185 Comments
Apr 22, 2023·edited Apr 22, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

I am now 65 - yea for Medicare! - and I came of age with Roe v Wade and then Watergate. Like many women of my generation, I took for granted the hard fight it took to grant us agency over our bodies. I had two friends in college choose to have abortions rather than give birth before they were ready. They both eventually married the young men with whom they became first became pregnant and had families together at the right time.

At 33 and 35, I was overjoyed to become pregnant, and with each test, ultrasound, doctor appointment, I was assured two healthy pregnancies. But I knew I, with support of my husband and my doctor, may have had to make a decision that could change that joy were my pregnancies not sustainable. I fortunately did not have to make that decision, but I am sure glad I had that choice. And that is what it is -- a choice. One to be made between a women, her physician, and, hopefully, a supportive partner.

What makes me so [expletive] angry is that men, and it is almost always men, are so hardcore against abortion. Never will Alito or Thomas have to deal with the intricacies of pregnancy, of the bodily changes, and its possible dangers. Hell, they don’t even know what it’s like to have a monthly period, and that’s no cakewalk, as we women know!

On the flip side, these men will never know the sheer joy of pregnancy, and yes, the agony of giving birth, but with such a sweet reward. My husband can only remotely experience what I did 31 and 29 years ago. But I digress…

[edited] Politicians and judges, regardless of gender, are not qualified to make decisions about women’s reproductive health care. Full stop.

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Apr 22, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Can we get a judge to agree that it would be just fine to offer a $10,000 bounty to anyone turning in a man who ejaculated inside a woman? Sperm is potential life as much as eggs are, so why not criminalize ejaculation?

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$10k is not enough if a woman becomes pregnant and possibly has a life-threatening condition as a result of the pregnancy or loss. But I do agree men need to be held accountable in all cases and they are not, at all.

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Nor is it enough to raise a child even if all goes perfectly well.

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For sure. It makes me so angry that the men are not a part of this injustice.

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I'm just enough older than you -- 71 going on 72 -- that I take nothing for granted. When I was a teenager, Bill Baird was arrested for passing out birth control *information* on the streets of Boston. Not devices -- just *information*. True, progress was made in the late '60s and into the 1970s -- in retrospect, the '70s seem like a halcyon decade, with rising consciousness about civil rights, women's rights, the environment . . . But halcyon it wasn't. The backlash was growing, against the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the mid-'60s and against _Roe v. Wade._ Reagan and the GOP rode that backlash into the White House and proceeded to strengthen and codify it in laws and public policy. We're just beginning to dig our way out of the dystopian world they created, and success is by no means assured.

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Apr 22, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

I am 67. I got pregnant for the first, and only, time at 35, late enough for chromosomal defects to be a risk. I had an amniocenteses to check for Down's Syndrome. (Fortunately it came back negative.) We didn't tell anybody that I was pregnant until after the test. Looking back, my anxiety would have been exponentially higher if the choice of whether or not to carry the pregnancy to term had not been ours to make. This is nobody else's business!

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Agree. No uterus = No opinion!

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This has been my point in the past; those with a Y chromosome really have almost no standing in this issue, other than that granted by the index XX person carrying the pregnancy. Come a time when the "impregnator" steps up and provides comprehensive support (we're talking 20 years worth, plus the 529 plan) , irrespective of marital status and actually WANTS a relationship with his progeny, I might change my opinion...

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I am mindful of a quote generally attributed to Gloria Steinem: "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." Also, these men are always against abortion until they knock up their mistresses.

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On the other hand, Justice Amy Coney Barrett can be hardcore against choice, even with her pregnancy experience, living in another bubble. I chalk that up to imposing her religious beliefs (fetal personhood) on the rest of us, as if this were not a secular country.

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Something like half of white women voted for Trump -- twice. Nuff said. (What I'd like to know how what percentage of that "half" were lesbians and/or single. Because I suspect that identification with men has something to do with it.)

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I'd love to see the breakdown on that "more than 50" number because among friends in the evangelical community down here, I know many who didn't. I bet economic status and education are good markers. We need to learn to talk past the noise people here on FOX ETC & Facebook and get them thinking about their own interests and lives, not just wedge issues other foist off on them for their own political gain.

