Supreme Court

After the Mourning After

The mourning

after

the disaster

from

the Supreme

Court’s decision

based on the 

division

between

the so-called

conservative

and liberal

justices,

is disbelief

and profound

grief

at what 

has happened

and where

we are 

headed.

Wedded

to The Constitution,

yet 

with bizarrely

cynical

interpretation,

the judicial

wing

is sanctioning

unlimited acts

perhaps

illegal

for which

a POTUS

is not 

accountable.

To the tune:

Immune.

Immune.

Immune.

From 

Delay.

Delay.

Delay,

to 

the striptease

of expertise,

including

the last

resort

to abort,

The Supreme

Court

is sort

of 

an untouchables

in this

sequel

to the no- longer

co-equal 

branch of government

term.

I fear

what we 

see

in Trump

and Biden

is actually

us:

One side

bloated,

greedy,

aging

and needy,

impulsively

and compulsively

grifting.

The other,

honest,

decent,

with legislative

skill,

understanding

and displaying

what is 

still

required

and admired

in democracy.

But aging

happens,

despite

staging

and stance,

and the way

to advance

is with

improvement.

Our aging

democracy

has hit

a new low

although

each time

it feels

like

the bottom.

Now

the Presidency

is the real

fantasy

for criminality.

The clarity

of the disparity

has never

been

easier

to see.

Eventually,

our democracy

could become

more democratic.

But that will

mean

we must 

lean in

actively

to the only

party 

for democracy

left. 

Locked and Loaded

On the right,

the rights

of states,

corporations,

and each fetus

treats 

the rest 

of us

as peripheral

or collateral

damage.

The carnage

from gun

violence

in America

is grotesque.

And the focus

on the second

amendment

(not commandment)

as a right

to protect

even if death

occurs

is somehow

more important

than a woman’s

life.

The lock

on the court

and the loaded

rhetoric

of states’

rights

as an excuse

for the inexcusable,

undoubtedly 

championed

by the ones

who refuse

to recuse

themselves

for the case

of abuse

by a president

who rallied

an insurrection

despite 

objection

by the citizenry,

is dizzyingly

maddening.

How could

this be

happening?

In lock

step,

the right

falls 

in line

and the left

is left

not even

falling

in love.

Legality

should

contain

morality

of the most

basic,

unspecific

to theology,

sort.

Children

post birth

should

be worth

more

than unfortunate

circumstance.

The court’s

stance

on bump

stocks

mocks

the concept

of a supreme

justice.

Each day

more 

revelatory,

the story

that emerges

is loaded

with history

and those

who want

to be locked

in position

regulating

the regulators.

It all 

feels so

irregular

and anti

secular

while

profaning

a once

sacred

democratic

system

that seemed

poised

to better

all of us.

Saur/Dough

Trump’s appearance

looked dour

in Judge Juan

Marchan’s

court

for election

interference

with payments

to hush

any nasty

report.

Meanwhile,

the Supreme

Court heard

the absurd

case for immunity

for the Presidency.

Actually,

the impunity

seems exclusively

to apply 

to 45,

despite endless

questions

of future

hypotheticals,

antithetical

to the institution

or Constitution

that has served

for over 230

years. 

Trump’s Supreme

lawyer,

D. John Sauer,

seemed

to find favor

with the males

who love 

power.

They found

plausible

deniability

for immunity

regardless

of constitutionality.

Alito feigned

the whole

thing was 

offensive

and sought

to dispense 

of it

by refusing

the facts

of this 

current 

case.

Likewise,

Kavanaugh

stated his

stance,

deflecting 

from the here

and now

of the case,

to his concern

about 

the future.

Surprisingly,

Amy Coney

Barrett

quite seriously,

challenged 

Mr. Sauer

on official

versus 

private 

actions. 

Sauer’s 

concessions

that some

of Trump’s

situations

required

prosecutions,

at least

conferred

some reality

check.

The triple

named

conservative

woman

on the 

high court

reminds me

of another

one,

Sandra

Day

O’Conner,

who surprised

those who

surmised

her ties

to the right

would

compromise

her jurisprudence.

But the women

so far,

have displayed

much more

affiliation

to the Constitution

and institutions

than conciliation

to power. 

As the 

hush money

trial

has already

revealed,

concealed

monies-

whether

to subvert

an election,

or protection

of ideology

while serving

as a Justice-

is basic

corruption

always.

