Supreme Court decision—a victory for State over Church

The Supreme Court has just struck down the Texas anti-abortion laws. The plaintiffs argued that the law was required to protect women’s health.  The defendants’ argued that it restricted women’s’ rights to abortion access.  The reality is that it had nothing to do with women’s health nor women’s rights.   The reality is that it was about the division between church and state.

This whole abortion/contraception issue is nothing more than an attempt by radical Christian Evangelicals to impost their religious beliefs on the entire American public.  The confrontation had absolutely nothing to do with threats to women’s health—as the Justices clearly pointed out.  Opposition to abortion is based solely, uniquely on religious beliefs.

   

When are we going to finally get these Evangelical Christian bullies to keep their religious doctrines inside their church walls and stop trying to impose them on everyone else?  Why can’t they understand that just because they believe in some supernatural being that runs their lives, their belief is not shared by a great many of their fellow citizens (some who also profess to be Christians) who prefer their lives to be run by intelligent civil laws established by rational human beings?

Actually, Pew Research shows that when asked about the legality of abortions, 56 percent of Americans say it should be legal in all or most situations while 41 percent say it should be illegal all or most of the time.  I other words, a majority think it is a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body which is none of your business, thank you.

It will be very interesting when we get into full Presidential campaign mode and the religious card comes into play.  In past presidential elections and in the recent Republican primaries, candidates fell all over themselves declaring how much they loved Jesus.  Right now Trump and the Evangelicals are playing a little tip-toe dance with each other, one hoping to get an endorsement, the other not exactly sure where the Trumpster really stands. (Remember “Two Corinthians” and his two favorite books are the Bible and his own Art of the Deal.)

Donald professes to be a Presbyterian which is not exactly a Bible-thumping, arm-waving, body-dunking denomination.  I know, I used to be one.  It will be interesting to find out just how devout a Presbyterian Trump is. The Pew Research Center recently released a report on where major religions stand on abortion.  The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was classified “Support Abortion Rights with Few or No Limitations.”

This probably won’t cause Trump a problem since it’s been reported he’s changed political parties five times.  So what’s the big deal about changing religions if it might get some votes? 

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/27/5-facts-about-abortion/

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/21/where-major-religious-groups-stand-on-abortion/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=400ec7484e-Religion_weekly_June_23_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-400ec7484e-399819449

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/16/donald-trump-changed-political-parties-at-least-fi/

How obnoxious can Republicans get?

“Our leaders have to get a lot tougher, and be quiet. Just please be quiet.  Don’t talk. Please, be quiet. Just be quiet, to the leaders, because they have to get tougher, they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter, and we have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself.”

These are the words of the Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump who evidently does not recall how much of a stink his Republican leaders made about Obama’s “imperial presidency” and how they screamed and moaned every time he issued an executive order to get something done because they refused to do anything about addressing the nation’s problems.

Now just when you think Republicans cannot stoop any lower in their behavior one comes along to drop the decency bar even more.  Here are comments made by John McCain (remember the guy Trump called a “loser.”)

"Barack Obama is directly responsible for it (the Orlando massacre), because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama's failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq. So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies," McCain said.

He made the comment Thursday while Obama was in Orlando consoling the families of those killed in Sunday's attack and some of the survivors.

I sent this to McCain on his official site:

“I am not one of your constituents so I doubt this will be read, but I cannot help wanting to comment on your disgusting and disparaging remarks about President Obama being directly responsible for the tragedy in Orlando.  It seems you Republicans will do anything to denigrate the President.  You obviously have no respect for the office you once aspired to. Shameful.”

 What about the "good guy" with the gun?

Predictably, following the horrendous massacre in Orlando, someone would raise the NRA litany: “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” This time it was that darling of the NRA, Presidential Candidate Donald Trump.

At his Atlanta rally on Wednesday, Trump proclaimed that if more people inside that club had pistols on their hips, the carnage may not have been stopped but would have been considerably reduced presumably because good guys with guns would have nailed Omar Mateen just like Wyatt Earp gunned down the Clanton boys at the O.K. Corral.

Of course that makes no logical sense whatsoever.  Then again, not much of what Trump says does.  According to reports, the club was crowded with 200 to 300 people.  It was dark and noisy.  People were dancing, drinking and milling about and it was a scene of chaotic merriment you’d expect in a popular night club.

Omar, who had firearms training, whips out his AR-15 and starts mowing people down.  Then imagine, say, a half dozen untrained, scared to death patrons pulling their Glocks and starting to fire wildly in the direction where they think bad guy is.  Maybe someone might have pulled a lucky shot and hit Omar, however, I think that highly unlikely.  I doubt that untrained, armed patrons would have stopped the carnage and with bullets flying in the dark from multiple sources it most probably would have been worse.  In the chaos, nobody could tell who the bad guy was and the shooting would have gone on and on.  And if the cops showed up and had to confront numerous shooters what would they have done?  Shoot everybody?

Now let’s change the subject slightly.    There actually was a good guy with a gun at the Pulse Nightclub that night.

It was widely reported that a uniformed off-duty police officer was stationed at the entrance to the club and he “engaged” the shooter.

So, if we had a “good guy” at the door—who presumably was well-trained and armed—why didn’t he stop the “bad guy” immediately, before the “bad guy” entered the night club and slaughtered 49 people?

 

I have heard only one subsequent report about the guard on the evening news which made one fleeting reference to the “security guard.”  It went, “the guard engaged the shooter and then retreated into the club.”  Basically, if the report is correct, the supposedly well-trained “good guy”, was not capable of stopping the heavily assault-rifle armed “bad guy” and ran away.  I will reserve judgement on that until more information becomes available.  I would certainly like to hear the media and law enforcement officials comment on that.

As can be expected, the Republicans will do what the NRA tells them and oppose any common sense gun control measures.   For starters, let's ban assault weapons. Period.  There is no reason any American needs a weapon that is designed specifically for armed combatants to kill people.  Stop telling people that American is so bad and so dangerous you “need” a weapon to protect yourself.  Increase scrutiny for gun purchases:  Full background checks; gun purchase denial to anyone who has even the slightest questionable behavior, domestic violence, sex offense, mental illness, no-fly status…anything even minimally negative.

Personally, I would like to see gun registration.  If you have a gun, you register it in your name and take full responsibility for how that gun is used.  (You know, just like a car.)  Of course that will never happen as long as the NRA keeps bullying and buying our politicians.  So, here we go again, let’s wring our hands, shed some tears, make noble statements about our resilience and wait until some other maniac does it again.