I did all the ranting I plan to do (for now) over at the blog this past weekend. But I’ll add that I cannot fathom how we are expected to believe ANY Christian conservative’s crocodile tears about the fact women will die or be prosecuted. They believe they are simply enacting God’s will. It’s just a religious version of “I was only following orders.” They’ve already passed the buck upstairs and insulated themselves from moral accountability for any suffering they cause.
And they also believe any woman seeking an abortion deserves to suffer. Their worldview is a perfect fusion of reactionary politics and “faith.” Never, ever forget: the cruelty is the point. Always. Even when or maybe especially when they claim God is the one bringing the pain.
You're so fast with the comments, I wonder whether you're sitting next to the Maestro when he hits the Post button, or maybe you get early access to drafts.
LMAO. I think Mrs. Edroso would have something to say about any visitors who dropped by so early in the morning, and rightly so. What can I say, I’m a very early riser with a lot of strong opinions.
The school was in Valley Stream, N.Y., right on the Queens border, so it's just possible that this was the same chapter at whose demonstration Fred Trump was nicked.
The Opus Dei Catholics not only hate the Pope for being gay-friendly and insufficiently anti-female, they are united with the Evangelicals and Born-Againers in opposition to anything that smacks of liberalism. They really think that they'll be the exception when the "Die, Papist whores!" crowd comes for them.
Alliances are funny things: leading up to and during Prohibition, the Klan were strongly anti-alcohol (regardless of how much they drank) because Baptists Northern and Southern were, and Jews and Catholics and immigrants generally thought Prohibition ridiculous. In this, the Klan were allied with the Wobblies and most of the Progressives.
That Billy Mumy photo has become such a cultural touchstone. I find that pretty amazing . I heard somewhere recently that it's pronounced "moo me"and not "mummy". I've gone nearly 60 years without pronouncing it right.
Ever since they got Trump elected I'm real hesitant to use the" This time they've gone too far" trope. I mean, we oughta know by now they'll just do any fucking thing and it's surprising the amount of people that really don't seem to give a shit.
Nevertheless, maybe this time.
I mean, they're relentless, but they are also not very competent.
Billy Mumy gave us the cornfield, Will Robinson, and "rolly, poly, fishheads." If that's not sufficient for cultural canonization, I don't know what is.
Jun 27, 2022·edited Jun 27, 2022Liked by Roy Edroso
At the bottom of the email you receive with Roy's Daily Devotion and Wise Words for a Better Life it will tell you if it's for paying customers only or open to the public feel free to share. I don't think it's visible in the browser version.
Who would I be if I didn't have a fun fact for y'all?
Condoms were not uncommon in the Western Middle Ages from about the 11th century on. The idea was imported from China (of course) and product was often brought in from the Middle East. They were made out of sheep's intestines --so basically a sausage casing for your sausage-- and covered only the glans. They were used mostly for protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Those with uteruses had other methods, including legal, easily available, abortifacients, to control pregnancies.
Shorter Tish Warren: "A sperm and an egg uniting to grow inside the body of a woman is no more unnatural (or 'forced' if you will) than me licking a boot, so let's enjoy the taste of leather, shall we?"
And, um, cells are absolutely compelled to age & die off -- that's a biological fucking imperative.
One guy, back in days of yore. looks at a sheep intestine and thinks, " I could stuff that with ground meat and seasonings, cook it together and have it for dinner.I bet it would be delicious !"
Guy standing next to him wants to put his dick in it.
Great, great, great piece. Unlock this post so I can spread it on the social media.
Just the smallest of quibbles -- rather, a clarification: No argument would have worked. As the Rude Pundit would put it, anyone who thinks there was a winning argument can fuck off.
Some loose thoughts to, like, embellish:
There's a reason why I've been referring to the Roberts court as GOP apparatchiks. They've been putting party first forever. The hallmarks of this court include finding the rule of law something to be ignored whenever possible in order to promote party goals. Of course, the ideal is to use the rule of law as a tool to do that.
As for Roberts, his hallmark as the Chief Justice has been (or was I guess) to hide the GOP appointees' disinterest in the rule of law and act lie all the more vile decisions were on the up and up. But, you know, I'm not sure bullshitting like that is admirable. Too, it's hard to attribute that principle to the man who, among other things, signed off on Citizens United and fucking wrote Shelby County.
As for Griswold, it's a very fragile decision, held together legally speaking with spit and string. Yet, the underlying rationale is that if you're going to have freedom, you gotta have rights. Of course, denying that rationale takes one back, in a way, to the pre-Constitution era when there seemed no rationale for the states to unite into a nation. Of course, with the shit that can be expected when the GOP regains Congress and the presidency or just supermajorities in Congress that can override vetos, maybe a return to the days of the Articles of Confederation (was about to write AoC but there's irony and then there's goddam irony and my love for AOC is so pure I forgive her for the dog and another failing) would be an improvement.
And a reminder: This would not have happened -- Republican hegemony and a de facto lock on power without the complicity of the DNC and promotion of the GOP by the mainstream media. Honest reporting on the GOP apparently is some sort of unacceptable bias and here we are.
As for the Dems, yet again:
RBG and Breyer needed to be talked into resigning in 2009 when a Dem POTUS could replace them;
Obama needed to fight for Garland; might have been futile but I don't think appearing as someone who fought for something would have been worse for the party than being McConnell's bitch because the Dems can't be powerless too often;
Fight to block ACB; likely to fail but possible that the time needed to pass through the system would delay the resolution until after the new congress took over, you know, the one with the Dem Senate; and
Giving up the filibuster for SCOTUS nominations is approximately the last filibuster reform needed. (I'm an old guy who goes back to ancient times so support the OG filibuster where the fuckers need to stand and talk and talk and talk...).
Waiting for a point by point defense of that there 😄
As for what to do: I'm no party operative or special-interest-with-influence, just a voter, so vagueness follows: The largest block of the electorate, as the joke goes, votes for none of the above. Which is to say, they choose not to vote. That is unacceptable this November. A massive turnout and broad rejection of the GOP is necessary. I know; huge understatement. Without a real ejection of the party at all levels, the nation is, to coin a phrase, fucked for, at best, a very long time to come. Of course, one of the problems is the DNC's long time disinterest in contesting every race no matter how far down ballot. It's the reason some red states are red or as red as they are.
