Tag Archives: Voting Rights Act

Point of View Columns

Voter Suppression in the Era of James Crow

The pandemic days continue inexorably and the country has now reached the point where 1,000 Americans dying every day to be part of the so-called New Normal. There is no national day of mourning. There are no words of condolences from the White House. There is no resolution of mourning from Congress. It seems that 1000 Americans dying every 24 hours is considered not worthy of note.

And this obliviousness to this massive and continuous loss of human life may be one the worst residual effects of this pandemic – hopefully not the longest lasting.

As the voting in America continues it is now clear what voter suppression looks like. It is important to note that we are now in the second now in the middle of the second national election since the Shelby v. Holder Supreme Court decision gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013.

It is important because in the 2016 election, a noticeable decline in the Black vote was observed. Many observers attributed the decline to the lackluster campaign of Hillary Clinton combined with the absence of Barack Obama on the ballot.

But those many observers failed to observe that the purpose of the Voting Rights Act was to protect Black voters and that when those protections were suddenly removed the racist tendencies of the right wing of the right wing were immediately released and the ensuing New James Crow policies most certainly suppressed the Black vote.

Having had four more years to refine the James Crow policies and procedures it is clear that voter suppression is different from the Jim Crow policies and procedures of a half century ago. In the days of Jim Crow Black voters had to risk their jobs, their homes and in many instances their lives for just trying to register, much less vote.

In the days of James Crow, the polling sites have limited hours and a limited number of locations. Black voters are no longer concerned with losing their jobs because they voted. Black voters are now concerned with losing their jobs because they had to stand in line for ten hours to cast a vote – an excuse which might not be acceptable to many employers.

And those Black voters who are self-employed or are business owners have to be prepared to lose a day of income during a pandemic – a new kind of poll tax in the James Crow era.

As some observers marvel at the dedication and enthusiasm of American voters, other observers in other parts of the world wonder at the antediluvian voting process in this country. In many countries voting takes place on weekends or a national holiday. In some countries voting is conducted online. In many countries voting takes place on multiple days in order to make it convenient for voters.

But in the era of James Crow, the bedsheets have been replaced by pinstriped suits and Ivy League jargon. But the burning cross of voter suppression continues to burn bright.

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Point of View Columns

Another Long Weekend in the Life of America

October 9, 2020

7,607,848–212,789 (number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead Americans at the beginning of the day

Much of the news of today centers around the foiled plot by white militant militia members to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer. The central grievance of these misguided miscreants? She wanted the citizens of Michigan to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic.

And so, in this crazed climate created by the Instigator in Chief, some very committed militia members who have been mesmerized by Trump’s multiple dog whistles figured that it would be a good idea to kidnap and kill Governor Witmer, in the process inspiring other militia groups to take over state governments around the country. After all, Mr. Good People on Both Sides had provided a veneer of presidential acceptance that heretofore had never existed.

So with the tacit (certainly not spoken) approval of Trump, these good Michiganders did a third rate imitation of ISIS right down to learning how to make IED’s with shrapnel covers. They also staked out Governor Witmer’s summer home and by the accounts of the indictment were not too far from carrying out their infernal plan which, if consummated, would have killed not only Governor Witmer, members of her family and almost certainly multiple members of the law enforcement.

Fortunately for Governor Witmer – and the nation – the FBI and Michigan state law enforcement units were able to apprehend these clown criminals before they could commit their evil deeds. It turns out that they liked to communicate via the secure communication tool of Facebook.

While Governor Witmer received messages of support and commiseration from leaders of both political parties, why are we not surprised by the fact that Trump responded by tweeting that she had been a terrible governor. Which in Trumpspeak means that she deserved whatever could have happened to her.

It makes the blood run cold to realize that there is a very real possibility that this very damaged human being could be President of the United States for another four years.

Clearly this country stands on the precipice of an existential disaster.

 October 10, 2020

7,669, 411-213,837 (number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead Americans at the beginning of the day

Today we learned that months ago the CDC was prepared to issue national guidelines that would mandate that masks be worn by passengers on all public transportation throughout the United States. However, members of the Team Trump intervened and prevented that mandate from going out the rationale being that states and localities should determine the best protocols for their respective public transportation systems.

