630 Comments

I will not go back to being treated a second class citizen! I broke the glass ceiling and I'm not going to allow these control freaks take us backwards and make the next generations have to do it again and again. It rather tickles me that the Supreme Court is preparing for siege. Remember the Women's March in 2017. Millions protested and no one was arrested. We need to keep to non-violent protesting. Our strength is in our numbers and having a worthy cause! By our I mean all of us this time working for women's rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, disability justice, reproductive rights, the environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, workers' rights and tolerance. (Go enjoy refreshing your memory at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women%27s_March) I sense a huge movement from all those determined not to lose their rights and, in fact, expand them and make sure everyone (every one, no one left behind) benefits with lives of well-being and community. Like my alma mater, M.I.T., where each and every individual is respected just because they are there, we can have a country where everyone is respected just because they exist! Let's quit competing for a slice of the pie and start making more and bigger pies valuing our differences as synergistic strength. Let's do the right thing by each other and our communities. Let's go forward to phase 2 of this beautiful experiment of democracy and take humanity to the next level of maturity and well-being for all. We, the People, all of us this time. The People's March begins now!

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Right on, Cathy!

Thank you, Heather, for this brilliant gauge of the rising temperatures.

The Women's March has called for a day of protest on 14th May. Any differences of opinion with their leaders should be set aside and we should all be out on the streets!

"Legal commentator Joyce White Vance tweeted: 'Odd that the Supreme Court is acting like they’re under assault, when it’s actually us who are under attack by them.'"

We ARE under attack -- our rights are under attack: men, women, LGBTQIA, BIPOC, ALL.OF.US! We really must unite against this latest attack on our freedoms and our very being.

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Find a Women's March rally near you!

https://www.mobilize.us/womensmarchfoundation/

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Thanks! The first one in Chicago was tremendously inspiring. People of all ages who had never before rallied or protested came out, and the solidarity was powerful. Far from being ineffectual as some have suggested, it showed new participants the power of nonviolent protest and the importance of showing up. It showed longtime organizers that new people are ready to roar and vote and etc. And it surely led to new connections and a heightened attention and worldview going forward. Voters came out in 2018 and again in 2020, and we will do so again in 2022. People who marched for women later marched for Black Lives Matter. I know, because my mom and I did. And friends of ours did. Showing up always matters. Keep showing up, keep roaring, keep being in solidarity across all the social justice issues. We are powerful individually and collectively. And sing! Songs are powerful and motivating.

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Showing up always matters. Indeed. Always.

In Ukraine their freedoms are being attacked by force.

In the USA our freedoms are being attacked by courts.

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"Showing up always matters. Indeed. Always."

Rhea Graham, I could not agree more. One irony is that the attacks are being led by a political party that includes an arm in Congress that has the gall to call itself the "Freedom Caucus". Pure Orwellian behavior at every level...

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"Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss." Pericles, Pericles, Act I, Scene 2

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I agree m, Laura! I have participated in almost every single Women’s March and flew to DC with both of my daughters in 2019. It was quite the experience for them and for me too. I lived in DC for 5.5 years with my husband before moving to CA in 1974. We were there when Watergate occurred. Yet, another disgusting act by the crazed Repubs!

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The good old days of Watergate when lies mattered and public service was taken seriously. Now the fringe worships a mass murder sexual predator who has already caused a million deaths.

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Yes, Gigi, so frigging true. Ugh

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In Vermont, the women's march was so big, and supported with many men. Montpelier's offramps all had to be closed off and no one could enter during the march once the town reached max capacity. It was freezing cold and had snowed, yet all of us persisted. We shall do it again--modern suffragettes to maintain everyone's right to vote and to keep bans off our bodies. I expect real men to rise with us again and to demonstrate to the world We Stand Stronger, Together.

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💪🏽💪🦾💪🏾👏🏼👏🏼🎉🎉

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Will people come home from a march and actually organize this time? These marches have not historically produced effective follow-up. Frankly they remind me of women dressing in white for photo ops for suffragette day then having tea with watercress sandwiches and calling it a day.

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Agree 100%. After the 2017 Women's March I said to a woman "Now we get busy." And she said. "Huh"?

As a boomer I am a mix of angry, sad, understanding and furious that these younger people made fun of us and then let this ball drop. I have been asking younger women to get involved in politics for years; telling them that we need to begin handing the baton to them. I have been telling grisly tales of what it was like to work, earn, marry and face pregnancy in my younger boomer days as an effort to get their attention. And yes, I understand the busyness of family, career and care free days of the younger years.

We are facing huge life/death issues in the United States and have been for some time; including Democracy being on life support. I am aware that voting by younger people surged in the 2020 election. And I am aware that the political, economic and life events are radically different for young people now. With the election of Joe Biden we had been given a reprieve from the onslaught of authoritarianism. We are wasting it. Elections count but politics has become a 365 day effort. It's not about the "we are mad moments" when adrenalin runs high. It really is the slogging somewhat boring part of organizing, writing Congress people etc. that makes the difference.

And to all the younger people I met during the 2020 election cycle my hat is off to you and I am so sorry for the awful messes you face. But at the end of the day it comes down to this. Shame on them for what they are doing. Shame on us if we don't do anything about it.

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Support:

Voters of Tomorrow

https://votersoftomorrow.org/

Students Learn Students Vote Coalition

https://slsvcoalition.org/

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Let America Vote works to defeat anti-voter Republicans and elect brave voting rights champions.

and

Moms for The Union.