And again, amongst we, the people, solidarity and unity are essential; it's on us to take care of our own because the state is not on our side. (If you reject my opinion, there's this professional opinion: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/your-state-will-not-save-you)
And back to the Dems: Besides needing to contest every office, they need to run on a commitment -- not just empty talk -- to actually get shit done, starting with expanding SCOTUS. Impeachments for lying during confirmation hearings would be delightful but that'd never happen. You know, a Contract for America.
And a favor: If you're going to call me out on anything above that's fact-based, cite some facts, thanks.
No argument with the above, Manque (& you know me I'll argue with you til the bovines are put to bed) -- I started seeing those obnxious "centrist Dem" responses to posts elsewhere: "if only you purity ponies voted for Hillary in blah blah blah...", returning to that third-party horseshit like dogs to their vomit.
Democrats need policies that are audacious & popular, so much so that obstructionists are mown down. That means not watering down action so that it's no longer anything useful. That means focusing on economic justice & social equity -- in radical ways that a Nancy Pelosi will only see the need for after another 50 years in office.
So basically, we're all fucked -- that Democratic Party does not exist, and wouldn't be able to grow in our current media environment. The only Big Tent we can see is the hard-on in the Christofascists' chinos.
I think there were people—call them “purity ponies” if you like; I have called them worse—who went the “protest” route in 2016, either sitting out the election or casting symbolic third party votes, and did so in sufficient numbers in a few key states to deliver the EC, and the country, into the stubby, grubby fingers of the Once and Future Former Guy. Had these people been content to hold their noses with one rather than both hands, Gorsuch, Boofer and Barrett would not be sitting on the Court today (Kennedy might, though). Since I am assured, however, that there’s no meaningful difference between the major parties, Friday’s outcome would have been exactly the same with HRC appointees, amirite? I hope none of you feel bad about your “principled abstention.” (𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲: They won’t.)
Time to trot out for the nth time Tbogg’s Epistle to the Purity Ponies from 2008. The classics never go out of style:
****
Every year in Happy Gumdrop Fairy-Tale Land all of the sprites and elves and woodland creatures gather together to pick the Rainbow Sunshine Queen. Everyone is there: the Lollipop Guild, the Star-Twinkle Toddlers, the Sparkly Unicorns, the Cookie Baking Apple-cheeked Grandmothers, the Fluffy Bunny Bund, the Rumbly-Tumbly Pupperoos, the Snowflake Princesses, the Baby Duckies All-In-A-Row, the Laughing Babies, and the Dykes on Bikes. They have a big picnic with cupcakes and gumdrops and pudding pops, stopping only to cast their votes by throwing Magic Wishing Rocks into the Well of Laughter, Comity, and Good Intentions. Afterward they spend the rest of the night dancing and singing and waving glow sticks until dawn when they tumble sleepy-eyed into beds made of the purest and whitest goose down where they dream of angels and clouds of spun sugar.
The left is irrelevant as a political block because there are no leftists currently holding office -- what people try to tell us are Leftist policy positions are middle of the road in Western Europe.
I'm asking for health care, education, retirement, parental leave, sustainable infrastructure & transit, & the other amenities of living in civilization like Western Europe enjoys. That's a first step Left.
Oooh... boogity-boo! So scary. So unrealistic.
I swear the biggest problem with the Internet is that it makes 15 loudmouth men sound like the entire voting population — but an even bigger problem are the dumbasses who believe those 15 dudes speak for everybody.
When fully HALF of all eligible voters don't vote at all, I struggle to understand this obsessive focus that *some* Dems have on the 1% of voters who vote for the Greens. Seems like the Dems could dip into that vast pool of non-voters and make up the difference if getting more votes were the point of it, but maybe getting more votes isn't the point of it?
BTW, I've volunteered on Dem campaigns, many of them, and we're ALWAYS given a walk list with identified voters and told NOT to knock on doors not on the list.
About 63 million people voted for Donald Trump, and if you took just 100,000 of those votes, spread over the proper states, and gave them to Clinton, then Clinton would have won. But we usually don't say that, and why not? Because those people voted for Trump, and not Clinton, and to simply what-if them into the Clinton column seems silly and pointless.
Now all we have to figure out is why you think you can do that with Green voters.
2020 was a great example of what could happen if the Dems motivated more non-voters... but no, let's keep whining about Ralph Nader & Jill Stein & Bernie Sanders.
The GOP have the Big Lie and the Centrist Liberals have the Wheezing Whinge... Same message: "If you all had just done what your political betters told you to do, we wouldn't be here right now."
I'm curious to hear what the Dykes on Bikes ever did to you? I mean you seem angry at everyone about this, but why hate on lesbians here?
Also, nobody gives a shit about this stupid Boomer "I'm the only one who understands that life is hard & politics is real life blargle blargle." We've done it your way for decades now — what we're seeing here is the result of your generation's way. You snarl "Grow the fuck up" and act like that's a good thing.
Read that Tbogg rant out loud, preferably in front of a mirror. Doesn't it make you feel all tough and savvy? As I hinted before, none of this has anything to do with gaining votes for the Dems or winning elections. It's all about feelings, and the need of some liberals to feel hard and virtuous, ready to make the "tough decisions" (not tough for them at all, of course) to Really Get Things Done.
Liberals are always getting attacked from the right for being bleeding-hearts who'd let a rapist out of prison on a weekend furlough, what they need is someone even farther to the left that they can pull the same move on themselves. If the Greens didn't exist, they'd need to invent them.
Ok but: "Just the smallest of quibbles -- rather, a clarification: No argument would have worked." I thought I did that in "No Constitutional approach would have saved Roe" etc., can you clarify?
I missed your qualification -- what happens when dotards read posts on a phone.
The point is that when the apparatchiks went to do something, no legal argument matters. In other words, like any shithole system, this court does whatever it wants. Dissuasion is impossible.
