Just Stirring the Pot – Updated

Regeneron Seeks Emergency Approval per trump’s miracle recovery and subsequent endorsement.

Biotech company Regeneron moved Wednesday to apply for emergency approval for an experimental antibody treatment praised by President Trump.

“Subsequent to our discussions with regulatory authorities, we have submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for our REGN-COV2 investigational antibody combination for COVID-19.”

And trump? President Donald Trump received the antibody cocktail last Friday along with other drugs under a compassionate use program after becoming sick(?) with the coronavirus. Trump hailed Regeneron’s treatment in a video posted on Twitter Wednesday, saying he would authorize its emergency use and make it available to Americans for free.

Who knew this was a clinical trial of the real drug? What if it was a placebo and he cured himself? If they approve this after all the hoopla over other drugs    .   .   .

Just more deflection from the real issues, the pandemic, himself, etc.

Maybe, we should just follow the money???

A Warning From Michigan

A 4–3 party-line vote and Republican judges on the Michigan Supreme Court invalidated a law that had empowered a historically popular Democratic chief executive to take emergency actions to combat COVID-19. The basis for the decision was an antiquated doctrine that conservatives on the United States Supreme Court have signaled they want to revive.

The Michigan Supreme Court was following the lead of the U.S. Supreme Court. In an opinion last year, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a dissent calling for the revival of the nondelegation doctrine. Gorsuch premised his argument on the originalist claim the Framers believed “such delegation of power, in the case emergency powers, would frustrate ‘the system of government ordained by the Constitution’ if Congress could merely announce vague aspirations and then assign others the responsibility of adopting legislation to realize its goals.”

Legislatures aren’t equipped to resolve every question for themselves. Nor are they nimble enough to confront every new challenge as it arises. Sometimes, they need to draw on the executive branch’s expertise and dispatch. And in this case, the Michigan legislature through Gerrymandering has had control of the legislature since 1990. They have the ability to overrule the governor.

Courts Are Taking Away One of Americans’ Best Options for Fixing Voting

“In 2019, writing the decision for Common Cause v. Rucho, Chief Justice John Roberts closed off the federal courts as an avenue for addressing partisan gerrymandering. But, Roberts insisted, the Supreme Court’s decision did not condone these excesses. Rather, another path for addressing structural electoral reform existed. Noting the success of several citizen-driven state-constitutional amendments passed by ballot in Colorado, Michigan, and Missouri the previous November, Roberts said that citizens still had the tools to make change.”

Just over a year later; however, Citizens having the tools to create change has not proved to be able to change the law as Roberts stated. State redistricting, voting, and other  initiatives have been closed off to citizens through both state and federal courts

“Voters in Arkansas, North Dakota, and Idaho took Roberts up on his suggestion to drive reform via citizen-led initiative or by amending their state constitution. In Arkansas, with two different amendments, citizens worked to establish an independent redistricting commission and also open primaries and institute ranked-choice voting. In North Dakota, they looked to strengthen overseas-military voting and election audits, open primaries to all voters, and enact instant runoffs. Idaho voters, meanwhile, sought to expand funding for public education. One by one, these initiatives have been knocked off the ballots this summer by state and federal courts, and for the most tendentious and technical reasons.”

Michigan at it Again

May 14, 2020; “On Thursday, Michigan closed down its capitol building and canceled its legislative session after online death threats made against Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The threats were made by protesters who planned to attend a “Judgement Day” protest at the capitol. The protesters ostensibly oppose Whitmer’s statewide shutdown orders meant to slow the spread of coronavirus.”

One man was arrested. There has been displays of latent violence toward the Governor within protests at the Capitol with protestors armed with bullet – spewing – weapon, displayed effigies such as dolls with hangman’s nooses around their necks, etc. It was only a matter of time before the boundary was crossed from almost peaceful protests to potentially more violent actions. Our president, who could have a calming impact,  is not a man of calming words in the face of angry crowds. Quite the opposite, he has egged them on with his comments to white supremist groups,  “stand back and stand by” supposedly to the Proud Boys?

October 8, 2020; “NBC: More than a dozen men were arrested on federal and state charges in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, authorities said Thursday.

Six were apprehended and charged with federal crimes, while another seven were picked up on state charges, officials in Michigan said.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer: All are members of two militia groups “who were preparing to kidnap and possibly kill me,” in an address from Lansing late Thursday afternoon following the arrests.”

Since the protests started in May and went on over the course of a few months, some of the protestors have felt the need to protect themselves against angry legislators and have brought their toy bullet – spewing – weapons to the Capitol. At the May protests were two of the protesters who were arrested in the last 24 hours for plotting to kidnap Governor Whitmer and blow up a bridge as a distraction. There has been a Senate bill stuck in committee banning the carrying of bullet – spewing – weapons on Capitol building grounds. Sounds sensible to me, except it is still stuck in committee and Republican controlled legislatures have left the decision up to the appointed Capitol Commissioners to decide on a ban or not. Time to act before someone gets hurt.