DL Open Thread Monday, Feb. 26, 2024
The ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court holding that frozen embryos have full human rights has the GOP in a panic, because the public – even hardcore Christianists – overwhelmingly supports IVF, as this memo from the GOP’s Senate committee helpfully points out. Repugs say they have no plans to pass any laws against it, conveniently leaving out the fact that it’s now in the hands of the courts they loaded with reactionary judges. So it’s up to Democrats to helpfully point out that the senators now claiming support for IVF all voted for a bill that would have done what the Alabama court just did:
Senate bill S.99, introduced in early 2021 and cosponsored by [Montana Sen. Steve] Daines, claims that all homo sapiens, born and unborn are entitled to the full protections of the 14th amendment. While the bill states that law does not “require” the “prohibition” of IVF it states very clearly that it requires the full panoply of constitutional rights for embryos. To quote the law, it holds that the term “human person” applies to “each member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including [from] the moment of fertilization.”
In typical Republican fashion, they have never explained how that might work, for the simple reason that it wouldn’t. The question about abortion has never been about when life begins – that’s just anti-abortion framing. It’s about when rights should begin, and that’s never been seriously addressed or debated. Democrats must force Republican candidates to explain why these embryos are different.
Denying science isn’t just for Christianist zealots. As sex diary author RJK Jr. demonstrates, it can also be a lucrative grift. His is one of the “non-profits” pushing anti-vaxx propaganda that collectively raked in nearly $120 million since COVID hit pushing out disinformation. Reminds me of some old saw about fools and money.
I’ve seen a flurry of articles the past few days about the lie of plastic recycling and the lying liars behind it: the petroleum industry. The attention was triggered by a Center for Climate Integrity report released earlier this month showing that a tiny fraction of plastic gets recycled, or rather downcycled; it’s always been a head fake by Big Oil to deflect attention from their horrible environmental record.
Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl that escaped from Central Park Zoo a year ago and, to the delight of nature lovers, took up residency in the park, was found dead last week, apparently after flying into a window. He was 13. The news reminded me of one of the Demented Rapist’s longest-running weird obsessions, about windmills killing birds. It seems to puzzle pundits, but I’m sure it’s just more of his standard projecting maneuver. Skyscrapers, such as the ones he slaps his name on, kill millions of birds every year, orders of magnitude more than windmills do. So, while it’s far down his list of malfeasances, he’s also a bird-killer.
Signs of Trump’s slipping popularity abound, but he’s being kept afloat, at least for the moment, but a guy who’s a bigger nepo baby than he is – a fourth-generation Mellon, Timothy. Robert Reich’s column underscores the destructive power of tax laws that allow for a de facto American aristocracy, at the expense of democracy.
The floor’s yours.
The school funding referendum passed in the Brandywine District by 7,132 to 2,223.
I remember as a child being impressed by how many old people without kids would show up to vote against these things. As an old person who no longer has kids, I still don’t understand those folks.
Neither do I. We always support our local schools — and our children are in their 50s with no children enrolled in our schools. If you’re too selfish to want to provide a good education for the younger generation, just remember that well-funded schools increase property values.
Delaware supermarkets still maintain those plastic recycling drop-off boxes long after the plastic bag ban. So I wonder – are they being paid to maintain the boxes? or is it required by some law?
The law requires any store that distributes plastic bags in the exempted categories (e.g. for meat, flowers…) to provide bins to recycle plastic bags. They may be diminished, but they are not completely gone. And, remember: you can put other types of bags and film in there, such as bread bags, tortilla bags, newspaper bags, clean plastic wrap and zip lock bags.
As noted the “Reagan Revolution” of endless tax cuts for the rich has created an aristocracy of generational wealth that merely lacks the titles of the aristocrats. As also noted the billionaires use their astounding wealth in endless attempts to complete the destruction of their ancient foe democracy. Trump is but a symptom of a far more deadly disease.
“Signs of Trump’s slipping popularity abound, but he’s being kept afloat, at least for the moment,”
TROUNCED! DEMOLISHED! DESTROYED! The fawning media coverage of Trump’s lackluster South Carolina primary “win” was flat out disgusting. The networks are doing they can do to get Trump back into office, short of carrying him back in on a sedan chair.
Just heard an NPR piece on a movement to vote “uncommitted” in tomorrow’s Michigan Dem presidential primary, on account of US policies on Israel.
I don’t know how much traction this is getting, but one thing is sure: The media will report tomorrow’s Biden win as underperformance and weakness.
The risk for the “uncommitted” movement is their own underperformance, which would expose the little effect Biden’s Israel policy will have on the general election.
The uncommitted movement should also consider that not voting will help the side that’s less likely to give them want they want – unless Trump has become anti-Israel and generally less insane. Is making a point worth the risk of helping him win? Or are the numbers too small to matter more than the protest would. Maybe we can answer that after the election.