When the Supreme Court decided Dobbs, it opened up Pandora’s Box, undoing fifty years of protection for abortion rights under Roe v. Wade. In the wake of that decision, states pulled lots of horribles out of the box and used them to prevent women from making their own choices about reproductive health care. In some cases, those decisions involved their ability to conceive and carry to term in the future and even their lives. Arizona now seems intent on joining them.
We will be marching here in AZ starting tomorrow and it sounds like there will be marches all across the country! The march here in Sedona starts at 4:00pm. Hoping the expected turnout will make lawmakers take notice that we will not be sent back to 1864!! Thank you ,Joyce, for all you do to educate and inform! Greatly appreciated!
I didn't see, Daniel Solomon, that in the Field Team 6 info. Will you let me know where it says that "millions of unregistered women nationally trend heavily Democratic." I give this sort of info to my County Democratic Central Committee, and Iet them know where I sourced it. That's a rich treasure trove of prospective Democratic voters we would like to unearth in our rural County! Thank you!
2. For the 2022 midterms, Field Team 6 reached 5 million unregistered likely Democrats.
1.57 million registered. Over 650,000 of them VOTED. The cost? 93¢ per registration $2.24 per vote
3. This year plan more. I'm told at least 900,000 In Florida, alone. Ad copy: We are the one and only national organization proudly registering Democratic voters all year, every year, in
swing states where just a few votes decide elections. We are laser-focused on registering women, people of color, young people, and the LGBTQ community, to defeat the existential threat to our democracy and fulfill the promise of America.
4. FT6 uses data mining to identify nonregistered voters who trend Democratic. Only register Democrats.
It's okay to tell people that the fastest way to overrule abortion law is via the impeachment process. It is okay to let the legislature and Judiciary know that you are coming for them at the ballot box. Every Republican state office holder must be voted out of office, for the express purpose of impeaching the court in order to over rule abortion laws. By going on line and entering the key words and/or terms; name of your state, the Republican members of you particular state legislature, Jan. 6th, coup, and fake electors you will be able to compose a list of some names that are currently holding state offices or running for state legislatures. Any state office from dog catcher to member of the legislature may be challenged to continue to hold office or run for state office pursuant to Section 3 of the 14th amendment the disqualification clause; "We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office." Per Curiam by SCOTUS, Trump v. Anderson Mar. 4, 2024, page 6). Drop in on a Democratic office holder, (I found enough parents of the local school(s) to fill up a legislator's office) talk to a member of the staff, any office holder, (mayors, council members, state legislators, etc ). and ask them why no Democrat has filed a challenge against any Republican seeking state legislature, governor, State AG, Secretary of State, etc. described above, who was associated with Jan. 6th. Let people know that the Republican political party supports an adjudicated liar, cheat, thief and sexual pervert, they refer to the American dead and wounded from WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan as "losers", "suckers" and "cowards". The Republicans want to enact laws that will subordinate, recklessly endanger and kill women, pass no gun laws to protect school children, shoot and kill immigrants and protesters etc.. They are in sum, the party of death. Let's not let them forget it, they made their choice
In Arizona, according to Ballotopedia, two of the 4 justices who voted to uphold the 1864 antiabortion law are up for a "retention" vote: Clint Bolick and Kathryn Hackett King. Arizona voters can vote for their removal from the AZ Supreme Court.
"The terms of two Arizona Supreme Court justices will expire on January 6, 2025. The two seats are up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline is September 6, 2024.
Judges with expiring terms
This is a list of the justices who must stand for retention election in 2024 in order to remain on the bench. Justices may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if justices retire or are appointed.
"We are laser-focused on registering women, people of color, young people, and the LGBTQ+ community, to defeat the existential threat to our democracy and fulfil the promise of America."
If all these people were interested in the political process, let alone averting an existential threat to democracy, why didn't they go and register the week they turned 18? Or at least when Trump was elected in 2016?
In New Hampshire, at least they are trying to make it so difficult to register to vote and the process can be daunting for young people. I know several LGBTQ people who have not registered. This is some thing we need to overcome and convince them that they have power when they vote.
Thank you, Daniel, for the information! What an effective organization, cost-wise , focusing on those prospective Democrats who are not fully represented and in the states where it matters! Sandra
I do just that here in MD. I don't know about that info, but I offer to help the young women coming through our clinic to register to vote. Considering the services we provide (abortion), I venture to say they are prospective Democratic voters.
I’ve signed up to attend the town hall with Field Team 6 on Wednesday, Apr 10, 2024. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/E5DAXt
"Millions of unregistered women nationally trend heavily Democratic."
I may be simple - but if you "trend heavily Democratic"- then how on earth do you willingly remain unregistered, and wilfully deny yourself a vote? It defies logic.
Hey - The 2025 Women’s Final Four is scheduled for Tampa. Get organized to pressure the Tampa Sports Commission, the NCAA, and other Florida businesses to BOYCOTT it and/or move it out of the state due directly to their treatment of women.
I’ve signed up to attend the town hall with Field Team 6 on Wednesday, Apr 10, 2024. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/E5DAXt
It doesn't matter so much what our state lawmakers notice. They already expect to lose control of the legislature in January. This will make the statement voters make in November that much more emphatic!
When we have done visibility events outside the NH state house, the legislators avoid us by sneaking in the back or side doors. There are always many more of us Democrats versus a few republicans, the lawmakers choose to ignore us. The Department of Education, and especially Frank Edelblut the commissioner, totally goes against the large crowds that testify against PragerU, and proceed with their anti-Public school agenda. VOTE BLUE vote them out!
Diana: Please lead an effort NOW to put pressure on Planned Parenthood and other reproductive rights organizations to plan a March to all State Capitals on “Labor Day” which would begin a historic person to person door knocking campaign in every state until the last hour of Election Day on November 5 to defeat Senators Scott, Crawley, Blackburn, Cruz, and other Republican candidates for the Senate and House of Congress! The symbolism of using Labor Day would be powerful! Why are those organizations quiet? let’s all demand ACTION to save womens’ Pro-Choice Rights! Thank you!
Thank you; we need to pass this on so that we can motivate a full strength grass roots movement of door to door canvassing! The stakes are so high, aren’t they?
I think you're going to have to reverse the lobotomies of those jerks in AZ. It's always a problem when men do all their thinking with their little heads because the big ones don't work.
The child tax credit expansion bill that was passed by the House, has gone to the Senate for approval. It is currently being held up by ranking Member Mike Crapo:
The right wing and GOP have been planning for this for a loooong time. They have been digging up all these laws and old timey “orders” to push out and get their gerrymandered legislatures and courts to enact them now. All women need to be pissed off, stay pissed off and make sure all the women we know understand what’s happening and how they need to speak up and vote as well.
Will anyone weigh in on whether Row versus Wade was the right place to include as a constitutional provision? I supported it but not being schooled in law, it begs to be discussed.
The Red Rock News was there but it’s not known for being the most “fair and balanced”. I took a bunch of videos to send to Joyce. Had a great turnout especially considering how small our town is. Had a couple “Not Your Choice” folks 😏 but lots of people honking in support
I am an 80 year old male, who is reading this in horror. It is a disgraceful time as I watch the Supreme Court and men in state after state taking these actions against the rights of women and their well being.
It has been clear to me for some time that the right is hell bent of a scorched earth approach to push the United States back decades, if not centuries. Arizona’s embrace of an 1864 law and Alabama’s criminalizing of IVF must only be the beginning, an effort to culturally roll up the sidewalks - so to speak.
What other horrors lay ahead as those Extreme White National Christians lay waste to anything 21st century? We have seen them try to turn away from mental and medical health for transgender people. Can we expect anything but seeing this get much worse going forward.
It is great to read that women are preparing to march. I think, however, that we will see more marching and more outrage as these assaults on our freedoms continue in the name of Biblical Fire and Brimstone well beyond the rights of women. In fact, these assaults have been underway for some time - banning books, assaults on people of color, Asian communities, Jewish synagogues, and much more. My goodness, our Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Where is this hate and assaults on good people taking us? Where are the so called leaders who are standing up to those who offer rhetoric that feeds these horrors?
Ha ha. I am really angry at my iPad. It doesn’t function anymore. Yes I do have an Bluetooth keyboard. But it much easier tap. Cheeses weepers. And my words were “here in” not heroin.
The very best defense they have is to not be alone anywhere. And the second best defense is to not consume drugs or alcohol and to only go to parties that are hosted by people they trust while not consuming or drinking anything they did not bring with them. These precautions are proven to dramatically reduce the chances they will be assaulted.
Absolutely. We also do not have them in school (Homeschooling) or church (we are non religious). As a former k12 we had numerous middle schoolers who were pregnant. And i do not have to explain churchs' pedo problem.
Guns aren’t always around. And they can be used against one. Martial arts are better. Teach your daughters to be black belts in karate, judo, aikido, better than guns
Exactly! I stated earlier last week that I went back into Handmaid’s Tale and picked up where I left off because honest to goodness… I know that’s a fictional story but it’s looking so familiar, the landscape of how it all happened.
