March 29, 2024

Rural California county keeps ultra conservative official who pushed to upend voting system

(Guardian UK) Shasta county voters returned a mixed verdict on the ultra-conservative politics the rural enclave in northern California has become known for, ousting one far-right local official and offering another a political lifeline.

County residents on 5 March resoundingly declined to re-elect Patrick Jones to the board of supervisors, the county’s governing body. Jones, a leader of the local far-right movement, had repeatedly, and baselessly, argued that county and US elections are being rigged. Jones’s opponent, Matt Plummer, won the race for the seat with nearly 60% of the vote.

But on Thursday, after more than three weeks of counting votes, officials announced that voters had rejected an effort to recall Kevin Crye, another far-right supervisor on the board.

Voters opted to keep Crye on the board of supervisors with a razor-thin margin of 50 votes, according to results from the Shasta county elections office. .............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/28/california-voters-election-denialism-kevin-crye-recall

March 28, 2024

Michigan faces new abortion rights fight: Advocates rally against parental consent law

(Detroit Free Press) Abortion rights proponents say Michigan lawmakers have more work to do to remove barriers to abortion care. In a new report, advocates deliver an urgent call for lawmakers to repeal Michigan's parental consent law for minors seeking abortions, setting up the next fight over abortion access in the state after voters approved a measure to protect reproductive rights.

While efforts to repeal some abortion restrictions quickly secured a spot on Democrats' legislative agenda, Michigan's parental consent law received little attention in Lansing in the wake of the successful abortion rights ballot proposal.

Under the law, those under 18 years old must obtain the consent of a parent or legal guardian for an abortion. If they can't or choose not to, minors can go through the legal system to petition a court to waive the requirement.

"I think for so long, the judicial bypass process has been propped up as this really reasonable alternative to forced parental consent," said Kylee Sunderlin, legal services director at If/When/How, an organization of lawyers and advocates dedicated to protecting reproductive rights. ................(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2024/03/28/michigan-abortion-rights-parental-consent-law/73112131007/

March 28, 2024

"They don't have the courage to say the N-word': Baltimore mayor rips right-wing "DEI mayor" attacks

(Salon) Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott hit back at critics who called him a “DEI mayor” after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse this week.

Right-wing social media users bizarrely labeled Scott, who was elected with over 70% of the vote, “Baltimore’s DEI mayor” following a press conference on the collapse.

MSNBC host Joy Reid noted that Scott was overwhelmingly elected in a predominantly Black city.

“So by right-wing logic, a ‘diversity hire’ would have been a white man,” Reid said Wednesday. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/28/they-dont-have-the-courage-to-say-the-n-word-baltimore-mayor-rips-right-wing-dei-mayor/?in_brief=true

March 28, 2024

First the GOP came for abortion. Birth control, surrogacy and IVF are next.

First the GOP came for abortion. Birth control, surrogacy and IVF are next.
SUSAN J. DEMAS


(Michigan Advance) For girls like me who came of age in the ‘80s while the backlash to the women’s liberation movement raged, it was a profoundly confusing time.

....(snip)....

We were told that we could have high-powered jobs outside the home and raise children — cloyingly known as “having it all” — but we’d probably be miserable and the kids would suffer. (Men, on the other hand, continued to experience no such dilemma).

....(snip)....

Then the far-right U.S. Supreme Court dumped Roe v. Wade in 2022, sparking mass outrage. Perennially ignored advocates and leaders like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned that Republicans were about to reap the whirlwind from women in the upcoming midterms.

....(snip)....

Now with the 2024 election upon us, we’ve once again been treated to stories that the Dobbs effect is over, brought to you by the same pundits who told us we were being hysterical to suggest that contraception and other reproductive freedoms could be on the chopping block. ....................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/25/susan-j-demas-first-the-gop-came-for-abortion-birth-control-surrogacy-and-ivf-are-next/

March 28, 2024

On this day in 1971: Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' is the nation's top R&B song

On this day in 1971: Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ is the nation’s top R&B song
BY: KEN COLEMAN - MARCH 28, 2024 4:51 AM




(Michigan Advance) On March 28, 1971, Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” the legendary recorded track, was the nation’s top Rhythm and Blues chart song.

