Women’s Rights

The US supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has inspired passionate discussion and debate. From those discussions we can see the key difference between those who would like to see abortion criminalized and those who believe that women have the right to choose when and whether to have a family.

Abortion opponents believe that women have an overriding responsibility to bear children. If a pregnancy occurs, they expect women to put everything else in their lives on hold and carry the pregnancy to term.

There are no exceptions. It doesn’t matter if a woman is already busy raising and supporting a family. It doesn’t matter if she has health issues that could result in a high risk pregnancy. It doesn’t matter if she has a career, runs a business, or is pursuing an education. It doesn’t matter if she’s serving in the armed forces. It doesn’t matter if she is the primary caregiver for people with special needs. It doesn’t matter if she has no interest whatsoever in raising a family.

The view of anti-abortionists is that an impregnated woman needs to stop what she’s doing and carry the pregnancy to term regardless of the risks to her, to her existing family, or to her financial well-being.

Anti-abortionists defend this position with the argument that life begins at conception. It’s a widespread belief that’s supported by some religious doctrines, but a reasonable argument can be made against it.

Not all pregnancies produce life. Miscarriages and spontaneous abortions are extremely common. A fetus can die of natural causes in the womb. There are non-living births and children who die shortly after childbirth. Rates of infant and maternal mortality are shockingly high in the United States.

Conception is not the beginning of life. Conception is the beginning of a life-generating process, a process that frequently fails to produce a living being.

Women are not baby factories. They are people with lives and responsibilities, people who deserve the right to weigh the risks and rewards of a life changing event and plan accordingly. Women should never be coerced by governments, laws, intimidation, abuse, poverty, or bounty to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.

Privacy Breach

The Supreme Court is LIVID that their PRIVACY WAS BREACHED while they were working to TAKE AWAY YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY.

Scandalous Times

I miss the good old days when the biggest scandals were Michelle’s bare shoulders and Barack’s tan suit.

The End Of Roe v. Wade

When Hillary Clinton received the Democratic Party’s nomination for President in 2016, supporters of the runner-up candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, were livid. Recently leaked emails suggested that the Democratic Party had given Secretary Clinton preferential treatment during the primaries. This was not surprising given that Clinton was a member of the party and Sanders, a registered Independent, was not, but the revelation left many voters feeling bitter.

I had conversations with a number of Sanders supporters that year. Some of them told me that they would vote for Clinton despite their disappointment, but others steadfastly refused. I encouraged them to reconsider.

1. I argued that if progressive voters were split on which candidate to support, that would give Donald Trump an advantage in November’s election.

At the time, many people believed that Trump had no chance of being elected. Clinton had a commanding lead in the polls, and Trump’s gruff, demagogic behavior seemed to be disqualifying. Nevertheless, Trump’s supporters were extremely passionate. Democratic division left Clinton vulnerable.

2. I argued that if elected, Trump would replace a number of supreme court justices and that those justices would be selected on the basis of their hostility toward women’s reproductive freedom.

3. I argued that a court packed with Trump/McConnell justices would overturn Roe v. Wade.

I got a lot of push back. “Of course, Trump won’t win,” people insisted. “There’s no way that Roe will be overturned. It’s the law of the land.”

And yet, here we are.

Despite all odds, Trump won presidency, nominated three justices who were hand picked by conservative think tanks, and based on a draft decision that was leaked to the press yesterday, those justices are on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade, giving states the authority to restrict reproductive freedom. Many states have already passed laws banning abortion, and more bans are in the works.

I take no comfort in being right. I’d rather be convincing. Sadly, I was not convincing enough.

The lives of women in many states is about to become significantly more difficult. Women of means can fly to a blue state when they want an abortion. - Yes, we see you, daughters and sisters and staffers of Republican politicians and lobbyists. We see you, friends and cousins and nieces of anti-choice activists. Have a nice trip to California!

But for women without the means and opportunity to travel - poor women, the working poor, women who work multiple jobs in order to support a family, women who care for elderly parents, or women whose lives are dominated by abusive partners - access to healthcare has become a significant challenge.

If those women choose to self-terminate or seek the services of an illegal provider in their area, they will put themselves in grave danger. A lot of young women are going to die in emergency rooms across the country, just as they did before the Roe decision.

But wait! It gets worse.

Many of the state-level abortion bans have no exception for cases of rape or incest. Victims of these crimes will be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, even if that pregnancy was the result of a violent attack. Girls who are impregnated through sexual abused by a teacher, a coach, a counselor, or a family member will have to carry their pregnancies to term. The cruelty of these laws is beyond comprehension.

And yet, here we are. It didn’t have to come to this. The majority of Americans favor access to a safe, legal abortion. This is the result of raw political power. The people who hate abortion worked very hard to get anti-Roe justices on the nation’s highest court. The only way to take that power back is to vote in massive numbers in every election.

Distrust, Division, and Oppression

Beware of those who target the most vulnerable members of society while defending the most powerful.

Beware of those who who claim that their freedom is being “cancelled” while urging the banning of books.

Beware of those who claim that their rights are being infringed while they seek to limit the rights of others, whether by law or intimidation.

Beware of those who reject what can be measured, but accept what is rumored.

Beware of those who dehumanize their opponents with claims of aberrant behavior.

Beware of those who view their neighbor’s gain as their own loss.

Beware of those who believe that in order to get ahead, we must restrict the opportunities of others.

Beware of those who interpret events through a filter of fear rather a powerful lens for potential.

Beware of those who, whether with the best of intentions or the worst of human impulses, encourage distrust, division, and oppression.

Making Progress

You don’t have to put in a massive effort today. Solve one problem. Take one meaningful step toward your objective. Acknowledge the accomplishment and build on that progress tomorrow.

TV and Streaming Roundup - April 2022

Reacher (Amazon Prime Video)

Alpha good guy takes on a whole bunch of very nasty bad guys. Ridiculously entertaining and entertainingly ridiculous.

Pros: Excellent cast and production. The main guy looks like a cross between Adonis and Hercules.

Cons: Extreme violence. Ludicrous body count.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)

Twenty or thirty minutes into the first episode, you might question whether the show lives up to the hype. Override the impulse to give up on it and watch the whole 53 minutes. Your mind will be blown.

Pros: A star is born

Cons: None

Slow Horses (Apple TV+)

MI5 has a bureaucratic purgatory for disgraced spies led by the sloppiest Gary Oldman you’ve ever seen. Very British.

Pros: Riveting but realistic action sequence in the first episode. Excellent production.

Cons: None yet.

The Offer (Paramount+)

The story of the making of ‘The Godfather’. I don’t have Paramount+, so I haven’t seen it, but the subject is intriguing.

NCIS: Hawai’i (CBS)

I’m loving this one. Every episode has been excellent. The action is as good or better than anything that I’ve seen on broadcast TV. The cast is wonderful. The team is led by a female agent, which creates an interesting dynamic in the cops and robbers genre. She’s also one of the most beautiful women that I’ve even seen.

Pros: Everything about it

Cons: They can’t make them fast enough

Alien Pizza

When the aliens come, don’t let them try pizza. They might not leave.

Tweets From Afar

Elon Musk just bought 9 percent of Twitter. Get ready for tweets from Mars!

Latin Pop

I want my money back! I bought a “Latin pop” album. It’s not even in Latin! Caveat emptor.