The uproar over the leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade continues. You can tell just how furious the reaction has been by the fact that establishment Republicans are desperately trying to turn the public conversation to the question of who leaked the document. They are baselessly blaming the opposition to the decision—a
I'm repeating myself, but I just can't seem to get my mind around the fact that white male Christians have coopted the name of Christ, who never called himself Christ and who, by the way, was a brown-skinned Jewish Rabbi. This from me, a theologian and pastor in the United Church of Christ. The White Christian male overreach is much more akin to the so-called scribes and pharisees - the keepers of the law, who Jesus criticized.
Obviously the personhood that gets conferred on you at conception gets revoked at birth if you're unlucky enough to be born into the wrong ethnic group or class.
The Letter from an American written by Heather Cox Richardson, has been leading us to an awareness of where America is each day, while providing a foundation of American history every step of the way. I believe the country is now at the tipping point. The decision by the Supreme Court to abolish Row v. Wade as revealed in Justice Alito’s draft raised the curtain on what has been happening in the USA over the last forty-some years.
'I am angry because an extremist Supreme Court thinks they can impose their extremist views on all the long-standing constitutional right to abortion, the women of this country and they are wrong. I have seen the world where abortion is illegal. We’re not going back—not now, not ever. - Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. She told a reporter that Republicans have been "plotting for decades" and "cultivating the Supreme Court Justices so they could have a majority on the bench", in order to be able to overturn Roe v Wade. "69 per cent of people want Roe v. Wade to maintain the law of the land", Warren said. 'I'm SEETHING with anger at the scotus decision on Roe v Wade. Women will no longer have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as we are being robbed of our right to self-determination. Pregnancy is a life-or-death medical decision for many. Now the Govt decides?’
I believe that democracy in the USA is going to be up or down depending on American Voters this year. We are that close. It is astonishing to realize that the country has been brought so low, but not, perhaps, if you are the historian that Heather Cox Richardson is. Seeing each step along the way, while knowing the vulnerabilities of this country practically since its birth prepares a person to recognize the fault lines. The shock of NOW for many Americans exploded on May 3rd with the leak of Alito’s draft of the court’s decision to terminate a constitutional right of the American People. – the right to an abortion. Which right will be eliminated next?
Summing up her role in the Democratic Party now, Warren said: “My job right now is to light the fire of urgency. We can’t waste a single day’.
“Perhaps the most stunning feature of the opinion is that its indignant tone and aggressive reasoning make clear how empowered this conservative majority believes itself to be.”
In Los Angeles today, standing in front of Planned Parenthood workers, CA Governor Gavin Newsom reiterated California's commitment to health & reproductive rights. A CA state constitutional remedy is likely in November which already has a written right of privacy and a substantial body of substantive law to back it up.
So, SCOTUS is erecting a fence around the building; a non-scaleable fence, no less. I wonder what recent experience led them to this decision? Has someone with a microphone and a high pulpit been baiting the radical fringe to march over there and tear the doors off the place? Are they threatening to hang a few justices? Probably not, but maybe the consequence of the public peeking behind the veil and seeing their work-in-progress has struck fear into the hearts of occupants of the building. On the one hand, if they stick to their plan, a huge piece of the public will abandon its trust in the institution and could actually stage weeks and months of peaceful protest on their front lawn without those fences. If, on the other hand, they cave in and write something far less inflammatory or "back off" entirely, then the radical MAGA fringe militias really WILL show up in DC with their paramilitary costumes, modified AR15's and sniper rifles. Sounds like a ticket for fear-mongering either way. I don't see anything brave and patriotic about the hugely unpopular action this majority appears ready to take. Personal interpretations of how to define the sanctity of life don't apply here. They will drive the public who seek the same services back into the alleyways to be performed by non-licensed practitioners without any of the regulatory protections we have come to expect/enjoy within our health care system. Such a decision will do nothing whatsoever to settle arguments over the morality of a woman's personal decision to terminate a pregnancy for any reason. It is highly likely to encourage entities such as health insurance companies to exclude abortion as a covered benefit even in states where it remains legal. It will encourage all sorts of sleight-of-hand behavior over dates, interpretation of medical data and maternal health risk assessment to fall within draconian restrictions in many states. It seems ironic that judicial action is most likely to throw the whole issue back into societal chaos as opposed to promoting public order and safety.
