2:48 a.m. Tuesday, May 3. Yeah, a lot of us can’t sleep tonight. We are rage-tweeting and reading posts by people shocked but not surprised when Politico broke the news of the Supreme Court draft opinion that will turn the clock back to when a woman did not have the right to make her own health care decision regarding pregnancy.
Never mind her reasons for terminating the pregnancy, including becoming pregnant by a man who broke into her home, held a knife to her throat, raped and beat her repeatedly, and left her for dead while her 4-year-old son watched. One legislator said she should look at the pregnancy as ‘an opportunity.’
Opportunity, my ass!
Cedar Rapids columnist and author Lyz Lenz dashed off a powerful response a few minutes ago. If you don’t already get her column, I recommend you do. She filed this around midnight: This Was Always The Plan. Lyz grew up in a household and church where she and her many brothers and sisters were trotted out in church on Right to Life Sunday. Here’s the link again (and subscribe):
How did we get here? They lied. They cheated. They won.
In Senator Grassley’s case, he made up a rule. Read this column by Steve Benen, published December 21, 2021:
Does he think we are stupid? Then again, are we?
Is it fair to make up rules to block a Supreme Court nominee, well qualified by all standards, because your party is in the majority? Then do it again? The duly elected president of the United States submitted two nominees who were thwarted by these - mostly men.
In the wee hours this morning, I’m going through all the women I know who decided to end a pregnancy. Every circumstance was deeply personal. For one, her life was at stake. Another was impregnated by a family member when she was on a weekend pass from an institution. But you know what? It doesn’t matter why any woman makes this decision. It is none of our business.
Yeah, it’s nice for those who choose to welcome an unplanned pregnancy and make the best of it. I’m glad it worked out for them. After all, I’m a third-born ‘surprise.’ Merry Christmas to my dad, I guess, as I was born on August 21. Do the math.
Speaking of lying and cheating and winning, check your voter registration status.
https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/
Larry Zimpleman was chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the Principal Financial Group. One of the largest employers in the state. He and his wife Kathi live in Cumming. They are the epitome of engaged citizens.
One day without notice, Zimpleman received a small postcard-type message from the Warren County Auditor saying that he was no longer registered to vote because he failed to vote in the last general election.
“This was quite a surprise, given that I DID vote in the last general election,” said Zimpleman. “They gave me the option (if they were incorrect in their assertion that I did not vote) to simply note that on the card and return it to them. Well—given the importance of my right to vote, the last thing I wanted to do was to simply send a card back, hope the USPS system returned it to the auditor, hope that someone in the Auditors office would actually look at my card and then would take the initiative to correct the voter roll to say that I was still registered to vote. That was about four too many assumptions for me!
“So, instead, I decided that I would drive to the auditor’s office and physically talk to someone there to get my records corrected. Fortunately, once I got to the auditor’s office, a very capable person took the time to look into my situation. She confirmed that I had voted in the last general election and that the card was sent to me in error. When I asked how that could happen, she said she simply didn’t know. She told me she would immediately change my voter record and told me I should get a confirmation in the mail. About a week later, I did, indeed, receive a card telling me that I was again viewed as an active voter.
”My point in sharing this is NOT to suggest that someone in the Auditors office was acting in bad faith. My point is that every one of us needs to take the time to be sure that our voter records are correct and up to date. The first card I received was so small and looked so inconsequential that I could have very easily overlooked it. And I would have had no further notice about being removed from the voter rolls until I showed up at the next general election, and they would have told me, “sorry, but you’re not registered to vote”.
“So—whether you’re an “R” or a “D”, given how the current voting rules work, it is “voter beware”!
Might I add here, Larry Zimpleman had the flexibility of schedule to take the time to do this. How many don’t?
There is a primary election on June 7. If there is anyone in your life who thinks their vote doesn’t matter, a congressional race in Iowa was won by six votes.
The GOP is systematically making it harder for you - YOU - to vote.
Here’s the link to check your registration again:
https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/
Democracy is at stake. They got away with thwarting two Supreme Court justices who could have protected this right. Our right.
They almost got away with an insurrection and coup on January 6, 2021. Police officers protecting our Capitol died.
We still do not know why Senator Grassley said he would be presiding over the Senate, not Vice President Pence. WHY DO WE NOT KNOW THIS???
They will do anything to win.
And we are too, damned, nice about it. The Taliban is here.
3:52 a.m., May 3. Richard wanders in and asks if he should start looking at airplane tickets to send me to D.C. to protest.
Again.
Follow up: We have lift-off for the Monday Zoom Lunch for paid subscribers. Thank you all so much. Several readers have become paid subscribers. This premium allows me to offer more full and partial scholarships to the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat. If you’d like to become a paid subscriber, you’ll be invited to the Monday Zoom Lunch discussions with notable influencers. This column will remain complimentary, however.
I wrote a brief comment on my fbook page and apparently it was deleted and does not show up in my profile at all. Basically I said if they are going to dump abortion, then there needs to be a law forcing the man to step up financially and to help raise the child, children need 2 parents. I kept it as diplomatic as I could. It was actually my second writing, as I decided the first was too fiery and too long. I do not know if I could personally make the decision to end a pregnancy, were I to still be of childbearing age, however, I do not feel it is up to others to make the decision for people whom I do not know and have not walked a mile in their shoes. Iowa, in particular, seems to want to go back to the dark ages in many aspects including the abortion debate.
Too many stories, too many memories....a sad day, indeed. Long ago during my lobbying days (for Planned Parenthood), I had lunch with one of the anti-choice-Govenor's aides.....there had been three newborns found at various times over a fairly short period of time, in dumpsters or high school girls bathrooms. We discussed how sad that was and I asked the aide, "Do you know if any of these pregnancies was by a relative, father, brother, etc.?" He looked at me like I'd thrown water on him, shocked, "NO!" I honestly don't think it ever occurred to him that could/would happen. A few days later he sought me out and said, in effect, "I contacted one of the female relatives of one of the girls who'd had one of those babies.....it was her father who got her pregnant." Contemplate that.
Granted not all unwanted pregnancies fall into that category, but some do. I don't know if this changed that aide's mind - we never spoke of it again. But at least it made him rethink the issue. Great column, Julie, as always.