They Were Wonderful Days

Hank Aaron has died at age 86. He was the last of the great players of the early 50s. He was an important part of my boyhood. His death is a period to that chapter of my life.

I first became aware of Major League Baseball in the autumn of 1948. My Aunt Nora was listening to the Cleveland Indians - Boston Braves World Series on her radio. As I listened, the announcer made repeated mention of Lou Boudreau and Tommy Holmes. Their names have stuck in my mind all these years.

But my real love of the game began in the early spring of 1949. The Cub game was on, at my grandfather's apartment, and Dutch Leonard was pitching, when the announcer said, "And there's a base hit through the box." A "box" on a baseball field? I asked my dad, "what that meant?" He explained that the pitcher pitched from a "Pitcher's Box" in the early days of baseball. And that in the late 1800s, the "box" was replaced by the "mound." So a "base hit through the box," was a ground ball or line drive that went over the mound and into center field. "Box" was just another term for "mound."

Then, near June 1, 1949, we got our first TV. It had been delivered and the chimney antenna had been hooked up earlier that morning. Dad took the afternoon off work to test it. When he turned it on - without even changing the channel - on came the Cubs' game. The first name I heard was that of Cub outfielder "Peanuts" Lowrey. Then a few days later "Peanuts" was gone - traded to Cincinnati. The Cubs acquired Hank Sauer, in that four-player deal. Sauer went on to hit 27 homers for the Cubs that year, and became my first baseball hero. Of course as a kid I didn't appreciate that "Hammerin' Hank" had the mobility of a printing press in left field.

In 1949, WGN-TV in Chicago broadcast both the Cub and White Sox home games. We watched both, but I preferred the Sox ... until my Dad pointed out that we lived on the north side, and that the Cubs were the northside team. That coupled with the fact that the Sox traded my two favorite Sox players, Guz Zernial and Cass Michaels, caused me to re-prioritize: the Cubs became my favorite; the Sox were relegated to second place! I have to this date remained a "closet-Sox fan!"

In those days there were only eight teams in each league. With all the Cubs and Sox home games on TV, it was easy to learn the names of all the players. At first, the best were two older players: Ted Williams and Stan Musial. But then the post-war stars emerged. Jackie Robinson in 1947; Billy Pierce, Roy Campanella and Robin Roberts in 1948; Whitey Ford, 1950; Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, 1951; Al Kaline, Ernie Banks and Henry Aaron, 1954; and Roberto Clemente, 1955.

In December 1948, we moved to Lincolnwood, just north of Devon Avenue. At first, there was prairie north of Devon. It was there that we spent our summers. We carved baseball fields on flat ground. We dragged our lawn mowers down to cut the weeds. Our bicycles became the left field wall. We'd play a double header (either baseball or 16" softball), starting at 8 a.m. the day after summer vacation began. We'd take a break for lunch, and then start a second double header around 1:30. Then after dinner, we'd play more ball until dark.

When the summers got too hot to play in the afternoon, we found substituted a table game: "All-Star Baseball." The game contained player disks of the "all-time greats" like Babe Ruth, Hack Wilson, Rogers Hornsby and Ty Cobb, as well as a new set of All- Stars each year. We studied the disks, as well as "Jack Brickhouse's Baseball Record Book," to put the "best possible" teams of hitters on the field. But "ASB" took no account of fielding or pitching. Eventually, we "graduated" to a more sophisticated game called"Big League Manager." Then we discovered"APBA." It was terrific. We spent hours, playing "APBA," while listening either to the Cubs or Sox on TV, or, if they weren't on, to "The Kingston Trio," Johnny Cash, or the "Limeliters."

Dad encouraged us in all this. He believed that "kids who were involved in sports didn't get into trouble." To that end, he supplied balls and bats, footballs, and basketballs, not only for Tom and me, but for the whole neighborhood. I don't think, any other dad, or any other kid ever once supplied a ball over that ten-year period.

And Dad's business had season tickets to the Sox Games. If on a Friday evening, Ford was pitching for the Yankees, and Pierce for the Sox, we'd be at Comiskey Park. The ending was always the same. Around the 8th inning, one of the Yanks would homer to break up the 1-1 tie.