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I have no idea why younger folks don't vote. Its as if all is taken for granted. Perhaps this will "shake them up a bit."

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Maybe they don’t vote because it’s mostly SOS for them no matter who’s in office?

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I disagree. More women have run for office since that first March . I see much more activism in in young women now. It kept me from jumping off a cliff. Seeing so many others who felt like me gave me hope in these terrifying times.

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May 6, 2022·edited May 7, 2022

I think a lot of them were arrested, jailed and force-fed. (A Lorton, VA, prison, just down the road from D.C., was the site of the incarceration. Today the facility is a thriving visual and performing arts center -progress.) Optics are a good beginning. Marchers learn from one another and are empowered to organize. They were on their own back then. Now we have organizations like Vote Save America to provide structure and direction for those who want to take action to protect our rights. And we have Heather to insure we are fortified with the facts.

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Organizing is everywhere already! I learned of 4 more active groups just today, among them

https://www.redwine.blue/

The marches in and of themselves do something for Democracy. They ARE democracy.

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The organizing is not the the problem. It's about being effective. It's about having a clear agenda, sustainability, communicating that agenda and being able to recruit people.

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Nah! We are really po'd!

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Thanks! We'll be going to Vermont's at our statehouse in Montpelier. 11 a.m, Saturday, May 14.

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Thanks, Becky. I hope there's a rally in Burlington, too. I have no affordable wheelchair transportation to Montpelier.

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I'm sure there will be, Hope, but you may also get a lift to Montpelier from Burlington with someone, if you advertise. I'd offer, but we're coming from a different direction.

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The problem is with a power chair which is too heavy and large for a car. But thank you.

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I think HCR Vermonters should plan to meet sometime during the day! What say you, Becky?

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I say yea! What about at noon in the middle of the left lawn? (Left as you look at the Statehouse.) I'm not sure where the crowd will be, but that might be at or beyond the fringes. Shall we wear or carry something unusual for instant identification? That would be fun.

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Okay-- I think there is a fence or stone wall to the far left. Why don't all Vermonters to want to meet at 12:00 talk about this privately. My email is DecencyandDemocracy@gmail.com.

We might need to have little signs that say HCR!

warmly,

Penelope

Putney

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Thanks Ellie!

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Many thanks, Ellie, for yet another, wonderful, action opportunity!💙

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The barbarians are not only at the door, they are hacking it down..enough

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Respectfully what does that do? Wastes a day of everybody’s time for a photo op. Those pink pussy hats made middle class women feel like they were doing something; look what followed. The women’s march was a joke because no real disciplined action followed, and if that’s all you have in your quiver you’re doomed.

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You forget that the left took the House, Indivisible organized. Then we took the Senate and the Presidency. In my area Spanberger defeated Brat. Your defeatist, distainful stance serves no purpose except to divide. Reminds me of my mother, who at the end of her life admitted she was especially critical of my brother and me because she thought it would galvanize us to success. Instead she destroyed our spirits.

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You come here for cheerleading or free maternal encouragement, scroll on by, respectfully. I mother my own children; here I express my opinions. And it’s a stretch for you to call me “defeatist” when you don’t know me, Gail Adams. I get up every morning and teach college; I participate in activism, I organize and I’m a candidate for public office. Sorry about your mommy issues, for which I hope you get professional advice, and hope you are able to be activist yourself.

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Laura, I join you in seeking strong organization employing logistics, pressure by numbers, strategy and influence with specific goals. Why aren't you using your activism here, instead of fault finding? Your tone is more alienating than it is motivating. Why not recruit?

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Thank you, Fern!

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💙

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A: what makes you (&others) feel a need to “tone police” me? I stop by here to express opinions and don’t give a hang who likes my tone. Scroll on by if you want to Hello-Kitty-Kumbaya each other and only read “positive affirmations” — that’s just not me and there are plenty of flavors of resistance here on Professor Cox’s platform.

B:what makes you think I don’t “recruit?” I just don’t chivvy people to go to popup marches working people can’t be at, then call that enough action.

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Laura, Gail, take a deep breath, we are allies not enemies. Let's not let the stress of this moment turn us against each other.

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Ah Joan. Perfect You can be oversight for the committee of Laura/ Gail who have been named to oversee the new law demanding all males have vasectomies at age 12. As we all know vasectomies are reversible at any time males can show responsibility for creating pregnancies. These two as committed adult women would be perfect working in tandem to achieve a broader sense of equally sharing the burden of achieving that broader equality.. So now, which one gets the knife or the snips.

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Actually, when faced with my own motherhood many years ago, I did get professional help. How sad that an obviously educated individual cannot recognize an analogy. And yes, I, and my daughter, are active in fighting for that in which we believe. Your defensiveness in the face of push back, resulting in an insulting reply, is uncalled for. Have a lovely day.

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IDK you, but your attitude is like some militant lesbians I met in gay activism in the '90s who tore the movement apart. Yeah, gay men have less in common with lesbians than they do with str8 men but at times you have to unite for a cause. Ya know "A house divided ..."

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Whoa. I didn't get that from Laura at all. The cold hard fact is that the numbers marching in 2017 didn't equate down to political involvement. You are rightfully justified in being proud of the work younger women, middle aged women and older women accomplished post the 2017 march.

You are attacking the wrong person. I recommend you take all that anger and make change happen.