In the words of the message guru, Billy Ray, we need to continue pushing out the phrase “ government mandated pregnancy”! So many libertarians and Republicans cherish their personal freedom but sadly it gets left at the doorstep of this issue. If we state that it’s a government mandated anything they should get behind the choice movement!
“Trump is playing word games with the fundamental rights of women. If elected, Trump doesn’t need to “sign” a national abortion ban to enforce a national abortion ban. How can that be?
“Project 2025 is a plan being prepared by Trump's reactionary advisors to implement an authoritarian regime under Trump if he is reelected. One prong of Project 2025 is to use the 1873 federal law known as the Comstock Act to effectuate a national ban. See Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, Arizona’s abortion ban is back. It’s every state’s future if Trump wins. (slate.com)”
From Slate:
“Comstock, in particular, is an instructive comparison here. That 1873 law, read expansively, bans all abortions, including both medication and in-clinic procedures. Indeed, far-right lawyers are at the Supreme Court trying to weaponize it against abortion pills right now. Trump’s top lawyers, including Jonathan Mitchell, have said that they plan to use Comstock as a nationwide ban on abortion if Trump regains office. They tell us that they intend to stay quiet about this scheme until after the election, at which point they will prepare for an executive order accompanied by prosecutions and regulations that make abortion a federal felony in all 50 states. The plot is similar to what just happened in Arizona: Republicans enacted a seemingly moderate 15-week ban, only to stand by and watch as their colleagues on a GOP-packed court resuscitated a total ban passed during the Civil War. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes—who beat her anti-abortion opponent in 2022 by 280 votes—has said she won’t prosecute violations of the law. But GOP county attorneys have rejected Mayes’ efforts to shield doctors and may well seek to charge any providers that stay open, throwing access into immediate jeopardy.”
Robert Hubbell continues:
“Like the 1864 Arizona law, the Comstock Act is a moribund law that has been overtaken by newer statutes—but it has not been repealed. A Trump-appointed Attorney General could simply start enforcing a federal law that has been on the books since 1873 and claim that there is no “ban” signed by Trump. The national “ban” on abortion was signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1873—and would be enforced as an existing law by his Attorney General (Kash Patel?).”
Trump is to blame as are McConnell and the Federalist Society SCOTUS! The GOP wants to control women and refuses to listen to the public. 🤬 Vote! Vote to protect reproductive rights!
As one who was living in California while Reagan was governor, I vividly remember him wanting to reduce the University of California by 10%. The students responded with "Reduce Reagan by 10%". I think they succeeded, but nobody other than James Garner figured it out…
Any actor, TV personality or Reality “star” needs to be banned from Public Office, since they all seem to be just useful Idiots… (sorry Al Franken, but here we go with what was characterized as a poor choice at an attempt at humor)… I like credentialed persons with beating hearts in their chests in charge.
Not in this country, but Zelensky seems an exception. But you have a point. There are people out there, who can't separate the character from the actor. Harrison Ford (Airforce One) or Kieffer Sutherland (Designated Survivor) might get votes because of a fictional character that they play. No one would care that Ford is 81, or that Sutherland is Canadian. On the other hand, all politicians are actors.
That’s true about Zelenskyy but he seems to be an exception probably because he has been called upon to actually get on the front lines and lead by example… unlike American actors… and yes, there is a certain amount of acting to get elected, I concur… but hells bells… the president of the United States? Trump? Augh! What is wrong with these people who suppose he has anyone’s interest at heart other than his own?
Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. Prior to his acting career, he obtained a degree in law from the Kyiv National Economic University."
"...credentialed persons with beating hearts in their chests in charge."
That would mean getting rid of all of them. The two most serious, most successful politicians I was ever lucky enough to know - Jesse Unruh and Willie Brown - were not "credentialed" by other than their life experiences, and their beating hearts changed politics as it was practiced here for having been here.
JA, just wondering: this would be the same Nancy of “just say ‘no’ to pre-marital sex and drugs”? So she had hormones to deal with as well? ‘Just say no’ was formative in George W. Bush Jr.’s ruinous No Child Left Behind education policy for public schools that stripped sex education from public school curricula and from teacher education programs in publicly funded colleges and universities - new textbooks erased any mention of sex education.
Yes that is true and Nancy admitted that in a book she wrote after leaving the White House. I have also read tales about Nancy in her younger casting-couch days. None of it is proven but its interesting.
Women were just the first target right wing Christian nationalist evangelicals from 50 years ago. They chose to reverse Roe v. Wade because it was the easiest to do. Next will be all of our other civil rights. When Trump interviewed Amy Coney Barrett as his nomination for the Supreme Court, he asked her “then will you have any trouble voting for the ruling against abortion?” She said “no.” His then chief of staff was in the room and was interviewed for a book - I will look up the author. So Dobbs was ‘mission accomplished’ after a thirty year plan. Installing Trump as Orange Jesus was part of their plan as well. I know it sounds preposterous that they would make a deal with him, but they did: they would get him elected and he would stack the Supreme Court. He did his job.
Moscow Mitch cared for nothing but judicial appointments, period. The more, the merrier! Everything else be damned! He’s so profoundly pathetic, sickening & gutless that he, to this day, supports DJT for President. The same person that insulted & denigrated his Chinese wife with odious racial slurs. That says it all. I abhor it all.
They are not being overlooked. There has been a huge outreach to get them registered and to put voting locations in their areas. I hope they vote, even if they're unaffected on tribal lands. We need complete solidarity between women now!
I've had a monthly donation going with Navajo County Org. Fund Native Vote for the past year or so, and another one the name of which escapes me at the moment.
I like the way you think, Regina! Excellent brainstorming idea! I wonder if it would be possible for them to have clinics on their tribal land? Is that what you’re thinking?
Welcome to Maryland which soon will add reproductive freedom to the state constitution. It is a given in a state that has a two to one Democratic edge. #marylandstrong
Yes we do. We have known Jamie since his delegate days but he never shows up to the picnics anymore because the whole country needs him. Why did you move from MC, Marlene?
I went to school in DC for a while. Met my husband who had returned from Vietnam 6 month earlier. In 1971, I began working for GEICO in DC and at the end of December 1973, I was offered a job as a supervisor in San Francisco. My husband had gone back to school on the G.I. Bill at the University of MD. He had gotten his degree, the offer came, and off we went in February 1974. My husband was originally from Northern CA and I was a transplant from NC. We bought an older home which is now 97 years old and in three years, we will have been in it half of its life. The End!
Good for you. Lived in the Bay Area for 15 yrs. Maryland for 20 as of this week. I have lived in all Blue states and Maryland is the bluest. Our primaries are nerve wrecking because whoever wins, wins the general. Now our choice is who is the best to beat Hogan in the Senate
Well thank goodness you lived in only the bluest of states! We actually lived in Silver Spring for a few years. I loved it there. In 2019, I brought my two daughters to the Women’s March in Washington, DC and went to visit the Maryland University campus. Don’t exactly miss the cold weather, humidity, or the cicadas but I miss Rock Creek Park. Great memories there.
The cicadas are just a reflection of how weirdly life can evolve, can you imagine living underground for 17 years hunting things to eat all that time and then deciding to march to the surface on cue with millions of your brothers and sisters to take part in an orgy that will ensure the survival of your species, all while making a racket that makes crickets chirping sound like a whisper. I don’t know who they are, but they say that we are going to have a cicada emergence this year that will dwarf any for the last century or so. I know that was a divergence from the news from AZ which makes me wonder if you have to check your brain at the door, to become a member of the SC there. Sanity doesn’t seem to have been part of the decision, I have 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters and the idea that any politician or judge could have any say in the health care they receive is insane to me, that’s why we have doctors with their extensive medical education.
Wow This abortion law was passed 15 years before the shootout at the OK Corral. Shouldn’t there be some kind of expiration date on laws on the books before a territory became a state? Crazy use of the judicial system in my opinion.
Joy Reid pointed out that this law was passed before doctors even understood how the sperm and egg create a baby, or even before they understood germs as most didn’t even wash their hands before surgery or delivering babies. All this in addition to fact that the pervert who wrote this law was a 59 yo man who married a 15 year old girl AND the age of consent for sex was TEN!!!!! 10!!
That is all perfectly in line with the way white men have always thought about women. Aristotle thought female fetuses were ensouled 40 days later than male ones. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This from the guy from Athens, where men paraded around carrying large stone phalluses. Read _The Reign of the Phallus_. That reign is unfortunately NOT OVER YET.
Heather Cox Richardson has the history of this law on her Substack. The actual point of the law was to curtail violence by men. It prohibited all sorts of violent assaults; causing a woman to miscarry was only one of many. It did carve out an exception to make it clear that doctors could still perform abortions to save a woman's life; but the law was completely unconcerned with the possibility of a woman choosing to 'miscarry'.