Those who are upset and angry must vote. And Democrats need to become more realistic. I can still hear the whiny voices of 2016 “I don’t like Hillary. Oh those emails”. Many voices spoke clearly at that time about the stark choice that year. If you had 2 X chromosomes, if you had pigment in your skin, if you were of a faith other than “Christian”, if you identified as anything other than heterosexual, if you cared about/loved anyone in the above categories, then the choice was clear. The choices are still clear. Democrats must focus on the clear and present danger. Independents must join them.
The “assurances” that this decision only applies to abortion are false. The same logic used to overturn abortion rights can and will be used to overturn other rights.
Keep in mind the poem by Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out
Thank you, Heather, for mentioning Abraham Lincoln’s words. It motivated me to read the entire speech to see what other wisdom I could glean that would help give us some direction…
Illinois Republican State Convention, Springfield, Illinois June 16, 1858
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided.
It will become all one thing, or all the other……”
…..“Such a decision is all that slavery now lacks of being alike lawful in all the States. Welcome or unwelcome, such decision is probably coming, and will soon be upon us, unless the power of the present political dynasty shall be met and overthrown.
We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free; and we shall awake to the reality, instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State. To meet and overthrow the power of that dynasty, is the work now before all those who would prevent that consummation.
What a flipping joke. Practically the whole country is in an uproar over more stupidity and at the very least unwarranted overreach.
I already don’t respect the Thomas Twins. I wouldn’t trust either one of them with children.
Alito should wear a low slung Stetson and hook his honcho hands on his honcho belt loops so that he’s cupping his manhood as he directs us to bend and kiss that speck of denim of which he’s so proud.
Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett are flat out liars. They lied without blinking when asked direct questIons UNDER OATH regarding the weight of their answers concerning the will of the people regarding roe/wade. All of the aforementioned jacks aren’t worth the match it takes to light their goddamn gavels on fire for their fuckery and lies.
By sitting on the court, these clowns are going to show us how low and cheap they think this nation can be sold and as quick as greased lightening at that. It’s easy to do it when no one’s paying attention. While tax dollars pay their highbrow asses, they will sit behind the bench and cheapen BOTH the Constitution and their own bullshit court. And laugh at us.
Yes. Laugh.
2022 is the year SCOTUS finally showed its full and true nature. Underneath all those robes are cheap suits. Nothing but a passel of cheap suits.
On April 7th, “” Governor Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit and used her executive authority to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately resolve whether Michigan’s Constitution protects the right to abortion. Amidst an ongoing, nationwide assault on abortion, including in some states that have enacted laws banning abortion at conception, without exceptions for rape or incest, Governor Whitmer is stepping up to protect Michigan women and the constitutional right to an abortion established 49 years ago in Roe v. Wade.”” www.Michigan.gov…Sorry I don’t know how to cite the statement correctly. If you Google ‘Governor Whitmer statement on abortion’ you can find the direct link to this official statement on the Michigan.gov website. Governor Whitmer is going a great job in difficult circumstances, standing up to our state legislature, which is controlled by some extreme conservatives who are vicious in their attempts to limit her ability to govern. You mentioned those New England Governors. Thought you might find this step in Michigan interesting.
Thank you for your good work too! Regards, Meredith
"What was striking in the earnings calls was not the supply chain shortages or companies’ typical profit motives; it was the plain old corporate profiteering. The Economics 101 adage that “inflation is just too much money chasing too few goods” doesn’t come close to the full story. This raises the question: When companies are exploiting consumers in a time of national crisis, when should government step in?"
I think the news about abortion rights is important. But, I also think that more Americans are being affected by inflation and that the constant blaming of Biden will cost him the election.
