“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them, it’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything,” he said in the 2005 conversation. “Grab ’em by the pussy.” (Donald Trump)

Call me cynical but with conservatives (including the Chief Justice and certain others on SCOTUS)are running around looking for a fainting couch as they lament the loss of dignity and even the privacy (ain’t that rich?) of the Supreme Court.  However, when they go channeling Donald freaking Trump I find it more than a wee bit hypocritical – and bitterly ironic.   Anyway, moving on…

Even if the opinion overturning Roe v Wade is softened a bit in the language, and stuff like citing an English jurist who lived hundreds of years ago who wrote a well known (back there, back then) treatise that among other things said marital rape was ok, and who also literally authorized burning witches is taken out the effect will be the same.   Religious fanatics (and yes, they are fanatics) will have their first wet-dream when laws outlawing abortion go into effect.   (I imagine their room will look like the trailer in the South Park episode Overlogging when Randy gets his “release”)  Unlike Murfster, while I think there might be less fervor when to comes to voting there will still be plenty because you can bet they will want to hold McConnell’s feet to the fire over his acknowledging the GOP might pass a federal law outlawing abortion.

Murfster is correct that right now Democrats, those suburban Republican women who were crucial to our gains in 2108 and the majority of Independents are far more motivated but I’m pretty sure by election time that gap will have closed.  Perhaps by a lot.  (Even if they retake Congress this fall it won’t be with veto proof majorities but 2024 is a long time off and GOP voter suppression will go into overdrive)   Meanwhile efforts by the fanatics to outlaw the most effective forms of birth control will continue.   Hell, they might even outlaw condoms again and we’ll be back to those vending machines I saw in public bathrooms growing up in the 1960s emblazoned with FOR THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE ONLY.  (The birth control equivalent to bathtub Gin kits during Prohibition)

However, the bottom line is that Alito and all but one of his Federalist Society trained, groomed and nurtured their legal careers are going to pull the trigger on their assault weapon aimed at women’s reproductive (and practically speaking other rights too) freedom.   They of course LIED during their confirmation hearings regarding what they are about to do.   Even Roberts who didn’t want to completely overturn Roe was poised to take another chunk out of Roe and Casey by upholding the Mississippi law.   Sadly, the same conservative groups/donors that bought and paid for via the electoral process Presidents and Senators who would respectively nominate and confirm them to where we find ourselves – about to issue an opinion that I again say channels Trump provided a masterful marketing plan complete with a major “news” network selling it to provide so-called plausible deniability on their LIES.

Until Barrett was rammed through while voting was already underway (to provide “insurance” they bided their time and followed Roberts in chipping away at abortion rights.   But the intent was there all along to overturn Roe if they ever got five sure votes to do so and if given the opportunity I’d call each and every one of them a g-damned effing (I would of course go full jarhead grunt in my language) LIARS to their LYING faces.   Brewski Brett Kavanaugh has literally made like Trump when it comes to grabbing (and worse) a certain female body part.    Or parts.   I’m surprised Trump didn’t also boast about all the boobs he’s grabbed.   Anyway, the bottom line is that instead of another reproductive organ the message Alito and the others intend to are enshrine into Constitutional Law to women in particular (While I don’t blame women for being pissed at men, plenty of us guys are also majorly pissed off and on women’s side in all this) will be:

Grab em by the Uterus! (And as I recently wrote drag em back into the kitchen)

These so-called conservative “Justices” are anything but.   They have dreamed of the day when the Federalist Society they have belonged to since back in their college days had the SCOTUS deck stacked with enough fanatics like them to IMPOSE their religious beliefs about conception, gestation/pregnancy and life on everyone.    It’s worth remembering that for all their “Christian” posturing they don’t represent the beliefs of all, or even most Christians and people of other faiths when it comes to abortion and birth control too for that matter.   Not by a long shot.   Hell,  when you look at the actual teachings of Jesus himself their “inspiration” didn’t say dick on the subject.   Neither did the Apostles.   (More on that in a minute)   There WAS stuff Jesus said about helping those in need, welcoming the stranger, pursuit of earthly good deeds as the pathway to enter into heaven (and so on) instead of pursuit of wealth & power but they’ve written their own version of what Jesus taught.

I can’t be the only person who knows damn well that the hard core conservative Catholics on the Court scorn what they deride as “Cafeteria Catholics” who practice family planning (including birth control), welcome gay members into the church and actually practice the teachings of Jesus when it comes to so many other culture war issues.   They pick the parts of the Bible including the New Testament which is the literal guidebook for Christianity and like Evangelicals (the right wing ones at least) they don’t just cherry pick the stuff they like, they edit the hell out of Jesus’ teachings so that it means something very different.   The levels of rank hypocrisy and downright ugly irony is like Dante’s Circles of Hell with these people!   Personally I think if their vision of heaven is accurate they will be allowed up to the Pearly Gates where St. Peters says “Hold up.   Jesus himself is coming to see you.   And when he does he will crotch punt every one of them down to hell.  But let’s move on.

