148 Comments
Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

State’s rights to implement gun legislation is gone; religious schools get public funding but abortion is a state decision? Are you kidding me? Im thinking civil unrest is an understatement of what’s to come. However, my *prayer* is that there will be enough angry people in this country of ours that they will get out and vote!

I just returned from a demonstration. I love the signage! I need to share:

—“as a woman, I just hope one day I have as many rights as a gun has.”

—my favorite “don’t forget to turn back your clock 200 years.”

Ps I was heartened to find at this demonstration that 2/3 of the people there would be under the age of 50 or so!

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I had lunch with two women friends today in a local restaurant. The hostess, a young woman, told us of her sadness when we asked her how she was doing. Our waiter, a young man of 18, said when he approached our table: "I can't claim to feel what you are feeling today, but I want you to know that I share your sadness."

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Jun 25, 2022·edited Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Thank you, Robert, for focusing on what we can and must do next. My thoughts between bursts of anger were that RBG got it right when she was asked how many women on the Supreme Court would be enough and she answered nine. Also loved her quote on the gutting of the Voting Rights act: "throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet." I also had some smiles thinking about if the word woman or abortion isn't in the Constitution and therefore not rights, how could that be remedied. My answer was to have women, LGBTQ people, minorities and underrepresented people have a Constitutional Convention to write a new version of the Constitution that doesn't have the word man in it or any reference to patriarchy. What would that Constitution look like? Would it be a more perfect Union than we've ever had? One thing I do know is that it would not be rooted in the past but rooted in the well-being of future generations. We, the people, all of us this time!

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Jun 25, 2022·edited Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Thank you Robert!! I am starting to write postcards again--this time for the mid-term elections. We have to get Democrats out to vote in droves so we can have a majority in the Senate and House. In the 2020 election, I think I wrote more than 300 postcards--as a way to manage my fear, anger, and sadness at what has happened to our country. You have helped keep me sane as I live life at 83!!! Jackie Pearson

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

We lament the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan? Look closer to home! Maybe we women should all start wearing burqas in the US until our Fundamentalist Supreme Court wakes up. A general strike by women in states that ban abortion should happen immediately. Tell your bosses that you are all pregnant and too sick and frail to work. (They want us all home , doing laundry and cooking anyway, right?)Or better yet, move!!! Watch the tax base of poor states sink further. All corporations funding Republican races won’t get my business. We need a list of those corporations that fund Mitch McConnell’s campaigns. Are there ANY responsible Republicans out there that will FINALLY speak up for women? I can’t think of a better reason to become a Lesbian than this new attack on our equal rights. Shame on you all. You make us all have unwanted children and then YOU let people kill them at school, at work, at church, in the streets. The answer is not to always control the government by voting for Democrats. Yes, we should in mass , but we just did that and still look what’s happening. It’s always follow the money. That’s the ONLY thing that changes Republican minds. Stop buying stuff they sell. Don’t live in states they always control. Unionize at your businesses.Don’t buy Tesla’s. Tell your pastors you don’t support this decision if you don’t. Stock up on contraception. Get passports. Consider going to schools out of the US. Tell your lover/ husband/son to call their congressmen and complain. Above all, impeach Clarence Thomas if at all possible. His flagrant abuse of power is stunning.

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I've heard a few pundits today talking about Democrats using the Supreme Court abortion and gun decisions to motivate voters. I think we all agree. But they must urge voters to keep our fight against a Republican dictatorship front and center too! If America loses it's democracy, all of our rights and freedoms will be at risk.

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Thank you so much for your insight, accuracy and most of all, your kindness toward us women who are suffering mightily. It isn't just the SCOTUS' decision, but the perceptible pounding of judgements against women by men in power, and unfortunately by other women who gloat about their belief in the sanctity of a conception. At the very least, their ignorance is shocking and deliberate. I can't help but see the irony of SCOTUS' decisions which on one day declares the ever- burgeoning right of Americans to arm themselves with more guns in more places vs. the proclamation of all prenatal life as sacred. We have been reduced to vessels. I am not certain about all mass shootings, but the most recent episodes have marked women and girls as most victims. And now this.

