The evolutionary advantage of being blind to reality.

“I’m not a bigot. My best friend is a [Enter race, religion, nationality, political party here].”

That is an almost humorously trite response from supposed bigots — people who, by definition, are obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, especially one who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.

Bigotry is the negative face of generalization, by definition, a proposition asserting something to be true of all members of a class or of an indefinite part of that class — in short, stereotyping

Thus, to some, Jews are greedy, blacks are stupid, the French are effete, Italians are womanizers, Muslims are terrorists, the English are pompous, Chinese are sneaky, Spanish are fiery, Japanese are inflexible, Mexicans are lazy, Germans are harsh, Canadians are bland, Americans are boisterous, women are bad drivers, men don’t ask for directions — the list is endless.

To some degree, you are a bigot, as am I, as is every human on earth. Bigotry, rationalization, and stereotyping are hardwired into brains as survival functions.

The common phrase, “Once bitten, twice shy,” is a description of experiential learning that is found among virtually all living creatures.

Slap a dog, and that dog likely will cower or growl at the next person it meets. That slap will have induced bigotry against people — even kind, friendly people, in that dog’s mind.

Angry people die younger - this is how to combat the rage when it arises - Mirror Online
Angry? Laughing? Calling? How does one know?

I don’t need to evaluate the specific temperament of a lion, bear, a snake, or a spider to be wary of them, and that wariness could save my life if I wandered through a jungle or forest.

I am bigoted against all lions, bears, snakes, and spiders, no matter how friendly one may be.

Humans, being social animals, rely on more than experiential learning. Our beliefs are influenced by interactions with other human beings.

We learn to read cues, sometimes quite subtle, from facial and body “language.

The look of a face, the sound of a voice, certain seemingly bland words, all can provide cues about a person’s emotions, intelligence, attitudes, intentions, and preferences.

These cues can be so powerful that we may believe them more than direct statements.

“Why are you angry?

“I’m not angry.”

“Well, you look, angry.”

“Really, I’m not angry.”

(Aside: “I know he’s angry. He just won’t admit it.”)

The sum of these cues is known as “personality,” the interpretation of which can be the ultimate decider in your attitude about the person.

President John Kennedy exuded these cues, the total of which were referred to as “charisma.”

Kennedy followers loved him, not so much for what he accomplished (which was relatively minimal), nor even for what he said, but rather for how he said it and how he looked. Those were his cues.

By contrast, President Lyndon Johnson, who accomplished miles more than Kennedy, was followed but not loved. He had less charisma.

Since charisma, like beauty, is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, it provides for massive disagreement among viewers and listeners.

For example, I personally believe Donald Trump embodies all the worst components of the human character. See: “The secret GOP checklist of Presidential requirements. Know anyone?” I view him as an ultimate form of evil in America, and I find him disgusting.

And yet:

The Macho Appeal of Donald Trump
Though a majority of Latino voters favor Democrats, Hispanic men are a small but enduring part of Trump’s base.

Those supporters see him as forceful, unapologetic, and a symbol of economic success.
By Jennifer Medina, New York Times, Published Oct. 14, 2020

What has alienated so many older, female and suburban voters is a key part of Mr. Trump’s appeal to these men.

To them, the macho allure of Mr. Trump is undeniable. He is forceful, wealthy and, most important, unapologetic.

In a world where at any moment someone might be attacked for saying the wrong thing, he says the wrong thing all the time and does not bother with self-flagellation.

To these people, lies and bluster are not the signs of criminality or weakness, but of power. The reality of Trump being a cowardly draft dodger and bully is invisible to them.

For these men, who presumably lack what they feel the President offers, the shouting, incessant interrupting, and overall ignorant boorishness during the “debate” with Joe Biden, were signs of strength.

“I feel so powerful,” the president declared at a rally in Florida on Monday, standing in front of Air Force One. Lest anyone miss the message, the rally ended with “Macho Man” by the Village People blasting on the speakers.

The irony of Trump’s campaign illegally using the campaign anthem of the gay community is lost on his followers.

Paul Ollarsaba Jr., a 41-year-old Marine veteran, voted for a Republican for the first time in 2016, won over by what he saw as Mr. Trump’s commitment to the military.

More irony: A marine veteran is won over by a draft-dodger who called marine war casualties and heroes, “losers” and “suckers.” It’s almost would be laughable, if it weren’t so bitter, but the power of personality cannot be overstated.

