free will and consent..” [ 1776 Delaware state constitution; Article I, Section1 ]

5] Justice Brennan, asked about his Catholicism: “What shall control me is the oath that I took to support the Constitution and laws of the United States.”…. “Barrett disagreed. She criticized Brennan’s answer: “We do not defend this position as the proper response for a Catholic judge to take with respect to abortion or the death penalty.” Barrett recommended..judges “conform their own behavior to the Church’s standard” and declined later to repudiate this recommendation.”

*** “The Fathers of the Constitution were not unaware of the varied and extreme views of religious sects..the lack of any one religious creed on which all men would agree..Man’s relation to his God was made no cern of the state.”
[ Justice William Douglas ]

III. NUMBERS
A. “Since 1995, the Court has declared unconstitutional thirty acts of Congress. No other Court in American history has ever done that.” [Martin Garbus: “Courting Disaster”]
B. “..most momentous change in American religion over the last 25 years has been the growth of the religious nones..to 34 percent..a report by the conservative American Enterprise Institute confirms that..and adds..”The most common religious identity among Americans ages 18 to 29 is “none.”” [Tom Flynn; Free Inquiry; Feb-March, 2021]
C. Lee Epstein-Eric Posner study, religion cases in the Supreme Court, 1953-2005: individuals claiming a religious right won “about half the time” [Republicans 56%, Democrats 47%]. Roberts Court “religious claims have prevailed nearly 90% of the time.” “The Roberts Court has been the most polarized on religious issues in seven decades, and probably ever.”
D. Presidential Studies Quarterly study: 3660 decisions since 1937: Roberts Court “uniquely willing to check executive authority {not for “balance” or democratic processes, but judicial supremacy over president and Congress]
“The Court has been, they wrote, “increasingly setting aside legally significant decisions from..lower courts as if they had never happened, invalidating them in brief procedural orders.: [“Amassing of Power By Supreme Court Alarms Scholars”; Adam Liptak; New York Times; 12/20/22]
E. Guttmacher Institute: 75% of people who have abortions have low incomes.”

“The objection to Puritans is not that they try to make us think as they do, but that they try to make us do as they think.” [ H.L. Mencken}

IV. PATTERNS
A. “Under the edicts of the Rehnquist Court, the Bill of Rights is shrinking in significance.” [David Shipley: “Turning Point”}
B. The Defining feature” of the Roberts “court”: a narrow view of enforceable rights; money over merit; routine protection subverted. [L. Tribe & Joshua Matz: “Uncertain Justice”]
C. “For five decades, the Court has, with striking regularity, sided with the rich and powerful against the poor and weak, in virtually every area of the law.” [Adam Cohen: “Supreme Inequality The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle For A More Unjust America” ]
D. “The Supreme Court is likely to permanently strip the executive branch of much of its power to issue binding regulations..that has profound implications for nearly all areas of federal policy..it could effectively dismantle much of American law..could..potentially leave many future presidents unable to govern.” [Ian Millhiser: “The Agenda” ]
E. “..a confident conservative majority with a muscular sense of power, a notable disdain for Congress, and a willingness to act aggressively and in distinctly conservative ways by: Boldly raising questions not asked or necessary to resolve [Citizens United}; Refusing to defer to decisions by elected and accountable local and national officials [Heller]..; overruling precedents, both old and recent {Citizens, Seattle-Louisville]… [Marcia Coyle: The Roberts Court}

*** “WE can and must write in a language which sows among the masses hate, revulsion, and scorn toward those who disagree with us.” [ Lenin ]

IV. ORIGINALISM – or textualism – or – original intent: these preposterous “theories” – recently COOKED UP – that say an advanced, 21st century nation must be governed by 1787 thinking and conditions of life. IF the Founders intended that [which they didn’t], then why is there an amendment process?????? Why does Amendment Nine mention other rights “retained by the people”??????????
A. “originalism is vulnerable to two powerful criticisms..it is always in some fundamental sense anti-democratic, seeks to subordinate judgment of present generations to wisdom of distant [political] ancestors..to the real problems of reconstructing coherent intentions and understandings from evidence of history raises serious questions..of originalist forays to yield definitive conclusions..”
originalism “..rests on the…legal fiction..most clauses of the Constitution possessed a clear meaning at their inception…” [Jack Rakove: “Original Meaning”]
B. Madison [9/15/1821] rejected original intent of Framers as authoritative guide to the Constitution’s meaning: “As a guide in expounding and applying the provisions of the Constitution the debate and incidental decisions of the Convention can have no authoritative character.” [Leonard Levy: “Original Intent and The Framer’s Constitution”]
C. Justice Story, 1833 “Commentaries on the Constitution”: “In different states..different and very opposite objectons are known to have prevailed..there can be no certainty..the different state conventions in ratifying the constitution, gave the same uniform interpretation to its language, or that, even in a single convention, the same reasoning prevailed with the majority..” [Levy” “Original Intent”]
D. “Modern constitutional law as we have known it ended Friday. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe..and Casey..it repudiated the very idea that America’s highest court exists to protect people’s fundamental liberties from legislative majorities that would infringe on them..the Dobbs decision..is an act of institutional suicide for the Supreme Court..By overturning Casey, it called into question the core idea..justices follow precedent..The majority can read history however it wants..” [[“Originalism was supposed to deliver judicial restraint. It doesn’t”; Noah Feldman; Bloomberg Opinion; 6/26/22]
E. “Judicial supremacy prioritizes the courts over legislatures, agencies, and popular movements. Judicial supremacy is at the heart of the problem we are currently facing..puts our fate in the hands of the least democratic branch..There is a good case to be made that the U.S. Supreme Court itself is a major threat to democracy and the rule of law.” [“Judges will not save us. Truly democratic solutions will”; Zachary Clopton; Chicago Tribune; 8/28/22]

*** “It is revolting to have no better reason for a rule than that so it was laid down in the time of Henry IV. It is still ore revolting if the grounds upon which it was laid down have vanished long since, and the rule simply persists from blind imitation of the past.” [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.} oo

“Before they were approved..Reagan judges were “shook down and wrung out like crowbaits..required to answer a ten-page questionnaire..a day-long personal interview. A special administration committee made further inquiries into the candidate’s attitude toward abortion, school prayer, criminal procedure, and affirmative action; then..the prospective judge had to pass muster with the attorney general..With few exceptions, those who received the administration’s nod were not especially renowned for their fondness of the people or the people’s rights.
“Archibald Cox..the special Watergate prosecutor..fears that this kind of politicalization will endanger the fundamental purpose of the court..”The idea of judicial independence may be at risk.”
“Alan Dershowitz..”[A] president who seeks to change the jurisprudence by appointing judges committed to carrying out his political agenda endangers our delicate system of checks and balances. Judges are supposed to serve as a counterweight to political excess, not as the president’s yes-men.” [Jerry Spence: “With Justice For None”]

