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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Only in America will six Catholic judges willingly do the bidding of a Catholic-hating Klan.
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!
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.
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.
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.
"...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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.