Considering that the VOVID-19 is a national threat it certainly would make sense for there to be a national policy, particularly with what is now considered the most effective means of preventing the spread of the virus. Serious public health officials are unanimous in stating that the wearing of masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing are the most effective means. This is not a strategy that could be different in Georgia as opposed to Wyoming as opposed to New York. Like the virus, science does not operate on a state by state basis.

This story provides further proof that Trump and his minions are literally and actually responsible for the death of many thousands of Americans who could have been saved but for the politicizing of the response to the pandemic. Rather than looking through a lifesaving lens, Trump has only his myopic reelection vision to the exclusion of logic, common sense or care for the well-being of human beings.

And just to keep things interesting Trump has organized another super spreader event at the White House, another campaign rally with 2,000 people who will probably have a dozen masks between them. Doing his best Juan Peron imitation Trump will speak from the Truman balcony (which probably has poor Harry spinning in his grave every time his name is mentioned in connection with the Clown and President).

What is also interesting is that there is no evidence that these rallies are helping Trump’s campaign or his reelection efforts. The people in attendance are already supporters and certainly are not further motivated by a rally where Trump will say the same things that he has been saying since 2005. Indeed, reports indicate that many people in Trump Nation just want to see their Fearless Leader in the flesh and typically leave long before Trump finishes his rantathon.

But the rallies feed his inner megalomaniac. The rallies address his need for reaffirmation that he is an Important Man instead of being a poor excuse for a human being.

In a very real way it is all very sad…. sad for the nation and actually, very sad for Trump.

October 11, 2020

7,755, 527-214,735 (number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead Americans at the beginning of the day

The Hatch Act says, among other things, that federal facilities are not too be used for political events. The last time anyone checked, the White House is a federal facility, owned and maintained by the United States government.

Yet, yesterday Trump hosted a totally partisan “rally” at the White House attended by Blacks and Latinos for Trump. Of course the U.S. Justice Department should be looking into this total misuse of federal resources but, of course, the Justice Department is headed by William Barr, Trump’s toothless lap dog, so there is no chance that there will be any examination/investigation by the Justice Department. And in what is one more sign that Trump is debasing the core institutional values of the American governmental system, there really has not been an outpouring of outrage and criticism at the brazen act of lawlessness. In the Age of Trump lawlessness is the New Norm.

And in a show of truly blatant disrespect for a man who has spent a lifetime earning international respect, the Trump campaign aired a video featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking about the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a positive way. The Trump campaign spliced that comment into a campaign ad making it seem that Fauci was praising Trump which was simply not the case.

Clearly the Trump campaign is the true reflection of its candidate using anybody and anything for his benefit regardless of truth, validity or relevance.

October 12, 2020

7,763, 371-214,776 (number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – the number of dead Americans at the beginning of the day)

For over a century this day had been known as Columbus Day. It was a day initially meant to honor Italian heritage at a time when Italian Americans were subject to especially harsh discrimination (including a lynching of Italians in New Orleans in the latter part of the 19th century).

This was a particularly benign holiday and an occasion for many to have a day off from work or school. But as the myth of American history transitioned to the truth of American history, it became clear that Christopher Columbus was the advance guard of European genocide, slavery and violent colonization and that Columbus himself enslaved, tortured, killed and robbed the indigenous people that he encountered during his first voyages to the so-called New World.

Today, many people are beginning to refer to this day as Indigenous People’s Day, using it as an occasion to remember that there were tens of millions of indigenous people in what is now North and South America before the appearance of Europeans. And in remembering their existence it becomes possible to also remembering the devastation of their civilizations as part of the Original Sin of America.

The day also begins with the confirmation hearings pertaining to the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. While it is clear that her confirmation is a fait accompli if there ever was one, it does offer the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee an opportunity to lay bare the naked determination of the Republicans to stack the Supreme Court with an iron clad 6-3 super conservative majority for at least the next decade if not more.

Judge Barrett’s opening statement contained the expected platitudes about being committed to fairness and impartiality. But she also stated that she believes that the Supreme Court should apply the law as written and not try to inject policy into judicial decisions. Of course, on the planet on which Judge Barrett lives, banning abortion, gutting the Voting Rights Act and eliminating the Affordable Care Act are not policy decisions, but merely the application of the law. The fact that important policies are affected are, Judge Coney would have us believe, is merely incidental.