They didn't just resurrect an old law; they chose one that wasn't even intended to ban abortion. This just goes to show how dishonest and disingenuous the anti-choice movement is willing to be.
Yes, as a resident of Arizona this decision was the second major downgrade to being a woman in Arizona. I venture to guess that this extremism will help turn Arizona blue. If it doesn't then our women are beyond help. 😔
Regardless, I will, as I usually do, research every judge on my ballot. It is tedious work to find out their party affiliation, unless they were appointed by a governor, but that's the price of freedom. Other than that, I will vote blue all the way.
It saddens me deeply to observe this deep divide in our country, but until the Republican party either reconstitutes or dies for a better option, I will not vote across party lines.
Thank you Janet. Is Justice Bill Montgomery on the AZ Ballot? The AZ Supreme Court vote would have been 5-2 but, Montgomery had to recuse himself from this case because of his open hostility & harsh public statements against Women's & Family's reproductive Health rights. If not AZ, please vote against Montgomery the next time.
And, in November 2024, Arizona voters can vote against two of the justices on the AZ Supreme Court who voted to impose the 1864 law on the woman and their families in Arizona: Clint Bolick and Kathryn Hackett King.
"The terms of two Arizona Supreme Court justices will expire on January 6, 2025. The two seats are up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline is September 6, 2024.
Judges with expiring terms
This is a list of the justices who must stand for retention election in 2024 in order to remain on the bench. Justices may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if justices retire or are appointed.
It’s not a deep divide. Polls everywhere say 63% of the population including republican voters are for abortion/reproductive rights. It’s power mongering by a minority or white men. It’s not a deep divide.
I have two thoughts. First, thanks to the AZ supreme court for helping turn the state blue in November. It is imperative that the amendment to the constitution enshrining abortion pass.
Second, the MSM is not spotlighting the subtext of trump’s position that abortion rights should be left to the states. What he’s saying is that the Arizona supreme court’s decision is okay. Any state that has any level of restrictions on abortion is okay.
If trump makes it back into the White House and Congress passes a nationwide ban, he will sign it. Make no mistake.
I agree with your first thought. Personally, this was a disaster for the women of Arizona; politically, it was a disaster for the GOP of Arizona.
As for the second, I'm not so sure you can really read much into Trump's statement. He doesn't seem to have any actual personal views on abortion rights; he's saying whatever he thinks will keep the base happy without alienating too many other people. However, you're dead on about him signing a national ban; but we can't forget that so would any other Republican.
I appreciate your view regarding my second point. I do think while he constantly throws red meat at his base, I recall his interview where he said he felt there has to be punishment for the woman who has an abortion. I feel he has a specific view of abortion rights. Despite his decreasing mental state, he is very calculating. You are absolutely correct that any republican would sign such a bill. It is most likely part of Project 2025.
Jeff Tiedrich just brought up Trump's statement on his Substack yesterday. I remember it being taken as less a sign that Trump wanted to punish women and more a sign that he hadn't actually put any thought into the issue yet. Trump isn't really a Christian and I'm not sure you can truly be anti-choice if you aren't. But, regardless of what his actual views are the actions he takes are going to be the same.
That’s a problem with him. He doesn’t put any thought into what he’s saying. For you or me that might be okay. As president of the United States it’s dangerous. He can’t be spouting off opinions/positions on things. His words, as we have learned, have serious consequences.
My heart is breaking piece by piece. Women are less and less safe every passing day. I will do everything I can to get out the vote. And speak up for women wherever I am.
Charles Austin, it's not just complacency. Pro choice advocates assumed they won the abortion rights war with Roe, when they only won a single battle in a single venue with no hearts nor minds changed. It's a very American approach to conflict. Call it hubris.
Anti-women's-equality brutes (currently under the Republican tent), after losing on so many fronts, learned how to fight an asymmetric war from the guerrillas the US has supported in other countries in the name of fighting Communism. Liberals are amateurs, in comparison. I hope we, collectively, step up.
On a different note, as of last night, I was locked out of the view-in browser option on Substack. The app doesn't recognize me as a paid subscriber. So I had to pay twice. Tech support is worthless. (Chatbot) I'm still waiting on an actual human to fix this. You can't trust them!!
Hmmmmm. I've had Substack reject me as a subscriber to one or another post several times even though I've pulled up the substack post from the email I receive as a subscriber. It simply sends to a 'subscribe' page and once I enter my email address, I'm recognized as a subscriber. Tedious but works, never have had to subscribe a second time.
I was running all of my paid subscriptions through my browser. I use Duck Duck Go, and I don't think they liked that. So all of a sudden, I no longer had the option to view in browser. The problem is, the Substack app didn't recognize the paid subscriptions from my browser. I was using Yahoo Mail, which I think they had a problem with. So I had to pay for another subscription on all my Substacks. Their tech bro asses owe me a refund.
Bummer! I don't understand the relationship with DuckDuckGo which is a search engine and not a browser. Can't speak to any issue with Yahoo Mail though I don't see why substack would have an issue with it or any other email program. I've used DuckDuckGo for searching the 'net for several years, and have used Mozilla Thunderbird as my email program even longer. My browser is Mozilla Thunderbird.
I have no idea what could be causing your problems but it may be on your own computer or your network rather than caused by substack. I'm just throwing out a thought as I'm not a real computer geek though I've learned a lot of strategies to address problems over the decades that I've used computers and the internet. Perhaps someone more savvy can make suggestions.
I have an Android 4g phone. Duck Duck Go blocks tracking. I thought maybe they were pissed about that. I don't know. I'm still waiting for a response to my refund request.
If that were the problem, I would be having problems too. The only problem I have had is entirely predictable bcz Windows has rebooted my computer in their ongoing effort to get me to upgrade to W11 (my assumption, may or may not be the case), resulting in all cookies and history being wiped so that I have to reenter all of my passwords for password-protected sites I keep open (FB, email and, if I have open windows for substack authors or articles in newspapers I subscribe to.
Unfortunately, AZ will soon find itself without hospitals and clinics because medical people will leave the stare. No vaccines means more children die. Unmarried mothers will die if they can't have abortions leaving orphaned children. Will the govt take care of them. I doubt it because our foster system is in such great shape. All because women are threatening and must be kept in their place. Barefoot and pregnant
It has been my observation that health care providers have been leaving this godawful backwards state for years now. So many of the attitudes in AZ reflect 1864 attitudes, not just reproductive freedom. I have few regrets in my life, but moving here to be close to relatives in my retirement is one of them. Fortunately, I do have a few close friends who share my viewpoints and that’s comforting, but geez, these people are neanderthal in reality.
Yes, my husband’s urologist left Arizona last year because his wife was ,who was also a doctor, felt they couldn’t provide patients with medically appropriate care.
I wonder at times if we, sane people, haven’t already lost. A large portion of citizens seem bent on making our country the meanest, cruelest place they can….and for what? No so called conservative can answer. I fear it only gets worse. A sad day indeed….
Hi Dan, I agree it’s a sad day. And sometimes we need to take time to grieve, but then we need to pick ourselves back up and continue to fight. The far right’s strategy is to overwhelm and make people think that democracy is a lost cause. They hope this translates to apathy or resignation, and that it will suppress the vote of people like us, who support equality and inclusiveness. But here’s the thing, there are more good people in this country than there are the cruel and power-hungry ones. Let’s do all we can to back democrats in all races and show up to vote in droves. We can win back precious rights and preserve our democracy. We're in this together!
Brilliantly said and written Fran-Michelle. I agree 100%. And as well, Joyce has built a beautiful community in the Substack. We can express our fears and sadness and at times being uncertain and this is why we are here: to build each other up.
Defeating them at the polls isn’t very different than not being manipulated by someone’s tantrums. A blue sweep in this year’s election will show the futility of their cause and the craziness of persisting. Let’s relegate MAGAs to the fringe from which they emerged.
Everyone of us agrees with you that this is indeed a sad day. Please know that we are together in this fight.
Probably a small token, but even Jamie Diamon, who is one of the strongest quintessential Republicans put in his JP Morgan stockholder newsletter yesterday that his heart is Democrat. He’s concerned about the direction of the country. He as much as told his readers to ‘vote Democrat.’ I believe only a couple of things could’ve caused Jamie to come out with such a strong statement: he, like a lot of conservatives, sees that Trump is going off the rails with his mob boss behavior. He watched an 80 year old woman annihilate Trump in court this year. Some Republicans do have a moral core and Jamie Dimon recognizes that Trump indeed is a rapist. I think the huge loss Trump suffered from E. Jean Carroll was a major impact for folks like Jamie. He is simply saying “enough is enough.” Also, he had at one time considered running for president as a Republican, But to see what Trump has single-handedly done to the Republican party is a bit much for Jamie. And very, very telling that he signals that he will vote Democrat.
When push comes to shove, Jamie will go Republican all the way! He wants it both ways and really enjoyed that first Trump BIG tax break! Diamon wants another one!
