Abortion Commentary

[JoeWeber 2,294]

Don't watch it, life's too short. Suffice to note that the venue and name of the conference tell you what you need to know.  

"All I'm going to say is that, ultimately, if we are going to win the battle to protect religious freedom in an increasingly secular society, we will need more than positive law."   and decrying a "hostility to religion" 

They no longer feel the need to trot out any pretenses, no matter how veiled, that they aren't making decisions based on their personal Christian beliefs. Get ready for a lot more Jesus.

 

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

2 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

Don't watch it, life's too short. Suffice to note that the venue and name of the conference tell you what you need to know.  

"All I'm going to say is that, ultimately, if we are going to win the battle to protect religious freedom in an increasingly secular society, we will need more than positive law."   and decrying a "hostility to religion" 

They no longer feel the need to trot out any pretenses, no matter how veiled, that they aren't making decisions based on their personal Christian beliefs. Get ready for a lot more Jesus.

 

Hi Joe,

As regards 'groups,' none scare me more than the so-called Christians.

Jerry Baumchen

Crusades - Wikipedia

 

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

Hi folks,

At least this is step in the right direction:  “On the day Roe and Casey were overturned, we promised that the Justice Department would work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said

Justice sues Idaho over six-week abortion ban | The Hill

It will be very interesting to see just how far the DOJ will work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom

I hope that they throw everything that they can at these states with anti-abortion laws. *

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  * If nothing else, bankrupt them while defending their laws.

 

[ryoder 1,381]

With 75% of the votes in, Kansas appears to be giving a resounding "No" to amending state constitution to remove abortion rights:

NYT: Kansas Abortion Amendment Election Results

[billvon 2,383]

6 minutes ago, ryoder said:

With 75% of the votes in, Kansas appears to be giving a resounding "No" to amending state constitution to remove abortion rights:

NYT: Kansas Abortion Amendment Election Results

Up next: "the vote was STOLEN!"

[JoeWeber 2,294]

2 hours ago, billvon said:

Up next: "the vote was STOLEN!"

Of course, many have already taken that page from Trumps playbook. I am very encouraged by the latest analysis of the the next election. Maybe, just maybe, the D's can pull off a 52 vote majority in the Senate. If so packing the Supreme Court is on offer, if we have the cojones. That alone could reverse the insanity of autocratic rule, based on misunderstood Christian values, that will be our unhappy future; an unhappy future that is so nonsensically prayed for by the right.

I was asked lately by a clever person, with a different world view, how many seats I think we should add to the Court. I answered 10, minimum.  My justification would be that we have too few cases under SC consideration at any given time owing to a shortage of Justice's, not to mention their absurd summer recess.

My no bullshit opinion is that the R's would play hell adding another 10 or more, later on. So let's block them from forcing us to protect our King and let them be the rope a dope, dope, for awhile.

[kallend 1,621]

9 hours ago, ryoder said:

With 75% of the votes in, Kansas appears to be giving a resounding "No" to amending state constitution to remove abortion rights:

NYT: Kansas Abortion Amendment Election Results

So Kansas voters are smarter than their politicians.

 

WaPo commentary:

Kansans secured a huge win for abortion rights in the US on Tuesday night when they voted to continue to protect abortion in the state constitution.

The race was called by a host of US groups including NBC News, the New York Times and Decision Desk HQ.

The move will be seen as huge a loss for the anti-abortion movement and a major win for abortion rights advocates across America, who will see the result as a bellwether for popular opinion.

Kansas – a deeply conservative and usually reliably Republican state – is the first US state to put abortion rights to a vote since the US supreme court ruled to overturn constitutional protections for abortion in late June.

The state will remain a safe haven for abortion in the midwest, as one of the few states in the region where it remains legal to perform the procedure. Many other states have undertaken moves to make abortion largely illegal since June.

Joe Biden issued a statement welcoming the result. “This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions,” the US president said.

[ryoder 1,381]

From last night's letter from Heather Cox Richardson:

Today, voters in Kansas overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to their state constitution that would have stripped it of protections for abortion rights. With 86% of the vote in, 62% of voters supported abortion protections; 37% wanted them gone. That spread is astonishing. Kansas voters had backed Trump in 2020; Republicans had arranged for the referendum to fall on the day of a primary, which traditionally attracts higher percentages of hard-line Republicans; and they had written the question so that a “yes” vote would remove abortion protections and a “no” would leave them in place. Then, today, a political action committee sent out texts that lied about which vote was which.

So it sounds like the vote spread would have been even wider without the machinations of the GOP.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-2-2022

Edited August 3, 2022 by ryoder

[jakee 1,254]

Hard to be too optimistic though. Simply means in any other state where they don’t absolutely need to they won’t hold a referendum. They’ll just run it through their anti-democratic, gerrymandered legislatures.

