Commentary & Opinion

Several recent Supreme Court decisions have altered my opinion about the motivations of Justice Kavanaugh and Chief Justice Roberts.  Justice Kavanaugh overturned a conviction of a man who was prosecuted seven times before a conviction was returned by a jury that was ultimately sustained on appeal in the state courts.  The basis of the appeal was the systematic exclusion of black jurors, with Justice Kavanaugh writing the majority opinion in a 7-2 decision, he found that based upon existing law (precedent) that this was an unconstitutional activity by the prosecutor.  In my view, the key aspect of the decision was his reliance on precedent.  In the recently decided census question case and the gerrymandering case, Justice Roberts sided with the liberal segment of the court on the census question and with the conservative members of the court on the gerrymandering issue.  Many independents are saying that Judge Roberts is now the swing vote on the court, and that certainly seems to have some credence, and hopefully he does take up the mantel of Justice Kennedy if for no other reason than the integrity of the Court. 

The US Women’s National soccer team has proven to be the best in the world after winning the World Cup, again.

The government kills innovation and quality.

Last time, I made the argument that even the environment can be better protected and restored through the free market and limited government.

While the Administration in Washington cuts staff at EPA,[1] it’s a good time to reassess efforts to save the climate that makes our life possible.

Last week, New York may have taken a step toward significantly changing the way elections are financed.  Currently, candidates for state office in New York – like much of the rest of the nation – rely on private contributions to fuel their campaigns.  Not surprisingly, many of those who give those contributions are expecting that their donations will help their interests – be they personal or occupational – after the candidate wins elective office.

On June 30, 2019, the Sunday Review section of the New York Times ran a front page article entitled “Want to be Less Racist?  Move to Hawaii.”   [Authored by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, the article runs from Page 1 to pages 6 and 7]

With a single regulatory change, the Trump administration wants to reduce poverty. Shockingly, that change is not an innovative effort to create jobs, lessen the burden of housing or healthcare costs, or improve education. It is an attempt to change how the federal government measures and defines poverty. People will not receive new benefits or opportunities, the federal government will just stop recognizing that they are poor. 

People simplify countries into good and bad, leading us to bluster about military options, and overlook better ways to get things done.

In the age of 24/7 media, we’re constantly bombarded with news and information, some true and some not so true.  It has always been difficult for the discerning citizen to decipher the political rhetoric from reality, and a new report this week illustrates this point.

The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up its session and examined one of the most problematic issues facing American democracy:  how best to draw political boundaries to ensure fairness and equality.  The question facing the justices was what role should federal courts play in correcting overtly partisan gerrymandering.

Scientists are reporting additional sightings of a giant cephalopod or giant squid.  The first sighting of this creature occurred about seven years ago, and was followed shortly thereafter with another sighting, but then as scientists searched the deep, they were unable to replicate the sighting until a short while ago.  These creatures have roamed the seas since the time of the dinosaurs which means they represent millions of years of existence and possibly evolution.  Although this has very little impact on our day to day lives, the ability to potentially track these creatures, understand their habitat and their habits could be very helpful to our study of the earth, and likely to our evolution and may be informative about how they survived and how we might survive as our climate changes. 

One year ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision in a long-awaited case called Janus v. AFSCME. 

Some on the religious right repeatedly make the claim that authentically religious people are pro-life but could never be pro-choice as well.  This is a lie.  I am religious, I am pro-life and I am pro-choice. 

Tonight and tomorrow night, twenty Democratic contenders will engage in their first debate of the primary season for the 2020 presidential race. I expect each candidate will be making lots of promises to solve pressing societal issues with big government solutions. No matter the promised goal, you won’t hear diversity on the approach: more taxes, more bureaucracy, more government programs. A top-down approach. When you hear the word “universal” what you are really hearing is “government.”

The president would have us believe that anything critical of him is fake. To which many respond that everything out of the president’s mouth (or twitter feed) is fake. Both statements, of course, are false.

Last week, state lawmakers wrapped up the 2019 legislative session and it represented a big change from what New Yorkers have seen in the recent past.  Sweeping changes to the state’s law regulating home rental apartments, an impressive expansion in the state’s voting laws, decriminalization of marijuana possession, and other important issues were approved. 

Mr. Trump is searching for a pathway on healthcare.  Democrats pounded the issue in the 2018 mid-term elections with great success.  Mr. Trump has indicated that he will produce “something terrific” and even asserted that the Plan will be delivered within a month and cause the Republicans to take the Senate, the House and the Presidency in 2020.  Mr. Trump asserts that his plan will be cheaper, cover more people, and preserve coverage for the people with pre-existing conditions, but he continues, for well over three years to offer no details.  The GOP in general is not anxious to get into this fight again, with good reason.  The ability to draft such legislation is slim to non-existent.  The quickest step to reducing healthcare costs would be to get control over drug costs, and then work from there.

Among the problems with the outdated Authorizations for the Use of Military Force are the countries trying to get Uncle Sam to fight their wars, the difficulty in telling who did what, and in knowing what even our own Administration is up to. Remember that one American Administration took us into Vietnam on the basis of attacks on American military vessels that never happened, and another Administration took us into Iraq on the basis of similarly cooked evidence.

This week is the scheduled last week of the 2019 legislative session.  The session can be viewed as historic: Complete Democratic Party control of the state government has resulted in a slew of legislation passing, many of which had festered due to partisan gridlock – like narrowing the Limited Liability Company loophole that allowed real estate developers to make much bigger campaign contributions than other businesses –– and others that could dramatically alter state policies – like permanent extension of rent control.

POTUS again surprised us by withdrawing the threat of tariffs, at least temporarily, against Mexico on Friday evening, June 7. The puzzlement of the weekend, it was disclosed, that this agreement had been made many months ago, and raised questions about whether or not POTUS created a crisis in order to appear to have solved it.  It is highly unlikely that POTUS will be satisfied with whatever actions Mexico takes, so this will be an ongoing saga.  Speaking of the migrants, there are now reports that Central Americans are looking to Europe as it is both a safer trip and potentially more welcoming. 

The Baker administration recently announced a plan to double Massachusetts’ procurement of offshore wind. Given the mounting data about the severity climate crisis, the announcement is good news. Tapping into the potential of offshore wind is key to solving climate, especially in the Northeast. Just as important is the lesson about the scale of action needed.