Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude: we won this battle before and will win it again

8/14/2023

we won this battle before and will win it again

On August 4, Travis County District Judge Jessica Mangrum delivered a ruling that would allow Texans facing complicated and dangerous pregnancies to access life-saving abortion care. The decision followed an emotional and intense two-day trial in her Austin courtroom where women tearfully recounted their harrowing personal stories. One woman nearly died of sepsis in the ICU, while another was forced to watch her baby, who was born without a skull, slowly die in her arms. She began vomiting on the witness stand, triggered by the trauma of her devastating ordeal.

Led by attorneys with the Center for Reproductive Rights, 13 women who were denied abortion care despite life-threatening pregnancy complications—and two OB-GYNs—sued the state of Texas in March in order to gain much-needed clarity on vague medical emergency exceptions in the state’s abortion law. The law’s carve-out, defined as the “risk of death or a substantial impairment of a major bodily function,” coupled with punitive consequences for violating the law, has sowed confusion and fear among doctors, who are delaying or altogether denying abortion care, even when patients face dire physical conditions, resulting in “catastrophic harm,” according to the lawsuit. In addition to the financial and logistical burdens to access care out-of-state, patients in high-risk situations are often advised not to travel, as it can exacerbate their already precarious health. Since Texas passed its novel near-total abortion ban in 2021, a stream of horrific stories of patients experiencing hemorrhaging, sepsis, and organ failure have come to light, only proliferating after the state enacted a total ban last year. Neither law carries exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or severe fetal abnormality, forcing some to carry non-viable pregnancies despite the risk.

But after months of re-traumatizing themselves in the public, press, and eventually the courtroom, the women finally secured a resounding victory, a rarity in the Texas abortion legal wars. However, the victory was painfully short-lived: Mere hours later, the state appealed the ruling to the Texas Supreme Court, immediately blocking the injunction until the higher court decides what to do.

The Texas Supreme Court—a nine-seat bench filled by all Republican justices—could hear oral arguments as early as this fall. In the meantime, pregnant patients in Texas who face serious complications will continue to suffer fates similar to the women in the lawsuit.

“It’s absolutely appalling that the state would appeal this ruling—a ruling meant to save women’s lives,” Molly Duane, senior staff attorney at CRR tells The Nation. “It’s never been clearer that the term ‘pro-life’ is a complete misnomer. What our plaintiffs went through was pure torture, and the state is hell-bent on making sure that kind of suffering continues.”

this isn't about anti-woman or anti-african-american or anti-lgbtq+ - as c.i. said in the roundtable last month for 'the gina & krista round-robin,' this is about the whole thing. it is an attack on all of us. they are desperate to destroy the gains we have made.

yet we are in the majority and, you better believe, they're going to hear from us. this battle? they lost it last time and they'll lose it again.

you saw what happened in ohio last week and it keeps happening over and over throughout the country.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Monday, August 14, 2023. Climate change gets worse in Iraq but everyone averts their eyes, Ronald DeSantis does more damage to the state of Florida and we can't afford pretense and ignorance. We don't have the luxury of either.

Anna Louise (NATURE WORLD NEWS) reports:

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk paid a four-day visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, the oil-rich southern city of Basra, and Irbil in the northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

[. . .]

The UN official underscored that Iraq is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to climate change and that what is happening in the country is a "climate emergency" that has to be addressed, not just for the country but for the world.

"What is happening here is a window into a future that is now coming for other parts of the world - if we continue to fail in our responsibility to take preventive and mitigating action against climate change," Türk said in a press statement.

Some people refuse to recognize what is before their very eyes. Derren Chan (JURIST) adds:

Water scarcity has been a long-standing issue in Iraq due to climate change and government mismanagement. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported about Iraq’s water shortage in 2019, citing government mismanagement as one of the major reasons for the full-blown crisis in 2018. The series of mismanagement include poor management of upstream water sources, inadequate regulation of pollution and sewage, and chronic neglect and mismanagement of water infrastructure.

Despite the protests that stemmed from the full-blown water crisis, droughts persist in Iraq. In 2021, UNICEF reported that 60 percent of Iraqi children do not have access to safely managed water services and less than half of all schools in the country have access to water. On Tuesday, the Iraqi Minister of Water Resources also announced that water levels in Iraq are the lowest they have ever been. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also observed that 13 villages in Al Hadam have been displaced due to water scarcity. The IOM also recorded over 20,000 climate migrants in Iraq at the end of 2021.

Türk noted the Iraqi government’s commitment to address the challenges of climate change and water scarcity. However, he also highlighted the government’s oppression of journalism and civil society actors hinders the government’s work in awareness raising, legislative and policy reform, and capacity building of institutions. Türk also provided notice that the UN would soon release their report on freedom of expression in Iraq.

Laure al-Khoury (AL-MONITOR) reports:

Last week during a visit to Baghdad, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk warned that "rising temperatures plus the drought, and the fact that the loss of diversity is a reality, is a wake-up call for Iraq and for the world".