A few weeks ago, when Henry Cuellar was getting primaried by Jessica Cisneros, I saw a report that Cuellar was "the last of the pro-life Democrats" in the House. Cisneros fell short (just) but I thought that was sort of remarkable, because there used to be many Dems who were anti-abortion (or at least that's the excuse given when I ask why they didn't codify Roe into law in the 50 years they had to do that.) So, at least on that one issue, your "purge" seems to be happening.
Also, going WAAAY back to 2009 when Obamacare was being debated, and those of us who wanted a Public Option were told, "Sorry, can't, filibuster, you know" Harry Reid and ALL the Dems in leadership were adamant that the filibuster was sacrosanct and must not be touched, notwithstanding the fact that they eventually used reconciliation to pass Obamacare. That seems like another area where the Dems have moved in a positive direction, no?
The ACA was hugely flawed as a result of designing it to attract Republican votes, which didn’t happen. And instead of a law that established a nationwide program, you got one dependent on states’ actions. Of course it’s done some good, just far, far, far less than a true national program like SS or Medicare. And it’s done more good than the Cornyn-approved gun control bill.
If you're trying to encourage people to work towards a goal, it helps to show them some progress has already been made towards that goal. We're not starting at zero, others have moved the ball down the field, and now's our chance to move it even further. Of course, that approach requires a willingness to acknowledge progress, which you seem allergic to.
I agree with Roy that this is no longer the Roberts Court: it's now the Thomas Court, and Roberts is literally a cuck, watching Clarence fuck America, not only through SCOTUS but through his lovely wife (I'm not saying that Roberts doesn't agree with the project of fucking America - it's just that he wanted to do it nice and slow, instead of in the "wham, bam, thank you m'am" manner that Thomas favors). If you look at the GOP reactions to the ruling, it's clear they were expecting Roberts to do one of his 11th dimensional chess maneuvers to soften the blow and uphold Dobbs without completely overturning Roe, and without Thomas signaling that they're coming for birth control and the gays next. Ah, well, best laid plans and all.
I disagree. As I noted, Roberts is usually on board with the rest of the GOP hacks. His only thing was it not being obvious that they’re hacks who put party above law. Now that there’s a majority of hacks, it’s impossible to hide. In that sense, Roberts is a cuck, but it’s still his court. And as it’s been since his first day, Thomas is a nasty, unfit piece of shit. Y’all credit him too much.
Um, yes, not being "obvious that they're hacks who put party above law" was my point. Thomas is saying, fuck that noise, I'm going full Scalia. And you seem to be confusing what I'm saying with praise of Thomas. My bad for being unclear.
“… you seem to be confusing what I'm saying with praise of Thomas.”
No way did I think you were praising. Point was, IIRC, that the Roberts court was always a disgrace, now just the same but more so, if that makes sense.
Yes, I agree. I also think that Roberts has lost whatever control he once had over the more feral justices, i.e. Alito and Thomas, who have now proven they don't give a fuck about the Court's legacy or legitimacy (something which Roberts supposedly fretted about), and are just throwing shit at the walls, regardless of what anyone else thinks. And today Gorsuch, that guy that Neal Katyal, Liberal At Law, told everybody to chill out over, flat-out lied about the football coach's prayer session at the 50-yard-line in order to show his ass to the Establishment Clause. Now we wait and see what happens when I Like Beer and Aunt Amy let their freak flags fly.
Conservatives believe there is no right to privacy. Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court was torpedoed because he said outright that no such right exists. Roberts in his concurrence says pretty much the same with his "because the Constitution does not have the specific word 'abortion' anywhere in the text, there is no right to an abortion."
The right to privacy is one of those progressive ideas that conservatives have hated since it was first formulated. None of the enumerated rights in the Constitution mean anything if the government can be as intrusive as it wants for any or no reason at all.
Conservatives like the kind of right to privacy that protects white males from being exposed for their sexual exploitation of women. It’s the right of privacy that entails women’s ability to control their bodies that pisses them off.
Jun 27, 2022·edited Jun 27, 2022Liked by Roy Edroso
"...states in the Deep South could be prodded into more generous policy by pro-life activists."
I would be glad to volunteer to do the prodding. I know where to buy a device that can deliver 4,000 volts to the gonads.
French and Douthat are telling us that, sure, nobody in the GOP has ever in their lives given the tiniest fraction of a shit about all the troubles pregnant women have encountered every day, essentially forever, but now that the would-be baby-murdering sluts might be facing such troubles, that's what will stir them to ride to the rescue! So, the eternal question: lying or stupid?
Back when women actually had a choice (Ha, remember that?) there might have been some small motivation to provide some prenatal/post-birth care, so as to lead the ladies away from sin, but now that women have to have the kid anyway, why offer anything at all? (which they won't)
I'm thinking they might offer something in return for a confession, along the lines of "My name is ____, and I was ready to murder my precious child and sell his parts to Bill Gates so he could use them in his mind-control vaccines, until the good people of the Republican Party showed me some old-fashioned tough love and said 'fuck no, slut.' Now can I please have the heat turned back on?"
I'm thinking it will be well-meaning Hollywood liberals who create the first "Win a trip to LA for an abortion!" Reality TV show. No confession required, but extra-harrowing tales of suffering will win you extra points.
I think there's a big countdown clock at NRA headquarters, and a matching, synchronized clock at RNC headquarters, and they push the Start button when the first news of a high-profile mass shooting breaks. They've probably got it down to a science, the clock is set at 9 days, or something like that, the amount of time it takes for the public to move on and forget. Then the job is just to vamp until the bell on the clock goes "ding!" and then it's back to business-as-usual.
Thank you. As with Elie Mystal, we read you to translate our anger, which in the confines of our home has become practically a wasp’s nest of furious incoherence. You make it all clear, Roy, and always hit all the important notes.
So, any interest in that "no blood, plasma or organ donations while this shit stands" deal yet? No? Still too extreme for you?
It's cool. We can't all be soldiers. Interestingly enough, I find much of the opposition I encounter is based in the perspective of the anti-abortion side: "How DARE you withhold YOUR body for something WE think is so important?!?"
