Today Is A Dark Day

Posted on by under History, Law and justice, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary, voting rights

So, there were no surprises in the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, but nonetheless it was a gut punch for at least half the people in this nation.  We knew this was to be the outcome, for we read Justice Alito’s leaked opinion on May 2nd and our jaws dropped then, just as they did this morning.

What hypocrisy that yesterday the Court ruled it illegal for states to do ANYTHING to restrict the rights of gun owners, and today the same Court ruled that it is perfectly legal to do EVERYTHING possible to restrict the rights of women.  It should be noted that the majority of gun owners are, in fact, males.  Well, my friends, we women know where we stand.

But it isn’t going to stop here, and Justice Clarence Thomas, husband of insurrectionist Virginia Thomas, has already made that perfectly clear …

“We should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. We have a duty to correct the error established in those precedents. After overruling these demonstrably erroneous decisions, the question would remain whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases have generated.”

The cases he refers directly to are:

  • Griswold v Connecticut – a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects the liberty of married couples to buy and use contraceptives without government restriction.
  • Lawrence v. Texas – a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that sanctions of criminal punishment for those who commit sodomy are unconstitutional.
  • Obergefell v Hodges – a landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

I have lost all respect for the United States Supreme Court, for they have taken this nation into darkness, have shirked their duty to the U.S. Constitution, to the nation, and to We the People.  Today, the Court is but another arm of the right-wing of the Republican Party, doing not what is in the best interest of the people, but what is demanded by the religious fanatics who would control every aspect of our lives.

The majority of people in this country want gun laws that will protect us and our families from such incidents as Uvalde and Buffalo.  The majority of people in this nation believe women should have the right to make their own health decisions.  But the will of the majority matters not on this dark day, for the spate of recent decisions have all gone against what the majority of people in this nation want.  This can only lead me to believe that in some sense, we are already living under an autocratic government if the will of the majority can be completely disregarded while the will of the few wins the day.  Today, it was women’s rights, but tomorrow …

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

Poem by Martin Niemöller

70 thoughts on “Today Is A Dark Day”

  2. When I witnessed a map coming up on BBC showing the number of states with ‘trigger’ legislation and then I heard President Biden comments concerning the right for women to travel to states where abortion is legal AND thinking of the subsequent hysterical step; ie keeping women who are pregnant under observation.
    Then I was reminded of another era of American history:
    ‘The Underground Railroad,’

    Liked by 1 person

    • Oh wow … what a comparison! But … who’s to say it couldn’t happen? At least one state has written into law that anyone helping a woman cross state lines for an abortion will be prosecuted, face a huge fine and jail time. Is this not the most ridiculous thing … grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

      Liked by 1 person

      • The ghosts of Stasi long go will be applauding ..

        ‘Hypocrisy thy name in Republican’

        And while I’m in a mood for quoting (or in the former case plagiarising.)
        An inconvenient biblical quote for the Republicans (Old Testament as well, which as we know is their ‘Go-To tome)
        From the book of Lamentations:
        2:2 v 18-19

        “The visions your prophets had on your behalf were delusive, tinsel things, they never pointed out your sin, to ward off your exile. The visions they proffered you were false, fallacious, misleading.
        Cry aloud, then, to the Lord – groan, daughter of Zion; let your tears flow like a torrent, day and night; give yourself no relief, grant your eyes no rest.
        Up, cry out in the night-time, in the early hours of darkness; pour your heart out like water before the Lord. Stretch out your hands to him for the lives of your children who faint with hunger at the entrance to every street.”

        It’s in the Bible people!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. What a truly horrifying and sad day in the US, Jill. I can’t believe it. And they’re not done yet as you noted. Very dark and troubling times indeed.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Jill, we knew the Roe verdict was coming and overturning a gun law was not a surprise. This is why voting matters. This is why the Women’s march in 2018 mattered to get people out to vote as they saw their rights in danger as well as that of other groups. They were right to be concerned. This is why the Australian women were able to recently vote out a conservative majority after nine years.

