Tag: Originalism
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“A Tedious Argument Of Insidious Intent”
You don’t even have to see an identifier when a conservative argues for anything conservative. You can hear their conservatism in their voice. It’s cynical notes – all off-key and menacing – assume the very worst of everyone not them. “Yeah, but…!” arguments abound that suppose all sorts of ludicrous what ifs against which we…
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The Problem With Conservatives Is WHAT They Want To Conserve
I give conservatives full credit: they tell you who they are and what they want right up front. They want to conserve. The problems (always) start however with what they want to conserve. For one thing, it’s never the future. One can’t conserve what hasn’t happened yet. Even if one could, conservatives would refuse to…
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America Is A Great Idea Poorly Executed
While it would be neat and tidy if every first draft was the final draft, it never ever works out that way. Hell, I don’t know why we even call it “writing” when all good writing is really “re-writing”. If we had any sense, we’d call it “re-writing” to begin with so everyone understood how…
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Skepticism v Cynicism – They’re NOT The Same Thing!
Not a revelation: our news media sucks. It’s broken. And “both sides do it” (BSDI) brand journalism broke it. Not all journalists practice BSDI but enough do that their journalism prevents We The People from ever getting the truth in real time. Healthy journalism depends on skepticism. Doubt. But, hey – bring receipts? Doubt can…
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We’re Having The Wrong Debate About The 2nd Amendment And Guns: “Own” Isn’t In The 2A
This is very much an “Emperor’s New Clothes” situation. America watches a naked king ride by every day while pretending that this bloated, pink-skinned, pimply-and-pock-marked monarch is clothed. As we sit here today, we have it in our heads that the Second Amendment guarantees all Americans the right to own all the guns they want.…
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The Media’s “Breaking News” Culture Is Broken
Dear American News Media: Breaking news that broke more than an hour ago, is no longer “breaking”. The fact that you continue breaking it all day regardless? That is broken. The same goes for your whole “breaking news” culture. I write this to you as an avid consumer of your product. By “avid”, I mean…
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Republicans Are What Happens When Tribalism Goes Nuclear
Americans are going to the polls – at a mid-term – in record numbers. That includes a lot more of the youth vote than has ever voted before. It also includes a lot more women. They registered to vote – many for the first time – because the Supreme Court took away their rights! And,…
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Originalism = Bamboozlement
Cover your ears, kiddies. Originalism is bullshit on steroids. That’s probably why conservatives love it so. Originalism is conservatism’s stalking horse. It’s their Junior Frankenstein lab experiment – powered up and filling something very dead with artificial life. Originalists like Antonin Scalia insist that we must interpret the Constitution exclusively from the founders’ perspective. That…
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The Ravages Of Magical Thinking
Think magical thinking isn’t potent? Magical thinking is threatening our democracy in real time! Left unchecked, it will bring down the greatest experiment ever in human self government. To be fair, magical thinking now threatens lots of the world. Maybe it just feels like the bulk of its focus is here. Right wingers don’t look…
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This Blog Finds It Gratifying That “Bullshit” Is Gaining Acceptance
I think I’ve lost count how many times I’ve heard the word “bullshit” on MSNBC today. For the record, I have zero problem with hearing, seeing or writing that word. I’m watching Nicolle Wallace’s excellent “Deadline: White House” on MSNBC (an addiction of mine) and Nicolle herself just dropped the word, Clare McCaskill just dropped…