As far as I am concerned an all male South Carolina Supreme Court has no standing to rule on abortion. August 26th is Women's Equality Day marking when the 19th Amendment became part of the Constitution. Monday evening I attended a presentation on the Equal Rights Amendment and why it should now be part of the Constitution since 38 states have approved it. What I learned is that this Amendment would make true equality for all citizens of all genders a Constitutional right. Without that right the Injustices of US Supreme Court can do what they've done with Affirmative Action and now allowing discrimination even if the harm to the person bringing the suit is speculative. The first case lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsberg won before the Supreme Court on discrimination based on sex was how a man had been discriminated against because he was male. A woman friend of mine who is a MAGA Republican told me women need to be more responsible when it comes to reproduction. I asked her it was a reasonable expectation for a ten year old girl to be the responsible party when some man wants to play "Let's make babies!" In my friend's evangelical mind it was all the female's fault. I told her the remedy for rape should a penectomy in order to hold the rapist responsible and prevent him from impregnating more women against their will. Hope I made her think about fairness a bit! I now believe we need the ERA amendment to put some teeth in the Constitution to do right by women and by all of us!
The choice to have an abortion is, universally, a harrowing one. A women's right of choice does not preclude or insulate that woman from the profound dimensions involved in that decision. Respect for women's choice should categorically start with this reality. No one seeks to find themselves in such circumstance. No one seeks an abortion. Women receive abortions as part of far-reaching, complex life determinations including overall health and well-being. Not the least of which is the care of the child when considering emotional preparedness and financial stability.
Sadly, the focus in last night's debate was the affirmation, yes, affirmative action, of a white christian belief system that would impose itself on women federally. And, to add to the disgrace, all the candidates' deceitful inaccuracies came to the fore in a display shameful ambiguity and deception regarding "late-term abortions". "Honing in on abortions in the latter stages of pregnancy shifts the focus to procedures that are either extremely rare or that don’t happen at all. The vast majority of abortions take place far earlier in pregnancy than the Republican talking point might imply." https://19thnews.org/2023/08/what-are-late-term-abortions-gop-rhetoric-politicians/
Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that in 2020, the most recent year for which information is available, 98.9 percent of abortions took place by the end of the 20th week of pregnancy. About 93.1 percent took place before the end of the 13th week of pregnancy, and 80 percent occurred by the end of week nine, well within the first trimester. Late-term pregnancies in any other context would not be an issue given these statistics. Republicans counter by appealing to the extremely rare procedures that are looked upon with horror by their constituents. In fact, these late-term procedures are not only rare but are absolutely necessary for the health and survivability of the mother.
Remember, Republicans lie about what we see with our own eyes. Blaming the woman for becoming pregnant is a reprobate walk in the park them.
I am 65 an attorney by training and a lifelong follower of politics. It pains me that even you have to mention who appointed a judge in discussing how to evaluate a case. I know you said the judge will "follow the law", but in trying to allay some of our fears, who appointed the judge, seems to be relevant. It's just another example of how much DT's malevolence has permeated our systems. It makes me sad and angry. It should not matter who appointed a judge or what the judge's ethnicity is.
Joe Biden has given us a strong, stable, Ike-like conservative government (there haven't even been any White House scandals!), and he has focused on repairing the damage inflicted by his predecessor. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes he would do more, break new ground, but there can be no doubt he will leave his successor in 2029 in a position to do so. In the meantime, we need to elect a Congress next year that will push him.
Thanks for this real news, Robert. The rise in foreign investment is inspiring! I do wonder if climate change is a hoax, what's to be done about the drought that is affecting the Panama Canal's ability to keep cargo ships running smoothly?
Aug 24, 2023·edited Aug 24, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
“Drill, frack, burn coal, embrace nuclear.”
I took my big dog to the dog park last night so she could get a little exercise by swimming in the pond nearby. Usually, there are 30-40 other dogs and their people in the park or walking around the pond. There are also soccer fields that share the same parking lot and usually 150 or more kids/parents running around.
