UPDATE BELOW
"Decision comes as lawmakers in conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books"
[skip]
"The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
"The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians."
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From what I remember when I read history, one of the first things a totalitarian government does is ban or burn books and imprison citizens who support the free access to books and materials the totalitarian government opposes.
It appears our fellow Americans in the state of Arkansas have never read any history. Either that, or they're embracing anti-American ideals in service to their ignorance of history and their desire to exert authoritarian control over American citizens.
UPDATE:
Let me repeat:
Alabama's AG, Steve Marshall, explicitly threatened providers with felony charges for assisting Alabamians to leave the state for a federally legal medical procedure.
So the states that have essentially banned abortion want to keep girls and women from freely traveling to another state that does not ban abortion. How will they do this? Will they have state troopers stop every car at their borders and check to see who's pregnant and who's not?
Remember when people laughed at those who warned that the religious right would not stop just with banning abortion in their own states, but would do all in their power to stope girls and women from freely traveling to other states. This was always their plan.
And do not for one minute think they won't try this with birth control. Justice Thomas himself stated that Griswold vs Connecticult needs to be reconsidered as well as same sex marriage.
I remember when JFK was running for the presidency and many people were afraid he would be too much influenced by the Pope/Vatican in his presidency. JFK gave an important speech allaying those fears, and the RCC did not interfere in our secular laws.
Not anymore.
What the far right Catholics on the Court are doing is playing into the doctrinal hands of far right Catholics and will likely codify Catholic doctrine into American secular law, if they can get away with it. And it appears, so far, that they will.
28 comments:
Bingo! Any political ideology and party, even liberalism and democrats, can be subject to authoritarian impulses. In present day America it just happens to be the conservatives/republicans that are the most regregiously so.
Meme I saw... Too bad being stupid doesn't physically hurt.
So, here's what Silver said regarding this on his blog...
"States are passing laws prohibiting residents from traveling to other states for an abortion. Last I checked, a state is not a monarchy, and we are not loyal subjects of the governor. Also, nowhere in the US Constitution do the people grant government this level of control over our lives. Nowhere.
Do Republicans not realize it will require a totalitarian surveillance regime to enforce these laws? Do we really want government agents infesting medical facilities and looking over doctors’ shoulders like Soviet-era political officers? Do we really want government getting between physicians and their patients and dictating medical decisions? Spying on people in their homes?
Most insidious of all, these laws egg on a very un-American snitch culture, neighbors spying on neighbors redolent of North Korea and statist regimes of the near past."
Now... I don't always agree with Silver, but on this I do. What are the various state GOP parties doing? Why are the GOP leaders at a federal level not speaking out?
The fact is, folks like Silver have left the GOP, so all that is left are ppl who love the crazy radical MAGA folks or folks who are afraid to raise their heads above the safe level of their fox holes.
Great blog
Another front on the Right's war on democracy and women's rights is playing out in Ohio.
A ballot proposal to legalize abortion is being challenged by Republicans demanding at least a 60% approval to pass.
They oppose ballot initiatives because they represent the will of the people in a democracy.
Michigan voted by this method to end partisan gerrymandering, and took back the state next election, when we voted on adding reproductive rights to the state constitution.
No wonder these theocratic white nationalist fascists hate democracy.
The thing is, many of our liberties will simply disolve into illegalities while many in the majority sleep through it all wrongly thinking, b>it can't happen here.
The authoritarian totalitarians are banking on it.
That Silver left the gop is a sign that perhaps there are enough former republicans who have retained a level of common sense to place a wall up the MAGA nuts cannot overcome. I thank life's energies every day that i left the gop 15 years ago. The party is but a listing vessel that hopefully will capsize sooner rather than later.
Look who the governor is and what her past was, that will provide all your answers. She was a trump supporter and probably still is so that should tell you all you need to know. Now the press is all trump all the time and his biggest opponent has yet to campaign and may not. My fear is trump will get the nomination and biden will win the election. Trump is the best thing that ever happened to the democrat party because he is the gift that keeps on giving.
We shouldn't worry about people driving across state lines because with gas back up over $4.00 a gallon travel will slow down a lot. It is becoming a time where only illegals can travel and that is in a bus to NYC. I know Rev encounters are down so not to worry, tell that to adams.
skud: "We shouldn't worry about people driving across state lines because with gas back up over $4.00 a gallon travel will slow down a lot.
Question, skud: Who sets the price for gas at the pump? The short answer is no single person, company, or government can really be said to set gas prices.
skud: "Now the press is all trump all the time and his biggest opponent has yet to campaign and may not."
Of course the press is all trump all the time: He's facing (for now) 70+ felony charges and has been accused as a rapist by the presiding judge in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case!
And trump wants to be POTUS again!