And I can recall being at the 1950 All-Star game at Comiskey Park, when Williams ran into the left field wall and broke his collar bone, and being there again when he returned to the Red Sox lineup late in the season as a pinch hitter. He homered over the corner of the bullpen, to the deepest part of the park.

And I can recall being at Wrigley Field, in the first row of the right field bleachers. My friend "Squid" was taunting Aaron: "Henry, you're a bum!" The very next inning, Aaron belted one over our heads deep into the bleachers. When he returned to his position, "Squid" stood, bowed, and doffed his cap. Aaron smiled. 

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on January 27, 2021

Copyright 2021

John Donald O'Shea 

The power to ration is the power to destroy

How to allocate scarce resources is a problem as old as mankind, and indeed older.

The sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912 perfectly illustrates the problem. According to the official British Board of Trade Report, the passengers and crew aboard totaled 2224. That report shows that 710 were saved, and 1,514 perished. There were 20 lifeboats, rated to hold 1,178 people. Rationing of the lifeboats was therefore "necessary." The crew "rationed" the boats on the principle of "women and children first." But other principles could have been chosen: "First Class passengers first!" "Those in steerage (poor emigrants) first!" "Doctors and other 'essential workers' first!"


So in America, who should get the new COVID-19 vaccines first? There will necessarily be "rationing" because there will not initially be sufficient doses of the Covid vaccines for the entire U.S. population.


On December 3, the CDC recommended that initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccines should be allocated to:

• Healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents (Phase 1a).

On Dec. 22, the CDC recommended the next two allotments. In Phase 1b:

• Frontline essential workers such as fire fighters, police officers, corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, United States Postal Service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, and those who work in the educational sector (teachers, support staff and daycare workers).

• People aged 75 years and older because they are at high risk of hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID-19. (People aged 75 years and older who are also residents of long-term care facilities should be offered vaccination in Phase 1a).

In Phase 1c:

• People aged 65—74 years because they are at high risk of hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID-19. (People aged 65—74 years who are also residents of long-term care facilities should be offered vaccination in Phase 1a).

• People aged 16—64 years with underlying medical conditions which increase the risk of serious, life-threatening complications from COVID-19.

• Other essential workers, such as people who work in transportation and logistics, food service, housing construction and finance, information technology, communications, energy, law, media, public safety, and public health.

As I look at the CDC's recommendations, I have no quarrels with their reasonableness.


Given the fact that federal officials have estimated that there will be only enough doses to vaccinate 20 million Americans in December, 30 million in January and 50 million in February (with more doses coming thereafter), some rationing plan is at present clearly necessary. The CDC plan, detailed above, seems both necessary and reasonable.


That being said, I am, nevertheless, extremely wary of the government's power to ration. The CDC did well, but just as the "power to tax is the power to destroy," so is the power to ration.


I gave the example of"rationing" aboard the Titanic advisedly. The Titanic's 20 life-boats were built to accommodate 1,178 people. Yet only 710 survived! Passengers and crew numbering 1,514 drowned. The fact that the boats were designed to accommodate 1,178 people and that only 710 survived, brings into question the wisdom of the "women and children first" rationing principle. Couple that with the fact that the ocean was dead calm that night, and that going into the 28 degree water meant death in minutes, I have always wondered why the boats weren't filled beyond their stated capacity?

Should not the principle of rationing have been, "Overfill the boats to almost the point where they would be in danger of taking on water?" Or at least, "Make sure every boat is filled to stated capacity; no half-filled boats!"


The danger in "government rationing" is also clearly illustrated in the proposal of other "experts" whose principle of vaccine distribution would have been to give "priority access" to people of color (Blacks and Hispanic people) because the pandemic has exacted a disproportionately heavy infection and death toll on their communities.

A rationing danger inevitably works its way in, when the government gives priority to"frontline essential workers such as fire fighters, police officers, corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, United States Postal Service workers, etc."

But who else is a "frontline essential worker?" Is a congressman a frontline "essential worker" such as a U.S Postal Service Worker? Or is a congressman even more essential?


Exactly how essential is Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican? Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat?
Rep. Larry Buschon, a Republican? Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat? Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican? They all jumped to the front of the vaccine line.