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Can be? She can be depended on to be "hard core."

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Yes, I will edit my comment to say judge or politician…Thanks.

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Apr 22, 2023·edited Apr 22, 2023

On the conservative side of politics in our country I agree with your writing “What makes me so [expletive] angry is men, and it is almost always men, are so hardcore against abortion.” Including “it is almost always men” it’s obvious you aware there are men who aren’t against abortion (hardcore or otherwise). Not wanting to add fodder for any conservative wanting to make their case against abortion….. abortion is as you wrote a choice; “And that is what it is -- a choice. One to be made between a women, her physician, and, hopefully, a supportive partner.” There is a painful side to making this decision, of making this choice when there isn’t a supportive partner. I speak from direct experience regarding the circumstances of someone I love dearly; my sister.

I have been writing for the past 30 - 40 minutes about all she went through years ago. It’s a long story, perhaps too long to post as a reply. Even this post is long but is a limited, a very limited synopsis of everything she went through. Including how distraught and torn up she was due to not having a supportive partner. In her case two non-supportive partners.

But they weren’t non-supportive partners because she wanted an abortion and they offered no help, no support. It was the opposite. She wanted to carry her pregnancies to term but via emotional blackmail they pushed her into having the abortions. (There’s there’s much more to it than that but “emotional blackmail” is the best phrase I can come up with right now. It’s accurate but there are many more nuanced details). Bottom line, the only thing they were supportive of was her not her having either baby.

Fwiw she and I have always been close. (This goes back to when she was a baby. My mother tells stories of how I would try to take her out of her crib to play with her.) Being as close as we are I was there for her as she went through it all. The tears, the pain, the overwhelmed she experienced more often than not as she dealt with both pregnancies and abortions. Then there was a third pregnancy and the same emotional crap as in the previous two was being played out again.

This third pregnancy was with the same non-supportive partner as her second. Knowing fully well he was likely to abandon her and she’d be left alone to raise their child, knowing fully well it was her choice and her choice alone due to there being no “supportive partner”…. this time she chose not to give in to his pressure and become a mother.

(I suppose this can sound like a pro life diatribe but it isn’t nor was it meant to be. If anything I’m trying to show that guys/ men can be equally unaware of the intricacies of pregnancy regardless of their views/ opinions regarding abortion. )

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George, I agree this is not just a male-female thing.

There are women who are are just as unsupportive of pregnant women. Just this week, Laura Strietmann, head of Cincinnati Right to Life, ranted on the case of a 10-year-old rape victim who was forced to travel to Indiana for abortion last July, because Ohio’s ban doesn’t include a rape exception.

“While a pregnancy might have been difficult on a 10-year-old body, a woman’s body is designed to carry life. That is a biological fact,” Strietmann said, referring to a child victim as a woman for political convenience.

How would you like to have her as your "supportive" partner.

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George, I am so sorry that your sister had to endure sustained abuse. She is fortunate to have such a supportive sibling. In both her abortions, she had no choice. And that’s what this all hinges on: women having the agency to make their own health care, and life-care, decisions. I’m glad she finally found that agency and made a choice that was hers. I hope motherhood has been a loving reward after everything she went through.

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I am so with you, Marg Mac! Excellent note. Sometimes I wonder if men (and some women) who strongly oppose abortion would undergo therapy to discover the root of their irrational thinking. Most likely those men would be filled with equally irrational and probably religious concepts of women and their "place" as subordinate to men.

The lie is in their supposedly unconditional regard for the unborn child, while completely disregarding the socio-economic issues and life affirming needs of the mother. In other words, misogyny. Those men are not capable of true compassion and rational thought.

But then again, their "therapist" would most likely be from a similar affiliation such as a faith based counselor. (Sigh)

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Apr 22, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Joyce, in your closing remarks thanking us as subscribers, I'm sure that most among us would agree that I feel honored and lucky to be among those that can claim a small part in supporting your work. In fact I would go so far to say that many would be eager to pitch in if you came up with a go-fund-me project that you are interested in pursuing. I feel so good and humbled every time I read your closing "We're in this together." Thank you again Joyce. Thus,

Spake

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Apr 22, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

I agree with Spake. My subscription is high value for me, giving me some peace of mind in understanding legal questions which would otherwise keep me awake at night. I'm honored to be "in this together" with you. Thank you!