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Another thing we should push for: The Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified and should be made an amendment asap/ A joint resolution was introduced in Congress currently to do just that. On 21 January 2021, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), and Congressman Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) announced the bipartisan legislation, which reads simply:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972, the article of amendment proposed to the States in that joint resolution shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.

This legislation, when passed, will eliminate one of the procedural barriers standing in the way of enshrining gender equality in the U.S. Constitution. You can take action to urge Congress to eliminate the deadline.

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founding
Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Right wing extremists packed the court. It is time to #unpackthecourt by expanding it and fight for every statehouse to protect our democracy.. The right's goal is an authoritarian state

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I grew up on a farm. We raised beef cattle. Today I feel that women are being treated like cattle. Breed, have babies and shut up. 😢

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Difficult day for so many including those who struggled so hard when they were the age of our grandchildren to get this critical right for women and their daughters and grandaughters.

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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

We are all justifiably upset and outraged at the SCOTUS revocation of a Constitutional Right of women to make reproductive healthcare decisions affecting themselves and their families. And, I agree with all of Robert's suggested actions and wise advice. I would also like to point out that these are all intermediate to longer-term approaches that are unlikely to address the immediate crises many will experience in the wake of this decision. I would like to suggest to all that we also consider how to best address that immediate crisis.

First I ask all to recognize a fact long ignored by anti-abortion activists. The most effective ways to reduce the number of abortions are comprehensive sex and reproductive health education and easy, affordable, and convenient access to all forms of birth control and contraception. Yes, I know these are all areas that have been attacked by conservatives, but they remain the most effective answers to avoid unwanted pregnancies and therefore reduce the need for abortions. Among the most effective organizations advocating for these answers and programs supporting them has always been and continues to be Planned Parenthood. Learn about these programs and support them by supporting Planned Parenthood both nationally and locally however you are able. If you have other organizations advocating for and helping in this effort, please support their efforts as well. This is critically important.

Next, remember this decision returns the control of reproductive healthcare to the states. While we may continue to advocate for and support federal legislation to address the need for and availability of reproductive healthcare, the near-term battles to both preserve and expand the availability of reproductive healthcare will be fought at the state level. Understand that regardless of the status and availability of reproductive healthcare in the state in which you reside, anti-abortion activists are determined to fight this battle everywhere. No state is safe from engaging in this battle, both for their own residents and those who may travel to their state from locations where the right to reproductive healthcare has already been or will soon be rescinded. Be informed and be engaged to defend and preserve the right to reproductive healthcare everywhere.

Also, an increasing number of abortions will be non-surgical abortions supported by medication. These are far less expensive than surgical abortions and, in most cases, do not require expensive travel that is so difficult for vulnerable women. While there are and will continue to be efforts to effectively regulate this type of abortion, they are far more difficult for the anti-abortion movement to control or regulate. An Increasing focus needs to be on providing information and access paths for those where this approach is an appropriate option. Often these can be supported safely for many by telehealth services.

Lastly, we need to let Republican politicians know that we are coming for them. Remember, this decision returns the decisions of regulating abortion to the states and their elected representatives. So, everyone should understand what that means. Many of the states restricting access to reproductive healthcare are overwhelmingly governed at present by Republicans. But the Republican majorities amongst all voters in many of those states are thinner than Republicans will admit. Values and issues are on the side of Democrats. We need to use those values and issues to take the control of state levers of power Democrats deserve to hold. That happens by recruiting strong candidates for every race, building support networks for those candidates, registering every citizen legally entitled to vote, and getting all of them to vote for their values. We know what needs to be done. Let's get to work!

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I would like to see a show of hands from the anti-abortionists who would pledge, in the name of their god, to personally adopt one of these unwanted babies.

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founding
Jun 25, 2022·edited Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

As I have said so often, Robert, thank you.

I hope we shall not define ourselves by our opponents, but I must note that in the past month in particular it has become clear that those opponents are led by people who believe that fetuses in the womb deserve more protection than children in the classroom.

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Jun 25, 2022·edited Jun 25, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

What is and is not on the ballot in this fall’s elections -

While I published these comments for my fellow Texans, you can easily adapt it for your own state as appropriate.

