Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Come on, man.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Rainy Miscellany (Open Thread)

Rainy Miscellany (Open Thread)

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Yesterday, as Parkland students held “die-ins” at Publix supermarkets, the popular Florida-based grocery chain announced that it was suspending all political campaign donations. This is huge fucking deal. Publix is Florida’s largest employer. It had donated more than $600K to self-proclaimed “NRA sellout” Adam Putnam’s campaign for governor.

Putnam has been a fixture in the FL GOP for ages and currently is the state’s commissioner of agriculture. I think most folks expected him to skate to the GOP gubernatorial nomination, but Trump stuck his big fat snout into the race by endorsing a Republican congressman, and now all the Republican contenders are trying to out-wingnut each other by humping guns and huffing Dear Leader’s farts. Putnam will likely still win, but it’s not a sure thing.

Anyway, the capitulation of Publix is a big relief for me personally since I shop there and was not looking forward to boycotting it over the holiday weekend. Gonna make a big pot of red sauce since we’re on the dirty side of a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and thus will not be able to cook out.

In other news, it looks like Ireland threw off the shackles of the Catholic Church and decisively defeated the abortion ban in yesterday’s referendum. Well done, Ireland! Aside from robbing women of their autonomy, the ban had led to needless deaths, such as that of Indian national Savita Halappanavar.

From what I heard on NPR, no one saw the amendment going down by a big margin, which it seems has happened. May oppressors worldwide — and here at home! — continue to be surprised by an active citizenry!

Speaking of which, maybe call your senators and congresscritters about the hideous, shameful Nazi-like behavior of ICE?

This morning, Trump is absurdly trying to gaslight people about a cruel initiative publicly announced by his own minions to appease Trump:

What a fucking lunatic, but the silver lining may be that even that amoral cockroach dimly senses that Americans are ashamed of the way ICE is treating families who are seeking asylum.

Anyhoo, open thread!

Reader Interactions

92Comments

  2. 2.

    schrodingers_cat

    Fucking DHS just announced additional 15,000 H2-B visas for this year, the kind the Orange Despot uses at his various properties. Can some journalist find out how many H2-B visas his businesses used last year?

  3. 3.

    germy

    Thanks to a number of emailers but particularly TPM Reader JB, I think I now have the answer. There was once an actual ‘White House Gift Shop’ in the basement of the Old Executive Office Building. But the current ‘The White House Gift Shop’ is a private for profit company which has no connection to the White House or the Secret Service or any other government entity, despite that fact that it seems to go to some lengths to give the impression that it does.

    Here’s the story. The White House Gift Shop is wholly owned by Giannini Strategic Enterprises, LLC located in an office on 301 Front St in Lititz, PA and incorporated in Pennsylvania. That’s where the store is located too. GSE is owned by Anthony Giannini, who is also the CEO and Executive Director of ‘The White House Gift Shop.’

  4. 4.

    Lizzy L

    Personal update: Juicers, my family and I can use your thoughts and prayers. Last week my brother had surgery for cancer, which required, among other things, removal of a kidney. Yesterday they saw signs of internal bleeding. They took him back to surgery and discovered a laceration in his liver, which they tried unsuccessfully to repair. They then tried a radiological procedure repair. They do not know if it worked. He is in ICU on a ventilator — something which he did not want, but since he did not bother to give the hospital his Advance Directive paperwork, they didn’t know.

    I am flying this morning to Phoenix to help support my niece as she makes the difficult decision: to keep him on machines in hope that he will regain consciousness and that his brain is undamaged, or to remove the breathing tube. He is my only brother. She is a lovely responsible person, but she is only in her twenties, her mother died of cancer 3 years ago, and she adores her dad. As do I.

    FFS, make an Advance Directive, friends, and if you go into the hospital, make sure they have it!

  5. 5.

    ArchTeryx

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Here be the modern, American Gestapo. Today they’re “just” being unleashed on immigrants and the occasional brown citizen. Tomorrow, they could easily be unleashed on you. They’re as lawless as any Cossack death squad and just as dangerous.

  6. 6.

    Luthe

    What a fucking lunatic, but the silver lining may be that even that amoral cockroach dimly senses that Americans are ashamed of the way ICE is treating families who are seeking asylum.

    Define “Americans.” Also, “shame.” Because at least 30% of this country are out there in the cheering for ICE’s depravity and another 10-15% don’t care that much.

