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Kids:”Ban Own Rights”

Posted on March 7, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

What a difference fifty years can make, in two generations we can see great change.

During the 1960’S, one of the great political subjects of the time was, “ old enough to fight, old enough to vote”. Rally after rally, it became one of the key issues of the time for all students to change the law and reduce the voting age from 21 to 18. This was a movement that insisted that those who could be drafted to serve in the armed forces, and fight in Vietnam, should have the right to vote. This movement culminated in the adoption of the 26th amendment to the constitution in 1971.

Today, we have another student movement taking form, that to restrict gun rights, and raise the age to purchase long guns, from 18, to 21. Yes, today we have students working to restrict and remove their own rights! Not expand them. After the tragedy of the Florida, Parkland high school shooting, many groups, including some of the surviving students have taken up the call to attack gun rights, including those organizations that are seen as an impediment to this agenda, as well as any corporate entity doing business with them. At first I found this “ ban everything “ approach to probably be solely emotional, as it is being promoted as key to the exclusion of all other ideas. But I think this approach says more about our current culture, than even political ideology.

Students today are rallying on campuses nationwide, for “safe spaces”, so that they can be protected from ideas and opinions they do not agree with. There are even polls showing students do not support free speech, if it does not agree with their opinions, and they protest, and shout down conservative speakers time after time.

I think we need to examine, and think about what is different now than fifty years ago, why do students now avoid debate rather than debating “truth to power”, and now demand safe spaces to risk exposure to others views? Why is the avoidance of responsibility to protect oneself now seen as the cure-all to random violence? Why does it take the Lewisburg School district organizing a student walkout on March 14, for our local students to protest? I guess they do not have the backbone to protest as their grandparents did, and risk the discipline they would have been subject to outside their safe spaces. One could almost be forgiven for assuming that our local students are being enabled as pawns.

Editorial submitted by Jeff Thompson, chair of UCRC “It Matters” initiative

Tuesday Deadline

Posted on March 5, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

March 6th is the last day to file petitions for candidates running for county committee and all offices except congress.

Congressional Petitions

Posted on February 26, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

Petition circulation for Congressional candidates begins tomorrow, Tuesday, February 27 and lasts through the final filing date of March 20.

Constitutional Crisis

Posted on February 23, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

In October 2016, as President Obama’s days in office waned, the Democratic National Committee announced plans to combat Republican gains previously made at the state levels. With full support of the President and Democratic Governors Association, former Attorney General Eric Holder became chair of the newly formed National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Holder began to coordinate a strategy for impacting elections through campaign activities, ballot initiatives, and challenges to state election maps. The goal was to impact the outcome of the 2018 mid-term elections and beyond by returning more power and positions to the Democrats.

In Pennsylvania, the NDRC began recruiting individuals to be party to a challenge to the current congressional map; a map passed in a bi-partisan fashion in 2011 which had already stood court tests on constitutionality. Together with the League of Women Voters – and it’s well past the time that the LWV or its chapters should be allowed to call themselves non-partisan – challenges were made to the PA courts.

A case wound its way through the Commonwealth’s judicial system and brought us to recent events where the PA Supreme Court ruled the congressional map unconstitutional, directed the legislature and Governor Wolf to create a new map, and determined to impose its own map if those entities could not agree within a few weeks. During this time the Supreme Court retained the services of a cartographer to produce its own map. Predictably, the process failed and on Monday the court mandated use of its own map.

Why Do We Care?

Underlying what some may see as the natural disagreement between members of the major parties lies a foundational issue. The United States, and the Commonwealth of PA by extension, is a republic. It is not a democracy. Don’t be fooled into thinking the two are interchangeable either in language or practice. Girding the republic is a separation and balance of powers.

The goal of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee is to undermine the rule of law, transform the Republic, and use the partisanship of state courts to incrementally create a different America. In Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court has been party to these changes.

The Commonwealth faces a Constitutional Crisis in which the PA Supreme Court has taken upon itself the power to make legislative and executive decisions. Supreme Court of the United States will now decide what action to take on the current Republican appeal and that will determine what map we use in elections. We hope SCOTUS recognizes separation of powers; specifically, that Article 1 of the US Constitution be upheld: “The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the Legislature thereof;”

If such a dramatic erosion of separation of powers is allowed to stand, where will it stop? Will the partisan PA Supreme Court dictate to the legislature on taxation and spending issues? Will it determine its own fair school funding formula? As our founders knew, it is unlikely any branch of government will restrain itself left unchecked. Why would the PA Supreme Court be any different?

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