Karma in Tennessee

 From WaPo

Tennessee state Rep. Scotty Campbell (R) was walking to the Capitol in Nashville when a reporter stopped him to ask about allegations of harassment brought against him by an intern.

Campbell told NewsChannel 5 he “had consensual, adult conversations with two adults off property.” Six hours later, the lawmaker — who two weeks ago voted to expel three Democratic colleagues over decorum violations — submitted a letter of resignation, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) announced Thursday afternoon.

According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, a bipartisan ethics subcommittee reported to Sexton on March 29 that it found Campbell had violated the Tennessee General Assembly workplace policy on discrimination and harassment after reviewing the results of an internal investigation.

SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/21/tennessee-lawmaker-scotty-campbell-resigns/

Tom on African History

 It's another day in what seems to be an unending torrent of depressing stories, and the story at the head of the list involves the situation in Sudan, where the death toll is up to 74 the last time I looked. I don't agree with Donald Trump on most things, but his crude assessment of Africa as a 'shithole' was spot on. I am well aware that it is unfair to paint the entire continent as such, but significant portions of the continent are not success stories by any stretch of the imagination. For the most part, the people are just just trying to get along and the vast majority are adaptable in ways that North Americans and Western Europeans will never be. Most Africans enjoy the same things that folks everywhere enjoy. There's a vibrant music scene in many African regions, and many African cuisines are as sophisticated as anything you'll find in the West. Many Africans are religious in a way that Europeans and North Americans ceased being a long time ago. From what I've read the Catholic Church is experiencing its most dynamic growth on the African continent and it's only a matter of time before we have a Black Pope .

But Africa's curse is bad governance, coupled with unending civil conflict. The origins of the civil conflict can be traced back to the colonial era, during which the European powers divided the continent amongst themselves without regard to the realities on the ground. Ethnic groups that had been mortal enemies for hundreds of years were thrown together for the convenience of the colonial powers, rather than the needs and desires of the indigenous population. If you put two scorpions in a bottle they're going to fight; that's just the way it is. As long as the various colonial powers maintained suzerainty over the continent, these mutual dislikes among the natives stayed largely in the background, but during the post-colonial era, these various conflicts came to the fore. And in the patriarchal societies common in Africa, tough times demand a "Big Man'. The trouble with big men is that they often operate as if the entire nation is their personal property and they act accordingly. Most large African countries are generally corrupt, some spectacularly so. Money that should go toward making the lives of a nation's citizens and mitigating the effects of climate change, is instead squandered on shopping trips to the fashion boutiques of Europe by the big man's Wife or concubine, or used to purchase Lamborghinis for the big man's son and heir, with much of the rest being diverted to a numbered bank account in some Caribbean hideaway. 

But all of these are relatively young counties, and the hope is that in time they will mature and develop proper oversight of the national exchequer and develop a robust rule of law. One can only hope. Clean and fair elections would help as well....

Monday Morning Smile

 

Visual Difference

 

Here's a quote from Twitter by @its_ChrisTho

The GOP male is depicted with crossed arms & a closed mouth, exuding an air of inapproachability & disinterest in fostering dialogue. In contrast, the Dem male a person of color, is portrayed w/ open arms & an expressive demeanor, actively seeking to embrace & engage others.

Tom on SCOTUS

  The continuing revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas that have recently appeared in ProPublica are beyond disturbing His good friend billionaire Harlan Crow treats the Justice and his wife Ginni to annual vacations most recently valued at a half million dollars One of his entities underwrites Ginni's six figure salary that she draws as a conservative activist. Justice Thomas has been photographed at Mr Crow's opulent Adirondack hunting lodge with, among others, Leonard Leo who is the brains behind The Federalist Society, which has given us a generation of conservative activist  judges. And for what it's worth, Mr Crow is reported to be an avid collector of Nazi memorabilia. 

  The SCOTUS appears to have lost much of their former stature in the eyes of the American people 20 years ago the court was held in high regard by Americans but that percentage has declined to  47%. in a recent poll Both Democrats and Republicans are held in low regard by those polled albeit for different reasons The increasing politicization of the court because the court is supposed to be an honest broker and since Bush v Gore in 2000 the meaty thumb of the GOP has been firmly planted on the scales of justice 

   Every one of the Justices is a boodler to one extent or another One of the perks of being a justice is that anyone holding that office is in high demand for lecturing gigs that are often accompanied by a generous stipend for little actual work and tend to take place in exotic locales and in first class accommodations It goes without saying that the sponsors are covering all expenses for judicial guests One of these days people are just going to stop paying attention to anything they say.