    Shame is for people who give a shit to begin with.

  9. 9.

    Anotherlurker

    This is off topic, but for the last 2 or 3 days, as I have been reading articles and comments here, something weird happens. The page will suddely send me to a video at the bottom of the page. It is making it difficult for me to read the content.
    I am not very tech savvy. Could this be a problem with my computer (MacBook Lite, 10.13.4 High Sierra) or does everything tech hate me?

  10. 10.

    JPL

    Trump wants to insure that his base understands that it’s not his fault. Parents have to be outraged.

  14. 14.

    ArchTeryx

    @Luthe: Funny, those are damn close to exactly the same numbers that polled support for the Nazi Party in 1930s Germany, with the same percentage being indifferent to who was running the country. I think crazy reactionary right wingers seem to be the same percentage of a democracy throughout history. They certainly have always been with us.

  15. 15.

    PPCLI

    That might be the most gaslighting Trump tweet yet. Words fail me. Stand by for Brit Hume to tell us all that this is totally normal.

    How deep into Trump’s Alice-in-Wonderland-on-the-bad-brown-acid reality are the Republicans and Fox Newsites prepared to dive?

  16. 16.

    Mike in DC

    Why is there little to no tracking of public opinion among Latino and Hispanic-Americans on all this stuff? I mean, I’m sure that there must be, but MSM reporting on it is effectively nil.

  17. 17.

    eclare

    @Lizzy L: I’m so sorry to hear about your brother and niece. Strength to you for the coming days. And keep us posted.

  18. 18.

    Mike J

    Day two of sailing class today. No intentional capsizes scheduled, but with students at the helm you never know.

  23. 23.

    Ruviana

    @Lizzy L: I am not your family or anyone of note, but this sounds like it might be okay to aid his recovery. ICU and heroic measures to let someone recover are, I think, appropriate. I’ll hope for his very best outcome so that he recovers and resumes his life. You hopefully won’t have the decision to make and the complex treatment will have been appropriate.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lizzy L:

    Oh, Lizzy, I’m so terribly sorry. Holding you, your niece, and your brother in my heart and sending light to you all.

  25. 25.

    MattF

    @Mike J: Today, you learn how to not hit things. So, you’re going to hit many things.

    The rule, fwiw, is that you should never keep a constant bearing to any object. Because if you do, you will hit it.

  26. 26.

    Lapassionara

    I hope someone can sort out the story of the lost children. Some are blaming Obama, others are saying not lost, but hiding. Is there a law Trump is referencing, or is he making things up. I try to sift fact from fiction, but it is getting harder and harder.

  27. 27.

    JPL

    Joy is talking about the policy of ripping families apart. Although I had previously read the book, it was the movie version of Sophie’s Choice that still haunts me. The scene where she gives up her child and the cries that followed will never leave my soul. How are we allowing this to happen.

  29. 29.

    Josie

    The GOP has done many terrible things in following Trump down the rat hole, but this is the most horrible and truly proves how debased they are. There are parents and children who will never recover from these actions by our government.

  31. 31.

    ArchTeryx

    @schrodingers_cat: Not Thistles I hope. I learned on a Flying Scotsman (minus the spinnaker) and it was a really fun and very forgiving boat to learn on. Big enough for an instructor and up to two students, small enough for easy maneuvering, and a big enough sail area to maintain steerage even with almost calm winds, without being so big as to let the boat get away from you.

    Thistles (a racing boat) and single-person sailboats are the devil’s own work to sail if you don’t know what you are doing. There’s no room for supercargo on those.

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Lapassionara: Some are blaming Obama

    Of course…

    Is there a law Trump is referencing, or is he making things up.

    Republicans control both houses of congress. Trump has twice (IIRC) torpedoed immigration compromises reached by the Senate, including after that big show he made of “I’ll take the heat, I don’t care…” Then Kelly got him all riled up and we got the whole “shitholes” thing. And even if a bill gets out of the Senate, Sweet Paulie Blue Eyes will never force his membership to go on record voting on the issue.

  34. 34.

    kattails

    Thanks for the Chris Hayes video, I’ll be sharing it and talking with my representatives. An acquaintance’s son was in ICE last I heard. He was always an asshole. Then there was the killing of a poor 20-year old young woman from Guatemala who just wanted to further her education. Shot in the head.
    I was entertaining the idea of throwing Trump into the Hawaiian volcano, see if it stopped the eruption. What I hate most are the evil thoughts that spring up in my own mind as I try to process and counter the monstrous behaviors at play in this country right now.