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May 7, 2022·edited May 7, 2022

Are you being presumptuous in judging Gail's response to Laura who generally belittled women who attended marches without knowing a thing about the subscribers she was addressing? I'm not being coy, but suggesting that you reread the exchanges here.

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I did read the exchanges Fern. This this what I was saying "whoa" to from Gail: Your defeatist, distainful stance... in response to Laura's "Respectfully what does that do?"

Disagreeing is one thing. Labeling in a negative way accomplishes nothing.

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Not anger, Barbara, dismay. I was in DC that day (sans hat) with my girlfriend and my daughter. I can't tell you how it shook me out of my admitted complacency and spurred me to action.

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We also faced many, many other traumas during the tfg's administration which we worked very, very hard to dismantle. Then we were faced with a global pandemic which prevented us from gathering and protesting very much. Though many of us still did with masks on. These times have been excruciating. I say calm down all this rhetoric and let's remember to undergird one another for our rights and to save our democracy. Keep your lights shining brightly into this darkness of tyranny. This is OUR moment in history to do the right things. Not to judge the small stuff. Let's all keep our eyes on the prize--- freedom with responsibility and re-creation of a stronger democracy.

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Marches raise awareness. Afterwards get out the vote and help people get to the polls. Mobilize

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United Seth!

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Thanks, Seth. Don’t want to speculate on your gender, but especially if you are not female, wanna roll up your sleeves and do it instead of directing in the imperative mood?

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By imperative I mean WE the people of all genders and identities. In union there is strength. Let’s work together. Marching and demonstration and getting people to vote. All efforts in all ways according to what one can do.

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💝

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Respectfully, I was one of the millions of women who marched and did not wear a pink pussy hat. You are right, however, that no real, long term disciplined action followed. Class, Race, & Religion got in the way. Many BIPOC women felt that their voices were not being heard. And they were right. Now, ALL women in the US may be completely marginalized because, among other things, women who make statements like those you are making don't want to get their hands dirty. The tell? Your saying "if that's all YOU have in your quiver, YOU'RE doomed." If you have ideas to offer, do so, but you are echoing the rhetoric of division. You don't seem to feel Choice is a right to fight for as you've offered nothing here, in this discussion, from your own quiver. In the meantime, do you really think the rhetoric of division is something folks on this page are interested in? If you are a woman is this not your fight? Stop sea lioning and bring something worthwhile to the table.

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Those who would outlaw abortion do not aim at women’s rights to control their own bodies, but at their right to control their own lives. And men’s, too, if they are not one of the elect. This is, or ought to be, everyone’s fight.

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Jon, I can't agree with you completely. I do agree that this is ( or should be) everyone's fight. EVERYONE'S! But, where I disagree is this: Not one single man in the United States, entering a doctor's office, would be refused reproductive health services based on his gender. Therefore, any man working to overturn Roe is operating under the assumption that men have the right over women to determine a women's reproductive healthcare decisions including abortion and contaception. Assuming you are a man, until you personally are able to conceive a child, you cannot ever fully understand the impact of that biological process, physically, emotionally, financially, professionally. Nor can you ever understand the fact that the inability of women to have a CHOICE a is punishment based solely on gender and situation of pregnancy. We are being punished by so called men of faith and supposed high moral stature who couldn't care less about an unwanted child. The women who have joined their ranks do so in order to retain power over other women if and when the shoe finally drops and CHOICE is taken away from women.

To get right down to it, even white men who are not of the elect are more respected than women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Differently Abled. I understand where you're coming from and I appreciate your sentiments. But right now, being a biological creature with a uterus, able to conceive a child is the sole factor in determining whether or not 1/2 the population of the United States will have full citizenship or not.

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Do either of you know if there is a male contraceptive pill......available?

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Fierce and fabulous as usual, Daria. Toast to you during happy hour.

Salud!

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Christine, here's to you! 🌷

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To you and Daria, Cheers! Happy Happy Hour! Home after a two day drive.

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Gail, put your feet up and relax! Welcome home🌷

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Laura, every bit of action helps. Change can take time. Gathering together with like-minded others is inspiring and can have far-reaching effects. It is something we can do now, and that's no small thing. The visual of massed bodies peacefully protesting is powerful and inspiring. It is also an opportunity to exchange information and further organize. It is a really good and important thing!

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The marches in 2017 were the start of the wave that took over the House in 2018, and the Senate and White House in 2020.

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That is right. Trump, with as much damage he did and continues to do, lost the house, then Senate and WH, because normal rational Americans woke up and got outraged. Those marches helped. The silver lining in this draft decision is that it has sparked that outrage again. We need it, and we need to maintain it. Progressives are so good at becoming lackadaisical and staying home on election day while the deplorables stampede to the polls. Unfortunately we need a big shock to get too many of us off our collective a_ses.

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"Democrats had predicted they would pick up new seats in the House this election. Instead, eight incumbent House Democrats have lost their races, and not a single Republican has lost their seat.

Though some races have not yet been called, the party is expected to secure about 222 or 223 of the 218 seats necessary to control the House, their slimmest majority since World War II.

The party hasn’t coalesced around a clear answer about why and doesn’t seem poised to do so. Moderates have argued that progressive policies allowed Republicans to brand them as socialists, and progressives have argued it was moderates’ own fault for not campaigning strategically during the pandemic. Each side feels they have enough evidence to support their own view and there are no signs of any serious soul-searching for the party as a whole.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/addybaird/democrats-house-election-losses#:~:text=There%20Is%20No%20Democratic%20Reckoning%20Coming%20Over%20Their%20Election%20Misses

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That linked quote is from November 2020. What relevance does that have today? Very little, I'd say.

