The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday not to impose restrictions on a key abortion drug (Mifepristone), while a victory for abortion rights advocates, ought not be taken as a 'slam dunk' win. The case brought by anti-abortion extremists was dismissed on a technicality, i.e. they did not have "standing". Which means none of those bringing the case were themselves exposed to or suffered injury. As Justice Brett Kavanaugh - who wrote the conclusion noted - just because the use of the drug contradicts the plaintiffs' beliefs doesn't mean they suffered injury. But the court left the ultimate ruling up in the air, given as several justices said, at some future point states or their legal agents could have standing. Perhaps if the drug is being used in violation of a state law. As noted in a NY Times piece:
While
the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an attempt to nullify federal approval of
the abortion pill mifepristone, liberals fear a new Trump administration could
rescind the approval or use a 19th-century morality law to criminalize sending
it across state lines.
See e.g.
Alabama SC Ruling Overshadows Trump Allies Draconian Plan To Ban Abortions Nationwide Using 1873 Law
But leave it to the smarmy WSJ editors (p. A14 today) to take a swipe at "the left", barking irrelevantly: "So much for the Left's denunciations of the court's majority as 'Christian Nationalists'." Uh no, Bozos. Those denunciations still stand and the current technicality ruling does not in any way eradicate the future threat or the shameless travesty of the original Dobbs decision two years ago, e.g.
Nor does it placate women's advocates given another high court abortion ruling is on the way and may not turn out the same way. After all, this abortion ruling gave all the court's Xtian nationalists a convenient fig leaf cover given it was based on the outlandish assumption that 'some day' a woman suffering from complications (of taking mifepristone) would present herself for treatment to one of the rabid Xtian drs. acting as plaintiffs- thereby conferring standing for the zealot doctor's stake in the drug's availability. Righto, and Martians are on the way to kidnap Trump and bury his ass on Olympus Mons.
So the conservo justices' votes were essentially meaningless in terms of costing them respect by their white Xtian nationalist cheerleaders.
In other words, the ruling crystallizes and sets the stakes for the next presidential election in terms of abortion access nationwide. And no woman with any sense or intellect should assume this ruling provides protection. It doesn't. The Trump cabal's Project 2025 in conjunction with the cooperation of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) will incept a full-fledged theocracy among which the top priorities will be a national abortion ban. See e.g.
Heritage Foundation Staffers Polishing Jackboots For Anticipated March Into Trump’s White House
Think it can't affect you, think again. Amanda Zurawski was delayed being able to get a medical exception to have an abortion in Texas and it damned near cost her her life. She had suffered a premature rupture of membranes that meant her unborn daughter would not survive. However, Texas doctors - under that state's infernal laws - delayed providing an abortion until she went into septic shock. She has since appeared in an ad for President Biden's election campaign in the hope more women can be alerted to the risk if Trump should gain power again. Her case is also a reminder that temporary SC rulings on critical issues like abortion only go so far.
Look, a president has enormous power to influence federal agencies that oversee abortion policy. Thus, a potential Trump administration - especially with the awesome multiplied power of the NAR and Heritage Foundation's Project 2025- could unilaterally choose to do what the Supreme Court did not: impose strict restrictions on mifepristone, one of two drugs used in over 60 percent of abortions. Or even move to take the drug off the market entirely. Given the drug is responsible for effecting 63% of abortions nationwide this would be a huge hit.
While President Biden has repeatedly pledged to safeguard access to abortion pills — which leading medical associations agree are safe and effective, traitor Trump has tried to coyly distance himself from the issue. He's given a weak lip service to limited choice only, vowing he will “leave it to the states” -understanding it’s a loser issue if he can’t pull the wool over voters’ eyes. But anyone who's paid attention, and that means reading real news reports from genuine (i.e. valid) sources, knows that the Project 2025 cabal and NAR have him under their thumbs. Once in power, in other words, Project 2025 will be on auto-pilot and even if Trump wanted he would be unable to halt its excesses. After all, he's signed onto it with both Heritage and NAR. He can't then 'bite the hands' of them that got him to the dance.
But make no mistake the Project 2025 mandate, which is now embedded in a 920 page document (compliments of the Heritage Foundation), is to implement a nationwide abortion ban. No exceptions, no medical outs - even in the most extreme life -threatening instances.