  35. 35.

    Another Scott

    @schrodingers_cat: VOX (from February):

    3 Trump properties posted 144 openings for seasonal jobs. Only one went to a US worker.

    “America First” doesn’t seem to apply to the president’s own businesses.

    By Alexia Fernández Campbell@[email protected] Feb 13, 2018, 9:00am EST

    Presumably it’s only gotten worse.

    There’s plenty of GOP blame to go around. McClatchyDC from July 2017:

    In May, Congress authorized Homeland Security to approve an additional 70,000 H-2B visas as part of a government funding law. Those additional visas are on top of the current cap of 66,000. But there are tighter restrictions this year as returning workers count against the cap unlike in previous years, and Tillis said the cap was reached on March 13.

    Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has yet to make a final decision on the additional visas, drawing the ire of Tillis. Several North Carolina businesses have been affected by the shortage of workers.

    “Several senators, including Sen. Tillis, have concerns with DHS’ timeline because it would negatively impact North Carolina seasonal small businesses and workers this summer. The hold is in place while these concerns are being addressed with DHS,” Tillis spokesman Daniel Keylin said.

    [image]

    A DHS spokesman said the blame lies with Congress for passing the law in May, rather than September or October, which would allow more time to find seasonal summer workers. Congress also required that Kelly consult with the Department of Labor before making his decision.

    They all need to go.

    Of course.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  37. 37.

    tobie

    @Lizzy L: I’m so sorry to hear about your brother. The strain on you and your niece must be unbearable. Hold each other a lot in the next few days. I’lll be thinking of the two of you and your brother and wishing for the best.

  38. 38.

    chopper

    Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents

    “please stop me before i kill again”

  39. 39.

    trollhattan

    @Lizzy L:
    What a horrid situation–my heart goes out to you all. FWIW I’m with Ruviana that investing in an even slender chance of recovery is a viable path, and would fend off future bouts of self-doubt for your niece. Best wishes.

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Sahil Kapur @ sahilkapur
    “Horrible law” = not a law. It’s Trump administration policy that didn’t happen under Obama or Bush. POTUS has the power to reverse it and Democrats have been pushing him to.

    Here are the details and the history, the most relevant bits, for me:

    In early May, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen directed her department to refer all unauthorized immigrants who cross the U.S. border to federal prosecutors. It’s in accordance with the Department of Justice’s new “zero tolerance” policy on illegal immigration at the Southwest border.
    Parents would be sent to federal court under the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and then placed in a detention center, according to a DHS spokesperson. Their children, minors who cannot be housed in a detention center for adults, would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services for placement in a juvenile facility or foster care if they have no other adult relative in the U.S. who can take them in. […]
    Since at least the administration of George W. Bush, a Republican president, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has held many parents and children who crossed the border seeking asylum in family detention centers. Those families have been kept together until they go before an immigration judge or are formally removed from the U.S.
    Prior to that, “family units were hardly ever detained, but rather processed and released with a notice to appear at immigration court, especially if they met the credible fear of persecution criteria for a claim to asylum,” according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank that promotes bipartisan policy solutions.

  41. 41.

    Tenar Arha

    @Lizzy L: My heart goes out to you & your brother, your niece & her father. My condolences in this difficult time.

  42. 42.

    Another Scott

    @Lizzy L: Others have said it better than I can. Fingers crossed. Best wishes to you and yours.

    Hang in there,
    Scott.

  45. 45.

    Mike J

    @schrodingers_cat:

    What type of sailing vessels does the class use?

    This is our small boat class. We have
    4 RS Visions
    1 RS Quest
    1 Catalina Capri

    We also have a Hunter 17 and a Ranger 20 we don’t use in the class.

    Our keel boat classes use either our Ranger 24 or our Catalina 27.

  47. 47.

    Denali

    Thanks, Jim,Fl, for some background on this story. Because it is so shocking, it is easy to go down the rabbithole, like the misled followers of the Pizzagate fiction. Let’s demand Hearings from our Congress. I know Bob Corker was very active on sex trafficing and slavery. He should be very responsive – if not, we need to know why not.

  48. 48.

    ixnay

    A thought: an all-or-nothing gofundme account with some large goal, to go to the first performer at a national sportsball event who sings the lyrics of Masters of War to the tune of the anthem. A la The Roots or Leon Russell. (Sorry no linkee, do not know how on the Kindle.)