“I’ve been the biggest fan of him,” said Mr. Paul Cejudo, 33, recalling watching “The Apprentice” in a high school class. “We need a businessman, we need somebody like this to run our country.”

Even more irony: Not only is Trump a failed businessman, who squandered millions on losing casinos (Who loses money on casinos??), and who had to be bailed out of six bankruptcies by his daddy, but he has been President for nearly four years, and his “businessman” background has yet to yield positive results.

Compare America’s weak economy under Trump with China’s powerful and growing economy  And China’s economy is run by communists!

They said they saw his defiance of widely accepted medical guidance in the face of his own illness not as a sign of poor leadership, but one of a man who does his own research to reach his own conclusion.

Trump doing research? He is an obviously learning-disabled man who famously cannot read even one page of notes, and whose favorite communication is Twitter, with a 280 character limit. Trump learns not from research, but from Hannity, Carlson, Limbaugh, et al.

Edwin Gonzales said that for him, and many other Trump supporters, the president represented the best of capitalism, adding, “He’s a boss and they wanted to be him, they idolize him.”

Psychologists will tell you that Trump’s bragging, bluster, bullying, lawbreaking, and contempt for women are signs of weakness and of psychopathic insecurity.

But for Trump’s male (and presumably some female) followers, they are signs of strength, to be admired, much like the macho appeal of street gangs and drug cartel leaders.

The only thing that could reduce Trump’s appeal among those followers is for him to admit error, or to apologize for pain given, or to show compassion. Those human qualities are seen as weak among the “macho men.”

Though the New York Times article refers specifically to Latino men, the notion must be quite common, especially among blue-collar male workers,  that bosses are supposed to be crude, rude, bullying, bellicose tyrants. This is considered “toughness.”

Visualize stereotypical dock foremen, football coaches, Southern sheriffs. Many men admire and aspire to those “boss” positions, and even may be experienced in obeying what those kinds of martinets demand.

Forget about morals. Forget about fairness. Forget about intelligence and honesty and truth. Forget about healthcare, Social Security, and unemployment compensation. From an evolutionary standpoint, obeying a “boss” leads to survival and success.

And that is why no facts or evidence can sway those Trump followers from their cult leader. Blind to reality, they always will be with him.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.

The most important problems in economics involve:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:

  1. Eliminate FICA
  2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
  3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
  4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
  5. Salary for attending school
  6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
  7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually. 
  8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
  9. Federal ownership of all banks
  10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9% 

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

A tale of two countries: China and America. What happens when there is no plan and no direction.

Here is what happens when a country’s leaders do have a plan and a direction.

China’s economy is the envy of the world

China’s economy expanded by 4.9% in the third quarter compared to the previous year, showing the rest of the world what’s possible when Covid-19 is brought under control.

China’s economy has now recovered from its historically bad first quarter, when the coronavirus forced the country to shut down. GDP grew a cumulative 0.7% through the first nine months of 2020, the data show.

The International Monetary Fund expects China’s economy to expand by 1.9% in 2020. That compares to contractions of 5.8% in the United States.

The way Beijing handled the initial outbreak of coronavirus late last year has been criticized by some Western politicians.

But China’s stringent lockdown and population tracking policies helped bring the virus under control within its borders. The country also set aside hundreds of billions of dollars for major infrastructure projects to fuel economic growth. 

Europe and the United States are now facing another surge of coronavirus cases. The US is averaging more than 55,000 new cases a day — up more than 60% since a mid-September dip.

The United States’s economy will remain hamstrung until there’s a dramatic reduction in the number of coronavirus cases.

China, meanwhile, will continue to power ahead.

Economic data for the month of September indicated the country’s recovery is gaining even more strength. Industrial production and retail sales figures were particularly robust.

U.S. GDP: Blue line. China GDP: Red line

The International Monetary Fund predicts that China’s economy will grow by 8.2% in 2021, a much faster pace than the United States.

Most recent figures show China’s GDP at about $14 Trillion, while the U.S. GDP is about $20 Trillion, and since 2008, the gap has been closing.

In the United States our leadership began, and continues to this day, with denial of facts, based only on reelection efforts and not on reality.

The bluster of “Make America Great, Again” was not backed by actual lawmaking.