For the first time in my life, a REPUBLICAN presidential candidate facing 70+ felony charges, (with more on the way), a REPUBLICAN presidential candidate who's legally been found to be a RAPIST!, and a REPUBLICAN presidential candidate who incited an insurrection against his own government with his thugs screaming to hang his own vice president! THAT Republican presidential candidate has the support of millions of deluded Americans who think he'd be great as a president again.
Do you understand why some of us who are paying attention might be interested in following what this wreck of a human being is doing to get back into the presidency?
Who in their right mind would NOT be paying attention?
President Biden is NOT campaigning because he's being a president.
Maybe you and others are so used to Trump and his traveling circus of rallies and grievance fests that you think the current president should be engaging in the same idiocy as trump?
Dave Dubya "A ballot proposal to legalize abortion is being challenged by Republicans demanding at least a 60% approval to pass.
They oppose ballot initiatives because they represent the will of the people in a democracy."
Yeah. The current Republican Party actually doesn't like democracy, and is showing us Americans how far they'll go and what they'll do to undermine the will of the people.
The current crazies running the GOP are not Conservatives; they're a bunch of anti-democracy Trump cultists.
Les I read his blog. He may have "left the Republican Party," but his words show me that he still not free of its propaganda.
I have friends in Ohio and they posted this letter from the Ohio Council of Churches:
Dear Friend in Christ,
Over 100 years ago two of our faith forebears, the Rev. Herbert S. Bigelow of Cincinnati’s Vine Street Congregational Church and the Rev. Washington Gladden of the First Congregational Church of Columbus led people of faith and many others in a movement to counteract abuses of power in government. Their belief was that when elected leaders were unresponsive to the will of the people there should be a mechanism by which the voice of the people could be heard, laws enacted, and constitutional revisions made, all through a vote of a simple majority.
Our faith forebears understood that discussing a matter of public policy, without embracing a particular political party, is an essential responsibility of faithfully living out God’s call to seek the common good. Through a 1912 constitutional convention at which our faith forebears provided significant leadership, the idea of citizen-led initiatives became law in the State of Ohio. It has remained so ever since. The opportunity for citizen-led initiatives has offered a systemic safeguard so that the voice of the people could initiate policy when elected leaders seemed otherwise unresponsive to the majority of the voting population.
This safeguard of voter-led initiatives is now being challenged by Issue 1 which is now before voters in an August election.
The proposed new law would require 60% voter approval to pass constitutional amendments, provide no grace period for correcting ballot signature challenges, and require signatures from all 88 counties in order for an initiative to be placed on the ballot. Such restrictions would allow one county to circumvent the will of the other 87 counties. It is clear to us that the resulting power imbalances will significantly damage many segments of Ohio’s population, particularly African American communities historically weakened by partisan gerrymandering. In addition, the proposed restrictions would effectively end the systemic safeguard known as one person, one vote that has for over a century provided every citizen access to simple majority initiatives.
Though the new proposed law claims to protect the Constitution, the current system of citizen initiatives has seen only 19 of 71 initiatives actually approved, showing that Ohioans have used this power judiciously.
Our faith forebears recognized that when people are equipped to act in ways that illustrate that their voice matters, their dignity rises, and they are fundamentally empowered and strengthened. This dignity and empowerment lie at the heart of the gospel message of Jesus Christ, that all may flourish and have abundant life. It is the reason our faith forebears were passionate about its defense. This conviction matters no less, and possibly even more, in our own day and time.
Guided by the wisdom of our forebears and sparked by pastoral concern over the nullifying impact Issue 1 would have on African American and other Ohio communities if enacted, the Ohio Council of Churches respectfully urges Ohio voters to reject Issue 1. Our no votes on Issue 1 will serve as a faithful and clear affirmation of the dignity and agency of every Ohioan who has for more than a century had the systemic assurance that their one vote does truly matter.
Blessings on you, we pray,
The Ohio Council of Churches,
The Reverend Dr. David Long-Higgins
Governing Board President, the Ohio Council of Churches;
Conference Minister, the Heartland Conference, United Church of Christ
Re skudrunner's comment on the media being all trump all the time:
It seems impossible to comprehend, but here we are. Donald Trump might be President of the United States yet again.
So, enough with the “try to understand and empathize with the thoughts and feelings of his base.” Those people clearly agree with the racism, the sexism, the lying, the idea that our country will fare better with a dictatorship. They don’t care if the President grifts. They don’t care if he alienates the leaders of other countries. They don’t care that billionaires will get tax breaks. They don’t care that immigrants fleeing danger will be turned away from our shores. They like Trump’s bullying and think his lying is funny. They can’t wait to stick it to the libs.
If the Democrats don’t get into high gear, exposing how evil Trump is, we’re cooked. If lazy, non-voters don’t get off their duffs and vote in vast numbers, this country deserves to be stuck with Trump for four more incredibly ugly years. You thought he was awful the first time? Our minds cannot imagine the chaos, violence and evil doings that Trump will wreak upon our nation.
