Supreme Court v. We The People

Three Fears For The Red, White And Blue

July 4, 2021

On this July Fourth, many minds turn to America’s legacy. That legacy, for some – in particular, those who deign to dabble in reality – has some unpleasant aspects. Some malignancies that remain active, and continue to spread throughout the lymph nodes of American society.

Hooray for the land of the free, home of the fuckwits
who stormed the Capitol, and so far have gotten away with it

We are still laboring under things like disenfranchisement, some of which was baked into our American Pie. African Americans considered 3/5 of a person, women considered incapable of voting. The racism that allowed for slavery and the 3/5 doctrine. As disgusting as it may be to some, it is entirely understandable that many white people long for the days when only they (though they ignore the fact that it was only the males who were then included) had the right to vote. 

Some may recall the still-ongoing, though greatly slowed and now much less overt genocide of this land’s original inhabitants. Were there more Native Americans extant today, surely they would engender the same attention devoted to other people of color. Some may remember that this nation was literally built on the backs of African slaves (and to a much lesser, though no less disgraceful degree Chinese labor), and may be willing to admit that the legacy of slavery in America continues to torment this nation’s soul. Some might also be willing to admit that the racism at the root of slavery has not only survived the ending of that heinous chapter, and the Civil War that attempted to prolong it, and the Jim Crow Era that came next, and the systemic racism that never really left, but has in recent years has shown that this cancer, which may have to some degree been in remission, has metastasized to a point that may yet become fatal.

As if we needed any help with burying our elections in bullshit like gerrymandering, race-based disenfranchisement and above all else, agenda-driven dark money. The disgraceful 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was, if not the final, then possibly the penultimate nail in democracy’s coffin.

Citizens United decided that under the First Amendment money is speech and therefore actual speech ain’t worth a dime. Just like when the Court decided that corporations are people, it made actual people worth less.

Danger Will Robinson…And Everyone Else

Must stop all the blacks from voting! What the hell do they have to lose?

In another one of the most disastrous decisions in Supreme Court history, the John Roberts Court decided in 2013 with Shelby County v. Holder, that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 had run its course. It had done what it needed to do, and all was well with democracy and race relations in America. Roberts, writing for the majority (of white justices, including Clarence “Uncle” Thomas) made it clear that he is either a clueless fuck or a flagrant racist. Since the Chief Justice determined that racism is over, it would appear to be the former. Since reality dictates that Roberts is a clueless fuck, then clearly racism still exists, apparently making him the latter. Even if Robers was correct (he was not) for that one brief moment, the election of Donald Turmp, and the consequent explosion of flagrant, government-sanctioned racism at the highest level, put that colicky baby right to bed. Screaming and crying all through the night. It has yet to stop for a moment.

“(the) blight of racial discrimination has been ameliorated.”
Chief (In)Justice John Roberts, Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, Attorney General, 2013

“The blight of racial discrimination has been accelerated.”
Paying Attention Managing Editor Ed Venture, 2021

The party of Supreme Racist Donald Turmp is proudly carrying the banner of racism that their Orange Idol hoisted high during his ignominious, insurrectionist reign of terror.

Now the Turmp Court has done it again. With three, count ‘em, three new justices appointed by a racist, authoritarian ex-blogger and ex-reality tv clown, the Supreme(ly white wing) Court has dealt another blow to democracy. I guess everyone needs a hobby.

Forever Never Land

Meanwhile, back in Joe Manchin world, West Virginia Wally has his own ideas on how to make voting great again…for white people and corporations. The Manchin Compromise is mostly a capitulation to the racist, fascist demands of Mitch McConnell, who never saw a democracy he couldn’t steamroll. Whatever else Joe Manchin may be, and he seems like a nice guy, he is a corporate prostitute, whose real constituency is not the people of White West Virginia, but his corporate donors/overseers. He is defending the filibuster, not to protect democracy, but to protect big money’s control over democracy, notwithstanding all his sincere sounding gibberish and putrid pleas for bipartisanshit.

So, happy White People’s Independence Day. It seems only fitting that our newest national holiday, Juneteenth precedes July 4^th on the calendar and will forever come first each and every year. Unless whiteness again overruns the soul of our nation and takes us back to a time in history most of us would rather learn from than return to.

Steve Miller - Living In The USA

I. Mangrey, reality addict.