Well, that's kinda how this whole "freedom" thing works. Doesn't matter how bad you need that kidney or that pint of blood. If I don't want to give them to you, I don't have to, and no court can make me.
That's how it used to be, anyway. All bets are off these days. Ever since Trump's election, the only thing you can count on is it's gonna keep getting crazier.
Was fun taunting the fuckers at the clinic Saturday. They seemed shocked any of us showed, since they'd "won." I had a good time wiping those smirks off their faces.
Planned Parenthood asked us not to come and the cops were there in force, anticipating violence. Most people stayed away but a few of us hard-core types thought it important to make a showing. I'd also hyped it on social media all week and did NOT want newbies to find themselves alone in a mob of nutjobs.
There were maybe a dozen defenders and a half dozen escorts vs. 50-60 nutjobs. At one point, they put up a HUGE banner reading "THERE IS FORGIVENESS FOR THE SIN OF ABORTION ONLY IN JESUS CHRIST" so I started in with the bullhorn.
"See, ladies! You WILL be forgiven for having an abortion! So go have your abortion, then just ask Jesus to forgive you! It'll work! Even the nutjobs admit it! READ THE SIGN!!!"
After 15-20 minutes of this, they took the banner down, something I did not allow them to forget the rest of the morning. The motherfuckers didn't look nearly so triumphant by the time we left.
Oh my gosh, I am so fortunate. A half a block down from my apartment*, on the corner, is the Planned Parenthood clinic. In all the years I've lived here, I've only ever seen two or three people wandering around for a little while brandishing fetus pix. It happens a half dozen times a year.
In fact, my apartment building is chock-full of seniors, many of us women, and I think some of the older ones are genuine red diaper babies all growed up. I don't think I'd have much trouble assembling a squadron of angry old ladies to head down for escort duty should the need ever arise.
I've already made points about some of this on the Twitter, that Warren seems to be setting up an attack on gender transition with the "natural biology" guff, and, as far as Douthat's noble intentions for the GOP, I'd sooner wait for frogs to grow wings so they didn't bump their asses on the ground.
Taking a page from how we beat Prohibition: A fleet of Abortion Ships off the gulf coast, just outside territorial limits. Now I just need to find some tech billionaire to fund the scheme. But that shouldn't be hard, I hear they're all libertarians, right?
A more realistic version might be opening up abortion-on-demand centers on every military base in a red state. It makes sense, and would actually help a ton of women, but it requires actually doing something bold, which means it probably won't happen.
There was some Facebook meme with a bunch of corporate logos supposedly pledged to help employees with travel costs for abortion if needed. I kinda shit in the punchbowl by wondering how many still contributed to the GOP. You know, like they pledged to stop doing after January 6th.
The idea that things we now count as rights should become privileges, doled out by a beneficent boss (and easily taken away if we get uppity) is totally consistent with the overall corporate agenda, no "wokeness" required.
Can you imagine how much easier it would have been to whittle the definition of "life" down to 10 weeks if the theocrats had used carrots instead of calling everyone a murderer?
If the nation was abrim with happy foster children going to happy easy-to-get-to daycares, cared for by extended families of all varieties b/c that was easy too, and a pregnant person in a bad way personally could look at a "pregnancy crisis center" as something other than a theocratic scam?
Well, yes. Obviously that would have worked quicker than the theocratic rage they did use. So that, in essence, is why none of us trust these people at all. Precisely because, if every life was precious, they could have solved their abortion problem by tricking us all into thinking it was unnecessary.
Instead they waited 50 years while, according to them, the body count continued to increase. But they stuck to the non-compassionate route, didn't they. Clearly the bodies weren't that important.
I see that Tish Harrison Warren is with the Anglican Church in North America. As a former Episcopalian, I remember when they broke away because they thought the existing church was too liberal. Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Orthodox Orthodox Christians do not oppose abortion.
I dunno...will be really fun to watch the Friday night football pre-game ritual gathering of the anointed to call upon god to enforce his/her/its mandate of spiritual* glory to the sportsball team that prays together, when the coach is a muslim with a prayer rug big enough for every starter, scrub and assistant coach, cheerleader, ticket seller, groundskeeper, parking assistant and all the ritual watchers in the stands (but not the refs – that would be going too far).
*(huh - just noticed that spiritual is just plain old ritual with spi** added – I gotta pay more attention)
The "just don't have sex" argument is such a hoot. What do you think would happen if an average girlfriend/wife/mistress said, "Okay, no PIV anymore. It's just too dangerous nowadays and there are other things I think I would enjoy even more."? She would find herself dumped, at best, and subject to violence at worst.
I did all the ranting I plan to do (for now) over at the blog this past weekend. But I’ll add that I cannot fathom how we are expected to believe ANY Christian conservative’s crocodile tears about the fact women will die or be prosecuted. They believe they are simply enacting God’s will. It’s just a religious version of “I was only following orders.” They’ve already passed the buck upstairs and insulated themselves from moral accountability for any suffering they cause.
And they also believe any woman seeking an abortion deserves to suffer. Their worldview is a perfect fusion of reactionary politics and “faith.” Never, ever forget: the cruelty is the point. Always. Even when or maybe especially when they claim God is the one bringing the pain.
You're so fast with the comments, I wonder whether you're sitting next to the Maestro when he hits the Post button, or maybe you get early access to drafts.
LMAO. I think Mrs. Edroso would have something to say about any visitors who dropped by so early in the morning, and rightly so. What can I say, I’m a very early riser with a lot of strong opinions.
Heh, I always feel awkward about commenting first -- so I usually try to wait for you.
Not touching that straight line about Mrs. Maestro.
Please just call first!
And they also believe any woman seeking an abortion deserves to suffer
I think they think every woman needs to suffer and God has ordained pregnancy to be that suffering
Only in America will six Catholic judges willingly do the bidding of a Catholic-hating Klan.
Put like that, that's some kind of irony there.
Of course, the last time America was truly great -- the 1920s til ale October 29 -- the Klan was huge.
Where I allegedly grew-up, a local elementary school c.1925C.E. got its first U.S. flag from the Klan.
That's a history lesson right there.