Participants here might find the following 20 minute Christiane Amanpour interview really interesting and moving ... "Why this former anti-abortion activist regrets the movement he helped build" "Frank Schaeffer once produced propaganda films that helped launch the Christian right. Now he feels regret for what he calls an 'anti-family' movement." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25JyC5Whhvc
As to whether or not an overturning of Roe v. Wade will pave the way to overturn other rights that the Supreme Court has categorized as a part of the right to privacy (rooted in parts of the 14th Amendment) ... Republicans such as Chris Christie say that abortion is different from the other issues, such as marriage choice and contraception, because abortion is "taking life". I don't know which possibility is more distressing: - that the life of a fetus is considered vastly more valuable than the life of the woman it lives in - or that there indeed is going to be a tidal wave of assaults on private choices waged by States no longer hampered by Federal protection of the victims.
My initial take on this fiasco is that Republican arrogance is being more than matched by their incompetence. The draft decision is being picked apart as we speak. Implications of Justice Alito's approach are pointing to potential attacks against contraception and same sex marriage. The cumulative effect has been to galvanize voters to get to the polls. Couple these expressions of outrage with the upcoming hearings on the source of the January 6 Insurrection, and we're going to see a very hot summer indeed.
At the very minimum, write your congressional representatives and your senators to tell them that the decision angers you. We may not be able to halt the pending decision but we can agitate for passage of the Women's Health Protection Act and the Judiciary Act.
We can also demand accountability after Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett LIED to the senate in their testimony!
One of the easiest ways to contact your congress-critter is via Resistbot at https://resist.bot/
Go to that site and follow the simple directions. If using an Android phone, text the word RESIST to address 50409, or if it's an Apple the address is "Resistbot", and a message you compose will be forwarded. Why wait?
When reporters asked him about the draft, President Joe Biden said: “This MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in American history.”
This comment made me do a double take. For added clarification, President Biden amended his statement by adding “In *recent* American history.”
To be clear, Louisiana allows for the death penalty. So, in that state, life apparently begins at conception but can be ended by an injection whenever the criminal justice system feels like it. Which…is not pro-life.
I'm repeating myself, but I just can't seem to get my mind around the fact that white male Christians have coopted the name of Christ, who never called himself Christ and who, by the way, was a brown-skinned Jewish Rabbi. This from me, a theologian and pastor in the United Church of Christ. The White Christian male overreach is much more akin to the so-called scribes and pharisees - the keepers of the law, who Jesus criticized.
Obviously the personhood that gets conferred on you at conception gets revoked at birth if you're unlucky enough to be born into the wrong ethnic group or class.
The Letter from an American written by Heather Cox Richardson, has been leading us to an awareness of where America is each day, while providing a foundation of American history every step of the way. I believe the country is now at the tipping point. The decision by the Supreme Court to abolish Row v. Wade as revealed in Justice Alito’s draft raised the curtain on what has been happening in the USA over the last forty-some years.
'I am angry because an extremist Supreme Court thinks they can impose their extremist views on all the long-standing constitutional right to abortion, the women of this country and they are wrong. I have seen the world where abortion is illegal. We’re not going back—not now, not ever. - Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. She told a reporter that Republicans have been "plotting for decades" and "cultivating the Supreme Court Justices so they could have a majority on the bench", in order to be able to overturn Roe v Wade. "69 per cent of people want Roe v. Wade to maintain the law of the land", Warren said. 'I'm SEETHING with anger at the scotus decision on Roe v Wade. Women will no longer have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as we are being robbed of our right to self-determination. Pregnancy is a life-or-death medical decision for many. Now the Govt decides?’
I believe that democracy in the USA is going to be up or down depending on American Voters this year. We are that close. It is astonishing to realize that the country has been brought so low, but not, perhaps, if you are the historian that Heather Cox Richardson is. Seeing each step along the way, while knowing the vulnerabilities of this country practically since its birth prepares a person to recognize the fault lines. The shock of NOW for many Americans exploded on May 3rd with the leak of Alito’s draft of the court’s decision to terminate a constitutional right of the American People. – the right to an abortion. Which right will be eliminated next?
Summing up her role in the Democratic Party now, Warren said: “My job right now is to light the fire of urgency. We can’t waste a single day’.
Our job is to get out the vote.
Thank you Heather.