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"Jon Margolis5 hr ago

The marches in 2017 were the start of the wave that took over the House in 2018, and the Senate and White House in 2020."

Per your own comment referencing the 2020 outcome Jon I provided the article talking about House losses.

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

You are def a glass half empty person. Get to the tap, Laura Thomas, and flush that Koolaid out your mouth with some cool spring water.

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It was Flavor Aid in Jonestown, Christine. And why the fuck should a woman be satisfied with half a glass and a pink hat when men get a full glass?

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Hahahahahaha. Someone forgot to let you in on a really important truth, Laura Thomas among you. Let me remedy that. Men are the glass. Women are the water. Our beautiful destiny has always been that each woman is irrevocably in charge of how much water is in the glass. Don’t get stuck at any particular waterline because you’ve been “told” to be there. Ha! Be the flow, do not go with the flow. And respect the glass and its thoughts. A glass that can cherish women’s hearts is easy to fill. Until it’s not.

That is our powerful reminder and protest now.

United!

🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Christine, I'm with you -- all of us here seeking union and rights for all the American people. Accusations and one-upmanship by one party or more among us need not tempt retorts, which can fuel more discord. We need to find ways to recognize the critic. If that person maintains negativity, I'm in favor of asking them to contribute and moving on.

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Beautiful

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Where might that analogy leave nonbinary and trans comrades?

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That’s what you’re fighting for to have a full glass.

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Bot? Troll?

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It does have that tone, doesn't it? I thought the same.

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Me too.

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I use my name as a pronoun, rather than “it,” but thank you for not assuming a gender binary.

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Trolls worried. No one giving troll tolls at the bridge. Upping their game before moving on.

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Perhaps, just perhaps, we raised enough consciousness to out vote the repuglitans in 2020?

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Never underestimate a good photo-op. The idea is to move people [voters] to make change. Note that Biden beat Trump mainly from voters who quietly voted by mail during a pandemic. Yes, change can happen like that without having to literally role up sleeves and have disciplined action by a majority of the people.

The problem is our country is split and in some locations it's so entrenched with conservative ideology that any action other than voting is not easy. So, how do you get people to vote? How do you get better candidates? Yes, it takes action but not everyone has to do action other than march [to raise awareness on a large scale] and vote [to make change on a large or maybe small scale]. Nonetheless, the women's march was not a joke except to conservative men or neo-Marxists who want to burn down the country. I know you are neither of those.

I would agree some of those who push for change have to be more disciplined and in a position to make change. Others just have to be aware and to vote. I mean, look how the SCOTUS just took down abortion rights. Three justices got selected by Trump - who was voted into office - just did this. Not a revolution. Just judges in robes who were all placed into their position in rather mundane ways. And all along individual states were chipping away at abortion rights. Sometimes change is incremental. But it starts with making people aware of the action you want. Marches can do this.

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I don't disagree with you at all. When canvassing or text banking/phonebanking, one always makes the next ask, right? So if people make time to march and commit right there/then to not only vote but work to GOTV in concrete ways (one more person each is a good starter ask) it becomes more than a photo op. And that is frankly what a lot of us feel like we saw little of in 2016/17. And that's why I bother to comment on posts like this, because if you think I *need* to engage with a bunch of armchair keyboard warriors who apparently enjoy speculating on whether my motives are "good" or I'm a "radical lesbian" or want me to scurry to Urban dictionary to look up "sealioning" (frankly an insult to those good animals) you misread me.

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I do agree that action such as GOTV will do more than just talking about it and photo-ops. No doubt, people only commenting with like-minded citizens on a blog won't do much to move the needle. I only point out that when done right the less active activities can produce results. But its success depends on too many factors to consider in a comment. Thanks.

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Freedom OF religion but also freedom FROM religion.

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I find it interesting that separation of church and state is being ignored in the abortion coverage. This is clearly about establishing a state religion. I think the Supreme Court would more aptly be call the Supremacy Court. Decades ago when I was working in the nascent field of artificial intelligence,the business card company misprinted my card saying I was from the Artificial Intelligency. Rather enjoyed handing out those cards.

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"This is clearly about establishing a state religion."

Kathy, having grown up in a fairly fundamentalist church in East Texas (although not as nutty as today's fundamentalist churches), I really think that what we are seeing is a move by white males to dominate the landscape again. Not Republicans trying to establish a state religion (although they may act like they want that to get some folks vote).

Who in the Republican Party is "Christian" and wants to establish anything like a real Christian ethic in their party? Nobody.

What the Republican party DOES want is white male domination of women, blacks, and anybody who is not easily burned working outside in the sun (not that any white guys do that much any more).

So, I would encourage folks not to buy in to any narrative that says Republicans want a state religion. Republicans are not even slightly religious in anyway.

They are white men who want more control no matter that they are too incompetent to manage once they get that control.

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“What the Republican party DOES want is white male domination of women, blacks, and anybody who is not easily burned working outside in the sun (not that any white guys do that much any more).“

You are so right but you omit an operative emotion of white men—fear. FEAR of women, blacks, and anything and and anyone else. Religion is simply and hypocritically used….

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Afraid of the possibility that when in power, we will do unto them as they have done unto us. I certainly have seen that fear from straight guys when looking at gay men; terrified that these gay men will treat them the way they treat women.

