FIFTY YEARS ON

 By Ruth A. Sheets

January 22, 2023 marks 50 years since the Supreme Court in a 7-2 vote ruled the right to abortion is constitutional.  They assumed women had a right to bodily autonomy although they didn’t call it that.  They understood the Constitution permitted women, as well as men, to make decisions about their own bodies and future.  Unfortunately, over the years, conservatives who needed an issue to pump their supporters up to a ridiculous frenzy on their way to power, clamped onto the issue of abortion which over time expanded to include women’s  rights in general.

A bit over a century before the Roe v. Wade decision, the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church declared abortion anathema, not the exact words, but close enough.  The supposed reason was to save women’s lives since abortion could be dangerous.  Women were not seen as much, so the Church had to couch its decision in god language, a mortal sin to have an abortion.  With five Catholic conservative justices on our Supreme Court, their task is clear, stop abortions at all costs in god’s name.  The Church orders it. 

A decade earlier, in 1857, a  Harvard-educated New England doctor, needed an issue to prove how important and professional he as a doctor was.  Horatio Robinson Storer settled on abortion as that issue and began his crusade against women and the midwives who supported women’s reproductive needs.  Through Storer’s efforts, abortion went from being a non-issue to becoming one of the most contentious issues of the second half of the 19^th century, and women had essentially no say in it.  Few states or territories had laws against abortion before Storer came on the scene, but by 1900 nearly every state did. 

Storer and others as time passed, all men of course, had little or no evidence that midwives were incapable of caring for women’s reproductive needs, or that abortion was so terrible.  It didn’t matter, he was a medical man and at the time doctors (nearly all white men of course) were trying to be established as the authorities on everything related to health, including women’s bodies.

Moves against abortion began  three-quarters of a century after our Constitution was ratified.  The founders most likely never even thought of abortion and considered anything beyond their brief participation in begetting a child to be women’s work and promptly ignored it, well unless a baby was born, then he could claim it as his property. 

Were Alito and the other anti-Roe justices aware of this?  Did they even care?  I suspect they knew and had to find a legal justification from before our nation’s founding they could use to do what they had intended to do all along.  Alito et al should be ashamed of their choices of  law-makers to cite, OK and to even overturn a precedent with no pressing need.  But, when one’s goal is in reach, any argument will do.   That’s particularly true if you know you can’t be challenged.  The expectation of infallibility on the part of the conservative justices lately is disturbing.

Right now, the Supreme Court seems to be walking on the edge of a cliff.  They could listen to the American people and start ruling in our favor or keep moving closer to being blown off the cliff where they will no longer be seen as relevant.  This past year, the six told states they had limited ability to restrict gun ownership, yet told states they can restrict a woman’s right to abortion.  Essentially they said, “white men, get a gun to use if you are scared” (white men seem to be scared all the time), but women, you have no right to your own body if a bunch of white men in state legislatures say you don’t.  Yes, racism and misogyny are alive and well on our Supreme Court and there is no evidence a remedy is at hand.  Women of color and poor women will suffer most, as usual.

Restricting abortion is cruel.  It condemns women and children to carry a pregnancy whether it is the right thing for them or not.  Who gets to decide, mostly rich, straight white men in power and their female surrogates.  The men will never get pregnant and the surrogates want the trickle-down of power they may get agreeing with powerful men.  Those women and some men have been brainwashed to believe their god is against abortion.  If that were true, wouldn’t one expect that Jesus would have said something about it.  If He had, it would have been recorded and passed down.  He didn’t and It wasn’t.

As so many feminists of all races, creeds, and nationalities have said for years, women should  have the sole decision of whether to maintain a pregnancy, with no interference from legislators at any level.  And if one listens carefully to the anti-choice faction, their “reasons” to force women and children to remain pregnant are undemocratic (since more than 60% of the population supports the right of women to seek abortion with few or no restrictions).  

So, let’s see, a collection of rich, white, straight men and their surrogates oppose abortion so women are condemned to carry fetuses to term, held as criminals if they have a miscarriage, losing their lives while waiting to be sick enough – close enough to death to have an abortion, seen as criminals to be jailed if they use chemical abortion aids or leave the state to get an abortion, jailed to force the woman to continue a pregnancy.  That sounds like a kind of involuntary servitude, vulnerable women trapped in a system that has denied their rights and freedoms for a set of religious beliefs in a nation whose Constitution declares there will be no establishment of religion. 

