Finally Friday Reads: For our Children’s sake, the 100 year anniversary of the unpassed ERA

Good Day, Sky Dancers!

So my granddaughters turn 2 today. I keep reading things that make me worry about what sort of life they will lead as they grow.  I’m glad they are relatively safe in terms of culture war crazies. But, it’s difficult to imagine what climate change horrors will await them when they head to university and grow into adulthood.  Maybe I need a few hobbies that will send me down different rabbit holes.  I could be this granny that crochets huge cats.  I wish I could just detach more gently from the events of the day, but I cannot.

Today is the centennial anniversary of the introduction of the ERA on July 21, 1923.  It was introduced by Alice Paul.  This was the year both my late parents were born.

So, you know that I lived in Nebraska, and everyone that I really was good friends with could not get out of there fast enough.  I wanted out because I didn’t want my kids growing up there because I had, and it was not a place that I ever wanted to be.  Horrifying stories come out of there that put me in mind of Florida and Texas.  This is one. This is from the New York Times.  “Nebraska Teen Who Used Pills to End Pregnancy Gets 90 Days in Jail. Celeste Burgess, 19, and her mother, Jessica Burgess, 42, were charged last year after the police obtained their private Facebook messages.”

A Nebraska teenager who used abortion pills to terminate her pregnancy was sentenced on Thursday to 90 days in jail after she pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegally concealing human remains.

The teenager, Celeste Burgess, 19, and her mother, Jessica Burgess, 42, were charged last year after the police obtained their private Facebook messages, which showed them discussing plans to end the pregnancy and “burn the evidence.”

Prosecutors said the mother had ordered abortion pills online and had given them to her daughter in April 2022, when Celeste Burgess was 17 and in the beginning of the third trimester of her pregnancy. The two then buried the fetal remains themselves, the police said.

Jessica Burgess pleaded guilty in July to violating Nebraska’s abortion law, furnishing false information to a law enforcement officer and removing or concealing human skeletal remains. She faces up to five years in prison at her sentencing on Sept. 22, according to Joseph Smith, the top prosecutor in Madison County, Neb.

The police investigation into the Burgesses began before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

But the case gained greater attention after the court issued the ruling, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, fueling fears that women, and those who help them, could be prosecuted for abortions, and that their private communications could be used against them.

At the time, Nebraska banned abortion after 20 weeks from conception. In May, Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, signed a 12-week ban into law.

Greer Donley, an associate professor of law at the University Pittsburgh School of Law, said in an interview on Thursday that the case was a “harbinger of things to come,” as a flurry of Republican-led states have enacted abortion restrictions and more women in those states have sought abortion pills as a workaround.

“This case is really sad because people resort to things like this when they’re really desperate,” Professor Donley said, “and the thing that makes people really desperate is abortion bans.”

No kidding.  Plus, the death of infants and pregnant women is on the rise.  This is about control of women and reverting them to chattel status. This does not promote life in any manner. This is from Austin TV station KXAN.  “Texas sees spike in infant mortality after enacting abortion restrictions, DSHS data says.”  It’s reported by Erica Pauda and Cora Neas.

 Since Texas enacted its abortion restrictions, it has seen a spike in infant mortality, according to preliminary data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

According to the DSHS data, 2,200 infants died in Texas last year. That’s 227 more than the year before, or an 11% increase.

At the same time, infant deaths caused by severe genetic and birth defects rose by 21%, DSHS said.

This comes after a nearly decade-long decline between 2014 and 2021. According to the data, deaths had fallen by 15%.

The race for the most cruel Governor in a state is between DeSantis and Abbott.  They both promote ignorance and seek to torture and harm children.   Abbott ordered the installation of razorwire across a lot of the Texas Border.  He also has ordered State Troopers to push back anyone attempting to enter the United States, even if it means tossing nursing and pregnant women into a river.  Another order was to not provide water to border-crossers facing imminent heat stroke.  This resulted in a child of 7 passing out.  Today, The Dallas Morning News reports, “Razor wire at Texas border is illegal and must be removed, Justice Dept. tells Abbott. Federal threat comes as Democrats in Congress prod Biden to halt Texas’ border security operation.”

 The Justice Department has warned Gov. Greg Abbott that Texas’ use of razor wire and floating barriers to deter illegal migration across the Rio Grande is illegal. And Democrats in Congress pressed President Joe Biden on Friday to halt the state’s efforts, after reports of drownings and of young migrants being sliced.

Federal authorities told Abbott they may seek a court order “requiring the removal of obstructions or other structures in the Rio Grande River.”