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Sophia, you could very well be right about the Fear driven part. But, being fear driven is so foreign to me (and sometimes that is bad for me honestly) that I just cannot see it when, perhaps, that is the origin.

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Mike, the fear of “Christian” white males that is being fanned is the fear of replacement: losing their power and status gained solely through their gender, race, heterosexuality and patriarchal religion. Lyndon Johnson put it best: “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”

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That’s because you are a male, Mike. That fear for women and especially women who are black and brown, have experienced fear from day one.

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The root of all negative emotions is fear, i.e. hatred (fear that you have lost something), anger (fear that you are losing something), jealousy (fear that you will lose something), etc., so the thinking goes: if I control everything and everyone, I have nothing to fear....

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Religion has for millennia been a way for a powerful few to dominate and control the masses. It had nothing to with ethics or religious belief in a spiritual entity. Just power over the other.

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Growing up, my church had a beautiful pulpit with intricately carved figures around the base. One of them was a guy engulfed in flames. I asked what was up with that guy, and was told he wanted to translate the Bible from Latin to a language the people understood, and that would take away absolute power from the clergy who could pretty much say anything about religious doctrine without being challenged.

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Ha!

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💝

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The particular brand of Christianity that places a man at the head of household and forbids any kind of sexuality except between men and women is exactly the kind of state religion that would reinforce white male Republican sovereignty. So I respectfully disagree with your statement. If you’re saying it does not spring from any real spirituality, though, I would agree.

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

OK.

If we define the word "religion" to represent:

A broad instance of an organization, male led, heirarchical, money acquiring entities to control peoples minds (Religion) then, I agree with your summary.

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Money and power is the real religion here. Masked in Christianity.

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But, as always, political religion is the means to the end. And I’m not talking heaven here

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Jeri, WHAT? Religion is not going to get me to heaven even if I shaft everyone I meet and lie constantly?

Dadgummit! What is church for then???

:-)

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Before we had a Health and Welfare Department, I think, correct me please if I'm wrong, the church was responsible for keeping birth, marriage and death records for tax purposes. The church taxed the people because the church was the government.

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While you are right that the main issue here is white male domination of everyone else, the authoritarians are clearly cloaking themselves in what they call Christianity and gleeful to force it on everyone else.

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Don’t forget the money. The have-mores are deathly afraid that the ordinary wage earners want some for themselves. They believe in the zero-sum game. They encourage white male fears of lost status to protect their fortunes.

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believe the biggest failure lies at the feet of National Democratic pollster Celinda Lake and other Democratic party operatives whose job it is to read and understand public opinion, which in turn drives intervention effor

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Cathy, you’re right. The “church” you call out is a patriarchal “religion” that calls itself Christian while it cherry picks passages from the King James Bible that command women to speak only through their husbands, command couples to only have married sex for the purpose of procreation, and teaches hatred of “the other” unless they repent of being true to themselves and toe the party line. The reward is that you can judge those you are told are sinners and can punish them with “righteous” laws.

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Let's also remember that the opposite of patriarchy is not matriarchy -- it's egalitarianism. The big OR - the us vs. the other - is replaced by AND - stronger together.

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Egalitarians. Thanks for the reminder, Cathy! That is the party we want to support!! AND Stronger Together!

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Cathy, how true!

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Cathy, there is nothing artificial about your intelligence or integrity. Still, I wish I had one of those cards of yours...

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I highly recommend this Twitter thread by Greg Olear, whose take-no-prisoners style of writing I admire. He slices and dices Leonard Leo, the right-wing religious zealot singularly responsible for stacking the Supreme Court (and many other courts) for decades with like-minded people. Shocking, isn't it, that Leo believes he's on a mission from God? Of course he is. https://twitter.com/gregolear/status/1522356441285283841

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Yes, I have wondered how LL stays behind the curtain and pulls strings, like the Wizard of Oz. Thank you for shining the light on him.

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As a religious person, I could not agree with you more. Not only because these theocrats want me to observe their religion not my own. Not only because our Constitution is clear on the subject. Religious observance cannot be free if it is coerced.

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A new Battle Hymn of the Republic, Cathy.....

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the woman;

She is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

She hath loosed the fateful lightning of her terrible swift sword:

Her truth is marching on.

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I like that very much! In fact, a little history here... I have a song book of songs the Suffragists used - familiar tunes with lyrics much like you just did. Did you know that the Battle Hymn of the Republic was authored by a woman - Julia Ward Howe She wrote the lyrics after meeting President Abraham Lincoln at the White House in November of 1861.

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Fervent abolitionist and her husband too.

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And after seeing the camp fires of the union soldiers.

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Black women, Stuart. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson .. is marching on.

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Her too, Sandy. Seperating white women from black women is what kept the plantation oligarchs in power and prevented a coordinated rebellion.

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Speaking of plantations, I am reading and recommend Trayvon Generation by Elizabeth Alexander. She writes eloquently about issues of race, past and present, and the artwork is stunning. One chapter is about 'Angola', The Louisiana State Penitentiary. There, thousands of Blacks, on a property the size of Manhattan, are imprisoned, often for life, forced to pick cotton while observed by whites on horseback. The conditions and sentences are appalling. Today.

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And what about...all the in-between shades?

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They quite evidently dominated your world Sandy and it sounds like that you were very lucky to have at least that.

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Not at all, Stuart.

