#248

Dear you,

Last week, we (sort of) celebrated the nation's 248th birthday.  Was it just me or were you feeling less than celebratory too? Even the fireworks seemed sad. One big reason may be those killer SCOTUS decisions; they put a knife in our  would-be-holiday-happy hearts.  New reality: We have an imperial presidency, severely limited regulatory powers, semi-unlimited access to weapons of war, and our homeless people are not allowed to sleep in public. WTF? Another reason might be President Biden's "performance" during that highly anticipated 6/21 debate.  A man from Arizona summed it up nicely:  "Oh, no" (for Biden) and "Oh, HELL no" (for Trump).

How do we celebrate considering where we are? Many did, here in Seagrove Beach, feeling all 30A fabulous and free as they drove around in monster trucks flying those MAGA flags.  Well, at least somebody's happy. I did my best when encountering the celebrants to put on a brave face, a mask of unfazed stoicism.  But, yes, it was a mask.  This week, I am recovering and leaving the mask behind.  Whatever is, is and all we can do is resist, stand with Joe, and create ways to undo some of that SCOTUS damage.

As for that SCOTUS damage, I am sure you were astonished by Judge Gorsuch's bizarre dismissal of expertise as they overturned the Chevron doctrine that protected informed regulation.  See the title of New Republic's commentary by Kate Aronoff:

This Is Why the Supreme Court Shouldn’t Try to Do the EPA’s Job.

Conservative justices this week confused nitrous oxide with nitrogen oxides and then insisted that they, not the EPA, were the final word on environmental regulations.

The subtitle for her piece is "Laughing Gas."

Perfect.

And now, a press conference is in progress with reporters pushing about Biden's medical condition. Boy, they are riled up! Good, they should be.  We need facts.  However, there is very little "riled up" questioning about the Orange Jesus, his lies, his convictions, or his SCOTUS protection racket.

Give us all some laughing gas. We need harmless narcotics to get through this long hot summer, the 248th summer of independent us.  Hopefully, it is not our last.

Carry on!

Joyce