Thursday, July 05, 2018

Ennie Meanie Chilli Beanie

... the spirits are about to speak....

Let us take a moment before Monday when the President promises to revel his nominee to the Supreme Court, ala the Miss Universe Pageant way. We already have the semi-finalists cut - Presidential Nominee Trump gave us the list of 25 possible pics before office.

He has culled it down to the finalists, which is revealing one at a time in private interviews, which actually does help build the suspense.

On Monday he has promised to release his pick as winner and - if history is any guide - he will tell us all his runner up as well.

But once the pageantry is complete - what changes, really?

Three major changes are in store. Two for the social conservatives that twisted their beliefs to vote for the thrice married adulterer, and one for the fiscal conservatives.

First and foremost, the a Women's Right to Choice over her body is most likely done. Conservatives have hammered at the court to overturn Roe V Wade for decades and it looks like that will happen. Abortion will be outlawed in about 20 states, legal in about 10 and the other 20 will face a harrowing state-level fight. A woman's right to abort a zygote at 6 weeks due to a rape will be dependent on where she lives. Some states will repeat the message of Brazil where a 12 year old raped by her father was forced to have the child AND give the father parental rights - because that is what a 2,000 year old book says.

Second, the Affordable Care Act will be overturned, at the very least the requirement to ignore preexisting conditions. So those people who had cancer, or genetic markers for some diseases can be denied coverage. This is a happy outcome for both fiscal conservatives (those preexisting conditions aren't cheap) and social conservatives who think preexisting conditions are a smite from the Lord.

Thirdly, there is a good chance gay marriage will be overturned. If not overturned then defiantly defined as less than straight marriage. Most anyone will be able to deny services to gay couples because it will offend their religious liberties. Depending on the flavor of the new Supreme Court Justice, this "right to deny" may be extended to all homosexuals, bisexuals and others and perhaps to other sinners and minorities.

Sure voting rights and the ability for our votes to count are in the shitter, but that would have happened with Justice Kennedy anyway. Voter purges, radical gerrymandering and racial gerrymandering have already been upheld. North Carolina was ruled to have drawn their electoral maps and changed their laws specifically to limit the effect of minority voters. The District Court said they had to be redrawn. The Supreme Court has already stayed that ruling so the illegal maps can be used in the next election. So as far as voting rights go, every vote is not equal already.