In their letter, the congressional Democrats expressed “profound alarm” at the injuries, including at least one pregnant woman who became entangled in the 60 miles of concertina wire installed by Texas forces in recent months.

A Department of Public Safety trooper recently raised an alarm about migrants being pushed back into the river and denied water despite scorching heat.

“We urge you to assert your authority over federal immigration policy and foreign relations and investigate and pursue legal action, as appropriate, related to stop Governor [Greg] Abbott’s dangerous and cruel actions,” says the letter to Biden, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and signed by nearly 90 other Democrats in the House, including all 13 Texans.

“As Governor Abbott continues to escalate his efforts on the border, we urge you to …stop this horrific abuse of power,” they wrote.

Abbott launched Operation Lone Star two years ago, sending National Guard and state troopers to the border when Biden took office, halted construction of the border wall promoted by predecessor Donald Trump, and began to dismantle many of Trump’s harsh immigration policies.

Democrats asserted in their letter that the state’s actions are “putting asylum-seekers at serious risk of injury and death, interfering with federal immigration enforcement, infringing on private property rights, and violating U.S. treaty commitments with Mexico.”

Mexico’s president denounced the “inhumane” treatment of migrants by Texas this week.

Meanwhile, the “pro-life”  Justices on the Supreme Court love promoting death penalty politics. This is from Lawrence Hurley at NBC News. “Liberal justices blast Supreme Court majority for allowing Alabama execution. The high court allowed the execution of James Barber despite botched attempts to execute other inmates last year.”

The three liberal Supreme Court justices took aim at their conservative colleagues for allowing the early Friday execution of an Alabama death row inmate who had raised claims about the state’s history of botching the lethal injection process.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, declined to block the execution of James Barber, who was put to death at about 2 a.m. local time.

“This court’s decision denying Barber’s request for a stay allows Alabama to experiment again with a human life,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissenting opinion joined by her liberal colleagues, Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Barber had argued that the execution would violate his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.

His claim was raised in light of the state’s problems executing three inmates last year. Two of those executions, those of Alan Miller and Kenneth Smith, were ultimately called off when prison officials could not access a suitable vein. Another inmate, Joe James, was put to death only after a three-hour delay.

The state subsequently reviewed its procedures, which was enough to convince the Supreme Court and lower courts that the execution could go ahead.

The Supreme Court’s brief order did not explain its reasoning in allowing Barber’s execution.

Sister Helen Prejean and me in my hood in June. I’m still not crocheting gigantic cats, and she’s still fighting the death penalty.

It gets to the point where you just don’t know what to say about the Sicko Six.  However, there are 3 very strong women on the court that can call out the bullshit when the read it.

And now to Florida for your adventures in Orwellian speech.   Nicole Chavez reports this for CNN. “Florida Board of Education approves new Black history standards that critics call ‘a big step backward’.”   Sounds like they believe that everyone should be a slave every now and then because, wow, there are so many benefits to being someone’s personal property to do with what they want.  Food and job training!  Plus, you get the religious instructions that tell you it’s the Angry Sky Fairy’s will that there be slaves!

The Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state’s public schools, sparking criticism from education and civil rights advocates who said students should be allowed to learn the “full truth” of American history.

The curriculum was approved at the board’s meeting Wednesday in Orlando.

It is the latest development in the state’s ongoing debate over African American history, including the education department’s rejection of a preliminary pilot version of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course for high school students, which it claimed lacked educational value.

The new standards come after the state passed new legislation under Gov. Ron DeSantis that bars instruction in schools that suggests anyone is privileged or oppressed based on their race or skin color. DeSantis has used his fight against “wokeness” to boost his national profile amid a national discussion of how racism and history should be taught in schools.

The new standards require instruction for middle school students to include “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” a document listing the standards and posted in the Florida Department of Education website said.

When high school students learn about events such as the 1920 Ocoee massacre, the new rules require that instruction include “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” The massacre is considered the deadliest Election Day violence in US history and, according to several histories of the incident, it started when Moses Norman, a prominent Black landowner in the Ocoee, Florida, community, attempted to cast his ballot and was turned away by White poll workers.

Similar standards are noted for lessons about other massacres, including the Atlanta race massacre, the Tulsa race massacre and the Rosewood race massacre.

“Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement condemning the new standards. “It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history.”

“We are proud of the rigorous process that the Department took to develop these standards,” Alex Lanfranconi, director of communications for the Florida Department of Education, said in a statement, noting the standards were created by a group of 13 educators and academics.