[Phil1111 908]

10 minutes ago, jakee said:

Hard to be too optimistic though. Simply means in any other state where they don’t absolutely need to they won’t hold a referendum. They’ll just run it through their anti-democratic, gerrymandered legislatures.

Absolutely. Republicans and evangelicals will be planning to ensure that the door to democracy remains locked.

[SkyDekker 1,121]

2 hours ago, jakee said:

Hard to be too optimistic though. Simply means in any other state where they don’t absolutely need to they won’t hold a referendum. They’ll just run it through their anti-democratic, gerrymandered legislatures.

Considering the push for a change to the US constitution, I wouldn't be optimistic about anything in the US.

 

[gowlerk 1,903]

3 hours ago, jakee said:

They’ll just run it through their anti-democratic, gerrymandered legislatures.

That's the funny thing about extreme gerrymandering. In order to get the best results you need to calculate each district to have enough reliable voters, but not to waste any by having more than you need. If the tide turns and you lose some of those who were reliable but they are mad at you, you can be wiped out. Fun times.

[SkyDekker 1,121]

1 hour ago, gowlerk said:

That's the funny thing about extreme gerrymandering. In order to get the best results you need to calculate each district to have enough reliable voters, but not to waste any by having more than you need. If the tide turns and you lose some of those who were reliable but they are mad at you, you can be wiped out. Fun times.

And abortion may be an issue that can turn that tide. Kansas shows that even in strong republican states, banning abortion is not popular.

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

2 hours ago, SkyDekker said:

And abortion may be an issue that can turn that tide. Kansas shows that even in strong republican states, banning abortion is not popular.

Hi Sky,

My thinking is that a fair amount of Republican women made the difference in Kansas. *

Let's hope it is a trend.

Jerry Baumchen

* I have no data to back this up.

 

[kallend 1,621]

15 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Sky,

My thinking is that a fair amount of Republican women made the difference in Kansas. *

Let's hope it is a trend.

Jerry Baumchen

* I have no data to back this up.

 

Could it be a libertarian streak, not wanting the government to tell you what you can (or cannot) do with your own body?

Anyhow,  let's hope it spreads.

[ryoder 1,381]

15 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Sky,

My thinking is that a fair amount of Republican women made the difference in Kansas. *

Let's hope it is a trend.

Jerry Baumchen

* I have no data to back this up.

 

Somewhere I read yesterday that 70% of new voter registrations in Kansas since the Dobbs decision were women.

[JoeWeber 2,294]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:35 AM, kallend said:

So Kansas voters are smarter than their politicians.

 

Nope. I'm guessing it took something this serious to get voters off Tik-Tok and into the voting booth. It will be interesting to see the demographics.

[ryoder 1,381]

Well, the guy has a point!

 

[kallend 1,621]

On 8/5/2022 at 10:11 PM, ryoder said:

Well, the guy has a point!

 

And Indiana, where  30% of white men joined the KKK back in the day, becomes the first state to legislate the denial of freedom to women since the disgraceful SCOTUS ruling,

[JoeWeber 2,294]

The former political director for the anti-abortion advocacy group Texas Right to Life has been charged with soliciting a minor online, The Courier reports.

Luke Bowen was caught in a sting carried out by Montgomery County Internet Crime Against Children. He faces a second-degree felony, which carried a two- to 20-year sentence and a fine of up to $10,000. He was released on $50,000 bond.

Makes sense: Fewer abortions = More minors online.

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

Hi folks,

Another example of how the GOP fears the vote of the people:  Michigan's supreme court could decide whether voters see abortion on the ballot : NPR

Jerry Baumchen

[kallend 1,621]

Seems like the GOP might be regretting what it wished for:

 

Kansas, now SC:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/09/politics/south-carolina-senate-near-total-abortion-ban-bill-fails/index.html

[ryoder 1,381]

On 9/1/2022 at 12:09 PM, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi folks,

Another example of how the GOP fears the vote of the people:  Michigan's supreme court could decide whether voters see abortion on the ballot : NPR

Jerry Baumchen

NPR: After months, it's decided: Michiganders will vote on abortion rights in November

[ryoder 1,381]

54 minutes ago, kallend said:

Seems like the GOP might be regretting what it wished for:

Indeed.

After banging the drum of anti-abortion for decades, just to gain the support of the American Taliban, they suddenly find themselves in the awkward position of the dog that caught the car.

[headoverheels 291]

32 minutes ago, ryoder said:

NPR: After months, it's decided: Michiganders will vote on abortion rights in November

This route to statutes and amendments is only available in about half of the states.

https://ballotpedia.org/States_with_initiative_or_referendum