In Case You Missed It (v96)

It was another slow week for writing here at veritable pastiche. Here's a recap of the three posts that made it out the door.

Nothing really caught my eye in the classroom, so I didn't make you work for Sunday School or Extra Credit. I did, however, tempt you with another chapter in the Journal of Unpopular Opinions about the SCOTUS decision to give the decision on the legality of abortion to the states. And where many people have been posting RBG memes, I posted an article quoting her saying that Roe was the right decision for the wrong reason. It's not a privacy issue, it's an equality issue. 

There's also a lot about it that's discriminatory; I gave some examples, including these:

• Forcing motherhood on a pregnant woman is discriminatory and unequal, because fatherhood is not being forced on the man. 

• Forcing parenthood on a pregnant woman is discriminatory and unequal, because parenthood is not forced on any other women (or men). These laws unfairly favor 'pre-born' children over living children who are parentless in homes, shelters, and state-run institutions.

• Declaring that life begins at fertilization imposes a faith-based decision on all citizens, favors one set of beliefs over all others, and denies pregnant women the right to practice their religion, as guaranteed under the First Amendment. 

The unpopular ones? You can read those in the post. 

I didn't publish again until it was time for Wondering on Wednesday, which was after both Cassidy Hutchinson's in-person testimony before the January 6th Committee, and my home state's gubernatorial primary. 

Here's a bit of wondering on the former, in response to the seeming millions of Trumpworld denizens who've added expertise in all matters judicial to their already-impressive resumes, which include expertise in infectious diseases, immigration, foreign policy, economics, hamberders, golf, taxes, health insurance and more.

Hearsay - or 'Hear-Say' or 'Hear Say' or 'stuff she made up that people didn't say' - you pick - was a big topic in the Interwebs, and it got me wondering.

Hutchinson seemed very clear, to anyone who actually watched the hearings (other than the aforementioned Twitter user, who said no one was watching) about what things she was personally involved in, and what things were told to her by others. 

So, for example, when she said she texted Kevin McCarthy, one could surmise that those text messages were made available to the January 6th Committee. And I wonder why so many people who obviously didn't watch are so dead-certain about the veracity of her testimony...

On the latter, the candidates leading in the polls won, pretty easily, in both the D and R primaries. Which means that Andrew Giuliani, did not win. He did win most of the NYC vote, which is fine - he can go back there and not interrupt me here in that vast expanse called Upstate New York. He did prompt some wondering, though.

Although, now that I think about it, I do sort of wonder how Andrew, son of Rudy (My Back Hurts, but Otherwise I'm Able to Walk and Stuff Like That) Giuliani would be able to withstand the rigors of being a politician. After all, male pols are frequently given a sturdy handshake and countless bicep grips and backslaps. If he's got a glass back like his daddy, he'd be in big trouble, so it's probably good he didn't win.

And, before you know it, I turned 64, it turned July, and it was time to make the TGIF lists. In addition to SCOTUS shenanigans, and insurrection insights, there was some Biden bluster that needed to be added to a list.

President Biden has thrown his support behind a filibuster 'carveout' to codify Roe v Wade. It will take a bigly miracle for this to happen, and the chances of that are probably slim to none at best. First of all, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-Coal in Everyone's Stocking!) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Why Am I Doing This?) are opposed to doing that; second, there's bipartisan disagreement  on how far they should go with abortion legislation, and third, Sen. Pat Leahy (D- The Only Real Democratic Senator from Vermont) is going to miss at least some time as he rehabs from hip surgery, so there clearly aren't the votes.

• Good week: no one.
• Bad week: Biden and Leahy, for vastly different reasons, and Chuck Schumer, who can't wrangle his caucus to save his life.

See you later - I've got a couple of drafts I hope to get out of purgatory, and I'll give Sunday School a shot as well. 

Wondering on Wednesday 6/29/22

Ready... Set... Wonder!

The wondering is wandering today. 

I wonder why so many people think that a House committee investigation is a trial, and that a hearing room at the Capitol is the same as a courtroom? 

And why would anyone who managed the House Judiciary Committee GOP cabal's Twitter feed would think that everything Cassidy Hutchinson said yesterday - the entirety of her testimony - was hearsay? I wonder if it's because Rep. Jim (Who's Going to Play Me in Clooney's Documentary?) Jordan is the goofball behind the keyboard?

Hutchinson seemed very clear, to anyone who actually watched the hearings (other than the aforementioned Twitter user, who said no one was watching) about what things she was personally involved in, and what things were told to her by others. 