The school was in Valley Stream, N.Y., right on the Queens border, so it's just possible that this was the same chapter at whose demonstration Fred Trump was nicked.
The Opus Dei Catholics not only hate the Pope for being gay-friendly and insufficiently anti-female, they are united with the Evangelicals and Born-Againers in opposition to anything that smacks of liberalism. They really think that they'll be the exception when the "Die, Papist whores!" crowd comes for them.
Alliances are funny things: leading up to and during Prohibition, the Klan were strongly anti-alcohol (regardless of how much they drank) because Baptists Northern and Southern were, and Jews and Catholics and immigrants generally thought Prohibition ridiculous. In this, the Klan were allied with the Wobblies and most of the Progressives.
This is fantastic. I'm glad you made this public. From" Hey gotta go Happy Friday to "In days of old when knights were bold-" So much win.
Thanks!
I'm marveling over "winsome, lose some." Roy is sooo freaking clever a wordsmith.
That Billy Mumy photo has become such a cultural touchstone. I find that pretty amazing . I heard somewhere recently that it's pronounced "moo me"and not "mummy". I've gone nearly 60 years without pronouncing it right.
Ever since they got Trump elected I'm real hesitant to use the" This time they've gone too far" trope. I mean, we oughta know by now they'll just do any fucking thing and it's surprising the amount of people that really don't seem to give a shit.
Nevertheless, maybe this time.
I mean, they're relentless, but they are also not very competent.
Billy Mumy gave us the cornfield, Will Robinson, and "rolly, poly, fishheads." If that's not sufficient for cultural canonization, I don't know what is.
It's public? What did I miss??
At the bottom of the email you receive with Roy's Daily Devotion and Wise Words for a Better Life it will tell you if it's for paying customers only or open to the public feel free to share. I don't think it's visible in the browser version.
This morning I read in the browser but I read no Substack past the App Store icon.
But thanks for the tip.
Yup. 2 (overdue) marks for the olde, bolde knights!
Who would I be if I didn't have a fun fact for y'all?
Condoms were not uncommon in the Western Middle Ages from about the 11th century on. The idea was imported from China (of course) and product was often brought in from the Middle East. They were made out of sheep's intestines --so basically a sausage casing for your sausage-- and covered only the glans. They were used mostly for protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Those with uteruses had other methods, including legal, easily available, abortifacients, to control pregnancies.
Shorter Tish Warren: "A sperm and an egg uniting to grow inside the body of a woman is no more unnatural (or 'forced' if you will) than me licking a boot, so let's enjoy the taste of leather, shall we?"
And, um, cells are absolutely compelled to age & die off -- that's a biological fucking imperative.
People are funny, ya know?
One guy, back in days of yore. looks at a sheep intestine and thinks, " I could stuff that with ground meat and seasonings, cook it together and have it for dinner.I bet it would be delicious !"
Guy standing next to him wants to put his dick in it.
No lies detected
Eat, Fuck, or Marry
Really short Tish Warren: "Close your legs, whore!"
Great, great, great piece. Unlock this post so I can spread it on the social media.
Just the smallest of quibbles -- rather, a clarification: No argument would have worked. As the Rude Pundit would put it, anyone who thinks there was a winning argument can fuck off.
Some loose thoughts to, like, embellish:
There's a reason why I've been referring to the Roberts court as GOP apparatchiks. They've been putting party first forever. The hallmarks of this court include finding the rule of law something to be ignored whenever possible in order to promote party goals. Of course, the ideal is to use the rule of law as a tool to do that.
As for Roberts, his hallmark as the Chief Justice has been (or was I guess) to hide the GOP appointees' disinterest in the rule of law and act lie all the more vile decisions were on the up and up. But, you know, I'm not sure bullshitting like that is admirable. Too, it's hard to attribute that principle to the man who, among other things, signed off on Citizens United and fucking wrote Shelby County.
As for Griswold, it's a very fragile decision, held together legally speaking with spit and string. Yet, the underlying rationale is that if you're going to have freedom, you gotta have rights. Of course, denying that rationale takes one back, in a way, to the pre-Constitution era when there seemed no rationale for the states to unite into a nation. Of course, with the shit that can be expected when the GOP regains Congress and the presidency or just supermajorities in Congress that can override vetos, maybe a return to the days of the Articles of Confederation (was about to write AoC but there's irony and then there's goddam irony and my love for AOC is so pure I forgive her for the dog and another failing) would be an improvement.
And a reminder: This would not have happened -- Republican hegemony and a de facto lock on power without the complicity of the DNC and promotion of the GOP by the mainstream media. Honest reporting on the GOP apparently is some sort of unacceptable bias and here we are.
As for the Dems, yet again:
RBG and Breyer needed to be talked into resigning in 2009 when a Dem POTUS could replace them;
Obama needed to fight for Garland; might have been futile but I don't think appearing as someone who fought for something would have been worse for the party than being McConnell's bitch because the Dems can't be powerless too often;
Fight to block ACB; likely to fail but possible that the time needed to pass through the system would delay the resolution until after the new congress took over, you know, the one with the Dem Senate; and
Giving up the filibuster for SCOTUS nominations is approximately the last filibuster reform needed. (I'm an old guy who goes back to ancient times so support the OG filibuster where the fuckers need to stand and talk and talk and talk...).
Waiting for a point by point defense of that there 😄
As for what to do: I'm no party operative or special-interest-with-influence, just a voter, so vagueness follows: The largest block of the electorate, as the joke goes, votes for none of the above. Which is to say, they choose not to vote. That is unacceptable this November. A massive turnout and broad rejection of the GOP is necessary. I know; huge understatement. Without a real ejection of the party at all levels, the nation is, to coin a phrase, fucked for, at best, a very long time to come. Of course, one of the problems is the DNC's long time disinterest in contesting every race no matter how far down ballot. It's the reason some red states are red or as red as they are.
And again, amongst we, the people, solidarity and unity are essential; it's on us to take care of our own because the state is not on our side. (If you reject my opinion, there's this professional opinion: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/your-state-will-not-save-you)
And back to the Dems: Besides needing to contest every office, they need to run on a commitment -- not just empty talk -- to actually get shit done, starting with expanding SCOTUS. Impeachments for lying during confirmation hearings would be delightful but that'd never happen. You know, a Contract for America.
