SCOTUS on track to overturn Roe v Wade

[lady_*nix]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/liv ... ev-updates

I wish all the conservatives on the Supreme Court a very happy fatal aneurysm.

Meanwhile please point everyone to this website: https://www.plancpills.org/ Dudes/AMAB folks too, it's important we know about these resources in case someone close to us needs an abortion.

Also if you want to donate money, donate it to state level abortion funds, not national Planned Parenthood. State funds are what actually get the job done, and what actually need the money. Here's a list:

https://mobile.twitter.com/leahbartelde ... 3252350985

Remember and record this shit. Websites go down all the time.

[lady_*nix]

Also: https://aidaccess.org/en/, another service for getting pharmaceutical abortion products by mail

[Rommie]

Yeah this is REALLY not the week I needed to hear this news, for obvious personal reasons.

Definitely one of those days where I reconsider whether I still want to stay in the USA for my job search this fall, even if I limit to "safe" states. It's pretty clear the right to privacy will be gone with this ruling, and they are going to go after a lot of other rights too like against gay marriage, interracial marriage, contraception...

[Sigma_Orionis]

Hope this jolts enough people to get off the asses and vote in every damned election (local, state and federal) from now until 2090 or something. If they show up in enough numbers, No amount of restrictive voting will work. They're still too weak to consolidate power in that manner.

[lady_*nix]

Yeah... Sorry about that, @Rommie.

And I'd say same - they're coming for trans rights already - but my ability to leave the US (or even Eastern MA) is very limited. I don't even have a current passport right now, let alone under my real name (the paperwork for all that is still on hold). And IDK if Canada is allowing refugees from the US again, or still blocking them due to the pandemic.

Also I just... don't want to leave my friends behind. Most people I know are in the same boat too, not really able to leave.

For now I figure my best bet is to dig in and build resource networks. Have the connections to help people I know get abortions, if a federal ban happens... and to stay on some semblance of HRT (enough to avoid osteoporosis LOL) if worse happens on the trans rights front. I should be able to last a while and help at least some people, as long as the state doesn't e.g. force me to inject testosterone. I did it under Trump, and I'm tired as fuck (and got burned a lot TBH) but I can do it again.

@Sigma

Hopefully, but see again gerrymandering and voter suppression. [Edit] ... Ah I see you mentioned that, but honestly IMO you're wrong. Republican voter suppression is incredibly powerful in the red states.

Also just... I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect what most people will get out of this is, "The worst loss for women's rights in half a century happened while Democrats controlled the House, Senate, and Executive". And honestly that's not a wrong take. We did everything we could to put decent people in power this time, and the Dem party's center squandered a lot of the grace we gave them.

[lady_*nix]

Ugh, just as expected...

Biden 'not prepared' to support ending Senate filibuster to pass abortion rights law

We’ve received the full transcript of Joe Biden’s remarks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, in which he appears to rule out ending the filibuster to get an abortion rights law through the senate.

Democrats need 60 votes in the chamber, 10 more than they currently have, although they would harbor hopes of persuading moderate Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski over to their side.

Still chickenshit to actually do something, instead of just using Republican atrocities as a source of fundraising for their party.

[lady_*nix]

Also, here is a list of state-level abortion funds, starting with the ones in the most hostile states.

https://www.thecut.com/article/donate-a ... -help.html

[Sigma_Orionis]

Yeah... Sorry about that, @Rommie.
@Sigma

Hopefully, but see again gerrymandering and voter suppression. [Edit] ... Ah I see you mentioned that, but honestly IMO you're wrong. Republican voter suppression is incredibly powerful in the red states.

Also just... I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect what most people will get out of this is, "The worst loss for women's rights in half a century happened while Democrats controlled the House, Senate, and Executive". And honestly that's not a wrong take. We did everything we could to put decent people in power this time, and the Dem party's center squandered a lot of the grace we gave them.

I disagree. I live in an authoritarian country where elections are actually fixed. And I lived through the whole process that took us from a a nominally representative democracy to the fourth rate tinpot dictatorship we are now. You still have a chance. Nowhere near as good as the one you had in 2016, but one still worth fighting for.

[lady_*nix]

@Sigma

Don't misunderstand me, I am not saying we don't have a chance. I'm saying that this cannot be won just through electoral politics. Losing hope right now would be very dangerous, the problem is avoiding false hope in the institutions that keep failing us.

[Sigma_Orionis]

@Sigma

Don't misunderstand me, I am not saying we don't have a chance. I'm saying that this cannot be won just through electoral politics. Losing hope right now would be very dangerous, the problem is avoiding false hope in the institutions that keep failing us.

