Call For Sanity

The recent law in New York state expanding abortion rights in the Empire State has stoked the flames on an already heated issue.   The law was greeted with cheers from supporters, while it contains several provisions that are alarming to opponents. Regardless of where you stand in general on abortion rights, there are a few provisions that are noteworthy in terms of the strategic value in establishing precedent to counter the shifting tides in the battle over abortion. With the recent appointment of Justice Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the court has a conservative majority for the first time in generations.   In fact, the appointment of justices to all levels of the federal courts has been a major factor in presidential elections going back to the 1980s. In the years since the Roe v Wade decision made access to abortion a “right” across the country, conservatives have managed to slowly implement restrictions on access to abortion services, and advances in scien...

The U.S government partial shutdown is in its fourth week. At midnight on December 22 the lack of a 2019 budget or a continuing resolution to provide funding meant that many "non-essential" services would be suspended and workers furloughed until the standoff ends. The reason for the shutdown is a standoff over funding the border wall that was one of the most popular and yet controversial of President Trump's election campaign promises. Ironically, Democrats in the past have supported a border wall. Over the past two years the Republicans in the House have passed bills to fund construction of a wall, but Democrats in the Senate blocked passage with a threatened filibuster. The current shutdown is mostly to replace nearly 700 miles of existing barriers, although also to extend the wall about 200 miles. Unfortunately, in today's highly polarized political climate, immigration reform (see my recent  Immigration Reform blog post) is not likely to come any time soon. ...