    My strong advice is for all people to make your voice heard. Right now, what America talks about is what a vocal minority wants us to talk about. Let’s talk about and vote on civil rights, health care, better gun governance, job retraining, climate change and environmental action and paid leave to take care of kids. This vocal minority is counting on people not voting and has actually infringed on that right. Know the rules and vote.

    Keith

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Hypocrisy. The radical right feign concern for the fetus but once that child is in the world it’s on its own because the Republicans will do everything they can to eliminate any social program ( even free school lunches) that might help that child and mother. On the other hand they will fight tooth and nail for the NRA and the blood of dead children is on their hands.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Yes, I have long said those who claim to be “pro-life” are hypocrites. They vote against using government money to help provide food, clothing, shelter and health care to that child. And they are almost always in favour of the death penalty. How is any of that ‘pro-life’. No, they are simply anti-women’s rights. I said to someone, tongue-in-cheek, that the reason they need to ensure more babies being born is to replenish the ones being killed in school shootings.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Anyone who thinks this is ending with abortion rights is sadly mistaken. Thomas already stated outright that they will be gunning for many other decisions to overturn in the name of ‘correcting egregious errors’. Who writes his speeches for him anyway? That swine of a wife. I am angry, devastated and loathe anything resembling religion at this point. He has taken up Trump’s mantle and declared himself a god presiding over the lives of all Americans. Worse than him are the pandering Justices who promised to uphold Roe vs Wade should it come up. I wonder, will his ‘way-back’ machine be set so far that his marriage will once again be against the law? Will it still be ‘appropriate for a man of color to preside in the highest court in the country? And wait, Justice Barrett, I do believe in the name of the holy nuclear family that a woman’s place is in the home. Better get out your peals ladies, and shave those legs. The dress code may be reverting soon! 😡😡😡🤬🤯

    Liked by 4 people

  10. It all began when the radical conservatives achieved a lot of power in the congress and on the supreme court and in the oval office …and now we are on a collision course with an authoritarian radicalized right wing government that will continue to take away rights until nothing is left but a harsh dictatorship. And the whole thing is being orchestrated by radicalized Republicans. Pray that God intervene and save us all…. (https://limingslynkz.com/}

    Liked by 2 people

    • What a bleak picture you paint, John. Unfortunately, I cannot pray to a god I don’t believe exists, for if there were such a being, don’t you think she would have already intervened to save people starving in the Middle East and on the African continent, or people being brutally murdered in Ukraine, to name just a few? Our problems pale in comparison to those.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Our problems do, indeed pale compared to theirs .. no questioning that …and it is up to every individual to find God in their own time and in their own way. Or on the other hand, sooner or later God may (does) find each of us individually.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Pingback: Today Is A Dark Day | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  14. I don’t understand the angst over the Roe v Wade repeal. The blue states will go their way and the red states will go theirs’. California, Oregon and Washington are already organizing and coordinating to make sure what they think is right, happens. Women who wish an abortion but live in a red state will probably receive lavish funding, travel and lodging accommodations to blue states that allow abortion. Abortion tourism is probably the next biggest industry to be created.

    Liked by 2 people

    • How long before some states prohibit crossing state lines for an abortion? Personal freedoms are in rapid decline in the US, not that they have ever been particularly high

      Liked by 2 people

      • It is unconstitutional for states to prohibit the crossing of state lines to do business. Regulation of interstate commerce is the constitutional duty of the federal government. What personal freedoms are in decline in the United States? Rampant crime, inflation, super high gas prices, mask and vaccine mandates are assaults on personal freedom and those are all Democrat Party policies advocated and/or enforced by the present ruling regime. The Court cut the abortion issue free from the ruling regime and sent it back to the states, thus increasing political choice for the entire nation.

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      • Already some states pay a ‘bounty’ … a reward … for friends, family, or neighbors who report someone who went to another state seeking an abortion. Oh yes … this could easily become the stuff of Alfred Hitchcock.