And a favor: If you're going to call me out on anything above that's fact-based, cite some facts, thanks.
No argument with the above, Manque (& you know me I'll argue with you til the bovines are put to bed) -- I started seeing those obnxious "centrist Dem" responses to posts elsewhere: "if only you purity ponies voted for Hillary in blah blah blah...", returning to that third-party horseshit like dogs to their vomit.
Democrats need policies that are audacious & popular, so much so that obstructionists are mown down. That means not watering down action so that it's no longer anything useful. That means focusing on economic justice & social equity -- in radical ways that a Nancy Pelosi will only see the need for after another 50 years in office.
So basically, we're all fucked -- that Democratic Party does not exist, and wouldn't be able to grow in our current media environment. The only Big Tent we can see is the hard-on in the Christofascists' chinos.
I like to think that given time, the children of AOC can redeem the Dems, not that I’d bet on it happening.
Which is why the bottom line is likely working as best one can on the local level.
OK, I’ll have some of that vomit.
I think there were people—call them “purity ponies” if you like; I have called them worse—who went the “protest” route in 2016, either sitting out the election or casting symbolic third party votes, and did so in sufficient numbers in a few key states to deliver the EC, and the country, into the stubby, grubby fingers of the Once and Future Former Guy. Had these people been content to hold their noses with one rather than both hands, Gorsuch, Boofer and Barrett would not be sitting on the Court today (Kennedy might, though). Since I am assured, however, that there’s no meaningful difference between the major parties, Friday’s outcome would have been exactly the same with HRC appointees, amirite? I hope none of you feel bad about your “principled abstention.” (𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲: They won’t.)
Time to trot out for the nth time Tbogg’s Epistle to the Purity Ponies from 2008. The classics never go out of style:
****
Every year in Happy Gumdrop Fairy-Tale Land all of the sprites and elves and woodland creatures gather together to pick the Rainbow Sunshine Queen. Everyone is there: the Lollipop Guild, the Star-Twinkle Toddlers, the Sparkly Unicorns, the Cookie Baking Apple-cheeked Grandmothers, the Fluffy Bunny Bund, the Rumbly-Tumbly Pupperoos, the Snowflake Princesses, the Baby Duckies All-In-A-Row, the Laughing Babies, and the Dykes on Bikes. They have a big picnic with cupcakes and gumdrops and pudding pops, stopping only to cast their votes by throwing Magic Wishing Rocks into the Well of Laughter, Comity, and Good Intentions. Afterward they spend the rest of the night dancing and singing and waving glow sticks until dawn when they tumble sleepy-eyed into beds made of the purest and whitest goose down where they dream of angels and clouds of spun sugar.
You don’t live there.
Grow the fuck up.
Fuck, purity tests. The harm they’ve done is epic. It’s also why the left is, agency-wise, at least 99.9% irrelevant.
The left is irrelevant as a political block because there are no leftists currently holding office -- what people try to tell us are Leftist policy positions are middle of the road in Western Europe.
You’re being much too kind to the comrades.
I haven’t seen a realistic plan or proposal from them, like, forever.
I'm asking for health care, education, retirement, parental leave, sustainable infrastructure & transit, & the other amenities of living in civilization like Western Europe enjoys. That's a first step Left.
Oooh... boogity-boo! So scary. So unrealistic.
I swear the biggest problem with the Internet is that it makes 15 loudmouth men sound like the entire voting population — but an even bigger problem are the dumbasses who believe those 15 dudes speak for everybody.
When fully HALF of all eligible voters don't vote at all, I struggle to understand this obsessive focus that *some* Dems have on the 1% of voters who vote for the Greens. Seems like the Dems could dip into that vast pool of non-voters and make up the difference if getting more votes were the point of it, but maybe getting more votes isn't the point of it?
BTW, I've volunteered on Dem campaigns, many of them, and we're ALWAYS given a walk list with identified voters and told NOT to knock on doors not on the list.
The 1% made a consequential difference in 2016, and in 2000.
About 63 million people voted for Donald Trump, and if you took just 100,000 of those votes, spread over the proper states, and gave them to Clinton, then Clinton would have won. But we usually don't say that, and why not? Because those people voted for Trump, and not Clinton, and to simply what-if them into the Clinton column seems silly and pointless.
Now all we have to figure out is why you think you can do that with Green voters.
2020 was a great example of what could happen if the Dems motivated more non-voters... but no, let's keep whining about Ralph Nader & Jill Stein & Bernie Sanders.
The GOP have the Big Lie and the Centrist Liberals have the Wheezing Whinge... Same message: "If you all had just done what your political betters told you to do, we wouldn't be here right now."
I'm curious to hear what the Dykes on Bikes ever did to you? I mean you seem angry at everyone about this, but why hate on lesbians here?
Also, nobody gives a shit about this stupid Boomer "I'm the only one who understands that life is hard & politics is real life blargle blargle." We've done it your way for decades now — what we're seeing here is the result of your generation's way. You snarl "Grow the fuck up" and act like that's a good thing.
Oh, also, just so you know this girl isn't entirely unreasonable — I offer you a substitute rhyming organization for your magical fairy story:
"Boomers with Prostate Tumors"
Dunno, try it out...
Direct your questions to Tbogg.
How accountable of you, sir. Another case of the classic "Richard Pryor said it" defense.
The only Tbogg I give a fuck about sang for TLC... Don't go chasing waterfalls, ok?
Read that Tbogg rant out loud, preferably in front of a mirror. Doesn't it make you feel all tough and savvy? As I hinted before, none of this has anything to do with gaining votes for the Dems or winning elections. It's all about feelings, and the need of some liberals to feel hard and virtuous, ready to make the "tough decisions" (not tough for them at all, of course) to Really Get Things Done.
Liberals are always getting attacked from the right for being bleeding-hearts who'd let a rapist out of prison on a weekend furlough, what they need is someone even farther to the left that they can pull the same move on themselves. If the Greens didn't exist, they'd need to invent them.
