Yesterday, The New Yorker’s newsletter informed me that Andy Borowitz has a new book out. It’s called, “Profiles in Ignorance.” In fact, so many newsletters were so informative today on interesting but less-than-earthshaking news the=at I was spoikled for choice. Elijah Cummings potrait was unveiled Wednesday (there’s a grammatical error in this one – it should be “lay in state,” not “lied in state.”) Heather Cox Richardson has a good overview of presidential (including their staff) lawlessness through the years. Axios has a story on the “Twitter Whistleblower,” about whom Beau of the Fifth Column says, “If we were scuba diving together, and he told me my bears was on fire, I’d blieve him.” And The Nib has an extended graphic story on the fraudulent lending practices of the nineties. And, in a story which is all over but can wait, the potential railroad strike appears to have been averted.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The 19th – The Affordable Care Act’s biggest gender-based protections are under threat
Quote – After a federal court decided that HIV prevention medication does not need to be covered under the Affordable Care Act, experts fear that many other reproductive health services — screening for sexually transmitted infections, breastfeeding counseling and even contraceptive care — could now be threatened. The ruling’s scope — including the nuances of how it could affect people’s insurance plans — will be addressed at a hearing [today]. If upheld, the case could ultimately reverse one of the most significant reforms established by the ACA, with particular impact on the law’s gender-based health protections.
Click through for full article. These are the same “I’ve got mine, screw you” jerks who think they shouldn’t have to pay union dues, when in fact without the union their pay would be 50% less (and they’d have no weekends.) I think if they don’t want to be a part of the community, we should accomodate them in that by kicking them out.
Mother Jones – The Stigma of “Late-Term Abortions” Is the Point
Quote – As Laurie Bertram Roberts, who runs the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund, puts it, the seemingly arbitrary 15-week mark “was right there where people start getting a little bit like, ‘Well, why would someone need an abortion that late?’” The reasons why people get them are often not all that different from “early-term” ones; in fact, many patients want to get their abortions earlier—but stigma, paired with the ever-growing net of restrictions pushed by lawmakers who claim to want to “protect women,” creates barriers that push people further into pregnancy before they can get care. Jessy Rosales knows from experience.
Click through for the full reprint. Yes, it’s from 2021, but still needs to be pointed out. As Molly Ivins said, “No pregnant woman ever waddled by a Planned Parenthood and said, ‘Gee, it’s a nice day, I think I’ll get an abortion’.”
Food For Thought