And there is no truth to rumor that Judge Coney also has a bridge in Brooklyn that she would like to sell.

As the hearing goes forward it turns out that the future of the right wing of the right wing reimagined Supreme Court will encompass the obliteration or invalidation of accepted policies and principles including the right of a woman to choose, the right of consenting adults to use contraceptives, civil rights laws to protect Black Americans, the remaining protections of the already gutted Voting Rights Act, affirmative action in the workplace and in academia and the right of consenting adults of the same gender to love and marry.

And that is just a warmup.

The title of a Billie Holiday song comes to mind, “Detour Ahead”.

Detour indeed.

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Point of View Columns

Beware of the Black Robes

When the Portuguese Jesuits came to Japan in the 1600’s they were referred to as the “Black Robes” and were viewed with justifiable suspicion and concern by the Japanese. In the 19th and 20th centuries, men in white robes were viewed with suspicion and downright terror by black Americans in the South. Now it appears that all Americans should beware of certain men who are wearing black robes in the Supreme Court of the United States.

It seems that over the past several years the Robertson/Scalia/Alito/Thomas cabal on the Supreme Court has alternately shocked, stunned and outraged Americans possessed of a true sense of justice with its stubborn, steel-booted right wing agenda. Cloaking its ambition to turn back the clock to some mythical time in America, the SCOTUS Cabal has intentionally inverted, perverted and conveniently misinterpreted not only the stated goals of the framers of the Constitution but also the original purpose of the Constitution.

The SCOTUS Cabal simply ignores the fact that the Constitution was written in the 18th century – a time when women could not even dream of voting or owning property, black people were property and virtually everyone at the Constitutional Convention was a financially comfortable white man, many of whom were slaveholders. The SCOTUS Cabal also chooses to select facts about the Constitution to suit its right wing goals and therefore ignores the inherent flexibility that was built into the Constitution to allow it to change with the times through amendments and judicial interpretation.

It is only because of its flexibility and adaptability that the Constitution of the United States has been able to remain the governance document of this country for over two centuries. To think that a few landholding, slaveholding white men living on a portion of a sliver of the Eastern Coast of North America in the 1700’s could have envisioned modern America – with its sheer size, diversity, technology and place in the world that simply did not exist in 1787 is beyond absurd.

The framers of the Constitution committed clear and documented original sins in the creation of the Constitution. Chief among them were the legalization of slavery and the refusal to grant full citizenship to black people and white women. Nevertheless, these flawed men did have the presence of mind and foresight to realize that a national governance document that was sustainable would have to be flexible and adaptable to the times.

When the Robertson/Scalia/Alito/Thomas cabal treats the Constitution like the Ten Commandments, arguing that every word is virtually a divine command written in stone from the 18th century, they are fully aware that they are using the Constitution to shield their real goal. And that goal is nothing less than the transformation of the United States into a right wing republic.

And that is why over these past few years we have seen the SCOTUS cabal empower voter suppression by eviscerating the Voting Rights Act. It has empowered the wealthy in subverting the voting process in the recent Citizens United and McCullough decisions and has now placed this country on the slippery slope towards a Christian theocracy by allowing explicitly Christian prayers in town hall meetings.

Much of what the SCOTUS cabal does is cloaked and soaked in legal verbiage and obscure references. But when the Supreme Court lawn is mowed and the rhetorical weeds are removed, it is clear that the SCOTUS cabal – these men in black robes, are to be feared, perhaps more than the Japanese feared the Jesuits or black Americans feared the Klan.

They are that dangerous.

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Point of View Columns

Weekend Edition – January 17, 2014

It must be the Mean Season on the Planet Teapublican – seemingly the only explanation for its followers in Congress insisting on continuing to deny benefits to the long term unemployed. Meanwhile, in an effort to repair the wreckage to the Voting Rights Act inflicted by the RobertsonScaliaThomasAlito cabal in the Supreme Court, Congress engaged in a bit of sleight of hand. And finally, while the celebratory skydive of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was covered in the news, Sarah Palin, the approximate cause of her discontent, got a free pass.

