I’m not a fan of court packing. Joe Biden just said it (finally). I’ll say it too, because I’m not either. But I’m also not a fan of a polarized, political Supreme Court. Our very democracy depends on the wisdom of impartial, non-partisan justices to evaluate our laws against the template for our government: The Constitution. Nothing is more important.

Full disclosure time. Politically, I’m an apolitical Independent. Given a choice, I’ll stay out of politics. These days, I don’t feel like I have much choice. Life is scary, and I don’t trust ANYONE in power right now more than I trust the American people to #DemandBetter from their leaders. I’m voting for Joe, because the comparison isn’t even close.

Now…assuming the Republicans push through their latest SCOTUS nominee, pushing the Nation’s highest court ‘hard right’, I think court packing could be a solution for the next President. Importantly, I’m not suggesting that Democrats’ pack the court with “liberal” justices to balance out the damage done by the Republicans. No, that would just escalate things, and the makeup of the court will not improve. Instead, Dems need to take the Constitutional high ground, and assuming they gain control of the Senate and Presidency, Democrats need to work to make the court better for everyone, and make sure there’s no reason for the GOP to retaliate.

How you ask? Sounds impossible? Maybe.
But I have some ideas.

Let’s add two new justices. BUT, first, change the laws so that a 2/3 vote is required to confirm ALL lifetime judicial appointments, ensuring the 2 new justices, and all future appointments, will be bipartisan. As they should be. This is America. Courts MUST be impartial and independent.

Adding two new bipartisan judges will add a great deal of balance to the current court, which will still lean slightly conservative, while expanding the 9 seat bench to 11. By making it a law, it will require both houses of Congress and The President to change it…because it should NOT be left up to the Senate to just change the rules on these important appointments, as it is now.

The appointment process can still be changed in the future (hopefully for the better, and with bipartisan agreement) but the temptations..and ability…for one party to try to change the law just to gain a majority in the independent, apolitical and non-partisan high court will certainly shrink.

It’s time we all start thinking about the bigger picture. Beyond politics and parties. It’s time we remember that we can Make America Better, because going backwards is NEVER an actual option. MAGA is just the fear that things can’t get any better than they used to be, and we shouldn’t sell out our future
to fear.

I plan to vote for the future, because MAGA, like everything else that comes from Trump, is a lie.~jg

Footnote: Even if Biden doesn’t have a democratic majority in both houses of Congress, he could still plausibly sell this to some conservative Republicans who still believe in the sanctity of the Supreme Court. Getting it through as a bipartisan effort would be difficult, but Biden says he can work across the aisle…I guess we’ll see

If you agree, #ShareThis
If you disagree, share your thoughts.
Be prepared defend your opinion.
Truthfully, with actual facts and references, please.

#SCOTUS #Biden #election2020 #vote
Just Thinking ~ Thoughts on music, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…and other less political stuffs.
by Jamie Gray
2020-10-13T18:02:32.000Z

If you think Trump is doing a good job managing the Coronavirus pandemic, how many deaths will it take for you to change your mind? How many months of a suppressed economy are you willing to live with, all because infection levels are STILL too high to reopen safely, due to partisan disputes over mask wearing and social distancing fueled by the president?
Because frankly, we could’ve been back to a new normal months ago, if Trump had listened to the experts at the CDC, WHO and NIH and designed one. THAT was his job, to design and construct a new covid-ready normal and help us get there. He Failed. Miserably.
I am personally sickened by Trump’s absolute ineptitude in managing the crisis and his lack of even basic compassion at the resultant loss of life. Every other country in the world has done better than the USA at things that we are supposed to be among the best at: healthcare and crisis management.
Every American should be ashamed of where we find ourselves now, as the rest of the world is deciding between laughing at our President or crying for the American people.

#pandemic #coronavirus #politics #opinion
Just Thinking ~ Thoughts on music, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…and other less political stuffs.
by Jamie Gray
2020-09-30T15:54:34.000Z

