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Timothy Patrick's avatar

Good morning everyone. If you’re like me, the overall disappointing (which is an understatement) nature of these rulings was too much to process in one day. Running on fumes from a grueling week, I needed some time to actually understand what the hell just happened. Listening to this breakdown this morning was extremely helpful - thank you Leah and Sharon. Not soothing in any way, but at least now I feel like I grasp the concepts and consequences.

What makes learning about this stuff especially exhausting is that we’re stuck at the tail end of the process, watching interpretation, not legislation. There’s not much we can do about rulings that are already made. But if you’re looking to channel that rage into action that can actually make a difference, we have something huge happening in the next few days. I’m talking about the most consequential action we might take this decade: stopping the “Disgusting Abomination Bill (DAB)” - thanks for that perfect wording, Elon.

I’ll be phone banking today (and maybe tomorrow and Wednesday if I can summon the energy) to call Medicaid recipients and urge them to contact their senators. Phone banking isn’t usually my thing, but the polling numbers on this disaster give me hope I won’t be calling as many angry people who hang up on me. If you want to join, sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/moveon/event/796084/

Also, can we start brainstorming what to call this ugly thing if it passes? I keep thinking about how Republicans accidentally made “Obamacare” popular - it became synonymous with healthcare people actually needed. This bill won’t be remembered for the tax cuts people already have. They’ll remember losing services they take for granted and watching the national debt explode in ways that’ll be impossible to spin. We could pin it on Trump, but honestly he’s only got a few years left based on how he looks. Better to pin it on the whole movement. I want your ideas…

The MAGA Murder Bill?

The Republican Reverse Robin Hood Bill?

The GOP Grifting Our Grandkids Act?

TTT: Trump’s Ticking Timebomb? (okay, I know I said Trump isn’t a worthy target, but maybe this can just be a short term one up to the midterms)

Let’s pick something that sticks and plant those seeds for a midterm landslide. In the meantime, deep breaths. 😌

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Sara's avatar

Naming the bill is hard, because he named it something so incredibly ironic and stupid already. Just like the Onion has been shoved out of a job because their imagination can't keep up with reality.....

The Billionaire Enrichment Scheme

The Big Bullshit Bill (The Big BS Bill for a family friendly version - also I did not come up with that)

The GOP Grift (that describes the entire administration)

Medicaid for None, Poverty for All

Let Them Eat Cake Decree

Trumponomic Disaster Bill (do we really want his name sticking around, though?)

The TACO Rule

I like your timebomb - and it goes well with TACO. The TACO Timebomb?

I can come up with things all day long but nothing feels "sticky".

I can't wait to see what others come up with. It's fun.

Thanks again for phone banking!!

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Timothy Patrick's avatar

Ooh The TACO Ticking Timebomb is fun 🌮💣

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Theresa Jones's avatar

I like the idea of naming it something- especially something that might stick. These days I can only think of how many other Americans had never-ending terrible days and somehow survived. Many for centuries! How did they- it’s only been a few months and I’m exhausted! Thank you for the link- I will pick at least one day. I call my legislators everyday and it feels sort of hopeless (one is Michael Baumgartner - Mikey’s acolyte) This might actually work.

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Timothy Patrick's avatar

Thank you, Theresa! Yeah, it does give me a little more comfort that this time spent might have more of an impact. Instead of counting as just one call to someone who might feel like they won't listen to us, we have the chance to nudge people who have other representatives to call across the country.

I just watched the training video and feel even better about it. I assumed I would be telling people to call their reps and people would say "okay" but we'd never know if they actually do call, but apparently there's a button I get to hit and it automatically connects them to their senator to make their voice heard. I'm thinking there are a lot of people out there that are almost paralyzed in their anger, or disenfranchised due to disability, and this might be the push they need to stand up for their rights.

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Jill J. Morin's avatar

To your question regarding religious freedom and Muslim parents in Texas who object to their kids being exposed to the 10 Commandments now being displayed in classrooms: when will this argument be used by Jews regarding abortion? My understanding is that some Jews believe life doesn’t begin at conception, but rather when the head of the baby appears during birth. So wouldn’t the law saying these women can’t abort go against their religious beliefs? I’d love to see the “religious right” currently serving as Supreme Court justices twist their “logic” over that one. Any chance of that happening?

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Robn Brandt's avatar

You win the craziest argument award!!🥇

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Jill J. Morin's avatar

Thanks, although I think the conservative majority on the Supreme Court would be the hands-down winner in that contest. And according to the National Council of Jewish Women, it's not such a nutty argument: https://www.ncjw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Judaism-and-Abortion-FINAL.pdf

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Robn Brandt's avatar

OK, You can share the award with them! And, last I checked, abortion wasn’t being taught in elementary schools.

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Ariel D's avatar

One of my favorite podcasts and my local bookstore just got my copy of Lawless in. Good episode.

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Kryslyn's avatar

The decision on the injunctions case just feels like SCOTUS doing exactly what they have said their job is not: creating legislation. The purpose of SCOTUS is for judicial review when someone disagrees, not for their already bloated docket to become more bloated because everything now has to end there for them to decide. The 'supreme' part of their name is referencing that its the final boss of the courts, not that they, themselves, are supreme and can do what they want.

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Naomi's avatar

Also, using the Court’s evaluation, can’t there be an argument to burden adult access to firearms because it’s necessary to keep children from being harmed by them to the extent that they currently are?

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Naomi's avatar

I LOATHE the SCOTUS decision on T v CASA. Like, I feel like the collective We isn’t just being kicked - but, getting the shit kicked out of Us - while we’re down and I am absolutely LIVID about it. Truly quaking with unbridled rage.

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Patricia Zdawczyk's avatar

So ... is the Supreme Court going to start hearing every case then? No more picking and choosing which cases they'll hear? Utter insanity.

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