*** “Corruption comes by degrees.” [Juvenal}

I. Conservative Counter-Revolution Against the Twentieth Century”
a. “The Battle to End Roe Has Changed Democracy” [Mary Ziegler; New York Times; 6/25/22]: “After Casey, some anti-abortion groups expanded their focus: To gain even more control over Supreme Court nominations, they sought to overhaul the Republican Party and the rules of campaign spending. Anti-abortion lawyers waged war on campaign finance limits..joined other groups working to unleash a torrent of spending from nonparty outside groups, fought for donor anonymity and played an instrumental role in the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.”
B. “We changed the country [The untold story of how a powerful corporate law firm moved American government and courts to the right]” [David Enrich; New York Times Magazine; 8/28/22]: ‘..on behalf of a major coal company, Jones Day would help persuade the Supreme Court to invalidate the E.P.A.’s efforts to rein in carbon emissions – a landmark victory that Jones Day noted triumphantly, would most likely open the door to new “legal challenges to other exercises of executive agency power.”
C. “Corporate-Friendly Courts Were the Real Plan” [Sohrab Ahmari, Patrick Deneen, Chad Pecknold; New York Times; 6/19/22]: ‘The Federalist Society was one of many institutions nurtured by the right wing of the donor class to roll back the legal and material achievements of U.S. workers..and to elevate economic deregulation to high moral and constitutional principle..But a growing number of dissidents within conservatism view these legacy institutions – the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, National Review Institute and others – as ultimately hostile to core commitments that ought to inform the right.”
D. “Christian Nationalists Are Excited About What’s Next” [Katherine Stewart; New York Times; 7/7/22]: “Breaking democracy..is the point of the project..The end of abortion rights is the beginning of a new and much more personal attack on individual rights..Christian nationalism’s..purpose is to hollow out democracy until nothing is left but a thin cover for rule by a supposedly right-thinking elite, bubble-wrapped in sanctimony and insulated from any real democratic check on its power.”
E. “The Fight To Reduce Emissions Got Harder” [Manuela Andreoni: New York Times; 7/1/22]: “The ruling, in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, not only limits the authority of the E.P.A., but potentially that of other agencies to enact a broad array of regulations to protect the environment and public health. It was the product of a coordinated, multi-year strategy by Republican attorneys general and others to use the judicial system to rewrite environmental law. The E.P.A. case was unusual because it focused on a program that wasn’t even in force..”
F. “The Court’s Third Great Crisis” [Garrett Epps; Washington Monthly; Nov./Dec., 2022]: “The change in the Court is the result of a sustained, highly organized, entirely conscious campaign to annex the federal judiciary to the political party system..initiated, organized, conducted by the GOP, the conservative legal movement and its billionaire backers, and the political wing of white evangelical Protestantism.”
G.”..the Federalist Society network was most influential in cases where the Supreme Court took a big step away from their established constitutional framework..where the doctrinal distance was greatest;..members of the Federalist Society functioned as active conduits for idea transmission. The intellectual capital they supplied..helped the Supreme Court majority justify these revolutionary constitutional decisions..the Federalist Society network helped foster and facilitate climate conducive to constitutional change..
“..the Federalist Society’s role as a powerful and vocal :judicial audience”..a role that has been important in keeping judges and justices aligned with the network’s views and shared beliefs once on the bench..members..engage in this..feedback loop with the Justices frequently..Federalist Society cofounder Steven Calabresi said..the growth of a conservative and libertarian counter-elite through the Federalist Society has “absolutely helped keep Justices such as Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito in check..” [!!!!!not straying fromWHY they were appointed!!!!!]
Pay attention to case diagrams showing Federalist Society influence: page 45: “Heller”: Amici curiae briefs [21], litigator [1[, lower courts [1], Supreme Court clerks [4], Justices [4]; “Citizens United” [page 84]; NFIB et all v. Sebelius [136].
[Amanda Hollis-Brusky: “Ideas With Consequences The Federalist Society And The Conservative Counterrevolution”]
H. “Right Minds The Claremont Institute Helped Shape A Trumpian Vision for American Conservatism. The Revolution It Started Is Far From Finished” [ Elisabeth Zerofsky; New York Times Magazine; 8/7/22}: ‘..Claremont’s reach is extensive..collaborated with Ron DeSantis..helped shape the views of Clarence Thomas, Tom Cotton, and..Christopher Ruffo..Members of Claremont wish to see the right take control of all three branches of government for a generation, dissolve certain federal agencies [CIA, Dept of Ed, EEOC] – and also stop..the ceaseless importation of Third World foreigners..states need to start defending higher education..”defeat multiculturalism” and “woke communism”…Claremont’s ideal future: the deconstruction of the administrative state.”

***”[To fanatics] all thought is divinely classified into two kinds -that which is their own and that which is false and dangerous.” [ Justice Robert Jackson ]

II. NUMBERS
A. “Citizen United benefits GOP” [Reid Wilson; Washington Post; 8/29/14]: “..in six of the most affected states..the probability that a Republican would be elected to a state legislative seat increased by 10 percentage points or more..In five other states..Republican candidates were 7 percentage points more likely to win.”
B. “Abortion Pill OK’d In Over 90 Nations” [Miriam Berger; Wash. Post; 4/23/23]: The subject of a Texas judge’s ruling – mifepristone – is approved in “at least 94 countries.” The World Health Organization recommends it and lists it as an “essential drug.” “Hundreds” of American scientific studies and “codified perspectives in the global health community” approve.
C. Chamber of Commerce [2015!] Supreme Court “Win” rate: Burger Court; 43%; Rehnquist Court: 56%; Roberts Court: 70%. [Ian Millhiser: “Injustices’}
d. “..to say..a person always begins at conception is patently false..up to 5% of human conceptions fail to survive..a huge mistake..to legislate a starting point for human life..inconsistent with biology..” [ “When does human life begin?”; Arthur Caplan; Free Inquiry; Aug/Sept, 2014}
E. “States with the highest gun ownership rates have a gun murder rate 114% higher than those with the lowest..” “Drivers who carry guns are 44% more likely than unarmed drivers to make obscene gestures at other motorists, 77% more likely to follow them aggressively.” [Mother Jones; March/April, 2013]

