It's Not A Gun Problem -- It's An Ethnic Problem -- June 28, 2022

 

SCOTUS Reverses SCOTUS Decisions -- 234 -- June 27, 2022

So - lots of talk and high emotion over the Supreme Court reversing a prior decision.

Are SCOTUS reversals rare?

Sure doesn't look like it.

Here's the list  (;>)

Table of Supreme Court Decisions Overruled by Subsequent Decisions | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Wish that it were a numbered list.  I counted the most current 100 mulligans, and that only took us back to 1973... so in 50 years, that would average 2 overturns per year.

In addition, this list is a table of Supreme Court decisions that overturned existing law including Brown vs Board of Education, 1953. 

................

Plessy v Ferguson was a Supreme Court ruling that allowed "separate but equal" facilities.  For example, schools and railway cars could be segregated as long as the accomodations were equal.  That was overturned by Brown v Board of Education.  Plessy was "settled law" longer than Roe v Wade.

There are other overturned rulings where "settled law" had prevailed even longer.  I took a quick look at those most recent 100 do-overs.  I saw at least 5 cases where "settled law" had been in effect for 100 years or longer!  Exxon in 1991, Collins in 1990, South Carolina in 1988, Shaffer in 1977 and USA in 1975... those 5 cases each overturned rulings that had been settled law since the 1800's!!!  Two were actually antebellum.

I'm not familiar with anything except the USA 1975 case - that involved dividing recovery from shipwrecks - maritime law.  I'll have to skim those other cases.  

The point being that the Supremes reserve the right to change their minds (;>)  

................

As an aside, it tickles me to see the ND cases.  In the first one I saw, ND's "local pharmacist owner" requirement was struck down.  That was Liggett 1928 overturned by ND v Snyder Drug in 1973.  (I remember that one)

And, in the second one I saw, a state is allowed to collect sales tax even if a retailer has no physical presence.  Quill in 1992 was struck down by SD v Wayfair in 2018

..........

I'd like to read a Cliff's Notes version of all the reversals.  Let me know if you run across such a summary (;>)

Links -- June 26, 2022

Putin destroying Germany; natural gas fill rate. 
Russia's chokehold on Europe: back to coal. 
Add Italy to this site.
Germany: coal is back. Will drop pledge to ban overseas coal financing.
France immediate limit on energy usage.
Germany to drop climate mandate. 
EU not sure it wants to help Africa with food crisis because it would be at odds with climate action.

G-7: public investment in natural gas necessary -- Doomberg.
G-7 walking back climate initiatives.

Wobbly on one leg.

Biden strategy. 

Inflation: being misread by the Fed.

Inflation: hysteria. 

Ridiculous worries.

Charging points: not enough in Netherlands. 
Groningen is back.

Another Clinton Aide (?) Found Dead -- June 8, 2022

Link here.

Former president Bill Clinton’s special advisor linked to pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein died in a bizarre suicide and only Radar has the macabre details that have led some to suspect foul play.

Mark Middleton, who introduced the perv to the president, was found May 7th hanging from a tree with a shotgun wound that blew a hole through his chest along with a cheap Dollar Store-type extension cord as a noose on an Arkansas farm belonging to a non-profit feed-the-hungry agency loosely linked to Clinton.

Oddly, the Little Rock businessman and father of two daughters created his own makeshift gallows by standing on top of a table he dragged to the hanging tree — an apparent backup plan in case the shotgun blast didn’t end his life, a law enforcement source tells RadarOnline.com.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the hell-bent Middleton trespassed on the 1,200-acre grounds of the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas – a farm run by Heifer International whose headquarters is on the same parcel of land partially owned by the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock.

Heifer International. Link here. 

Student Debt Forgiveness -- June 5, 2022

See this Business Insider story.

A public - private solution.

Public -- federal loan debt assistance

• no longer called "debt forgiveness" but rather "debt assistance"
• all debts will be paid off 
• debts will be re-evaluated annually
• debts less than $100,000 will be paid off over ten years
• debts less than $200,000 but more than $100,000 will be paid off over twenty years
• debts less than $300,000 but more than $200,000 will be paid off over thirty years
  
• all student loans going forward are interest-free;
• all student loans going forward require monthly payments beginning at time loan is signed;
• for students with absolutely "no money," the university that accepted them will be required to make the monthly payments
  
• all loans with no-debt forgiveness clause. Period. Dot. No debt will ever be written off.
  
