Cowards Curtain Call

One of the most predictable and frustrating aspects of politics is when a politician suddenly discovers a conscience when they are no longer up for reelection. The most recent example of this is Senator Bill Cassidy, who lost a primary in his home state of Louisiana.

Senator Cassidy, who is a doctor, voted for anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS after being pressured by other Republicans. But his cardinal mistake was voting to impeach Donald Trump, and as a result, he’s now looking for work.

And this week what did Cassidy do? He voted to advance a resolution to end the Iran War. He flipped.

And this isn’t unique, it’s happened several times during the Trump era.

Thom Tillis voted against Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” but then a day later he announced he wasn’t running for reelection.

Jeff Flake announced his retirement in 2017 then proceeded to vote against his party. He voted against judicial nominees and broke with the party on a number of votes.

“I wonder — could you have done this if you were running for re-election?" Pelley asked.

“Not a chance," Flake responded.

Politics in this country are fundamentally broken. If an elected official feels like they can’t vote their conscience, or more importantly what their constituents are asking for - then what is the point?

In today’s Republican Party, there’s no room for anything but blind loyalty to President Trump. The current Congress has abdicated its role in government, leaving no room for anything but fealty to the executive branch.

Looking Back at Earth

As I spent this past week monitoring the Artemis II mission closely I can’t help but look at the photos of earth and think, what could have been?

Earth is a spec of dust in the universe. And yet, we fight over petty differences. We argue over who has crossed what imaginary border. We kill each other over whose version of god is better. We concern ourselves with the genitalia of others and what women do with their own bodies. All while the wealth gap increases and the rich turn into oligarchs who weaponize that money to control media which exacerbates all of the problems above.

Something like Artemis simply cannot happen without collaborating across the world under one banner of science. Setting aside differences and focusing on the mission at hand - to send humans further than they have ever gone before and return them back home safely.

Imagine for a moment that our civilization focused all our efforts towards the common good. Scientific and medical research were funded in the same way we fund the creation of weapons of mass destruction. It’s not far off to imagine we’d have established a base on the moon, and reached even further into the stars. Or that cancer had been cured, and every human on earth had access to free health care.

It has been so inspiring to watch the Artemis II crew as they left earth and circled the moon. The images they have sent back have been humbling.

In order to continue to advance our species we need to take care of ourselves here on earth. We need to bring in leaders who will focus on improving the livelihood of every person - and create a fairer system which balances wealth with the greater good. We must demand that tax dollars be invested in programs that advance our society and not destroy it. We must enact safeguards that prevent the worst of us from obtaining and consolidating power.

Most of all, we must work to bring all of us into shared reality and set aside our differences. This is how we truly advance society to the next level and use science to improve everyone’s lives equally. If we do not do these things, we are doomed to repeat the same cycle over and over again.

ICE DHS Funding Time to Get Active

I’m seeing a lot of posts the past few days that Chuck Schumer and the Democrats have caved because DHS is getting funded anyway. And while it is true DHS will continue as normal for 2 weeks - this is far from caving. It’s a win.

The Democrats will now be able to negotiate ICE and DHS funding separately from the rest of the government funding. This means people on SNAP and many other government programs will not be hanging in the balance during what will surely be contentious negotiations. If the funding bills fail to pass, DHS is defunded while the rest of the government operates.

This does still need to pass through the house, which is expected to happen Monday.

What to do

The next two weeks will be critical and it’s important we are active during this time. You should call and e-mail your senators often to let them know what you want. At a minimum you should ask them to demand a rescission of the supplemental funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Why is this important? Because if DHS shuts down, ICE and CPB will continue to function as long as this funding remains.

Fascism on the Ballot

Now that Ron DeSantis has officially filed paperwork to run for president over the past several days I put together a list of things he and his fellow Republicans have done in Florida. Unlike Donald Trump in 2016, we have an exact blueprint of what he intends to do on a national scale. He has said his plan plan is to “Make America Florida” let’s be honest about what he really represents. Fascism. Merriam Webster defines fascism as:

a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

And a bit more color from Encyclopedia Britannica

Fascist propagandists also attacked cultural liberalism, claiming that it encouraged moral relativism, godless materialism, and selfish individualism and thereby undermined traditional morality. Anti-Semitic fascists associated liberalism with Jews in particular—indeed, one precursor of Nazism, the political theorist Theodor Fritsch, claimed that to succumb to a liberal idea was to succumb to the Jew within oneself.

Lets not forget that Nazis targeted many groups even prior to The Holocaust in Germany including black people, disabled people, political opponents and of course gay and transgendered people. As I’ll illustrate, it’s not too hard to draw some frightening comparisons.

It’s gone so far that just this past week the NAACP issued travel advisory for Florida, saying the state “has become hostile to Black Americans” and the League of United Latin American Citizens and LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida have done the same.

With some of that background in mind here’s a list of things going on in Florida with relevant bills that have been proposed, already gone into effect, or have been signed and will go into effect soon. I’ve come with receipts, offering relevant sources and direct links to bills where possible.

Religious Freedom, as a Weapon

With the continuous rise of Christian Nationalism and our religious freedom actively under attack in this country, I wanted to take some time to talk freedom of religion and why I believe it is one of the most important rights enshrined in the United States Constitution. And why people from all religions and none should take it seriously.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The founders considered it so important that it was in the Bill of Rights and part of the First Amendment.

Benjamin Franklin when editing the draft of the Declaration of Independence changed the original wording from “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable” to “We hold these truths to be self-evident” It could be argued with that one phrase Franklin placed United States on a secular foundation. Is there anything more empowering than having self-evident truths? Our very freedom is founded on that proposition.

Phrases like “Under God” and “In God We Trust” were added to the pledge of allegiance and currency in the 1950s. Over 150 years after the nation’s founding, and largely to emphasize the distinction between the atheistic Soviet Union and the United States.

There are several major Religious Freedom cases before the Supreme Court this session. Obviously, the future of Roe v. Wade which could result in abortion being banned across the country which appears more likely with the leaked draft opinion. And Kennedy v. Bremerton School District where a public high school football coach lost his job after repeatedly praying on the 50-yard line. Students felt pressured to pray with him due to his position of authority.

Christians in particular have taken the line “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” and are using it to weaponize Religious Freedom into Religious Privilege. They see equality, the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights, consequences for using your position of power to push prayer, and of course a woman having the freedom to decide her own course in life as an infringement on their freedom to exercise religion. And because they do not believe in these things, they want to erase these very freedoms from existence.