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UNDER CONSTRUCTION - MOVED TO MIDDLEBORO REVIEW 3 https://middlebororeviewandsoon.blogspot.com/
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The greatest shock of all would be to wake up and find that while we were driving the kids to soccer practice and enjoying cocktails, autocracy took hold
What’s shocking is the actualization of the scary Handmaid’s Tale scenario: our growing suspicion that Margaret Atwood’s fictional dystopia – a society in which women are forced to bear children and brutally punished for disobedience – is nearer to becoming a reality than we might have imagined. What’s shocking is this proof of the court’s desire and ability to control and punish women, to deprive us of our constitutional rights. What’s shocking is the justices’ reckless disregard for the additional suffering that this ruling will cause poor women, women of color and those living in rural areas. What’s shocking is the memory of three of the current justices swearing, under oath, to preserve the precedent established by Roe v Wade.
What’s shocking is the realization that we are living in a country that now boasts some of the world’s most misogynist and repressive laws. What’s shocking is the knowledge that the institution I grew up seeing as committed to the most precious guarantees of the constitution and to the highest and most sensibly bipartisan ideals of justice is now in the hands of a powerful faction of extremists.
But what shocks me most is the fact that, according to surveys that keep surfacing and being reported, a substantial majority of Americans support abortion rights and oppose the outright ban. According to the latest Gallup poll, 85% of the population believes that abortion should be legal under some circumstances. What’s noteworthy is not that high number so much as the discrepancy between that figure and the substance of supreme court ruling. What’s shocking is yet another fact that we have known or suspected for some time: that we are living under minority rule, that, in some of the most essential ways, the wishes of the majority no longer determine government policy, and that it has become a kind of joke to suggest that our government, at the highest level, is responding to “the will of the people”.
Meanwhile these shocks are intensified and amplified by how little we seem willing or able to do about the slow-motion stealth with which the seeds of autocracy are being planted. “We’re living under minority rule,” we say, and then go on to plan the kids’ birthday parties, to try to find a job and pay the bills, to complain at the gas pump, see our friends, celebrate the good weather and the new freedom occasioned by the latest downturn in the pandemic. Social media is abuzz with valuable – and necessary – suggestions for circumventing the new measures: how to obtain abortion pills from abroad, how to help women travel to states where abortion is still permitted. But I have yet to see a truly viable and broad-based plan for influencing the legislators of the so-called “trigger states” that have outlawed abortion in the immediate wake of the supreme court ruling.
It’s hard not to notice that our passivity is being encouraged by the mainstream media’s commitment to “fair and balanced” reporting. In the coverage I watched on the night of the ruling – not only on the primetime channels but on PBS – equal time was given to the exultation of the “pro-life” (that regrettable term suggesting that its opponents are anti-life) faction and to the anger and disappointment of women who wish only to maintain control over our own bodies. How can it not add to our sense that the country is equally divided, deeply and hopeless factionalized, and therefore that nothing can be done? In fact the two sides are not equal, but one side is grievously underrepresented in the places where it matters most.
It’s never been more important to insist on our rights – not only as women, not only as Americans, but as human beings. We need to talk to our friends, make plans, apply unceasing pressure on our state and local governments, hold every political candidate accountable. We may need to forget our pressing worries over inflation and gasoline prices just long enough to take to the streets, with unceasing frequency and in greater numbers, in order to make our beliefs and our voices heard.
Because the greatest shock of all would be to wake up one morning and find that while we were driving the kids to soccer practice and enjoying that welcome after-work cocktail, more and more of our rights had been stripped away, as has happened in so many countries in which democracy vanished, overnight and in darkness –when, as it were, no one was looking. The overturning of Roe v Wade should shock us even more than it already does – shock us into looking beyond the dance floor of the Titanic and spotting that iceberg, looming in our path, not so very far away.
We can dabble in details and listen to the horrific damage, yet the damage ignored by the Federalist Society extremists catering to the minority and allowing no exclusions horrifies those who understand the history.
CONTRACEPTIVES were restricted.
This comment should define the issue:
Bill Baird's advocacy for reproductive rights began in 1963 after witnessing the death of an unmarried mother of nine children who died of a self-inflicted coat hanger abortion.[4] As the clinical director of EMKO, a birth control manufacturer, he had been coordinating research at Harlem Hospital when she stumbled into the corridor, covered with blood from the waist down.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Baird(activist)
Republican states were quick to BAN ABORTIONS have the highest infant mortality and maternal mortality. It's not being addressed, but carefully avoided.
Next on the agenda seems to be BANNING CONTRACEPTIVES as if that's logical.
Is there any logic at all?
Each FEDERALIST SOCIETY Court opinion becomes more perverse, more irrational, although the previous decisions nibbled around the edges.
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Tonight marks the last FEC deadline before the Squad’s primary elections, and our goal is to raise $200,000 to keep AOC, Ayanna, Ilhan, and Rashida in Congress, fighting for bold policies that meet the moment. But with just a few hours left, we’re still a little bit behind.
Our opponents – conservative super PACs, and corporate special interests – are spending millions of dollars to defeat AOC, Ayanna, Ilhan, Rashida, and our progressive movement.
We’re counting on grassroots donors like you to help us fight back and keep the Squad in Congress, fighting for progressive policies and meaningful solutions for our communities — from protecting our reproductive freedom and securing student debt cancellation to advancing Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.
None of this work would be possible without you.
Thanks for your help,
Squad Victory Fund
Paid for by The Squad Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee authorized by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress, Ilhan for Congress, The Committee to Elect Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib for Congress, Courage to Change, Inspiring Leadership Has a Name PAC, Power of Us PAC, and Rooted in Community Leadership PAC.