According to James Bopp Jr., the general counsel for the National Right to
Life Committee:
“What I have
heard, which seems likely to me, is what the Trump administration would do is
repeal the Biden regulations and go back to the Trump policy,”
We also know that antiabortion zealots have grown increasingly frustrated that the landmark 2022 Dobbs ruling has done little to reduce the sheer volume of abortions nationwide. They are pissed at this inefficacy and certainly will demand the whole 'hog' or cut - should Trump be voted in by enough imbeciles or careless cowards determined to vote 3rd party. Because they can't tolerate Biden or Trump and their egos make them believe they have a real choice.
So the choices for women are now out there: Protect their health - of which abortion access is one part - or forfeit bodily autonomy and become a handmaiden 'baby baker' slave to the theocrats and Trumpite extremists. The choice is binary this election and no one should forget it.
Meanwhile yesterday, the key movers and shakers of the congressional Reepturd felon worship cult, bowed and scraped as they greeted their expected future Overlord. Even lining one of his two birthday cakes with 47 candles (the other had 45) in the expectation he will be president # 47 as well as having been # 45. After all, these balless maggots know that his psychopathic, transactional nature means that if they don't pay obeisance to the orange roach now they will pay later after distracted, hoodwinked (often lower IQ) voters return him to power.
At the same confab, the traitor insurrectionist floated a proposition to the equally noxious Business Roundtable (WSJ today, p. A4, 'Trump Floats An All Tariff Revenue Model') replacing the income tax with a "tariff only" revenue system. The only downside? This would return the country to a 19th century fiscal policy which would "amount to a tax cut for high income people but effectively be a tax increase on (average) consumers who would have to pay the tariffs passed along to them in higher prices" after these universal tariffs are imposed.
Contrary to Dotard's version of "economics", tariffs aren't paid by foreign governments on whose products they are imposed. They are paid initially by U.S. companies that import whatever goods - whether baby formula or HDTVs - and then these are passed on to American consumers. Result? Higher cost, more inflation. And this is the character so many in the swing states want back in power again? What mix of MJ candies and shrooms are they munching?
Maybe, hopefully, enough voters will wake up in time to ensure that the twice impeached, formerly convicted No. 45 does not become Arch-Dictator and Criminal No. 47. But so far the omens aren't sanguine given the traitor and convicted felon is ahead in the polls in all the swing states.
See Also:
by Amanda Marcotte | June 16, 2024 - 5:24am | permalink
For close court watchers, it wasn't surprising that the Supreme Court rejected an effort by Christian right forces to take away access to the abortion pill. The case was too ridiculous, even for the current iteration of the court, which is dominated by six Republican appointees fighting varying levels of corruption allegations. The lawsuit was brought by a group of doctors — and dentists — who do not prescribe the medication in question, mifepristone. It was based on a total lie, which is that the drug is dangerous. (All evidence shows it's safer than Tylenol. The risk of death from Viagra is 10 times higher.) And the argument was eye-rollingly silly: The plaintiffs claimed to be worried they'd be asked to treat abortion patients in an emergency, an instance that rarely comes up, due to the drug's safety. When it does, emergency room providers have a right to ask a pro-choice doctor to step in to handle it.
What was more surprising was how decisive the court was in dismissing the anti-abortion arguments. The decision was unanimous, for one thing, with even the effusively misogynist justices like Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas going along with it. In his opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh used forceful language that likely precludes all future efforts by Christian right groups to rework the complaint and try again. "[A] plaintiff ’s desire to make a drug less available for others does not establish standing to sue," he wrote, making it clear that even this Supreme Court cannot see the "personal stake" that these plaintiffs had in what other doctors are prescribing to patients.
And:
by Joan McCarter | June 16, 2024 - 5:03am | permalink
Republicans have created a disaster on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. They have no message to justify their extreme forced birth positions. Their candidates are afraid to talk about it. And their standard bearer—convicted felon Donald Trump—can’t give a coherent statement about where he stands.
Meanwhile, Democrats are on offense, knowing public opinion is on their side.
New Gallup polling shows just how much the GOP needs to worry about abortion. Not only does it show a record high support for abortion rights, but it also shows that a record high percentage of voters—32%— say they’ll vote solely on the issue. That breaks down to 23% of pro-choice voters and just 8% of anti-abortion voters.
