Protest in reaction to Supreme Court ruling

24Jun2022

pre-march
Assembling at North end of City Hall before the march.

On Friday, the 23rd of June, the Supreme Court put out the ruling that they had overturned the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision that allowed for abortions. This provoke immediate protests. Not very surprising as the Roe ruling was still quite popular.

Roughly speaking, between 25% and 35% of Americans think that abortion should always be legal, 10% to 15% think it should never be legal, and the remaining 50% to 65% are split between those who think that it should be mostly legal with some exceptions and mostly illegal but with exceptions.

In other words, Roe's nuanced decision is still the right one, 49 years later.

about to start marching

Someone on Twitter asks

As a parent, I simply want to know how Republicans plan to house, feed, educate, provide healthcare and protection from predators — for the impending boom of unwanted children in America?

An interview with the Governor of South Dakota shows that the states that are the most eager to deny women their reproductive choice are also the least equipped to help mothers with new children.

marching

Video of the march in Philly.

Congresswoman AOC drives the point home that governors who talk touchingly about life and how precious the pre-born babies are, actually do a very poor job when it comes to supporting "life after birth." The Governor of Arkansas was very poetic about his support for pre-born babies, but as AOC points out:

"The state of Arkansas and Governor Hutchinson governs over a state that has the third-highest maternal mortality in the United States. 71% of the women who die are black women as well. This is a state that has 26% child poverty, where one in four children are living in extreme or are living in poverty in the state of Arkansas."

This is a problem that affects many states generally. Of the states that are most strongly opposed to choice concerning pregnancy, they generally have not accepted Medicaid expansion via the ACA/Obamacare, nor do they suppot paid family leave.

marching

Justice Alito, who wrote the opinion that tossed out Roe, changed pretty much nothing in the decsion since May, when the decision was leaked.

Senator Collins heartily endorsed Judge Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court after he assured her that he'd respect the Roe decision. She's claiming that the now-Justice Kavanaugh betrayed her. Senator Manchin feels similarly betrayed by now-Justice Gorsuch, who gave Manchin a simila assurance. Neiher one has any desire to set aside the filibuster in order to repair the consequences of their earlier gullibility. As a pundit on TV pointed out, both of them are wealthy, privileged and secure enough that their disappointment is a momentary distraction. They'll get over it quickly enough.

crowd

Most state laws concerning abortion say that the hospital or medical care providers must act to preserve the life of the woman. But they're frustratingly non-specific as to how long to wait if doctors feel there's a problem. How much medical distress should they permit before intervening? 

So, she asks, does the language in these laws allow for abortion early in pregnancy if a life-threatening complication could arise later?

When does the doctor intervene without running into criminal liability? If a paient is referred to another state to have an abortion, how much bloodwork and ultrasounds can the original doctor safely do without having to go to court or even to jail? The incentive for legislatures is to make these decisions as difficult as possible, to err on the side of harming their woman patients.

crowds

The three dissenters, Justices Stephen Breyer, Elana Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor, expressed concern that the court wasn't finished, that more rights would be on the chopping block. Justice Alito gave this an "Oh, pish-tosh" answer, suggesting the dissenters were overreacting.But Justice Thomas explicitly mentioned other cases that might also "need" revisiting. 

House Minority Leader McCarthy insists that everyone should simply ignore Justice Thomas.

A popular singer expresses her opinion of th Supreme Court ruling.

Arch St rally

Rally at Arch Street. Video from that.

I was telling someone just the other day that the supply of young men willing to run into machine guns for the Glory of the Motherland is a finite, limited resource

Russia isn’t winning any war advancing an average of three kilometers a week, 400 meters per day. Manpower shortages are becoming more acute—Russia just approved a law allowing 17-year-olds to go straight from school to the front lines. Equipment is a serious problem, with obsolete T-62s being issued to front line units, and Russia begging Belarus for ammunition.

Russia defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution of over a century ago. 

A Russian-born pundit that I was following prior to the re-invasion of Ukraine insisted to critics that Putin was not a strategic genius. Seems she was right. Russia bombd  a shopping center in Kyiv. They had roughly 1k people inside. The G7 is currently meeting. Hard to see how Russia gains anything through such sheer and utter brutality.

crowds

HIMARS have arrived in Ukraine and they're already causing all sorts of damage behind Russian lines. HIMARS is the successor to the Soviet Katyushas of World War II, they're called "rocket artillery." Because it's so easy to fire off lots of HIMARS, Ukrainians can target ammunition dumps and command centers. 

Former President Trump is VERY upset over the January 6th Commission!

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