Here’s where I think the discussion at the SCOTUS conference table had to have gotten “interesting” and perhaps heated, and perhaps in turn provoked the snotty, even nasty first draft of Alito’s opinion overturning Roe.  The very first phrase in the First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;” – if religious conservative “Christians” believe their faith teaches them abortion is wrong then don’t have one!  (Same thing with sex outside of marriage, or for really hard core types sex for any purpose other than procreation – if you believe it’s immoral/sinful then don’t do it.   And leave other consenting adults alone to do what they want in the privacy of their own home/relationships!) It also makes clear that neither Christians or any other faith has the right to force others to follow their own religious moral code.   And people who flat out are not religious at all don’t have to follow any religion’s moral code on this or any other “faith based” belief.   The First Amendment guarantees that the government doesn’t get to dictate to individuals ANY religion’s moral beliefs on abortion, or marriage and sexual matters between consenting adults that conservative culture war types use as electoral wedge issues.

Let’s dig deeper.   The fact is , these same people who try to soften their “Christian” zealotry by referring to this country’s “Judeo-Christian Heritage” have surely been reminded by a couple of their fellow Justices who are actually Jewish that they are about to violate the rights of Jewish people.  (Fun fact that’s kind of relevant – in the Jewish faith Jewish heritage as a birthright is via the mother!   Dad might be the most devout Jewish person on earth but if mom is a Shiksa the kid won’t be born Jewish and would have to go through the process of converting)  In the Jewish faith the life/health of the mother takes precedence.   If there’s a threat to the life of the pregnant mom-to-be Judaism not only allows, but in some rabbinical texts requires abortion to ensure the best chance of the pregnant woman’s survival.   Under Jewish law going back way the hell (centuries) before Christianity became a religion (and since) a fetus doesn’t become a person until it is born.

So fanatical conservative religious types, put THAT one in your Assault Weapon, “Prosperity Gospel” Dominionist Jeebus crack pipe and smoke it!

Sadly, if a Jewish group files a First Amendment case on this every Synagogue and Temple will need National Guard protection and the backlash against Jewish people will be as ugly as Nazi Germany.   For standing up for their Constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom.

There’s an old joke that some people are more equal than others.   It’s a bitterly ironic joke because certain groups and/or classes of people haven’t been able to enjoy the full blessings of liberty our system is supposed to provide.   And when it comes to justice rich people, even sometimes non-whites (O.J. is but one example) get a whole extra level of “Constitutional” legal protection!

Another old joke is that conservatives want to shrink government small enough to drown it in a bathtub.   That’s way too big for what they’ve worked decades towards and are now on the cusp of achieving.   In their maniacal fervor to erase reproductive choice they want government small enough to fit into women’s uteruses yet conversely powerful and encompassing enough (consistency has never been conservative’s forte) to make damned sure they are receptive to fertilized eggs implanting and creating pregnancies.   And THEN follow Trump exactly and “grab em by the pussy” and keep everyone from stopping that pregnancy from being carried to full term and a baby being born.

THEN they can, and will of course ignore it.  (Hence the title image)

They are pro forced birth.   They want women back to being legal chattel which was (I swear I’m not making this up) once the case in this country.  After our Constitution was ratified!    They want women in the “traditional” (as in their definition of tradition) roles.   In the home.   Raising the kids when they aren’t in the kitchen.   Certain jobs will be allowed such as teaching (at least until they get married and start pumping out babies – they can teach again once the kids are say high school age), nursing and as by god “secretaries” – complete with sometimes having no choice but to take “dick-tation.”

I for one don’t think they will like the reality of a country that exists according to their vision.   The Evangelical community in particular has become addicted to the trappings of the lifestyle their “Prosperity Gospel” has allowed them – and if they aren’t there yet they see so many in their churches with all kinds of material goodies and lifestyles they covet them!    Without two incomes that will become impossible for almost all of them.   And while the current crop of manipulative “men of God”, their preachers in their mansions with their private jets and TV/radio shows will die fabulously rich their spawn who expected to make like Franklin Graham or Jerry Fallwell Jr. are going to find the money is no longer flowing.  If I live another twenty years or so (I’m in my mid sixties) I might get to see this start to happen.   And yes, call me mean spirited and unforgiving but I would take a real measure of satisfaction, even joy in their tears and cries of lament.

In any case, the title of this is I truly believe what religious conservatives intend to do – grab women by their uterus and force them to bear children whether they want to or not.    And one final plea to guys who aren’t as worked up as I am about this – this WILL affect you, or a family member or friend too.   It costs serious money to raise a child these days, not to mention hospital bills for even an uncomplicated birth.  (You think this SCOTUS would uphold the ACA, much less an expansion of Medicaid into a single payer system?   Tell me what you’re smoking cause I could sure as hell use some!)   Even loving couples can and do struggle everyday with raising a child, and adding an unplanned one can ruin a family and existing children’s chances of having a good or even modestly ok life.   So yeah guys, this affects you too.   Not nearly as much as women but you are going to pay too.   Quite literally.

(I still think the Third Amendment should be explored – forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy to term against her wishes is a form of indentured servitude which in clear language of that amendment is prohibited.   But that’s another issue for another discussion)

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13 COMMENTS

  1. the comment threads I have seen are that it is being kicked back to a states rights issue and that we should let voters decide. To be honest, I don’t want any voters deciding on my healthcare. The roe decision was based on privacy, alito declares we have no right to privacy in his screed based on his interpretation of the 14th amendment definition of liberty. Once all people realize that their privacy is no longer a protected right then there will be support for overturning this decision.

    • Yeah, well you don’t have too much to worry about dude. I suspect this is an outright attack on women and men’s viagra is quite safe.

      There are states with explicit privacy amendments in their state constitutions- MT & MO happen to be two of them and MO has already had their s.c. say the lege’s abortion restriction legislation violated theirs. It will be interesting to see what happens in states with privacy amendments particularly since those particular two are red states.

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      • I still say that if a guy wants a prescription for Viagra or some other boner pill then he should not only have to undergo a full exam in the doctor’s office and provide documentation, he should also have to undergo a procedure I’ve been through a couple of times where they insert a catheter up the urethra and examine the bladder and prostate. It’s not truly painful but still uncomfortable (with a moment here and there of pain as the doc moves the catheter around) and for me at least a bit humiliating. (Of course, having passed blood that exam is still the best way to check for cancer in the bladder and prostate as well so I didn’t hesitate to have the procedure done.) Huge numbers of men would howl in protest at the “unnecessary invasion” and there would be legal challenges. And THOSE would damned sure include dude’s rights to privacy, and that they shouldn’t have to undergo the “humiliation” of the exam. For some reason I’m pretty sure when it comes to women positioned on that table for a pelvic exam their attitude and even statements about what women have to go through is “no big deal.” So make a law calling bullshit on them!

      • If it’s done by legislation it’s a privilege, not a right. Doubly so if it’s at state level – because as you should know, a bunch of states would rather see women die than allow abortion.
        So take your concern and put it where the sun don’t shine.

  2. Denis, I stopped reading your treatise at your statement that most Christians believe the “pursuit of earthly good deeds (is) the pathway to enter into heaven.” See Ephesians 2:8 (and many other New Testament passages, including Jesus’ own words): “by GRACE you have been saved” (emphasis mine). Don’t confuse folks any further, please.

    • Sorry to have caused offense. I realized I’d become agnostic over twenty years ago and while I still remember some of what I was taught I gather I got this part wrong. I recall something about Grace now that you mention it and I guess I conflated that with doing God’s work by serving others and that service being the path to follow to enter God’s Kingdom. I do hope my mistake isn’t unforgiveable and that you’ll read the whole thing. And of course if you see something else I got wrong or that you disagree with will speak up.

    • Meg Corrigan
      How familiar are you with the Prosperity Gospel? Or the idea of election? It goes back to.the Reformation. God chooses (pretty randomly from the looks of it) who.is,Saved and who.isn’t before that person is born. The Chosen are the elect,,and they get many blessings which include wealth and success. A fair number of Christians believe in the doctrines of predestination and election.
      Not what I was taught as a Catholic school.child. Catholics believe grace is given to Silk works can get you drop kicked down the shaft to.hell. I am.a,Wicca with 2;3of a second bachelor’s in theology. I think grace just gives you a chance. Without works? You are rejecting grace.
      My faith teaches “Do what you will.providing you harm none.” It requires thought and following through.

  3. Excellent! I appreciate the need for men to become involved. After all, it will be them that’ll be paying that child support, and they’ll also have a life-long situation to deal with as kids don’t just disappear at 18. It will be their sisters, mothers, wives, etc. who won’t be able to obtain an abortion when needed, with all the included problems that goes with that. Actually though I don’t think very many people under the age of about 60+ even have a clue what it is like to not have this service available. It isn’t drastic to them as they haven’t ever experienced life without. Every single woman I know has had at least one.

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