Trump is already promising, and Jamie is giving a bunch of $$$$ to the Trump campaign!
I did not know Jamie donated to Trump - was it recently? Jamie was at the Biden's state dinner for Kishida tonight (4-10-2024). Shame on him for donating to Trump. His nose is rubbing both ways.
At Davos 2024, Jamie Dimon praised Trump’s position on taxes, immigration, and the economy. Dimon stated that Dems should “praise” Trump’s primary candidates and be more respectful of Trump supporters. That alone is a huge contribution to Trump? Monetary contribution follows? Dimon has handed insults to Biden? At State dinner last night? Jamie plays both sides and accepts important dinner invitations!? Sure. Anxious to be seen?
We are being destroyed from within because of an inferior education system—-not the fault of teachers but because our schools are funded based on ridiculous test scores tired to funding.
How is it possible to take women back to 1864? I just don't understand it. Surely it doesn't make any sense to women of today. Please help me understand how this is possible.
Misogyny embued by white supremacists who have been here since the first white person stepped foot on indigenous land. They may have been in the background in the past 30yrs but they are out front now and as vile as they ever were.
I really think something more devious is going on here than simply abortion. This court is not subjecting their state to return to other laws from 1864. Why women? Why must women be controlled by the courts?
the events in arizona bring to mind a scene from “finian’s rainbow,” a musical first produced in 1947. in the scene, the racist senator billboard rawkins declares: “Forward, America! Forward to the hallowed principles of our forefathers. Forward to the sweet tranquility of the status quo. Forward ... to yesterday!” the lines are not about abortion, of course, but they encapsulate perfectly the mindset of today’s magats. plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
My mother had some mysterious past that involved abortions. I know she started out in nursing school and came home in the middle of the night and never mentioned it her entire life. I learned this after she passed. She was also terrified of hospitals. The one thing she did discuss when Roe passed and we were teens is that she didn’t believe in abortion but felt very strongly it should be legal. She made mention of back room abortions and people dying and you could just tell she knew. When I ended up pregnant at 16 she marched me right to the abortion clinic.
I volunteered at Planned Parenthood for many years after being a nurse in the military and my daughter participated in the Planned Parenthood Players in Arizona in high school. They would go to schools and put on skits that discussed STDs, safe sex, date rape and homosexuality. They had education in birth control. It was a fantastic program run in Phoenix around 1995.
My mother revealed to me that she had had two abortions in Germany before escaping the Nazis in the early 30’s. Imagine my surprise when she told me this news. I had always thought she was so puritanical when it came to sex. I couldn’t wait to tell my sister who also never knew. My mom told this story after my dad had died. Guess she felt it was safe to go for it and boy, was I ever so happy!
I am well past the age for pregnancy, but I am extremely furious that this abortion ban was handed to us Arizona women today. Let me guess -- the dim-witted people who enacted the change are men who have no idea what is involved for a pregnant woman. What about a woman who needs an emergency miscarriage/abortion to save her life ? What if she already has a couple of children? What if she can't afford to go out-of-state for help? How about a 12-year-old girl whose uncle gets drunk and decides she's"fair game".? The 12-year-old is trapped into a lifetime of hardship, and the uncle probably just goes on doing what he does.. This decision can be a death sentence under myriad circumstances.
And now doctors and nurses will be charged and sent to prison for helping a woman in any of those circumstances. Where do these "deciders" get their information? Does this make them feel powerful? How about prosecuting a man who gets a woman pregnant? Do men get a free ride?
Now all we need is Kari Lake as senator and our state will be mortifyingly inept. I thought Trump was the worst thing that could happen, but this stupid Arizona abortion ban has even Trump beat. Young couples thinking of moving to Arizona are going to seriously reconsider.. No woman wants to live under this threat! It ruins all the joy of possible parenthood. Whoever made this decision should look in the mirror and realize they have just ruined our state's standing, and they can be sure they will regret the decision to place power over decency.
And one more morsel -- who the h*** does Trump think he is for saying he will decide on a national abortion ruling? This is the man who had an affair with a porn star at a golf tournament when his wife was at home with their 11-month-old son, Barron. -- who raped a woman in a department store dressing room -- and says he likes to grab women by their privates. The Day-One-Dictator only cares about what HE wants, and the power he thinks it gives him. We voters have work to do . . . he CANNOT be given a second term !
He also had an affair that lasted many months when Barron was 5 months old. She was also paid off. Her story was part of the ‘catch and kill’ suppression during Trump’s 2016 campaign
I am curious about the Arizona court’s reasoning. There is a subsequent law, which is not wonderful, but does set a 15-week limit and, I believe, allows exceptions. Why does that law not supersede the territorial law I the court’s view?
I will get down in the weeds with you. The 15 week limit at least allowed abortions. This new (very old) law bans all but those to save the life of the mother. Or at least that's the way I understood the explanation.
The 15 week option was based upon Roe v Wade legislation. When RvW was overturned, it negated the 15 week option. The preceeding law pertaining to abortion was this 1864 law. CNN explained this well.
Right. I got that far. But the jurisprudence behind it puzzles me, even after I read the “explanation” in The New York Times. Likely it’s just over my head.
We will be marching here in AZ starting tomorrow and it sounds like there will be marches all across the country! The march here in Sedona starts at 4:00pm. Hoping the expected turnout will make lawmakers take notice that we will not be sent back to 1864!! Thank you ,Joyce, for all you do to educate and inform! Greatly appreciated!
Please keep us informed and let us know how we can help.
Millions of unregistered women nationally trend heavily Democratic. Register Democrats -- save Democracy.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission
I didn't see, Daniel Solomon, that in the Field Team 6 info. Will you let me know where it says that "millions of unregistered women nationally trend heavily Democratic." I give this sort of info to my County Democratic Central Committee, and Iet them know where I sourced it. That's a rich treasure trove of prospective Democratic voters we would like to unearth in our rural County! Thank you!
1. See Mission statement. https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission
2. For the 2022 midterms, Field Team 6 reached 5 million unregistered likely Democrats.
1.57 million registered. Over 650,000 of them VOTED. The cost? 93¢ per registration $2.24 per vote
3. This year plan more. I'm told at least 900,000 In Florida, alone. Ad copy: We are the one and only national organization proudly registering Democratic voters all year, every year, in
swing states where just a few votes decide elections. We are laser-focused on registering women, people of color, young people, and the LGBTQ community, to defeat the existential threat to our democracy and fulfill the promise of America.
4. FT6 uses data mining to identify nonregistered voters who trend Democratic. Only register Democrats.
It's okay to tell people that the fastest way to overrule abortion law is via the impeachment process. It is okay to let the legislature and Judiciary know that you are coming for them at the ballot box. Every Republican state office holder must be voted out of office, for the express purpose of impeaching the court in order to over rule abortion laws. By going on line and entering the key words and/or terms; name of your state, the Republican members of you particular state legislature, Jan. 6th, coup, and fake electors you will be able to compose a list of some names that are currently holding state offices or running for state legislatures. Any state office from dog catcher to member of the legislature may be challenged to continue to hold office or run for state office pursuant to Section 3 of the 14th amendment the disqualification clause; "We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office." Per Curiam by SCOTUS, Trump v. Anderson Mar. 4, 2024, page 6). Drop in on a Democratic office holder, (I found enough parents of the local school(s) to fill up a legislator's office) talk to a member of the staff, any office holder, (mayors, council members, state legislators, etc ). and ask them why no Democrat has filed a challenge against any Republican seeking state legislature, governor, State AG, Secretary of State, etc. described above, who was associated with Jan. 6th. Let people know that the Republican political party supports an adjudicated liar, cheat, thief and sexual pervert, they refer to the American dead and wounded from WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan as "losers", "suckers" and "cowards". The Republicans want to enact laws that will subordinate, recklessly endanger and kill women, pass no gun laws to protect school children, shoot and kill immigrants and protesters etc.. They are in sum, the party of death. Let's not let them forget it, they made their choice
Have you thought about using paragraph breaks at all?
They tend to work nicely.
In Arizona, according to Ballotopedia, two of the 4 justices who voted to uphold the 1864 antiabortion law are up for a "retention" vote: Clint Bolick and Kathryn Hackett King. Arizona voters can vote for their removal from the AZ Supreme Court.
"The terms of two Arizona Supreme Court justices will expire on January 6, 2025. The two seats are up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline is September 6, 2024.
Judges with expiring terms
This is a list of the justices who must stand for retention election in 2024 in order to remain on the bench. Justices may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if justices retire or are appointed.
■ Clint Bolick
■ Kathryn Hackett King
https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Supreme_Court_elections,_2024
Brava and thank you for your work Karl! Great community organization.
Valere
Thank You, Karl. Well said (and written).
"We are laser-focused on registering women, people of color, young people, and the LGBTQ+ community, to defeat the existential threat to our democracy and fulfil the promise of America."