Ginni, Coefficent

The Gini Coefficient

is a statistical measure

of the degree

of variation

or inequality

represented

in a set

of values,

especially

in analyzing

income

inequality.

SCOTUS Clarence

Thomas,

Co-efficient of Ginni

Thomas,

along with Ginni,

have managed

to skillfully

evade

ethical demands

while unethical

friends

fund their 

causes and lives.

Partners

if not 

in crime,

then certainly

in deceit

and concealment,

they seek

the super wealthy

and hide

their gifts

and feign

distance,

as entanglements

worse than

Christmas lights

are being

brought

to light.

Nothing to see

here?

Citizens,

Unite! 

Ginni Thomas

is the woman

in front of her

man,

fronting for all

sorts of dark

money

groups.

Ginni 

(co) efficiently

undermines

democracy

with shadow

money

as her husband’s

shadow docket

conceals

an agenda

that is clearly

meant

to be hidden.

I think we’re

beginning

to see the light

of this equation.

White is the New Black

Affirming 

colorblindness

ignores reality 

and history 

that has shaped

today.

Performing

diversity

with factual

mystery 

has draped

the way

institutions

accept,

nurture,

and promote

opportunities.

Identifying race

no longer 

in place

affirms 

what does not

exist

under

or beyond

the law:

Equal opportunity.

Equal justice.

Well integrated communities.

Post 

or Anti

Racism.

Now 

6 justices

feign justice

affirming actions

confirming factions

historical,

structural,

largely intractable,

without rules

guiding

the game.

All lives

matter?

The content

of one’s

character

is the cream

that will

rise 

to the top.

Ha!

The top

has a legacy

of skin 

in the game—

I mean

the actual

color 

of their skin

in the game,

which was

built in

to the game,

now overturned.

Whiteness

is somehow

eliteness

and politeness,

and also

aggrievedness,

seeking

legitimacy

in the ranks

of the oppressed,

that has historically

been structurally

suppressed 

based upon 

non-whiteness.

Culture

and color

have grown up

together,

becoming entangled

despite

newfangled

efforts to claim

the old game

is no longer

played.

Don’t Mention It

There was no 

“High tech lynching”;

Just inching

Toward

The untoward

Without flinching.

Staying silent

For decades

While taking

And taking

And taking

And taking

Not talking

And making

A very

Magnanimous

Friend.

The lives

Of the wives

Are consequential

When their

Careers

Impact

What the Court

Hears. 

They ginned up

Schemes

To not mention

GInni

Or her intention

To lead

From behind

The bench.

And Jane Roberts’

Commissions

Were convenient

Omissions

While law firms

She serviced

Went before

The Supreme

Court.

Gorsuch’s

Real Estate

Is among the spate

Of  incidents

Undisclosed

By those gents

In robes

Appointed 

To serve

The country

For life.

Their thirst

For money 

And power

Can’t be

Quenched

And leaves

A fetid

Stench.

Just

Don’t mention

It. 

June 2022

A miscarriage

Has occurred.

Actually, an

Abortion.

Fifty years in the making

Seeking to criminalize

Those most

Desperate.

Overturned

But not over,

The tide will turn

Toward Justices

Corrupt

From Dark Money

And desperate for

Supremacy.

Rights for

Individuals

Who can’t get

Pregnant.

Now

The law sanctions

Open Carry

To full term.

I’m expecting

Violence

In response to

“Pro Lifers”

Who care

Nothing

For those already

Born.

Except

For the right

To bear arms

Anywhere.

I hemorrhaged

Tears

And could barely

Breathe.

This is an

Assault

On women and girls’

Rights.

I will not dwell

In the cruelty

Pain

And contractions.

We will

Heal

And create

Anew.

Mourning Sickness

Today I feel gutted.

I was already gutted by the mass shooting at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, and the next day, as though re-gutted, the mass shooting at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. As unbearably horrific as that mass shooting was, the cover up is even more grotesque to me. Anyone could understand the fear police might have when encountering a deranged shooter with an automatic weapon. Hesitation might occur. Hyper-caution to avoid children…ok. Then why the lies and covering up the story? I am not sure I have the stomach for the answer.