I was the only person there last night. Why? Temperature was 100 degrees and the humidity was about 70%. Ugh. Hot, humid and almost no breeze for relief. And this is Minnesota - that was a record-breaking high temp. Not surprising in this summer of blistering heat, storms, wildfires, and other evidence of the climate crisis.
To candidate Ramaswamy and the rest of the Republicans except Christie, it’s the climate stupid!
I know what I’ll be doing from now until the 2024 election: working to get out the vote for Democrats. No other choice. None.
Thank God for Joe Biden, and his team of incredibly talented administrators!! And thank you Robert and company for help keeping me saner and motivated.
Thank you, Robert, for this. Especially your encouragement to put out the word in positive language! Post on social media, tell friends and neighbors. I ran into a neighbor who was unenthusiastic about Joe Biden, she is a Democrat who had swallowed the media’s trope, “but he’s old”. I took the opportunity to apprise her of his accomplishments and boy, was she surprised! One conversation, one post, one letter to the editor at a time. Let’s do this!
Robert, thanks for putting last night's "debate" in the right perspective, as a footnote to the events of the day. As promised, I watched the show, and actually lasted thru the entire thing. That's in part due to your request that I provide realtime feedback. That turned out to be quite a challenge.
There were no winners in the "debate," especially the American people. Of the contestants, only one, Nikki Haley, sounded reasonable at several points, when she actually went after the Republican party. Vivek Ramaswamy introduced himself as a showman, and took very scary positions to the right of TFG. Pence came across as steady, experienced, but too religious and too convinced that Trump-Pence was good for America. DeSantis was ignored, and struggled for attention. Christie got in a few jabs, but took some body blows himself. Hutchinson, Scott, and Burgum were pretty much bystanders.
It was clear that any of these eight individuals will, if given the chance, set us back as much or more than the half century or so that TFG did. Haley came across as almost a moderate, and took some real shots at the Republican party (e.g., blaming them for the huge deficits and debt increases), so she's one to be particularly wary of. If nothing else, the "debate" underscores what is at stake in the 2024 election, and should motivate us to do everything we can do to defeat the Republicans, at all levels.
We need a massive BLUE WAVE to wash away the toxic RED TIDE!
And, what is going to happen to the Georgia case when D.A. Willis is removed from her office by the Georgia state legislature who just gave themselves the power to do so effective October 1, 2023???!!!
I did not watch the debates or the Trump infomercial and would be interested in seeing what the viewer numbers were. I believe only diehard Republican’s watched the debate and the candidates tried very hard to convince this small group of voters they were a younger smarter version of Trump instead of trying to win new voters and Independents. It was interesting that most of the candidates told us what they were against but did not tell us what they supported or what they would do if elected. The real question is the Biden administration has been very successful with programs and policies that have substantially improved our economy, wage growth , infrastructure and climate change. What would you do differently?
I had a conversation with some African American friends yesterday who pointed out that their lived experience with the American political system was the same under the Democrats and the GOP, and that they feel less inclined to favor either party. This gave me pause. I can’t say I blame them. So, I respect their opinion and vote Democratic, always with the proviso that the Dem programs deliver better results for us all.
Very concise and important essay. Thanks Robert! Hard to believe the positions of the GOP candidates. Your right. The talking points between the Fox debate and the CNN town hall have been made clear. Message to all Democrats “Repeat, repeat, repeat!”.
Neither of us watched the “debate“ last night. We watched a PBS Brit mystery-comedy and then off went the television. I am not surprised to read how the “debate” went. Still appalling to read about.
“In an evenly divided electorate, we need only change the minds of voters at the margin. We can do that. After what we witnessed on Wednesday evening, we should be more confident than ever that our messages will resonate with most Americans in 2024.” Yes, indeed, Robert!