A leader does not make a nation great by:

  1. Widening the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.
  2. Giving the rich huge tax breaks, while doing little for the rest.
  3. Demeaning, threatening, and diminish the influence of, a free press.
  4. Hiring criminals and incompetents to dismantle consumer-protection agencies.
  5. Pardoning criminals who are friends of the government leader.
  6. Reduce healthcare and healthcare insurance for the poor and middle-income.
  7. Establishing nepotism as an approved government function.
  8. Demanding that the President’s personal businesses be rewarded by the government
  9. Continually disseminating and encouraging false information
  10. Gutting laws that protect consumers from criminal banks and business owners.
  11. Denying climate change and discouraging efforts to fight it.
  12. Arbitrarily ending treaties with allies and enemies, fomenting distrust of Ameria.
  13. Denying the dangers of COVID and discouraging the use of masks and other COVID-fighting efforts.
  14. Encouraging the use of polluting and global-warming carbon-based fuels.
  15. Discouraging anti-pollution efforts.
  16. Discouraging efforts to expand renewable energy availability.
  17. Discouraging the immigration of consumers and workers who would help grow the economy.
  18. Failing to encourage or acknowledge science, technological advancement, and education.
  19. Failing to encourage the arts.
  20. Failing to encourage small business.
  21. Failing to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure.
  22. Encouraging bigotry and such bigoted movements as QAnon, white supremacists, and Nazis.
  23. Idolizing ruthless dictators, while condemning leaders of free nations and former allies.
  24. Never taking responsibility for problems while always taking unwarranted credit for good news.
  25. Repeatedly committing acts of personal immorality.
  26. Punishing whistleblowers who reveal the truth about illegal acts.
  27. Punishing those who do not exhibit greater loyalty to the leader than to the nation.
  28. Bullying and spitefulness as national agendas.
  29. Being led by a psychopath.

The fact is, our once-great country is a mess. Our once-respected and admired nation, now is condemned, mocked, and denounced worldwide, even by former allies.

We have no national policy for anything other than what is best personally for the President. We have drifted inexorably toward fascism. One political party, the Republicans, has lost all sense of its history, its identity or its direction:

What Does the Republican Party Stand For?
January 1, 2020 at 1:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 527 Comments

Stuart Stevens: “In a long-forgotten era — say, four years ago — such a question would have elicited a very different answer. Though there was disagreement over specific issues, most Republicans would have said the party stood for some basic principles: fiscal sanity, free trade, strong on Russia, and that character and personal responsibility count.

Today it’s not that the Republican Party has forgotten these issues and values; instead, it actively opposes all of them.”

“Republicans are now officially the character doesn’t count party, the personal responsibility just proves you have failed to blame the other guy party, the deficit doesn’t matter party, the Russia is our ally party, and the I’m-right-and-you-are-human-scum party.

Yes, it’s President Trump’s party now, but it stands only for what he has just tweeted.”

You, who always have been Republicans, no longer have a political party. The party you love has gone.

You are like baseball fans, still pledging allegiance to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Neither your Dodgers nor your Republican party still exists. You can stop yearning for your lovely, childhood sweetheart. She married another man, moved somewhere far away, and looks and acts like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Meanwhile, China, despite its despicable, dictatorial leadership, at least has leadership. Its focus is not solely on what will enrich the leader. Despite many horrifying failings regarding personal freedoms, China’s focus is on (ironically) making China great again.

Unless America takes a dramatic reversal of the twenty-nine points listed above, China will become the world’s dominant nation, democracy will be a lost experiment, and it will happen within your lifetime.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.

The most important problems in economics involve:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:

  1. Eliminate FICA
  2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
  3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
  4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
  5. Salary for attending school
  6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
  7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually. 
  8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
  9. Federal ownership of all banks
  10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9% 

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

A disgrace of leadership. Starvation in America.

As you read excerpts from the following article, keep several facts in mind.

  1. Unlike state and local governments, the United States government uniquely is Monetarily Sovereign. It never can run short of dollars. Even if it collected zero tax dollars, the U.S. government could continue spending, forever.
  2. The American people are running short of money, and many are entering a starvation phase they never before had experienced.
  3. U.S. politicians, especially conservatives, claim that federal deficit spending (aka “money printing”) will cause inflation or will have to be paid for by our children. Neither claim is true. They both are part of what is known in economics, as “The Big Lie.”

