Monitoring Biden and other Contemporary Events

We have an established church.

Anglican bishops have seats in the House of Lords, (similar to the Senate.)

None of our judges would spout horseshit like that.

In terms of constitution, Britain is way more theocratic than America, but as far as religiosity goes, it's the exact opposite.

The third attribute is irreverence, Falstaff does not kowtow to authority, religious or secular which is not seen as so laudable outside of England, especially when it was written.

Catholic bishops meeting in the city of Augsburg this week strongly condemned the rise of ethnic nationalism and right-wing extremism in German society. "Right-wing extremist parties and others that thrive on the fringes of this ideology are therefore no place where Christians can be politically active and cannot be voted for," their statement said.

On this point, the bishops made an explicit reference to the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). They said the party's beliefs are "incompatible with the Christian image of God and humankind."

This statement is highly unusual because for the past 25 years, the Catholic bishops have been reluctant to offer any assessments of political parties.

Republicans against Trump@RpsAgainstTrump
12h
Far-left Democratic voter in Michigan says he’s ok with Trump returning to the WH, because of Biden’s support for Israel:

“It’s like a vaccine. I’m willing to take short-term pain for a long-term gain.”

Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) reposted
Armand Domalewski@ArmandDoma
Khalid Turaani was a registered Republican who publicly campaigned for George W. Bush. He’s running an effort to “Abandon Joe Biden” but I can find no evidence he ever supported him in the first place

Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is clearly gunning to win the award for “Dumbest Senator” a second year in a row, fully demonstrating that he has no idea what in vitro fertilization is, nor does he have basic knowledge about the recent Alabama court ruling that effectively banned the assisted family conception procedure from his state.

“Yeah, I was all for it,” Tuberville told reporters at CPAC on Thursday when asked about the state Supreme Court ruling that classified frozen embryos as children. “You just gotta look at everything going on in the country. It’s just an attack on families, an attack on kids. You know, anything we can do for the future of our young people, because they’re our number one commodity.”

“We need to have more kids, we need to have an opportunity to do that, and I thought this was the right thing to do,” he added.

“But IVF is used to have more children, and right now IVF services are paused at some of the clinics in Alabama,” prodded an NBC News reporter. “Aren’t you concerned that this could impact people who are trying to have kids?”

“Well, that’s for another conversation,” said a stumped Tuberville. “I think the big thing is right now you protect, you go back to the situation and you try to work it out to where it’s best for everybody. That’s what the whole abortion issue is about.”

“But this isn’t really about abortion, it’s about IVF and the concern that now families might not have access to it,” the reporter responded.

“But it’s about the same direction, but I agree,” Tubberville said, seemingly bewildered before doubling down on the party line. “People need to have access. People need to—we need more kids. We need people to have the opportunity to have kids.”

Yet one glance at the state’s recent politics would indicate that’s absolutely not a priority in the state. Infertility impacts one in five women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But last week, the Alabama Supreme Court decided that embryos created through IVF would be protected under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, classifying single-celled, fertilized eggs as children. The decision has spelled certain doom for IVF clinics across the state, three of which have already announced that they will no longer be offering the procedure for fear of being hit with wrongful death suits.

Still, that wasn’t enough for Tuberville to pay it any mind, and he at first mistook the judicial decision for a “bill” before admitting that he “hasn’t looked at it” and that he didn’t consider it a “big conversation” with regard to the general election.

“But women aren’t going to be able to have IVF to get kids already, in some places,” the reporter responded. “What do you say to them?”

“Yea, that’s unfortunate,” Tuberville said, repeating “unfortunate” a few more times.

“IVF is not a Democrat or Republican issue. Families across the board use it. What is your message to the Supreme Court if this does in fact stop families from using IVF?” the reporter asked.

“We don’t need that,” Tuberville said.

“Oh…my…God.” Morning Joe hosts gobsmacked by clueless Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville twisting himself into knots. (Video: MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/huTuksbnuV
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) February 23, 2024

Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is clearly gunning to win the award for “Dumbest Senator” a second year in a row

Senators Now Defending IVF CoSponsored Bill to Outlaw It

Sen. Steve Daines (R) of Montana heads the Senate Republican campaign committee, which today sent out a memo to all its candidates instructing them to vigorously defend IVF fertility treatments which the Alabama Supreme Court just effectively outlawed in the state. Donald Trump put out a statement so wildly endorsing IVF that he appears all but ready to undergo IVF himself just to make the point. But Sen. Daines himself recently cosponsored (along with numerous Senate colleagues) a law based on precisely the same theory used by the Alabama court.

Senate bill S.99, introduced in early 2021 and cosponsored by Daines, claims that all homo sapiens, born and unborn are entitled to the full protections of the 14th amendment. While the bill states that law does not “require” the “prohibition” of IVF it states very clearly that it requires the full panoply of constitutional rights for embryos. To quote the law, it holds that the term “human person” applies to “each member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including [from] the moment of fertilization.”

This is, again, identical to the Alabama court’s reasoning. It similarly did not explicitly prohibit in vitro fertilization. It rules that every embryo produced as part of IVF treatment is a human being with full constitutional rights. So in practice this does make IVF unworkable, despite not “requiring” outlawing it, since IVF produces embryos which are never implanted. When they are discarded they are presumably killed. That’s why Alabama IVF clinics are currently ceasing operations.

N.R.A. Stung by Corruption Verdict Tied to Millions of Misspent Dollars
A Manhattan jury found that the National Rifle Association’s former leader, Wayne LaPierre, had used the group’s funds to pay for lavish personal expenses, including vacations and luxury flights.