*** “Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.”
[ Mohandas Gandhi]

III> PATTERNS
A. “..something often overlooked about constitutional law under the conservative Burger, Rehnquist..and Roberts courts: since “Roe”..the Supreme Court has rarely recognized new constitutional rights or extended existing rights..often has significantly cut back on important civil liberties..the major areas where the Court has recognize[d] new rights..are those that advance conservative ideology.” [Erwin Chemerinsky: “The Conservative Assault on the Constitution.”]
B. “Increasingly, federal judges nominated by Republican presidents have undermined the court’s modern role as defenders of individual rights. the Supreme Court, tilting toward institutional rights, is eroding some of the protective case law of the twentieth century.” { David Shipley: “Rights At Risk” ]
C. “Judicial Activism In Our Times. Top Nine Judicial Activist Decisions By The Rehnquist Court In The Last Ten Years”
-Gratz v. Bollinger; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Campbell; Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett; Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents; United States v. Morrison; Printz v. United States; City of Boerne v. Flores; Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida; Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena [Catherine Crier: “Contempt”]
D. “The Roberts court, more than any other court in history, uses its docket-setting discretion to select cases that allow it to revisit and overrule precedent..” [Adam Liptak; “Amassing of Power”By Supreme Court Alarms Scholars”; New York Times; 12/20/22)
E. “..the Roberts Court has issued a string of decisions that make it much harder to hold government accountable in court when it violates the Constitution…One of the Court’s subtlest tools is the removal of remedies for violations of civil rights.” [ Lawrence Tribe and Joshua Matz: “Uncertain Justice” ]

*** “when people lose respect for one bad law, it is but a short step before they include the good laws with the bad and re shortly in rebellion against all law.” [ Oscar Underwood }

BONUS!!!!! – You can’t make this stuff up!!! And – it keeps turning up!!! [by certain people]: “Ginni Thomas was paid thousands under the table by conservatives” [Emma Brown, Shawn Boburg, Jonathan O’Connell; Wash. Post; 5/5/23]: “Conservative activist Leonard Leo arranged for [Ginni Thomas] to be paid tens of thousands..specifying her name be left off billing paperwork..”give” Ginni Thomas “another $25K”..money to be drawn from a nonprofit that soon would have an interest before the court..Thomas” votes were aligned with the Judicial Education Project in six of the cases.”

!!!!!!!!!!! “Never in the field of American law was so much injury and misery inflicted on the many [330 million] by so few [6] masquerading as “justices.” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0

*** “You can easily judge the character of others by how thy treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.”
[Malcolm Forbes]

I. The Powell Memorandum. – 1971
1] Michael Graetz & Linda Greenhouse: “The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right””. Powell’s memorandum said Ralph Nader and others were seeking the destruction of the “American economic system…The most disquieting voices..come from perfectly respectable elements of society:..college campuses..pulpit..media..intellectual and literary journals..arts and sciences..politicians.” He criticized media for referring to business tax incentives “as tax breaks,” “loopholes,” or “Tax benefits.”..He called for a massive business response to these attacks.
“He outlined a multi-faceted proposal for a response by the Chamber, including such actions..as recruiting a “staff of highly qualified scholars who believed in the system” to “evaluate social science textbooks..”..advocated aggressive business actions in secondary education, television and other media, legislatures, and the courts.”
“The judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, economic, and political change.” The left are extremely active in the judicial area. Their success, often at businesses’ expense, has not been inconsequential.” Participation in litigation was “a vast opportunity for the Chamber, if it is willing to undertake the role of spokesman for American business and…if business is willing to provide the funds.”
“..the importance of Powell’s memorandum is unmistakable. Within six years, the Chamber established a litigation arm..the Chamber now routinely files friend-of-the-court briefs..and it enjoys great influence over which cases the Court decides to hear and how the cases the Court takes should be decided. Bloomberg News says..the Chamber now “may be second only to the Solicitor General’s office in its influence at the Supreme Court.”

*** “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” [ John Kenneth Galbraith ]

2] Kurt Andersen: “Evil Geniuses”: “..Evil Geniuses chronicles the quite deliberate reengineering of our economy and society since the 1960s by a highly rational confederacy of the rich, the right, and big business…The specific policy changes in the 1980s were profound in the aggregate..most ..were complicated and esoteric and seemed small, so they had a stealth quality. It didn’t feel like a paradigm shift because it was mainly carried out by means of a thousand wonky adjustments to government rules and laws, and obscure financial inventions, and big corporations one by one changing how they operated and getting away with it – all of it with impacts that emerged gradually, over decades..the 1980s were the 1930s but in reverse: instead of a fast-acting New Deal, a time-release Raw Deal.” [THE RAW DEAL]
3] Research Andersen”s “The Decade When Everything Changed and Our Present Was Created: 57 Data Points – the changes that were “good” for Big Business & the Financial Industry; and – the 28 changes that were BAD for people like YOU.

***”The most odious of all oppressions are those which mask as justice.” [ Justice Robert Jackson ]

4] “Thrown Out of Court” [Lina Khan; Wash. Monthly; June-July-August, 2014]: “Two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings- AT&T-Concepcion and American Express-Italian Colors – have deeply undercut..centuries-old public rights, by empowering businesses to avoid any threat of private lawsuits or class actions. These decisions culminate a thirty-year trend..
“..many sound antitrust cases are no longer heard, by a judge or arbitrator..”It takes away citizen’s rights.”…The greatest damage..isn’t to us as individuals. “Mandatory arbitration is a basic threat to our democracy, says Deepak Gupta..”It’s about laws..Congress passes being unenforceable. The Supreme Court is allowing corporations to overturn laws made by people we elect.” [A BASIC THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY]