Ok but: "Just the smallest of quibbles -- rather, a clarification: No argument would have worked." I thought I did that in "No Constitutional approach would have saved Roe" etc., can you clarify?
I missed your qualification -- what happens when dotards read posts on a phone.
The point is that when the apparatchiks went to do something, no legal argument matters. In other words, like any shithole system, this court does whatever it wants. Dissuasion is impossible.
"A massive turnout and broad rejection of the GOP is necessary."
Couldn't agree more. And that "broad rejection of the GOP" will require voting for...
Vote the GOP out of power then purge the Dems of DINOs, untrustworthy, uncommitting others and DLC acolytes.
Doubt any of that will happen but it’s that or things get magnitudes worse for a very long time or longer.
A few weeks ago, when Henry Cuellar was getting primaried by Jessica Cisneros, I saw a report that Cuellar was "the last of the pro-life Democrats" in the House. Cisneros fell short (just) but I thought that was sort of remarkable, because there used to be many Dems who were anti-abortion (or at least that's the excuse given when I ask why they didn't codify Roe into law in the 50 years they had to do that.) So, at least on that one issue, your "purge" seems to be happening.
Also, going WAAAY back to 2009 when Obamacare was being debated, and those of us who wanted a Public Option were told, "Sorry, can't, filibuster, you know" Harry Reid and ALL the Dems in leadership were adamant that the filibuster was sacrosanct and must not be touched, notwithstanding the fact that they eventually used reconciliation to pass Obamacare. That seems like another area where the Dems have moved in a positive direction, no?
????
The ACA was hugely flawed as a result of designing it to attract Republican votes, which didn’t happen. And instead of a law that established a nationwide program, you got one dependent on states’ actions. Of course it’s done some good, just far, far, far less than a true national program like SS or Medicare. And it’s done more good than the Cornyn-approved gun control bill.
Uhhh… Cuellar was not purged.
If you're trying to encourage people to work towards a goal, it helps to show them some progress has already been made towards that goal. We're not starting at zero, others have moved the ball down the field, and now's our chance to move it even further. Of course, that approach requires a willingness to acknowledge progress, which you seem allergic to.
What lasting, significant progress is that?
Told you; citations needed.
I agree with Roy that this is no longer the Roberts Court: it's now the Thomas Court, and Roberts is literally a cuck, watching Clarence fuck America, not only through SCOTUS but through his lovely wife (I'm not saying that Roberts doesn't agree with the project of fucking America - it's just that he wanted to do it nice and slow, instead of in the "wham, bam, thank you m'am" manner that Thomas favors). If you look at the GOP reactions to the ruling, it's clear they were expecting Roberts to do one of his 11th dimensional chess maneuvers to soften the blow and uphold Dobbs without completely overturning Roe, and without Thomas signaling that they're coming for birth control and the gays next. Ah, well, best laid plans and all.
I disagree. As I noted, Roberts is usually on board with the rest of the GOP hacks. His only thing was it not being obvious that they’re hacks who put party above law. Now that there’s a majority of hacks, it’s impossible to hide. In that sense, Roberts is a cuck, but it’s still his court. And as it’s been since his first day, Thomas is a nasty, unfit piece of shit. Y’all credit him too much.
Um, yes, not being "obvious that they're hacks who put party above law" was my point. Thomas is saying, fuck that noise, I'm going full Scalia. And you seem to be confusing what I'm saying with praise of Thomas. My bad for being unclear.
“… you seem to be confusing what I'm saying with praise of Thomas.”
No way did I think you were praising. Point was, IIRC, that the Roberts court was always a disgrace, now just the same but more so, if that makes sense.
Yes, I agree. I also think that Roberts has lost whatever control he once had over the more feral justices, i.e. Alito and Thomas, who have now proven they don't give a fuck about the Court's legacy or legitimacy (something which Roberts supposedly fretted about), and are just throwing shit at the walls, regardless of what anyone else thinks. And today Gorsuch, that guy that Neal Katyal, Liberal At Law, told everybody to chill out over, flat-out lied about the football coach's prayer session at the 50-yard-line in order to show his ass to the Establishment Clause. Now we wait and see what happens when I Like Beer and Aunt Amy let their freak flags fly.
Who believes anything someone with a vested interest has to say?
Conservatives believe there is no right to privacy. Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court was torpedoed because he said outright that no such right exists. Roberts in his concurrence says pretty much the same with his "because the Constitution does not have the specific word 'abortion' anywhere in the text, there is no right to an abortion."
The right to privacy is one of those progressive ideas that conservatives have hated since it was first formulated. None of the enumerated rights in the Constitution mean anything if the government can be as intrusive as it wants for any or no reason at all.
Conservatives like the kind of right to privacy that protects white males from being exposed for their sexual exploitation of women. It’s the right of privacy that entails women’s ability to control their bodies that pisses them off.
Let's not forget "Hey, if my factory wants to dump chemicals into this stream all private-like, the goddamn government should mind its own business."
"...states in the Deep South could be prodded into more generous policy by pro-life activists."
I would be glad to volunteer to do the prodding. I know where to buy a device that can deliver 4,000 volts to the gonads.
French and Douthat are telling us that, sure, nobody in the GOP has ever in their lives given the tiniest fraction of a shit about all the troubles pregnant women have encountered every day, essentially forever, but now that the would-be baby-murdering sluts might be facing such troubles, that's what will stir them to ride to the rescue! So, the eternal question: lying or stupid?
Why not both?
Back when women actually had a choice (Ha, remember that?) there might have been some small motivation to provide some prenatal/post-birth care, so as to lead the ladies away from sin, but now that women have to have the kid anyway, why offer anything at all? (which they won't)
I'm thinking they might offer something in return for a confession, along the lines of "My name is ____, and I was ready to murder my precious child and sell his parts to Bill Gates so he could use them in his mind-control vaccines, until the good people of the Republican Party showed me some old-fashioned tough love and said 'fuck no, slut.' Now can I please have the heat turned back on?"
I'm thinking it will be well-meaning Hollywood liberals who create the first "Win a trip to LA for an abortion!" Reality TV show. No confession required, but extra-harrowing tales of suffering will win you extra points.