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author

Thank you. That's so nice. I'm awfully happy with our little community here on Substack! It's a really tribute to civil discourse readers to be able to come here and read and learn from the comments. A lot of important thinking going on here.

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Apr 22, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

I just upgraded to paid, thank you Joyce for this vitally important, well researched, and balanced newsletter!

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The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an association of antiabortion doctors and others, brought the suit to revoke the FDA approval of mifepristone.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Please, PRINT THEIR NAMES AND CITIES OF RESIDENCE. Spread this information early and often in print, television, radio, and online. I want to know all about them.

I presume at least some of the members of this poorly named group are practicing physicians. Their patients deserve to know if their doctor was part of this group. Patients have a right to choose to see a doctor that they know will provide complete and up to date care. The members of this “alliance” will not.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!!!!!

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Wait, wait, wait...it was most assuredly a typo (damn spell-check!) ; what they meant was Hypocritical, not Hippocratic. And their medical licenses were found inside a cereal box, kind of like that Junior Birdman lapel pin you could get back in the day by saving and sending in the box tops.

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😂😂😂

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You solved it. Whew!

Not real doctors. Of course. That explains so much!

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This is a good point. I suspect many of the usual suspects but it would be great to pin it down as well as any connections to Judge K.

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I searched the name "Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine" and couldn't find the name of one human being associated with this company.

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Exactly! And that should not stand. We need investigative journalism to follow the smell and sunshine these people.

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Start with The Federalist Society! The latest Trio all came thru them! The older members on the conservative agenda are proud members of the group and attend their functions. Trump picked from The List! And, look where it has left our country! Offers a lot of POWER and MONEY to those who subscribe!

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Agree, Sky. Why has it taken over 20 years - 20 years - for Crow's "friendship" with benefits with Thomas to come to light? Why did it take 9 years - 9 years - for the sale of his mother's house and surrounding lots to Crow without Thomas declaring them to come to light? Why are we just now learning about Kaczmaryk's radio broadcast participation and removal of his name from a highly controversial article? If present main stream media is not going to investigate these "justices", it's time for retired journalists like Woodrow to take on the assignment or others who aren't focused on Trump. And Durbin? Either start pushing back on this as well as Feinstein's temporary replacement, using the blue slips or relinquish the chairmanship of the committee and/or be removed! Schumer, you wanted the Majority Leadership of the Senate - START leading and take action. Sorry... Just so tired of no one on our side - fighting back!

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I couldn’t agree any more. So tired of these fat cat “leaders”pontificating but going nowhere. All hat, no cattle is the adage that comes to mind.

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Agree with all of you about this shameful corrupt court. In addition Roberts is also complicit-- his wife’s work with staffing lawyers law offices. Any conflicts with cases before the court. Would we hear about it? And Mrs Thomas.... what happened with her texts? Misogyny for thee and not for me. I recall the years before Roe. It’s painful to remember those days. I’m outraged that GOP politicians want to rule as a minority and deny the rest of us our rights and freedoms. Vote them out.

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I did as well, did you read their Advocacy section? It's a give away of their real mission.

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Hey, Gail. I did read their Advocacy section. Left me not impressed.

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Yep. Dead give away. I don’t want these people taking care of me, my family, or my friends.

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If you go to the website for The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, at the bottom of the page you find The Catholic Medical Assoc, The COPTIC Medical Assoc of America, American College of Pediatricians, AAPLOG, and the Christian Medical Dental & Dental Assoc. All the organizations that belong to it.

I went on the The Catholic Medical Assoc. website and searched for doctors who are in my state and three names came up. One name was close to me and affiliated with the hospital I use.

The search would take some time but it would be fruitful.

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Thanks, Gail. You got closer than I did.