*** “corruption is like a ball of snow, once set rolling it must increase.” [ C.C. Colton ]

II. CRUELTY. One of the HALLMARKS of recent Republican dominated courts is CRUELTY:
A. “Deshaney”[1989] – the father caused severe brain damage by beating Joshua, who’ll spend his life confined to an institution. Father convicted of child abuse. Mom sued Department of Social Services for doing nothing about two years of complaints. Rehnquist rules against Mom and Joshua: government has “no duty” to protect Joshua: nothing in “Due Process” requires the State to protect life, liberty, and property of citizens against private actors.
[ E. Chemerinsky: “The Conservative Assault on the Constitution’ ]
B. “A wrongfully convicted man must die..to preserve procedure?” {Bryan Clarke; Idaho Statesman; 6/12/22]: “..another opinion, both cruel and absurd, issued by the Republican Supermajority deserves attention..a decision released last month, Shinn v. Martinez Ramierez..likely to result in the execution of an innocent man..not because the court..weighed the evidence..The court is pushing to execute him because it says the evidence showing he is innocent should not be considered at all..the evidence against Jones is so poor..a federal judge found no judge or jury would likely convict him of any crime..a more sane U.S. Supreme Court found..Arizona’s appeal had a gaping procedural deficiency..But the court decided to exercise its discretion to set that procedural hurdle aside..The necessary boxes have been checked, and so it’s time to kill a man. It is as inhumane as it sounds.” [re-read this slowly, think about the CRUELTY]
C. “When Miscarriages Collide With Abortion Laws” [Pam Belluck; New York Times; 7/18/22]: “In this post-Roe world, women with miscarriages may die..” A Texas hospital sent a woman doubled over in pain and screaming as she passed a large blood clot” home; she and her husband sat in a bathtub red with blood “for 48 hours..” A Wisconsin woman “showed up bleeding at a hospital, which determined she had miscarried” , but they couldn’t help her “because of the laws.” [see 5/3/23 “HHS: Abortion denials broke law”; Amanda Seitz; Assoc. Press – more stories]
D. “Ledbetter”[2007]: Workers bringing Title Vii pay discrimination claims must file a complaint within 180 days..even if THEY WERE UNAWARE [!!!!!!!] of the discrimination at that time or the effects continued to the present. Anger over this egregious injustice led to a 2009 law overriding the “court.” [M. Coyle: “The Roberts Court”]
E.”When Your Rapist Demands Custody” [Michaela Maas; Mother Jones; Sept/Oct., 2019]: Tiffany was raped at age 12; her rapist got a less than a year sentence; she dropped out of school and did odd jobs. When she applied for state assistance – the male judge granted her rapist joint custody and ordered her to live within 100 miles of him, ordered her rapist’s name be added to her son’s birth certificate, disclosed her address to her rapist.
F. “Bowles v. Russell[2007]: A judge’s error on the time for filing an appeal by a criminal defendant does NOT [!!!!!!!!!!] excuse the late filing of the appeal.!!!!!!!!! [Coyle]
G. “Abortion laws spark profound changes in other care” [Lindsey Tanner; Assoc. Press; 7/17/22]: “With the fall of Roe..”The art of medicine is lost and actually has been replaced by fear, [Dr. Jessain] Munoz said…”We physically watched her get sicker and sicker..” A Virginia woman can’t take her medicine for lupus because it could be used “theoretically” to induce abortion.
H.Wal-Mart v. Dukes”[2011]: A nationwide group of 1.5 million female employees suing WalMart for discrimination in pay and promotions failed to have common questions of law or fact in order to qualify as a class action under federal rules. [Coyle]. REAL meaning: the women were to stupid. Court also said they didn’t have enough “in common”; the “court” ignored expert testimony on company policy itself as a factorI.
I. “I’m Terrified for My Patients” [Dr. David Hackney; New York Times; 7/10/22]: “Ohio’s new law is unimaginably cruel.” He knows he will meet a woman with a child who will die after delivery; with no ability to leave Ohio; and “she is going to have to carry a pregnancy TO TERM AGAINST HER WILL.. The risks of term delivery are far greater than the risk of abortion.”
J. “Glucksberg”[1997]: The right to privacy doesn’t include the right of terminally ill patients to assisted death. Rehnquist “court” would protect rights not in the Constitution only if were “objectively, ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.'” There was no tradition protecting assisted death – therefore no constitutional right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Chemerinsky: Assault on the Constitution”]
K. “Data on rape cases is elusive” [Adrianna Rodriguez; USA Today; 7/17/22]: “Until the Roe ruling, I had never had a colleague tell me about a pregnancy..being forced to continue because of rape. In the last three weeks, I’ve heard of three.” Dr. Erika Werner, Tufts Medical Center obstetrics and gynecology chair.
L. “Garrett”[2001]: A nurse lost her job at a state hospital when she took time off for BREAST CANCER TREATMENT was not allowed to sue under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. [Chemerinsky: “Assault on Constitution”]
M. Iqbal [2009]: the “court” ruled the complaint should be denied because he failed to allege sufficient facts for a court to conclude it was “plausible” he might win, “no longer did courts have to accept the allegations of the complaint as true, conclusory allegations of fact should be ignored by federal courts, a “radical decision, every example of complaint in Federal Rules of Civili Procedure would have to be dismissed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Chemerinsky: Consrv. Assault on Const.]

*** “If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.” [Justice Louis Brandeis]

III. USING CASES. Recent Republican dominated “courts,” especially the Roberts “court” like to USE a cherry-picked case – NOT for justice, but to CHANGE the law – the way THEY WANT IT TO BE. Ideology and pure reactionary power over law and what American used to think of as “justice.”
A. “The city repealed the ordinance, rendering the case moot..but Justices Thomas..Alito..Gorsuch did not want to let the case go. It was simply too inviting a vehicle..”[Greenhouse; Justice on the Brink’]
B. “Constitutionally Out of Bounds” [Liz Hayes; Church & State; February, 2022]: “In 2019, the Supreme Court declined to hear Kennedy’s case. But Justice Samuel A. Alito, joined by three other conservative justices, wrote a statement laying the groundwork for the coach’s lawyers to get his case before the court. The lawyers followed Alito’s playbook, and on January 14, the court agreed to hear the case..” [collusion?]
C. “The Court’s Third Great Crisis” [Garrett Epps; Washington Monthly; November/December, 2022]: “The other major decisions..were written in terms so broad as to seem an open invitation for conservative advocacy groups seeking to roll back existing precedent in a wide variety of areas.” [collusion among FRIENDS???}
D. “Pliva-Mensing” [20110: Justice Sotomayor’s dissent: “[The Court] invent[ed] new principles of pre-emption out of thin air..” {Chemerinsky: “The Case Against the Supreme Court”]
E. “..on June 29, 2009, the Court on its own, asked for a new briefing..None of the parties to the case had asked the Court to consider this constitutional issue..” [Chemerinsky: “Case Against the Supreme Court’]
F. “There was no obvious reason for the grants of review..no clear conflict in the lower circuit courts..two appellate courts in the Seattle and Louisville litigation had approved the school plans..The school boards were acting voluntarily..with broad community support.” [Coyle: The Roberts Court. The Struggle for the Constitution”]
G. “..the justices rewrote the question they would decide {!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]..but there was no burning conflict among federal appellate courts..no burning controversy within the District..the appellate court had said the individual right like other rights, was not absolute. With a Supreme Court precedent..for nearly 70 years..settling the question in favor of a militia-collective rights interpretation..it was an aggressive conservative Court taking on. a long-sought objective on the conservative political agenda.” [Coyle: Roberts Court”] [A LONG-SOUGHT CONSERVATIVE OBJECTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
H. “Iqbal changed the rule, and no party in the case had asked the Court to make that change.” [Coyle: Roberts Court”]
I. “Gross” [2009]: “..even though no party in the case had raised the issue or sought Thomas’ outcome, the majority aggressively moved to impose a higher burden of proof..” [Coyle: “The Roberts Court”]
J. Alito and Kavanaugh “seeking to use” Fulton” and get “Lukumi” to obliterate “Smith” – and MANUFACTURE “hostility”
[L. Greenhouse: “Justice On The Brink”]
K. “..Davis’s petition did not meet the criteria for Supreme Court review..her petition offered Thomas and Alito something they had spent five years waiting for..an “Obergefell” “victim”.. The Thomas-Alito statement was an invitation to anyone with a religious objection to same-sex marriage to bring the court a better case.”
[L. Greenhouse: “Justice On The Brink”

SO – go back over the above cases. Is this PATTERN what You expect for an American “court’????????? Sitting there like a nest of spiders waiting for the prey to come by. – or. – putting out the “sugar” to make sure you get the case “you have been waiting five years for”?????????? TELL us – why would a legitimate “court” be waiting five years for a particular case?????? Is not a REAL “court” dealing with cases as they come – rather than MANUFACTURING them – so it can check off another “conservative objective”???????? How is this “justice”? “Justice for the rich and poor alike”??????????? What country are we in?