A few years back, I learned about a group of women in Chicago in the late 1960s who called themselves “The Janes.”  They were heroes, women and a few men who saw a need and worked to figure out how to provide abortion services to thousands of women.  Finally, they were betrayed by someone who just had to prove she was a handmaid of god or something.  The prosecutions never went anywhere, though because of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

We need “Janes” everywhere in our country now, doing everything they can to help women who need a termination to a pregnancy.  We need a network (possibly secret) of people who can distribute abortion pills and transport women to abortion clinics.  We need brave doctors who will help the few women for whom the pills don’t work properly.  We need courageous doctors, nurses, and midwives who can provide abortions after the 11^th week and those who step up and provide appropriate care for women in medical crisis so women won’t have to come close to death to get help.  We need prosecutors who will dismiss abortion cases unless there is actual evidence of wrong-doing by a provider.  We will require judges on federal courts at all levels that will dismiss cases brought by people against women who have gotten an abortion.  In short, we need some courage throughout our nation.  I know some exists, but there needs to be more.

Then, those of us who do not have a medical bent need to keep calling out Republicans and others for their disinformation and hypocrisy of wanting forced birth while providing absolutely no services to help the women who don’t even have the wherewithal to pay for prenatal care or giving birth.  Republicans whine in protest at being called racists and misogynists while regularly demonstrating racism and misogyny. 

We the People should also take turns when we can to be present at abortion and other health care facilities where anti-abortion folks are jeering, taunting patients, and lying through their many times magnified supposed pictures of abortions.  We have left the ground to them when we should have been there more openly.  We can also heavily support candidates in every district, every community who believe women have the right to whatever health care they need, including abortion.  Ditch the toddler-adult candidates who can’t see past their own “beliefs” to let others have theirs.  We the People can do this! 

And so, the challenge for us 50 years on is knowing the anti-women, anti-everyone who is not rich, straight, white, and male movement will continue working to hurt us all if not thwarted.  They will pass archaic laws and work to enforce them no matter who is harmed.  That is cruel, but cruelty is their point.  We the People can stop this if we work together as the Janes did 50+ years ago! 

. . . AND IN THE CENTER RING!

 By Ruth A. Sheets

Republicans finally elected Kevin McCarthy Ringmaster of their circus in the House of Representatives.  He has already proven himself a less than stellar entertainer, although he thinks he is magnificent!  The American people saw the show two weeks ago and know there are problems with a guy who loses a vote 14 times.  And, his side of the aisle may remind them uncomfortably of a school playground or a circus tent!

We know McCarthy paid a price (his soul perhaps) to get the job of Ringmaster, but he is letting some clowns whose goal it is to run the circus into the ground, control the action, while he waves his arms, shouts platitudes, and pumps up bills he knows will never pass the Senate because they are so bad and unpopular.  Maybe they represent a slice of the soul he traded to the clowns.

The first act, of which the Ringmaster is most proud, called for cutting funding for the IRS.  One can’t help but be suspicious of those who voted for this one.  We the People are pretty sure they don’t want the IRS learning that they or their families or their donors lied on their tax returns.  Such lying was fine when the IRS didn’t have enough people to investigate the rich folks.  With the bill passed in the previous Congress more staff can be hired so ordinary people can get their questions answered and corrections made, but also rich tax evaders can be found and summoned.  I and the circus audience would love to see the newly enhanced IRS checking out those who voted to cut IRS funding.  Then, let us know if there are discrepancies.  The clowns should have fun with that.  Oh No!  Their taxes might not be exactly right?  Beep!  Beep!

Republicans just can’t let the issue of abortion go, so in the Fetus-Lovers’ Ring, acrobats leap on bills to ban abortion everywhere in the United States, twisting and turning to avoid being called hypocrites as they encounter memories of mistresses and girlfriends who got abortions for them.  They know a large majority of Americans, even Republicans don’t want the ban, but they jump for it anyway.  Note, it is not in the Center Ring, so mostly passed unremarked.  The audience knows this is just a sideshow that will go nowhere, but it’s something Republicans, mostly white men, will do to feed their hungry base.

And in the far right ring, on the tightrope, George Santos (his stage name) is trying to stay aloft as constituents throw truths at him like balloons whushing right past him, hoping he will fall, but so far he hasn’t.  He is wobbling, though. 

Next in the Center Ring, Raising the Debt Ceiling!  This action has been done by every Congress, even by Trump’s, but Ringmaster McCarthy has plans for the show.  He wants to force Democrats to cut all kinds of services to the American people, like Medicare, Medicaid, and the military so it can’t help Ukraine (many of the clowns are fans of Russia’s Putin, you know) before he will agree to raising the debt ceiling.  Of course, this would put our economy at risk, but Ringmaster McCarthy is now beholden to Gates, Jordan, Greene, Boebert, and the rest of the insurrectionist clowns and that is what they want, and he agreed so he could be Ringmaster.  Remember?

Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellin just informed us that the debt ceiling (our ability to pay our already-accumulated debts) will be reached on January 19^th.  There are work-arounds for the Treasury Department, but those work-arounds will only hold for a couple of months.  McCarthy and his insurrectionist bosses know that and want to cause a disaster, the bigger the better.  Their ignorance lets them believe it won’t impact them.  Of course, their states will demand (beg for) money when the next storms hit or wildfires and floods rage.  There won’t be funds for them,  Ah, how sad!  I guess Republican mansions won’t be harmed, so who cares.

Ringmaster McCarthy is now trying to make sure none of his performers will defect and vote to raise the debt ceiling against his wishes.  One wonders what a man without a soul has to trade or to use as a threat to any Republicans who actually care about this nation and might stand against this circus.  It will be interesting to watch his “dealmaking.”  The problem for Ringmaster McCarthy, the Democrats will as a bloc  vote to raise the debt ceiling.  With a 4-vote majority,  McCarthy needs to have only 6 defectors to lose, and any member of the House can call for his removal from the job of Ringmaster.  My hope is that someone, preferably a Republican will do that  and someone, a patriot will call for the vote and at least 218 members, Democrats and a few Republicans will do the right thing and vote to raise or do away with the debt ceiling, the latter being preferable. 

In the meantime, the Ringmaster and his clowns are planning to do massive investigations of Democrats and the FBI for anything they feel mad about (they’re toddlers, you know).  Who will serve in these investigation clown cars?  Why the insurrectionists, of course, the above-mentioned gang will be first to be selected and the other clowns will jump in.  We the People will watch their shenanigans as they whine, interrogate, accuse, and whine some more.  The audience can only hope this goes on for the next 2 years so Democrats can point out to the American people, with evidence, that Republicans have done nothing, absolutely nothing for them.  OK, that is a dream, but with the right kind of messaging, it could work, and, it will be true!   

So, my fellow Americans, who’s heading out to see the circus with me?  Be sure to bring your phone, a good book, some games, knitting or crocheting because once the show gets rolling, we will all see just how pitiful House Republicans and their Ringmaster really are and we will need something interesting to do to keep from being bored to death.  One can only watch toddler-adults for so long, despite their clownish behavior, before losing it.

However, the circus could close and real work could get done if . . .

1. the members of the House who participated in the January 6^th insurrection were indicted and sent to jail for say, a year or two for betraying our country

2. The Speaker started acting like an adult instead of a childish ringmaster who has no idea what is going on and doesn’t seem to care much as long as he gives the insurrectionists everything they demanded for their votes, to keep him in office

3. the Republicans in the House demanded serious consideration of bills that would actually help the American people and forced McCarthy to bring them up for discussion and a vote

4. the House immediately raised the debt ceiling with no strings attached.

Since I doubt any of these will happen, better bring our stuff to keep us occupied while in the big tent.

DAYS AT THE CIRCUS

By Ruth A. Sheets 

Happy New Year!  It appears this year is going to be as “exciting” as last year, so get ready! 

On January 3, 2023, it began.  The Senate and House of Representatives were set to open the 118^th Congress, usually a ceremonial event.  The Speaker of the House, who has already been chosen by the majority party is elected by the full House and the other party leaders are voted in as the Senate gets set up.  The members are sworn in, then business can begin.  That’s the way it’s been done for the past century, but not what happened on January 3^rd.  The Senate proceeded as usual, but the House, well, the House is a different story.

Kevin McCarthy the current minority leader in the House had decided he was going to be Speaker no matter what.  The American people were informed on numerous occasions that McCarthy has wanted this post for years and would  get it even if it took months.  McCarthy set up his circus tent and the show began.  Call the first vote!  Nominations for Speaker were placed.  After 434 names were called, McCarthy didn’t win the vote.  He didn’t win on the second or third votes either.  The House adjourned.

The House members returned for Day 2.  After 3 more votes, McCarthy didn’t win and we learned that the ultra-right-wingers who voted against him wanted significant concessions from him for their votes.  Of course, they didn’t care if the concessions would be good for the House of Representatives or for the American people, they just wanted them.  McCarthy didn’t make enough of those concessions to win any of the 5 votes on the third day either.

The fourth day didn’t begin as usual because two elected members had gone home for personal business, so the House waited for their return.  At 10:00 p.m., the House convened and three votes more were taken and again McCarthy didn’t win, although he got closer.  One surmises he was getting nearer and nearer to selling his soul for the job and gave in to more concessions to the ult-right crew.  By the way, that crew was made up of mostly insurrectionists who either helped plan the January 6^th insurrection, spoke at the Trump January 6^th rally in favor of Trump’s lie that he had won the election, or refused to accept the count of the electors after the insurrection had been halted, a “patriotic” clown car. 

