SnakeRiverLib

So, a few thoughts on the events of the past two days. Anyone who thinks that 9 justices decided to overturn millenia of practice is wrong.  Truthfully, it was one.  Why do I say that?  One knows that the justices on the left, Ginsburg, Sotamayor, Kagan, and Breyer have prejudged the case. (Two of which, Kagan, and Ginsburg, have preformed same sex marriages).  On the right you have Thomas, Alito, Scalia, and sometimes Roberts.  This leaves simply  Justice Kennedy, who was expected, and turned out to be, the deciding vote.  One man.  Not 6 men and 3 women.  One man.  Speaking of liberty, of democracy in his decision to throw out the desires of millions of voters. For those who felt this was about equality, it wasn't.  It was about the good justice being a hero, or pariah.  Simple as that. Many have said to me that all they want is equality.  Well, that is settled.  Right?  Well, apparently not, as one of the ...

So SCOTUS has decided that the words "Established by the State" mean Established by the State, or other entity, meaning the Federal Government. I had a professor once who held up a golf ball every day in class and say that it was a baseball.  Then he would start asking at the start of class what it was.  "A golf ball, of course".  which he would correct by calling it a baseball.  After a few weeks, people just started calling it a baseball.  One would ask, "Do you really think it is a baseball?"  of course the answer was, "No, but that is what he will say it is."  Just like that, words cease to have meaning. Of course, there are many roads that lead the same way.  The second amendment stands out.  As does the first, with the whole "church and state" thing.  If people in power (or the media) repeat a falsehood long enough, eventually, people just accept it. The President said this was a stupid case, that it shouldn't have been ...

Today, Warner Brothers announced that they would no longer market the General Lee car toy from the Dukes of Hazard TV show.  Governor Haley (R-SC) announced that she would work with the state legislature to change the law to remove the Stars and Bars from the state capital.  By the way, just for informational purposes, the legislation mandating the flying of the Confederate Flag was signed into law by Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (D-SC).  That isn't any surprise, because as anyone knows who reads history instead of being taught it, that it was the Democratic Party that supported slavery, segregation, Jim Crow Laws, Poll taxes, and I could go on.  (and filibustering the Civil Rights act of 1964).  That is a state's decision, just as it is a corporate decision to remove Confederate Flag memorabilia from shelves. (Walmart, WB, Ebay, and undoubtedly more)  By the way, on Ebay as of this writing, you can find memorabilia from the DNC 1992 Bill Clinton/Al Gore campaig...

Hate Crimes.  Another post to raise eyebrows.  I am going to be using, as an example, one of the most heinous crimes that was motivate by race in the last twenty years.  It was a crime that ended up in a political ad.  I am talking about the dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper, TX. On June 7, 1998, James Byrd was dragged to his death after being beaten by three men.  He was chained to a pickup and dragged for about 1 and 1/2 miles, before his head was severed.  A horrible crime.  Was it motivated by race?  Two of the three were white supremacists, so I would guess that answers that question.  But a hate crime?  If justice is blind, then the motivation of an attack is really irrelevant, isn't it?  So, what happened, and why does this matter today?  For the record, Two of the three were sentenced to DEATH , the other, Life without possibility of parole .  Can punishment be any more final than this? Well.... As it turn...

It is short lived, but we can be grateful for the effort that Senator Paul and Senator Wyden (D, OR) have put in to protect our freedom.  Other senators were involved, but I highlight the two, who on many issues couldn't be further apart. The Patriot Act was passed in a short amount of time after 9/11 to "do something".  It was also passed with sunset windows to allow for adjustments when not in the heat of battle.  I only add this, because there are other things coming up, which demand to be noticed. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was also created after 9/11 to beef up security at airports.  We were told that contract security was insufficient.  We were told that it needed to be nationalized for continuity.  We were told lie after lie.  Why was it a lie? It is easy, and we look back with the colored vision of having seen airliners crash into buildings.  We say; "How did we let people on airplanes with boxcutters?  No ...

As we honor the dead tomorrow on Memorial Day, I wanted to write in regards freedoms that are on the brink. The first amendment guarantees right to practice religion, of which I have often written.  While it does not allow the US Congress to establish a religion (like the Church of England), it does not prohibit states from supporting, through collection of taxes, various denominations. Does that surprised?  Shouldn't be.  It also allows for the free exercise of religion.  That is the first right guaranteed by the first amendment, followed by speech, press, the right to PEACEABLY assemble, and the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances. While I feel that Edward Snowden should be punished for revealing government secrets, I find it odd that the head of the NSA, who perjured himself before Congress, by saying that such a program didn't exist, until it was found out that it did, has had no charges against him, and was not forced to resign. ...

Obvious statement, but not the way one might think. We all know that the Ku Klux Klan, (KKK, or the Klan) is a hideous organization that was started after the Civil War by former Confederate soldiers and officers.  It was a terror organization that was once recognized as the armed militant arm of the Democratic Party (yes the same party).  They advocated a return to slavery, and fought against the civil rights of blacks.  Lynchings, poll taxes, Jim Crow laws, and racism were their forte.  Why do I say the Klan had it wrong?  (Speaking only from their point of view, which is NOT mine) I have often pointed to statistics by the NYC department of health regarding births, abortions, etc.  I have stated that half of all black pregnancies end in abortion.  Reading the latest, NYC reports that there were 1,488 black abortions for every 1,000 black births.  Over half.  Factor in that of those that survive pregnancy, 75 percent are born into singl...