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

My friend, the Vermont songwriter Patty Casey, offered this one. The Chorus goes: "We are smarter than that/We are kinder than that/We are moving forward, we are not going back." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3HvarBiWWA

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

We are stronger than that, we are kinder than that

We are moving forward, we are not going back

We are stronger than that, we are kinder than that

Love is stronger than that

When the storm is rolling in and our hopes start to fade

That’s when we rise as one, our spirits like a blade

We are many, we are mighty, and even when we are afraid

We are stronger than that

We will not yield to hatred, to lies or to shame

Our power lies in courage, and our love is not tame

If the lights go out on justice, we will light a flame

‘Cause we are stronger than that

To every one that’s turned away, we open up our town

If fear can build a wall, then love can tear it down

Then we’ll build a bigger table for all to gather round

‘Cause we are stronger than that

We will not yield to hatred, to lies or to shame

Our power lies in courage, and our love is not tame

If the lights go out on justice, we will light a flame

‘Cause we are stronger than that

We will not yield to hatred, to lies or to shame

Our power lies in courage, and our love is not tame

If the lights go out on justice, we will light a flame

‘Cause we are stronger than that

https://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/p/patti_casey/stronger_than_that.html

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Beautiful. One line reminds me of Chef Andre's motto: Build a longer table, not a wall.

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This needs to be our New Anthem for 2022 & 24 election cycles

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

Hi Ron. I didn't know where the lyrics you provided came from. First went to Youtube to look for the song that they belonged to. It took me a while to figure out that the lyrics were for the song Bronwyn linked in a comment before yours. I suggest that making the connection within you comment would helpful to subscribers - Cheers!

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Fern, I got the lyrics from this site: https://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/p/patti_casey/stronger_than_that.html

I, too, had a little difficulty locating them. I had to use the search in Google as "Stronger Than That lyrics Patti Casey."

I, also, noticed they did not exactly match Bronwyn's quote but had already posted it. In any event, I didn't feel there was enough difference to detract from the message itself so left it as is. I apologize if I misjudged that.

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Hey, no apologies, Ron. I was just suggesting that we connect the dots in our comments by including the source - what prompted those lyrics to appear.

I have a great friend in Englewood. She's a teacher. We talked last night about students who are or think that they may be trans and how they could be affected when constitutionally approved rights are denied.

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Ron, A tip: if you click on the three dots next to delict at the bottom of your lyrics comment, the dots provides an edit function. If you press it, you will then be able to place the song link in the comment with lyrics. Repeat: At the end of you lyrics comment are three dots next to the delete function. Press a dot and you will be able to add to the comment. Copy the song link within the lyrics comments. More cheers!

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Plus “I Am Woman. Hear Me Roar” by Helen Reddy.

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Could that be used for this season by the Dems? It seems the perfect anthem to sum up our philosophy and direction we want the country to head in.

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For weeks in the 2018 Election I stood with others carrying signs supporting the Dem choice for Governor of Florida (To no avail). Since then I have lost some ability to walk or stand but still got that sign board and planning to paper over it with something like:

“I’M GETTING TOO OLD FOR THIS SHIT”

“80% of the Nation Supports Abortion Rights”

“Bring Democracy Back to the U.S.”

The other side something like:

“THE SUPREME COURT IS CORRUPT”

“3 (IN)JUSTICES LIED UNDER OATH”

“PERJURY IS A CRIME”

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

TALKING THE TALK when it is difficult to walk and telling THE SUPREME COURT that we know it RULES AGAINST DEMOCRACY. Rob Boyte, HERE'S TO YOU!

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Love it all, Rob. You are always fierce.

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Alito, too, lied during his confirmation hearings.

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As I said yesterday, you are setting the right tone, Sister Cathy. And from the beginning, I am feeling how many brothers are standing with us. Peaceful protest is ours. It is our voices—not cudgels or bear spray or ropes or military gear—that rise. It is our right. We must stand fast because that right is being threatened once again by opponents willing to disrupt a march and silence protest.

I thought of John Lewis yesterday as I watched the Court being fortified. May our skulls be protected with the same effort by law enforcement.

It’s a seminal moment.

Salud. United!

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And being threatened by a male majority (like a semi-popular religion. You know, the one the GOP* wants the US to be ruled under)

*Get Out Pagans

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Time for a second women's March on the scale of the first as this is WAY more important than a pissant like DJT. There were 10 people protesting in Antarctica at 60 below zero.

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@CathyLearoyd well said! Let’s begin an organized and spontaneous March to the November 8th midterm elections. Let’s call on the 81% of single-issue voters to push back the GOP’s assault on women and reproductive rights.

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Exactly, Cathy! As Heather says, This is not the conversation Republicans want to have. We need to force them to have it, every minute of every day from now to November 8th.

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Cathy, when I posted this LFAA on my FB page, I encouraged my followers to pay attention to the vote of their senators next week. I consider a vote to strip over half our population of a Constitutional right a vote of Catholic theocracy which cares not a whit about anyone else's beliefs or needs. I am urging those disenfranchised by five (or six) robed religious fanatics to remove their members of like persuasion in Congress from their comfortable offices - which - by the way WE are PAYING for. I have yet to discuss this topic with a person who is not as enraged as I am. Alito has no clue what millions of "women scorned" will be doing next November and in the months leading to that ballot box. I hope he enjoys hiding inside his barricaded pavilion knowing that he is utterly despised by the majority of this country. Same with Collins. Greg Olear calls her "amoral" in today's "Prevail" and I believe that is the only way to think of her and her ilk.