This is a pretty significant change from Gallup’s survey on abortion two years ago.
And:
by Joan McCarter | June 14, 2024 - 6:36am | permalink
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to preserve access to abortion pills shows just how flimsy this case was. It never should have survived in the lower courts to reach the Supreme Court, and even the most extreme justices—including Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas—would have been embarrassed upholding the lower courts’ decision.
But make no mistake, this is a temporary reprieve. Anti-abortion forces are gearing up for more attacks.
Writing for the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh acknowledged that the challengers have “sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections” to elective abortion “by others” and to the Food and Drug Administration’s relaxed regulation of the drug, mifepristone. However, he wrote, “those kinds of objections alone do not establish a justiciable case or controversy in federal court.”
And:
by Bill Berkowitz | June 14, 2024 - 5:38am | permalink
“Project 2025 offers a 900-page playbook [Mandate
for Leadership: The Conservative Promise] for restructuring the federal government in
order to accomplish the policy goals of Christian Nationalists,” Laser wrote.
“Rolling back the rights of LGBTQ+ people, ending marriage equality and even
restricting divorce options, banning abortion and limiting reproductive health
care, throwing up roadblocks to racial justice, eliminating the Department of
Education and diverting public funds to private religious schools, and
redefining religious freedom as a license to discriminate.”
And:
by Bill Berkowitz | May 24, 2024 - 5:33am | permalink
Everybody knows that the presidential election will come down to six or seven battleground states. There’s bad news for the Biden campaign as a recent poll has Trump leading him in 5 of six swing states. And to add fuel to the bad-news fire, Lance Wallnau, a major figure within the New Apostolic Reformation, an ultra-Christian Nationalist movement, has launched a major campaign chasing Christian voters in districts in those states. According to veteran journalist Frederick Clarkson, “Apostle Wallnau's Courage Tour is not just a tent revival road show. This is a sophisticated, targeted, political outreach campaign to increase evangelical turnout in selected counties in swing states.”
First, recent polling. According to The New York Times’ Nate Cohn, “Donald J. Trump leads President Biden in five crucial battleground states, a new set of polls shows, as a yearning for change and discontent over the economy and the war in Gaza among young, Black and Hispanic voters threaten to unravel the president’s Democratic coalition.
And:
by Robert Becker | May 30, 2024 - 6:01am | permalink
And:
by David Badash | May 22, 2024 - 7:02am | permalink
Political experts, historians, and scholars of fascism are sounding the alarm after Donald Trump posted video Monday afternoon that promised a “unified Reich,” once again echoing language used by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
“Trump’s continued use of Nazi rhetoric is un-American and despicable. Yet too many Americans are brushing off the glaring red flags about what could happen if he returns to the White House,” former Trump White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews warned. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
The video features made-up newspaper headlines claiming a Trump win of the 2024 presidential election. It asks, “What’s Next for America,” and promotes “the creation of a unified Reich.”
“The 30-second video, which Mr. Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social, features several articles styled like newspapers from the early 1900s — and apparently recycling text from reports on World War I, including references to ‘German industrial strength’ and ‘peace through strength,'” The New York Times reported. “One article in the video asserts that Mr. Trump would deport 15 million migrants in a second term, while text onscreen lists the start and end days of World War I.”
And:
Americans are dumbfounded. How is it that half this nations’ voters are on the verge of returning to office a guy who:
— Began his life of crime busted for writing “C” for “Colored” on Black rental applicants’ forms,
— Mismanaged the Covid crisis so badly America had the developed world’s highest mortality rate with at least a half-million unnecessary deaths,
— Is credibly accused of sexual assault by more than twenty women (one 14 years old) and found by a jury — twice— to have raped one of them,
— Forcibly tore nursing babies from the arms of their mothers with almost a thousand of those children still missing,
— Praised Nazis who marched chanting “Jews will not replace us!” as “very fine people,”
— Conspired with militia leaders to storm the US Capitol, leading to the death of 5 civilians and 3 police officers,
— Regularly quotes Hitler’s vicious, racist rhetoric referring to human beings as “scum” and “vermin” while claiming people of color “poison the blood of our nation,”
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