*** “In a time of deceit, telling truth is a revolutionary act.” [George Orwell]

This will not be easy reading, nor joyful. The evidence – a small sampling of such – presented herein shows a DELIBERATE campaign to not just change American law, but to CORRUPT it, to PERVERT it, by sharply shifting “law” to the radical, often fringe, “conservative” and libertarian view. Much violates 1789-1968 law and legal precedents. Much violates foundational ideas of American democracy as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and Amendments. Research judicial oaths of office American judges and “justices” are required to observe.
The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution REQUIRES “a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility.
…promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and ur Posterity. Do the “conservative” dominated 1969-2023 do ANY of this?????
The stance of these multiple posts on “Corruption of Law”: because of a DELIBERATE and WELL-FINANCED campaign, the political-economic-religious-social FAR RIGHT has made upholding the basic premise of American government increasingly impossible for ordinary Americans – like YOU – impossible.
For those privileged citizens in the top 1%, in fundamentalist religions, and other favored groups – the SUPER CITIZENS class – created by 1969-2023 “court” rulings, a PLUTOCRATIC THEOCRACY is within reach

These charges will NOT be just “opinion” by people who “hate America.” HARD evidence in NUMBERS, PATTERNS, “court” decisions by TRACK RECORDS, CONTEXT, RESULTS will be supplied. Indeed, there is so much that even this small sample will take five postings!!!!
What has happened to America, 1969-2023, is NOT an “accident.” It”s the result of a deliberate PLOT to remake America – to create that PLUTOCRATIC THEOCRACY. The campaign began in 1933 with a plot to overthrow the American government [McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, February 15, 1935]. This campaign has NOT ended with the infamous January 6, 2021 trashing of the U.S. Capitol, assault on police, attempt to find and execute members of Congress and the Vice President [the effort to deny this, to portray it as a “bunch of tourists” is part of the plot]. A HUGE network of the FAR RIGHT still exists [“Dark Money,” “The Shadow Network,” “Democracy in Chains,” “American Fascists”……]

*** “The ship of Democracy, which has weathered all storms, may sink through the mutiny of those on board.”
President Grover Cleveland }

1] Adam Cohen: “Supreme Inequality The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle For A More Unjust America”
– “The past fifty years of conservative rulings from the Supreme Court have coincided almost exactly with a period in which economic inequality in the United States has soared to near-historic levels.
“..”the era of shared prosperity” in the United states “ended in the 1970s”..since then there has been a sharp divergence between the wealthy and everyone else. By 2014, the top 1% earned more than 20% of all income..while the bottom 50% earned just 12.5%. the wealth gap..even larger. The richest 1% of families – just 160,000 families – owned about as much as the bottom 90% of Americans.”
“..income inequality..is largely due to two factors: “massive educational inequalities” and “a tax system that grew less progressive.” The post-1969 Court has been a major contributor to each of these problems..The Court has made many other choices that have increased economic inequality..weakening labor unions..making it harder to sue corporations..contributed to the dismantling of the social safety net..Life expectancy ..declined between 2014 and 2017..one in eight Americans is “food insecure.”….
“Extreme inequality puts democracy at risk: the concentration of wealth in the top 1%..is pushing the nation toward plutocracy..a healthy middle class is critical to warding off tyranny..Legal scholars have observed..America’s foundational document was drafted for a society with a strong middle class. “To function properly, the Constitution requires equality and solidarity..Once those are gone, it contains no mechanism to restore them.”

*** “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” [Lord Acton]

2]. Sarah Chayes: “On Corruption in America”
– “Dismissing Corruption”. June 27, 2016
– A momentous ruling was handed down that day..McDonnell v. United States..concerned the conduct of those who hold public office..the heart of how a democracy should be run…On September 4, 2014, a jury in federal district court convicted McDonnell on four counts of honest service wire fraud, and conspiracy..seven counts of extortion property..and conspiracy..He appealed. On July l0, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled he had been “duly convicted by a jury..It affirmed the decision..UNANIMOUSLY..McDonnell appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned, 8-0.
“..the unanimous Supreme Court transform[d[ a broad, commonsense definition of bribery into something narrow and technical”…also excused how we do politics. “If the McDonnell decision stood, the justices fretted, “officials might wonder whether they could respond to even the most commonplace requests for assistance, and citizens with legitimate concerns might shrink from participating in democratic discourse.”
“Never mind the false equivalency..that most “citizens with legitimate concerns” do not dispose of tens of thousands of dollars or Ferraris they can loan..Never mind that it is hard to describe ramming through an obviously questionable deal through clinical trials as a “legitimate concern.” Letting the McDonnell conviction stand, opined the justices, would mean criminalizing politics..politics as currently practiced.” [as CORRUPTLY PRACTICED!!!!!!!!]
The result? “McDonnell was changing the law..Prosecutors scrambled to amend indictments.” A U.S. Senator escaped conviction on “multiple counts of bribery.” Prosecutors dropped corruption charges.
“They’ve made it so only bad criminals can get convicted..I mean people who are just really bd at being corrupt.” Bribery convictions fell by 1/3 between 2014 and 2018. Powerful New York state politicians convictions got overturned.
The “most damaging effect of decisions like McDonnell: the implicit blessing they bestow on a whole range of practices..In the United states, serious and damaging public corruption is not getting punished..by default..we dem it to be just fine.”
Roberts opinion: “There is no doubt this case is distasteful..But our concern is..with the broader implications of the broader implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.”
“This is how corruption gets overlooked in the United states..how wealthier and better educated Americans downplay it..an embarrassing aberration..Corruption is not an isolated scandal..”
“For Justice Roberts and his seven colleagues..manifestations of this phenomenon in the United states are beneath their concern. In their view, the American system is threatened not by corruption but – incredibly – by efforts to FIGHT corruption.”
[ NOW – re-read this section again. Think on what she said; a jury and two courts said. “guilty” – of MULTIPLE
counts, the Appeals Court UNANIMOUSLY – the “supreme court” excused corruption – fearing a government
– several levels of it – too eager to punish OBVIOUS corruption is worse than corruption itself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

*** “Power does not corrupt men, fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.” [George B. Shaw]

3] “Supreme Court refuses to address gerrymandering” [Adam Liptak; New York Times; 6/28/19]: “The Supreme Court..federal courts are powerless to hear challenges to partisan gerrymandering..In dissent, Kagan said the court had abdicated one of its most crucial responsibilities ..”In the face of grievous harm to democratic governance and flagrant infringements on individual’s rights – in the face of escalating partisan manipulation whose compatibility with this nation’s values and law no one defends..the majority declines to provide any remedy. For the first time in this nation’s history, the majority declares it can do nothing.”

