There’s no doubt that the anti-abortion movement has total indifference for the welfare of the children involved.
Comedian George Carlin nailed this many decades ago:
Morphing our consumer-driven economy into one that is less resource-intensive would most certainly improve our odds of attaining some sort of sustainability as a species.
Sadly, we’re surrounded by messages that equate consumption with success: newer cars, bigger houses, wider and bigger flat-screen TVs, and most Americans simply “play the game.”
Fiona Hill is a former official at the U.S. National Security Council specializing in Russian and European affairs, best known for her testimony in the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
The point she makes here is one of the most astounding things about Trump’s meteoric rise to become the most powerful person on Earth. I.e., almost half of U.S. voters believe that he’s an honest and effective servant of the American people, rather than a dishonest and selfish pig whose interests do not extend a millimeter beyond his own fortunes.
As we go on, and the evidence grows that he attempted to overthrow the United States government, most of his supporters still believe that the election was stolen, and that the Deep State removed him illegally.
Simply amazing.
As a non-religious person, I don’t take this literally, though I certainly agree that Trump, as a person, is composed exclusively of the most disgusting characteristics known to humankind. (more…)
A reader asks: So this is interesting: could Jewish women in Red states claim that restrictions on pregnancy termination violate their 1st Amendment right to religious freedom?
I doubt it. I’m 100% pro-choice, but I think this will fail.
Similar cases have been raised by a number of religious groups, most notably the Christian Scientists, who claim it’s their right to withhold medicine from their sick–even dying–children. I’m happy to report that this doesn’t hold up in court.
I doubt it, and here’s why.
In the 1970s, I went to Trinity College, one of the many liberal arts schools in New England. A few years ago, when Trump was in office, I had a conversation with one of its spokespeople.
Naively, I asked why the college has essentially had nothing to say about the (then) U.S. president, while it’s so plain that he stands against every one of the college’s values: honor, truth, fairness, racial equality, respect for science, and so forth.
The guy quickly straightened me out: many of the parents of these kids are rich beyond belief, and making a statement against Trump would alienate the hell out of a great number of them.
Now, as this article in The Intercept lays out, Corporate America actually has broken away from the Sackler family for deliberately and criminally addicting many millions of people to opiates, so couldn’t it do the same with the Murdochs?
It’s not impossible, but again, I’m betting against it. There are essentially zero Sackler fans, but almost half the country is Republican, i.e., adherents to a party that is led, to this day, by Donald Trump.
It’s disgusting, but it’s the truth.
Starbucks on Unionization
The recent rise of organized labor is a bright spot in America’s otherwise dismal workplace environment.
Sadly, not much has changed over the last 100 years, including threats against the courageous union organizers.
An old friend from my home state of Pennsylvania writes:
At age six, Ruby Bridges (see photo below) became the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960.
The meme here is, of course, a reference to whites’ objections to our schools’ teaching kids that our country actually does have a racist past, present, and future.
FWIW, I side with Aldous Huxley, who said, “Facts don’t cease to exist because they are ignored.”
FILE – U.S. Deputy Marshals escort 6-year-old Ruby Bridges from William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, in this November 1960, file photo. On Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, 54 years later to the day when she first walked up the steps to the school, Bridges is scheduled to commemorate the event with the unveiling of a statue in her likeness on the campus. (AP Photo/File)
Who among us hasn’t thought about what we would do if we lived in Russia and had a) access to the truth about the invasion of Ukraine, and b) the means to escape?
Not to take anything away from this guy, but he did what any decent person in his position would have done.