Sada'a Saleh Mohamed, a local official overseeing finances at the Habbaniyah resort, said "the lake has receded" and tourism has become "really very weak".

"The lake has become a pond of stagnant water, unsuitable for consumption or for swimming," he said.

When evening fell and temperatures dropped slightly, a few people finally arrived to barbecue on the beach.

Qassem Lafta came with his family from the nearby city of Fallujah.

"Before, we would come here and it was much better, the water was higher," said the 45-year-old merchant.

He said he hoped authorities would revive the lake.

"It's the only place where people from Anbar, southern Iraq and Baghdad can come to relax."

Last night I dreamed I saw the planet flicker
Great forests fell like buffalo
Everything got sicker
And to the bitter end
Big business bickered
And they call for the three great stimulants
Of the exhausted ones
Artifice brutality and innocence
Artifice and innocence

-- "The Three Great Stimulants," written by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her DOG EAT DOG

RUDAW notes this morning:

Iraq loses over 400 thousand dunums of agricultural land annually due to the effects of climate change and increasing temperatures in the country, Iraqi state media on Monday cited the representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq.

“Climate change represents a direct threat to the country, and this threat can be seen in water scarcity, dust storms, extreme heat waves, desertification, food security, loss of biodiversity, and land degradation,” Auke Lootsma, UNDP Iraq representative told Iraqi state media.

“Iraq loses about 400 thousand dunums of agricultural land annually,” he added.

Lootsma said that Iraq is classified as fifth among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, adding that the temperature in Iraq increases on average two to seven times faster in Iraq compared to other countries.

But no one wants to address it or deal with it. Everyone looks the other way and pretends it's not happening as they rush to announce the latest big drilling deal. As though all this oil production isn't exactly why Iraq is so threatened by climate change. That's exactly what's put it at the forefront of destruction. And greed is clearly more important to the government -- and governments outside of Iraq -- than protecting people.

And I just went over to THIRD and published Ava and my "Media: The guessing game passed off as reporting." The plan was to regroup tonight and finish the edition. Sorry. Ava and I wrote that yesterday and what's above is part of it. In the Houston area, you have people dying from the heat. A couple in Baytown is who we zoom in on and the online 'conversation' about that couple? Vapid and ignorant. They're blamed for the fact that they died. It's not climate change with the 100 degrees days of heat, it's not the lack of response from government, no, instead online people want to say it's that they were probably Trump voters or that they should have gone to the mall (the mall in their area closed in 2020) as though you can go to sleep in the mall? They died from the heat after their air conditioning broke. They were retired and on a fixed income and the a.c. broke well after the first of the month (when Social Security checks arrive).

This is a climate crisis and it's happening all over the world. How very nice for lazy and ineffective leaders that we would rather trash the victims of climate change than hold leaders and governments accountable.

Iraq's experiencing a heat wave. RUDAW notes:

In response to the soaring temperatures, Dhi Qar governor Mohammed Hadi al-Ghazi declared Sunday a public holiday and shortened working hours by an hour. Additionally, Diyala Governor Muthanna al-Tamimi announced that governmental institutions in the province will work half-days. Other provinces are likely to follow suit.

Iraqi Civil Defense issued instructions to citizens on Saturday, advising them to exercise caution during the heat wave, recommending care with cars and electrical devices, conserving electricity, and avoiding walking during the hottest part of the day.

High summer temperatures are not new in Iraq, particularly in the south which regularly experiences temperatures around 50 degrees Celsius. However, a lack of access to basic services such as water and electricity make it difficult for people to cope with the heat.

The effects of climate change have also made matters worse. According to the United Nations, Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, including water and food insecurity. It is facing a severe water shortage because of reduced precipitation, higher temperatures, and waste and mismanagement.

ANADOLU AGENCY adds, "To make matters worse, citizens are dealing with frequent power cuts. Only three to five hours of electricity is being provided by the national grid in Baghdad. The people of Baghdad receive electricity from neighborhood generators in exchange for money. Low-income families cannot benefit from this service."

Instead of addressing the needs of the people, the corrupt leaders do what? Scapegoat. In Iraq, where US Moms for Bigotry would fit right in, they are trying to outlaw the terms LGBTQ+. They don't want it said. Hmm. Who does that sound like? Ronald DeSantis. Yes. Ronald DeSantis, the US politician who would like to destroy America the same way he's destroying Florida.

Last week, Joseph Reberkenny (METRO WEEKLY) reported:

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis claims he has never “demeaned” gay people in a recent interview as he seeks to do damage control as he performs poorly in primary polls.

The 2024 Republican presidential candidate sat down with Fox News’s Bret Baier on last week to defend recent campaign choices, including airing an ad that people on both sides of the political aisle have deemed homophobic. He also defended his record as governor, including his crusade to rid schools of “woke” ideology – whether that’s altering how African American history is taught, attempting to censor the College Board’s AP Psychology course, making it easier to ban books, or barring LGBTQ discussions in classrooms.

The ad, for which DeSantis has received flak, was originally posted by another user and shared to the DeSantis campaign’s rapid-response team “DeSantis War Room” account on the platform formerly known as Twitter on the last day of Pride Month.