In W.S. Gilbert's, "The Mikado," Ko-ko, the "Lord High Executioner" sings, "I've got a little list of society offenders who might well be underground and who never would be missed!"


I suspect that W. S. Gilbert, rather than deeming Pelosi, Rubio, et al., essential, would have put all five on Ko-ko's little list.


When congressmen and bureaucrats start allotting benefits to those they deem "essential," it is never long before they start allocating them to themselves, their "friends," and their political supporters. Even worse, World War II history shows that rationing can easily morph into death panels. The rations provided those in the concentration camps were insufficient to sustain life. Still doubt? Visit Venezuela.

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on January 1, 2021

Copyright 2021

John Donald O'Shea

Restoring trust in elections

In 2004, the Commission on Federal Election Reform was created by former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, and former Secretary of State James Baker III, a Republican, in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election and the 2004 election in Ohio. The commission was a nongovernmental, private bi-partisan organization. Among its 18 other members were former Senate majority and minority leaders Tom Daschle, a Democrat, and Bob Michel, a Republican.

For those too young to remember, the 2000 Bush v. Gore election was decided only after the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to the Florida election recount. Those old enough will recall the bizarre spectacle of Broward County canvassing board member, Judge Robert Rosenberg, using a magnifying glass to examine a disputed ballot to discover "hanging chads."

The commission was created to recommend measures designed to instill confidence in the integrity of their elections. In presenting its report, Carter and Baker wrote:

"Elections are the heart of democracy. They are the instrument for the people to choose leaders and hold them accountable. At the same time, elections are a core public function upon which all other government responsibilities depend. If elections are defective, the entire democratic system is at risk.

"Americans are losing confidence in the fairness of elections, and while we do not face a crisis today, we need to address the problems of our electoral system."

In 2016 and in 2020, the feared "crisis" materialized. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, hordes of Democrats believed President Trump had won only by virtue of Russian meddling. That belief could not be overcome even when the Mueller Report found no evidence of collusion. Now in 2020, Trump and millions of his supporters believe the election was stolen by fraudulent ballots manufactured by Democratic operatives, and by voting machines programed to switch Trump votes into Biden votes, or by under-counting Trump votes. And their beliefs, even if untrue, will not be overcome by any "official" report. It is, therefore, time to revisit the bipartisan commission recommendations made to insure fair, honest elections. And even more importantly, to insure election results in which all Americans — Republicans and Democrats — can have confidence.


In the executive summary of the 91-page report, the commission made five main recommendations:

"We propose that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) develop a mechanism to connect all state lists. ... Connection will eliminate the vast majority of complaints currently leveled ... A distributed database can remove interstate duplicates and help states to maintain an up-to-date, fully accurate registration list.

 

"1. We propose a universal voter registration system in which the states, not local jurisdictions, are responsible for the accuracy and quality of the voter lists.

"We propose that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) develop a mechanism to connect all state lists. ... Connection will eliminate the vast majority of complaints currently leveled ... A distributed database can remove interstate duplicates and help states to maintain an up-to-date, fully accurate registration list.

"People would need to register only once in their lifetime, and it would be easy to update their registration information when they move.

"We also propose that all states establish uniform procedures for counting provisional ballots ...."

"States should play an affirmative role in reaching out to nondrivers by providing more offices ... to register voters and provide photo IDs free of charge.

 "2. To make sure that a person arriving at a polling site is the same one who is named on the list, we propose a uniform system of voter identification based on the 'REAL ID card;' or an equivalent for people without a drivers license. ...

"States should play an affirmative role in reaching out to nondrivers by providing more offices ... to register voters and provide photo IDs free of charge.

"There is likely to be less discrimination against minorities if there is a single, uniform ID, than if poll workers can apply multiple standards. ... We also propose that voters who do not have a photo ID during a transitional period receive a provisional ballot that would be counted if their signature is verified.

"3. We propose measures that will increase voting participation by having the states assume greater responsibility to register citizens, make voting more convenient, and offer more information on registration lists and voting.

"States should allow experimentation with voting centers.

"We propose ways to facilitate voting by overseas military and civilians, and ways to make sure that people with disabilities have full access ...