In addition to what’s legally required, The Squad Victory Fund does not accept contributions from: (1) corporations, associations, or their PACs; (2) individuals registered as federal lobbyists or under FARA; (3) from the PACs, lobbyists, or SEC-named executives of fossil fuel companies; or (4) from the Fraternal Order of Police.
Contributions or gifts to The Squad Victory Fund are not tax deductible.
Contributions to The Squad Victory Fund will be allocated as follows: 12.5% to each of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress, Ilhan for Congress, The Committee to Elect Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib for Congress, Courage to Change, Inspiring Leadership Has a Name PAC, Power of Us PAC, and Rooted in Community Leadership PAC.
Any contributor may designate their contribution for a particular participant. The allocation formula above may change if any contributor makes a contribution that, when allocated, would exceed the amount that the contributor may lawfully give to any participant.
Email is the most important way we keep in touch with our supporters.
After contributing to The Squad Victory Fund, you will automatically be signed up to receive email updates from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress, Ilhan for Congress, The Committee to Elect Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib for Congress. You may of course opt-out by unsubscribing at any time.
Email us: info@squadvictoryfund.com
This is a long email about this morning's Supreme Court decision in the case West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We hope you'll take a few minutes to read about what it means for our movement's fight for climate justice, and then, add your name to Ed's petition in support of expanding the Supreme Court.
Here are the basics:
West Virginia v. EPA challenged the federal government's authority to force fossil-fueled power generators to cut down on greenhouse gases and climate pollution using the Clean Air Act. In doing so, the Court's decision against the EPA fundamentally shows that it is willing to usurp and undermine federal agencies' authority to enforce any regulations on emissions.
But it's not just the EPA or clean air and water under threat.
The right wing's ultimate goal is to roll back the authority that Congress and the courts have delegated to federal agencies on the idea that experts in the fields of the environment, health care, technology, finance, and more are the ones best-equipped to interpret ambiguous laws about those fields.
This could be used to threaten the function of any number of government agencies — the Department of Energy, the Department of Labor, the CDC, the FDA, the FCC, OSHA — the list goes on.
Once again, the stolen and illegitimate Supreme Court of the United States has pushed their minority-rule agenda to do the exact opposite of what the American people want.
We can't overstate how much an impact this court ruling could have on our movement's fight for climate justice, or the ripple effects it could cause for our entire progressive agenda.
The solution is simple, and it's one that Ed has been calling for time and time again — we must expand the Supreme Court.
We cannot allow the right wing to have the last word on our basic freedoms or the core issues that we care about. From abortion rights to civil rights to environmental rights, we must fight back.
As always, thank you for being a part of our movement, and for adding your support today.
In solidarity,
Team Markey
Paid for by The Markey Committee |
The Markey Committee |
I’m going to speak plainly: I’m worried that if we don’t start raising a lot more money, our incumbent Justice Democrats and our next primary challengers could lose.
Let me explain.
On Tuesday night, Kina Collins — a young Black woman from the West Side of Chicago — took on the Chicago political machine without a cent of corporate PAC money. The Democratic establishment spent so much money on the race, we just couldn’t overcome it. Pres. Biden and Speaker Pelosi endorsed our opponent in order to stop Kina’s fight for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and real investments in her communities.
Jessica Cisneros lost by just a few hundred votes to anti-abortion, pro-NRA Henry Cuellar. Again, millions in corporate Super PAC money, Big Oil, and private prison companies lined up against Jessica and Justice Democrats, and we came up just short. Jessica’s race would’ve been different if Pelosi hadn’t campaigned for an anti-abortion incumbent and the establishment hadn’t spent millions to stop a progressive woman of color.
If we had just a little more money, there’s a real chance we could have lifted Kina and Jessica to victory. As one of our most generous and steadfast supporters, I am so grateful for your contributions and hope you’ll consider making another donation today:
It’s not just Kina and Jessica. On Tuesday, our first incumbent Justice Democrat lost a primary. Democratic redistricting threw Marie Newman into a difficult primary against another incumbent that had backing from much of the Democratic establishment. After defeating a conservative, anti-abortion Democratic incumbent in 2020 and fighting unapologetically for the people in Congress, Marie came up short in her latest primary.
JD incumbents Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and Rashida Tlaib still have competitive primaries this year. And corporate Democrats and Republican billionaires are spending millions to try to unseat our most outspoken advocates in Congress. A corporate Super PAC has already announced it’s spending $1 million against Rashida.
The establishment will do everything it can to defeat Justice Democrats. The establishment will spend as much money as it can to defeat us. Big money and the establishment stopped our movement from powering Kina, Jessica, and Marie to victory, but we can’t keep letting this happen.
Nearly 90% of Congressional races are won by the candidate with more money. We’ve won races with less money before, but we have to significantly close the fundraising gap in our races — or we don’t have a chance.
We’ve seen what can happen when we get outspent by corporate Super PACs with access to unlimited funds. Now, we need to make sure we’re prepared to protect the Squad in their primaries and build up our fundraising for the future.
I am so grateful to have your support. We run on donations from folks giving $5, $27, $50 at a time — our average donation this year is $18.12. And that’s how it should be, fueled by the people, not corporate PACs.
If just 1 out of every 10 people reading this email chipped in, it would be a huge boost for us heading into important primaries for Cori, Jamaal, and Rashida.
Thank you so much.
In solidarity,
Alexandra Rojas, Executive Director
Justice Democrats
Do not worry if you cannot afford to make a contribution — we understand that this is a difficult time. If you’re struggling, you can find a food bank here. We appreciate everything you do to keep our movement strong. Please stay informed and follow the most up-to-date recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and your state public health department. |
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A new NBC poll of 2024 voters revealed a stark divide between those who voted for Kamala Harris and those who voted for Donald Trump. Acco...