*** “That’s all we’re asking for: an end to the antidemocratic and un-American practice of gerrymandering congressional districts.” [Ronald Reagan]

4] “Political spending by billionaires soared.” [Bloomberg; 7/2/20]: ‘Billionaires gave 37 times as much in political contributions in the last election as they did 10 years earlier..They are also playing a much bigger role. In 2008, donations from billionaires were less than 1% of all political contributions, but in 2018 they made up nearly 10%..The report cites the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in “Citizens United..”

*** “Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce.”
[President James Garfield]

5] “GOP amps up efforts to limit voter participation” [Josh Dawsey, Amy Gardner; Wash. Post; 4/23/23]: “A top Republican legal strategist told a roomful of GOP donors..conservatives must band together to limit voting on college campuses, same-day voter registration and automatic mailing of ballots to registered voters.”
6] “..Amy Barrett..asked what the Arizona Republican Party’s motivation was “in keeping, say, the out-of-precinct voter ballot disqualification rules on the books,”…[Michael] Carvin: “Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage to Democrats.”…this might have been the most revealing moment, an acknowledgement that keeping some people’s votes from being counted actually had a purpose, and the purpose was to help Republicans.” [Linda Greenhouse: “Justice on the Brink”]. [!!!!!!!!!! re-read these two!!! – any doubt at intent?]

***”It’s not the people who vote that count. It’s the people who count the votes.” [Stalin]

II. NUMBERS
The FAR RIGHT has often LIED about their intent, the rationale, the results, of their various “theories,” policies, court decisions, laws, using laws differently than intended, who they are, twisting the Constitution, what American history was…… Some facts:
1] Adam Winkler: “We The Corporations”: “..the justices soon after embraced Conkling’s argument that corporations had rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. In the years that followed, thenSupreme Court would invoke those corporate rights to invalidate numerous laws governing how businesses were to be run, supervised, and taxed. Between 1868, when the Amendment was ratified, and 1912..the justices decided 28 cases dealing with the rights of African-Americans – and an astonishing 312 cases dealing with the rights of corporations.” [312 – to – 28 !!!!!]
2] David Shipley: “Rights At Risk”: “The question of the justice’s Catholicism has been addressed by Geoffrey R. Stone in compiling data showing huge disparities in abortion cases. Among ten justices appointed since Roe v. Wade in 1973, he notes, the non-Catholics have “cast twenty-one votes in support of abortion rights [75%, and seven votes to constrict those rights [25%],” while the Catholics have “cast only one vote in support of abortion rights [6%], and sixteen votes to contract abortion rights [94%].”
3] Andrew Seidel: “American Crusaders”: in 4 years, the Trump Administration won 28 of 41 requests to the shadow docket of the Supreme Court. Only 8 such requests were filed in the 16 previous years of the George W. Bush and Obama administrations – they won only 4. “By the end of Trump’s term, the shadow docket looked like collusion between Trump justices and the Trump Administration to advance the Crusade.” [41 to 8!!!!; winning 28 to 4!!!!!]
4] Giffords PAC: “Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed by a gun than people in other developed nations.” “Gun violence costs more than $700 per American every year and half..borne by U.S. taxpayers.”
5}. “The Hightower Lowdown”; March, 2013: “Corporate kangaroo court…2000 Washington Post survey cases involving First USA Bank, arbitrators ruled for the bank 99.5%; 2007 Public Citizen report: National Arbitration Forum heard 34,000 customer-versus-bank cases in California over 4 years – banks won 95%; City of San Francisco 2008 lawsuit about 18,045 cases of banks-versus-people, NAF’s gave banks 100% wins.

***”The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspaper and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism.”
Henry Wallace]

***”I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”
[ Billy Graham, 1981 ]

VI. WEAPONIZING RELIGION: From the 1930s through 2023, Right-Wing elements have WEAPONIZED RELIGION. Right wingers have confessed they see, ARE conducting a “religious war” against America. One political party has been taken over by right-wing religions, insisting THEIR religious dogma be made law – an absolute and total violation of Amendment One, but almost everything the Founding Generations said and wrote, 1770-1800. NO other activity in ALL American history, 1600s forward is more un-Constitutional and un-American than the effort by the “Religious Right” to impose THEIR beliefs on America. The results have been cruelty, corruption, and chaos visible throughout America.

***”I’m frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in “A,” “B,””C,” and “D.” Just who do they think they are? and from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me?” [ Senator Barry Goldwater ]

1] Robert Boston: “Taking Liberties”: “Somewhere along the way, religious liberty has become twisted. Suddenly, it’s not about what you can do but what others are doing. Somehow the actions of others are seen as a threat to someone else’s religious liberty. thus, an employee’s decision to use birth control becomes a threat to her boss”s religious freedom……..
young children [learning] about evolution in a public school endangers the religious freedom of an evolution-denying family…A woman who shows up at a pharmacy and expects the pharmacist to do his job by giving her the medication her doctor has prescribed is threatening the pharmacist’s religious freedom.
“What we’re seeing is a deliberate attempt to redefine religious freedom. That concept is being shifted from an individually exercised right to something much different – to something threatened by the independent actions of others..”

*** U.S. Supreme Court, “Reynolds”, [1879]: on giving special privileges to one religion: “..to permit this would be to make the professed doctrine of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect permit every citizen to become a law unto himself. Government could only exist in name under such circumstances.”

2] Edwin Gaustad: “Faith of the Founders”: 1776 North Carolina constitution, Articles XXXIV: “..there shall be no establishment of anyone religious church..in preference to any other; neither shall any person, on any pretense whatsoever, be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith..nor be obliged to pay, for the purchase of..the building of any house of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes right..” ***THIS is what the First Amendment means***

***”Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost. As vice regents for God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arena, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors..over every aspect and institution of human society.”
[ Dr. James Kennedy ]

3] Randall Balmer: “Thy Kingdom Come”: “The evangelical faith..has been hijacked by right-wing zealots who have distorted the Gospel of Jesus christ..failed to appreciate the genius of the First Amendment..When they to quote the bible, they wrench passages out of context and offer pinched, literalist interpretations..The effect of this right-wing takeover has been a poisoning of public discourse and a distortion of the faith.”