"States and local jurisdictions should use Web sites, toll-free numbers, and other means to inform citizens about their registration status, and the location of their precinct.

"To improve ballot integrity, we propose that ... prosecutors issue public reports on their investigations of election fraud...

"States should not discourage legal voter registration or get-out-the-vote activities, but they need to do more to prevent voter registration and absentee ballot fraud."

"4. We propose ways to give confidence to voters using electronic voting machines that their votes will be counted accurately.

"We call for an auditable backup on paper at this time... We encourage independent testing of voting systems (to include voting machines and software source code) under EAC supervision.

"5. ... We propose that state election management bodies be reconstituted on a nonpartisan basis to become more independent and effective.

"We cannot build confidence in elections if Secretaries of State responsible for certifying votes are simultaneously chairing political campaigns. ...."

The 2005 commission's recommendations are not infallible. But any Democrat or Republican who wants fair and honest elections should embrace them, at least as a starting point to restore trust in our elections. They deal with honesty, as well as the appearance of honesty.

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on December 11, 2020

Copyright 2020

John Donald O'Shea

Government is not free to disregard the First Amendment in times of crisis.

The argument of the Lincoln administration during the Civil War for trying American citizens before military commissions was "necessity" created by the existence of the Civil War. The argument of the Governors today for closing churches, or severely limiting the number of worshipers allowed to attend, is also "necessity" created by the existence of the Covid pan-demic. 

So does "necessity" or "emergency" allow or justify Governors to suspend the Constitutional Rights of the American people?

In 1866, The U.S. Supreme Court decided the great case of ex parte Milligan. Milligan was tried by a military commission in Indiana and sentenced to death. On appeal, Milligan con-tended that the military commission had no jurisdiction to him. He argued that "it was the birthright of every American citizen, when charged with a crime, to be punished only accord-ing to law, and therefore, that he was entitled under the Constitution (1787) to a trial by jury, all the rights attendant thereto specified by the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution. 

The Court agreed with Milligan. 

"The Constitution ... is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace. and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times and under all circumstances. No doctrine involving more pernicious consequences was ever invented by the wit of man than that any of its provision can be suspended during  any of the great exigencies of government. Such a result leads directly to anarchy of despotism ...."

The court the proceeded to consider which of any of our Constitutional rights could be sus-pended during an emergency. It concluded, that only the right of Habeas Corpus could be suspended. 

"Not one of these safeguards can the President or Congress or the Judiciary disturb, except the one concerning the writ of habeas corpus." Indeed, the Founding Fathers "limited the suspension to one great right, and left the rest to remain forever inviolable." The court concluded by holding, "Martial rule can never exist where the courts are open and in the proper and unobstructed exercise of their jurisdiction."

Today, the courts are clearly open, the exercise of their jurisdiction is wholly unobstructed. Yet in May of 2020, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a concurring opinion in South Bay Penticostal Church v. Newson that flies in the face of everything stated in ex parte Milligan.

Gov. Newson's Covid guidelines limited church attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees. 

The Chief Justice brushed aside the Constitutional Right of Free Exercise of Religion, in his concurring opinion.  

"Although California’s guidelines place restrictions on places of worship, those restrictions appear consistent with "Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Similar or more severe restrictions apply to comparable secular gatherings, including lectures, concerts, movie showings, spectator sports, and theatrical performances, where large groups of people gather in close proximity for extended periods of time.

The Chief Justice justified his ruling stating

Our Constitution principally entrusts “[t]he safety and the health of the people” to the politically accountable officials of the States “to guard and protect.” ... When those officials “undertake[ ] to act in areas fraught with medical and scientific uncertainties,” their latitude “must be especially broad.” ... Where those broad limits are not exceeded, they should not be subject to second-guessing by an “unelected federal judiciary ...."

Roberts' opinion utterly ignores the fact that while the "free exercise of religion" is expressly guaranteed by the First Amendment, "secular gatherings" enjoy no such express guarantees. 

On November 25, 2020, the issue was again considered by the high court in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel v. Cuomo.