  49. 49.

    Mandalay

    An interesting opinion piece in the NYT today titled “Are We Really Still Calling This Shirt a ‘Wife Beater’“:

    Not long ago, an acquaintance mentioned that her dad wears “wife beaters.” She was referring to the sleeveless, ribbed undershirt also known as an A-shirt. I myself have used the term before — and I’ve worn the shirt plenty — but this time it stopped me cold. Given the torrent of revelations of abuse against women in the #MeToo era, the name suddenly seemed grossly inappropriate.

    We don’t call our pants “child molesters” or our hats “cat mutilators.” We immediately recognize such descriptions as violent and abhorrent. And yet, we somehow overlook the same when we call our shirts wife beaters. How did such a graphically violent term insinuate itself into American slang?…

    …“People aren’t calling it a wife beater because they believe that beating your wife is O.K.,” Adam Klein, an assistant professor of communication studies at Pace University, told me. But the willingness to casually evoke violence against women implies a strange double standard. “We accept misogyny as cool,” he said, even as we know that racism is unacceptable.

    Now if we can only get Bill Maher to stop gleefully calling Trump a “whiny little bitch” at every opportunity while his “liberal” audience cheers wildly….

  50. 50.

    evap

    Currently in Ireland and have been following the referendum vote (which was yesterday). Big turnout among the young and a lot of first-time voters. The US could learn from the Irish system: the polls are open 7 am – 10 pm here and there is a moratorium on election coverage by the media starting the day before the election. From the broadcasting authority:

    The moratorium remains an important measure for ensuring that fairness is achieved by the broadcast media prior to, and during, the period when citizens cast their ballot. The prohibition of electioneering and references to election issues will allow voters a period for reflection in the final stages of the election campaign.

  51. 51.

    Brachiator

    Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS.

    Probably already noted, but there is a spelling error. Or are pundits still pushing the bullshit that Trump deliberately looks stupid to appeal to his base.

    Possibly also already noted is how Trump uses the language and rationalization of a man who beats his wife, only here the spouse is the Democratic Party.

    “Baby, you made me hurt these immigrant children. If you would just act right, I would not have to separate them from their parents, or have border agents kill some of them.”

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Kind of OT, kind of not, trump is railing about a “phony story” from the NYT, so Yashar Ali called his bluff. I’m not sure how big a deal this is in journalism, but it feels like at least a minor instance of the administration, as a whole, being held accountable

    Donald J. Trump
    The Failing @ nytimes quotes “a senior White House official,” who doesn’t exist, as saying “even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.” WRONG AGAIN! Use real people, not phony sources.

    Yashar Ali ?@ yashar
    The official is Matt Pottinger who serves on the National Security Council. He briefed dozens of reporters on background.

    And can we assume that Mr Pottinger is now on the job market?

  56. 56.

    dww44

    @Lizzy L:What a difficult and tragic situation. The best to you and your niece as you navigate a difficult terrain. I, too, hold out hope that another route opens for your brother.

  58. 58.

    Barbara

    @Lizzy L: Sending you and your family best wishes as you deal with these sad developments. My heart goes out to your poor niece.

  61. 61.

    Brachiator

    @evap:

    Currently in Ireland and have been following the referendum vote (which was yesterday). Big turnout among the young and a lot of first-time voters.

    Wow. This is a big deal. What happens next? Does this change any actual laws?

  62. 62.

    Barbara

    I used to participate from time to time in a recently discontinued blog aimed at Catholic intellectuals (think professors at somewhere like Fordham). One of the regular contributors was a law professor at a Catholic university and I remember her fretting that if a Catholic hospital in the United States let a woman die rather than allow the termination of a pregnancy, it would galvanize people to do something, either about Catholic hospitals or abortion more generally. I think Savita Halappanavar’s death galvanized a lot of people in Ireland. If you are not aware of the specific facts, the short version is that at 17 weeks gestation, she went to the hospital with symptoms of what turned out to be a late miscarriage with zero likelihood of survival of the fetus. The hospital admitted her but refused to intervene to in a way that would resolve the miscarriage, over a period of more than 48 hours, and during that time a fatal infection developed. A lot of anti-choicers console themselves that nothing bad will happen if you refuse women abortions. They don’t like these hard cases because it proves that their position is built on denial and lies.

  63. 63.