As far as I am concerned an all male South Carolina Supreme Court has no standing to rule on abortion. August 26th is Women's Equality Day marking when the 19th Amendment became part of the Constitution. Monday evening I attended a presentation on the Equal Rights Amendment and why it should now be part of the Constitution since 38 states have approved it. What I learned is that this Amendment would make true equality for all citizens of all genders a Constitutional right. Without that right the Injustices of US Supreme Court can do what they've done with Affirmative Action and now allowing discrimination even if the harm to the person bringing the suit is speculative. The first case lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsberg won before the Supreme Court on discrimination based on sex was how a man had been discriminated against because he was male. A woman friend of mine who is a MAGA Republican told me women need to be more responsible when it comes to reproduction. I asked her it was a reasonable expectation for a ten year old girl to be the responsible party when some man wants to play "Let's make babies!" In my friend's evangelical mind it was all the female's fault. I told her the remedy for rape should a penectomy in order to hold the rapist responsible and prevent him from impregnating more women against their will. Hope I made her think about fairness a bit! I now believe we need the ERA amendment to put some teeth in the Constitution to do right by women and by all of us!
The choice to have an abortion is, universally, a harrowing one. A women's right of choice does not preclude or insulate that woman from the profound dimensions involved in that decision. Respect for women's choice should categorically start with this reality. No one seeks to find themselves in such circumstance. No one seeks an abortion. Women receive abortions as part of far-reaching, complex life determinations including overall health and well-being. Not the least of which is the care of the child when considering emotional preparedness and financial stability.
Sadly, the focus in last night's debate was the affirmation, yes, affirmative action, of a white christian belief system that would impose itself on women federally. And, to add to the disgrace, all the candidates' deceitful inaccuracies came to the fore in a display shameful ambiguity and deception regarding "late-term abortions". "Honing in on abortions in the latter stages of pregnancy shifts the focus to procedures that are either extremely rare or that don’t happen at all. The vast majority of abortions take place far earlier in pregnancy than the Republican talking point might imply." https://19thnews.org/2023/08/what-are-late-term-abortions-gop-rhetoric-politicians/
Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that in 2020, the most recent year for which information is available, 98.9 percent of abortions took place by the end of the 20th week of pregnancy. About 93.1 percent took place before the end of the 13th week of pregnancy, and 80 percent occurred by the end of week nine, well within the first trimester. Late-term pregnancies in any other context would not be an issue given these statistics. Republicans counter by appealing to the extremely rare procedures that are looked upon with horror by their constituents. In fact, these late-term procedures are not only rare but are absolutely necessary for the health and survivability of the mother.
Remember, Republicans lie about what we see with our own eyes. Blaming the woman for becoming pregnant is a reprobate walk in the park them.
That debate proved that Harry Truman is still right: like he said in 1948, "The only 'Good Republicans' are pushing up daisies."
Some. Things. Never. Change.
I am 65 an attorney by training and a lifelong follower of politics. It pains me that even you have to mention who appointed a judge in discussing how to evaluate a case. I know you said the judge will "follow the law", but in trying to allay some of our fears, who appointed the judge, seems to be relevant. It's just another example of how much DT's malevolence has permeated our systems. It makes me sad and angry. It should not matter who appointed a judge or what the judge's ethnicity is.
Joe Biden has given us a strong, stable, Ike-like conservative government (there haven't even been any White House scandals!), and he has focused on repairing the damage inflicted by his predecessor. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes he would do more, break new ground, but there can be no doubt he will leave his successor in 2029 in a position to do so. In the meantime, we need to elect a Congress next year that will push him.
Thanks for this real news, Robert. The rise in foreign investment is inspiring! I do wonder if climate change is a hoax, what's to be done about the drought that is affecting the Panama Canal's ability to keep cargo ships running smoothly?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/panama-canal-drought-threatens-global-cargo-ship-traffic/
“Drill, frack, burn coal, embrace nuclear.”
I took my big dog to the dog park last night so she could get a little exercise by swimming in the pond nearby. Usually, there are 30-40 other dogs and their people in the park or walking around the pond. There are also soccer fields that share the same parking lot and usually 150 or more kids/parents running around.