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Brand new group, formed quickly to bring this suit, specifically in this judge’s jurisdiction. I have no idea whether or not there are physicians are in the group or not but I would assume so. At least some of the group have to live within the jurisdiction, I assume. IANAL

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Yes I get that. It has been reported and re-reported. But we need more.

So who are the individuals? What do they do? Where do they actually live and work? What is their back ground? Where did they train? Are they members of respected medical/scientific associations?

I want their patients/colleagues/associates/family members/neighbors to know who these people are.

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Ah, sorry, I didn’t completely understand what you were asking.

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I am asking that those with skills search out and list the names, locations, and credentials (MD, DO, PhD, etc) of all those who are members of the 5 organizations that form the Alliance for Hippocratic Health. I want this information to be compiled into an online, searchable database, so that there is transparency. I want to know if any of my doctors are members. Patients have a right to know. What they do with that information is up to them. Period.

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Put a ❤️ in that acronym in a strategic place, and you get a rude bumper sticker.

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And a fairly accurate description of what these fake plaintiffs are trying to do to the country. By the way, they won't stop with just this, and they're hoping that you don't point out the rank hypocrisy of them not challenging the FDA approval of Viagra or Cialis.

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Does anyone know why Justice Alito is such an angry, arrogant man, and apparently a misogynist as well? How does he get along with his female colleagues on the bench?

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I for one am not the least bit interested in why Alito is an angry misogynist, I just want him off the bench because he is a perjurer. That he is, in fact, an angry misogynist was well-known to the judiciary committee during his confirmation, when he falsely professed fidelity to the rule of law and stare decisis. It was not until his ridiculous Dobbs decision that we knew for sure that he was lying about that. We've known about his misogyny for over 50 years. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jan-12-na-princeton12-story.html

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I have the same question, Laurie - and I will add Thomas in to the same category. It frightens me that two of the most powerful judges in this country seem to feel that half the population consists of second class citizens without the even the right to basic healthcare.

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It's not just two of them, add Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett and Roberts

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This is true, and I have zero confidence in many of the judges in this country anymore. My hope is that those who are true to their oaths can sustain the justice system in this country until, and if and when, those who would uphold the laws, rule in good faith, and respect stare decisis can replace those who do not.

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All six of these justices are felons. They committed perjury when they, under oath, professed fidelity to the rule of law and stare decisis during their confirmation hearings.

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Well, since he decided to scold even Amy Barrett, I’m guessing he’s an equal opportunity misogynist.

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It's one way to go down in history.

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Unfortunately, thanks to them, our country May go down in history too.

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😉

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Does he get along with any of his colleagues on the bench. I have heard rumors that when Rehnquist was chief, he would refuse to conference with some judges with whom he disagreed. Rumors, as I said.

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Who could possibly get along with that humorless arrogant sanctimonious jerk? I know Kagan can't stand him, with just cause. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/samuel-alito-elena-kagan-black-santa-kkk-ashley-madison

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Maybe he’s gay.

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I think of most Republicans in whatever office they hold as "bitter pills", especially when they do their level best to cheapen the interview process with deception and outright lies to make themselves look better. I think anyone who lies about their values, beliefs, or anything they are supposed to tell the truth about should be ousted from that job as soon as the lies are verified. That would set an example to others coming along that they COULD lose their job for failur to be truthful. That would be a mandatory unbreakable way to force ethical behavior on those people. Let's face it. Too many liars are popping up, and the results are awful for us due to that fact. The liars should be hounded by the MSM until they resign their position. It's the one honorable choice they have left. That should go especially for SCOTUS. Carry on.

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Bill, I think that Congress needs to codify penalties for lying during the confirmation process so that anyone in a confirmed position can be ousted from that position when lies are discovered. That should include all judges, including Supreme court justices.

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+ 💯

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The committee had better get Ms Feinstein to resign immediately then because unless they can do that and replace her, the rethuglicans on the committee will continue to bar any action Durban wants to do.

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Well this particular Congress won’t do that.

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Sadly, you have to value honor in order for an honorable choice to have meaning. You have to also value shame. If your value system doesn't include honor and/or shame, there's no leverage there. I think this is a real issue for many judicial appointees identified by those semi-secret members of the federalist society and appointed by the prior president or his Texas born predecessors.