***”As religion must always be a matter between God and individuals, no man can be made a member of a truly religious society by force or without his own consent, neither can any corporation that is not a religious society have a just right to govern in religious affairs.” [ Isaac Backus, 1781 ]

4]. Chris Hedges: “American Fascists. The Christian Right and the War on America”: “..values, democratic and Christian, are being dismantled, often by stealth, by a radical Christian movement. known as dominionism, which seeks to cloak itself in the mantle of the Christian faith and American patriotism..Dominionists now control at least six national television networks..virtually all of the nation’s more than 2,000 religious stations, as well as denominations such as the Southern Baptist Conference Dominionism seeks to redefine traditional democratic and Christian terms and concepts to fit an ideology that calls on the radical church to take political power It shares many prominent features with classical fascist movements,
“Dominionism seeks to politicize faith..The dominionist ,movement..seeks to appropriate not only our religious and patriotic language, but also our stories..to deny that there are other acceptable ways of living and being. There becomes only one way to be a Christian and only one way to bean American….
“The movement has sanctified a ruthless unfettered capitalism..the gospel of prosperity..has formulated a belief system that delights corporate America. Corporations such as Tyson. Foods..along with Perdue, Wal-Mart, and Sam’s Wholesale..are huge financial backers of the movement.”

*** “Is it not strange that the descendants of those Pilgrim Fathers who crossed the Atlantic to preserve their own freedom of opinion have always proved themselves intolerant of the spiritual liberty of others?” [Robert E. Lee]

5] Kevin Kruse: “One Nation Under God How Corporate America Invented Christian America”: “..in..the 1930s and early 1940s..corporate titans enlisted conservative clergymen in an effort to promote new political arguments..this new ideology was designed to defeat the state power its architects feared most…Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal..With ample funding from major corporations ..these new evangelists for free enterprise promoted..”Christian libertarianism”..
large business organizations bankrolled major efforts to promote the role of religion in public life….
“In December, 1939, the minister [Fifield] placed a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times decrying the New Deal as antithetical to the designs of the founding fathers..The New Deal..posed a dire threat to the American way of life, and it was the duty of clergymen to save the nation’s soul….
“On “Independence Sunday” [7/1/51]..”tens of thousands of clergymen offered sermons on the topic of “Freedom Under God,”..”The effect to establish socialism in our country has probably progressed further than most of us fully realize,” asserted a Lutheran minister in Kansas.”

***”Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty..are called by God to conquer this country. We don’t want equal time..don’t want pluralism.” [ Randall Terry ]

6]. “When the director-general of the colony, Pieter Stuyvesant, sought to quash religious expressions other than the Dutch Reformed Church..the citizens of Flushing responded on December 27, 1657, with the Flushing Remonstrance, one of the earliest statements of religious liberty in the American colonies..”..let every man stand or fall to his own Master,’ they wrote, pleading for freedom of “conscience betwixt God and our own souls..” {Randall Balmer: “Solemn Reverence The Separation of church and State in American Life”}

***”I have often expressed my sentiments, that every man..being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience.”
[ George Washington ]

7] Katherine Stewart: “The Power Worshippers”: “Christian nationalism is not a social or cultural movement. It is a political movement, and its ultimate goal is power..to replace our foundational democratic principles and institutions with a state grounded on a particular version of Christianity..also happens to serve the interests of its plutocratic funders and allied political leaders.
“Church United’s raison d’etre is to politicize pastors in the “right ” direction.
“Prior to the presidential election of 2016, Garlow warned..Christians..were close..would be compelled to “participate in very active civil disobedience” against..”un-godly government.”…do not follow violations of the word of God.”
“By networking with Russians, the HSLDA – now America’s largest right-wing homeschooling association – has provided the Kremlin with a new avenue of influence over some of the most conservative organizations in the United States.
“Russian oligarchs, having effectively deployed religious nationalism to gain control over their own population, readily grasped..it could be used to shape events in other countries..Russian leaders see America’s Christian right as a tremendously useful vehicle for influencing American politics and government..
“The christian nationalists affection for Mr. Putin..goes much deeper..At the core of the attraction lies a shared political vision..They love Russia, it seems, because they hate America and its form of secular, constitutional democracy.
“The Alliance Defending Freedom joins with other right-wing groups in weaponizing the idea of “free speech.”

***”..Madison..reminded the House that some state conventions had expressed the fear..Congress might establish a national religion..In his great speech of June 8, 1789..People feared Congress would establish a national religion..Madison mentioned..some people feared the dominance of one sect or the possibility..two might combine to establish a religion to which others might have to conform.” [ Levy: “The Establishment Clause”}

8] “Engel v. Vitale”[1962], quoting James Madison, “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments” [1785]: “[The} first and most immediate purpose [of the Establishment Clause] rested on the belief that a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and degrade religion. The history of governmentally established religion..showed..whenever government allied itself with one particular form of religion, the inevitable result had been that it had incurred hatred, disrespect and even contempt of those who wielded contrary beliefs..” The Establishment Clause thus stands as an expression of principle [by] the Founders of our Constitution that religion is too personal, too sacred, too holy to permit its “unhallowed perversion” by civil magistrates.” { Andrew Koppelman: “Defending America’s Religious Neutrality” ]

*** Ohio Supreme Court { 1872 }: “Let the state not only keep its own hands off, but let it see that religious sects keep their hands off each other.”

9] “Escape From Christian Nationalism”: “Over the next few days and weeks, it would become clear that busloads of White evangelicals were indeed among the rioters..friends from my old church informed me that dozens of people from churches in our home region had been there..I realized that the Capitol insurrection was the logical outcome of a half century of patriotic Christians preparing for combat..In the 1970s, the Religious Right – an explicitly political coalition of evangelicals and Catholics set on restoring old-time religion and family values – joined forces with the New Right.
“Together they form the New Religious Right..their Christian nationalist mission has been to take America back for God and the people they deem worthy of holding power in his name..two things become evident. First, religious symbols were everywhere..Second, White Christian nationalism was a major unifying phenomenon among the insurrectionists.” [ Bradley Onishi; Church & State; March, 2023 }

*** “..it is war. It is a war of ideology..a war of ideas..a war of our way of life..to be fought with the same intensity and dedication as..a shooting war.” { Paul Weyrich, “conservative” political activist ]

10] Charles Kimball: “When Religion Becomes Evil” – “The Five Warning Signs of Corruption in Religion: absolute truth claims; blind obedience; establishing the ‘Ideal’ time; the end justifies any means; declaring holy war.”
[ It should be OBVIOUS to any serious observer of 1970-2023 America, at least four of those “corruption of
religion” signs have been utilized here. As theFounding Generations feared, post-1980 America has been
torn apart by Far Right religious zealots – who obviously have used ANY means in their crusade ]

***”There is a religious war going on in this country. It is a cultural war..for the soul of America.” [ Pat Buchanan,
1992 Republican National convention speech ]

11] “How Debate Over Transgender Issues Became A New Rallying Cry for the Right”[ Adam Nagourney & Jeremy Peters; New York Times; 4/16/23]: “When the Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nearly eight years ago, social conservatives were set adrift. The ruling stripped them of an issue they had used to galvanize rank-and-file supporters and big donors..left them searching for a cause that..would rally the base and raise the movement’s profile on the national stage..the effort to restrict transgender rights has supplanted same-sex marriage as an animating issue for social conservatives.
“..it was also the result of careful planning by national conservative organizations to harness the emotion and gender politics..”Once they opened that parent’s rights frame, they began to use it everywhere.”..For several years, conservative Christian legal groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Liberty Counsel have been shifting their resources.”

