What a week for the U.S. Supreme Court, the latest addition to the team returning American society to the 19th century.

In just under a week, a group of mostly Catholic judges from Yale and Harvard has struck down abortion rights, allowed public tax dollars to go to religious schools and empowered virtually anyone in the state of New York to carry a gun in public. 

Soon they will decide whether the Congress of the United States has the power to require executive branch agencies to regulate American businesses. That means the gears of everyday government would grind to a halt as executive branch agencies can no longer restrict toxic chemicals, air and water pollution or ensure consumer protections.

And if Justice Clarence Thomas has his way, the court will strike down laws and court decisions allowing for same-sex marriage, consensual sex and contraception.

In other words, this is just the beginning and it’s going to get worse. A lot worse - because the functions of government that we take for granted are now being examined by a runaway Supreme Court of zealots that yearns for a bygone age that never existed. 

Today’s Supreme Court consists of nine justices. Eight of them went to Yale or Harvard Law School. Six are catholic. Two arrived at the court accused of sexual assault and harassment. Another gained her seat after the Republican Senate Majority Leader manipulated the rules to block President Barack Obama’s choice. And three justices pretty much told the U.S. Senate that Roe v. Wade was “settled’’ precedent when they were sworn in. Can you say bait and switch?

The decisions of these judges in the last week are the culmination of a 40 year campaign to remake the country. When SCOTUS leaked their intentions for Roe v. Wade, I wrote a blog post titled Mission Accomplished which described the Republican's campaign in detail.

"In 1980, the country elected Ronald Reagan president, who began a 40-year assault on our Democracy that is ongoing to this day… the biggest goal of the political right was the capture of the courts, especially the Supreme Court... in order to control how laws are interpreted in America. It took longer than they thought. Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama got in the way.

That is until the fate of history gave Donald Trump three court appointments... Now, the Republicans’ campaign has produced a Supreme Court with six conservatives ready to remake American society to fit their viewpoint. And we know exactly what that looks like."

The Republicans’ campaign is in response to a liberal surge that occurred from the 1930s to 1990s. In that time, America made strides toward a more equal, fair and just society. It began when Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal created a series of agencies meant to battle the crippling Great Depression and protect farmers and working people.  

Then, in the 1950s and 60s, the U.S. faced up to its original sin - the enslavement of fellow Americans for profit. In 1954, the Supreme Court issued a series of civil rights opinions, the most notable of which was Brown v. Board of Education, which ended generations of legal segregation and racism in America’s public schools. 

It’s strange today but that unanimous ruling was written by a Republican, Chief Justice Earl Warren, who was appointed by a Republican president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

The Warren court didn’t stop there. They went on to bless a series of moves by Congress to end racial discrimination and protect Americans at all levels of life. One ruling led to the creation of the famous Miranda Rights, which required the police to inform an arrested criminal suspect of their rights.  We all know that “Miranda’’ warning by heart. It’s recited by police officers on TV every night. “You have the right to remain silent…’’

Then came other cases. Contraception in the bedroom was upheld in 1965. Inter-racial marriage was upheld in 1967. The infamous abortion case of Roe v. Wade in 1974. Then the same-sex-marriage case carried on this legacy in 2015.

All this progress is what the current Supreme Court seeks to undo. Repealing Roe v. Wade is only the first step.

In his concurring option on Roe, Justice Clarence Thomas opined that other precedents should be revisited, including contraception and same-sex marriage. One precedent Thomas did not list was the Loving v. Virginia case that allowed inter-racial marriage. I suppose that omission has nothing to do with Thomas, a black man, being married to a white woman. 

The inconsistencies, hypocrisy and outright meanness of these decisions tells us the Supreme Court has become just another partisan body trying to put its religious and political imprint on the country. They are now no different from the Republicans in Congress who deny that Biden is president and supported the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. 

And perhaps most inconsistent of all is the assertion that forms the bedrock of their repeal of Roe v. Wade; that these decisions should be left to the states. Except, of course, when New York State wants to regulate where handguns can be carried. Only then, when guns are involved, does this court think the state isn’t up to the job. 

The Supreme Court’s Roe decision last week is a blatant return to the pro-slavery arguments of the 1800s. Slaveowners argued that the federal government should not have the power to tell the states what to do about slavery. That argument led - ironically - to the founding of the Republican Party and the rise of Abraham Lincoln. 

I repeat. This will get worse. And it falls to those of us, including me, who never thought Roe would be overturned, to change course and take action. 

So the court wants the states to make these decisions? OK. Get ready for Vermont to pass a constitutional amendment protecting the right to an abortion. We will work to make sure public dollars do not go to religious schools. We will protect same-sex marriage and always come down on the side of tolerance. And we will get tougher and tougher on guns to make sure children are protected. 

Get ready for Vermont to become a sanctuary state. The current overheated real estate market tells us that people from around the country are looking for a sane, safe place to live. A realtor told me recently that since the abortion decision she has received six phone calls from customers desperate to relocate. 

This sanctuary will not be limited to abortion rights. Climate refugees are also coming for our endless water resources, clean environment, good schools and honest government. 

People are desperate for sanity. Instead, their Supreme Court gave them a glimpse of the 1950s while the rest of the world laps us and wonders what went wrong.