If all these people were interested in the political process, let alone averting an existential threat to democracy, why didn't they go and register the week they turned 18? Or at least when Trump was elected in 2016?
In New Hampshire, at least they are trying to make it so difficult to register to vote and the process can be daunting for young people. I know several LGBTQ people who have not registered. This is some thing we need to overcome and convince them that they have power when they vote.
Where I live we had voter preclusion, voter intimidation, plus a lot of people were cut from the rolls using methods like "caging." https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/guide-voter-caging
Thank you, Daniel, for the information! What an effective organization, cost-wise , focusing on those prospective Democrats who are not fully represented and in the states where it matters! Sandra
I do just that here in MD. I don't know about that info, but I offer to help the young women coming through our clinic to register to vote. Considering the services we provide (abortion), I venture to say they are prospective Democratic voters.
I’ve signed up to attend the town hall with Field Team 6 on Wednesday, Apr 10, 2024. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/E5DAXt
Not this one, but will look for a town hall taking place around the 4-6PM hour, EST. I would be able to attend in that time frame.
Thank you Celeste K! What good work you are doing, along with helping women to vote for their rights!
"Millions of unregistered women nationally trend heavily Democratic."
I may be simple - but if you "trend heavily Democratic"- then how on earth do you willingly remain unregistered, and wilfully deny yourself a vote? It defies logic.
Will do! Thank you!
Pissing off women is an odd strategy if you're trying to win an election. It's women that will save us from trump.
For event info: www.mobilize.us.
We are marching in Florida on Saturday! This just makes us more motivated!
Hey - The 2025 Women’s Final Four is scheduled for Tampa. Get organized to pressure the Tampa Sports Commission, the NCAA, and other Florida businesses to BOYCOTT it and/or move it out of the state due directly to their treatment of women.
I’ve signed up to attend the town hall with Field Team 6 on Wednesday, Apr 10, 2024. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/E5DAXt
It doesn't matter so much what our state lawmakers notice. They already expect to lose control of the legislature in January. This will make the statement voters make in November that much more emphatic!
When we have done visibility events outside the NH state house, the legislators avoid us by sneaking in the back or side doors. There are always many more of us Democrats versus a few republicans, the lawmakers choose to ignore us. The Department of Education, and especially Frank Edelblut the commissioner, totally goes against the large crowds that testify against PragerU, and proceed with their anti-Public school agenda. VOTE BLUE vote them out!
Diana: Please lead an effort NOW to put pressure on Planned Parenthood and other reproductive rights organizations to plan a March to all State Capitals on “Labor Day” which would begin a historic person to person door knocking campaign in every state until the last hour of Election Day on November 5 to defeat Senators Scott, Crawley, Blackburn, Cruz, and other Republican candidates for the Senate and House of Congress! The symbolism of using Labor Day would be powerful! Why are those organizations quiet? let’s all demand ACTION to save womens’ Pro-Choice Rights! Thank you!
Thank you; we need to pass this on so that we can motivate a full strength grass roots movement of door to door canvassing! The stakes are so high, aren’t they?
Will do, Ira!
Looking for a march here in Florence.
I think you're going to have to reverse the lobotomies of those jerks in AZ. It's always a problem when men do all their thinking with their little heads because the big ones don't work.
I guess there must be a lot of men who are looking forward to the child support for a lot of those unwanted pregnancies. smh.
The child tax credit expansion bill that was passed by the House, has gone to the Senate for approval. It is currently being held up by ranking Member Mike Crapo:
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-tax/2024/04/08/senate-back-to-the-grind-on-tax-bill-00150994
Boy, is he aptly named, or what?
I tried to avoid that, but since you brought it up, Daniel...
Your welcome
It's just so insane. How did we get to this point so quickly? Vote Blue and maybe we can save ourselves and our families.
The right wing and GOP have been planning for this for a loooong time. They have been digging up all these laws and old timey “orders” to push out and get their gerrymandered legislatures and courts to enact them now. All women need to be pissed off, stay pissed off and make sure all the women we know understand what’s happening and how they need to speak up and vote as well.
I am so glad to hear this. One of the reasons I wish I still lived there is I found so many like minded souls.
tYou'll need to march righ through several election cycles and undo the gerrymandering to make progress. Otherwise, call your realtor.
Will anyone weigh in on whether Row versus Wade was the right place to include as a constitutional provision? I supported it but not being schooled in law, it begs to be discussed.
Will the media be there, in Sedona?
The Red Rock News was there but it’s not known for being the most “fair and balanced”. I took a bunch of videos to send to Joyce. Had a great turnout especially considering how small our town is. Had a couple “Not Your Choice” folks 😏 but lots of people honking in support
.
Good point. I live in Hartford,CT and I will check if there is one heroin the capital city.
You might want to add an “e” at the end of your sentence, Bill! 😄
I am an 80 year old male, who is reading this in horror. It is a disgraceful time as I watch the Supreme Court and men in state after state taking these actions against the rights of women and their well being.
It has been clear to me for some time that the right is hell bent of a scorched earth approach to push the United States back decades, if not centuries. Arizona’s embrace of an 1864 law and Alabama’s criminalizing of IVF must only be the beginning, an effort to culturally roll up the sidewalks - so to speak.
What other horrors lay ahead as those Extreme White National Christians lay waste to anything 21st century? We have seen them try to turn away from mental and medical health for transgender people. Can we expect anything but seeing this get much worse going forward.
It is great to read that women are preparing to march. I think, however, that we will see more marching and more outrage as these assaults on our freedoms continue in the name of Biblical Fire and Brimstone well beyond the rights of women. In fact, these assaults have been underway for some time - banning books, assaults on people of color, Asian communities, Jewish synagogues, and much more. My goodness, our Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Where is this hate and assaults on good people taking us? Where are the so called leaders who are standing up to those who offer rhetoric that feeds these horrors?
Sorry, I meant after “heroin”! So much for correcting you!🤪
Ha ha. I am really angry at my iPad. It doesn’t function anymore. Yes I do have an Bluetooth keyboard. But it much easier tap. Cheeses weepers. And my words were “here in” not heroin.
I was sick when I heard this today.
The Handmaid's Tale is looking more like our reality every day
Voting and voicing are what we need to do.
I am so angry...still. i feel like i need to hide my daughters.
The very best defense they have is to not be alone anywhere. And the second best defense is to not consume drugs or alcohol and to only go to parties that are hosted by people they trust while not consuming or drinking anything they did not bring with them. These precautions are proven to dramatically reduce the chances they will be assaulted.
Absolutely. We also do not have them in school (Homeschooling) or church (we are non religious). As a former k12 we had numerous middle schoolers who were pregnant. And i do not have to explain churchs' pedo problem.
Also, there is always lesbianism to consider, which doesn't protect one from violence, but might reduce emotional entanglements (and sex) with men.
What a very disturbing commentary.
Teach them to shoot their rapist. Dead men can’t talk. Dammit, we are not 3rd class citizens.
Guns aren’t always around. And they can be used against one. Martial arts are better. Teach your daughters to be black belts in karate, judo, aikido, better than guns
They are learning...
An American woman should not vote for tRump, he wants to stick his fingers in your vagina.
Need this on billboards all over the USA.
This is what the men who approve of that AZ decision want. Women huddling in fear and uncertainty.
😕😕😕😕
As the mother of a daughter, no exactly why you’re saying that…
Exactly
Should have said “I know”…damn Siri! 🤦🏻♀️
And precious granddaughters.
Make America Gilead Already
Whoa,,,,, good one! Although,,, disgusting.
Indeed it is, but that's what MAGA is really about.
Yup,,, a Gilead is exactly what they want. Maybe they should rename the party to The New Gilead Party … or GOP could be Gilead Oppression Party.
Exactly! I stated earlier last week that I went back into Handmaid’s Tale and picked up where I left off because honest to goodness… I know that’s a fictional story but it’s looking so familiar, the landscape of how it all happened.
In the words of the message guru, Billy Ray, we need to continue pushing out the phrase “ government mandated pregnancy”! So many libertarians and Republicans cherish their personal freedom but sadly it gets left at the doorstep of this issue. If we state that it’s a government mandated anything they should get behind the choice movement!
We HAVE the power, now is the time to use it! Organize and vote BLUE, up and down the ticket…
This is way worse than just AZ!
From Robert Hubbell’s Today’s Edition Newsletter:
“Trump is playing word games with the fundamental rights of women. If elected, Trump doesn’t need to “sign” a national abortion ban to enforce a national abortion ban. How can that be?