The 15^th round of voting was called and this time, McCarthy squeaked through because several of the insurrectionists and their supporters declared themselves present rather than vote for him.  They knew their “present” would mean McCarthy’s victory.  Hey Clowns!  You actually did vote for him. 

There was a near altercation between two members and some other rude behavior, but for the most part the Republican circus was managed incredibly well by Clerk of the House, Cheryl Johnson.  She kept things moving and used the gavel judiciously.  Maybe she should have been elected Speaker. (I digress.) 

Democrats had excellent seats for the show.  They voted every round their 212 votes for Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries.  Those who nominated him each time gave good speeches about who he is and the issues he sees as important to the American people.  They also pointed out Republican limited support for those issues.

The McCarthy nominators had a difficult time trying to find qualities to extol.  McCarthy has not shown himself much of a leader over the years, but the nominators attributed extraordinary talents in leadership to him.  They rattled on about him being some kind of check on the Democrats (or something), and kept repeating insincerities about his leadership skills, abilities, and talents. 

The difference in quality between Jeffries and McCarthy was clear when they gave their opening speeches.  Jeffries talked about what Congress had done and could do for the American people including the accomplishments of the past two years.  He said there were things Democrats would always stand for and against.  He had an alphabetical list of the positive over the negative:  Freedom over Fascism, quality of life issues over Q-anon, Yes we can over you can’t do it, all 26 letters.  He listed the many people who make up this nation and that we are all Americans and that there should be no tolerance for the hatred of some for the others.  Diversity is strength.  His speech was 15 minutes long and was uplifting all the way.  He said he hoped to work with Republicans, but the doubt was in his voice.

On the other hand, Kevin McCarthy’s presentation sounded like a mediocre high school graduation speech with some references to the House thrown in.  He just played back all the Republican buzzwords:  stop crime, make sure all criminals are prosecuted, and reiterated the line about being a check on Democrats.  He claimed he will cut energy costs and make good jobs for workers with no plan, no ideas.  He got Republican cheers when he said the first bill would be cutting funding for the IRS.  That, of course would free his donors, his members, and their families to continue to avoid paying taxes.  Not surprising this is his first bill proposal. 

McCarthy said he was concerned about China’s Communist Party.  He wants to get a committee to see how to bring back jobs from China.  Democrats already started the process with the “Chips Act.”  Then, McCarthy spent several minutes bragging that all debates will be open to the public, transparency, you know.  However, they have been for some time, if his Republican constituents just turn on C-SPAN. 

McCarthy’s voice through much of the speech went up and down like a yoyo.  Loud when saying nuggets like “We must get America back on track,” then ending his thought so quietly it is hardly heard as though it held some profound something.  It never did, just the end of a less than stellar sentence. 

New Speaker McCarthy made up some nonsense about hanging out in the back of Statuary Hall where supposedly Lincoln sat (or something), and in the dark of night when no one is around.  It sounded weird rather than the moving image I suspect he intended.

How sad the Speaker had to follow Hakeem Jeffries’s speech.  Even adding Lincoln and Washington didn’t help.  His iteration of who was in the boat in the painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware and their rowing together was disingenuous and disjointed.  He has rarely if ever talked about diversity or inclusion meaningfully and he didn’t do it this time either.  He may think he did, though because he was really into it. 

This is going to be a rough two years with McCarthy as Speaker if his “speech” is any indication.  The Republican House Circus ended with a man who lost 14 tiresome ballots standing in front of his colleagues demonstrating his lack of public speaking talent as well as his shallowness.  Of course, he had to remind everyone that he never gives up.  He also knows no shame which is more problematic.  He claims to be working for the American people, the ones in the boat with Washington, but it will be interesting to see which American people, and if he would have people thrown out of the boat if they don’t row the way he demands they row.  I vote he will go for tossing folks from the boat.   

The poor speech preparation for such an important event that McCarthy was supposedly planning for all his political life has mostly been ignored, probably because no one expected better from him.  My guess is his leadership will be as shallow and as mean as the underlying message of the speech, America look out, we’re going after Democrats and anyone who gets in the way of our rowing.  Tonight, the House is supposed to vote on the rules that will run the House for two years, one of them to disband/ignore the Ethics Committee.  Hmmm!   Let’s see, who might the Ringmaster be protecting? 

Last week the circus opened.  Now, the clowns are in charge.  So, we had better look out because clowns are usually entertainers, not folks skilled at governing.  I wonder how long it will take for Republicans to admit they made a mistake choosing McCarthy as Speaker-Ringmaster.  I guess, two years.