Racism at the Park-N-Ride
Today (yesterday actually), I was having a socially distanced conversation with a good friend at a park-n-ride in Newtown CT. Suddenly, a car full of assholes goes by, shouting racial slurs aimed at the yarmulke wearing jews across the parking lot. On their Sabbath.
Racial hatred in the real white American suburbs is too fucking real, I thought to myself, as my friend found himself apologizing to the nearby travelers for no real reason, other than to show support. To let them know he was horrified. They NEEDED to know.
They said they were used to it.
I was now even more horrified.
Of course I knew there was still racism in America. What I didn’t know is how far we have yet to come to put it in our rear view. That’s pretty clear these days. Once upon a time I thought we were almost there. We are SO NOT almost there, and things are now getting worse. Much worse.
Thanks to Trumpian enabling from his bully pulpit, and make no mistake, Donald Jackoff Trump is a bully…Thanks to his reliance on public hate speech and polarizing rhetoric, regular Americans now feel empowered by this presidential bad example, to become their very worst selves. Anger and hatred that used to be hidden, are exploding in our faces. Violence and hate speech towards minorities of race, faith and gender. It’s sad, and disgraceful. Horrifying.
We ALL need to apologize. Because it’s all of our fault. The years of not saying “we’re horrified” EVERY SINGLE TIME we saw it…the tacit approval…has made it worse, not better.
It’s time we all stop being horrified inside…let it out. Out LOUD. Let them KNOW that racism is not patriotic and hatred is not American.
Diversity and immigration make us stronger. Working together makes us better. Becoming better humans is what America is REALLY about.
American exceptionalism doesn’t have to be a lie, IF it is based on us actually being exceptional, not just trying to get people to believe that we are. Being ‘Exceptional’ is a big BIG job. It means educating every child with the BEST education. Exceptional means having the BEST healthcare for EVERY American, not just the rich white ones. In a truly exceptional America, no one would be going hungry or homeless before the first American had a billion dollars in their checking account.
An actual more perfect union would be exceptional too. Our founders gave us the building blocks to create it, but we have to choose to overcome our short-sighted human nature, and adapt it to the tasks at hand. That’s the true beauty of our government…that ability to change. Adapt.
Are we doing that? Nope. Instead, we’re somehow still fighting the Civil War, 150 years after the good guys supposedly won. Shit is getting bad…if you haven’t noticed. Our melting pot is on the edge of melting down because, after all this time we STILL haven’t done what we said we would do.
Liberty and Justice for ALL. Rich white people generally get to ‘pursue happiness’ but most regular Americans just pursue survival and next months rent.
So, now I get that white people are a little afraid. I mean…We’ve been complete fucking assholes for 300 years or more, so we probably should be afraid. Yet, I think there’s a safe way out. An actual easy answer: Just Change Things. Fix it. Do something for REALZ, and nobody gets hurt. We ALL win. White, black, brown, gay, straight, religious, atheist…ALL of us.
Because Jewish lives matter. Black lives matter. Every Life Matters. And Yes…Police lives matter very much. Most cops are brave and awesome souls. They may just need to be a little braver right now.
Our police officers need to be brave enough to be horrified too, and horrified enough that the blue wall of silence doesn’t matter. That racial justice and harmony matter more to ALL of us, than silence to protect a few haters with badges.
We can..no, we MUST choose to decide that all of us are in this together. That we are ONE America, not Two. We are The UNITED States of America, and anyone who would seek to divide us is not worthy of being an American, much less the Office of The President.
Please #VOTE
~jg #america #TwoAmericas #BLM
Just Thinking ~ Thoughts on music, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…and other less political stuffs.
by Jamie Gray
2020-08-29T19:07:40.000Z

I am overwhelmed by the collective ignorance in America. Unthinkable Things are now normal. This is #NotNormal ~jg

#resist
Just Thinking ~ Thoughts on music, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…and other less political stuffs.
by Jamie Gray
2020-07-20T21:58:30.000Z

I am sad.
So many people are dying.
I am sad because the deaths are unnecessary.
I am sad because every other developed country in the world has managed to avoid this kind of uncontrolled pandemic, while America flounders; the Great USA failing worse than third world dictatorships at managing the outbreak.
I am sad because simple things, like wearing masks and social distancing can save lives, but people are being told they have “a choice”, instead of a responsibility to respect the rights of others.
I am sad because it seems that so many Americans are so easily convinced that science is a lie, and that impossible claims that could never plausibly be true are accepted, without question, as The Truth.
I am sad that so much hate still exists in the world, a world that is clearly depending on humanity coming together to save us from our own self-destructive nature.
I am sad that we, as a species have not figured out how to overcome greedy self interest and put humanity above nation-states or corporate directors.
I am sad every day.
I am also hopeful.
Because I believe in humanity. In people.
I believe that good leaders can learn to put people first. ALL people.
I believe in US. We the People are good. We all have a moral compass, and we know what we are seeing is wrong. We cannot allow ourselves to believe it, when people in power tell us that the heinous is acceptable. The masses cannot be collateral damage for the wealthy and privileged, to be exploited and profitted on.
No…We The People are an INVESTMENT in the future of humanity, not a drain on their profits of the well financed, and its about time our governments started acting like it. When they do, maybe some of this fucking sadness will fade.
Until then, I will probably keep crying everyday for practically no reason at all. I am sad…but I think being sad is pretty fucking healthy, given the obvious state of things.
In fact, I’d worry about you if you’re not sad.~jg
Just Thinking ~ Thoughts on music, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…and other less political stuffs.
by Jamie Gray
2020-07-08T18:37:00.000Z