“Project 2025 is a plan being prepared by Trump's reactionary advisors to implement an authoritarian regime under Trump if he is reelected. One prong of Project 2025 is to use the 1873 federal law known as the Comstock Act to effectuate a national ban. See Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, Arizona’s abortion ban is back. It’s every state’s future if Trump wins. (slate.com)”
From Slate:
“Comstock, in particular, is an instructive comparison here. That 1873 law, read expansively, bans all abortions, including both medication and in-clinic procedures. Indeed, far-right lawyers are at the Supreme Court trying to weaponize it against abortion pills right now. Trump’s top lawyers, including Jonathan Mitchell, have said that they plan to use Comstock as a nationwide ban on abortion if Trump regains office. They tell us that they intend to stay quiet about this scheme until after the election, at which point they will prepare for an executive order accompanied by prosecutions and regulations that make abortion a federal felony in all 50 states. The plot is similar to what just happened in Arizona: Republicans enacted a seemingly moderate 15-week ban, only to stand by and watch as their colleagues on a GOP-packed court resuscitated a total ban passed during the Civil War. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes—who beat her anti-abortion opponent in 2022 by 280 votes—has said she won’t prosecute violations of the law. But GOP county attorneys have rejected Mayes’ efforts to shield doctors and may well seek to charge any providers that stay open, throwing access into immediate jeopardy.”
Robert Hubbell continues:
“Like the 1864 Arizona law, the Comstock Act is a moribund law that has been overtaken by newer statutes—but it has not been repealed. A Trump-appointed Attorney General could simply start enforcing a federal law that has been on the books since 1873 and claim that there is no “ban” signed by Trump. The national “ban” on abortion was signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1873—and would be enforced as an existing law by his Attorney General (Kash Patel?).”
https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/republicans-double-down-on-efforts?r=5k7fz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/04/arizona-abortion-ban-trump-wins-2024-comstock-lan.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/ba/10/B2A8DC6A-638B-44EE-B485-5E3BC2715914/tmp.gif
https://youtu.be/wInNjr_9D28?si=8PbW2WL1g3ZqqQ76
Trump is to blame as are McConnell and the Federalist Society SCOTUS! The GOP wants to control women and refuses to listen to the public. 🤬 Vote! Vote to protect reproductive rights!
I still blame Ronald Reagan
You mean the guy James Garner (who worked with him in SAG) described as "an amiable dunce"?
As one who was living in California while Reagan was governor, I vividly remember him wanting to reduce the University of California by 10%. The students responded with "Reduce Reagan by 10%". I think they succeeded, but nobody other than James Garner figured it out…
Any actor, TV personality or Reality “star” needs to be banned from Public Office, since they all seem to be just useful Idiots… (sorry Al Franken, but here we go with what was characterized as a poor choice at an attempt at humor)… I like credentialed persons with beating hearts in their chests in charge.
Not in this country, but Zelensky seems an exception. But you have a point. There are people out there, who can't separate the character from the actor. Harrison Ford (Airforce One) or Kieffer Sutherland (Designated Survivor) might get votes because of a fictional character that they play. No one would care that Ford is 81, or that Sutherland is Canadian. On the other hand, all politicians are actors.
That’s true about Zelenskyy but he seems to be an exception probably because he has been called upon to actually get on the front lines and lead by example… unlike American actors… and yes, there is a certain amount of acting to get elected, I concur… but hells bells… the president of the United States? Trump? Augh! What is wrong with these people who suppose he has anyone’s interest at heart other than his own?
Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. Prior to his acting career, he obtained a degree in law from the Kyiv National Economic University."
Zelens'kyy is more than 'just' an actor. He is a lawyer who knows and can discuss the plays of Shakespeare. He is very well read.
"...credentialed persons with beating hearts in their chests in charge."
That would mean getting rid of all of them. The two most serious, most successful politicians I was ever lucky enough to know - Jesse Unruh and Willie Brown - were not "credentialed" by other than their life experiences, and their beating hearts changed politics as it was practiced here for having been here.
Willy Brown was Kamala's boyfriend. She learned from the best. Vote Blue!
They both had good taste.
That's the one!
And Newt Gingrich!
Raygun deserves plenty of blame, but save a bit for Nixon and his "southern strategy."
In daughter’s new book, Patty states that Reagan had to marry her mother, Nancy, since she was pregnant with Patty.
JA, just wondering: this would be the same Nancy of “just say ‘no’ to pre-marital sex and drugs”? So she had hormones to deal with as well? ‘Just say no’ was formative in George W. Bush Jr.’s ruinous No Child Left Behind education policy for public schools that stripped sex education from public school curricula and from teacher education programs in publicly funded colleges and universities - new textbooks erased any mention of sex education.
BINGO!
Yes that is true and Nancy admitted that in a book she wrote after leaving the White House. I have also read tales about Nancy in her younger casting-couch days. None of it is proven but its interesting.
Vote to protect women in EVERYTHING!
Absolutely!
Vote like never before!
Thanks pass it on!
Vote to protect us all. Plenty of men here on your side.
Thank you Gary. March with us.
Women were just the first target right wing Christian nationalist evangelicals from 50 years ago. They chose to reverse Roe v. Wade because it was the easiest to do. Next will be all of our other civil rights. When Trump interviewed Amy Coney Barrett as his nomination for the Supreme Court, he asked her “then will you have any trouble voting for the ruling against abortion?” She said “no.” His then chief of staff was in the room and was interviewed for a book - I will look up the author. So Dobbs was ‘mission accomplished’ after a thirty year plan. Installing Trump as Orange Jesus was part of their plan as well. I know it sounds preposterous that they would make a deal with him, but they did: they would get him elected and he would stack the Supreme Court. He did his job.
Not preposterous at all. Typical of tfg. Everything is transactional!
Moscow Mitch cared for nothing but judicial appointments, period. The more, the merrier! Everything else be damned! He’s so profoundly pathetic, sickening & gutless that he, to this day, supports DJT for President. The same person that insulted & denigrated his Chinese wife with odious racial slurs. That says it all. I abhor it all.
What role might the Navajo, Apache and Tohono Oʼodham Nations play in Arizona? Their lands are sovereign?
They are not being overlooked. There has been a huge outreach to get them registered and to put voting locations in their areas. I hope they vote, even if they're unaffected on tribal lands. We need complete solidarity between women now!
I was thinking more in terms of whether planned parenthood and others could provide services on their sovereign lands?
Yes, but if casinos are okay, I imagine that they can determine what sort of businesses they want on the reservations.
Health care is usually limited to tribal members.
Yes, that makes sense!
I've had a monthly donation going with Navajo County Org. Fund Native Vote for the past year or so, and another one the name of which escapes me at the moment.
I like the way you think, Regina! Excellent brainstorming idea! I wonder if it would be possible for them to have clinics on their tribal land? Is that what you’re thinking?
Good point…Ang a thumb in the eye of AZ court!
It's not enforceable on the reservations
Welcome to Maryland which soon will add reproductive freedom to the state constitution. It is a given in a state that has a two to one Democratic edge. #marylandstrong
And you have the stupendous Jamie Raskin! He represents the county I use to live in over 50 years ago.
Yes we do. We have known Jamie since his delegate days but he never shows up to the picnics anymore because the whole country needs him. Why did you move from MC, Marlene?
I went to school in DC for a while. Met my husband who had returned from Vietnam 6 month earlier. In 1971, I began working for GEICO in DC and at the end of December 1973, I was offered a job as a supervisor in San Francisco. My husband had gone back to school on the G.I. Bill at the University of MD. He had gotten his degree, the offer came, and off we went in February 1974. My husband was originally from Northern CA and I was a transplant from NC. We bought an older home which is now 97 years old and in three years, we will have been in it half of its life. The End!
Good for you. Lived in the Bay Area for 15 yrs. Maryland for 20 as of this week. I have lived in all Blue states and Maryland is the bluest. Our primaries are nerve wrecking because whoever wins, wins the general. Now our choice is who is the best to beat Hogan in the Senate
Well thank goodness you lived in only the bluest of states! We actually lived in Silver Spring for a few years. I loved it there. In 2019, I brought my two daughters to the Women’s March in Washington, DC and went to visit the Maryland University campus. Don’t exactly miss the cold weather, humidity, or the cicadas but I miss Rock Creek Park. Great memories there.
The cicadas are just a reflection of how weirdly life can evolve, can you imagine living underground for 17 years hunting things to eat all that time and then deciding to march to the surface on cue with millions of your brothers and sisters to take part in an orgy that will ensure the survival of your species, all while making a racket that makes crickets chirping sound like a whisper. I don’t know who they are, but they say that we are going to have a cicada emergence this year that will dwarf any for the last century or so. I know that was a divergence from the news from AZ which makes me wonder if you have to check your brain at the door, to become a member of the SC there. Sanity doesn’t seem to have been part of the decision, I have 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters and the idea that any politician or judge could have any say in the health care they receive is insane to me, that’s why we have doctors with their extensive medical education.
WARNING: WE the People MUST hold and keep that Maryland seat in U.S. Senate for a Democrat!
Hogan, a Republican, must not be elected in order to join that party. Regardless, Hogan’s anti-Trump past will not hold. Hogan is thoroughly R!
