I am a woman who came of age in the 1950s, long before abortion was legal. It happened, but, if women were lucky, it happened behind closed doors in doctor's offices; if they weren't lucky it happened under circumstances that were iffy at best and more likely dangerous.
There were thousands of adoption facilities across the country, mostly run by the Catholic Church, and many of those kids were fostered out to anybody who wanted them, often as workhorses rather than members of a real family. Their lives weren't always made easier by being born to women who couldn't keep them.
Women have been fighting the unfairness behind being the only member of a species who can give birth but still having no rights over their own bodies for centuries. Here in this country we women gave it our all for years, fighting for rights we didn't always feel we were entitled to, until finally Roe v Wade became law. It was never the miracle we were hoping for. It never really gave legitimacy to our decisions about abortion. Our fight has never been over.
And here we are again, still fighting to keep our privacy, our rights, our need to make wrenching decisions without fear of judgement, let alone interference. We've been telling you how it was, how we feel, and why this should never happen again--and we have years of experience fighting this battle.
We're tired, we're demoralized, we're sickened by the lack of progress. Think of it. I'm soon to be 84 years old. That means for upwards of 60 years I've been in the midst of this battle, cheering us on, wiping our tears, watching as it all falls apart. Again and again. And I'm one of millions of women who have been there and done that.
I've written about it more times than I can count, and I'm not the only one. We were there. We know how it was and why we can never go back. I wrote about it again yesterday on my Substack page, Constant Commoner. It was a repeat of a piece I wrote in 2018, when things were heating up again, and when I went to write something about the Texas decision yesterday I realized everything I'd said in 2018 (and in 2011, 2012, 2013, etc.) still fit on September 1, 2021.
It breaks my heart that this is so. After so many years of battling against those outside forces, we're losing. Women are losing. So at least talk to women. I'm sorry, but men can't possibly understand the depths of it, or even begin to explain it. Give the soapboxes over to women who saw it, lived it, and are still out there fighting what looks to be a lost cause. All those major voices calling for us to rise up and fight for our bodies, ourselves--they're still out there. Seek them out and give them a chance to speak. It's the least this country can do.
I know we focus here about the media and certainly it failed miserably regarding the abortion law in Texas. But it also needs to be said that this decision by the Supreme Court to not even comment regarding the Texas law has its roots in the last five years of failed politics, largely aided and abetted by the mainstream media that favors access over content. A special shout out and thank you to Jill Stein, the Bernie Bros, Susan Sarandon and all the voters who couldn't get themselves to vote for Hilary Clinton in 2016 because of her fucking emails or perhaps it was her pantsuits. You voters are ultimately the reason whey this Texas bill passed. What the Republicans do so well is they stick together to a fault. Meanwhile the infighting and petty disagreements within the Democratic Party allowed Donald Trump to take advantage of an archaic electoral collage system designed to protect slave owning states. The result of which gave us three conservative picks to the SCOTUS, two of them clearly unqualified. Well some might say, it only happened in Texas. Sure but now other states see how lame and unwilling SCOTUS is to defend the law of the land. What state will be next to roll back Row vs. Wade or other laws the right wing finds abhorrent? The Texas abortion bill deserved a lot more print than the successful evacuation of 120k for from Afghanistan. So does the continuing coup to erode our democracy forever and how about our damaged climate that scientists now say that we are at the precipice of being too late? These are all big stories but as long as the media plays cheerleaders for the Republicans, most Americans unfortunately will remain in the dark and find out too late to do anything about them.
I apologize to everyone here for yelling "Kill Whitey" over this abomination in Texas.