• all loans going forward based on Buffett-Munger-derived criteria.
• all loans only for those whose family's net worth is less than $5 million; threshold tied to annual inflation;
• US Congress will eliminate all interest on all loans going forward
• US Congress commitment: see below
  

Private -- debt "forgiveness"

• no true "debt forgiveness" -- all "current" debt will be re-paid
• only total debts between $50,000 and $300,000 will be considered
• only debts incurred by individuals whose net family worth is less than $5 million will be considered
  
• to qualify for "debt forgiveness" program, debt-holders must pay monthly debt payment (no exemptions); monthly amount to be determined by entity managing the program
• debt payments made by Forbes annual 500 wealthiest Americans and each US senator
  
•  each of Forbes annual 500 wealthiest Americans must sign on to "debt forgiveness" program or it won't go forward
• each of the 500 top athletes, active and non-active) must sign on to agreement
• each university athletic director must sign on to the agreement
  
• every university president must sign on to the agreement
  
• each US senator must sign on to "debt forgiveness" program or it won't go forward
• others may "cover" for those who refuse to participate
• e.g., if a US senator refuses, Warren Buffett can "cover" for him/her 
• any US senator who does not participate will not hold any committee position and will be censured by the US Senate
  
• non-partisan select committee to administer program
• non-partisan select committee would determine criteria for anyone seeking assistance
• non-partisan select committee would determine which loans qualify
• all proceedings secret
• debt assistance only for certain degrees; certain professions;
• unemployed not eligible for any loan-assistance, with exceptions; but monthly payments must continue to be met by someone;
  
• committee and debt-holders would be required to sign non-disclosure agreements
• anyone cheating on NDA would be removed from committee, or if a debt-holder, removed from the program
• even with "posted" parameters, no debt-holder guaranteed to be accepted
• selected current loans and all future loans will be paid off by the wealthiest Americans and US senators over a 30-year time period; the loan repayment program would be forward-rolling

This 13-Percenter Says It All -- May 31, 2022

At our pool yesterday. Living the good life. And this is her attitude. 

I assume she attended a Southern Baptist church earlier Sunday morning.

Texas Elementary School Shooting -- May 26, 2022

Two things.

One: at the federal level, it's not the courts, it's the legislature that needs to repeal the 2nd amendment and they have had over 50 years to do so.

Two: these school shootings are entirely preventable. Why do 18-year-olds go to an elementary school and not to an airport? This is not rocket science. We were stationed in Turkey for two years -- that's a big country overseas -- and this would never happen in Turkey.  

Later, 2:16 p.m., May 26, 2022: the more I read about this story, the angrier and sicker I get. Some of the one-liners coming out of this story:

• apparently the shooter walked right in with no "obstruction"
• "police" were inside the entire time trying to get the "right angle" on the shooter
• "loved ones outside the school begged police to go in as shooting unfolded"
• apparently this went on for upwards of forty minutes (needs to be fact-checked)

Just walks in -- an 18-year-old carrying two rifles and no one confronts him?  

Later, 7:02 p.m. May 26, 2022: link to twitter. 

May 27, 2022: things are looking worse and worse for the first responders. The tragedy played out over 90 minutes. Ninety minutes! Give me a break. The governor of Texas defends the first responders -- cops with guns -- as not wanting to get shot at. In other words, they were using the fourth graders as shields until the shooter ran out of bullets. I've lost respect for Texas law enforcement if this is the norm. Even the NYFD ran up the stairs in a skyscraper that was on fire. 

May 27, 2022: at least nineteen fourth-graders killed and two teachers killed, and not one
cop with a gun was even injured. Speak volumes. Not one hero among the two dozen or so first responders. 

May 27, 2022: it turns out a teacher propped a door open -- through which the shooter entered the school. There's only one reason for a teacher to prop open the door: for personal use. And there's only one reason I can think of why a teacher would need an "outside" door for a personal reason: to get a "smoke." Later, May 31, 2022, now they are reporting the door was unlocked, but not propped open. We may need to get definition of "propped open." But if unlocked, who unlocked it? Certainly not the janitor.

May 27, 2022: it turns out there were at least two cops with guns -- one or more outside the school and one or more inside the school -- when the shooter arrived on campus and before the shooter entered the school. The shooter began shooting at the school before he entered the school. Later: there are now reports that the cop with a gun that was supposed to be inside the school was actually in his car driving somewhere. Why was he not in school?

May 27, 2022: the tactical (SWAT) team arrived much earlier than originally reported. The tactical team may have arrived between 12:00 and 12: 10. The shooter entered the school around 11:30 and walked quite a distance in the school without being approached by any school official.

May 27, 2022: the Uvulde school district had not implemented the simplest of "barrier" rules. Lock all doors once class starts.

May 27, 2022: Governor Abbot is circling the wagons in support of law enforcement. He is clearly wrong. The Ulvalde school district, the Uvalde law enforcement department, the Uvalde school police officer (s), the teacher, need to be held independently responsible and responsible as entities in criminal and civil suits. If Governor Abbot does not make such a clear-cut statement by June 1, 2022, I will support any individual who runs against Abbott, including Beto. 