It is a disgrace. The wealthiest government on earth, having infinite resources, is intentionally allowing its people to fall into starvation.

In the history of the United States, inflation never has been caused by federal deficit spending. Inflation always is caused by scarcity — shortages of vital products, usually food or energy (oil).

And the claim that aid given now will be paid for by our children later, not only is false, but makes no sense on the face of it.

No one pays for federal spending, not our children, not taxpayers, not anyone. All federal spending is funded exactly the same way: The federal government creates new dollars, ad hoc, every time it pays for something.

State and local governments don’t operate that way. They are not Monetarily Sovereign. They use tax dollars to pay their bills. The federal government does not.

What becomes of those federal tax dollars you send to the Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Treasury? They are destroyed upon receipt. They cease to exist in any money measure. That is why there cannot be a definitive answer to the question, “How much money does the federal government have?” The correct answer is: It has infinite money.

And as for worries about future children paying for federal stimulus dollars, our children are paying now, by sliding into poverty.

Many children and adults will die too soon, by not being able to afford medical care or by inadequate nutrition. Many brilliant brains will be wasted by not being able to afford college.

This is today’s America, the once “golden land,” that now has been turned into “misery land.” And it all is unnecessary.

At the touch of a computer key, our federal politicians could end poverty in America. Yet, because their own bellies are full, they focus only on being re-elected, not on the welfare of the people.

The Democrats want to spend money into the economy; the Republicans refuse. It is that simple.

There is no apolitical way to sugar-coat this. It is the Republican Senate, led by Senator Mitch McConnell, that primarily is responsible for the currently growing poverty in America.

The Democrats are responsible for not explaining the facts to the American people, but at least they want to pump money into the economy. The Republicans don’t.

The blood of today’s impoverished and dying Americans is on GOP hands.

Yahoo Money
Millions of Americans are entering poverty amid pandemic as stimulus runs out
Denitsa Tsekova·Reporter, Sat, October 17, 2020
Millions of Americans have been thrown into poverty as government aid dried up in the last five months, according to a pair of studies, and those ranks will likely swell without more relief on the way.

“Poverty is rising in the United States,” Zach Parolin, a researcher at the Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy told Yahoo Finance (video above). “More families, once again, are struggling to put food on the table, struggling to provide for their families at a time when we have the means to be able to help them out.”

Eight million more Americans fell below the poverty threshold since May, a study by Columbia University found. A similar study from the University of Chicago and Notre Dame estimated 6 million Americans entered poverty for the same period.

A figurative “wall” divides federal wealth from starving people. The wall is guarded by Congress.

Without further government intervention, more Americans could follow, facing food insecurity, utility shutoffs, and even homelessness.

What a disgrace, what a cruel disgrace.

Visualize that to the left is a vast pile of wealth — money, food, medicine, education etc. — and to the right are homeless, starving people.

In between is a wall, guarded by the U.S. Congress, intentionally preventing the impoverished people from receiving aid.

That is America, today.

Poverty in the U.S. actually declined at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, thanks largely to two provisions in the CARES Act: stimulus checks and the extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits.

Since then, there has been no second round of checks, and the extra unemployment benefits expired at the end of July.

“That’s just a lot of money that they’re going to have to do without,” Bruce Meyer, a University of Chicago economist, told Yahoo Money. “It means people are going to be cutting back on what they can.”

While the funding provided under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act was the largest economic stimulus package in history, its effects won’t last long enough to support those in financial hardship, especially when the job market and the economy haven’t recovered.

“Unless we see a miraculous employment recovery,” Parolin said, “it’s certain that families are going to need some extra income support to be able to pay the bills and put food on the table.”

The fading effect of the stimulus comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continue talks for a bipartisan stimulus deal.

But disagreements on price tag and key provisions, lack of GOP support, and the proximity of the election all lower the prospects of a deal before the election.

The bottom line is quite clear. The Republicans, having for decades told their constituents that federal deficits are bad for the people and bad for the economy, now do not want to tell the simple truth: Federal deficit spending is necessary for economic growth.

So despite the fact that predictably, deficit spending for stimuli has been beneficial, with none of the politicians’ dire predictions realized, the GOP would rather see people starve than to admit they have been lying all along.

I hate to put this in such stark political terms, but there is no way around it: The Democrats want more stimulus; the Republicans want less. Period.