In New York, Gov. Cuomo issued an executive order, creating "color zones." In "red zones" house of worship were limited to 10 people; in "orange zones" to 25. In "red zones," business the Governor deemed "essential" - such as liquor stores  and acupuncture centers - may ad-mit as many people as they wish. 

The Church and the synagogue contend that these restrictions violate the Free Exercise of Religion Clause of the First Amendment, by treating houses of worship much more harshly than comparable secular facilities. Both argue, without contradiction, they have complied with all public health guidance, have implemented additional precautionary measures, and have operated at 25% or 33% capacity for months without a single outbreak. 

In striking down Gov. Cuomo executive order, the court echoed ex parte Milligan. 

"Members of this Court are not public health experts, and we should respect the judg-ment of those with special expertise and responsibility in this area. But even in a pan-demic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten. The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty. Before allowing this to occur, we have a duty to conduct a serious examination of the need for such a drastic measure."

In his concurring opinion, Mr. Justice Gorsuch writes, 

"Government is not free to disregard the First Amendment in times of crisis. At a mini-mum, that Amendment prohibits government officials from treating religious exercises worse than comparable secular activities, unless they are pursuing a compelling interest and using the least restrictive means available ..." 

Like Roberts, the majority recognizes that governors have a "compelling interest" in protect-ing public health. But when First Amendment rights are also being curtailed, the majority sees a duty to conduct a serious examination of the need for such a drastic measure." Justice Gor-such would require that the remedy be the "least restrictive alternative."

Compare the concurrences of the so-called "Conservatives. "Roberts comes heavily down on the side of executive power. Gorsuch sees the "compelling interest," but refuses to ignore the First Amendment. 

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on December 5, 2020

Copyright 2020

John Donald O'Shea

 

 

On this Thanksgiving Day, We Can Be Thankful for America's Great Pharmaceutical Companies

As I write this on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, politics aside, I think we have a lot to be thankful for. This is true, even though as of today the death count attributed to the coronavirus here in the U.S. is 256,000. Is this bad? Yes. Could it be worse? Yes. Is it likely to be the worst pandemic ever to strike the U.S.? No.


In 1918, the "Spanish Flu" struck the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tells us, "The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918.

"It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s [then] population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years olds, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic. 

 

"While the 1918 H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the properties that made it so devastating are not well understood. With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly."

Undoubtedly, more U.S. residents will die from COVID-19. But up until recently, our country has had little more to control the pandemic than it had in 1918-19. Since March, our president and governors have dealt with the pandemic very much like their predecessors dealt with the Spanish Flu: through non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which have been applied unevenly.

With the exception of antibiotics to deal with secondary infections, the doctors have not had much else. While results have significantly improved, the initial use of mechanical ventilators did not come close to producing the desired survival rates.


But now, after only nine months, vaccines are expected to be available for use in the U.S. within a matter of weeks. Pfizer and BioNTech, working together, have applied for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their vaccine. Moderna's application is expected to follow in early December. And AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford hope to have their two-dose shot available around year's end. General Gustave Perna, President Trump's head of Operation Warp Speed, has said repeatedly that vaccine distribution will begin within 24 hours after an authorization is issued by FDA.

Perna has also advised that by Dec. 31, 2020, Operation Warp Speed expects to have about 40 million doses of the two vaccines available for distribution. Both vaccines each require two doses, given 21 and 28 days apart. Forty million doses, therefore, would be sufficient to vaccinate about 20 million people. People at high risk will be prioritized.

As more vaccine become available in the new year, it will be distributed. Dr. Anthony Fauci, expects the vaccine to become available for use by the general public in April 2021.


At the same, treatments are becoming available. On October 22, the FDA approved the antiviral drug Veklury (Remdesivir) for COVID-19 treatment in adult and pediatric patients, ages 12 and older, weighing at least 88 pounds, and requiring hospitalization. It is an antiviral given intravenously.

Other pharmaceutical companies are developing monoclonal antibody therapies. GoodRx explains that antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to help fight infections. They bind to foreign pathogens, such as viruses; they help destroy them. Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies made in a lab. It can take weeks for the body to develop natural antibodies. Using MABs can thus potentially fight off infections sooner.