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It's plain to me that Matthew Kacsmaryk committed perjury during his confirmation process. He not only didn't disclose the law review article that foretold the ruling he made for these fake plaintiffs in the mifepristone case, he hid his role as the author by fraudulently substituting the names of two other right wing nuts to cover up his footprints all over the US Constitution.

In my book, this is called perjury. But you don't need my book, for the United States Code, Title 18, §§ 1001 and 1621 will more than fill the bill. What I want to know is this: why hasn't Senator Dick Durbin, chair of the judiciary committee, held hearings on this and made criminal referrals to Merrick Garland?

I for one am tired of his milquetoast approach to non-governing, as evidenced by his failure to ignore blue slips to advance Joe Biden's judicial nominees, especially in light of continued GOP obstructionism add complete jackassery about Dianne Feinstein. And I'm really getting tired of Chuck Schumer allowing this kind of crap to continue as well.

The sourcing in this article from the Washington Post makes the criminal case for perjury a slam dunk: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/15/matthew-kacsmaryk-law-review/

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It's the affirmative step of withdrawing his name to avoid disclosing that makes this stand out to me. People can forget or have incomplete notes. I had a dickens of a time putting mine together to be us atty and went back extensively through records and calendars, confirmed info with close friends, etc. But you don't forget the article you published after you knew you were going to be nominated and went to the trouble of having your name removed from.

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Indeed. He sent it in under oath, evaded exposing his authorship, AND sent a message to this particular class of faux plaintiffs that his little courtroom would serve as the perfect venue for this exact kind of case. That's called perjury. It should cost him not just his license, but his liberty.

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I'll bet you my favorite sweater that there are still some rooms in both the House and the Senate where the old boys (no girls allowed) from both parties retire to smoke cigars, sip on Tennessee and Kentucky whiskey and tell off-color jokes to one another while pinching the hostesses. They truly hate one another during election season on the campaign trail and in front of the media cameras, then retire to the humidor, laughing and joking about what they AREN'T going to do about these cases. After all, if they really start going after one another, the Washington DC holiday party circuit is going to get even MORE complicated; they'll have to depart earlier to their districts to face the voters.

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Everyone call Schumer and your senators and demand Feinstein to resign!

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Why Schumer would appoint a 89 year old to the most important committee in the Senate is beyond me.

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Absolutely. Is it simply bad luck that at time we need strong leadership we have the guys mentioned by Stephen Hooper? Please add Christopher Wray, Merrick Garland and Jerome Powell to the list of whom I believe could do more for good of the country.

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ALL of them act as if they are on a much deserved vacation? Wray was a Trump appointee, too! Like the Post Master General who still reigns! Clean house and be aware!

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Leave Merrick Garland off that list.

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I hesitated to add Garland and hope you are correct. I will remove Merrick Garland and add the current postmaster. Asking why Joe Biden has not removed some of the Trump appointments.

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‘Not Quite Midnight at the Supreme Court’, might have been read as the title of a poem, but then there were the knitting needles with a few knitted lines of dark beige wool wrapped around them. The heading no longer looked like a poem. Joyce Vance did quite a bit of work once she put her needles down. There were lots of words recording the work of Matthew Kacsmaryk, the Fifth Circuit, FDA, Thomas and Alito, Barrett and Kagan, Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Senator Murkowski… The prose was all about Mifepristone, court cases, women, fetuses and hard-right, Republican theology. Poetry? All I can say is that it is undecided. Another stay of execution.

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We need John Prine back. Or (hopefully) Joan Baez will hear of this title and write one for us, or maybe Mary Chapin Carpenter.

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….and Alicia Keyes! Let's hear what she has to sing about the Supreme Court, too.

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it sounds like the title of a folk song, or "American Pie" by Don Mclean...

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Thank you again Joyce for your interpretation and analysis. It is looking more like Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” every day🤬.

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Thank you for publishing this so late on a Friday night. I’ve been curious to hear your opinions on the ruling. To those if you considering a paid subscription, I say it is worth every penny.

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I don't know if "sanity" prevailed, but the other four idiots did demonstrate they still understand the concept of self-preservation.

