We have the Power to change the world!

Letters from the Chair
Written By Helen Dodderidge

Good morning Democrats,

I want to start with good news, I really do. But these days it’s damn near impossible when you turn on the TV to see ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING in Texas and another shooting overnight in Miami. Abbot and DeSantis, 2 wholly NRA owned governors seem to be in a contest. But what politician started us on this insane misreading of the Second Amendment? Why, that old TV Cowboy himself, Ronald Reagan.

My favorite Historian, Heather Cox Richardson gives us the context:
"The Second Amendment to the Constitution, on which modern-day arguments for widespread gun ownership rest, is one simple sentence: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” There’s not a lot to go on about what the Framers meant, although in their day, to “bear arms” meant to be part of an organized militia.
(They always seem to forget the well-regulated militia part)
Today’s insistence that the Second Amendment gives individuals a broad right to own guns comes from two places.
One is the establishment of the National Rifle Association in New York in 1871, in part to improve the marksmanship skills of American citizens who might be called on to fight in another war, and in part to promote in America the British sport of elite shooting, complete with hefty cash prizes in newly organized tournaments. Just a decade after the Civil War, veterans jumped at the chance to hone their former skills. Rifle clubs sprang up across the nation.
But in the mid-1970s a faction in the NRA forced the organization away from sports and toward opposing “gun control.” It formed a political action committee (PAC) in 1975, and two years later it elected an organization president who abandoned sporting culture and focused instead on “gun rights.”

This was the second thing that led us to where we are today: leaders of the NRA embraced the politics of Movement Conservatism, the political movement that rose to combat the business regulations and social welfare programs that both Democrats and Republicans embraced after World War II.

Movement Conservatives embraced the myth of the American cowboy as a white man standing against the “socialism” of the federal government as it sought to level the economic playing field between Black Americans and their white neighbors."

She goes on to explain how this change in the NRA and the GOP helped to get us to where we are today. Pretty sad. ( I recommend her daily email – google her)
No wonder they don’t want us to learn the true history of our country. It is very often ugly.
(FYI – the NRA spent more than $30 million to help elect Trump in 2016)

Saturday I was reading Maureen Dowd’s take on the Supreme Court; “SUPREMELY ARROGANT”.
“Samuel Alito also feels maltreated. In writing the opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade, this brazenly political justice who doesn’t distinguish between his legal and religious views mercilessly stripped women of the right to make decisions about their bodies. But somehow, he whines that he is the victim.
Last month Alito told The Wall Street Journal that he did not like the way the court’s legitimacy was being questioned. “We are being hammered daily, and I think quite unfairly in a lot of instances. And nobody, practically nobody, is defending us.”
Funny. That’s how many women feel about this Supreme Court.”

She highlights the “questionable” dealings of Justice Alito, Justice Gorsuch, and Justice Roberts as well.

“Even though I’ve been writing since Bush v. Gore that the court is full of hacks and the bloom is off the robes, it is still disorienting to see the murk of this Supreme Court.”
 
 
OK, I am done. I want to focus on local issues. This is where we have the power to make our voices heard and change outcomes.

Kudos to the activists in the Upper Keys for showing up and letting county government know how they felt about the 2 big projects planned for unincorporated Monroe County on US#1. Both denied last week. Is it over…. probably not. There’s big money involved. We must be vigilant.

Kudos to the Swanson’s on KCB for their digging into the giant boondoggle that is the KCB City Hall. Never be afraid to question authority. These folks work for US!

I found the Headline in the Citizen a few days ago a bit disingenuous. They were raving about the amount of money Monroe County was going to get from the state that was approved in the Tallahassee Taliban’s recently ended session. (Thank goodness)
It is not always about the money. This session has taken away so many freedoms and threatens more next year. How about the amount of our tax payor dollars (more than 8 million) being spent to fight the lawsuits filed against the state over unconstitutional laws passed by “our representatives” at the direction of a Governor who has trashed Sunshine laws and arrogantly ignored gerrymandering rules!

WAKE UP FLORIDA! Let’s get to work!


Local Govt. Meetings this week
 

Monday May 8

  • The Monroe County Parks and Rec Advisory Board will meet at 6pm in the Key Largo Public Library, in Tradewinds Plaza, 101485 Overs. Hwy. No details available.

Tuesday May 9

Wednesday May 10

Thursday May 11

 
Activist Meetings this week
 

Monday May 8

  • The Keys Dems – Lower Keys team will meet at 5:30pm in the back room at VFW POST 3911, 2200 N Roosevelt Blvd., Key West. Our Guest Speaker will be Key West Mayor Teri Johnston.

  • The Upper Keys League of Women Voters will meet at 6pm at the Bayside Grill in Key Largo.

 
Please feel free to share this email with like-minded friends and bring them to our meetings.

We are currently recruiting folks to help us with the many facets of our organization. Are you a social media expert? Do you have bookkeeping skills? Spreadsheet expertise and data analysis, we need you. Join Team Blue! Email me @ chair@keysdems.com.

See you Tonight!

Bert Sise/Chair
KeysDems
 
Website – www.keysdems.com
Facebook – Florida Keys Democrats
Instagram - @keysdems
Twitter - @DemsKeys

https://youtu.be/OKJK99B6yEg   The President @ the Correspondent's Dinner 

Watch for an important Action Alert Today!

Helen Dodderidge
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