SCOTUS – stepping off the ledge triggers backlash

147 thoughts on “SCOTUS – stepping off the ledge triggers backlash”

1. The mailing of contraceptives, abortifacients or sex toys through the US Postal Service was criminalised by the Comstock Act, March 3rd, 1873. Griswold vs Connecticut found that unconstitutional in 1965, and is one of the landmark cases SCOTUS may soon be examining again.

   The Comstock Act’s astrology is interesting – the later Cardinal degrees that are important for the US national Pluto/Mercury opposition are: Venus 28 Aries, conjunct Neptune 24 Aries, square a very stern Saturn at 29 Capricorn.
   And thinking about the potential astro upheavals of the upcoming Mars Uranus Nodes in Taurus…..there’s Comstock’s Pluto at 19 Taurus, right in the path of it. Black Moon Lilith is 22 Leo, squaring that Pluto. BML is expanded by legal Jupiter at 24 Leo too. The Nodes are 27 Taurus/Scorpio, Uranus 2 Leo, Mars 13 Scorpio, and the Moon in earlyish Taurus as well. In 1965 Neptune opposed/dissolved that stubborn 1873 Pluto. Now it’s likely to be shaken up again.

   I think it’s worth noting that when birth control was legalised for unmarried people (!) on 22 March, 1972, Venus was 16 Taurus (November’s eclipse degree). And when the Supreme Court ruled that employers with religious objections could refuse to cover contraception in health insurance plans (30 June 2014), Saturn was 16 Scorpio, inconjunct Uranus at 16 Aries. BML in Leo (13) again, as it was in 1873.

   Patterns. There they are…..

2. Roderick, I suspect the pills will have to be disguised as something else and not go through the post at all. Probably in a whole range of things. It would probably be better if someone else in a blue state made the arrangements and used a code to inform the person wanting the abortion. Don’t you have walk-in clinics over there? You don’t need an appointment for them, though you might need to go back later to collect your prescription.

3. Maybe another contributing factor relates to lunar eclipse in Scorpio (sex, death) in May whilst Venus (feminine ) was conjunct Chiron (wound, vulnerability)

4. Could something as obvious as t Saturn over US Sibley Moon have this depressing and backward influence re abortion and women more generally?

5. “The other is that SCOTUS, already plummeting in popularity because of a sense that it is overly politicized, will get a mammoth circuit-board-frying jolt centred around the August 1st Mars Uranus North Node conjunction which will square its Pluto.”

   I wondered, gloomily, about Clarence Thomas’ hints about re-examining Griswold (1965), Lawerence (2003) and Hodges (2015), and the subsequent pressure and risk to LGBTQ rights, and contraception. I think the Mars Uranus NN conjunction square SCOTUS Pluto is potentially very significant here. The Fixed signs crop up regularly at key moments for US history in this regard. This is just a brief list, I got the dates from an article on pbs.org.

   December 10th, 1924: Society for Human Rights – Venus 16 Scorpio, Nodes 15 Leo
   November 11th, 1950: Mattachine Society, promoting “ethical homosexual culture” – Sun 18 Scorpio, Mercury 23 Scorpio, Venus 17 Scorpio, Pluto 19 Leo
   September 21st, 1955: Daughters of Bilitis, first lesbian rights organisation: Saturn 17 Scorpio, Jupiter 21 Leo. Uranus had just entered Leo (1 degree) – bearing in mind what Marjorie has written about sign changes and the outer planets.
   January 13th, 1958: first US Supreme Court ruling in favour of the LGBT magazine “One”: Uranus 10 Leo square Neptune 4 Scorpio, Nodes 7 Scorpio, Venus 15 Aquarius (Rx) conjunct Chiron 15 Aquarius

   August 1966 – no exact date available for the Compton Cafeteria Riot, which was about transgender rights. However, there’s Neptune at 19 Scorpio conjunct the South Node that month. The Nodes travel from 22 Taurus to 18 Taurus. There’s a sextile to the Pluto/Uranus conjunction at 17 Virgo. Jupiter at 19 Cancer expands all of that.

   Curiously, the arrival of explorer John Cabot in Newfoundland in May-June 1497 (JC) has Pluto at 16-15 Scorpio, square Uranus at 18-17 Aquarius. The arrival of the Mayflower on 11th November, 1620 has Sun 19 Scorpio, Mercury 12 Scorpio, Jupiter 15 Taurus, Pluto 12 Taurus, BML 16 Aquarius.

   The upcoming Uranus Mars Nodes firecracker will resonate with all of these potentially sensitive points. This October (2 Scorpio) and November’s (16 Taurus) eclipses create more sensitivity. We shall see.

   • Thank you for finding that history, Jane. I don’t know about many of these events. Looks like history worth learning about.

     • Hi Chris – yes, I think so too! It all goes further back than I thought, and the links with the astrology seem quite compelling. I haven’t tested them though, so we’ll have to wait and see what the high-energy Mars Uranus Nodes conjunction brings.

6. All those US Foundation charts are under stress now and over the next few years from the initial Declaration of Independence through the creation of the Constitution and the Supreme Court. One of the issues is that Americans treat the US constitution as some sort of holy political writ. They then argue about its interpretation in quasi religious terms. In the absence of Federal Legislation the Supreme Court is the arbiter of the disputes. It is now largely populated with “Orginalists” and they have stated that in the absence of Congressional legislation it is up to the states to decide. This decision maybe “undemocratic” but whether the original decision on Roe versus Wade was any more “democratic” is a moot point. The argument that the Court can’t change its mind on any ruling would be a very dangerous precedent as the general principle in democracies is that institutions can not make decisions that bind their successors or later generations. It could also rebound on those suggesting applying such restrictions now as the argument could be applied to lots of other issues where the Court could set precedents that could subsequently not be overturned.