In the Land of Mean

Too many Americans know the stress and the shame and the pain of unemployment. The painful irony is that the longer that someone is unemployed, the more difficult it is to find a job. Indeed, some unenlightened employers refuse to even interview unemployed job applicants.

Over the last few years the federal government has extended benefits to the long term unemployed. It has certainly been a compassionate initiative and it has also been helpful to a hobbled national economy, provided direct infusions of cash to shops, stores and service providers each time those checks have gone out.

Now in step the Teapublican shock troops claiming that unemployment benefits, meager as they are, provide a disincentive for the unemployed to find a job. Heroic hypocrites like Congressman Paul Ryan – who grew up in a wealthy family that made its money as government contractors, used his father’s Social Security death benefits to attend college and who never had to look for a job in his life – claim that budget balancing is more important than saving the lives and self-respect of millions.

I am certain that Paul Ryan and his fellow Ayn Rand acolytes are good to their own children and family members. But it has been said that we measure the generosity of someone’s spirit in how they treat people that they do not know.

By that measure Paul Ryan and the Teapublicans come up short.

That Old Bad Magic

When observing events in Congress it is important to pay attention to the details. The seemingly laudable bi-partisan effort to repair the damage caused by the United State Supreme Court in virtually gutting the Voting Rights Act last year is a case in point.

The new legislation which seems to address many of the key elements of the Supreme Court’s attack on America, particularly black and Latino America, does not address the odious Photo I.D. legislation that is spreading across this country like some incurable cancer from KKK hell.

So we will read in the paper that Congress has passed a new Voting Right Act. Great news!

Race/racist driven Photo I.D. laws will still be the subject of trench warfare, state by state, county by county because Congress could not/would not act on this transparent strategy to suppress the voting power of people of color.

NOT great news!

Free Pass for Sarah Palin?

Last week most people of good will celebrated the fact that former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords celebrated her continued recovery from the Tucson Massacre by sky diving. Her recovery is an inspiring narrative and a tribute to the strength of her spirit and the support of her husband, family and friends.

But Sarah Palin, the Lady Macbeth in this story, was never mentioned in the news media. Somehow, only three years later, the mainstream media seems to have forgotten that it was on Sarah Palin’s website that a rifle scope was placed over then Congresswoman Gifford’s district – along with several others.

The fact that the man who shot Gabrielle Giffords in the head may not have been directly inspired by Sarah Palin’s cyber-obscenity does not diminish the fact that her overheated and gun-inspired rhetoric contributed to an atmosphere where violence entered into public and political discourse.

Sarah Palin should never get a free pass on this one.

Have a great weekend – stay strong and be great!

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Point of View Columns

Weekend Edition – July 5, 2013

There have been plenty of Teapublicans assuming their natural naysaying negative posture who have been claiming that sequestration hasn’t been “that bad”. Of course if they left their right wing fantasy world for a few moments a dose of reality would lead them to a very different conclusion. Meanwhile the implosion of the presidency in Egypt and the continued carnage in Syria has heightened calls for President Obama to “do something”. Fortunately President Obama knows the cost of “something”. And finally, within days of the Supreme Court’s damnable Voting Rights Act decision there was great haste to drive an electoral wedge into this country’s racial divide.

Sequestration Secret?

The July 5, 2013 editorial of the New York Daily News mocks President Obama’s earlier claims that sequestration would have a calamitous effect on the American people. It seems that since this country has not ground to a halt there is proof in the wisdom of sequestration.

The only problem with the News editorial board and its fellow travelers is that they are not telling the truth. In point of fact the entire federal government has been shifting monies to keep various programs functional. But national parks are closing or operating on reduced hours. Children are already being denied spaces in Head Start programs that will begin in September. And we should never forget the shameful delays in treatment and services that are being suffered by veterans every day.

The spectacular air traffic delays occasioned by sequestration were addressed by Congress because members of Congress felt the pain. But the News editors and members of Congress don’t feel the pain of federal furloughs and the consequent impact on small businesses in the communities where the furloughed workers live.

It seems like some people are living in a dream land that is a nightmare for everyone else.