At the time, Gaye, a Washington, D.C., native and Motown Records legend, lived on Detroit’s Northwest side. It was recorded at the Hitsville USA record studio in Detroit.

The venerable track addresses issues that gripped America at the time, such as concerns about white police harassment and brutality in urban communities like Detroit, Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles and helped to power the American Civil Rights movement. Civil unrest occurred in the Harlem section of New York City in 1964; the Watts section of Los Angeles in 1965; and in Detroit and Newark, N.J., in 1967.



The song also lifted up a growing anti-Vietnam War movement in the United States. Massive rallies centered on the public demand to end U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia were carried out in several cities including Detroit, Ann Arbor and in Washington, D.C., during the late 1960s and early ‘70s. Then-U.S. Sen. Phil Hart (D-Birmingham) was a leading speaker during a large anti-Vietnam War rally held at the University of Michigan in 1969. ......................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/on-this-day-in-1971-marvin-gayes-whats-going-on-is-the-nations-top-rb-song/

March 28, 2024

"Submoronic pratfall of a human": "The Wire" creator slams MTG over Baltimore bridge conspiracy

(Salon) "he Wire" creator David Simon has hit out at individuals promoting baseless conspiracy theories regarding the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, which occurred after a container ship collided with one of the bridge supports around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Simon took specific aim at conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga., after she implied on X/Twitter that the tragedy could have been a terrorist attack.

"There should be a serious investigation into the horrifying tragedy of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland," Greene tweeted on Tuesday. "Is this an intentional attack or an accident?" Using the Republican's own words against her in a quote-tweet response, Simon asked, "Are you intentional or just an accident," adding, "You complete submoronic pratfall of a human being."

Simon also condemned right-wing attorney and former member of Florida's House of Representatives, Anthony Sabatini, for making an odd and unrelated claim that diversity, equity, and inclusion were at fault for the catastrophic collapse. "DEI did this," Sabatini wrote on X/Twitter. ................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/27/baltimore-bridge-marjorie-taylor-greene-david-simon/?in_brief=true

March 28, 2024

Trump Bibles make a mockery of Christianity -- and that's exactly why MAGA will eat them up

Trump Bibles make a mockery of Christianity — and that's exactly why MAGA will eat them up
Faith without morality or theology, much less that "soyboy" Jesus? Sign MAGA Republicans up!

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 28, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Earlier this week, Donald Trump unveiled his newest grift to squeeze money out of his cult followers: Trump-branded Bibles. Claiming the book contains the "King James version" and "also includes the Founding Father [sic] documents," Trump promised "you have to have it for your heart, for your soul." The screenshots of the video are funny by themselves, but I highly recommend watching the ad Trump cut for these Bibles. Trump radiates total contempt for Christianity.

This is Trump in his angry-bored mode, letting viewers know with his listless tone and posture that he thinks all this Bible stuff is dumb. The not-at-all subtle message of the video is that Trump doesn't believe any of this faith-in-God crap, but he definitely believes in using Christian identity as a weapon to make money and dominate his foes.

....(snip)....

It's a point I've made many times myself. But it's time to consider the strong possibility that Trump's disdain towards the practice and theological beliefs of Christianity is not a surprise to his followers. It's likely a selling point that Trump's version of "Christianity" is void of faith and morality. His pitch to his followers has a certain appeal: They can have the identity "Christian," and all the power that goes with it, minus the parts they don't like. No boring church services or Bible study. No tedious talk about "compassion" and "grace," which only gets in the way of the gay-bashing and racism. And definitely no need to worry about that Jesus guy, with all his notions about "loving thy neighbor" and "welcoming the stranger."

....(snip)....

