A Letter Perfect Solution

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Adding a single, short line to the first letter of Mr. Carlson's first name to change it to an F would clear up any questions about his bona ties as a journalist.

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Not My Coloring Book

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Today's Republican Party is the party for people who are afraid to color outside the lines or to use any but the officially-designated crayon of white supremacists. It is clearly not the party for people who believe Thomas Jefferson was right when he penned "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence.

If asked, the conservative justices, who now control the Supreme Court and impose the regressive mores of originalism on all Americans, would point out that when Jefferson wrote the founding document of our country, many of its signatories believed that those with brown or black skin were not men, but property, specifically livestock to be bred, worked, sold, and slaughtered as needed. Similarly, they believed that women were the property of their husbands. Today's originalist justices believe that both groups had then and still have no standing before the law today.

That is essentially the sum and substance of the precedents Justice Samuel Alito cited in his recently leaked draft on abortion to justify overturning Roe v. Wade. It will be the basis of the originalist arguments the conservative majority in the Supreme Court will use to undo marriage equality, contraception, and other civil rights that were not included in the text of The Constitution.

The implications for the law of overruling Roe will be enormous. Justice Alito’s draft opinion for the Court says that Roe was “egregiously wrong” because it protects a right that was not included in the text of the Constitution, was not protected by the original meaning of the Constitution, and was not traditionally safeguarded as a constitutional right. 
– excerpt from: The Enormous Consequences of Overruling Roe v. Wade 

This is not my coloring book, but it would surely become the official coloring book of America should the Republican Party regain control of Congress in the midterm election.

Signal to Noise Help

The Political Price of Honesty and Transparency in Today's America

In an America where Fox "News" right-wing disinformation and the left's response to it dominate the political narrative, being honest and transparent becomes a political liability.

Case in Point: President Biden's approval rating is below 50% not because he is doing a poor job but because he is telling Americans what they need to hear and counting on their being able to hear the truth through the noise.

In such a noisy environment, it is critical that Americans take the time to learn and consider the details behind and realistic options for solving complex problems instead of being brainwashed by the droning hype of 24/7 propaganda touting solutions that are simplistic, ideological, emotion-driven, and counter-productive.

Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American is an excellent tool for increasing the signal to noise ratio, and I strongly urge you to subscribe to and read her daily posts.

In her May 6 letter, Ms. Richardson discusses how decades of economic noise (supply-side economics and Trump's ties to Putin) obscure the clear signal of President Biden's economic policies, which have brought back jobs, raised wages and accomplished "the fastest economic recovery since the pandemic of any of the wealthiest liberal democracies that make up the Group of Seven (G7) countries."

Click this link for the signal-boosting full story. Heather Cox Richardson's May 6, 2022 Letters from an American

True yet False

The headline of the article below is true, but it is also severely and dangerously misleading in that it implies a false equivalence between the two sides of the philosophical division. While it is true that Americans remain bitterly divided on abortion, the division is far from even, especially when one examines both numbers and bitterness.

Numberwise, only 18% of Americans want to see Roe vs. Wade overturned. The bitterness has been unquestionably fueled and nurtured by the actions of the 18% minority who use intimidation and fear-mongering to further their agenda. For decades they have blocked entrances to clinics, harassed the women attempting to enter them, and murdered the doctors who work in them all under the guise of being pro-freedom and pro-life. Their goal is to force the 81% majority to live by the repressive and rigid strictures of their theocratic belief system.

In contrast, the the 81% majority has relied predominantly on facts, science, and rational argument to mitigate the conflict. Their goal is to actualize the rhetoric of equality found in The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution.

In the article below, a poorly worded headline obscures all of these facts and enhances the authoritarian agenda of the 18%. The headline would have provided some clarity had it said, With the Supreme Court poised to act, Americans remain bitterly but disproportionately divided on abortion.

With the Supreme Court poised to act, Americans remain bitterly divided on abortion
Updated May 5, 2022    4:33 PM ET
JULIE ROVNER



Demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices heard arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, a case about a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, on December 01, 2021. Experts believe a ruling on this case could undermine or overturn Roe v. Wade.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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