Amidst the usual sludge moving through the news channels overnight are two encouraging stories. One, a woman surfer rode the biggest wave this year, and two, NASA plans to send a woman to the moon.
These are notable in themselves but especially because women's rights have again moved to central stage in this year's election debate. Among a woman's most fundamental rights -- to have an abortion if she chooses to -- is now at risk due to the next justice Trump and his Senate allies plan to place on the Supreme Court.
Roe v. Wade could well be struck down this winter.
The historic struggle to gain equal rights and in the case of abortion, a gender specific right, has been long and difficult, marked by heroic efforts by many people, not the least of whom was the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Part of me can't believe this country could be on the verge of going backward in this way, but the trajectory of what Trump intends to do is clear.
I suppose this will secure Trump's renewed support from evangelical Christians, despite his many depredations on the very notion of what it means to be a person of faith, especially a Christian. The hypocrisy of all involved is breath-taking.
If the worst comes to pass, many women will fight back and many of us will be right by their sides. Because this is another stark case where there may be two "sides" to the issue, but only one is right. And that right, guaranteeing a woman's right to choose, will prevail.
BTW, one need not like or even support abortion to be on the right side of history here. It is not the state's business to tell a woman what to do with her own body, period.
On to the sludge, and the two bright spots:
* Trump's refusal on Wednesday to guarantee a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to Joe Biden in November is leading America towards a dark place during a year of incendiary political tensions.Trump intransigence, included in his latest assault on perfectly legitimate mail-in ballots on Wednesday, posed a grave threat to the democratic continuum that has underpinned nearly 250 years of republican government. (CNN)
* Protests erupt across the U.S. after no officers indicted in Breonna Taylor's killing by Louisville police.(CNN)
* Louisville police confirm two officers shot, one suspect in custody (CNN)
* As Schools Go Remote, Finding ‘Lost’ Students Gets Harder -- Early data for the new school year suggests that attendance in virtual classrooms is down, possibly because students are working or caring for siblings. (NYT)
* The Russian Trolls Have a Simpler Job Today. Quote Trump. -- As part of their attempt to interfere with the 2020 election, Russians are grabbing screenshots of President Trump’s tweets, or quoting his own misleading statements, analysts and officials say. (NYT)
* Study shows virus mutating and potentially evolving amid rapid U.S. spread (WashPo)
* NASA revealed this week that it plans to send a woman to the moon for the first time in 2024. [HuffPost]
* In secret tapes, mine executives detail their sway over leaders from Juneau to the White House (WashPo)
* Democratic Donors Push Biden for a Cabinet Free of Fossil Fuel Connections -- A group of more than 60 donors is urging Joe Biden to renounce advisers with ties to the fossil fuel industry. (NYT)
* You Can Get Covid-19 And Flu At The Same Time – And It Can Be Deadly (HuffPost)
* Uber and Lyft Could Gain From U.S. Rule Defining Employment -- The Labor Department proposal would most likely treat drivers and other gig workers as contractors, not employees. (NYT)
* Trump has launched another racist diatribe against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). “She’s telling us how to run our country!” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “How did you do where you came from? How is your country doing?” Omar was born in Somalia and immigrated to the United States as a child when her family fled the violence there. She’s been a U.S. citizen for 20 years. She fired back on Twitter: "Firstly, this is my country & I am a member of the House that impeached you. Secondly, I fled civil war when I was 8. An 8-year-old doesn’t run a country even though you run our country like one." [HuffPost]
* Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced that the state will phase out sales of internal combustion engines. By 2035, every new car will be an emissions free vehicle, in order to green and decarbonize the transport sector. (4media-group.com)
* Trump, Biden in tight races in Florida and Arizona, polls find (WashPo)
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