Even if Americans can't agree politically, this Thanksgiving we should all be thankful for the work of America's great pharmaceutical companies.

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on November 26, 2020

Copyright 2020

John Donald O'Shea

Joe Biden - The Walking Wind Sock

Joe Biden campaigns as if nobody is recording what he says on the stump. What he says today is most often utterly inconsistent with what he said yesterday, or last month. Unless you watch CSPAN, Fox News, etc., you will not be shown his flip-flops, stone-walling and obfuscations. 

Example #1:

Recently, Biden told voters in Pennsylvania, "I am not banning fracking! Let me say that again. I am not banning fracking! No matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me."

But in July 2019, a CNN host asked Mr. Biden, "Would there be any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking, in a Biden administration?

Biden: "No. We would work it out. We would make sure it's eliminated, and no more subsidies for either one of those."


In January 2020 in New Hampshire there was this, as documented in a CSPAN video:

Voter: "But like, what about stopping fracking?"

Biden: "Yes."

Voter: "And stopping pipeline infrastructure?"

Biden: "Yes."


During the March 15, 2020 Democratic presidential debate:

Sen. Bernie Sanders said, "I'm talking about stopping fracking as soon as we possibly can. No ifs, buts and maybes about it. I'm talking about..."

(interrupted by Biden)

Biden: "So am I! ... No new fracking."


On May 22, 2020, Biden told CNBC:

"I would not stop fracking. I would gradually move away from fracking. I would just not do more fracking on federal lands."


On September 6, 2020, Biden, while in New Hampshire, said: "I guarantee you we’re going to end fossil fuels."


So what exactly is Biden's position on fracking? He now says, "I am not banning fracking." But when asked if "there would be any place in a Biden administration for fracking," he stated, no, "we would make sure it's eliminated." He promises, "there would be no more subsides for fracking." Asked "if he would stop fracking," he answered, "yes."


Sanders said he was pledging to stop fracking "as soon as we possibly can." Not to be outdone, Biden answered, "So am I." Later he added, "No new fracking."

So what exactly is Biden's policy?

Which way is the wind blowing? He's not going to "ban" fracking; he's going to "eliminate" it. So who's the real liar?

But why is fracking important? Stephen Moore, writing in the Wall Street Journal, states, "Curtailing U.S. oil and gas production would be economically disastrous. At least $1 trillion of U.S. economic output is related to the shale revolution, and more than 1.5 million Americans are employed by the industry."

Owing to fracking, the U.S. is currently energy independent. Would America be better off depending on "friends" like Saudi Arabia or Venezuela for our oil? Russia for our natural gas?


Example #2:


Do American voters have any right to know whether Joe Biden will "pack the court?" So, what does Joe Biden say about"packing the court?" Again, it depends when he is asked. 

On October 9, 2000:

Interviewer Ross DiMattei: "I've got to ask you about packing the court, and I know you've said you aren't going to answer until after the next election.... Don't the voters deserve to know ..."

(Biden interrupts him)

Biden: ... No they don't. ... I'm not going to play his [Trump's] game. ... He's about to make a pick in the middle of an election, first time it's ever been done, first time in history that it's ever been done."


No they don't? Remember Nancy Pelosi? "We have to pass the bill (Obamacare) so you can find out what's in it." Or, Jonathan Gruber, the principal architect of Obamacare? "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. ... Call it the stupidity of the American voter ... but ... that was really, really critical to get the thing (Obamacare) to pass."


Do you see the Democrats' method of operation?


Now compare 2020 Biden with July 2019 Biden, when he told Iowa Starting Line, "No, I’m not prepared to go out and try to pack the [Supreme] court, because we’ll live to rue that day,”


Or 1983 Biden:

"President Roosevelt clearly had the right ... to pack the court. But it was a bonehead idea. ... It put in question, for an entire decade, the independence of the Supreme Court of the United States ....”


So, what kind of leader is a man, who knows that "packing the court" will cause Democrats to "rue the day," and won't say so? What kind of a leader is a man who refuses to disavow what he has previously called a "bonehead idea?"


What sort of a leader believes American voters don't deserve to know where he stands on critical issues? Is ours still a government of the people, by the people and for the people? Was Lincoln wrong?