    MattF

    @Brachiator: Via NYT:

    The vote repeals the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution — a 1983 measure that conferred equal rights on the fetus and the mother and banned abortion under almost all circumstances. Before the referendum, the government had pledged to pass legislation by the end of the year to allow unrestricted terminations up to 12 weeks if the amendment was set aside.

  64. 64.

    zhena gogolia

    @Mandalay:

    My father wore those shirts every hot summer throughout my childhood, but I never heard it called a “wife-beater” until I grew up and moved East. I always thought it was an icky term.

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    via tweeter Southpaw, trump wanted this. During his recent blow up at Nielsen, who almost resigned because trump hurt her feelings, but is A-OK with carrying out his vindictive, racist cruelty:

    One persistent issue has been Mr. Trump’s belief that Ms. Nielsen and other officials in the department were resisting his direction that parents be separated from their children when families cross illegally into the United States, several officials said. The president and his aides in the White House had been pushing a family separation policy for weeks as a way of deterring families from trying to cross the border illegally.

  66. 66.

    FlipYrWhig

    @zhena gogolia: I had assumed that the “wife-beater” nickname arose from the heyday of that show “Cops.” I don’t remember hearing it before that.

  68. 68.

    Brachiator

    @Barbara:

    One of the regular contributors was a law professor at a Catholic university and I remember her fretting that if a Catholic hospital in the United States let a woman die rather than allow the termination of a pregnancy, it would galvanize people to do something, either about Catholic hospitals or abortion more generally.

    There used to be a PBS show about ethics. They would have a question or a hypothetical that a diverse panel would react to.

    One show I still remember presented a situation in which a pregnant mother became seriously ill and doctors had to decide between saving the mother or saving the baby.

    A Catholic priest on the panel tried to suggest that human doctors could never be sure of the outcome despite their expertise. Divine mumbo jumbo. He went on to say that the baby should be saved over the mother because the baby was innocent life.

    Also, I note that in this hypothetical the mother was in a comma, and could not make her wishes clear. The priest discounted the father’s wishes.

  69. 69.

    gene108

    @Lizzy L:

    Thoughts and prayers, at this time, seem appropriate. This is difficult. My uncle died in February of a sudden respiratory infection. He was in the hospital for two weeks. My mom went to help my cousin. Give your niece the support you can. I am so sorry you are going through this. I hope he can make a recovery.

  73. 73.

    Geoduck

    Something interesting I only just learned about the Ireland vote: the abortion ban is/was evidently not some long-standing Catholic-Church mandated thing, but was only put into the Irish Constitution in the 1980’s, by referendum, when the anti-abortion movement first really got stirred up.

  75. 75.

    Steve on St. Simons Island

    @Denali: the attractive females were offered jobs at trump properties; the rest were incarcerated.

  76. 76.

    Barbara

    @Brachiator: She was reacting to a situation similar to that of Ms. Halappanavar that happened in an Arizona Catholic hospital, where a woman with what is called pulmonary hypertension was 11 weeks pregnant and on the verge of death. The hospital permitted physicians to terminate the pregnancy because otherwise everyone would die, and the husband and wife had given their consent. They already had three kids, and the wife had suffered this condition previously, but it kept getting worse. A doctor actually counseled her to get an abortion earlier, and she refused. The archbishop of Arizona excommunicated everyone connected with the procedure and revoked the Catholic charter of the hospital, saying that it was always wrong to terminate a viable pregnancy. It’s just hard to overstate how dehumanizing that statement is to pregnant women. It was after that that Catholic Health West, the large hospital system, withdrew from the USCC umbrella that gives all Catholic institutions their tax exempt status. There is no way they want to have their hospitals run by a prelate.

  77. 77.

    sixthdoctor

    On Chris Hayes’s feed someone posted a link to an ActBlue page that supports groups fighting against the separation policy and helping those affected:

    The incredible @karnoni at @actblue set up a page where you can support a whole bunch of these groups with a single gift. We’ll keep adding to this, but it’s a start (and feels better than screaming into the void.) https://t.co/lplNG22yke— Amanda Litman (@amandalitman) May 26, 2018

  78. 78.

    evap

    @Brachiator: No laws are changed, it is a referendum to remove Amendment 8 from the Irish constitution, which states that there is an equal right to life for the mother and fetus. This means that no abortion is allowed unless it is to save the life of the mother. Removing the amendment means that a law legalizing abortion can be passed by the government and there is a such a law already written, waiting for the results of the referendum. Abortion was already illegal (by an 1861 la) when the amendment was passed in 1983, the point of it (for the anti-choice folks) was to make sure that the law could not be changed. With the removal, the law can and will be changed.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    @Barbara: Bring that one to Pope Francis’s attention, although I suspect others already have.