Trump has told us what he'll do: Retribution! That's his plan if he get back into the presidency.
RETRIBUTION.
How will that help people who need health care?
True Shaw. However, Silver's overriding ideology is actually libertariamism. A philosophy as, or more destructive to large muti racial and multi ethnic cultures as is our republican party.
Silver commented sometime ago on the superior attributes of a homongenous culture. So yeah, his unvarnished views are 180 degrees different than yours.
Paula, There are no good choices of the two top contenders. One is a slime ball and the other runs a family crime syndicate. Why can't we get a president who is sane and law abiding. Millions feel the government is a manipulating force to only enrich the power brokers. The FBI is corrupt, the DOJ is corrupt and has been for decades and now the two contenders are corrupt. So much for the average taxpaying American.
Ms. Shaw, Economics 101 law of supply and demand. The power broker at the top has dictated we attack oil which is resulting in a supply shortage. We now depend on forign oil to make up the difference so prices go up.
skud: "One is a slime ball and the other runs a family crime syndicate."
The "slime ball" just received his 3rd criminal indictment, and the presiding judge in the E. Jean Carroll civil suit said Trump did indeed rape Ms. Carroll, so the "slime ball" is facing 74 criminal indictments and is credibly a rapist.
I assume you are referring to the Biden when you slander them by calling them a "crime syndicate?"
FYI, no Biden has yet been indicted on anything.
But go ahead and parrot what the Republican Dirt Bags are putting out for people to say while the guy with the ACTUAL criminal indictments and known rapist has his deplorable cultists kissing his large posterior with every felon he's indicted on.
LOL!
Folks, as it relates to Ohio...
The GOP in Ohio has called for a special election in August to change the election rules on ballot initiatives. For decades and generations, Ohio has allowed ballot measures to become law with a simple majority vote.
All that was fine when the GOP liked the ballot measures that the mostly bellwether/right leaning state passed. but now that it look like even those conservative voters want to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution, the GOP wants to change the rules.
And make ballot initiatives have to surpass 60% to become law.
Shaw, Skud, Les... anyone.
Can you name a single economic policy the GOP stands for that will help the American people? Are they deficit hawks? Free traders? Tariff supporters? Balanced budget folks? Less, or more social security?
Please someone, explain to me where today's GOP stands on economic policy and what actions they have taken to get us there.
Because from I stand, while Skud may care about some of this stuff, I don't see any solutions from anyone with an R after their name.
From where i stand Dave it appears the gop has no economic policy or sincere core positions. Other than division and chaos.
The gop is no longer a viable political option. Except for those who desire and seek some kind of authoritarian ledership.
Dave Miller,
As I see it the current GOP is no longer the fiscal conservatives of yesterday. The progression of their path from then to now can be explained by their adoption of the Moral Majority aka Dominionists aka Seven Mountain Dominionism aka Nationalist Christians.
I've spent so much time listening to the sermons and reading blog posts of these Nationalist Christians who used to keep their opinions to themselves. Then Obama and Marriage Equality happened and suddenly what was supposed to be quiet became out loud and very much in every ones face.
I've viewed our current issues every which way and the only logical explanation I've found is Christian Nationalists are fighting a religious war as foretold by their prophets and the rest of us really haven't clued into that fact.
Religious wars aren't governed by logic, they are created by unbridled greed for loot and power and fueled by hatred of anyone deemed other which is why secular logic doesn't work. If one views the GOP as a religious armada getting ready to wage a holy war by eliminating the 'not worthies' then their actions are not only understandable but have been well documented in history. It's almost as if We The People have forgotten much of the history which was instrumental in Our creation to our own detriment.
Of course, this is my opinion, gleaned by listening, reading, and applying lessons learned the hard way. Your milage may vary as every one of us has our own unique experiences.
Dave M. "Please someone, explain to me where today's GOP stands on economic policy and what actions they have taken to get us there."
AFAIK, Dave, here's where the present-day Republicans stand on economic policy and other policies to improve the lives of Americans:
"IMPEACH PRESIDENT BIDEN!"
And that's it.
skudrunner call the Bidens the Biden Crime Syndicate?
JHC!
From the hearing that was supposed to be the bombshell about the "crime syndicate":
“Devon Archer told the House Oversight Committee on Monday that his former business partner, Hunter Biden, was selling the “illusion” of access to his father, according to a source familiar with the closed-door interview, the latest development in the Republican-led investigations into the president’s son.
The source also reiterated that Archer provided no evidence connecting President Joe Biden to any of his son’s foreign business dealings.”
The no connection bombshell.
Meanwhile the real crook just got handed his 3rd felony indictment. And the fools who still support this weasel want to impeach Biden?????