With no additional support, experts warned that the economy will slow and fewer jobs will be created. Protections for renters and borrowers also are set to expire, likely leading to another increase in poverty.

The so-called “protections for renters and borrowers” merely shifted the pain to landlords and lenders, who also are people suffering from the recession.

The solution is not to transfer pain from one group to another, but rather for the federal government to pump dollars into the pockets of all the people.

Only the federal government can spend money without feeling pain.

“Poverty is going to continue to rise,” Meyer said. “You’re going to have people having had more and more weeks out of work, and only a fraction of those lost earnings replaced. That’s going to accumulate over time.”

The financial hardships caused by this will likely mean a rise in people who can’t pay rent and utility bills, who will struggle to buy food, and who could even lose their homes.

“It’s sad to say,” Parolin said, “we can probably expect to see an increase in homelessness in the United States.”

At least 38 states have paid out all their funds available under the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. (David Foster/Yahoo Finance)

The above article should make you furious. All this pain, all this hunger, all this tragedy in America, coming mostly from the party that promised to “Make America Great, Again,” is completely unnecessary.

Way back in April we published an article titled “The coming depression; The problem and the solution.” It began:

There is no other way to say this. We (in the U.S.) are headed for a depression because we have an incompetent and untruthful government.

Our fundamental problem is the lack of money in the private sector. The solution is for the federal government, which being Monetarily Sovereign has unlimited money, to pump dollars into the economy.

Sorry, but it isn’t any more complex than that.

Problem: Lack of money. Solution: Add money. How much money? What the economy lost due to the virus.

The economy needs at least $7 Trillion net added from the federal government. But, our Congress is spending far too little and spending way too late.

Unless Congress and the President deign to see the light, we have no way to prevent a depression.

That was April, yet Congress and the President still have not seen the light.

So you will suffer, sadly, needlessly, disgracefully. We will have a depression. The blame is directly on the shoulders of Congress and the President. You trusted them. They failed you.

Be sure to vote.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.

The most important problems in economics involve:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:

  1. Eliminate FICA
  2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
  3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
  4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
  5. Salary for attending school
  6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
  7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually. 
  8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
  9. Federal ownership of all banks
  10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9% 

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

The monstrous Supreme Court myth of “originalism”

What is the purpose of the Supreme Court?

That simple question has no simple answer, and the Constitution is mostly silent about it.

Here are some not-so-simple answers:

The best-known power of the Supreme Court is judicial review, or the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution, is not found within the text of the Constitution itself.

The Court established this doctrine in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803).strict teacher | Yogi Mehtab

Thus, in 1803, the Supreme Court arbitrarily decided what its power will be.

That circular reasoning gives the Court whatever power it wishes to exercise on any given day.

(Remember the words, “not found within the text of the Constitution itself.” We’ll return to those words later.)

If you were a justice on the Supreme Court, how would you judge cases? Would you judge according to your interpretation of”

  1. the plain, 1780s language in the Constitution?
  2. the words of the Constitution as they are used, today?
  3. what the framers of the Constitution meant in the 1780s?
  4. what the framers would have meant had they known about today’s realities?
  5. what you believe is best for America, today?

Today, as the Senate “debates” the fitness of Amy Coney Barrett, these questions become important.

Here is what Judge Barrett claims to believe:

Much of the hearing focused on such matters as Barrett’s judicial philosophy of Constitutional “originalism” and “textualism.”

She believes the Constitution should be interpreted with the original intent of the founding fathers in mind and statutes should be interpreted in accordance with the actual words or “text” used by legislators.

Judges should not impose their own policy beliefs to advance changing cultural norms.

Perhaps she thinks this is what she believes. Perhaps this is an honest answer, but I doubt it, for it is a lie.

Begin with the fact that the founding fathers did not know of today’s science: electronics, atomic energy, weapons of mass destruction, medicine.

Add to that the fact that 1780’s morality is quite different from today’s, especially with regard to women, people of color, and children.

By today’s standards, the founding fathers were blatant, selfish bigots, who believed that they were superior human beings, and the rest of us were inferior.

And add to that the fact that yesterday’s words often mean something quite different, today.

There is not a single paragraph, not a single sentence or word in the Constitution, that is not subject to interpretation.

