Ron Johnson Talks Unity

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, who endorsed sending fake electors to Washington for Trump, who has consistently said that Trump won and the election was stolen, and has been broadly divisive throughout his tenure, said this week: “Let’s turn this moment into a moment that helps us down that path of healing and unity.”

And then on the floor of the Republican National Convention yesterday, said: “Today’s Democrat agenda, their policies, are a clear and present danger to America.”

“Clear and present danger” is a familiar LEGAL term that Merriam Webster defines as “a risk or threat to safety or other public interests that is serious and imminent. especially : one that justifies limitation of a right (as freedom of speech or press) by the legislative or executive branch of government.”

I wonder which policies represent that kind of immediate danger. The ones that created over 15 million jobs for the U.S. (more than any previous president’s job creation), or got our economy recovering after COVID, or got more people insured, or narrowed income inequality, or added IRS agents to start collecting on unpaid billionaire taxes, promoting equal treatment of all people regardless of any categories, or increasing spending for local and state law enforcement?

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-opinion-biden-accomplishment-data/

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Supreme Court Limits?

AP News reports: “President Joe Biden is seriously considering proposals to establish term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, and an ethics code that would be enforceable under law amid growing concerns that the justices are not held accountable.

“It would mark a major shift for Biden, the former head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has long resisted calls to reform the high court, though since taking office he has been increasingly vocal about his belief that the court is abandoning mainstream constitutional interpretation.

“Any changes would require congressional approval, which would be unlikely in a divided Congress. But with Republican nominee Donald Trump bragging about putting the three justices on the high court who are now part of the conservative majority, Biden’s call for major changes could help animate his voters.”

In other words, it would never pass right now, but if the elections this fall lead to a Democratic-majority Congress, then it probably would. And this could help motivate people to vote Democrat.

Full article here: https://apnews.com/article/election-supreme-court-biden-9c1a40b8f989bfa31a08eb3890abb1a7

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Cornetto Trilogy Expanding?

The Cornetto Trilogy consists of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World’s End (2013). Three of my favorite movies! They are not thematically related, but they have many of the same cast and crew and they all reference Cornettos (sort of a British version of American drumsticks).

Simon Pegg has said that, while he ABHORS the idea of rebooting Shaun of the Dead, he and Edgar Wright have been discussing a fourth movie.

Summary of the three movies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Flavours_Cornetto

Interview with Simon Pegg:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/simon-pegg-the-boys-shaun-of-the-dead-20th-anniversary-1235937268/

Summary and Analysis:
https://movieweb.com/simon-pegg-teases-new-project-with-hot-fuzz-director-edgar-wright/

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Culture as Much as Economy

“The first night of the RNC was supposed to be about the economy, with the goal of uniting voters of all ideological persuasions who are frustrated by high prices. But some of the biggest applause lines came from harsh criticisms of transgender people.

“It’s a reminder that cultural issues motivate the GOP base as much as financial ones. A trio of speakers unabashedly went after Democrats who have sought greater acceptance for transgender people. Of particular outrage to Republicans this year was Biden marking Transgender Day of Visibility. It happened to overlap with Easter in 2024, a byproduct of the Christian holiday being based off the lunar calendar.

“To many in the LGBTQ+ community, it was a coincidence. But to many Republicans, it was an insult.

“They promised normalcy and gave us Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.”

(Transgender Visibility Day has been on March 31 since it began. Easter Sunday is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. This year, those two things happened on the same day.)
https://apnews.com/article/rnc-day-one-takeaways-38a19cbcff05d5422330fcc8ae6df7c3

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Vance Becomes Trump Convert

Vance was the quickest and loudest to blame the shooting on Democrats.

“Eight years ago, in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, J.D. Vance was a bitter critic of Donald Trump.

“Publicly, he called the Republican presidential candidate an “idiot” and said he was “reprehensible.” Privately, he compared him to Adolf Hitler.

“But by the time the former president tapped Vance to be his running mate on Monday, the Ohio native had become one of Trump’s most ardent defenders, standing by his side even when other high-profile Republicans declined to do so.”

“In particular, Vance’s vocal opposition to U.S. aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia has delighted Trump’s most conservative allies, even as it has upset some Senate colleagues.

“He understands what Trump is running on and, unlike the rest of the Republican Party in Washington, agrees with it,” conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, a vocal Vance supporter, told Reuters.” [“Unlike?” That should tell you something.]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/jd-vance-once-compared-trump-hitler-now-they-are-running-mates-2024-07-15

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