Beating the Drums of War ✡️🌻✡️🌻✡️🌻

First the Factoids:   It’s difficult to get an accurate count of the number of abortions that take place in the US each year because abortions are underreported, however officials put the 2023 count somewhere around one million. In 2023 California, New York, Illinois, and Florida were the states where the largest numbers of abortions took place, not all that surprising given their relative populations, and at least until the recent Florida Supreme Court ruling, their relatively accommodating regulatory climate.  By population alone, Texas where 50,000 to 55,000 abortions took place annually prior to the overturning of Roe. should be on that list.  However,  given its now very onerous environment only 40 “legal” abortions were reported to have taken place there last year, a stunning drop off that’s been accompanied by worsening maternal health statistics.  Despite Trump’s assertion that “babies are being ripped out of the womb on the ninth month, on the last day of pregnancy,” they’re not. In reality, 93.5% of abortions take place before 13 weeks, 5.7% take place between 14 to 20 weeks, and 0.9% after 21 weeks, with those later term abortions primarily performed for health reasons.  In 2023 About 63% of abortions involved the use of mifepristone, usually in combination with misoprostol. Mifepristone is the abortion drug that the anti-abortion crowd continues to try to ban by falsely claiming that it was inappropriately approved by the FDA, and by trying to outlaw its distribution through the mail.  The drug combo which has a better safety profile than Tylenol, is approved for use through about ten weeks of gestation.  It is legal in 94 countries, some of which allow it to be sold over the counter.  Because so many abortions are now performed with mifepristone and misoprostol and the drugs still can be obtained through the mail, the total number of abortions in the US has ticked slightly upward despite the overturning of Roe, but as Texas’ statistics indicate, the overturning of Roe and the continued imposition of state prohibitions is making obtaining a legal, timely, and safe abortion far more challenging, particularly for women with limited financial resources and for those facing health challenges that require immediate in-person and/or hospital care. 

Raising Arizona:   This week’s Arizona court ruling is panicking a lot of Republicans who’ve spent the last few decades attacking abortion rights, not the ones who truly are opposed to abortion, they’re celebrating the imposition of the Civil War era abortion ban, but those who could care less about who gets an abortion but care so much about their political futures that they’ve tied their fortunes to the anti-abortion movement.  Unfortunately for that power hungry set and for women in need, putting the abortion genie back in the bottle isn’t so easy which explains why Arizona’s Republican dominated legislature, failed so miserably when it attempted to do so on Wednesday.  Kari Lake, the former local news anchor who having lost the gubernatorial race has her heart set on becoming a US Senator, is now desperately lobbying Arizona’s Republican state legislators to replace the soon to be implemented total abortion ban with a still onerous 15-week ban, not because she’s had a change of heart about abortion, but because, despite all the anti-abortion rhetoric she previously spouted, she cares little about those “unborn babies,” but cares lots about her political future and fears that hers is now going up in smoke. And Trump, another one whose past pro-choice statements reveal just how little he really cares about who does or doesn’t have an abortion is in a total panic because in addition to craving power he sees winning reelection as the only way to escape the consequences of his criminal actions.  As to those consequences,  he’s due in court next week for the beginning of his New York City election interference/hush money case because despite all of his lawyers’ attempts to get presiding judge Juan Merchan disqualified and to put a halt to the case while his gag order is litigated up the court hierarchy, jury selection begins on Monday. Dust up your playbook, all the characters from the first Trump Act are expected to appear in court, including:  Playmate Karen McDougal, Porn Star Stormy Daniels, National Enquirer Guy David Pecker, onetime fixer/lawyer Michael Cohen, and Hopey Hicks.          

Republicans in Disarray, Again:  Speaker for now Mike Johnson is another one who’s flailing.  MAGA Margie is breathing down his back, threatening to call for a motion to vacate vote if he passes any legislation that aids Ukraine and Trump spoiled his efforts to get FISA surveillance renewal legislation through the Republican dominated House Rules committee. Just a reminder that when she was Speaker, Nancy Pelosi never got hung out to dry by her Rules Committee.  The FISA legislation incudes the reforms that Republicans have been seeking, but with Trump opposing its passage, poor Mikey can’t get it on to the floor for a vote which ironically makes it more likely that FISA will eventually be renewed without those reforms.  Today, Mikey plans to fly to Mar a Lago to kiss Trump’s ring, and by ring think another part of his body, in an effort to make nice with Trump to preserve his job because that’s what being the Republican Speaker requires right now, total and complete obeisance to all things Trump.  Of course, that strategy didn’t pay off for “My Kevin” McCarthy who despite his trips to Mar a Lago did lose his Speakership which explains why the specter of a Hakeem Jeffries Speakership is now once again weighing heavily on the Republican caucus.  One more thing, on the election front, third party candidate Cornell West has selected University Professor/Black Lives Activist Melina Abdullah as his running mate largely because she’s Black and Muslim, two groups that Biden needs to win, and also because she said yes when he called.

Fog:  Plans for a Gaza ceasefire are once again on hold.  Something to do with Hamas’ assertions that they can’t find 40 “qualifying” Israeli hostages to exchange for thousands of their fighters because we are supposed to believe that the same Hamas folks who stealthily built a web of sophisticated tunnels abetted by their rich Qatari friends and probably with an added lift from some in UNWRA and launched a frighteningly effective sneak attack on Israel can’t find the hostages that they abducted?  Sadly, the fears are that those hostages can’t be found because they are already dead or maybe because they’ve been so mistreated that Hamas doesn’t want them to be able to speak about their experiences.  Of even more concern, expectations are that Iran is about to launch an attack momentarily, likely against Israeli targets, but maybe also against other Western targets.  Stay safe everyone.

#BringThemAllHomeNow