May 27, 2022: Imagine, using fourth graders as shields until the shooter ran out of bullets. I've lost respect for Texas law enforcement if this is the norm. Even the NYFD ran up the stairs in a skyscraper that was on fire. At least nineteen fourth-graders killed and two teachers killed, and not one Texas cop with a gun was even injured. Speak volumes. Not one hero among the two dozen or so first responders. How many NYFD personnel died "that" day?

May 26, 2022: kids made multiple 9-11 phone calls. The cops did not respond. 

May 27, 2022: I'm with AOC and the progressives on this one. It's time for the US Supreme Court to re-write, re-interpret the Second Amendment, the US Constitution. From the home page for SCOTUS, the opening paragraph:

"EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW"-These words, written above the main entrance to the Supreme Court Building, express the ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court is the highest tribunal in the Nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.

Those nineteen+ kids and two teachers will never receive "equal justice under the law."

May 27, 2022: there are so many solutions to the law. AR-15s. Anyone who wants one can have one. But they must be maintained at a state-run or federally-run armory. When checked out, they can only be used for target practice, etc., at regulated, licensed shooting range. The armory will be responsible for transporting the AR-15 to and from the shooting range. 

May 27, 2022: Governor Abbott knows he is in trouble. Says he is livid. Says he was lied to. Let's him say who is criminally responsible and criminally liable for this.

May 27, 2022: Governor Abbott needs to be voted out of office. Even if that means a Beto governorship. He won't name names. He says "misled," not "lied to," and the list goes on. If Beto can't unseat Abbott after this one, it means that no sitting Republican governor will ever be defeated. Abbott was more concerned about "protecting" his police unions than seeking the truth or focusing on the survivors and families. Talk about misplaced concerns.

May 27, 2022: I’ve had enough of Abbott. And I'm done with Trump. Actually I was done with Trump on / about January 30, 2021. This is the best Fox News could say about Trump:

Former President Donald Trump Friday took a dig at politicians who didn't show up to the NRA's convention in Houston, after multiple speakers canceled appearances at the event, held days after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

May 28, 2022: Simply out of respect, the NRA could have postponed, if not canceled completely, its annual convention. 

May 28, 2022: on his eighteenth birthday, he buys two AR-15s and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Background check and no one asked why?

May 28, 2022: I was wrong earlier -- there was one hero that day (and two teachers who tried protecting their students). Link here.

May 28, 2022: not one cop was injured. They all waited to run in until after the shooter had run out of ammunition.

May 28, 2022: yes, I've had enough of both Cruz and Trump. I hope Texas goes blue. Link here.

May 30, 2022: showed her true colors, NRA more important than babies -- South Daktoa governor Noem has time to attend NRA convention but not pay respects to nineteen babies and two wonderful teachers. 

May 30, 2022: apparently the official time duration is 78 minutes. I know the police had to make split-second decisions. Now we know that they had 78 minutes in which to make those split decisions. Time for names to be named. I expected Trump and Cruz to act the way they did; I'm most disappointed in Noem.

May 31, 2022: Pete Arredondo has most likely "lawyered up." The Uvalde school district police chief has reportedly not responded to Texas Rangers in two days for a follow-up interview.

June 2, 2022: Daniel Defense goes into hiding. Forbes. Pulled out of NRA convention.

June 2, 2022: Daniel Defense goes into hiding. CBS News. 

June 4, 2022: At the first meeting of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) board since the deadly mass shooting, members took no action against school police chief Pete Arredondo. This is beyond belief. Nineteen fourth-graders used as shields and no accountability. 

June 7, 2022: Uvalde changes everything. I now self-identify as a Beto supporter. I am so tired (for lack of a better word) of Trump, Abbott, Cruz, DeSantis, et al. 

June 11, 2022: Uvalde is a wedge issue for me. The second amendment needs to be repealed. Link here. I'm so done with Trump, Cruz, Noem, et al.

June 14, 2022: why would 27 DEMS vote against increased security for US Supreme Court judges?

June 14, 2022: reply to those who e-mailed regarding gun control --

After Uvalde, everything changed for me.

These were fourth graders texting for help.

Law enforcement did nothing.

My Sophia is a third grader.  

Second amendment needs to be repealed.

June 21, 2022:

• investigation testimony now being reported:
• the police initially reported the classroom door was locked; they couldn't get in;
• they "waited" for the janitor to arrive with "the key"
• now, it's being reported the door was never locked; no key needed; law enforcement apparently didn't even try to enter;
• need to hear janitor's testimony
• Uvalde authorities won't allow testimony to be heard live
  

June 22, 2022:

• chief of police put on administrative leave
• to see the timeline explains it all
• I won't be supporting Governor Abbott in his re-election bid; Beto has my vote if it comes down to Abbott vs Beto

July 17, 2022: it simply gets worse and worse. Shame, shame, shame.