Not that it matters, of course. The pages of Trump's "Bible" could all be blank, and there's a good chance no one would ever know it. In the right-wing publishing industry, books are not made to be read. They are to be displayed on your shelves, unopened, so you can glance at them and feel that somewhere, a liberal is "owned." (When I visit right-wing relatives, I open the books on their shelves. I enjoy cracking the spine and getting that new book smell, even off tomes I have to blow an inch of dust off.) The point of a Trump-branded Bible is to use it like their Dear Leader does: As a photo prop, not something to turn to for guidance or wisdom. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/28/bibles-make-a-mockery-of-christianity--and-thats-exactly-why-maga-will-eat-them-up/

March 27, 2024

Whitmer and Nessel say abortion pill case is part of continued attacks on reproductive rights

(Michigan Advance) As justices heard oral arguments Tuesday in a high-stakes case that could limit access to a common pharmaceutical used in both medication abortion and miscarriage care, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel blasted any attempt to restrict mifepristone.

“If the anti-reproductive freedom majority on SCOTUS bans mifepristone, or reimposes medically unnecessary restrictions on its use, it will impede access to the most commonly used method of abortion for every woman in American. Even in states where abortion rights are protected like Michigan, the decision would severely limit people’s right to make one of the most important decisions about their family in consultation with their doctor,” Whitmer said in a statement.

Michigan voters approved Proposal 3 in 2022 guaranteeing the right to abortion in the constitution following a June SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade. However, the Supreme Court’s decision in the mifepristone case could have implications nationwide. The Democratic governor called it part of “a nationwide assault on our reproductive health.”



Nessel, who’s also a Democrat, issued a statement on behalf of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign slamming his likely opponent, former President Donald Trump. .....................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/26/whitmer-and-nessel-say-abortion-pill-case-is-part-of-continued-attacks-on-reproductive-rights/

March 27, 2024

Of course the lawyer trying to ban abortion pills is married to Josh "Run For Your Life" Hawley

Of course the lawyer trying to ban abortion pills is married to Josh "Run For Your Life" Hawley
Erin Hawley continues the proud GOP tradition of women building their careers by ruining other women's lives

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 27, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the group that argued against the abortion pill before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, does not hide that its goal goes well beyond ending access to abortion, as they successfully overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Alan Sears, the head of ADF, explained as much to David Kirkpatrick of the New Yorker last year, arguing that "the birth control pill was a mistake" and expressing a belief that his group could destroy access to the pill. It was yet another reminder that ADF and their Republican allies aren't "pro-life," but simply misogynists who wish to roll back decades of women's progress.

But they also know that's a bad look. So during Tuesday's Supreme Court arguments over the legality of the abortion pill, ADF used a favorite Republican trick to conceal misogynist intent: Have a lady say it. Erin Hawley was tapped to play the role of the snarling church lady pretending to "protect" the naughty sex-havers from having a say over their own bodies. Yep, that's the wife of Sen. Josh "Hauling A**" Hawley, R-Mo., infamous for cheering on Jan. 6 rioters before fleeing for his life after the insurrectionists breached the barricades around the Capitol.

Erin Hawley is the latest in a long line of Republican women who have built successful careers by destroying the lives of other women. Hawley has been incredibly lucky in life, graduating from Yale Law and clerking at the Supreme Court. She is now using that impressive resume to deny the same opportunities to other women. She was part of the legal team that successfully argued to repeal Roe v. Wade, for example, allowing her home state of Missouri to undermine the futures of countless girls and women through forced childbirth. Tuesday, she took the fight even more national, pretending to believe abortion pills cause "harm." Her proposed remedy to this imaginary problem: more forced pregnancy and childbirth, processes she and the conservative judges pretended are a pain-free experience for all those who endure it.

....(snip)....

