Major Update Friday morning: SCOTUS rules there is no constitutional right to abortion
In the case of Dobbs vs Jackson Women's Health, the Supreme Court of the United States offered a clear and, in my view, legally correct, statement: "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives."
It's important to recognize that even Ruth Bader Ginsburg thought that Roe went way too far: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Warning About Roe v. Wade Came True (newsweek.com)
And the arguments made in the majority opinion are, purely on the basis of law, clearly correct (in my humble opinion.) I saw this as someone who is mostly pro-choice.
This issue, like pretty much all issues, belongs to the states not to the federal government. Most of the American population will not see changes in their access to abortion. Some states, especially in the South and conservative Midwest and Great Plains, will. Women who want abortions and live in those places will soon find non-profit organizations setting up transportation networks to get those women to locations where abortion remains legal.
Chief Justice Roberts, who is almost always too cautious in actually defending the Constitution because of his overweening interest in what he sees as protecting the Court, wrote (while concurring in the judgment): "(T)here is a clear path to deciding this case correctly without overruling Roe all the way down to the studs: recognize that the viability line must be discarded, as the majority rightly does, and leave for another day whether to reject any right to an abortion at all."
I like Kavanaugh on this: "Because the Constitution is neutral on the issue of abortion, this Court also must be scrupulously neutral. The nine unelected Members of this Court do not possess the constitutional authority to override the democratic process and to decree either a pro-life or a pro-choice abortion policy for all 330 million people in the United States."
Just One Thing: Guns
OK, this is actually two things:
First: It's strange how crazy Democratic politicians went after the Supreme Court's ruling in the NY gun case ("Bruen") suggesting that allowing people who will actually go to a sheriff's office, register with the government, carry a specific identification card, and usually take firearms training, will be a huge source of chaos, mayhem and murder. Who actually believes that? At least who among those who have a functioning cerebrum believe something that is so utterly belied by all evidence...
Debunking the Myth of "Concealed-Carry Killers" | The Heritage Foundation
Concealed Carry Facts and Fiction | Gun Facts and Fiction | USCCA (usconcealedcarry.com)
Glad to see Alito bringing it: Samuel Alito lashes out at liberals in guns case as tensions boil over at SCOTUS - CNNPolitics
This additional info from a listener re comments by the mayor of NYC that the ruling would turn the city into "the Wild Wild West":
Those statements coming from the Mayor of a city that has produced these shocking statistics:
- 11,510 Felony assaults as of 6/19/22 (182 days) = 63 per day
- 750 reported rapes as of 6/19/22 (4 per day)
- 485 Murders in 2021 (1.3 per day)
- 1,857 shooting victims in 2021 (5 per day)
- In 2021, more than 4,900 charged with illegal possession of a gun but only 850 (17%) prosecuted for that crime.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-city.pdf
https://nypost.com/2022/01/01/nyc-recorded-485-murders-in-2021/
And second, yesterday on a 65-33 vote, the US Senate passed the first "gun control" bill in decades. Considering Democrats have full control of the federal government and Second Amendment rights are only being protected by the existence of the Senate filibuster, what eventually passed can barely count as gun control. Indeed it's a bill that excludes almost every Democratic priority to restrict gun rights in America. I think this is a bigger political win for the GOP than for Dems. It is very likely to pass the House. I suspect not more than 20 House Republicans will vote for it.
The part of the bill that most Republicans will object to involves "red flag" laws. If you're against such laws the bad news is that this bill would essentially offer bribes to states that don't already have such laws to pass them. The good news is that the bill does not implement or propose a federal red flag law so it's still up to your state as it has been all along and conservative states like TX likely won't be swayed by the bribe.
Today's Guests
I'm really psyched to have Adam Carolla join me for the first time, and as an extra bonus he'll be in studio with me. Adam is one of the most successful podcast entrepreneurs anywhere, as well as being a big-time stand-up comic and a best-selling author. Not bad for a day's work.
Adam Carolla Show - Daily Podcast
Here's the info for Adam's goings-on at Comedy Works tonight and tomorrow:
The Adam Carolla Show | Live in Denver | Comedy Works (live podcast, 7:15 PM)
Adam Carolla is Unprepared | Live in Denver | Comedy Works (standup, 9:45 PM)
Adam also co-starred in "No Safe Spaces", a film which exposes the tyranny of today's woke mob...see the trailer below. No Safe Spaces (Official)
The dude even has his own line of drinks: Carolla Drinks
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If my conversation with Demetri Kofinas made you go "hmmm" or my conversation with Doomberg made you a little concerned, wait until you hear what Peter Zeihan has to say. I used a picture of a meteor destroying the earth for today's blog note thumbnail picture. Peter, of course, predicts no such catastrophe...but what he does predict might actually be worse if it comes true.
Peter, who also joins me in studio, is an expert on history and geopolitics...the stuff that's in his brain is just unbelievable...and his new book, "The End of the World is Just the Beginning" will make you wonder what the world can do to save itself from a path that Peter argues fairly convincingly will be VERY hard to avoid, in large part due to an impending near-global population collapse. This will be a fascinating but brutally sobering conversation.
Homepage - Zeihan on Geopolitics
The End of the World is Just the Beginning - Zeihan on Geopolitics
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And, my third guest today, also in studio (new record for me...all three guests in studio!) is my friend Christian Toto, Denver's own non-leftist movie and media critic and an all-around good guy.
Some of our topics:
Pride Month overload ... and how streaming platforms bombard us with Black Voices ... AAPI movies, etc. while most Americans embrace these groups without hesitation.
Do we still care about Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe? (Elvis movie opens friday, new Monroe film opens soon)
Paramount CEO says we won't censor past material. Sad that it even needs to be said...
Final words on same sex kiss in Lightyear... and did it impact box office numbers?
Other Stuff
A question that still needs to be answered: Given this coward's utter failure, where were other law enforcement leaders such as the town's chief of police to take control and eliminate the threat in less than 87 horrific minutes?
Oh, well maybe someone IS going to ask my question after all: Uvalde Shooting: Pete Arredondo Should Not Have Been in Charge of Shooting Scene, Ex-FBI Agent Says | National Review
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Juul gets stomped by the FDA. U.S. bans sales of Juul e-cigarettes, company to seek stay on enforcement | Reuters
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The world's largest bacterium has been discovered. It eats sulfur in the mangroves of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01757-1
More in the video below as well as a link to another article about these giants of the single-celled world.
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Today's Videos
Here's a trailer of the movie "No Safe Spaces" which co-stars Adam Carolla. It was released a few years ago but remains utterly apt in 2022.
More on the newly discovered massive bacteria, Thiomargarita magnifica. I love this comparison: If a "regular" bacterium encountered one of these it would be like a human encountering another human who is as tall as Mount Everest.