Defiant Gnats

 The Supreme Court’s recently concluded term contained at least one good decision – they ordered the state of Alabama to redraw its voting map to ensure the voting rights of Black Alabamians in accordance with section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. But Alabama is Alabama, after all. On 21 July the white Republican dominated Alabama House and Senate overwhelmingly refused and simply concentrated more Black voters in the 2nd district, still safely controlled by the GOP. Kay Ivey, the Republican governor, swiftly approved the map drawn by her legislature. 


This should and will be challenged in court. Alabama has a long history of defying the federal government (see American Civil War, 1861-1865 as well as Jim Crow) and the strain of white supremacy is both deep and wide here. This election map is all tied up in the Republican’s anxiety about maintaining the razor-thin majority they currently have in the House. McCarthy apparently communicated with the sponsor of the map, Alabama Republican Senator Steve Livingstone, saying “I’m interested in keeping my majority.”


So we have yet another example of a former political party making yet another attempt to defy the law and hold on to power. Alabama isn’t the only state of the former Confederacy sticking a finger in Uncle Sam’s eyes this week. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is showing off his bona fides along the Rio Grande River, with razor-wire and troopers ordered to push women and children back into the water and a new obstacle in the middle of the river, razor wire covered buoys designed to make crossers more likely to drown as well as obstructing navigation. Abbott says Texas is sovereign and is just doing what Washington has failed to do. Besides being a lie, he should consult history on the last time Texas said it was sovereign. The DOJ will likely sue over this stupid stunt. Who knows? The Army Corps of Engineers could be ordered to remove it if Texas refuses. 


Meanwhile Donald Trump seems to be speeding to his second federal criminal indictment over his role in the January 6 insurrection.There is a long laundry list of crimes he could be found culpable of. We all need to stay buckled up. One senses that Judge Aileen Cannon, who is slated to preside over Trump’s trial in the mishandling of classified documents, was shaken by her inept handling of the first iteration of that case, when she was smacked down by Eleventh Circuit over the ability of federal officials to see the documents seized in the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. She set 24 May 2024 as the date to begin Trump’s trial, only 307 days from now and before the Republican nominating convention. The road ahead is guaranteed to be twisty and slippery. 
Location: Altadena, CA, USA

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