Wow This abortion law was passed 15 years before the shootout at the OK Corral. Shouldn’t there be some kind of expiration date on laws on the books before a territory became a state? Crazy use of the judicial system in my opinion.
Joy Reid pointed out that this law was passed before doctors even understood how the sperm and egg create a baby, or even before they understood germs as most didn’t even wash their hands before surgery or delivering babies. All this in addition to fact that the pervert who wrote this law was a 59 yo man who married a 15 year old girl AND the age of consent for sex was TEN!!!!! 10!!
That is all perfectly in line with the way white men have always thought about women. Aristotle thought female fetuses were ensouled 40 days later than male ones. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This from the guy from Athens, where men paraded around carrying large stone phalluses. Read _The Reign of the Phallus_. That reign is unfortunately NOT OVER YET.
We're up against barbarians .
And idiots.
Sounds like the writer was an old Mormon... speaking of the equal right amendment and their role in killing it.
Eww. Just eewww!
Only choice is to vote out rethuglikkkans.
Working on it.
Like Alito cited a judge from the Interregnum to make his Dobbs argument.
It was passed before women even had the right to vote!
Heather Cox Richardson has the history of this law on her Substack. The actual point of the law was to curtail violence by men. It prohibited all sorts of violent assaults; causing a woman to miscarry was only one of many. It did carve out an exception to make it clear that doctors could still perform abortions to save a woman's life; but the law was completely unconcerned with the possibility of a woman choosing to 'miscarry'.
They didn't just resurrect an old law; they chose one that wasn't even intended to ban abortion. This just goes to show how dishonest and disingenuous the anti-choice movement is willing to be.
Love me some Heather Cox Richardson! But somehow I missed this article.
AZ, a pro-Slavery & pro-Confederacy territory!
Yes, as a resident of Arizona this decision was the second major downgrade to being a woman in Arizona. I venture to guess that this extremism will help turn Arizona blue. If it doesn't then our women are beyond help. 😔
Regardless, I will, as I usually do, research every judge on my ballot. It is tedious work to find out their party affiliation, unless they were appointed by a governor, but that's the price of freedom. Other than that, I will vote blue all the way.
It saddens me deeply to observe this deep divide in our country, but until the Republican party either reconstitutes or dies for a better option, I will not vote across party lines.
Two of the state supreme justices who voted yes will be on your AZ ballot!
Thank you Janet. Is Justice Bill Montgomery on the AZ Ballot? The AZ Supreme Court vote would have been 5-2 but, Montgomery had to recuse himself from this case because of his open hostility & harsh public statements against Women's & Family's reproductive Health rights. If not AZ, please vote against Montgomery the next time.
And, in November 2024, Arizona voters can vote against two of the justices on the AZ Supreme Court who voted to impose the 1864 law on the woman and their families in Arizona: Clint Bolick and Kathryn Hackett King.
"The terms of two Arizona Supreme Court justices will expire on January 6, 2025. The two seats are up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline is September 6, 2024.
Judges with expiring terms
This is a list of the justices who must stand for retention election in 2024 in order to remain on the bench. Justices may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if justices retire or are appointed.
■ Clint Bolick
■ Kathryn Hackett King
https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Supreme_Court_elections,_2024
Yeah! Time to get them out!
It’s not a deep divide. Polls everywhere say 63% of the population including republican voters are for abortion/reproductive rights. It’s power mongering by a minority or white men. It’s not a deep divide.
Oh, I understand it's not a deep divide on the abortion issue, but it is on the "us vs. them" mentality.
Neither will I.
Lisa, the League of Women Voters usually keeps a record of judges. I don’t know how strong the League is in Arizona (it’s all volunteer).
I have two thoughts. First, thanks to the AZ supreme court for helping turn the state blue in November. It is imperative that the amendment to the constitution enshrining abortion pass.
Second, the MSM is not spotlighting the subtext of trump’s position that abortion rights should be left to the states. What he’s saying is that the Arizona supreme court’s decision is okay. Any state that has any level of restrictions on abortion is okay.
If trump makes it back into the White House and Congress passes a nationwide ban, he will sign it. Make no mistake.
I agree with your first thought. Personally, this was a disaster for the women of Arizona; politically, it was a disaster for the GOP of Arizona.
As for the second, I'm not so sure you can really read much into Trump's statement. He doesn't seem to have any actual personal views on abortion rights; he's saying whatever he thinks will keep the base happy without alienating too many other people. However, you're dead on about him signing a national ban; but we can't forget that so would any other Republican.
I appreciate your view regarding my second point. I do think while he constantly throws red meat at his base, I recall his interview where he said he felt there has to be punishment for the woman who has an abortion. I feel he has a specific view of abortion rights. Despite his decreasing mental state, he is very calculating. You are absolutely correct that any republican would sign such a bill. It is most likely part of Project 2025.
Jeff Tiedrich just brought up Trump's statement on his Substack yesterday. I remember it being taken as less a sign that Trump wanted to punish women and more a sign that he hadn't actually put any thought into the issue yet. Trump isn't really a Christian and I'm not sure you can truly be anti-choice if you aren't. But, regardless of what his actual views are the actions he takes are going to be the same.
,
That’s a problem with him. He doesn’t put any thought into what he’s saying. For you or me that might be okay. As president of the United States it’s dangerous. He can’t be spouting off opinions/positions on things. His words, as we have learned, have serious consequences.
My heart is breaking piece by piece. Women are less and less safe every passing day. I will do everything I can to get out the vote. And speak up for women wherever I am.
Disgraceful. We live in a messed-up world. Roe should have been codified a long time ago. The price of complacency.
Charles Austin, it's not just complacency. Pro choice advocates assumed they won the abortion rights war with Roe, when they only won a single battle in a single venue with no hearts nor minds changed. It's a very American approach to conflict. Call it hubris.
Anti-women's-equality brutes (currently under the Republican tent), after losing on so many fronts, learned how to fight an asymmetric war from the guerrillas the US has supported in other countries in the name of fighting Communism. Liberals are amateurs, in comparison. I hope we, collectively, step up.
No, dark money from Federalist Society members and other GOP billionaires! 🤬
True. And that's part of the asymetric operation.
On a different note, as of last night, I was locked out of the view-in browser option on Substack. The app doesn't recognize me as a paid subscriber. So I had to pay twice. Tech support is worthless. (Chatbot) I'm still waiting on an actual human to fix this. You can't trust them!!
I've never met a Chatbot that was not worthless.
Hmmmmm. I've had Substack reject me as a subscriber to one or another post several times even though I've pulled up the substack post from the email I receive as a subscriber. It simply sends to a 'subscribe' page and once I enter my email address, I'm recognized as a subscriber. Tedious but works, never have had to subscribe a second time.
I was running all of my paid subscriptions through my browser. I use Duck Duck Go, and I don't think they liked that. So all of a sudden, I no longer had the option to view in browser. The problem is, the Substack app didn't recognize the paid subscriptions from my browser. I was using Yahoo Mail, which I think they had a problem with. So I had to pay for another subscription on all my Substacks. Their tech bro asses owe me a refund.
Bummer! I don't understand the relationship with DuckDuckGo which is a search engine and not a browser. Can't speak to any issue with Yahoo Mail though I don't see why substack would have an issue with it or any other email program. I've used DuckDuckGo for searching the 'net for several years, and have used Mozilla Thunderbird as my email program even longer. My browser is Mozilla Thunderbird.
I have no idea what could be causing your problems but it may be on your own computer or your network rather than caused by substack. I'm just throwing out a thought as I'm not a real computer geek though I've learned a lot of strategies to address problems over the decades that I've used computers and the internet. Perhaps someone more savvy can make suggestions.
I have an Android 4g phone. Duck Duck Go blocks tracking. I thought maybe they were pissed about that. I don't know. I'm still waiting for a response to my refund request.
If that were the problem, I would be having problems too. The only problem I have had is entirely predictable bcz Windows has rebooted my computer in their ongoing effort to get me to upgrade to W11 (my assumption, may or may not be the case), resulting in all cookies and history being wiped so that I have to reenter all of my passwords for password-protected sites I keep open (FB, email and, if I have open windows for substack authors or articles in newspapers I subscribe to.
Oh no!!!
Unfortunately, AZ will soon find itself without hospitals and clinics because medical people will leave the stare. No vaccines means more children die. Unmarried mothers will die if they can't have abortions leaving orphaned children. Will the govt take care of them. I doubt it because our foster system is in such great shape. All because women are threatening and must be kept in their place. Barefoot and pregnant
Men know that we are stronger and smarter, a threat to their power.
Men THINK they are stronger and smarter! Prove them wrong with a huge and successful ABORTION RIGHTS movement! Women are 55+% of voters in U.S.!
Go BLUE, up and down the ballot!
It has been my observation that health care providers have been leaving this godawful backwards state for years now. So many of the attitudes in AZ reflect 1864 attitudes, not just reproductive freedom. I have few regrets in my life, but moving here to be close to relatives in my retirement is one of them. Fortunately, I do have a few close friends who share my viewpoints and that’s comforting, but geez, these people are neanderthal in reality.
