ROLLERCOASTER — The Weekly Opine

Soon, a Black woman will sit as a Supreme Court associate justice. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

For the ages

Ketanji Brown Jackson is headed to the highest court in the land. Jackson, who is exceptionally qualified, with impeccable experience and credentials, will be the first Black woman to serve as associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Jackson prevailed despite sordid attempts by sick, racist Republicans such as Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and many others, to derail her confirmation.

Demonstrating the country is still occupied by mostly sane people, bi-partisan groups of legal experts were unhesitant in their praise of Jackson and recommended that she be confirmed. When the smoke cleared, Jackson sailed through unopposed by any human with a sense of truth, fairness and dignity.

Give President Joe Biden credit. He stuck to his campaign promise to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court and made history in the process. Watching the confirmation hearing was both gratifying – Jackson is so much smarter, poised and deserving than either Brett Kavanaugh or Amy Coney-Barrett – and horrifying. For several days, we witnessed mentally disturbed GOPers make fools of themselves trying to corner Jackson with fantasy tropes about her supporting child pornography.

Ted Cruz, easily one of the most pathetic men in American history, continues to make a public spectacle of himself while kissing Trump’s boots. This after Trump dissed his wife and told a whopper of a lie that Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Cruz’s response? Thank you, sir, may I have another!

I’d bet Cruz has removed all mirrors from his home, so as not to confront himself every morning (as I’ve said many times, the mirror don’t lie). Same as rock stars who have quirky requests when travelling (“Must have two cases of whiskey and 150 candy bars backstage”), I wonder if Cruz requests that mirrors be removed from all hotel rooms that he stays in.

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s Black senator, Uncle Tom (Tim) Scott, stayed silent as Ketanji Jackson, a Black woman, was lied about and dragged through the mud by Scott’s GOP colleagues. Scott, every bit as pathetic as Ted Cruz, said prior to the hearings he expected honorable decorum. However, as things devolved into unfounded, lies-filled accusations from Republicans-in-need-of-a-lobotomy, Scott silently looked the other way.

Uncle Tom Scott was unwilling to stand up against blatant racist attacks against Jackson. (Of all people, a Black man from South Carolina should recognize racism when he sees it.) Maybe Scott kept quiet to protect his yassa boss, House Negro status with Mitch McConnell, Trump and the MAGA Klan.

I only wish Democrats would stop whimpering like they did after Rand Paul, another pitiful soul, showed up late to vote, in an attempt to upstage the confirmation vote and spoil Biden and Jackson’s moment.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should have played hardball. When Paul was absent, Schumer should have closed voting and moved on. Without Paul the official vote was 53-46. Jackson was already “in.” Slam the door and move on.

Following Paul’s stunt, liberal cable news went into overdrive with somber hosts and teary-eyed guests decrying what Paul had done. Given the way Republicans conducted themselves during the confirmation hearing, it’s no surprise what Paul did. Who cares?! What matters is that Ketanji Jackson was confirmed!

Democrats should stop spending so much time sniffling and start fighting back with toughminded tactics. Otherwise, there will be a lot more crying after the mid-term elections.

Facing massive firepower the people of Ukraine have pushed Russia out of Kyiv and are hanging onto their country. Now NATO must really step up. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Make that move

Talk is cheap and no one knows this more right now than Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. While gums flap around the globe, expressing dismay about what Putin and Russia are doing in Ukraine, Ukrainians are the ones suffering and pleading for more help.

Help trickles in, in the form of sanctions and increased weaponry. But grand speeches of condemnation coming from the White House and United Nations are still prevalent. As it is, the West keeps missing opportunities to end this thing.

From the beginning, when satellite images showed a 40-mile convoy of Russian military equipment lined up on the way to Kyiv, the West should have intervened with a blockade. It is very likely that Putin, at his core a bully, would have done what all bullies do when faced with stout opposition – retreat.

(In 1936, when Germany illegally entered the Rhineland region, Hitler instructed his troops to turn back if the Germans met resistance from France. But the French stood by silently, allowing Germany to remilitarize the Rhineland, thus paving the way for German aggression that led to World War II.)

Brave, feisty Ukrainians have forced Russia out of Kyiv. Nonetheless, Zelensky begs for more, better weapons. If NATO would fully support Ukraine with the firepower Zelensky is pleading for, this travesty could end quickly. (Yesterday, Biden committed $800 million worth of weapons, ammunition, and security aid to Ukraine. What took so long?)

As the West dithers, other bad actors surely weigh whether they can do what Russia has done. For example, will North Korea calculate that they can move on South Korea? U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, says the situation in Ukraine has the potential to turn into a “significant international conflict.”

As the world’s food supply comes under more pressure (Ukraine and Russia produce one-third of the world’s grain) will unexpected skirmishes arise due to more people starving?

U.S. sanctions against Russia, while hurting common citizens, haven’t thwarted Putin’s propaganda campaign, which buries the truth from the Russian people. Most Russians still believe the invasion of Ukraine is justified.

In America, Fox Lies, many of its viewers, and deranged GOP politicians cheer on Putin and Russia.

With COVID-19 cases up and down like a rollercoaster, are mask mandates about to come back? (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

It’s back

Well, that didn’t last long. It was just a couple of months ago that large municipalities and entire states lifted covid restrictions – most notably the much discussed and vilified mask mandate. At that time the surprising thing was, although case counts were trending lower, in many places new daily cases totaled about the same as when health officials were freaking out (as they should have been) about the pandemic’s severity.

Many believers in science were caught off-guard, when otherwise sane government officials – such as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker – succumbed to political pressure and removed the indoor mask mandate.

Even President Joe Biden is sometimes seen interacting in close range with maskless people. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the esteemed coronavirus advisor to the president, said there is low risk when maskless Biden is near other vaccinated folks who are not wearing a mask.

Huh? C’mon, Doc, we’re not talking about some line worker at an Amazon warehouse. This is the 78-year-old president of the United States. A man super busy staving off World War III and a still active pandemic and runaway inflation!

Fauci went on to say it’s now up to individuals to assess the risk and make their own decisions. That’s fine, Doc, but then return some of your salary since you’ve succumbed to political pressure and are essentially throwing your hands up.

Now, here comes the city of Philadelphia, adroitly pivoting as virus cases quickly rise due to a new variant. Yessir, the indoor mask mandate is back in vogue in the City of Brotherly Love. Which means we’re about to learn two things; how much Philadelphians love one another, and how long it takes other cities to reinstate their mask mandate.

Also, this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the about-to-expire mask mandate for buses, planes, and trains, until at least May 3.

Hang on folks, the ride is not over.