Nothing will happen to saint joey no matter what he does. Did hunter sell joey b influence, of course he did. Did joey b commit a crime, will never be proven. We have to have a press who is responsible for investigative journalism and that is not the case. If you listen to the "news" you will hear talking heads use the same words no matter the network because those are the words given to them by the DNC. Trump is the best thing that could happen for the democrat party because he just keeps on giving.
The GOP hasn't been the fiscal responsible party for decades. They want to tout they are for middle class when in fact they are for the rich and will do whatever it takes to enrich themselves and remain in office.
The democrats say they are the party of the working class when all they do is give away the working mans money to buy votes. Face facts if you are the "working class" you have no party. The real crooks are all politicians because they spend all their time condemning the other side and collect donations.
So skud, why not move to a country with more favorable situations that support your positions. Whatever they and that may actually be.
For skud:
"Bidenomics has been a boon for working-class voters. Why don’t they give him credit?
Inflation has come down sharply. The 40-year peak that Blackburn referenced occurred more than a year ago, in June 2022. Since then the year-over-year inflation rate has been cut by more than half, to 4%. The most recent monthly rate of 0.1% in May points to an annualized inflation rate a bit over 1.2%, well below the Federal Reserve Board’s target of 2%.
Energy prices? They came down by 20% in May compared with a year earlier. Fuel oil prices fell by more than 37% and gasoline by 19.7% in the same period. This month has seen further declines, with the average price per gallon down to $3.54, according to the AAA, a drop of 29.6% from the peak of $5.03 last June.
Lower-income workers were the chief beneficiaries of Biden policies and the general economic environment in recent years. Those earning an average of $12.50 an hour recorded a gain of 6% after inflation from 2020 through 2022, Politico’s Victoria Guida reports.
Biden’s pro-labor policies may have had something to do with the improvement in workers’ fortunes. Under Biden, the National Labor Relations Board has reversed its hard-bitten pro-management slant under President Trump.
Even Biden’s momentary bow to railroad bosses during the holiday season last year, when he imposed a contract settlement that shortchanged workers on sick days, has been reversed since then, with the railroad unions obtaining the paid sick days they were originally denied.
Administration pressure made a big difference. “The Biden administration played the long game on sick days and stuck with us for months ... without making a big show of it,” Al Russo, the head of the railroad department of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said June 20, when the deal was reached with four major rail lines.
As for McDaniel’s assertions, Timothy Noah of the New Republic points out that Americans’ saving rate has actually been rising for most of this year. Wages are down when inflation is factored in, but then again inflation is falling. And contrary to McDaniel, economic confidence has been surging, both as an assessment of current conditions and expectations for the future. That’s according to the Conference Board, which keeps the numbers." --Michael Hiltzik, Business Columnist, LATimes
Ms. Shaw, So your belief is that putting the vice president on the phone had no impact on the business dealings, the ones he knew nothing about. I assume you hold that the VP saying unless you remove that prosecutor I will hold up the billion dollars was not intimidating. Like I have stated nothing will happen to joey b.
Now on bidonomics. Inflation was cut in half but goods are still up 16% over 2021 so while the high rate of inflation is down prices are still up significantly. Gas prices were at all time highs and seem to be going up again. Your arguments are not real because statistics can tell whatever you want. Real wages are actually down. I can get $20,000 for my used car but it costs $40,000 to replace it. If something goes up 40% then comes down 20% that is not a gain for the consumer but politicians still say look I brought inflation under control.
Now we have joey b following in his mentors footsteps. The US credit rating fell today which is the first time since......2011 so the confidence in the economy is not as bright as you indicate.
The economy will of course all of a sudden become stellar again the moment a con is back at the helm. Right skud? Especially if it's the book banning DeSanctimonius.
Biden and his administration have done an admirable job of putting America's feet back on firm footing following a 4 tear disaster under tRump the Crime Boss.
skud: "I assume you hold that the VP saying unless you remove that prosecutor I will hold up the billion dollars was not intimidating."
I "hold" that what you wrote is UNTRUE. Period.
"In 2014, Shokin had investigated Burisma for money laundering and tax irregularities, per USA TODAY.
The probe focused on 2010-12, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Hunter Biden — who joined the board in 2014 and served on it until early 2019 — was not the subject of the investigation.
The case was settled in court in 2017.
The recent report by Senate Republicans also contained no evidence that Joe Biden had pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor as a way to protect his son, according to the Associated Press.
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden, also said any suggestion of impropriety is false.
“Investigations by the press, during impeachment, and even by two Republican-led Senate committees whose work was decried as 'not legitimate' and political by a GOP colleague, have all reached the same conclusion: that Joe Biden carried out official U.S. policy toward Ukraine and engaged in no wrongdoing,” Bates told USA TODAY.-- USAToday, 2020
ump Revives False Narrative on Biden and Ukraine
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