Middle East Mystery?

The implosion Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi’s government has led to predictable questions about the future of Egypt and its impact on a Middle East region that is already in turmoil. Civilian slaughter continues in Syria, Iraq wobbles on the brink of chaos and Iran and Israel continue their Texas Death Match choreography.

Some observers of this ball of confusion are calling for President Obama to “do something”. Thankfully, up to this point President Obama has been very restrained in crafting this country’s response perhaps keeping in mind that when the United States has done “something” in the Middle East the results have not been salutary.

The United States did “something” in Iran in 1953 overthrowing a democratically elected president and that “something” has engendered ill will in that country and throughout the region for over half a century. This country did “something” in Iraq in 2003 and pushed that country in a maelstrom of blood and destruction while sacrificing the blood and treasure of this country needlessly.

And it should be noted that if this country does “something” else in the Middle East there is a good chance that the consequences will be felt not only in that region but here in the United States as well.

SCOTUS Fallout

The ink was barely dry on damnationworthy the Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act before scores of state and county governments issued various  proposals that would have the effect of suppressing voter participation, especially among minorities. This could not have been a surprise to anyone with a pulse.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had already termed the VRA an instrument of “racial entitlement”. And while the SCOTUS majority contended that there was no longer a need for the protections afforded by the VRA they made this contention with the full knowledge of the voter suppression tactics employed in the 2012 presidential election.

The shame of the SCOTUS VRA decision is extravagant in that it not only condones racist practices, it actually encourages them.

And the worst is yet to come.

Have a great weekend and stay strong!

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Point of View Columns

Weekend Edition – June 28, 2013

The evisceration of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court this week is the most racially damaging decision by that Court in exactly 117 years – almost to the day. Meanwhile the end of the DOMA as we know it has been a cause for justified celebration but it is celebration that should be muted given the near death of the VRA. Finally, given the precarious health of Nelson Mandela President Obama’s trip has a somber tinge but it does provide yet another opportunity to put the spotlight on what is good about Africa these days.

RIP VRA

In May of 1896 the United States Supreme Court dishonored itself by confirming the legality and constitutionality of racial segregation in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. For the next 100 years almost every Supreme Court decision on racial matters has been part of incremental progress.

Now, in its most recent ruling the Supreme Court has eviscerated the Voting Rights Act, one of the pillars of progress built by the civil rights movement of the modern era. Using sham analysis to mask the obvious intent to disenfranchise black Americans and other people of color, the majority on the court has disgraced itself and desecrated the memory of all of the American heroes, black and white, honored and anonymous, who worked and struggled and died so that civil rights could become a civil reality in this country.

The majority of the Supreme Court should be ashamed of themselves but they are not. They will continue to wrap themselves in the self-righteous literal translation of the Constitution whenever it is convenient and suits their damnable purpose.

Somewhere in the depths of Hell Strom Thurmond, the Ku Klux Klan, Lester Maddox, John Stennis, Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and the rest of the members of the unrepentant American racist terrorist movement are celebrating.

DOMAcide

The signing the Defense of Marriage Act into law in 1996 was one of the more regrettable aspects of the presidency of Bill Clinton. This law was obviously unconstitutional and was a legislative expression of pure prejudice.

Seventeen years later DOMA has been dismantled by the Supreme Court. While the outcome of this case should have been inevitable – the ScaliaAlitoRobertsThomas wing of the Court has proven itself capable of trampling even the most basic of rights.

While there are twelve states and the District of Columbia where same sex marriage is now legal, that means that there are 38 states that still need to come to the realization that the right to love and care for someone is not something that should be subject to legislative rule or permission.

Back to Africa

As noted, the precarious health of liberation icon Nelson Mandela casts a somber light over President Obama’s trip to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.

While our prayers are with Mr. Mandela and his family we should not that President Obama’s trip does provide the American media and the American business community with an opportunity to focus on the positive aspects of Africa, not only in the visited countries but throughout the continent.

Business expansion, technological progress, increased democratization and gradual but steady improvement of living conditions are all characteristics of large parts of the African continent.

We have to hope that this message about the “other” Africa will resonate long after President Obama returns to Washington.

Have a great weekend!

 

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