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ABORT THE COURT! IMPEACH THE INJUSTICES! (I'm making my signs already.)

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Love this one, Hope! How danged appropriate is that!

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Right on! I am 100%with you. Great statement. Thank you.

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5the woman hired by my large corporation here. Marches are good, but door-to-door better. Having a table to have people sign petitions at street fairs/open markets better. Women need to once again “put their bodies on the line” to have face-to-face engagement.

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Both approaches work, together.

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Excellent actions - grass roots!

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It’s all right there just what you said in the Preamble of the Constitution. How much more “ Original “ can you get ! The only thing I disagree with is we need to stop calling it an Experiment. I think Democracy was working really well over the last 50 yrs for the 99% of us. Still need’s a few tweaks here and there. That 1% only has interest in the 1%.

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Then you believe Forced Pregnancy is a Blessing of Liberty? Tells me women are not part of We, the People. The top 1% is making our laws and the Supremacy Court so it is all trickle up actually all the cream rises to the top economics causing extreme income disparity to the point a family has to have at least two full time jobs just to feed their family. The 1% are hollowing out the middle class which will lead to the collapse of capitalism. Nineteen states are now autocracies with the Supremacy Court and the Congress doing nothing about Article IV Section 4 which guarantees a republican, i.e. by the people, form of government in all the states. Marcia, please wake up. Democracy is about to go over a cliff. The experiment is not over even with its interim successes.

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Cathy, respectfully, if it wasn’t working they wouldn’t be trying to break it.

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Because it is working against their desire for power - total control. They can't win in a democracy so they are changing it to an autocracy. It is broken and about to fall apart. The Supremacy Court is not representing the People where a huge majority do not want Roe overturned.

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Have you not seen my post that what upsets me the most is they are using Democracy to Kill Democracy.

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Over a hundred years ago, Justice Holmes wrote of the First Amendment, “It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment.”

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Thank you for that reminder about no arrests at the Women's March. When I read that part of this letter, I thought, "they're afraid of us?" They're trying to suggest something about us that isn't true. Your comment is spot on. Thank you!

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Cathy Learoyd, are you interested in running for the Senate?

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While in my corporate position I needed to know the rules of the politics going on around me, I didn't find a need to play by those "rules". For instance, if someone is expecting you to play by the rules and then you surprise them by reacting in another way it was always so fun to watch the confusion on their faces! In other words, if you don't like the rules, change them. So rather than a Senator, I would much rather fix the system and come up with a more constructive set of rules of the Senate. I'd, for instance, get rid of the aisle down the middle. A technique I used in meetings was to sit next to rather than across from the person the most disagreed with my position. You tend to want to agree with the person next to you and argue with the person on the other side of the table. So, by getting rid of the center aisle Senators would tend to look for ways to find solutions from a larger perspective with the Senators the randomly find next to them.

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I’m down with your negotiating style, Cathy. I bet you have many interesting and productive ideas. More than happy to back you as Majority Leader! Haha

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Dear Justice Alito, when the Founders wrote the Constitution, many of them had slaves, black men like Clarence Thomas. Black men were seen as not a person but 3/5 of a person to increase the count for the South.

In the 1780’s women weren’t even in the Constitution. Women were not considered a person but chattel of their fathers and then their husbands, no rights. How can we consider Amy Coney Barrett as a person since the Founders wouldn’t, strict constructionists.

To argue that abortion isn’t in the Constitution and that a strict constructionist would find that the right to an abortion isn’t a protected liberty interest in the Constitution because it’s not rooted in the country’s history and tradition, should also assume that Clarence Thomas is 3/5 of a human being and

Amy Coney Barrett belongs to her husband and no say in any legal matter. In the 1780’s Justice Thomas would most likely be a slave, rooted in our history firmly.

You can’t pick and choose your history.

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May 6, 2022·edited May 6, 2022

And the word ‘woman’ is still not in the Constitution. It used to puzzle me as a Catholic child when my teacher told us that the word ‘men’ meant ‘men and women’. I asked why, if that was true, that women couldn’t be priests. (They had told us that Jesus picked only men to be his apostles). My teacher called my mom and told her I asked too many questions. ( And the books of the almighty bible itself were cherry picked from among many other ancient writings, then translated over and over, so why anyone takes any part of it literally is astonishing to me,)

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By Alito's reasoning that means women have no rights. In the movie "On the basis of sex" RBF's biography I loved the part where her opposition compiled and presented as evidence all the laws in the land that claimed women were not a man's equal. I especially liked the one's that said women were poor at math so couldn't be executors of wills and such.

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Ha! RBG. What a human.

Salud, Cathy!

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“:...so why anyone takes any part of it literally is astonishing to me,)” yes, it’s puzzling that faith depends on where and when and how you got here. A random delivery in one state or another or one country or another. But a “believer” would say it’s not random. It’s divine. There is no argument. Debate club would be interesting.

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Excellent points! And the Supreme Court cannot pick and choose in the constitution.

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And yet, here we are, with Originalists creating a new history by proclamation

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Originalism is made up legal bs.

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The Myth that keeps on giving

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Indeed!

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Excellent points, Molly!

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“…in the 1990s, when power shifted to leaders who believed that the country worked best when businessmen could organize the economy without meddling from government bureaucrats.”

Perception:

Too many Boomers feel that they are dealing with Ike. That somehow in that cesspool of insanity, aka Republicans,there are reasonable minds that can come to compromise and consensus that is overall good for the nation.

