Bastardstan

On August 22, I noted that Tropical Storm Henri had dumped 1.94 inches of rain in New York's Central Park between 10 and 11 pm, the most rain in a single hour at that location since record keeping began in the 19th century.  

Turns out that record was short lived.  Yesterday, the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped 3.15 inches in Central Park in a single, one-hour interval.  Flash flooding across the mid-Atlantic portion of the East Coast left nine dead and at least 200,000 homes without power from Philadelphia to New York.  The storm is now heading toward New England.  

Climate scientists warn that massive rainfall events like those associated with Henri and Ida are becoming the new normal on a warming planet, where hotter air holds more water, making hurricanes gather strength faster, tornadoes more widespread, and rains heavier.

Meanwhile, down in Texas, the most extreme anti-abortion law in the country went into effect yesterday.  It bans abortion after 6 weeks, before most women even know they’re pregnant.  There are no exceptions for rape or incest. So in Texas, if a 14-year-old girl is raped by a member of her own family, she would still be forced to carry the child to term against her will and to give birth.  Even if the doctor determines that she wouldn't survive the childbirth, or that the child is massively deformed, it wouldn't change a thing.

Those bastards. 

Opponents of the bill had asked the Supreme Court to stop the law before it took effect September 1. I stayed up well past 1:00 am Wednesday morning (Tuesday night) waiting on word - any word - on their decision.  All the cable news networks were repeating earlier broadcasts at that hour, so they weren't reporting late-night SCOTUS decisions. Google didn't provide anything, and nothing was posted even on the Court's own website. Twitter didn't have any late-breaking update on the matter.  It turns out, the Court  not only declined to stop the law, but even to comment on the matter. Until last night, when they formally decided in a 5-4 ruling not to overturn the law.

Those bastards.

So the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision protecting the right to abortion is no longer the law of the land.  At least in Texas.  And probably in Sharia Law nations Iran and Afghanistan, too.  

Texastan.  Those bastards.

The Texas law puts ordinary people in charge of enforcement. Anyone at all can sue any individual who “aids or abets,” or even intends to abet, an abortion in Texas after six weeks. Women seeking abortion themselves are exempt, but anyone who advises them (including a spouse), gives them a ride, provides counseling, staffs a clinic, and so on, can be sued by any random stranger. If the plaintiff wins, they pocket $10,000 plus court costs, and the clinic that provided the procedure is closed down. If the defendant doesn’t defend themselves, the court must find them guilty. And if the defendant wins, they get nothing. Not even attorney’s fees. 

I hope that every convention planned for the state, every sports event, every touring band and show, all decide to unequivocally boycott those bastards down in Texas.