Let us parse, for instance, just one sentence in the Constitution, the 2nd Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

A well regulated: How “well” is well? How is “well” to be evaluated and who does the evaluation? Specifically, what is meant by “regulated”? Whose regulations must be followed — city, county, state, or federal?

Militia: What is a “militia”? Is it the U.S. army? Is it the National Guard? Is it the state police, county police, city or village police? Or is it some other, unidentified group, and if so, what are its powers?

being necessary: This phrase can mean “is necessary,” or it can be conditional, as in “when a well-regulated militia is necessary,

to the security of: What exactly does “security” mean? Does it have to do with foreigners who might attack us? Or does it refer to internal security from lawbreakers? Or does it have to do with individuals’ protection from an unfair government?

Currently, the United States, depending on interpretation, does not have any well-regulated militias, and if such are “necessary, we are not . . .

. . . .a free State,:  What then, is a “free state.” Free from what? Every law that ever has been, or ever will be passed, diminishes in some way, some citizen’s freedom, though it may enhance others’.

Not only are all of these words debatable, but just within the past few years, the entire 13-word phrase has been effectively eliminated.

We now come to the only part of the Amendment that has been left intact.

the right of the people: Which people? Does this include children of any age? Criminals? Non-citizens? And where can this “right” be exercised? In Congress? In a court of law? In jail? On the street?

to keep and bear: Where does “keep” mean? In a house? In a safety-deposit, bank vault? In a pocket? And where may one bear an Arm? In one’s hand? In one’s clothing? In one’s car?

Arms: What are “arms”? Atomic bombs? Fighter planes? Cannons? Machine guns? Poison gas? Tanks? Or does “Arms” include only what the founders knew about (i.e. “intended”): Swords? Muskets? Flintlock pistols?

shall not be infringed. Currently, “infringe” means to limit or undermine. So does this phrase mean there are to be no limits at all?

When Amy Coney Barrett claims she will follow “original intent” and the “actual words,” she either is lying or is naive, or both. She will do exactly what she claims she will not do: She will advance her own policy beliefs according to her own view of cultural norms.

Barrett, and other so-called originalists, like to paint themselves as innocent, blank slates, whose only information comes from the indisputable words of the Constitution.

They use the “I-can’t-help-it; that’s-what-the-Constitution-says” (or doesn’t say) excuse for doing exactly what they want to do.

Here is an example of that devious, originalist thinking:

Justice Clarence Thomas, who rarely speaks at all, issued a joint statement with Justice Samuel Alito, that the Court’s 2015 ruling “read a right to same-sex marriage…even though that right is found nowhere in the text of the Constitution.

He wrote it had “ruinous consequences for religious liberty” of those who might object.

Justice Thomas, who has spent his inferior career denying he is black, now uses the “nowhere to be found in the text” line as his excuse for ruling that his own religion‘s interpretations of civil law are to be found in the text.

(Remember, that the purpose of the Supreme Court itself is “nowhere to be found in the text,” so is Justice Thomas issuing a defacto objection to all his rulings?)

Despite related references in the Constitution, Thomas apparently believes religious dogma trumps the law.

There is a widespread notion, especially strong among conservatives, that Justices should not create new law. Rather, law-making is to be left to Congress and to the President.

Supposedly then, the Supreme Court should pretend America remains in the 17th Century, pretend to ignore the real world around them, and pretend to be robots who, without compassion, mercy, or care, judge only as our omniscient founding fathers would have judged.

Originalism is a myth, a monstrous myth, perpetuated through the years by an overly Christian, overly white, overly male, overly old Court. It is a myth that has excused and created numerous cruel, thoughtless legal opinions that have devastated millions of American lives.

The originalists sit on high, looking down, both literally and figuratively, divorced from the human needs of real people, and coldly rendering decisions destined to inflict pain.

I do not respect the “originalists” on the Court. They are callous, heartless, cold-blooded, archaic machines, who have forgotten the fundamental purpose of government: To improve the lives of the people.

Originalists are the strict disciplinarian, “anti-Ginsburgs” of our generation.

Amy Coney Barrett may be an intelligent woman, but without compassion she has no reason being put in a position of such power.

We only can pray, the harm she does will be short-lived and soon forgotten.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.

The most important problems in economics involve:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:

  1. Eliminate FICA
  2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
  3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
  4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
  5. Salary for attending school
  6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
  7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually. 
  8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
  9. Federal ownership of all banks
  10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9% 

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY