Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s opening remarks at the Senate hearings on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh include an observation that the selection process and support for Kavanaugh has been a deep dark secret. He notes that the White House “in-sourced” the selection process to the Federalist Society. That process was opaque to any public observation. His nomination is being promoted, to the tune of millions of dollars, by organizations such as the Judicial Crisis Network, whose funding is also a deep dark secret. And a significant portion of his record is being hidden by claims of Executive Privilege. Is this any way to select a lifetime appointment to the highest court of the land?

The full transcript of Sen. Whitehouse’s remarks from his website are included below the video. To listen to the entire remarks, after the excerpt finishes, click on the replay icon in the lower-left corner of the video.   [Read more…]

From the Democracy Now! YouTube channel, an update on the nationwide prison strike: Prisoners across the country join work stoppages, hunger strikes and commissary boycotts in at least 11 states to protest prison conditions and demand the end of what they call “prison slavery.” Organizers report prisoners in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Indiana are […]

Although the cruelties and injustices of this administration haven’t risen to the level of those of the Third Reich, the same principles of justice and moral responsibility apply. While some who support actions such as separating children from their parents might claim it necessary for the protection of our borders, as Spencer Tracy notes in his reading of the verdict:

There are those in our own country too who today speak of the “protection of country” — of “survival.” A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient — to look the other way.

Well, the answer to that is “survival as what?” A country isn’t a rock. It’s not an extension of one’s self. It’s what it stands for. It’s what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult!

Before the people of the world, let it now be noted that here, in our decision, this is what we stand for: justice, truth, and the value of a single human being.

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