As a non-American who was frequent consumer of cable news from the U.S., it's interesting to see how the mainstream news media establishment is just as guilty or even worse than Fox "News" for not doing its job properly and resorting to dishonest reporting in order to get clicks and revenue. The recent attacks against President Biden over how he handled the evacuation of American troops and personnel reminded me of how the media here in my country (Philippines) treated the late president Benigno "Nonoy" Aquino the 3rd. He was trying to help rebuild the Philippine economy and public trust in the government. However, like the American media establishment, the media treated him very harshly for things he wasn't directly involved in (e.g. the Luneta hostage incident in 2011), things which he was somewhat involved in (the gunfight between Special Action Forces and Islamic insurgents in Mamasapano), and things which he wasn't in his purview (traffic, Metro Rail Transit). Despite the relentless and often undeserved criticism, he managed to leave the country with a robust economy and a massive government surplus. However, like the American media treated Donald Trump, the media here in the Philippines treated Aquino's successor Rodrigo Duterte like a celebrity despite his vulgar rhetoric & murderous background as Davao City Mayor. Now, the Philippines is once again the "Sick Man of Asia" due to the government's disastrous Covid-19 response and failing economy. Add to that, the recent exposés on massive corruption committed by officials close to Duterte during the pandemic. Recently started reading this blog because I didn't like the over-the-top negative coverage the Biden was getting from cable news outlets like CNN. Reading about how veteran war correspondents like NBC's Richard Engel engaging in dishonest reporting made me feel like giving him a punch in the face for that (not "fake news", just dishonest reporting). It bothers me that people that would be considered "respectable" journalists like Jake Tapper are engaging in shtick that they usually criticize Fox News, NewsMax and O.A.N. for doing. The Afghan evacuation wasn't going to be as clean & orderly as those idiots thought it should be. They shouldn't have editorialized it or invited Republicans to trash it since the G.O.P. started this whole mess to begin with. What is wrong with straight and factual reporting on an unfolding event that's going to be as chaotic and disorganized as expected? Why are they focused on the bottomline that they forgot to do their jobs? Why are they so afraid to the conservative media ecosystem that constantly attacks them? It would be better if they just cancel out the noise and focus on the story that's happening.
And last night the SCOTUS voted 5-4 to let the law stand. Gee, no one could have known how Amy Coney would vote on abortion. Hope Collins & Murkowski are happy with how they played their voters.
Also, liberals need to stop thanking Roberts for "siding with the liberal justices". When he knows there are 5 against he plays politics to make it look like he's reasonable.
Oh, and when do we investigate why Kennedy retired, and who cleared up all of "I like beer's" debt?
It seems the msm cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. I’d love to see reporters digging into the ‘righteous’ anti abortion folks and their $$ behind this abomination of a law, and, as Eric emphasizes, where are the stories about women who have had abortions? Ask any pro choice woman of my era, pre Rowe, about conditions in those days; eg 2 of my 19 year old college roommates, desperate and alone, shamed, snuck into Philadelphia for a dangerous, illegal procedure performed by some quack referred to them by other 19 year old women in the same awful situation. One tried to end her pregnancy with a knitting needle, not unheard of in those days. Shame on the msm for ignoring this huge story only to spend hours and hours ranting and raving over the ‘debacle’ of the Afghan evacuation. Thanks, Eric, for highlighting this dereliction of duty among the msm. Another enraging failure by the press.
Hypocrisy is the coin of the realm over in Wingnuttia, but getting teary-eyed over "the babies" is especially brazen coming from the same nitwits who screech about masking school kids and cheer when their elected reps vote to reduce food stamp (SNAP) benefits. And remember - over there - "choice" is reserved for anti-vaxxers.
Theirs is a very long con. Orrin Hatch coaxing nominees to affirm 'settled law' and all. Performative piffle used to be the worst trick in their book. Seems like 'an informed electorate' never really was a thing. The press killed its chances long ago. Great read, Eric.
How long will it take other red states to pass similar laws? Not long (Florida already looks to jump to the front of the line.) We are moving rapidly into the setting of a dystopian novel. Not just regarding abortions. Anything is fair game as Republicans work feverishly to turn the country into a hellscape of holier-than-though fascist vigilantes policing our lives. And now legally packing concealed guns, no permits needed.
The media, pinballing between breaking news stories, by and large doesn't appear equipped to deal with heretofore inconceivable challenges to the nation's future. And lots of them.
It wasn't until Rachel Maddow broke the story on her show that it became national news. What I do know is that here in Texas, our state legislature is made up of many, many rural and isolated white males who have an evangelical bent toward the biblical submission of women. These men epitomize the Republican party in all of its dystopian ways through legislation. They now have an Open Carry gun law which allows anyone to openly carry a gun without a permit. We are hoping to remove our current governor-- who is a Trumper by the way--in the next election. Our state is moving toward being more purple. We welcome anyone who is blue to move here.
The fundamentalists have blamed women since Eve at the apple, but they never blame the snake.
Our Failed Political Press ™ is in mostly male newsrooms, with (mostly) male editors making decisions. A “woman’s issue” is never going to be above the fold as long as this is the case.
When the newsrooms start looking like America with equal representation of women minorities, maybe this perception of “less important” stories will finally change?
Side note: in high school I drove a classmate I had known since kindergarten to Planned Parenthood; her boyfriend headed for the hills. Under this new Texas law, I would be targeted for driving her there and the boyfriend would remain unfettered. This Texas law is utterly perverse.