I felt gutted yesterday watching The January 6th Hearings and listening to members of Trump’s DOJ recount 45’s intense and insane pressure to install Jeffrey Clark in the final weeks of his presidency. This, after hearings in which witness after witness relayed Trump’s efforts to overaturn a legitimate democratic election that he lost. Election workers were abused; their lives endangered. VP Mike Pence’s life was in danger. The sickness of Trump’s pathetic cleaving to power and the sad, angry, delusional devotees who are empowered to serve him leave me distraught. When I am not angry and fearful (of so many angry, fearful people with serious gun power), I am profoundly sad that so many people have succumbed to such a gross excuse for a human being and for perpetuating cruelty and selfishness.

Yesterday, upon hearing the news of the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing open carry–because….you know….individual rights/liberties–I was at once terrified and broken. I believe there is now such a tension between the hyper-individualsts who embrace a particular definition of macho and those who are actually more driven to protect the lives of the already born, that the menacing and threatening that seems empowering will only cause if not a conventional civil war, then a serious threat to everyone.

And this morning, with the news of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v wade, I am actually sick to my stomach. I am in mourning. Democracy, which I certainly took for granted in the once USA, is on life support. I am mourning American life that had promise.

I was briefly uplifted by the seemingly ordinary people who became heroic to me: during Trump’s 2 impeachments; during the worst days (and throughout) the COVID19 pandemic; Zalensky; some Republicans who have been Trump loyalists in his administration; unceremonious election workers; Capitol police officers, all of whom bravely stood up to endure under duress and bear testimony to truth. There is still truth. There is still decency. Perhaps too little too late, but some people have been moved. I have learned of goodness and decency during such trials, when so much crazy and serious danger has been thrust upon us and relentlessly spewing through media over the last 6 years.

But whatever solace I felt was amidst the mourning for the beauty that was the promise of life here in the USA, even in this very dangerous 21st century. I am grieving not so much for the world in which I grew up, but for the willingness that we had to continue to improve; to no longer stand for what was, even if we endured it.

I have had queasiness every day for years now, but hoping it would subside when this period finally settled down. Today’s overturning of Roe v wade was not surprising, but it is nonetheless chilling. It is nauseating. And the waves keep coming.

I am mourning the loss of separation between church (all religion) and state; of the recognition of the dignity of all living beings who have been born; of the danger of guns; of peaceful elections and transitions of power; of a healthy climate–political, social, economic,natural.

But after the mourning one must get on with the business of living and creating a healthy life. I don’t see how the current conditions are sustainable. The sickness that has pervaded too much of the American culture and now American deomcratic institutions and democracy itself, from the base to the Supreme Court, is deadly. But succumbing to mourning is deadly too.

Litmus Test

 

 A guy shoots up a newsroom, killing 5 journalists. President says nothing in response to event or to reporters’ questions following the incident. That night, the video of  the President silently walking past reporters, ignoring their questions about the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom, was aired on tv and social media. A long day later, he stated that “journalists shouldn’t have to be fearful of being attacked while doing their jobs”. But  to Trump, journalists are “the enemy of the people”.  

So, another mass shooting that couldn’t be prevented, because how could we possibly stop the outlier? Each time? Beforehand?  We could arm teachers! Where are those good guys with guns? 

This is a reflection of our culture and politics. We live in danger of being shot anywhere because we won’t regulate lethal weaponry and have poor mental healthcare. Guns are considered masculine, even when women use them. They are the ultimate symbol of American individualism and self sufficiency. They are said to be for protection, but they are for killing (or injuring) full human  (and other) beings. They are meant to cause suffering and fear.

Even those who want to see loopholes closed, better screening , and better mental healthcare across the country, understand that there is a cultural affinity for guns, legitimized by the Second Amendment. 

Why, then, has abortion become the litmus test of our culture and politics? Why has Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion, always seemed dispensable ? The “Right to Life” is only valid as a potential life, but not once born—an actual life? Many like to mock the Clintons’ stance that abortions should be “safe, legal, and rare”, because, well, Hilary said that. The circumstance of pregnancy is unique. But it does include women’s health, and I do think abortions should be safe, legal, and rare.

 Abortion is not some newfangled cultural phenomena that began with The Feminine Mystique. Abortions have always existed, and have been dangerous (and criminal) until I was 10. But the cultural zeal and singular voting issue that has overridden everything in my lifetime has been the issue of abortion. 