In one especially chilling moment, Hawley argued that more women were seeking aftercare for abortions at emergency rooms instead of from the doctor who provided the abortion, raising the (still extremely slim) chances her clients might be asked to help a patient post-abortion. What she failed to mention is that she, personally, is largely to blame for this shift. She was part of the legal team that obtained the Dobbs decision that allowed states to ban abortion. This forced thousands of women to seek abortion from out-of-state providers. If those women return home and experience symptoms that concern them, they can't just go to the far-away doctor who first gave them the pills, but now have to go to the emergency room instead. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/27/of-course-the-lawyer-trying-to-ban-abortion-pills-is-married-to-josh-run-for-your-life-hawley/

March 27, 2024

"Hastening his deterioration": Dr. John Gartner on impact of court trials on "Trump's fragile brain"

"Hastening his deterioration": Dr. John Gartner on impact of court trials on "Trump’s fragile brain"
"He is cognitively weak and closer than you might think to being completely disabled"

By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 26, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) Donald Trump’s already abominable behavior has been getting much worse in these last few weeks – and there may be a physiological component to it. In a series of conversations here at Salon, Dr. John Gartner, who is a prominent psychologist and contributor to the bestselling book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President", has been warning that Trump appears to be suffering from serious cognitive challenges as manifest by his speech, memory, and other behavior. In an attempt to raise public awareness about Donald Trump’s apparent cognitive challenges and the extreme danger they represent to the nation if he were to take back the White House, and in essence be a type of mad king dictator, Gartner has started a petition at Change.org called “We diagnose Trump with probable dementia: A petition for licensed professionals only.”

....(snip)....

At a rally in Ohio, Donald Trump again exhibited symptoms of something apparently being wrong neurologically. Trump ties to turn it all into a joke by claiming he is being intentional and it is part of his performance. But at this point such deflections have no credibility, even given the ex-president’s “challenging” relationship with the truth and reality. You and your colleagues’ warnings and predictions appear to be proven correct almost every week.

Our Trump dementia-watch weekly round-up is becoming a regular ritual for one simple reason: Trump can’t go a full week without displaying gross signs of what appears to be dementia. This week he said “Joe Biden beat Barack Hussein Obama. Ever heard of him?” Donald Trump is disoriented. He doesn’t know who the president is, who he’s running against in the primary, or whether E. Jean Carrol is his wife. (I’m not trying to be funny, but it reminds me of the Oliver Sacks book, “The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat.”) In my opinion, this is brain damage. There is no medically credible explanation for these occurrences that doesn’t not involve brain damage, most probably dementia. These telltale signs used to be more intermittent, but his apparent dementia is progressing at an accelerating rate, as is normal for the illness. But at some point, these patients fall off a cognitive cliff and become suddenly incapable of independent living. Given the accelerating rate of Trump’s apparent decline, it’s almost certain he would become incapacitated while in office. The man with the nuclear codes would be wandering around the White House in an angry agitated fog of confusion.

....(snip)....

Your petition at Change.org is gaining momentum. What is happening?

.........But thanks to the petition, we’re breaking through. Newsweek has reported on it. And for the second week in a row, Jennifer Rubin praised Salon in her Washington Post column for breaking this story: “Salon, one of the few outlets to take Trump’s cognitive decline seriously, displayed this headline: “‘Experts are desperate to warn the public’: Hundreds sign Dr. John Gartner’s Trump dementia petition.” The article’s description reads, “They see the signs of Trump’s cognitive decline through the eyes of years of training and experience.” That succinctly spelled out the basic facts surrounding a petition signed by hundreds of mental health professionals, pointing to obvious signs of Trump’s mental dysfunction.”

....(snip)....

If Donald Trump’s behavior continues to decline in an obvious way to the point where it can no longer be denied, will his MAGA followers leave him? Will seeing their personal superhero and god made mortal break the psychological adhesion?

I don’t think it will separate him from his followers. Their cultish idealization of him is an addictive drug. As long as Trump can spew hate, and do a funny little dance on stage, his followers will be satisfied, even if he’s so disoriented that he doesn’t actually know where he is. The people who can be influenced are independents and Republicans who voted for Nikki Haley. The election may come down to their gut feeling about which candidate is “stronger.” Trump gives the appearance of strength with his hypomanic bluster and braggadocio, but he is cognitively weak and closer than you might think to being completely disabled. ..............................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/26/hastening-his-deterioration-dr-john-gartner-on-impact-of-trials-on-trumps-fragile-brain/