Today Should Have Been the 50th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

For most of American history, women have been second citizens. It was only with the passing of Roe V. Wade 50 years ago that we were fully enfranchised.

Today should have been a momentous day in the United States. We should have been celebrating that we are truly free. Our fate and our decisions were of our own making. Instead, we have regressed back to a time in which our future was dependent on where we lived and who was in the halls of power.

The fact is that abortion is healthcare. It ensures that the patient can make the best decision for both her physical and mental health. Without both of those intact, the level of difficulty to fully take care of the youngster(s) rises exponentially.

If for any reason, she is unprepared or unable to take care of the child once it is born, she should not be forced to bring it into the world. Should she be forced to give birth, at best, her ability to parent will be severely diminished. At worst, the minor will be at the mercy of social services and its numerous failings. The last thing any of us should want is for a young person to suffer because of residual issues of the adult in their life.

As much as we want to mourn, it will not get us anywhere. The only thing to do is to stand up, speak up, and fight. Only then, we will be heard and hopefully, in the near future, will our rights be returned to us.

There are marches across the country today in support of the pro-choice movement. If you cannot march, please donate to one (or more) of the many organizations that are standing up for our freedom.

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Republican Fuckery Part V: McConnell & Thomas Deligitimize Their Marriages While McCarthy Denies Omar Committee Spot

The true sign of any living democracy is the ability to work with someone across the political aisle, regardless of the number of topics that you disagree with them on.

Last week, Mitch McConnell voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. In short, this legislation protects both interracial and same-sex marriage at the federal level. Not surprisingly, only a handful of Republicans voted with their Democrat colleagues in voting for the law.

I don’t get it. McConnell is married to Elaine Chao, who is AAPI. Back in July, when Roe was overturned, Clarence Thomas (who is married to a White woman, Ginni Thomas) made a similar statement. Basically, they are stating that they are ok with making their own marriages illegal. I used to think that they are/were delusional. Now they appear to be a bunch of fools.

Meanwhile, Kevin McCarthy has already stated that if he is elected Speaker of the House, Ilhan Omar will be removed from her committee assignments. His reasoning as is follows:

“Congresswoman Omar, her antisemitic comments that have gone forward, we’re not going to allow her to be on Foreign Affairs,” McCarthy told host Maria Bartiromo, referring to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

While her antisemitic utterances cannot and should not be ignored, this is rich coming from McCarthy. One of his party members, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has not been shy about her own anti-Jewish views. Moreover, his attempts to make an example of her were nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

The only way to move forward and heal from the last few years is to come together and work with one another. But that requires both sides to hold out their hand in a proverbial acceptance of one’s differences. That can only happen if the Republicans as a party, are willing to come to the table. As it appears now, that is not happening anytime soon.

Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House . . . Yet Book Review

Over the last half a century or so, there has been a shift in regard to women and politics. Many nations across the world have had at least one female in the highest office in the land. Except for one….the United States.

Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House…Yet, by Ali Vitali was published last month. Dissecting the events of the 2020 Presidential election, she examines how it was both history-making and business as usual. Though there were a good amount of female candidates (Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, etc), Joe Biden still ultimately won the Democratic nomination.

She also deconstructs previous elections (the 2008 and 2016 Presidential elections to be specific) and how both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton were viewed by the press and the voters. As usual, the questions of “likability” were applied unequally. The qualities that were questionable or just plain wrong in terms of the female candidates were brushed off as completely fine for their male counterparts.

Throughout the book, Vitali asks two important questions:

1. When will we finally be able to say “Madame President” in this country?
2. When will women and men truly be equal, both legally and socially in the US?

This book is an important and vital read. It is a reminder of the fact that the glass ceiling is still intact and how far women still have to go. Given our present political circumstances (i.e. Roe V. Wade being overturned in June), we need to take a hard look in the mirror and ask why only a man can be President.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Electable: Why America Has Not Put a Woman in the White House…Yet is available for purchase in bookstores.

I Want to Celebrate Independence Day, But I Can’t

Today is the 4th of July and America’s Independence Day. I want to celebrate our freedoms, but I can’t.

I am not free today.

My right to my body and my future was taken away from me. I am no longer equal, I have been reduced to being once again, a second-class citizen. If some people have their way, I will be forced to carry and birth a child, regardless of how it was conceived. I will be nothing more than a walking, talking uterus. My wants, my desires, my abilities, and my flaws, will be meaningless.

Happy “Independence” Day from me and my reproductive rights. pic.twitter.com/GoIuu4JhAq

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) July 4, 2022

I want to celebrate today, but I can’t. Instead, I mourn and I fight.

Republicans and the Hypocrisy of Small Government

Every political movement, big and small, has a core ideal that governments their policies and legislation.

If we are to believe the current Republican party, they are governed by the idea of small government. As per Thomas Jefferson, it is as follows:

[A] wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.

On paper, it doesn’t sound hypocritical at all. It comes off as fairly reasonable. The powers that be should not be interfering in the day-to-day life of the average person on the street. But the reality is another story entirely.

• Roe v Wade was overturned a little more than a week ago. The repercussions are only beginning to be revealed.
• In Texas and Florida, the vitriol against the LGBTQ community has reached a new level.
• In the wake of Covid-19 and the destruction that the virus has unleashed, some GOP-led states (Texas and Florida, again. What else is new?) have made it illegal for businesses to enforce mask mandate policies.

When they are called out for their duplicity, they claim “free speech“. What about my right to free speech? Why is it they are allowed to speak their truths, but if I do it, I am labeled a radical lefty snowflake?

If they want to live in a right-wing, sexist, and racist Christian theocracy, that is their choice and their decision. As we say in Judaism “Zolst leben un zein gezunt!” (Yiddish for you should live and be well!). but do not impose your beliefs on me and expect me to quietly give in.

It is a Sad Day in America: Roe V. Wade is No More

A few months ago, we celebrated the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. When I wrote that post, I still had hope that the right of anyone with a uterus had the right to decide their own fate. That hope died this morning.

By lunchtime, the federal government had washed its hands of the issue. It is now illegal to have an abortion in America. Each state can now decide if the procedure will be allowed and to what degree. In many states, this means that will be either completely against the law or limited to saving the life of the pregnant person.

American women are officially back in the dark ages, depending on where they live. Thankfully, both my home state of New York and New Jersey are among the handful of states that put the life of the pregnant person over politics. But not everyone is so lucky.

How many women will die from back-alley abortions or putting foreign objects in their bodies? How many females of any age will be forced to give birth to their rapist’s child or carry a dead fetus to term? How many women of color who are already living under hard conditions will have another proverbial plate spinning in the air?

The overturning of Roe is the beginning of a slippery slope. According to Judge Clarence Thomas (who I loathe with a passion), this decision opens the door to taking a second look at other rulings.

Justice Clarence Thomas argued in a concurring opinion released on Friday that the Supreme Court “should reconsider” its past rulings codifying rights to contraception access, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.

In a similar vein, Loving v. Virginia could also be overturned. That means that his marriage to the equally loathsome Ginni Thomas could be viewed as illegal.

If they thought we would go quietly into the night, they have another thing coming.

Courtesy of Facebook

We can donate to pro-choice organizations (Planned Parenthood, NARAL, etc). We can march and let our voices be heard. We can vote in November and more importantly, vote blue. Though it is dark, the sun will rise again. We just need to fight for that sunrise.

P.S. Congress finally passed a gun control bill. It speaks volumes about this country that we confer more rights on a weapon than a living, breathing human being.