So, for example, when she said she texted Kevin McCarthy, one could surmise that those text messages were made available to the January 6th Committee. And I wonder why so many people who obviously didn't watch are so dead-certain about the veracity of her testimony...

Happily, I'm able to report that Andrew Giuliani was not successful in his bid to become the Republican nominee for governor of NY, not that I wondered a whole lot about the possibility of him winning the primary. Truth be told, I spent zero time on that. 

Although, now that I think about it, I do sort of wonder how Andrew, son of Rudy (My Back Hurts, but Otherwise I'm Able to Walk and Stuff Like That) Giuliani would be able to withstand the rigors of being a politician. After all, male pols are frequently given a sturdy handshake and countless bicep grips and backslaps. If he's got a glass back like his daddy, he'd be in big trouble, so it's probably good he didn't win.

Incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took over after the Sonofa Gov's fall from grace last year, easily won the Democratic primary. Hochul won every county in the state, most of them easily, over runner-up Jumaane Williams and Tom Suozzi, who finished a distant third. 

On the Republican side, Rep. Lee Zeldin cruised to victory over Giuliani, 2014 nominee Rob Astorino, and 'turn-around expert' Harry Wilson. I don't think any of the Rs ran a good race, really - and we never heard much at all from Williams and Suozzi. It almost felt like the Rs ran upstate and the Ds ran downstate. 

So, what's the wondering on our election results? Now that the campaign will start in earnest, how bad are things going to get, advertising-wise? Hochul's raised over $34M so far, with a goal of raising $50M-$70M by Election Day. That's a whole lot of money for a whole lot of ads, to go along with a whole lot of bill-signing still to come, I'm sure. And Zeldin? He claims over $11.5M in 'pre-primary' fundraising, so we'll be seeing a lot of him I'm sure, too. He certainly wasn't shy with his ads during the primary, and I don't think that'll change. 

Early voting turnout was "anemic" in New York City, with fewer than 90,000 people taking advantage of the opportunity, out of some 3,600,000 registered voters. Not sure how that amount of apathy will impact what happens in August, or November, but it does make me wonder if we really needed to have several days of early voting in New York.

In New York, R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his decades of sexual trafficking and racketeering; he faces additional charges in Illinois and Minnesota. My only wondering here is if any of his victims will ever feel safe and whole again. 

And finally, I'm going to drop a blanket wondering: what the heck's going on with the Supreme Court and their recent decisions, and did anyone really see all of these coming?

What's on your wondering minds tonight?

Wondering on Wednesday 4/28/21

Ready... Set... Wonder!

In no particular order, here's tonight's wondering.

The police bodycam videos in the shooting of Andrew Brown, Jr. in Elizabeth City, NC won't be shared with the public right now, although edited versions will be shared with Brown's family, supplementing the 20 seconds they've already seen. According to judge Jeffery Foster, the media organizations which had requested the video "did not have standing to petition for release, and that the public release could harm the reputation or safety of the deputies depicted in it and affect the state's investigation."  

I wonder then, if releasing the videos would "affect the state's investigation," why is the district attorney releasing details of the investigation himself, to counter comments made by the family's attorney?  

I wonder why they are not allowing all members of the House and Senate to attend the president's address tonight?  I would certainly allow anyone who's been fully vaccinated (meaning, two weeks past their final shot, whether it's a two-shot regimen or the one-shot version).  And, I wonder how they decided who gets to be among the 200 or so who attend? And finally, I wonder, will Fox have a camera glued to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's face, to see what she thinks of Biden's speech?

I wonder, who are the people who particpate in the surveys on Family Feud?

Andrew Giuliani, former Special Assistant Because of His Last Name to Former Guy, was getting all kinds of hot and bothered talking to the press about the search warrants executed at his father Rudy's home and office. Among his comments? "If this can happen to the president's lawyer, this can happen to any of us." I wonder if he realizes how silly he sounds? Honestly, if this can happen to any of us, it can happen to the president's lawyer, too. That's the way it's supposed to work in America. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom will face a recall, barring a miracle that results in the tossing of a whole boatload of signatures on the petition. Among the candidates hoping to replace him? A police officer-turned-insurance broker, a familiar sight on billboards, a former adult film star, a senior pastor, and former Olympian and reality TV star. 

There's a former mayor, too - but sadly, not a sonofa former mayor. I'm wondering if we could send them Andrew Giuliani, to keep him out of the race here in NY?

Beyond this, I'm wondering about the Biden speech, and Sen. Tim Scott's response, and the punditry jibberjabber, which we can talk about later.