Meanwhile according to reports from Harper’s Magazine This Week:

“the former head of the Oklahoma Republican Party called for the execution of Anthony Fauci by firing squad, and the Oklahoma Election Board ruled that a lawmaker cannot use the moniker “The Patriot” on the ballot.7 8 9 Madison Cawthorn, a congressman from North Carolina, was stopped at an airport in possession of a loaded gun for the second time.”

Centrist Democrats, and especially so called Independents, are going to sell the nation down the river to Fascist rule.

You read it here first: My solution to ending abortions:

You macho studs out there who want to have careless sex; a great, you can pay the societal price and for the externalities of crime and inhumanity that result.

By my proposed Law - Any woman who is impregnated can call for a DNA test of the man she cites as the father of the fetus/child.

If there is a positive match, then that man will be required to provide the necessary financial support for the child until age 20.

Marriage will not end this requirement.

Just watch the abortion issue fade to next to nothing and the stock prices in male contraceptives go through the roof.

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I love your solution to the abortion issue by making the father’s financially responsible for 20 years, however, that still doesn’t keep the outrageous possible law off a Women’s own body & right to choose!

Maybe she doesn’t want the fkr’s baby or the constant reminder of being raped or the victim of incest. Adding your point would definitely make it better as another law though, so thanks for that!

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No, it is far from a 100% remedy and in fact I just found out from Citizen60 that as I confirmed there are laws on the books in FL pursuant to paternity and support by the natural father….

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Ok, but is it enforced? Maybe there has to be a steeper penalty than money, like Jail or Mandatory Community Service!

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Apparently not well enough, because one would think that part of one’s HS education this would be common knowledge… I have to read the statute and dig in deeper, which is wading through lots of legal jargon….

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I would add that the father who "seeded" the child needs to raise it if the woman wants to have a life of her own to pursue her goals, education and career.

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Agreed. Custody, as well as all financial and physical responsibilities, of the baby should automatically revert to the father, even before adoption. That would include the hospital and medical costs for the infant, of course.

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❤️!

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Let's just register their DNA so we can quickly match and track the errant little studs. 🤪 Getting carried away I am.

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Agreed Fred - it would be both great for crime and to provide a database that would make the process much faster.

I was rather stunned to find that even here in a fascist state like Florida that there are pretty clear cut laws for paternal responsibility including court mandated testing.

Every student at age 13 should be made aware that this law exists and will be enforced.

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But are these laws enforced? There should be It-Takes-Two-to-Tango laws so men can see what how one's life is impacted to be FORCED to be barefoot in the kitchen with a babe.

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That is the part that is weirding me out. If the Florida 742 Determination of Parentage Law was simply enforced it would seem to to be an excellent deterrent and a lot of unwanted pregnancy might be averted.

Apparently a lot of pregnant women out of wedlock are simply in the dark or fearful of filing w/ the clerk of the court.

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That would save a LOT of time Fred! Perhaps Elon could put the DNA and tracking devices in those male brainchips at birth!

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Instead of life insurance, every 15 year old male should be required to carry Liability Insurance to cover accidental pregnancy. Suggest there be a high deductible and that the premium pool be accessible to pregnant women not otherwise covered for medically necessary abortions and childcare for 25 years. Rate setting may consider all the extracosts women bare in their lifetime or until menopause is over. And I would suggest there be no gay-guy exclusion to ward off mother-fakers and have a built in support group to monitor the scrum and violators of this fair-share post Roe decision.

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That is already the law in almost every state. Collection is another issue.

I’m for male hormonal birth control and reversible vasectomies to end abortion. Both exist. Never mentioned by “Evangelicals/Catholics/Mormons/Muslims (big 4 behind this movement).

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Wow! I looked at FL statute and “ In order to preserve the right to notice and consent to the adoption of the child, an unmarried biological father must, as the “registrant,” file a notarized claim of paternity form with the Florida Putative Father Registry maintained by the Office of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health which includes confirmation of his willingness and intent to support the child for whom paternity is claimed in accordance with state law.”

So, this makes me wonder why this is NOT clearly enforced. My son spent 3 days in jail for simply falling behind on payments. So, why is this statute not made clear to every male in a state where these laws prevail?

I don’t blame you for wanting “hormonal birth control” or reversible vasectomies

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Why are the support laws enforced at all/uniformly? Why was Viagra approved by Medicare and every insurance company in America on Day 1 and birth control bills weren't until the ACA in 2014 (available in the 60's)? Why did women get the vote nearly 70 years after freed slaved? Why could Black men (fill in your color/ethnic) purchase a car or get a credit card with a "responsible male" signing for her until 3 years after Roe? What is not mentioned at all in the Constitution? Women. Even slaves (Blacks) were mentioned since they were to be counted as 3/5 of a human in the census.

Look at the dominant religion that settled this nation -- Catholics. Far more than Christians (West/Southwest; Florida/Louisiana Purchase. Except for the Quakers, the Christian "sects" among early settlers were Puritans, orthodox Lutheran (now called Missouri Synod). Later came the Anti-Baptists (originally an anti-Catholic political party, but guess which part of the movement "stuck" during the Great Revival?) and the Mormons--whose Dessert Territory once encompassed what are now 4 other states besides Utah. What is the role--and value--of women in those religions?

And that's why child support that men are supposed to pay is unevenly enforced. Let's talk about enforcement when women are required to pay child support....

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