Politics Plus

Yesterday, I was grieved to learn from Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter (it comes in the middle of the night) that Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of JJapan, had been shot, and even more grieved to learn he had died from it. I put the news in a comment in yesterda’s OT, adding I had (politically speaking) fallen in love with him upon seeing his reaction to Trump**. I went looking for the picture, and eventually found it, and I reproduce it above the cartoon to refresh everyon’e memories. Later, I received an almost complete grocery delivery – no substitutions, only one item shorted, and I received two of it out of four ordered – so that was a success. I got it mostly put away within an hour.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – Abortion decision cherry-picks history – when the US Constitution was ratified, women had much more autonomy over abortion decisions than during 19th century
Quote – But in his rather selective forays into history, Alito doesn’t ask what to me, as a historian, constitutes a set of fundamental questions: Why was abortion eventually criminalized during that time? What was the broad cultural and intellectual context of that period? And, more important, is there something peculiar about the 19th century? As far as women’s bodies and abortion are concerned, the 19th century saw a decrease in the trust in, and power of, women themselves.
Click through for history. For most of my life, it appeared to be that someone who had risen to the level of a Justice on the Supreme court may not have known everything, but they did know enough not to discuss, particularly in decisions, anything they knew nothing about.

Crooks & Liars – Trumpers Sure Seem Happy That Georgia Guidestones Were Destroyed
Quote – Part of a mysterious Georgia monument was destroyed by an explosive device on Wednesday, and conservatives seem really happy about that even though it’s an illegal act which prompted an active police investigation in Elberton, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. And now the monument has been leveled.
Click through for more. I had never heard of them either – the last time I was in Georigia was around 1970, and they didn’t go up until 1979-1980. Really, the only mystery is probably who paid for them. They wre for pretty sure supposed to give guidance after a nuclear war destroyed almost everything. Wikipedia has good details and Beau did a video on them. But RWNJ’s never met a conspiracy theory they didn’t love.

Food For Thought