Tom on Abortion

 Abortion is the issue that will never go away and now we have dueling court orders that are diametrically opposed On Friday evening Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk who is an extreme conservative who has long been an anti-abortion activist ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) didn't take into account the psychological damage that occurs in cases where a woman receives a so-called medication abortion This sort of allegation is typical fabrication concerning the downside of getting an abortion From what I've read about the phenomenon Pro-life people almost always allege various types of psychological and emotional damage including but not limited to depression self-harming alcoholism and drug abuse Suicidal Ideation is also alleged and abortion is often claimed to be a causal factor in post-abortion cases of breast cancer All of these mythic allegations of the pro-life folks have been investigated and found to be baseless 

These claims by the ignorant are easily discredited but what worries me is the effective hijacking of the entire drug regulatory system by a scientifically ignorant federal Judge who believes that he is in direct contact with God For all of his blather about uninvestigated harms that come to women who receive abortions the judge somehow failed to note that the drug in question is among the safest drugs in the entire pharmacopeia Penicillin is more dangerous Viagra is more dangerous Tylenol is more dangerous And one of the most dangerous things that a young woman can engage in is...childbirth

The Department of Justice, (DOJ),  has filed a request before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which is the circuit court that oversees the Amarillo Texas area. I'm not a lawyer, but you don't have to be a lawyer to see how flawed this case is. Aside from the factors that I noted above, the matters that will come up on appeal include matters of standing, (Was the plaintiff actually harmed? If the answer is no, the plaintiff has no standing. Case Dismissed) Has the Statute of Limitations passed? If the answer is no, the case is dismissed. The DOJ is asking the Fifth Circuit to stay enforcement of the district court order until the case can be properly considered This case is on a last track to the SCOTUS  

Monday Morning Smile

 

Tom On White Mens' Fears

NOTE:  this email was posted on April 7th, 2023.

 The situation at the Tennessee state house had an interesting and somewhat telling resolution to yesterday's imbroglio at Nashville

The two young Black reps were expelled and the 60 year old white female survived albeit by one vote Now it's entirely possible that the reason for the White rep's survival had more to do with her longer tenure in office and the relationships that she formed therein than it did with any racial animus on the part of the legislative leadership but I don't buy it for a minute.

  White men in positions of power have historically feared angry young Black men who would throw off the shackles of their servitude be it actual or metaphorical White men of a certain social standing have always feared an uprising by those who they considered their inferiors

The violent rebellion in the  French colony of Haiti that was led by Toussaint Louverture struck fear into the hearts of the planter class while the abortive slave revolt of South Carolina carpenter and community leader Denmark Vesey terrified residents of the Palmetto State in 1822   

The Southampton rebellion in Virginia in 1831 in Virginia led by the charismatic preacher Nat Turner and the resultant oderreaction by the White majority was burned into the memories of Virginians for decades afterwords. 

White men have historically overreacted to any threat by Black men, be that threat real or imagined. That's the dynamic that underlies the tendency by many Whites, including police officers and ordinary citizens who suffer from paranoia, to react with extreme and often fatal violence when they perceive a threat by any black man.

Some whites are terrified by Black physicality. Blacks are believed to be bigger and stronger than whites, and racial mythology holds that Blacks don't experience pain the same way that Whites do, because of their less developed nervous systems, therefore they require a greater amount of violence to control.

My late Uncle Ernie, who was a champion flyweight boxer, once told me when instructing me in the manly are of boxing that: "If you ever find yourself in a fight with a nigger, don't ever try to hit him in the head because they can't be hurt that way",(Someday  I'll tell you how Ernie's barfly of a second wife seated herself at  the head table at my wedding and threw an ashtray at my mother in law when she objected). And the White male fear that their wives and girlfriends might experience a case of Jungle Fever  and welcome a Black man into their beds, if only to find out once and for all if the legends of Black sexual prowess is more than a rumor. 

Because of this history the Tennessee legislature overreacted to a situation that could have been easily resolved with administrative sanctions that would have gone largely unnoticed outside of the greater Nashville area  The Legislative leadership has made martyrs out of these young reps, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones,and turned a local story into a national one.

Update April 10, 2023
 By a unanimous 36-0 tally, Rep. Justin Jones has just been reappointed to the legislature.

Trump Easter Cold Open - SNL

A Generation That Will Change Things

Tennessee was blatantly showing what a racist good ole boy bunch of bumpkins they were this past week.  

After a school shooting on March 28th which killed three children and three adults.  The legislature was "shrugging in the face" of another school shooting by suggesting teachers should be armed.  Here is Justin Jones' reaction.




The Republican-led Tennessee House voted to expel Rep. Justin Jones (D) and Rep. Justin Pearson (D) on April 6 after they joined a gun control protest shown below. 

 

Michael Steele's message for Justin Jones "You stand for something bigger than what happened today on so many levels... Your generation will mark this moment and every last one of those bastards who voted you out will rue that moment.

Update April 10, 2023.  Jones is reinstated. 