Do you know why your institutions fail you? Because you keep electing crooks. And do you know why that happens? Because abstention in your country is very high. In the 2020 US Federal elections, turnout was at an all time high of 66%. I mean, REALLY? When we were a nominal "Democracy", a turnout of 80% was considered normal. And, in state and local elections, turnout is even worse. SO, who gets elected? Candidates that court nutjobs for example. Abstention is endemic among independents and people who lean left. And, particularly in young adults. Don't believe me? how can you explain that a blue state like Pennsylvania has a state legislature that is dominated by the GOP? Way too many people only vote in your Federal Elections if at all. Do you know what made Trump win the election in 2016? Abstention. Way too many people in the left, abstained because they thought Hillary Clinton was a crook. Or at least as bad as Trump. Didn't work out well did it?

At this time all you know what kind of people the GOP are. I don't know who leaked that draft decision from your Supreme Court. But, it's obvious what the intent was: Rile up "liberals" so they go vote in November (and frankly, I hope they do. The current crop of Republicans are a danger to the entire world and I say this as someone who doesn't have much sympathy for people who lean too much to the left). A more cynical part of me wonders if it wasn't leaked by "Conservatives" or even the Justices themselves as a "Trial Balloon" to see how far they can bend the bar (after all, public opinion in the US is not known for its long memory). But I don't think your "Conservatives" are sophisticated enough to do that . To paraphrase Cardinal Talleyrand de Perigord: They are not the type that can calculate three moves ahead in chess.

The left in the US is always waiting for a Messiah to help them further their agenda. IF you ask me, Bidden is "not ready" to send the filibuster to hell, even with the current threat because he simply doesn't have the votes. I presume that you have read the news about how W-VA Senator Joe Manchin has thrown a monkey wrench in most of Biden's agenda. And Manchin has made it clear PLENTY of times that he doesn't want to get rid of the filibuster. He can get away with it because the Dems have a wafer thin hold on the Senate. And WHO decided that? It certainly wasn't a greasy furriner from a shithole country like me. If you really want to get rid of the GOP, the bulk of your country needs to vote them out. No BS about the candidates not being good enough for you. No complaining about how your vote doesn't count. Stop expecting the Dem candidates to come charm you into voting for them. Whatever warts they have (and yes, plenty of them do) the alternative is much worse. "Conservatives" already vote that way. I am pretty sure that a plurality of them know pretty well that their candidates lie through their teeth. And will screw them over and chew them out. But they think that "Liberals" are even worse. Well, it's time that Independent and Liberals do the same. No bitching that "all politicians are the same", just vote.

[lady_*nix]

Sigma - first off, you don't know shit about the US left, no offense. I know your own country is a horror show right now, and has been for a while, and I'm sorry about that, but that doesn't make you magically know everything about the US' political catastrophes - not even given US politics' repercussions on Venezuela. And yes, this is a thing I run into a lot from people outside the US.

Second, for the millionth time, I'm not telling people not to vote. I'm not telling people to vote red. That's fucking stupid. Stop putting words in my mouth. I'm telling people that voting alone isn't enough. We vote Dem because we have no fucking choice, that's not going to change. But we also have to exert pressure on the system through non-electoral means: strikes, protests, building underground power, sabotage. It's not enough to vote in people who maybe hopefully just possibly won't throw us to the wolves, and depend on them saving us (like, you know, a messiah).

Third, there's a lot more going on than just idiots not voting. See: gerrymandering, an electoral and govt system designed to give land votes instead of people, regulatory capture, vast corporate propaganda organs. Voter suppression, which I've mentioned like a dozen times and you still refuse to accept is as bad as it truly is. A history of racism and slavery, esp. in the South but also everywhere, and a particular hierarchy coming out of that history that conservatives wish to bring back. (And no I'm not saying similar doesn't exist in Latin America, I know y'all used to have plantations too.) A culture of extreme individualism. Police forces that are utterly unaccountable, and pretty much outside government control. Absolutely staggering wealth inequality. Gerontocracy. Every single one of these feeds back into itself in a vicious circle.

Sorry to be, like, all rage but I'm kind of sick and fucking tired of seeing you (and other people here) insult my intelligence like this, and deliberately misunderstand what I'm saying. Telling people to not vote wouldn't just be stupid for me, it would be suicidal, and I'm really not in the mood to explain this shit but here we are.

[lady_*nix]

Yelling aside, here's a bail and defense fund for people being investigated/arrested/prosecuted for abortion: https://reprolegaldefensefund.org/

Thinking I will split these off into a separate thread TBH

[Sigma_Orionis]

Sigma - first off, you don't know shit about the US left, no offense. I know your own country is a horror show right now, and has been for a while, and I'm sorry about that, but that doesn't make you magically know everything about the US' political catastrophes - not even given US politics' repercussions on Venezuela. And yes, this is a thing I run into a lot from people outside the US.