The video, which has homoerotic overtones, starts by showing past statements from Donald Trump supporting the LGBTQ community, including supporting the idea of a trans woman competing in the Miss Universe competition (which Trump owned at the time) with a rainbow filter. It then switches to dramatic and darker pictures of DeSantis (one of which has lightning shooting from his eyes) with headlines touting his overwhelming anti-LGBTQ efforts in Florida spliced with images of scantily-clad bodybuilders, gladiator stock reel, and clips from the movie American Psycho.

[. . .]

DeSantis has a long history of being anti-LGBTQ, starting with his “Don’t Say Gay” bill which prohibits classroom discussions of LGBTQ people in public schools, as well as his administration’s exhaustive anti-trans actions – whether through legislation, rulemaking, or executive orders – that prohibit trans youth from medically transitioning or bar transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity.

“I don’t believe in demeaning anybody, and we have not done that since I’ve been governor,” DeSantis told Baier, obviously flustered by Baier’s questions about the rapid-response team’s decision to share the much-panned video.

You know what's worse than a demagogue? One who won't own up to it even when caught red-handed. Jesse Scheckner (FLORIDA POLITICS) reports:

Gov. Ron DeSantis has named an outspoken opponent of LGBTQ equality to the appeals bench of Central and Southwest Florida.

DeSantis appointed Apopka lawyer Roger Gannam to serve as judge on the 6th District Court of Appeal, which hears cases from Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Polk, Orange and Osceola counties.

For the better part of a decade, Gannam has made headlines for his legal battles against LGBTQ rights for the Liberty Counsel, an evangelical organization the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as an extremist hate group.

All of this hate is having serious impacts in the state of Florid and, if Ronald ever got his ass back home, he might know that. Greg Owen (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

The good news about Ron DeSantis‘s push to “Make America Florida” is that the state has been an incubator for the far-right governor’s authoritarian policies for the last four years, and America gets to see the results.

They’re not good.

The latest fallout from DeSantis’s ill-conceived policies in the state where “woke goes to die” are data indicating there’s a brain drain plaguing the Sunshine State. A “brain drain” is when highly trained or intelligent people leave a particular region for better opportunities elsewhere.

Exhibit number one is the New College of Florida, a state university DeSantis targeted last year as a liberal “woke” breeding ground, and for its status as one of the most “gay-friendly” campuses in the country.

DeSantis planned to turn New College into the “Hillsdale of the South,” a reference to the private and infamously conservative Christian college in Michigan. The governor remade the school board in his own image, installing hand-picked conservatives to enable the far-right transformation — a “high-risk, high-reward gambit,” in the words of one member — that would serve as an example to conservative state legislators across the United States of how “to reconquer public institutions.”

The gambit has failed miserably.

The school made a shocking announcement in mid-July: 36 of the college’s approximately 100 full-time teaching positions were vacant, adding to mounting evidence that qualified educators are fleeing DeSantis’s Florida.

“All of the legislation surrounding higher education in Florida is chilling and terrifying,” Liz Leininger, an associate professor of neurobiology who is relocating to a college in Maryland, told The Guardian. “Imagine scientists who are studying climate change, imagine an executive branch that denies climate change – they could use these laws to intimidate or dismiss those scientists.”

It’s not just higher education feeling the brain drain pain.

DeSantis’s notorious Don’t Say Gay legislation and other restrictions on how sex and race can be addressed in classrooms — along with the fact he has denounced inclusive teachers as “grooming” and “indoctrinating” students — has put a chill into primary and secondary education as well.

Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, told Fox News 13 last week that there are approximately 8,000 teacher and 6,000 support staff vacancies across the state right now. Spar points to a toxic combination of conservative politics and low salaries for the shortage, noting Florida ranks 48th in the nation in average teacher pay.

“It’s one of the worst teacher shortage situations in the nation,” said Spar.

What's the main source of income, the provider of jobs in Florida? Tourism. Not only are groups cancelling conventions in Florida, tourists are wary to visit. Amelia Hansford (THE PINK NEWS) reports:

Orlando’s official tourism association is running adverts encouraging LGBTQ+ people to visit, despite Florida having some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ+ state laws in the US.

A 60-second audio clip from Visit Orlando was broadcasted on iHeartRadio channels, including PRIDE Radio, reassuring listeners that the city is “ready to welcome you just as you are”.

“The possibilities are endless. And there are amazing LGBTQ+ events for you to experience where everyone is welcome,” the ad continues.

NBC News journalist Ben Collins spotted the advertisements while listening to a podcast, and wrote in a Thursday (10 August) tweet that the city was “down so bad it’s unbelievable”.

A similar advert by the tourism association from June titled “Orlando is full of Pride” features a few of the city’s LGBTQ+ residents speaking about why it is a safe place for queer people.

One person who speaks in the video ad says: “The way our city is set up, there are so many pockets of multicultural groups.

From April of last year to April of this year, tourism was down 3.5% and Ronald and his war on African-Americans and LGBTQ+ communities was a lot less obvious to the country back then.