As you begin to consider your support for candidates in this fall’s elections, it is important to give careful thought to what is and is not on this year’s ballot. Here are just a few of the most important of those issues. I invite others to add to this list their own thoughts about the most important issues that should help determine who you will support with your vote.

First, lets talk about a couple of things on everyone’s mind but are not on the ballot. Regardless of how you feel about Joe Biden personally or the job he is doing as President, Biden is not on this year’s ballot. For that matter, neither is Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or John Cornyn. But there are plenty of Republican scoundrels that could be targets of your feelings about the positions, policies, and values of the Republican Party. For those who may be unclear about those positions, policies, and values the Texas Republican Party has clearly documented and published them here:

https://texasgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/6-Permanent-Platform-Committee-FINAL-REPORT-6-16-2022.pdf

If the values clearly demonstrated by this party platform are inconsistent with your own values it is easy to identify those candidates undeserving of your support and your vote. The undeserving candidates are all branded on your ballot with an (R), henceforth to be recognized as the new Scarlet Letter. Candidates who hold opposing positions to those in the Republican Party platform will be easy to identify by their brand, (D).

A couple of issues not on the ballot but everyone in the Republican party is talking about are gas and food prices, and inflation. But you will hear Republican candidates talking a lot about them as if your vote this fall could have someting to say about them. Let’s remember who and what has the most influence on those issues. The primary influencers on those issues are the Federal Reserve chaired by Jerome Powell, broken supply chains, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine sharply driving up energy and food prices. None of those are on this fall’s ballot. However, let’s look at them closely for a moment. Who elevated Jerome Powell to the position of Chair of the Federal Reserve? Why it was Donald Trump. So if you think the Fed screwed the pooch on managing the economy by acting too slowly to control inflation, you know who to blame - Trump, and yes also Biden as Powell has just been nominated for a second four year term by Biden. So he will continue to serve in that role until 2026. OK, who broke supply chains? Well, there are several factors for that - the Pandemic, labor supply disruptions, silly dysfunctional tariff policies, and oh yes, the Pandemic. Well, none of those are really on this fall’s ballot, although Trump and his foolish trade advisor, Peter Navarro, did have a lot to do with those silly tariffs. And how about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that whole mess. Well, the one person who owns that fiasco is Vladimir Putin, unless you think Putin’s friends had any role to play in that.. But really Vlad pretty much owns that one and he is not on this fall’s ballot.

So what is on the ballot? Well here are a just a few of those issues:

- democracy, support for our Constitution over personal power, and the Rule of Law

- free and fair elections administered by non-partisan election officials

- orderly and peaceful transitions of power

- recognition of and respect for election outcomes

- the right of all American citizens of legal age to easily, conveniently, and fairly cast a vote in every election regardless of where they live

- truth versus lies and respect for truth

- women’s rights and equality of opportunity

- reproductive healthcare

- affordable healthcare

- equal access to quality education for all

- dignity for and fair treatment of refugees and immigrants

- support for childcare for all regardless of where they live or their economic circumstances

- affordable housing and efforts to better address homelessness

- needed criminal justice and policing reforms

- serious efforts to reduce gun violence

- efforts to address the existential threats of climate change

- protection and preservation of our environment

- an economy that provides equal opportunities for all and provides reasonable assistance to the most vulnerable amongst us

- respect for the dignity and choices of each individual to define themselves in whatever manner they wish, to be who they truly are, and to love and worship whoever they wish in whatever manner they feel appropriate

These are just a few of the important issues that are on the ballot this fall. I urge all to think carefully about your own values and carefully compare them to the demonstrated values of the candidates you choose to support and vote for. We always hear people telling us that “this year’s election is the most important one ever.” Here is the real message we need to be delivering - “Every election is important!” Voting is both a right and a civic responsibility. There are so many reasons to vote and no acceptable excuse for not voting. So as the Grail Knight advised Indiana Jones, “But choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.” The same is true of your vote in every election.

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The conservative S.C. justices were quite deceptive in their confirmation hearings and never used the exact words "I wouldn't vote to overturn Roe." Instead, they said, "it is settled law," knowing everyone would think they meant that the door was closed, including Senator Susan Collins. Now they have cover. Sneaky and dishonest, not very Christian, but coached by some clever lawyers for sure.

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