What TRULY scares me is how the 5 radical Xtians on the court have given the green light to neighbors snooping on each other...JUST LIKE THEY DID IN EAST GERMANY!
Setting up websites for the purpose of getting the vigilante bubbas a way to claim their ten grand for squealing on their neighbors? And giving them a free pass to carry guns? Without any permit, training, background checks...concealed? (felons & wifebeaters exepted, thank God)? Where are the Earp brothers when you need 'em? At least they banned guns in town. (and got shot at for it...)
The media's lightweight coverage of the Texas ban is a mystery (maybe) but with answers.
The given, yet again, is that he mainstream media are primarily establishment propaganda outlets, which is to say conservative and GOP-promoting. That's a start but the big problem is that there's let's say a black hole, a huge gravitational pull. Anything like honest, competent reporting requires acknowledging that what SCOTUS did was to say the control of precedent is no longer all that applicable. Their 5-4 vote (like the breadth of voting restrictions) says precedent is bullshit and that they'll happily base a decision on party-serving whim and nothing more; no law-based decisions needed. (This has of course been an ongoing issue with the Roberts court as well as an ongoing failure of the media.) But acknowledging how the GOP majority on SCOTUS rolls is beyond anything the mainstream would or could do, a bridge too far for them. Indeed, any reporting that doesn't start by noting the lawlessness of the decision -- *that* precedent -- is failing.
Another factor is that honest reporting on this implicitly defends the right to abortion which would upset conservatives, maybe even some Republican pols who don't engage in media bashing as part of their shticks, so another reason not to report accurately and honestly.
Not going to say the mainstream always fails but when they don't, it's the rare exception that proves the rule. And TBH, their failure is so frequent that their essentially toxic and should be ignored other than as a study, as it were, in the nation's collapse (again, the failure of a true national Covid response is just the latest big example).
The media is like a bee hive,made of mostly worker bees blindly producing honey($$$$$) for their Queen bee who only answers to the owners of the hive.The last 5 years have produced a lot of “honey” for these owners without any danger of being “stung”.
Anything Plant and Krauss do is fantastic but the original-
I am a woman who came of age in the 1950s, long before abortion was legal. It happened, but, if women were lucky, it happened behind closed doors in doctor's offices; if they weren't lucky it happened under circumstances that were iffy at best and more likely dangerous.
There were thousands of adoption facilities across the country, mostly run by the Catholic Church, and many of those kids were fostered out to anybody who wanted them, often as workhorses rather than members of a real family. Their lives weren't always made easier by being born to women who couldn't keep them.
Women have been fighting the unfairness behind being the only member of a species who can give birth but still having no rights over their own bodies for centuries. Here in this country we women gave it our all for years, fighting for rights we didn't always feel we were entitled to, until finally Roe v Wade became law. It was never the miracle we were hoping for. It never really gave legitimacy to our decisions about abortion. Our fight has never been over.
And here we are again, still fighting to keep our privacy, our rights, our need to make wrenching decisions without fear of judgement, let alone interference. We've been telling you how it was, how we feel, and why this should never happen again--and we have years of experience fighting this battle.
We're tired, we're demoralized, we're sickened by the lack of progress. Think of it. I'm soon to be 84 years old. That means for upwards of 60 years I've been in the midst of this battle, cheering us on, wiping our tears, watching as it all falls apart. Again and again. And I'm one of millions of women who have been there and done that.
I've written about it more times than I can count, and I'm not the only one. We were there. We know how it was and why we can never go back. I wrote about it again yesterday on my Substack page, Constant Commoner. It was a repeat of a piece I wrote in 2018, when things were heating up again, and when I went to write something about the Texas decision yesterday I realized everything I'd said in 2018 (and in 2011, 2012, 2013, etc.) still fit on September 1, 2021.
It breaks my heart that this is so. After so many years of battling against those outside forces, we're losing. Women are losing. So at least talk to women. I'm sorry, but men can't possibly understand the depths of it, or even begin to explain it. Give the soapboxes over to women who saw it, lived it, and are still out there fighting what looks to be a lost cause. All those major voices calling for us to rise up and fight for our bodies, ourselves--they're still out there. Seek them out and give them a chance to speak. It's the least this country can do.