“Perhaps the most stunning feature of the opinion is that its indignant tone and aggressive reasoning make clear how empowered this conservative majority believes itself to be.”
Apparent and horrifying.
In Los Angeles today, standing in front of Planned Parenthood workers, CA Governor Gavin Newsom reiterated California's commitment to health & reproductive rights. A CA state constitutional remedy is likely in November which already has a written right of privacy and a substantial body of substantive law to back it up.
So, SCOTUS is erecting a fence around the building; a non-scaleable fence, no less. I wonder what recent experience led them to this decision? Has someone with a microphone and a high pulpit been baiting the radical fringe to march over there and tear the doors off the place? Are they threatening to hang a few justices? Probably not, but maybe the consequence of the public peeking behind the veil and seeing their work-in-progress has struck fear into the hearts of occupants of the building. On the one hand, if they stick to their plan, a huge piece of the public will abandon its trust in the institution and could actually stage weeks and months of peaceful protest on their front lawn without those fences. If, on the other hand, they cave in and write something far less inflammatory or "back off" entirely, then the radical MAGA fringe militias really WILL show up in DC with their paramilitary costumes, modified AR15's and sniper rifles. Sounds like a ticket for fear-mongering either way. I don't see anything brave and patriotic about the hugely unpopular action this majority appears ready to take. Personal interpretations of how to define the sanctity of life don't apply here. They will drive the public who seek the same services back into the alleyways to be performed by non-licensed practitioners without any of the regulatory protections we have come to expect/enjoy within our health care system. Such a decision will do nothing whatsoever to settle arguments over the morality of a woman's personal decision to terminate a pregnancy for any reason. It is highly likely to encourage entities such as health insurance companies to exclude abortion as a covered benefit even in states where it remains legal. It will encourage all sorts of sleight-of-hand behavior over dates, interpretation of medical data and maternal health risk assessment to fall within draconian restrictions in many states. It seems ironic that judicial action is most likely to throw the whole issue back into societal chaos as opposed to promoting public order and safety.
Those who are upset and angry must vote. And Democrats need to become more realistic. I can still hear the whiny voices of 2016 “I don’t like Hillary. Oh those emails”. Many voices spoke clearly at that time about the stark choice that year. If you had 2 X chromosomes, if you had pigment in your skin, if you were of a faith other than “Christian”, if you identified as anything other than heterosexual, if you cared about/loved anyone in the above categories, then the choice was clear. The choices are still clear. Democrats must focus on the clear and present danger. Independents must join them.
The “assurances” that this decision only applies to abortion are false. The same logic used to overturn abortion rights can and will be used to overturn other rights.
Keep in mind the poem by Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Thank you, Heather, for mentioning Abraham Lincoln’s words. It motivated me to read the entire speech to see what other wisdom I could glean that would help give us some direction…
Illinois Republican State Convention, Springfield, Illinois June 16, 1858
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided.
It will become all one thing, or all the other……”
…..“Such a decision is all that slavery now lacks of being alike lawful in all the States. Welcome or unwelcome, such decision is probably coming, and will soon be upon us, unless the power of the present political dynasty shall be met and overthrown.
We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free; and we shall awake to the reality, instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State. To meet and overthrow the power of that dynasty, is the work now before all those who would prevent that consummation.
That is what we have to do.”
Thank you, Mr. Lincoln!
https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/housedivided.htm
SCOTUS
What a flipping joke. Practically the whole country is in an uproar over more stupidity and at the very least unwarranted overreach.
I already don’t respect the Thomas Twins. I wouldn’t trust either one of them with children.
Alito should wear a low slung Stetson and hook his honcho hands on his honcho belt loops so that he’s cupping his manhood as he directs us to bend and kiss that speck of denim of which he’s so proud.
Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett are flat out liars. They lied without blinking when asked direct questIons UNDER OATH regarding the weight of their answers concerning the will of the people regarding roe/wade. All of the aforementioned jacks aren’t worth the match it takes to light their goddamn gavels on fire for their fuckery and lies.