I was the only person there last night. Why? Temperature was 100 degrees and the humidity was about 70%. Ugh. Hot, humid and almost no breeze for relief. And this is Minnesota - that was a record-breaking high temp. Not surprising in this summer of blistering heat, storms, wildfires, and other evidence of the climate crisis.
To candidate Ramaswamy and the rest of the Republicans except Christie, it’s the climate stupid!
I know what I’ll be doing from now until the 2024 election: working to get out the vote for Democrats. No other choice. None.
Thank God for Joe Biden, and his team of incredibly talented administrators!! And thank you Robert and company for help keeping me saner and motivated.
Thank you, Robert, for this. Especially your encouragement to put out the word in positive language! Post on social media, tell friends and neighbors. I ran into a neighbor who was unenthusiastic about Joe Biden, she is a Democrat who had swallowed the media’s trope, “but he’s old”. I took the opportunity to apprise her of his accomplishments and boy, was she surprised! One conversation, one post, one letter to the editor at a time. Let’s do this!
The debates crystalized this key fact...the enemy of freedom and democracy in the US is not just TFG but the entirety of the GOP.
The time to start voter national voter engagement for 2024 is now.
Like 2020, we have to win to preserve our constitutional democracy.
The debate last night called to mind the excellent question posed by (I think) Joan Rivers: Which is your favorite Menendez brother?
Robert, thanks for putting last night's "debate" in the right perspective, as a footnote to the events of the day. As promised, I watched the show, and actually lasted thru the entire thing. That's in part due to your request that I provide realtime feedback. That turned out to be quite a challenge.
There were no winners in the "debate," especially the American people. Of the contestants, only one, Nikki Haley, sounded reasonable at several points, when she actually went after the Republican party. Vivek Ramaswamy introduced himself as a showman, and took very scary positions to the right of TFG. Pence came across as steady, experienced, but too religious and too convinced that Trump-Pence was good for America. DeSantis was ignored, and struggled for attention. Christie got in a few jabs, but took some body blows himself. Hutchinson, Scott, and Burgum were pretty much bystanders.
It was clear that any of these eight individuals will, if given the chance, set us back as much or more than the half century or so that TFG did. Haley came across as almost a moderate, and took some real shots at the Republican party (e.g., blaming them for the huge deficits and debt increases), so she's one to be particularly wary of. If nothing else, the "debate" underscores what is at stake in the 2024 election, and should motivate us to do everything we can do to defeat the Republicans, at all levels.
We need a massive BLUE WAVE to wash away the toxic RED TIDE!
And, what is going to happen to the Georgia case when D.A. Willis is removed from her office by the Georgia state legislature who just gave themselves the power to do so effective October 1, 2023???!!!
I did not watch the debates or the Trump infomercial and would be interested in seeing what the viewer numbers were. I believe only diehard Republican’s watched the debate and the candidates tried very hard to convince this small group of voters they were a younger smarter version of Trump instead of trying to win new voters and Independents. It was interesting that most of the candidates told us what they were against but did not tell us what they supported or what they would do if elected. The real question is the Biden administration has been very successful with programs and policies that have substantially improved our economy, wage growth , infrastructure and climate change. What would you do differently?
I particularly love your last paragraph.
I had a conversation with some African American friends yesterday who pointed out that their lived experience with the American political system was the same under the Democrats and the GOP, and that they feel less inclined to favor either party. This gave me pause. I can’t say I blame them. So, I respect their opinion and vote Democratic, always with the proviso that the Dem programs deliver better results for us all.
Very concise and important essay. Thanks Robert! Hard to believe the positions of the GOP candidates. Your right. The talking points between the Fox debate and the CNN town hall have been made clear. Message to all Democrats “Repeat, repeat, repeat!”.
Neither of us watched the “debate“ last night. We watched a PBS Brit mystery-comedy and then off went the television. I am not surprised to read how the “debate” went. Still appalling to read about.
“In an evenly divided electorate, we need only change the minds of voters at the margin. We can do that. After what we witnessed on Wednesday evening, we should be more confident than ever that our messages will resonate with most Americans in 2024.” Yes, indeed, Robert!