*** “Our job is to evangelize..schools are the battleground. The goal of 500,000 born-again Christians working inside the ‘system’ is to bring public education back under..control of the Christian community.” [ Robert Simonds, president “Citizens for Excellence in Education and National Association of Christian Educators”; 1991 ]

12] “With God On their Side. How Christian Fundamentalists Are Controlling the Bush White House – And Interfering With American Lives” [ Church & State; January, 2006 ]: “A Conservation With Author Esther Kaplan”: Q. What do you believe is the Religious Right’s long-term goal for America? A. “The movement’s vision..is to bring God’s law into civic and political life, that is the Christian Right’s conservative evangelical version of God’s law..a theocratic vision.
“In their America, churches, rather than government will provide social services, and so tax dollars will flow to churches. Conservative Christian faith will be considered an important qualification for public office. [!!!eliminate Article VI prohibition!!!] ..Policy in everything from media to medicine will be guided by conservative evangelical moralism…
“The right’s strategy for stacking the courts with conservatives..On the Supreme Court, the combination of Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito has the potential to be a right-wing juggernaut, which could swing the door open to a thoroughgoing infiltration of Christianity into government..turn the clock back on women’s rights, gay rights and civil rights. We will likely face a situation where the federal courts will simply cease to be a force in the expansion – or even protection – of our democratic rights.”

*** “You say you’re supposed to be nice to Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don’t have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist..” [Pat Robertson; 700 cub]

13]. “All The President’s Men And Women Members of President Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board Are Hard At Work Changing Public Policy – But They’d Rather You Not Know About It” [Rob Boston; church & State; October, 2018]: “Advisory Board members crow about their influence in Washington, D.C. “There is a long list of progress we have made with this administration..We’ve provided consequential feedback on policy and personnel decisions particularly affecting religious liberty, judges, the right to life and foreign policy. We are also actively at work on issues like criminal justice reform..The Advisory Board, Moore said, has a “pretty significant” hand in “directing or affecting” administration policy.”
“..the advisory board is not in compliance with federal law..the Federal Advisory Commission Act..a 1972 law Congress enacted to “ensure that advice by the various advisory committees formed over the years is objective and accessible to the public.”

***Robert Jeffress, pastor, First Baptist Church of Dallas – has called gays “miserable,” “filthy,” and “degrading.” “What a lot of people miss is, America is not a church where everyone should be welcome regardless of race and background.”
“Islam is wrong. It is a heresy from the pit of hell. Judaism – you can’t be saved being a Jew.” In a 2011 sermon, he called the Catholic Church a corrupt version of Christianity that sprang from ancient Babylonian cults.

14] “Medical Emergency. The Church-State Wall Has Collapsed When it Comes to End-of-Life Care” [ Kim Callinan; Church & State; March, 2021]: “..four out of five Americans still lack explicit legal right to medical aid in dying – largely because religion is dictating our public policy. In most, if not all states, the largest, most organized and well-funded obstacle to the authorization of medical aid in dying is the Catholic Church..only one example of how a religion’s health care system’s values could interfere with your end-of-life care.”

***”Two main ethical concerns are advanced against legalization of physician-assisted suicide. The first is that it is not our place to decide the time of our death; only God decides..It rests firmly on a foundation of religious belief, which is not a sound basis for public policy. Worse, it runs roughshod over the right to individual self-determination.” [ Arthur Caplan; Free Inquiry; February/March, 2014]

15]. Mary Ziegler; “Dollars For Life”: “the influence ..of anti-abortion movement..has everything to do with money in U.S. politics.” Changes in campaign finance rules came at a terrible price for the GOP establishment and had important consequences for the functioning of American democracy.
“Citizen United” changes harmed democracy – empowered those against compromise, fueled partisan gridlock – made it hard to govern…….
“By 1993..[Bopp] concluded that almost all campaign finance restrictions harmed anti-abortion groups.”….
With “Citizens United” the Court overhauled the understanding of corruption in elections: no corruption beyond quid pro quo; the fact “speakers” have influence and access doesn’t mean corruption….no loss of citizen’s faith
Bopp wanted the Supreme Court to define corruption narrowly – only quid pro quo!!!!!!!!
The 2014 election “proved the importance of..”McCutcheon” and “Citizens United” – a flood of money occurred.
“Hobby Lobby” – what is the meaning of “religious liberty”?
“..there would have been no “Citizens United” if pro-lifers had not redirected the fight to undo campaign finance restrictions, litigating cases and reframing limits..”
Anti-abortion leaders argued more spending on political speech would be better for democracy “but intertwined campaigns to reverse Roe, deregulate campaign finance, and pack..federal courts with conservatives not only wreaked havoc on political parties but altered American politics – gridlock, negative partisanship, growing support for political violence… the pro-life link made the coalition work.

*** “Ecclesiastical Establishments tend to great ignorance and Corruption, all of which facilitate the Execution of mischievous Projects.” [ James Madison, 1774 letter ]

The above is a VERY small sample of the MOUNTAINS of evidence the Far Right has WEAPONIZED RELIGION in America – and in so doing, has damaged this country severely. Legal jokes like “Dobbs,” – yes, but most is the damage done to ordinary people like YOU, caught up in THEIR Holy War.
The cruelty, chaos, turmoil is everywhere: trying to control YOUR sex life and YOUR reproductive choices; censorship of library books and school curriculums; trying to prevent people around the world from accessing basic medical knowledge about their own bodies – contributing to the near, if not, unsustainable population explosion; trying to rewrite American history and science – to support their LIES; sabotaging American democracy by demanding 100% free “electoral free speech” [ buying elections, bribing office holders].

*** “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute..where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference..where no no public official either requests or accept instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of churches, or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials..”
[ John Fitzgerald Kennedy; 9/12/60 speech; Houston, Texas ]