By sitting on the court, these clowns are going to show us how low and cheap they think this nation can be sold and as quick as greased lightening at that. It’s easy to do it when no one’s paying attention. While tax dollars pay their highbrow asses, they will sit behind the bench and cheapen BOTH the Constitution and their own bullshit court. And laugh at us.
Yes. Laugh.
2022 is the year SCOTUS finally showed its full and true nature. Underneath all those robes are cheap suits. Nothing but a passel of cheap suits.
On April 7th, “” Governor Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit and used her executive authority to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately resolve whether Michigan’s Constitution protects the right to abortion. Amidst an ongoing, nationwide assault on abortion, including in some states that have enacted laws banning abortion at conception, without exceptions for rape or incest, Governor Whitmer is stepping up to protect Michigan women and the constitutional right to an abortion established 49 years ago in Roe v. Wade.”” www.Michigan.gov…Sorry I don’t know how to cite the statement correctly. If you Google ‘Governor Whitmer statement on abortion’ you can find the direct link to this official statement on the Michigan.gov website. Governor Whitmer is going a great job in difficult circumstances, standing up to our state legislature, which is controlled by some extreme conservatives who are vicious in their attempts to limit her ability to govern. You mentioned those New England Governors. Thought you might find this step in Michigan interesting.
Thank you for your good work too! Regards, Meredith
OK, off topic but, in my view, equally important and getting no press: The truth about inflation is finally starting to be written about.
"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/opinion/us-companies-inflation.html
"What was striking in the earnings calls was not the supply chain shortages or companies’ typical profit motives; it was the plain old corporate profiteering. The Economics 101 adage that “inflation is just too much money chasing too few goods” doesn’t come close to the full story. This raises the question: When companies are exploiting consumers in a time of national crisis, when should government step in?"
I think the news about abortion rights is important. But, I also think that more Americans are being affected by inflation and that the constant blaming of Biden will cost him the election.
Finally someone is writing the truth.
Corporate greed is driving inflation.
Participants here might find the following 20 minute Christiane Amanpour interview really interesting and moving ... "Why this former anti-abortion activist regrets the movement he helped build" "Frank Schaeffer once produced propaganda films that helped launch the Christian right. Now he feels regret for what he calls an 'anti-family' movement." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25JyC5Whhvc
As to whether or not an overturning of Roe v. Wade will pave the way to overturn other rights that the Supreme Court has categorized as a part of the right to privacy (rooted in parts of the 14th Amendment) ... Republicans such as Chris Christie say that abortion is different from the other issues, such as marriage choice and contraception, because abortion is "taking life". I don't know which possibility is more distressing: - that the life of a fetus is considered vastly more valuable than the life of the woman it lives in - or that there indeed is going to be a tidal wave of assaults on private choices waged by States no longer hampered by Federal protection of the victims.
My initial take on this fiasco is that Republican arrogance is being more than matched by their incompetence. The draft decision is being picked apart as we speak. Implications of Justice Alito's approach are pointing to potential attacks against contraception and same sex marriage. The cumulative effect has been to galvanize voters to get to the polls. Couple these expressions of outrage with the upcoming hearings on the source of the January 6 Insurrection, and we're going to see a very hot summer indeed.
At the very minimum, write your congressional representatives and your senators to tell them that the decision angers you. We may not be able to halt the pending decision but we can agitate for passage of the Women's Health Protection Act and the Judiciary Act.
We can also demand accountability after Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett LIED to the senate in their testimony!
One of the easiest ways to contact your congress-critter is via Resistbot at https://resist.bot/
Go to that site and follow the simple directions. If using an Android phone, text the word RESIST to address 50409, or if it's an Apple the address is "Resistbot", and a message you compose will be forwarded. Why wait?
Tonight’s letter notes:
When reporters asked him about the draft, President Joe Biden said: “This MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in American history.”
This comment made me do a double take. For added clarification, President Biden amended his statement by adding “In *recent* American history.”
https://youtu.be/UHyZNrKGjFA

To be clear, Louisiana allows for the death penalty. So, in that state, life apparently begins at conception but can be ended by an injection whenever the criminal justice system feels like it. Which…is not pro-life.