I know we focus here about the media and certainly it failed miserably regarding the abortion law in Texas. But it also needs to be said that this decision by the Supreme Court to not even comment regarding the Texas law has its roots in the last five years of failed politics, largely aided and abetted by the mainstream media that favors access over content. A special shout out and thank you to Jill Stein, the Bernie Bros, Susan Sarandon and all the voters who couldn't get themselves to vote for Hilary Clinton in 2016 because of her fucking emails or perhaps it was her pantsuits. You voters are ultimately the reason whey this Texas bill passed. What the Republicans do so well is they stick together to a fault. Meanwhile the infighting and petty disagreements within the Democratic Party allowed Donald Trump to take advantage of an archaic electoral collage system designed to protect slave owning states. The result of which gave us three conservative picks to the SCOTUS, two of them clearly unqualified. Well some might say, it only happened in Texas. Sure but now other states see how lame and unwilling SCOTUS is to defend the law of the land. What state will be next to roll back Row vs. Wade or other laws the right wing finds abhorrent? The Texas abortion bill deserved a lot more print than the successful evacuation of 120k for from Afghanistan. So does the continuing coup to erode our democracy forever and how about our damaged climate that scientists now say that we are at the precipice of being too late? These are all big stories but as long as the media plays cheerleaders for the Republicans, most Americans unfortunately will remain in the dark and find out too late to do anything about them.
Media was crowing about the fate of women and girls under the Taliban, yet silent on the the treatment of women and girls in TX and the US in general.
I apologize to everyone here for yelling "Kill Whitey" over this abomination in Texas.
As a non-American who was frequent consumer of cable news from the U.S., it's interesting to see how the mainstream news media establishment is just as guilty or even worse than Fox "News" for not doing its job properly and resorting to dishonest reporting in order to get clicks and revenue. The recent attacks against President Biden over how he handled the evacuation of American troops and personnel reminded me of how the media here in my country (Philippines) treated the late president Benigno "Nonoy" Aquino the 3rd. He was trying to help rebuild the Philippine economy and public trust in the government. However, like the American media establishment, the media treated him very harshly for things he wasn't directly involved in (e.g. the Luneta hostage incident in 2011), things which he was somewhat involved in (the gunfight between Special Action Forces and Islamic insurgents in Mamasapano), and things which he wasn't in his purview (traffic, Metro Rail Transit). Despite the relentless and often undeserved criticism, he managed to leave the country with a robust economy and a massive government surplus. However, like the American media treated Donald Trump, the media here in the Philippines treated Aquino's successor Rodrigo Duterte like a celebrity despite his vulgar rhetoric & murderous background as Davao City Mayor. Now, the Philippines is once again the "Sick Man of Asia" due to the government's disastrous Covid-19 response and failing economy. Add to that, the recent exposés on massive corruption committed by officials close to Duterte during the pandemic. Recently started reading this blog because I didn't like the over-the-top negative coverage the Biden was getting from cable news outlets like CNN. Reading about how veteran war correspondents like NBC's Richard Engel engaging in dishonest reporting made me feel like giving him a punch in the face for that (not "fake news", just dishonest reporting). It bothers me that people that would be considered "respectable" journalists like Jake Tapper are engaging in shtick that they usually criticize Fox News, NewsMax and O.A.N. for doing. The Afghan evacuation wasn't going to be as clean & orderly as those idiots thought it should be. They shouldn't have editorialized it or invited Republicans to trash it since the G.O.P. started this whole mess to begin with. What is wrong with straight and factual reporting on an unfolding event that's going to be as chaotic and disorganized as expected? Why are they focused on the bottomline that they forgot to do their jobs? Why are they so afraid to the conservative media ecosystem that constantly attacks them? It would be better if they just cancel out the noise and focus on the story that's happening.
And last night the SCOTUS voted 5-4 to let the law stand. Gee, no one could have known how Amy Coney would vote on abortion. Hope Collins & Murkowski are happy with how they played their voters.
Also, liberals need to stop thanking Roberts for "siding with the liberal justices". When he knows there are 5 against he plays politics to make it look like he's reasonable.
Oh, and when do we investigate why Kennedy retired, and who cleared up all of "I like beer's" debt?
It's time to expand the court!!!
It seems the msm cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. I’d love to see reporters digging into the ‘righteous’ anti abortion folks and their $$ behind this abomination of a law, and, as Eric emphasizes, where are the stories about women who have had abortions? Ask any pro choice woman of my era, pre Rowe, about conditions in those days; eg 2 of my 19 year old college roommates, desperate and alone, shamed, snuck into Philadelphia for a dangerous, illegal procedure performed by some quack referred to them by other 19 year old women in the same awful situation. One tried to end her pregnancy with a knitting needle, not unheard of in those days. Shame on the msm for ignoring this huge story only to spend hours and hours ranting and raving over the ‘debacle’ of the Afghan evacuation. Thanks, Eric, for highlighting this dereliction of duty among the msm. Another enraging failure by the press.
