RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ketanji-brown-jackson-likes-america-supreme-court-confirmation-hearings-senate-11647986765?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

“The fact that we had come that far,” she said, “was, to me, a testament to the hope and the promise of this country, the greatness of America, that in one generation—one generation—we could go from racially segregated schools in Florida, to have me sitting here as the first Floridian ever to be nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced hours of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, and she held up fine, though Supreme Court confirmation hearings are now akin to the Circumlocution Olympics. We’d still like to hear her speak candidly about how she thinks judges ought to interpret the Constitution.

But it was heartening to hear Judge Jackson affirm the promise of America. Too many on the left seem to think the U.S. is structurally, irredeemably flawed. President Biden has joined this narrative with his focus on “systemic racism” and “equity” in place of “equality.” Judge Jackson might or might not agree with the ideal of colorblindness, to say nothing of her views on specific controversies like the one involving Harvard’s admissions policies.

https://issuesinsights.com/2022/03/23/first-they-came-for-our-cars/

A pair of principles that drive the political left – never letting a crisis go to waste, and using prior acts of government-imposed restraints to gradually but methodically steal liberty – is taking the U.S. down a path that, if traveled too far, goes in only one direction. We trust that Western nation voters will reverse the trend before it’s too late. But first they have to recognize how the country is being manipulated.

If government authorities can shut down an economy and rob Americans of their freedom with lockdowns and mask and vaccine mandates over a virus, then they can, and will, do the same for a crisis, either real or manufactured, in the future. This was a common warning over the last two years that was of course considered misinformation, disinformation, and just plain nonsense by what has become known as the laptop class.

Yet everything about it is true.

So is the charge that the hacks on the political left, making use of operative Rahm Emanuel’s dictum that “​​you never let a serious crisis go to waste” because “it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before,” are masters of exploiting unpleasant circumstances to further their agenda.

Today we have a couple of crises that have been rolled into one: the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Together, they have produced a proposal that requires people to surrender more of their freedom.

The International Energy Agency has introduced a 10-point plan “to ease strains and price pain” brought on by low oil supply due to the war in Ukraine. The Paris-based organization that is reliably on the left, as it isn’t explicitly right-wing, suggests “Car-free Sundays in cities,” “Alternate private car access to roads in large cities,” and “​reinforcement” of “the adoption of electric and more efficient vehicles.”