Is it really the "first time in history" that a president ever made a nomination in a presidential election year?

No. It's been done 29 times! Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, Eisenhower and Obama all made such nominations.


And where exactly, does the Constitution say the president has no right to nominate a Supreme Court justice in a presidential election year, Joe?

Originally published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock island Argus on October 23, 2020

Copyright 2020

John Donald O'Shea

Construing the Constitution

President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy created by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Democrats vehemently oppose her nomination. Why?

The debate is really over how judges should construe our written Constitution of 1787. "Construing" means saying what it means. There really are only two ways.

The first way: It can be construed consistently with the intent of the people who voted, through their representatives, to make it "the supreme law of the land." Those who would construe it this way are called "originalists" because they would construe the Constitution consistently with the intent of those who originally approved, ratified and amended it between 1787 and 1791.

The second way: The alternative method of construction is to construe the Constitution using any other intent. Perhaps a "more enlightened intent." Or a "more modern intent." Folks who opt for this alternative method of construction insist that the "Constitution is a living document for all ages."

But originalists would agree that the Constitution is a living document for all ages. For example, originalists would say the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech on the internet to the same extent it has protected speech on a street corner, or in a newspaper since 1791. In this, both progressives and originalists would agree.

The First Amendment also guarantees the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Originalists would acknowledge the people's right to peacefully assemble and protest. But they would deny that that right includes the right to riot, loot or burn buildings.

The rights of Americans are our liberties. The word "liberty" appears in two amendments to our Constitution.

The Fifth Amendment (1791) provides that no person shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process." The Fourteenth Amendment (1868) provides "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law."

From the Magna Carta in 1215 until after our Civil War "due process" has had a clear fixed meaning. For Englishmen and Americans, it meant that no man could be executed, imprisoned or fined unless he was first tried and convicted consistently with the laws of the land. Due process referred to procedures — the laws of the land. That form of due process is therefore known as procedural due process.

But in the latter 19th Century, some judges opted to define liberty in a more expansive and "enlightened" way.

That "more enlightened" construction first redounded to the benefit of sweatshop employers. Laws that sought to limit the working day to ten hours, and the work week to sixty hours, and laws to protect child laborers, were struck down as infringing on the "economic liberty" of the employer and the worker to set their own contract terms. The result was that the Constitution was "amended" by five or more men in black robes to bar the states from making laws to regulate working conditions.

Because trade unions also were viewed as impinging on the liberty of employers and employees to freely contract, they were for a time regarded as criminal conspiracies. This expanded definition of the word "liberty" found in the due process clauses had nothing to due with procedural rules governing court cases. Because the Supreme Court recognized a hitherto undiscovered aspect of liberty, recognized its independent existence, and enshrined it as a constitutional right, this form of due process came to be known as "substantive due process."

"Substantive" refers to something that has a firm basis in reality and which has an independent existence.

In the 1930s, the Supreme Court overruled its substantive due process holdings in the employer/employee context. But in Roe v Wade (1973), and in Bourke v. Beshear (2018) and their related cases, the Court revivified its discredited substantive due process doctrine and held that liberty encompasses the right to abortion and same sex marriage.

In Bourke, a bare five judge majority amended the U.S. Constitution. The majority in effect said that this is the way the men who wrote the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and the people who ratified them, meant liberty to be defined.

The originalists argue that that the men wrote the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and the people who ratified them never for a minute thought that "liberty" included the right of abortion or same sex marriage, and that if they had been told that that was how it would be construed, they would have refused to approve either amendment and probably would have refused to ratify the Constitution.

Originalists further point out that Article V of the Constitution sets out specific procedures for amending the Constitution. This amendment power resides in the people acting through their elected representatives, not in the judges.

Originalists believe their duty is limited to construing the Constitution as the founding fathers intended. Progressive judges believe they have power to fix any deficiencies they perceive to exist in the Constitution.

Originalists fear that if progressives can expand the definition of liberty today, Marxists and Fascists can contract it tomorrow. Originalists are content with liberty meaning today, what it meant in 1791.

Originally published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock island Argus on October 9, 2020

Copyright 2020

John Donald O'Shea