    He is not down with that kind of behavior at all, and has removed a bunch of archconservative Scalia-type church leaders. That AZ archbishop needs to go. Maybe he should be sent to a prison ministry, or just plain be retired.

    Ridiculous decision, and he was not forced to make it.

    Do you have a link to that story?

  81. 81.

    Elizabelle

    @Lizzy L: All the best to you and your family. I hope your brother has the strength to pull through and recover, and if not, wish extra strength for you and your niece.

  82. 82.

    Betty Cracker

    @Lizzy L: So sorry you and your family are going through this. Peace and strength to you all. I’m sure your niece will be comforted by your presence.

  85. 85.

    Brachiator

    @Brachiator:

    Also, I note that in this hypothetical the mother was in a comma, and could not make her wishes clear. The priest discounted the father’s wishes.

    Coma, dammit.

  86. 86.

    evap

    @Brachiator: No laws are changed, it is a referendum to remove Amendment 8 from the Irish constitution, which states that there is an equal right to life for the mother and fetus. This means that no abortion is allowed unless it is to save the life of the mother. Removing the amendment means that a law legalizing abortion can be passed by the government and there is a such a law already written, waiting for the results of the referendum. Abortion was already illegal (by an 1861 law) when the amendment was passed in 1983, the point of it (for the anti-choice folks) was to make sure that the law could not be changed. With the removal, the law can and will be changed.

  87. 87.

    Zoey2020

    @Lizzy L: Keeping you and your brother and your niece in our thoughts today. Please keep us posted, and hoping for a good outcome.

  88. 88.

    Suzanne

    @Barbara: Just to follow up on that story, the nun was quietly un-excommunicated (whatever the technical term is), and she was restored to her position of leadership there. The hospital (along with others in the city) was purchased by Dignity Health, which is no longer under the Catholic Church anyway.

    Full disclosure: that hospital is a client of my office and that nun is fucking awesome. She is a constant advocate for mission-driven healthcare. Love her.

    Should also note that that whole case really pissed off people here in Phoenix, and I fully believe that cases like this alienate more people than they attract.

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    Yesterday, as Parkland students held “die-ins” at Publix supermarkets, the popular Florida-based grocery chain announced that it was suspending all political campaign donations. This is huge fucking deal. Publix is Florida’s largest employer. It had donated more than $600K to self-proclaimed “NRA sellout” Adam Putnam’s campaign for governor.

    I’m just catching up on news stories, and photos, about this. Amazing.

    These kids are great. And I love how they keep emphasizing voter registration.

  90. 90.

    Ella in New Mexico

    I’m so fucking frustrated with the people of this country.

    At least the ones in my Facebook feed who I know “don’t want to hear about politics it’s too stressful” and will completely ignore it when I post a news story about something like this but will like and comment on every single silly animal video or food meme I share. I have probably 3 that I can count on to comment or share, the rest just scroll on by. They’ve got things to do and this is just too ugly for Facebook which should be all silliness and celebrations of 5th grade graduations and margarita parties!!!

    I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your Memorial Day Bar-B-Q where you’re enjoying time with your precious little darlings and family and friends with the news that your country is literally ripping children from the arms of their parents and keeping them separated 1500 miles apart for no reason but to “deter illegal immigration”.

    I’d get rid of it but it’s still the only place I can hear about what’s going on in the lives of my family and friends. But Jesus, I’m getting there…

  91. 91.

    MomSense

    @Ella in New Mexico:

    I can’t believe this is not the front page, lead story in every paper and radio and television broadcast. Babies and children should not be used as deterrence. That’s the most cruel BS I’ve ever heard. Thank dog I don’t do the book of faces or I’d probably combust.

    They are doing this to people seeking asylum, too. That’s not illegal immigration FFS!

  92. 92.

    MattF

    @Barbara: The Arizona story is a reminder that many high-powered religious leaders are fanatics. Religious news is often covered as actions of groups of kindly old men in funny costumes– but in fact you’re often dealing with wild-eyed crazies who happen to have some gray hair.

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