Hypocrisy is the coin of the realm over in Wingnuttia, but getting teary-eyed over "the babies" is especially brazen coming from the same nitwits who screech about masking school kids and cheer when their elected reps vote to reduce food stamp (SNAP) benefits. And remember - over there - "choice" is reserved for anti-vaxxers.
Theirs is a very long con. Orrin Hatch coaxing nominees to affirm 'settled law' and all. Performative piffle used to be the worst trick in their book. Seems like 'an informed electorate' never really was a thing. The press killed its chances long ago. Great read, Eric.
How long will it take other red states to pass similar laws? Not long (Florida already looks to jump to the front of the line.) We are moving rapidly into the setting of a dystopian novel. Not just regarding abortions. Anything is fair game as Republicans work feverishly to turn the country into a hellscape of holier-than-though fascist vigilantes policing our lives. And now legally packing concealed guns, no permits needed.
The media, pinballing between breaking news stories, by and large doesn't appear equipped to deal with heretofore inconceivable challenges to the nation's future. And lots of them.
The bottom line with the DC Press Corpse is that they do not care about Roe because it will not affect them.
It wasn't until Rachel Maddow broke the story on her show that it became national news. What I do know is that here in Texas, our state legislature is made up of many, many rural and isolated white males who have an evangelical bent toward the biblical submission of women. These men epitomize the Republican party in all of its dystopian ways through legislation. They now have an Open Carry gun law which allows anyone to openly carry a gun without a permit. We are hoping to remove our current governor-- who is a Trumper by the way--in the next election. Our state is moving toward being more purple. We welcome anyone who is blue to move here.
The fundamentalists have blamed women since Eve at the apple, but they never blame the snake.
Our Failed Political Press ™ is in mostly male newsrooms, with (mostly) male editors making decisions. A “woman’s issue” is never going to be above the fold as long as this is the case.
When the newsrooms start looking like America with equal representation of women minorities, maybe this perception of “less important” stories will finally change?
Side note: in high school I drove a classmate I had known since kindergarten to Planned Parenthood; her boyfriend headed for the hills. Under this new Texas law, I would be targeted for driving her there and the boyfriend would remain unfettered. This Texas law is utterly perverse.
What TRULY scares me is how the 5 radical Xtians on the court have given the green light to neighbors snooping on each other...JUST LIKE THEY DID IN EAST GERMANY!
Setting up websites for the purpose of getting the vigilante bubbas a way to claim their ten grand for squealing on their neighbors? And giving them a free pass to carry guns? Without any permit, training, background checks...concealed? (felons & wifebeaters exepted, thank God)? Where are the Earp brothers when you need 'em? At least they banned guns in town. (and got shot at for it...)
The media's lightweight coverage of the Texas ban is a mystery (maybe) but with answers.
The given, yet again, is that he mainstream media are primarily establishment propaganda outlets, which is to say conservative and GOP-promoting. That's a start but the big problem is that there's let's say a black hole, a huge gravitational pull. Anything like honest, competent reporting requires acknowledging that what SCOTUS did was to say the control of precedent is no longer all that applicable. Their 5-4 vote (like the breadth of voting restrictions) says precedent is bullshit and that they'll happily base a decision on party-serving whim and nothing more; no law-based decisions needed. (This has of course been an ongoing issue with the Roberts court as well as an ongoing failure of the media.) But acknowledging how the GOP majority on SCOTUS rolls is beyond anything the mainstream would or could do, a bridge too far for them. Indeed, any reporting that doesn't start by noting the lawlessness of the decision -- *that* precedent -- is failing.
Another factor is that honest reporting on this implicitly defends the right to abortion which would upset conservatives, maybe even some Republican pols who don't engage in media bashing as part of their shticks, so another reason not to report accurately and honestly.
Not going to say the mainstream always fails but when they don't, it's the rare exception that proves the rule. And TBH, their failure is so frequent that their essentially toxic and should be ignored other than as a study, as it were, in the nation's collapse (again, the failure of a true national Covid response is just the latest big example).
The media is like a bee hive,made of mostly worker bees blindly producing honey($$$$$) for their Queen bee who only answers to the owners of the hive.The last 5 years have produced a lot of “honey” for these owners without any danger of being “stung”.
Anything Plant and Krauss do is fantastic but the original-
https://youtu.be/6N9xFcxS6EM