Yes, my husband’s urologist left Arizona last year because his wife was ,who was also a doctor, felt they couldn’t provide patients with medically appropriate care.
See, that’s horrible!
Things are really f__ked up. Can’t let it go any further!!
I wonder at times if we, sane people, haven’t already lost. A large portion of citizens seem bent on making our country the meanest, cruelest place they can….and for what? No so called conservative can answer. I fear it only gets worse. A sad day indeed….
Hi Dan, I agree it’s a sad day. And sometimes we need to take time to grieve, but then we need to pick ourselves back up and continue to fight. The far right’s strategy is to overwhelm and make people think that democracy is a lost cause. They hope this translates to apathy or resignation, and that it will suppress the vote of people like us, who support equality and inclusiveness. But here’s the thing, there are more good people in this country than there are the cruel and power-hungry ones. Let’s do all we can to back democrats in all races and show up to vote in droves. We can win back precious rights and preserve our democracy. We're in this together!
Brilliantly said and written Fran-Michelle. I agree 100%. And as well, Joyce has built a beautiful community in the Substack. We can express our fears and sadness and at times being uncertain and this is why we are here: to build each other up.
Agreed!
Defeating them at the polls isn’t very different than not being manipulated by someone’s tantrums. A blue sweep in this year’s election will show the futility of their cause and the craziness of persisting. Let’s relegate MAGAs to the fringe from which they emerged.
And make sure they stay under a rock, for good. The a-holes.
Agreed, Gary.
Remember that it's ~30% of voters. We're in the majority & we can win if we get people to turn out.
Hi Dan,
Everyone of us agrees with you that this is indeed a sad day. Please know that we are together in this fight.
Probably a small token, but even Jamie Diamon, who is one of the strongest quintessential Republicans put in his JP Morgan stockholder newsletter yesterday that his heart is Democrat. He’s concerned about the direction of the country. He as much as told his readers to ‘vote Democrat.’ I believe only a couple of things could’ve caused Jamie to come out with such a strong statement: he, like a lot of conservatives, sees that Trump is going off the rails with his mob boss behavior. He watched an 80 year old woman annihilate Trump in court this year. Some Republicans do have a moral core and Jamie Dimon recognizes that Trump indeed is a rapist. I think the huge loss Trump suffered from E. Jean Carroll was a major impact for folks like Jamie. He is simply saying “enough is enough.” Also, he had at one time considered running for president as a Republican, But to see what Trump has single-handedly done to the Republican party is a bit much for Jamie. And very, very telling that he signals that he will vote Democrat.
When push comes to shove, Jamie will go Republican all the way! He wants it both ways and really enjoyed that first Trump BIG tax break! Diamon wants another one!
Trump is already promising, and Jamie is giving a bunch of $$$$ to the Trump campaign!
I did not know Jamie donated to Trump - was it recently? Jamie was at the Biden's state dinner for Kishida tonight (4-10-2024). Shame on him for donating to Trump. His nose is rubbing both ways.
At Davos 2024, Jamie Dimon praised Trump’s position on taxes, immigration, and the economy. Dimon stated that Dems should “praise” Trump’s primary candidates and be more respectful of Trump supporters. That alone is a huge contribution to Trump? Monetary contribution follows? Dimon has handed insults to Biden? At State dinner last night? Jamie plays both sides and accepts important dinner invitations!? Sure. Anxious to be seen?
I knew about his lecture to Democrats.
We are being destroyed from within because of an inferior education system—-not the fault of teachers but because our schools are funded based on ridiculous test scores tired to funding.
Judith Haney, this is a Substack for civil discourse. We support one another. If this is not a sad day, how would you define it?
He's right about the mean and cruel part, and we all get discouraged from time to time.
You must be a 🐘hoping to direct Dems into complacency. Nice try.
How is it possible to take women back to 1864? I just don't understand it. Surely it doesn't make any sense to women of today. Please help me understand how this is possible.
Misogyny embued by white supremacists who have been here since the first white person stepped foot on indigenous land. They may have been in the background in the past 30yrs but they are out front now and as vile as they ever were.
I really think something more devious is going on here than simply abortion. This court is not subjecting their state to return to other laws from 1864. Why women? Why must women be controlled by the courts?
the events in arizona bring to mind a scene from “finian’s rainbow,” a musical first produced in 1947. in the scene, the racist senator billboard rawkins declares: “Forward, America! Forward to the hallowed principles of our forefathers. Forward to the sweet tranquility of the status quo. Forward ... to yesterday!” the lines are not about abortion, of course, but they encapsulate perfectly the mindset of today’s magats. plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Exactly what the GOP & white evangelical Christians want to do!
There is immense WHITE male power in many legislatures in our country!
Vote them out plus women need to run for those offices!
Don Poorleone's largest voting block IS white WOMEN.
My mother had some mysterious past that involved abortions. I know she started out in nursing school and came home in the middle of the night and never mentioned it her entire life. I learned this after she passed. She was also terrified of hospitals. The one thing she did discuss when Roe passed and we were teens is that she didn’t believe in abortion but felt very strongly it should be legal. She made mention of back room abortions and people dying and you could just tell she knew. When I ended up pregnant at 16 she marched me right to the abortion clinic.
I volunteered at Planned Parenthood for many years after being a nurse in the military and my daughter participated in the Planned Parenthood Players in Arizona in high school. They would go to schools and put on skits that discussed STDs, safe sex, date rape and homosexuality. They had education in birth control. It was a fantastic program run in Phoenix around 1995.
My mother revealed to me that she had had two abortions in Germany before escaping the Nazis in the early 30’s. Imagine my surprise when she told me this news. I had always thought she was so puritanical when it came to sex. I couldn’t wait to tell my sister who also never knew. My mom told this story after my dad had died. Guess she felt it was safe to go for it and boy, was I ever so happy!
Thank you.🫶
I am well past the age for pregnancy, but I am extremely furious that this abortion ban was handed to us Arizona women today. Let me guess -- the dim-witted people who enacted the change are men who have no idea what is involved for a pregnant woman. What about a woman who needs an emergency miscarriage/abortion to save her life ? What if she already has a couple of children? What if she can't afford to go out-of-state for help? How about a 12-year-old girl whose uncle gets drunk and decides she's"fair game".? The 12-year-old is trapped into a lifetime of hardship, and the uncle probably just goes on doing what he does.. This decision can be a death sentence under myriad circumstances.
And now doctors and nurses will be charged and sent to prison for helping a woman in any of those circumstances. Where do these "deciders" get their information? Does this make them feel powerful? How about prosecuting a man who gets a woman pregnant? Do men get a free ride?
Now all we need is Kari Lake as senator and our state will be mortifyingly inept. I thought Trump was the worst thing that could happen, but this stupid Arizona abortion ban has even Trump beat. Young couples thinking of moving to Arizona are going to seriously reconsider.. No woman wants to live under this threat! It ruins all the joy of possible parenthood. Whoever made this decision should look in the mirror and realize they have just ruined our state's standing, and they can be sure they will regret the decision to place power over decency.
And one more morsel -- who the h*** does Trump think he is for saying he will decide on a national abortion ruling? This is the man who had an affair with a porn star at a golf tournament when his wife was at home with their 11-month-old son, Barron. -- who raped a woman in a department store dressing room -- and says he likes to grab women by their privates. The Day-One-Dictator only cares about what HE wants, and the power he thinks it gives him. We voters have work to do . . . he CANNOT be given a second term !
He also had an affair that lasted many months when Barron was 5 months old. She was also paid off. Her story was part of the ‘catch and kill’ suppression during Trump’s 2016 campaign
I am curious about the Arizona court’s reasoning. There is a subsequent law, which is not wonderful, but does set a 15-week limit and, I believe, allows exceptions. Why does that law not supersede the territorial law I the court’s view?
The way I heard it explained on CNN earlier, is that the 15 week limit was dependent on Roe being in force.
Probably I am wading into weeds I am not qualified for, but I don’t see how a flat 15-week ban would have been consistent with Roe.
I will get down in the weeds with you. The 15 week limit at least allowed abortions. This new (very old) law bans all but those to save the life of the mother. Or at least that's the way I understood the explanation.
The 15 week option was based upon Roe v Wade legislation. When RvW was overturned, it negated the 15 week option. The preceeding law pertaining to abortion was this 1864 law. CNN explained this well.
Right. I got that far. But the jurisprudence behind it puzzles me, even after I read the “explanation” in The New York Times. Likely it’s just over my head.
Or maybe beneath your dignity as a rational thinker?
This was just now touched on by a post from the substack Law Dork, which came out after Professor Vance published this, found here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisgeidner/p/arizona-civil-war-era-abortion-ban-ruling?r=3p4cw&utm_medium=ios
I read that they determined that the 15-week law did not create a right to abortion. Don't ask me to explain the absurd!