Queen for a Day. Started ugly, but look at it now!
Reminds me of Repulblcans saying we should address mental health after a mass shooting, which they have no intention of doing.
I think there's a big countdown clock at NRA headquarters, and a matching, synchronized clock at RNC headquarters, and they push the Start button when the first news of a high-profile mass shooting breaks. They've probably got it down to a science, the clock is set at 9 days, or something like that, the amount of time it takes for the public to move on and forget. Then the job is just to vamp until the bell on the clock goes "ding!" and then it's back to business-as-usual.
Would cut a little too close to the boneheads.
Can’t say the patent bullshit hasn’t worked so far so why stop now?
Thank you. As with Elie Mystal, we read you to translate our anger, which in the confines of our home has become practically a wasp’s nest of furious incoherence. You make it all clear, Roy, and always hit all the important notes.
So, any interest in that "no blood, plasma or organ donations while this shit stands" deal yet? No? Still too extreme for you?
It's cool. We can't all be soldiers. Interestingly enough, I find much of the opposition I encounter is based in the perspective of the anti-abortion side: "How DARE you withhold YOUR body for something WE think is so important?!?"
Well, that's kinda how this whole "freedom" thing works. Doesn't matter how bad you need that kidney or that pint of blood. If I don't want to give them to you, I don't have to, and no court can make me.
That's how it used to be, anyway. All bets are off these days. Ever since Trump's election, the only thing you can count on is it's gonna keep getting crazier.
Was fun taunting the fuckers at the clinic Saturday. They seemed shocked any of us showed, since they'd "won." I had a good time wiping those smirks off their faces.
Planned Parenthood asked us not to come and the cops were there in force, anticipating violence. Most people stayed away but a few of us hard-core types thought it important to make a showing. I'd also hyped it on social media all week and did NOT want newbies to find themselves alone in a mob of nutjobs.
There were maybe a dozen defenders and a half dozen escorts vs. 50-60 nutjobs. At one point, they put up a HUGE banner reading "THERE IS FORGIVENESS FOR THE SIN OF ABORTION ONLY IN JESUS CHRIST" so I started in with the bullhorn.
"See, ladies! You WILL be forgiven for having an abortion! So go have your abortion, then just ask Jesus to forgive you! It'll work! Even the nutjobs admit it! READ THE SIGN!!!"
After 15-20 minutes of this, they took the banner down, something I did not allow them to forget the rest of the morning. The motherfuckers didn't look nearly so triumphant by the time we left.
Oh my gosh, I am so fortunate. A half a block down from my apartment*, on the corner, is the Planned Parenthood clinic. In all the years I've lived here, I've only ever seen two or three people wandering around for a little while brandishing fetus pix. It happens a half dozen times a year.
In fact, my apartment building is chock-full of seniors, many of us women, and I think some of the older ones are genuine red diaper babies all growed up. I don't think I'd have much trouble assembling a squadron of angry old ladies to head down for escort duty should the need ever arise.
*just north of San Francisco
I've already made points about some of this on the Twitter, that Warren seems to be setting up an attack on gender transition with the "natural biology" guff, and, as far as Douthat's noble intentions for the GOP, I'd sooner wait for frogs to grow wings so they didn't bump their asses on the ground.
Taking a page from how we beat Prohibition: A fleet of Abortion Ships off the gulf coast, just outside territorial limits. Now I just need to find some tech billionaire to fund the scheme. But that shouldn't be hard, I hear they're all libertarians, right?
A more realistic version might be opening up abortion-on-demand centers on every military base in a red state. It makes sense, and would actually help a ton of women, but it requires actually doing something bold, which means it probably won't happen.
^ YES
But, but...I thought the military's JOB was to harass women...
There was some Facebook meme with a bunch of corporate logos supposedly pledged to help employees with travel costs for abortion if needed. I kinda shit in the punchbowl by wondering how many still contributed to the GOP. You know, like they pledged to stop doing after January 6th.
See my comment elsewhere, or here: https://popular.info/p/the-hypocrisy-of-abortion-as-a-corporate
The idea that things we now count as rights should become privileges, doled out by a beneficent boss (and easily taken away if we get uppity) is totally consistent with the overall corporate agenda, no "wokeness" required.
Can you imagine how much easier it would have been to whittle the definition of "life" down to 10 weeks if the theocrats had used carrots instead of calling everyone a murderer?
If the nation was abrim with happy foster children going to happy easy-to-get-to daycares, cared for by extended families of all varieties b/c that was easy too, and a pregnant person in a bad way personally could look at a "pregnancy crisis center" as something other than a theocratic scam?
Well, yes. Obviously that would have worked quicker than the theocratic rage they did use. So that, in essence, is why none of us trust these people at all. Precisely because, if every life was precious, they could have solved their abortion problem by tricking us all into thinking it was unnecessary.
Instead they waited 50 years while, according to them, the body count continued to increase. But they stuck to the non-compassionate route, didn't they. Clearly the bodies weren't that important.
Abortion history reference list.
https://twitter.com/jackiantonovich/status/1541153288497909761
I see that Tish Harrison Warren is with the Anglican Church in North America. As a former Episcopalian, I remember when they broke away because they thought the existing church was too liberal. Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Orthodox Orthodox Christians do not oppose abortion.
Didn’t you read the news? Only one religion matters.
I dunno...will be really fun to watch the Friday night football pre-game ritual gathering of the anointed to call upon god to enforce his/her/its mandate of spiritual* glory to the sportsball team that prays together, when the coach is a muslim with a prayer rug big enough for every starter, scrub and assistant coach, cheerleader, ticket seller, groundskeeper, parking assistant and all the ritual watchers in the stands (but not the refs – that would be going too far).
*(huh - just noticed that spiritual is just plain old ritual with spi** added – I gotta pay more attention)
**"Gotcher spi right here! Spice up yer rituals!
The "just don't have sex" argument is such a hoot. What do you think would happen if an average girlfriend/wife/mistress said, "Okay, no PIV anymore. It's just too dangerous nowadays and there are other things I think I would enjoy even more."? She would find herself dumped, at best, and subject to violence at worst.