For the past couple of weeks, I've been wanting to sit down and write out my thoughts about what's been happening here in the U.S. with respect to our Supreme Court and some recent rulings from the radical conservative wing of it but I'm at a loss as to where to begin. Words seem inadequate to me now but I feel the need to add something here for future reference, if only for myself.
Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in our country has been overturned, leaving it to individual states to decide whether or not to allow for abortions.
In a prior life, I would have been celebrating this decision but I'm no longer that person stuck in the binary thinking that allowed me to disregard so many factors that come into play when a woman or a child finds herself pregnant and doesn't want to be.
A 10-year-old girl from Ohio was raped and is pregnant. Ohio law now prohibits her from getting an abortion. What's next? Will she be required to marry her rapist as the bible instructs? There are countless similar stories and myriad reasons for keeping abortion safe and available for those who need to avail themselves of the procedure. I stand with them.
It's disturbing that we have two Supreme Court justices who lied about their sexual harassment and abuse of women in their lives. (I believe Anita Hill and I believe Christine Blasey Ford.) And it's also maddening that we had a president with a history of sexually abusing women (he's confessed to this) who was allowed to appoint 3 justices to the Supreme Court who are now taking away the rights of women.
I can't begin to appreciate (and no other males can, either) what it must be like to be a woman who has lost control of not only her body but also her destiny in life, forced to carry a pregnancy to term when that's not their desire. I understand (as best I can) why women are in an uproar throughout the country in protest against this decision by the court. Hopefully, that uproar will result in votes to begin the work of wresting control back from those who wish to turn the clock back generations.
Some corporations are stepping up in states where abortion is now illegal and offering to pay for travel expenses for employees to seek an out-of-state abortion, but as Tammy told me: women are now being put in a position to have to share intensely personal information with their bosses.
The court also had several other controversial rulings that were rammed through with their 6-3 conservative supermajority. And now, 5 of the most conservative justices appear poised to decimate our electoral process in a case to be heard this coming fall. There's nothing stopping them.
The January 6 hearings into Trump's failed coup attempt on our democracy are revealing some damning information and I would love nothing more than to see Trump hauled off to prison to finish out his miserable life, in addition to those who aided him. Testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson last week clearly tied Trump to the events and showed his intent for the outcome that we all witnessed. How he polls at anything above 1% I'll never understand but yet he still has a grip on the Republican Party even after all of this. It's madness. Pure madness.
Retired conservative Judge J Michael Luttig, a former mentor to Republican Senator Ted Cruz, had some chilling words during one of the recent hearings when he referred to Trump and his allies as a "clear and present danger" to American democracy. If that doesn't concern you, you're not paying attention or you've not thought this through.
Some hot and humid weather had me down in my glass studio a couple of weeks ago to knock out a sun-catcher for my Etsy site. It's a rare thing to find myself doing stained glass in the summer but there I was. It was a nice diversion from my normal routine.
I've been getting in a fair amount of riding, golfing, and walking. I do find that I need to force myself to take a day off once a week (if I can) to give my legs a rest. I had no idea that retirement would be so much work! But it's a good kind of work.
I've had a difficult time trying to figure out the thoughts in my head in a way that makes sense to me. I don't know that I could write them out to make sense to anyone else. I do think we need to be concerned about the '22 election and I believe we need to make sure the 18-25 year old block of eligible voters are registered and show up to vote. I get it that they may think it's a waste of time, but damn, this is their future government.
Thanks, John. There's so much more that I wanted to add to this update. I don't wish to talk about politics as much as I have been lately but I feel it's necessary. Because neither do I want to look back on these days and see that I was silent.
You're so right about getting the younger among us to the polls. Part of the GOP plan, tho, is to make the entire process so distasteful that it turns them off and they don't show up.
I got up from laying down after the all-night shift Thursday morning and figured I'd better get a ride in while I could because the forecast wasn't looking so good. The temp was just above 40 with a northeast wind steady at 15 mph under overcast skies. 40 degrees is very reasonable cycling weather but the key is to be somewhat chilled when you start out. Being warm and toasty at the beginning leads to being sweaty, cold and clammy before the ride is over. While putting air in my tires before leaving I could tell that I needed a lighter top layer. I'm glad I made the switch. I loved the ride ( Strava link ) and would like to have gone further but David Crowder was playing at our church and I didn't want to be late getting in line for some good seats as it was general admission. I considered a quick detour by Hosanna on the way home to get a pic of their tour bus but I figured I should really act my age. The concert was worth every penny and better than any of the o
I skipped out of work a couple hours early today to take advantage of some mild weather. I took the pups for a walk then headed west on my bike putting my heart, lungs, and quads through some paces. It felt so nice to be out there. I'd have stayed out longer but I had to be back to take Rachel to dance class for 5:00. It's possible that today will be the last time I'll have to take her to class if she passes her road test this Thursday. I'd like to have taken some time to hose down my bike. It's full of road salt and that can't be a good thing. Every large vehicle that went past me had a cloud of salt dust trailing in its wake and settling on me. I'll spend some time cleaning it tomorrow and have it ready for a ride on Wednesday after work. Speaking of work—I've been kicking around the idea of bidding on a staff job. Believe me, it's not something I want to do. It's about self-preservation. I want to work another five years to get Rachel thr
Wow, what a trip. In planning for this ride, I figured I’d have only two weekends this summer when our schedules could come together to give it a go. The first of those two times came and went two weeks ago when a steady north wind kept me grounded. There’s no way I could have gone the distance into the wind, and what I was really hoping for was a stiff southwesterly breeze, but that wasn’t in the cards either. After looking at the wind forecast on Wednesday, I told Tammy that it looked as though we were looking at another no-go. I’d been watching the forecast the previous 5 days, and they consistently said to expect a light wind from the southeast. It wouldn’t be a headwind but wouldn’t be much help either. I came home from work on Thursday morning and looked at the forecast again, but it hadn’t changed. I got a couple hours of sleep, then woke up to work in the yard. Then, I decided I wouldn’t let the lack of a tailwind keep me from going…just so long as it wasn’t a headwind. I tol
Comments
I do think we need to be concerned about the '22 election and I believe we need to make sure the 18-25 year old block of eligible voters are registered and show up to vote. I get it that they may think it's a waste of time, but damn, this is their future government.
Good job, Kev.
You're so right about getting the younger among us to the polls. Part of the GOP plan, tho, is to make the entire process so distasteful that it turns them off and they don't show up.
Thanks for your comment.