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Your posts are extraordinarily helpful in my efforts to keep up and understand (as best I can) the complex world of legal wranglings in a society gone mad. And as much respect as I have for your intelligence, education, experience, and expertise...it is the chickens and the knitting that really has me hooked.

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Knitting needles passed TSA? 😬

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Apparently, knitters are a revered group and no one wants to attempt to separate us from our needles. 😂

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Yes, they've never been an issue for me. Have traveled with them for years.

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Yes, that surprised me, too!

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Good Point 😮

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I’ve never had a problem carrying knitting needles on planes.

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Your comment reminded me of a trip I took a few years back. I was flying from PHX to TPA with a connecting flight in Kansas City. The PHX TSA let my tiny pocket knife stay in my bag. Darn thing will barely cut butter. I get to Kansas City. Decided to check out the food options outside the gate area. Well, this required going through the TSA check again. My little pocket knife was confiscated. I get into the gate area and there's a woman knitting. I asked her if she had a problem going through security. Nope. I immediately thought of how a knitter turned terrorist could solve the problem of getting a "weapon" on board. 😎

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I was wondering the same thing! Any size needle allowed?

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I'm sorry I'm just a law hobbyist, but I read that dissent twice, and I missed that there was a part consistent with reason. Alito's so mean, he will dissent to his own decision (to take the thing for consideration in the first place!) All I could get was that his dissent sounded like the bawling of a heifer stuck in a wire fence. I'm not sure what the language is supposed to be in these sort of things, but the Scalito team went off the rails when the smart one died. I could read Scalia and get a sense of clarity of movement, no matter if I disagreed. I don't know what-for that Alito's trying to say, but he's got the window open in the rain and he's bellowing out "I'm mad as hell, and I can't take it anymore!"

These boys got their comeuppance when they decided to play doctor. I am a doctor, and I object to laws dictating the practice of medicine, even if they direct me to action that I think is good. If I wore a black robe in the exam room, the patients would be off the stirrups and out through the lobby. If the Extreme Court is addled with hubris, over-inflated enough to favor whether a doctor needs to examine a patient, once or three times, whatever Doctor Kacsmaryk has in his notebook, show me your license, pal. I have more faith in Doctor Oz than Doctor Kaz.

A lot of the principles of judicial deference to the practice of medicine used to come from collegial respect. At least, it came from the realization that one shouldn't stick one's arm to unjam the wood chipper, unless you know it's unplugged. Trauma surgeons all know about that mistake. Don't involve yourself in things outside your business.

I'll look over the little 3-page objection again, but I'm afraid I'm not going to buy that bust of Justice Alito on Etsy.

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Well said.

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Thanks. This issue is rock-ribbed middle-of-the-road conservatism that Buckley and Robert Taft would get in the blink of an eye. A patient contracts with a physician, and as long as what occurs is the common law practice of medicine, NOBODY else has any business in the contract to care. I never thought I'd sound like the Lochner Court, but the practice of medicine is entirely protected by substantive due process. Get your nose out of the tent, you judicial rascals! Absent a claim of tortious malfeasance by the patient, or matters outside the general practice of medicine, butt out! The states have professional medical boards to scrutinize what is acceptable practice in all other circumstances.

This is the power that women patients have in my clinic. I am bound to deflect any intrusion into her care that she does not want. It's not up to me. It's her business. Anyone who doesn't get it, can put an egg in their shoe, and beat it.

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I also feel heartened and better educated by your columns. Thank you for investing the time and energy with us. Elaine Stevens,NM

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founding

Lies, Manipulation, Obfuscation & Deception- that’d be the law firm founded by Alito, Thomas and Kacsmaryk....

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Did you ever listen to Car Talk? Their legal advice was given by “Dewey, Cheatem and Howe!” Sounds about right for some present day judges!

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founding

Loved that show, but the brothers did not originate the fictional firm of Dewy et al.

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Yes I think it’s from The Three Stooges?

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It is so nice of you to express appreciation for those of us who subscribe and support you. But it is you who needs to know how much you are appreciated. You are not just keeping us informed. Like a good teacher will do you are changing the world.

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