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      • It has already been written into law in at least one state, perhaps more. And, in that state, it is illegal to help a woman in any way, such as providing transportation or financial help to get an abortion. Oh yeah … Big Brother will be watching.

        Liked by 1 person

    • We’re not talking about ‘blue’ or ‘red’ states here … we are talking about human rights, civil rights, rights already protected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Perhaps as a male, it is impossible for you to understand, but trust me … this is a big deal even to this 71-year-old woman who is in NO danger of getting pregnant! And, as I said, it is going to lead to restrictions on other civil rights, targeting specific groups of people … women, Blacks, LGBTQ. Read the poem again.

      Liked by 3 people

      • Abortion was never a civil right just as slavery was never a civil right though the Court ruled them both so. Read and contrast the 1973 Roe ruling with the 2022 Dodd ruling. The 1973 ruling is incoherent and obvious legislation from the Bench, which is a violation of the separation of power stated clearly in the US Constitution. Today’s Court ruling is one of rare times in human history when a governing body gave up power. The Court sent the matter back to the states where it belongs.

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          • The same people using Roe to advocate for women’s rights also advocate for trans men beating the tar out of female athletes in women’s sports. This fundamental contradictions destroys the validity of your notion of women’s rights. The unborn child is an individual who deserves the right to life just as women athletes are individuals who deserve not to get abused by trans men in women’s sports.

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    • Sadly once a movement gains traction in this case the ‘Pro-Life’ movement they are encouraged to bolder action. Thus their next move will be the ‘civic’ monitoring of women who might be pregnant being absent for a couple of weeks and suspicion of them when they return. This would be comparable to the 1950s and suspicion over a person’s political views. And on the other side of the coin in the 1960s early 1970s of any hapless draftee who served in Vietnam thus being vilified by the radical anti-war movements.
      Human nature’s grimmer side can be very strident in ensuring a certain viewpoint is maintained.
      To add another layer this also leads to a social fracturing of states and ‘profiling’. Thus folk in a pro-life state are also viewed with initial suspicion by those who are pro-choice and live in a pro-choice state. Annnnd the reverse works too.
      It’s more than the Abortion Issue which being enacted here.

      Liked by 1 person

        • Republicans (MAGA wing)…An organisation which works from the Taliban Playbook and saves them the bother of sending cells over to the USA itself.
          Meanwhile. Another quote (Must be Quote Monday)
          ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’
          No Republicans it was not Abe Lincoln who said first…..
          Go to your Bible……

          Liked by 1 person

          • ‘Tis funny, for just this evening I was writing a post for tomorrow or the next day, and I considered comparing the U.S. to the Taliban-run Afghanistan, but I thought perhaps that was a bit hyperbolic. Maybe not, though, if you had the same thought.

            I’ve used that ‘house divided against itself’ quote ’til I’m blue in the face, but nobody cares anymore. Really? I had no clue it was biblical … thought ol’ Abe had come up with that one.

            Liked by 1 person

            • Abe being the shrewd guy he was used The Bible, it being a weight carrier for any debate.
              (Mark 3:25 or Matthew 12:25)
              There’s more in the ‘Old Book’ to pull the rug from underneath The White Right than they would have you think.
              (I can pull out selective texts as much as they can)

              Liked by 1 person

      • It is no secret that the pro-life faction will continue its efforts until abortion is 100% illegal in the United States except when the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life. Their thinking is that without the right to life for everyone, including the unborn, no other rights matter. However, pro-life efforts will also be 100% law abiding and based in love as always. Bitterness, rage, intimidation, bullying, vandalism are almost always committed by the pro-abortion faction.

        Liked by 2 people

        • Indeed.
          However there will be resistance, and they will not be prepared for the hows, wheres and whens this will take place.
          Nor as individuals will they be able to cope with the disruption this will cause when the implications come to their own doorsteps.

          Liked by 1 person

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