Second, for the millionth time, I'm not telling people not to vote. I'm not telling people to vote red. That's fucking stupid. Stop putting words in my mouth. I'm telling people that voting alone isn't enough. We vote Dem because we have no fucking choice, that's not going to change. But we also have to exert pressure on the system through non-electoral means: strikes, protests, building underground power, sabotage. It's not enough to vote in people who maybe hopefully just possibly won't throw us to the wolves, and depend on them saving us (like, you know, a messiah).

Third, there's a lot more going on than just idiots not voting. See: gerrymandering, an electoral and govt system designed to give land votes instead of people, regulatory capture, vast corporate propaganda organs. Voter suppression, which I've mentioned like a dozen times and you still refuse to accept is as bad as it truly is. A history of racism and slavery, esp. in the South but also everywhere, and a particular hierarchy coming out of that history that conservatives wish to bring back. (And no I'm not saying similar doesn't exist in Latin America, I know y'all used to have plantations too.) A culture of extreme individualism. Police forces that are utterly unaccountable, and pretty much outside government control. Absolutely staggering wealth inequality. Gerontocracy. Every single one of these feeds back into itself in a vicious circle.

Sorry to be, like, all rage but I'm kind of sick and fucking tired of seeing you (and other people here) insult my intelligence like this, and deliberately misunderstand what I'm saying. Telling people to not vote wouldn't just be stupid for me, it would be suicidal, and I'm really not in the mood to explain this shit but here we are.

First of all LN. I am sorry. I didn't mean to insult you.

Second. When I said "You" I didn't mean YOU PERSONALLY. I meant the US in general. As in "YOU GRINGOS".

When you say that I don't know jack about the left in the US. I am pretty sure you are right. I don't live there. I don't see how "Joe/Jane Average" deal with the current situation in your country. HOWEVER THIS IS NOT A "RIGHT OR LEFT" thing. It's an "AUTHORITARIANISM vs everything else" thing. But, since you brought up the point, allow me to clarify. I DON'T HAVE a virulent hatred for the Left. I think that centrally planned economies don't work. And so far I see no evidence that they ever did. So, I don't trust people who still propose that. But I don't hate them. Do you know who I really hate? All those useful idiots from first world countries that even these days pretend to give any form of support to a fourth rate dictator like Nicolás Maduro. Those worthless pieces of refuse spout all those lofty ideals you favor (and no I am not blaming you for favoring them), and in the same breath they say whatever they can to provide cover for a lowlife like Maduro. Remember all those people I said that drove my pressure up on another thread? Do you know what they have in common? It's not that they are all left wingers. It's that every single one of them is an unrepentant Maduro apologist. So, having clarified that, let's continue.

As I said in the paragraph above this is not a "Left vs Right" thing. It's an "Authoritarians vs everybody else" thing. I won't discuss that I don't know about the left in the US. HOWEVER, at the risk of sounding condescending. I think that I am better qualified than anyone else in this board to talk about authoritarians. Why? Because MY CULTURE IS AUTHORITARIAN. That has been the bane of Latin America since the 19th century.

First of all: Authoritarianism has NO IDEOLOGY. Or more accurately: it will adopt whatever ideology that allows it to reach and keep its hold on power. So: despite that Fascist are extreme right wing., The Left has plenty of authoritarians as well. While there have been plenty of examples of that (The USSR, China, North Korea, Cuba) there are other more subtle examples. Here in the region we've had several dictatorships that were left wing. DESPITE THAT THEY WERE NOT COMMUNISTS.

Second: And this is VERY important. THESE DAYS most Authoritarians get to power through elections. And very often with widespread popular support. Hugo Chavez was an example of that. His coup attempt failed miserably. But managed to get himself elected. And was popular enough to stay in power until he died. I made the mistake of expecting Chavistas to bow out when the economy went to hell. Look how well that worked.

Now, regarding abstention-ism: I know pretty well that you have an imperative to hold your nose and vote for the Dems. And I am pretty sure that most everyone you know is probably in the same position. Just remember one thing: There are over 250 Million people in the US that are allowed to vote. So, my point remains the same: Considering what was at stake in the 2020 election, the fact that only 66% of you gringos bothered to vote (and the fact that that was hailed as a "Record Turnout") is unacceptable. And according to every source I've read, abstention-ism is much worse in midterm elections. And even worse in elections at the local and state level. So it IS a big factor. Particularly because all those authoritarians that love Trump sure went in to vote. And again, I didn't just blame "The Left" in the US, AFAIK Independents fail to show up to the ballot box as well.