Click here to see Jones' return to the Capitol.

https://twitter.com/TheTNHoller/status/1645563847552663552

 

Open in app or online Dear Criminal Defendant #4913961R MICHAEL MOORE APR 6   SAVE   Dear Criminal Defendant #4913961R: Thank you for showing up without incident yesterday for your arrest and arraignment. You appeared somewhat bewildered as to why you were there. As this is only the first of a number of criminal charges and arraignments for you that will follow from other prosecutors, I think it’s only fair that I give you the lay of the land as to what’s ahead and why this is happening.  First — and I don’t know why no one has told you this — but your assessment is correct: We ARE out to get you and bring you to Justice. You tried to illegally overturn the election and overthrow the government. You were refusing to give up your seat in the Oval Office and decided to stage a coup. It’s that simple. And now the vast majority of the country wants a legal way to stop you from causing any further destruction. And truthfully, we don’t really care how we get there. As long as it’s honest and legal, we the people are going to throw whatever available book we have at you. Somebody should tell you this. I just did.  Have you read the 34 felony count indictment and its “Statement of Facts” against you? I have. Wow — I mean, it’s stunning in its brilliance and construction. It puts you in a real chokehold and yet allows the prosecution even more room in the coming months to crush you even further. I’m thinking you must have some sense of this and your impending doom.  The prosecutor you’re up against, Alvin Bragg — the one you call “an animal” and “a criminal” — he’s been a prosecutor for nearly 20 years. He’s helped put hundreds of criminals like you away. I know, I know — he’s Black. Just like those five innocent teenagers in Central Park that you tried to get a jury to send to the electric chair. Just like the thousands of families you and your father refused to rent your apartments to for decades until the federal government stopped you. Yes, that kind of Black! Yes, karma does suck! Yes, that was your father in the KKK parade way back in the day. Now you’ve got three Black prosecutors — the Manhattan D.A., the New York State Attorney General and the Fulton County, GA, prosecutor — all coming after you. Revenge for sins against them and all who look like them? I hope so! But, seriously, Black America has never really made us truly pay for their suffering, either the cruelty meted out to their ancestors by our ancestors, or the hand they themselves have been dealt by a society that still seems comfortable with the average white family in 2023 having a net worth 8 times that of the average Black family. No, Defendant #4913961R, these Black prosecutors, whom you hurl racist insults at — including the one where you, New York’s leading racist, called them “racists(!)” — they are serious professionals who are just doing the job the majority of voters sent them to do. One of those jobs is to send you finally to prison.  All 34 charges against you are felonies. You conspired with others to silence people who had information the voters might possibly like to know before they cast their vote. You only won because of the 77,000 votes you got in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.  How many would have changed their minds if they knew certain things about you? Your hush money payments went to at least three individuals, all with the intent of keeping the public in the dark in order to throw the election your way. And to cover it up, you told your lawyer, Michael Cohen, to take out a “home equity loan” for himself to pay off these individuals so it wouldn’t look like you had anything to do with it! What an idiot! So, Defendant #4913961R, do you now understand why this is happening to you? And why we don’t care whatever the reason is they’ll be sending you to Sing Sing soon? You attempted to blow up our democracy.  You led a violent uprising in which people died. You tried to overthrow a presidential election, an election that you brutally lost.  You are on tape privately bullying the Georgia Secretary of State to illegally stuff the ballot box with 11,780 votes for you that did not exist.  Then You got 147 Republican members in Congress to vote to steal the election for you! Is there a greater act of treason in a Democracy than the outright theft of an election and thus the overthrow of the elected government? You hate this country and what it stands for. And the vast majority of us know it. That’s why we tossed you to the curb in 2020 and then put you on a garbage barge to Florida. You are correct to assume we and the prosecutors we elect will charge you and arrest you for ANY legal reason we can find. Last night, in your continuing crusade to incite violence, you and your son posted a photo of the Judge’s daughter online. It was your way of threatening him with violence. You know it will take only one of your psychopathic supporters to commit a heinous act. Do you have any idea what tens of millions of American parents would do to you if you did anything to threaten their child’s life?  You’re upset because you think we’re prosecuting you because of a porn star? HAHAHA!  Look, we’d arrest you for anything we legally could — littering, parking tickets, jaywalking, you name it.  Anything to stop you from staging another coup. Anything that would stop you from endangering the life of that Judge’s daughter. Anything we can legally do to stop you, we will. You remember Al Capone. They could never get him on the murderous crime organization he ran. So they got him for lying on his income taxes. Nobody cared. The public wanted him put away by any legal means necessary. We’re Al Caponing you, Don.  Your crime spree, which began in 1973, is coming to an end.  Deal with it. Pack a toothbrush. Read this excellent NYTimes piece breaking down Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump: “We Finally Know the Case Against Trump, and It Is Strong”. Photos by: Bettmann, Getty Images and George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress