US Politics: A Post-Roe Country

[A True Kaniggit]

2 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

Louisiana Republican Says His State’s Maternal Death Rate Is ‘Only Bad If You Include Black Women’

“About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear,” Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said in an interview with POLITICO. “Now, I say that not to minimize the issue but to focus the issue as to where it would be. For whatever reason, people of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.”

 

Cassidy kept making it worse, saying, “So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear.”

(...)

 

0

Louisiana has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, ranking 47th out of the 48 states assessed, according to state officials. But one of two white male Republican Senators representing the state, who also happens to be a medical doctor, says that’s only because Louisiana’s statistics include Black women.

“About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear,” Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said in an interview with POLITICO. “Now, I say that not to minimize the issue but to focus the issue as to where it would be. For whatever reason, people of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.”

 

https://i.insider.com/6288ecc1b0a8be00185feaf7?width=2000&format=jpeg&auto=webpPIN IT

 

Cassidy kept making it worse, saying, “So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear.”

 

 

 

According to Louisiana’s Department of Health, “four black mothers die for every white mother” in the state. It outpaces a three-to-one ratio nationwide, which is already the worst in the developed world. The CDC reports that Black women in America are “disadvantaged in their access to care, quality of care, the prevalence of chronic diseases, structural racism, and implicit biases” in healthcare. (...)

 

Asked by Politico how maternal death rates may be affected by his state’s trigger law to immediately outlaw abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade and allows states to implement their own restrictions, Cassidy said: “If we’re using abortion to limit maternal deaths, that’s kind of an odd way to approach the problem.”

https://hillreporter.com/louisiana-republican-says-his-states-maternal-death-rate-is-only-bad-if-you-include-black-women-131968

John Oliver did a piece related to this a couple years ago. 
 

https://youtu.be/TATSAHJKRd8

Some really sad things. From a lot of doctors actually thinking black people have thicker skin than white people, to doctors thinking black people have a higher pain tolerance than white people. 

Edited May 22, 2022 by A True Kaniggit

[LongRider]

2 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

Cassidy kept making it worse, saying, “So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear.”

Jfc, this statement makes me want to poke my eyes out, it’s so offensive. 

[Zorral]

38 minutes ago, ThinkerX said:

this has the potential for many members of this faction to be swept out of office in a 'wave.'

If, even if, any of your hypotheticals turned out, in the meantime many, many, many lives will have been lost, or at best irredeemably damaged, with all the collateral damage this will cause, while millions are forced into immiseration.  In the meantime, climate change, and pandemic have already been causing massive numbers of lost children, in an immense number of ways.

Men speculating about what any of this means to women, are generally -- not always, and not all men -- useless.  They just don't get it because nothing about this is part of their bodies. Or their lives.  They think, at least the latter.  They may do lip service, but they have no visceral sense of what any of this means.  Alas, a whole lot of them don't even have a hypothetical, intellectual sense either.

[HoodedCrow]

See, it’s possible now to go after their wallet with dna testing. Use fear, because fairness is low on their prioritities. Women do not count. especially women of Color but no woman is left without scars.

Republicans only care about votes from women, not their issues. But forced And Dna proven fatherhood, will be the only play for non woke Americans.

 

[ThinkerX]

2 hours ago, Zorral said:

If, even if, any of your hypotheticals turned out, in the meantime many, many, many lives will have been lost, or at best irredeemably damaged, with all the collateral damage this will cause, while millions are forced into immiseration.  In the meantime, climate change, and pandemic have already been causing massive numbers of lost children, in an immense number of ways.

Men speculating about what any of this means to women, are generally -- not always, and not all men -- useless.  They just don't get it because nothing about this is part of their bodies. Or their lives.  They think, at least the latter.  They may do lip service, but they have no visceral sense of what any of this means.  Alas, a whole lot of them don't even have a hypothetical, intellectual sense either.

All the more reason to anticipate second and third order consequences.  If you have a good idea of what is likely to happen, then you can plan to counter it - or mitigate the damage.

From what I have seen, those on the Right are mostly incapable of seeing future consequences to their decisions. Take Abbot's shutdown of the Texas border - yes, it stoked the fires of his base - but when shippers rerouted their goods, it cost Texas billions - and very likely Team Abbot did not see that one coming. Likely, the same is true with DeSantis and Disney - his petty vengeance rallied Florida conservatives - but also is likely to have consequences that bite back hard. The 'pro-life' crowd is no different. They are incapable of seeing the harm the cause themselves with their decisions - it is short term, immediate goal thinking all the way.

 

[Zorral]

9 minutes ago, ThinkerX said:

you can plan to counter it - or mitigate the damage.

How are you countering and mitigating the damage to millions of women in the meantime?

[A True Kaniggit]

Quack quack. 

[Ormond]

This is just an aside, of course, but in the context of this thread I think it is both hilarious and fitting that Early Voting won the Preakness:

Early Voting holds off Epicenter to win Preakness Stakes | National News | omaha.com

[Fury Resurrected]

14 hours ago, ThinkerX said:

All the more reason to anticipate second and third order consequences.  If you have a good idea of what is likely to happen, then you can plan to counter it - or mitigate the damage.

From what I have seen, those on the Right are mostly incapable of seeing future consequences to their decisions. Take Abbot's shutdown of the Texas border - yes, it stoked the fires of his base - but when shippers rerouted their goods, it cost Texas billions - and very likely Team Abbot did not see that one coming. Likely, the same is true with DeSantis and Disney - his petty vengeance rallied Florida conservatives - but also is likely to have consequences that bite back hard. The 'pro-life' crowd is no different. They are incapable of seeing the harm the cause themselves with their decisions - it is short term, immediate goal thinking all the way.

 

This is where you’re missing the fundamental issue about pro lifers- they literally do not care about anything else. There are no consequences they would find unacceptable for this outcome. Thousands of women dying from botched abortions? God’s wrath. Millions of children born into poverty? Shouldn’t have kids you can’t afford. Losing seats in congress? Their major goal is already mission accomplished. They simply don’t care

[DireWolfSpirit]

Energy, consumer and every other cost sharply up, a shortage of baby food, stocks tanking. There's a perfect storm of pissed off swing voters brewing.

I think we're out of time to turn things around before the midterms

Politico article saying voters will be punishing Democrats this Fall.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/09/angry-voters-biden-inflation-midterms-00024218

[ThinkerX]

1 hour ago, Fury Resurrected said:

This is where you’re missing the fundamental issue about pro lifers- they literally do not care about anything else. There are no consequences they would find unacceptable for this outcome. Thousands of women dying from botched abortions? God’s wrath. Millions of children born into poverty? Shouldn’t have kids you can’t afford. Losing seats in congress? Their major goal is already mission accomplished. They simply don’t care

That is a given.

What these people cannot anticipate is the scale of the backlash. Witness the demonstrations that erupted with the leaked SC memo - very likely at least some of the conservative SC justices were caught flatfooted by the scale of the backlash. Likely, they thought they could issue the full repeal verdict with only minor public dissent.

I would also submit there will be clashes between the *really* extreme pro-life crowd - the ones that want to ban contraception and imprison women who receive abortions - and the ones who are okay with the ban except in cases of medical emergency, incest, or rape. The more the extremist faction pushes, the greater the resistance from the 'not so extreme' bunch.

[mormont]

1 hour ago, ThinkerX said:

Likely, they thought they could issue the full repeal verdict with only minor public dissent.

Why would they think that?

The SC justices can read an opinion poll as well as you or I. They probably know a good deal more than we do about public opinion on this matter.

They're preparing to do this in full awareness of how it will be received, or at least there seems to me to be no reason to think otherwise.

[Zorral]

Time travel is in effect.

https://www.thecut.com/article/future-abortion-access-map.html#_ga=2.242056194.1894279635.1653325991-1492055812.1653325991

State-by-state guides are being published on the sites of so many magazines, including Vogue. 

Advice and guidance includes how to evade surveillance as you seek and / or successfully achieve your abortion.

 

Quote

 

The only good news now is that, in most cases, an abortion outside the blessing of the law no longer requires begging at the feet of a doctor or the often brutal, sometimes ineffective measures women took on their own before Roe: the infamous coat hanger, the consumption of toxic substances, a stranger with faked credentials. Nor will it bifurcate quite as it did in the ’60s, when wealthy, connected white women flew to countries like Japan and Sweden for abortions performed by doctors, while Black and brown women died in special hospital wards set up for septic abortion attempts. Modern pharma and the old-fashioned USPS now enable an early pregnancy to end safely at home — that is, if you can evade surveillance and law enforcement, which have already criminalized people, mostly women of color, for their pregnancy outcomes, even where abortion is technically legal. Others will need or prefer an in-clinic abortion in a state where legal abortion still stands; this magazine has a guide to those locations, too, as well as how to get help with travel, expenses, and even child care. Note that licensed medical providers in private practice may also perform abortions.

For all the hacksawing of rights the justices are poised to do, the First Amendment still exists, and for now it is understood to protect the sharing of information about abortion. What we’re offering here is not medical advice but a pathway to understanding your options and liabilities with a comprehensive guide to getting an abortion in the U.S. now. It will be regularly updated online to bring you the information you need.

 

 

 

[DMC]

Democratic House, Senate campaign committees outraise GOP counterparts in April:

Quote

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) pulled in $11.9 million and finished out the month with $115 million in the bank, while the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) raised $8.7 million and reported having $96.5 million on hand.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) narrowly edged out the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in fundraising in April, bringing in $8.2 million to the NRSC’s $8.1 million, according to their latest federal filings.

The two Senate campaign committees are also running neck-and-neck in total cash on hand. The DSCC reported having $45.9 million in the bank at the end of the month, while the NRSC reported $45.1 million. 

While you of course have to wonder how much money is being diverted to Trump directly, this is pretty embarrassing considering the environment.  Between the economic metrics and Biden's approval, the GOP should be destroying the Dems in fundraising.  Similarly, they haven't been able to get much separation on the generic ballot either - hovering at ~ a two to three point lead all year.  

For all the complaints about the Democrats' incompetence, they got nothing on today's GOP.

[DireWolfSpirit]

2 hours ago, Zorral said:

Modern pharma and the old-fashioned USPS now enable an early pregnancy to end safely at home —

I did not know that, great for safety.

[Martell Spy]

Southern Baptist leaders ‘stonewalled’ sex abuse victims, scathing report says
Survivors who reported abuse to executive committee were ‘ignored’ as leaders were ‘singularly focused on avoiding liability’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/23/southern-baptist-convention-sex-abuse-victims

Quote

 

An executive committee staffer maintained a list of Baptist ministers accused of abuse, but there is no indication anyone “took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC churches,” the report asserted.

In one example cited in the report, August Boto, a longtime SBC leader, decried the allegations in an email and said that they were a “satanic scheme to completely distract us from evangelism”.

“This whole thing should be seen for what it is,” Boto wrote. “It is a misdirection play.”

Boto added that a survivor and an advocate for the survivor went to the SBC “looking for sexual abuse, and of course, they found it”.

“This is the devil being temporarily successful,” Boto said.

 

 

[LongRider]

Not surprised:

Quote

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination, stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades while seeking to protect their own reputations, according to a scathing 288-page investigative report issued Sunday.

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/22/1100616952/southern-baptists-sex-abuse

[LongRider]

Ha! Ninja time!  

[mcbigski]

On 5/13/2022 at 6:35 AM, Werthead said:

I wonder if that's the trap Russia is setting.

Russia declares victory, planning to call a ceasefire and then bogs everyone down in peace talks for x years. Ukraine counter-attacks, Russia declares a ceasefire violation and says that they are being reasonable, have stopped attacking, no-one's dying, but Ukraine wants to fight on and invade Russian-speaking areas. Russia then has the excuse for mobilisation (partial or full).

Either way, $40-50b to save the Ukraine minus 10% for the big guy.  Not sure Hunter can even afford to make art at those rates.

On 5/22/2022 at 3:19 PM, DireWolfSpirit said:

Energy, consumer and every other cost sharply up, a shortage of baby food, stocks tanking. There's a perfect storm of pissed off swing voters brewing.

That's pretty much the Dem's stated policy, and they got 81 million or so votes in the last fair election.  So what are you worried about?

9 hours ago, DMC said:

 For all the complaints about the Democrats' incompetence, they got nothing on today's GOP.

Who actually roots for the Republican establishment these days, besides the members therein?  Feather their own nests sure. Work to help constituents afford things like gas or baby food?  Lolz so naive.

Mostly uniparty pukes.

Edited May 24, 2022 by mcbigski

[DMC]

46 minutes ago, mcbigski said:

Who actually roots for the Republican establishment these days, besides the members therein?

Agreed, part of why the GOP is underperforming on the generic ballot in spite of such a favorable environment is because people realize the Republican "establishment" is just as bad as Trumpists.