Regarding gerrymandering: I know exactly what it is. And that is has been a major issue in US Politics since at least 2010. I am certainly not an expert in US politics. But I follow it quite closely. For the simple reason that for better or worse, internal US politics have repercussions all over the world. Yet, gerrymandering did not stop the Dems from getting house majorities in the US Congress in 2018 and 2020 (even if they lost several seats in 2020) did it? And AFAIK, gerrymandering doesn't work with US Senate seats. It does work in state legislatures though. But, just like in the last few years several GOP gerrymandering districts have been forcefully redrawn by the courts, there is the possibility of doing the same at the state level. And yet how did those nutjobs at the state legislatures got elected in the first place? I'd bet good money that it was because of abstention-ism.

Voting restrictions OTOH, are much more effective. I should know, I saw them in action in several of the sham elections that Maduro has held since 2016. Yet those can be overcome if enough voters show up. I realize that showing up to vote can be pretty hard in the US. Since election day is usually on a weekday, which is pretty onerous on people who work for a living (particularly those who live from hand to mouth) But, in the end, as callous as it may sound it boils down to how high the stakes are. And, as you know better than I, the stakes are PARTICULARLY high this time. Not only for you, not only for the people you care about. But for your whole country. And even for the rest of the world.

Now, regarding "Non-electoral means": Strikes? There MIGHT be a chance since there seems to be a feeble revival of organized labor in the US. But, My own experience with it has been quite negative. We had a national strike in 2002-2003 to unseat Chavez. It achieved even less than nothing. The strike and the economic upheaval it caused gave the government to perfect excuse to impose stiffs foreign exchange controls which gave it ABSOLUTE control of the economy. And it left the opposition in pretty bad shape. (At this point I'd like to point out for UMPTEENTH time that the ideology of the groups that we call "Opposition" here in Venezuela is ALSO left wing. Despite what the foreign chavista apologists say).

Protests? Over 20 years of protests achieved exactly zilch here and don't get me started with civil disobedience. In 2014 plenty of students held major sit-ins And all they got for their troubles was being thrown in jail. IIRC there were plenty of protests in the US after Trump was elected. IIRC those protests didn't achieve much. And, BTW the objective of things like that is to influence public opinion, right? And just how that public opinion exerts its power? Through the ballot box doesn't it? So we are back where we started aren't we? So: Sorry if I sound flippant, but: Good luck with that.

Building underground power? Sabotage?, I am not sure what you mean with that. However I'd like to remind you what happened with those protests that went out of hand in Seattle and Portland. It quickly became fodder for the GOP. To the point that for months, every time they were questioned about the attempted coup in Jan 6 they'd try to say "what about ANTIFA"? Situations like that are goldmines for authoritarians. Gives them perfect excuses to impose restrictions like MTG's "Marshall Law" (sic).

Despite that I am quite sure that this doesn't need any explaining. I'd like to add I think that boycotting elections won't work either. Doing that, was certainly the final nail in the coffin where my country lies in.

You can call me hypocritical if you like. I stopped voting in 2017 because it became more than obvious that Maduro is rigging elections. Call me the guy that gave up if you like. My point remains the same: Your country hasn't reached that level of authoritarianism YET. But, if the GOP nutjobs take over the US Congress in November, I would not be surprised if you people reached that level of authoritarianism in the middle or even in the short term.

[lady_*nix]

The fucking slimebags actually did it.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... reme-court

I think I'm going to throw up.

[lady_*nix]

Worth mentioning, the DOJ has pointed out that mifepristone is legal nationwide, and that as an FDA-approved drug states are not allowed to ban it: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/liv ... bb61abb0f6

[pumpkinpi]

The fucking slimebags actually did it.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... reme-court

I think I'm going to throw up.

I'm with you. Perhaps that's why Rooster did yesterday. Vomiting is not a common symptom of covid.

I've been in a "Na na na I can't hear you" state of mind since the leak. I wasn't in denial that it would happen, I just....I just have no words.

[Rommie]

Today sucks.

My one saving grace is I'm doing astronomy camp right now so you can't get too depressed when you are super sleep deprived and wrangling 25 teenagers. It'll hit later.

[lady_*nix]

So much sympathies, Rommie and pumpkinpi

As far as places to throw money... If anyone has income to spare and wants to chip in, the West Alabama Women's Center is collecting money to help abortion patients get care out of state:

https://twitter.com/robinmarty/status/1 ... Has-AqAAAA

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_b ... SVPN98ZJQ4

[Sigma_Orionis]

And those nutjobs are NOT going to stop there....