Physicians have been shot (and killed) over the idea of getting rid of Roe v Wade, thereby criminalizing abortions (and OBGYNs who might perform the procedure). Right to life?

The President of Trumpistan understands that putting an anti-abortion judge on The Supreme Court will keep his base applauding, and his congressional lackeys collecting contributions. The ridiculous argument that gets put forward that it should be a states’ rights issue, not a federal one, sticks because it is an effective political move to limit access in Red states. Culturally and politically, the so-called “Right to Lifers” have all but eradicated the legality of early termination of a pregnancy, while opening up the floodgates for more semiautomatic weaponry without restrictions on use. 

Sure, there are several issues that delineate the views of the Supreme Court, but none are as contentious as Roe v Wade. Not even guns. We have deluded ourselves across our culture and politics into accepting certain rights as necessary for freedom and, ironically, life, and others as oppressive. Moreover, we have been so divided and hateful over this issue. We have so little room for accepting differing concepts, or compromising. 

Abortion is the issue that most are concerned about now that Kennedy is stepping down from the high court. Shouldn’t we be talking more about the mass murder at a newsroom? 

Breaking the Sound Barrier

Is this the Second Summer of Love? Almost two weeks ago, a few days before the summer solstice, we were once again startled by a sickening massacre of innocents—this time in a church. Even more startling, perhaps, was the forgiveness bestowed upon the gunman a day later by the families of the slain victims. Many of us didn’t realize we had barriers to forgiveness until hearing of their incredible mercy. It was extraordinary!

That same day, Marc Maron interviewed President Obama on Maron’s WTF podcast. This was a first for any President. Those who listened to it on Monday June 22nd when it was released, were treated to an historic conversation not only because it was unprecedented (unintended pun), but because it was amazing!

The President and Maron had an easy conversation about difficult things, especially the excruciating massacre in Charleston, and the seemingly unbreakable hold that racism has on our culture. Obama spoke thoughtfully without seeming to have to think. We could hear what sounded like a natural conversation—unscripted, although the ideas seem to have been developed.

News outlets and the rest of media, social and anti-social, took a sound bite from the conversation and attempted to create an issue over the scariest sound heard in America—the N-word. Of course when I listened to the podcast, I listened in its entirety, and the barrier that I heard broken was not that the N-word was uttered, or that it was said in a complete sentence without emphasis, or that it was vocalized by the President. The barrier that was broken, was that the President said what needed to be said in a way that could be heard (if one were actually listening). Being polite about not using the N-word is not the same as the end of racism in America. BOOM!

That same day, Nikki Haley, Conservative Republican Governor of South Carolina, made a moving speech calling for the removal of the Confederate Flag from government property. She was emotional and compassionate and her voice has led others to follow in removing the Confederate Flag from government properties. She acknowledged that the flag has been regarded as a symbol of hate and oppression. Music to our ears!

Later in the week, enormous barriers were broken as The Supreme Court ruled to uphold Obamacare, allowing millions more access to health insurance. More work needs to be done to ensure and insure affordable health care, but the Affordable Care Act was solidified as a start. And just as the sighs of relief were exhaled, the Supreme Court legalized Same Sex Marriage in all 50 states. Love is winning!

While these Supreme Court decisions are historic, something else happened on Friday, the same day Same-Sex Marriage became the law of the land, and it was momentous. President Obama gave the eulogy for the reverend Clementa Pinckney who was gunned down the previous week at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. After what was arguably one of Obama’s greatest speeches (which is saying quite a lot), he startled the mourners there as well as the rest of us. He broke into song. He did not perform as a troubadour or soloist, but he did start solo. Some were audibly startled and one could hear some nervous laughter at first . His voice broke a barrier. The President sang Amazing Grace.

There is something about singing that breaks barriers. We are unguarded when we sing; we just use what we have. I think that’s what was initially startling when the President began to sing. It was outside of the categories that we are used to. But he was quickly joined in song.

The rapid succession of historic moments that seemed to break barriers over the last couple of weeks felt remarkable. Undoubtedly, many will continue to feel threatened by such changes and will continue to sound off. But calling discrimination, freedom won’t work. Attempting to disguise the sounds and symbols of hate won’t work. They have been barriers to living fully in America. We have always become better when we have broken barriers to participation. In what has felt like an unheard of couple of weeks, we are in an historic moment, that sounds pretty great.