“It’s sad to see critics attempt to discredit what any unbiased observer would conclude to be in-depth and comprehensive African American History standards. They incorporate all components of African American History: the good, the bad and the ugly. These standards will further cement Florida as a national leader in education, as we continue to provide true and accurate instruction in African American History,” Lanfranconi said.

I was a history major and an American history explorer with my family.  My mother made sure we saw every unblemished historical fact about our country, from sea to shining sea.  She also became the family genealogy expert and hid nothing from me about the slave owners in our family tree. She could crochet up a significant number of things too. However, she never soft-peddled the ongoing US genocide of our First Americans.  She also didn’t hold back on the slave uprising that ended the life and career of one whatever great Uncle back there on the side branches.  He was an expert in breaking uncooperative slaves.  That fits right in with the white-washing of American History. Sorry folks, there’s a newspaper out there that reports his death and the whys and hows of everything.  I’d like to send that to every kid in Florida to take to their teacher who tries to teach that bullshit.

Did I feel good about any of this?  No.  That’s the point.  It caused me to fight bullies twice my size as a kid when I saw what I saw.  It caused me not to want to be like them. That was the lesson.  This brings the fight I fought for at least 3 decades, starting five decades ago.  It’s back, and I’m not about to give up on it now.  This is from The Conversation.  I’m sure unisex bathrooms will once again be a scare factor. “U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney speaks during a press conference in December 2022, calling to affirm the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. Alex Wong/Getty Images.  Democrats revive the Equal Rights Amendment from a long legal limbo – facing an unlikely uphill battle to get it enshrined into law.”  This was my first big civil rights fight and we’re still fighting today.

Democrats in Congress are making a new push to get the long-dormant proposed Equal Rights Amendment enshrined into law. As legislation, it would guarantee sex equality in the Constitution and could serve as a potential legal antidote to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which removed the federal right to an abortion.

“In light of Dobbs, we’re seeing vast discrimination across the country,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York in an interview July 13, 2023. “Women are being treated as second-class citizens. This is more timely than ever.”

Gillibrand, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri and other Democratic lawmakers are arguing that the Equal Rights Amendment, often referred to as the ERA, has already been ratified by the states and is enforceable  as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

Efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to recognize women’s rights have faced major challenges for the past century. Most recently, in April 2023 Senate Republicans blocked a similar resolution that would let states ratify the amendment, despite an expired deadline.

The piece was written by Deana Rohlinger, a Professor of Sociology at Florida State University.  DeSantis will probably come for her job.  She studies gender and politics.  Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Co-Chair of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Caucus,  leads the fight that started 100 years ago.  This happened on July 19th.

“Nearly 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced, our broad, diverse, and intersectional movement is using every tool available to get the ERA over the finish line and enshrine gender equality into our Constitution,” said Rep. Pressley. “Our Republican colleagues have the opportunity, once again, to stand on the right side of history and support the dignity, humanity, and equality of every person who calls America home. They must meet the moment.”

“The Equal Rights Amendment is all about equality—the most fundamental of American values. After 100 years, we are closer than ever to realizing the vision of the ERA,” said Senator Cardin, lead sponsor of S.J. Res. 4, the Senate companion resolution. “The required 38 states have already ratified the ERA, and it is long past time that Congress formally recognized the ERA as a part of our Constitution. I’m committed to pushing forward on all fronts until we finally see equality enshrined into our Constitution. There should be no deadline on equality.”

“This week marks the 100th anniversary of the unveiling of the Equal Rights Amendment at Seneca Falls. Seeing the ERA through to publication will require bold and decisive action, which Rep. Pressley is taking today by launching a discharge petition to bring HJ Res 25 to the House floor for a vote. Today’s ERA movement is multi-generational, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, intersectional, and inclusive, led by Black and brown women, LGBTQ+ people, and youth,” said Zakiya Thomas, President and CEO of the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women’s Equality. “We’re grateful to the leadership of Representatives Pressley, Bush, Dean, Garcia, Kamlager-Dove, and Spanberger for advancing equality of all women, especially women of color, and LGBTQ+ folks; making sure we are all represented and seen in our Constitution.  This fight won’t end here! We are in this, along with our nearly 300 partner organizations, until we’ve achieved true equal protection under the law for all.”

I have to admit I’d love to have a hobby, but I’m not sure it’s really me.  Meanwhile, I’ll go tilt at a few more windmills and hopefully, enough people will join they will topple.  I’m not leaving a mess for my grandchildren to pick up if at all possible.  I’d rather they not have to wait another 100 years before the ERA is ratified.

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?