   In many ways the issue exists because over the past 50 years Presidents and Congress have singularly failed to legislate on abortion rights even though it might be argued that both the 1973 decision and the current one are perhaps signals that is what they should do. In many ways the politicians have rather cowardly dodged the subject, hiding their lack of resolve behind the Supreme Court. One of the reasons is that contrary to what extremists in either side of the debate claim general public opinion in the US is far more nuanced on the topic than the political debate reflects. While there is a clear majority in most polls in favour of general access to abortion there is much less agreement about the terms under which it should be given and in the time limit for abortion. Maybe it is time for the US politicians in both parties to grow up, to stop pandering to extremists in their respective parties and to come up with sensible legislation on the issue like most other western states.

   • But then there is power only in the extremes … politicians thrive on that … sensible moderate policies will mean peace … then there goes the possibility of chaos which is what leads them to power … us vs them principle.

   • Originalists are as bad as fundamentalist Islamists.

     Good quote from Thomas Jefferson gleaned from FB as a sharp rebuke to the neanderthals on the Supreme Court.

     Jefferson formed his ideas under Pluto in Aquarius.

     “I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as a civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”

     More Jefferson.
     .”No man shall be compelled to frequent or support religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.”

   • Well said. I don’t remember now where I saw it, but I like the idea of legislation having to include an expiration date. If it’s still important to people in the future, they’ll renew it.

     “The argument that the Court can’t change its mind on any ruling”
     But it has a history of doing that. For a while, it said slavery was fine, then it said slavery wasn’t fine. For a while, it said abortion was fine, and just not it’s said abortion isn’t fine. There are other reversals by the Supreme Court of previous precedent-setting decisions by the Supreme Court. I’m not clear on what argument you would mean here.

7. @Nicole
   Thank you for the explanation and those of others, it seems as if the coming generation will have to work gradually to improve the existing constitution ie: the Electoral College to enable fairer representation and the ruling of Brown vs. The local Education Board (1954) explains a lot about state funded education in the USA, it sounds as it begun the white flight; steady, concerted and focused on the important changes will help the younger people improve the administrative structure, one step at the time.
   Whenever I have visited your enormous country I have enjoyed the variety of landscapes, it comes across as a young one, still taking shape whereas Europe has had more time to develop and become domesticated, I sincerely do hope that positive changes will come, I do wish the USA well.

   • I have to agree with Troy about Americans’ obsession with appearance. Traditionally the taller male presidential candidate wins. An obese woman, no matter how qualified, starts the race with definite disadvantages. Even (male) Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor, had bariatric surgery to lose weight before a presidential run.

     All the examples you cite, @Mrs. Bhali, date from before the television era, which changed so much. And George Washington married a woman with children.

     I think Stacey Abrams is wonderful but she needs more experience. Men, especially rich businessmen, can run for high office with limited political experience but, in the US, there’s a strong double standard for women politicians who have to be two or three times as qualified and experienced as their male opponents to win. I earnestly hope she can win the Georgia governorship to set her on a course for higher office.

     • I think it’s high time we call out those image-based voters and buck that trend, instead of working within. People can be trained to form habits, but first they have to admit to the bad ones, which will be especially difficult, given the dominance of image-obsessed social-media.
       In this regard, I’m glad to see celebrities post no-makeup, no-filter photos and magazines feature real plus-size models on their covers. I’m waiting for the news media and Hollywood to truly diversify both in front and behind the cameras, in both representation and story arcs (the lone hero succeeding against all odds–pure fantasy!).

   • As an American, I thank you for the kind thoughts, Virginia!
     Yes, Vast, Diverse, and Relatively Young all do describe the nation.
     There are some who say that JFK was the turning point. That in the televised debates, Nixon had the points that won the argument. But he sweated and melted under the studio lights, while Kennedy looked cool, calm & collected, the image of the new generaton taking charge – which he did. As seen on TV!

8. I wonder if it’s simply coincidence that this decision came out the day after the 50th anniversary of the “Title IX” legislation that gave girls/women the right to equal opportunity in college – 23-June-1972. This predominantly played out with high female participation in sports.

   That legislation along with Roe vs Wade (Jan 73) really highlights how quickly Pluto in Libra took effect as it had only arrived there in Oct ’71, although it was retro’ed back into Virgo at the title of Title IX passing. Of course, Uranus had been in Libra since 1968 shaking things up and setting the scene.

   • Tomorrow they will say women should not be educated its against the Bible

     • @Chris, as a fellow Californian, I agree with your take on Governor Newsom, who’s done a far better job than I ever expected.

       The danger of a constitutional convention is that’s what the right-wing has eagerly sought for years, to rewrite the Constitution from their distorted pseudo-Christian perspectives. Since it’s likely apportioned one -state, one vote, not based on population, the fundamentalist little.states and red states like Texas could out-vote.the monied population-dense blue states like California, New York and Illinois.

       • I agree that a Constitutional Convention could be extremely destructive. I hope we can get the needed reforms without that extreme, and without having to split the Union.

9. Marjorie,

   While many have asked you to compare the U.S. charts of today to those near the Civil War, I would love to see your comparison between its current charts and those of Germany from the early 30s through 1945.

   Thank you,
   WiAS

10. They did not take the law into the court, these judges took their religion

    • Agreed! Unfortunately, the First Amendment says that CONGRESS may not impose rules based on religion… but doesn’t block the Supreme Court from doing so!

11. At the moment it is a good thing that certain states are making abortion available to women from, from backward thinking states, who don’t. In the UK, it is practically abortion on demand, except in Northern Ireland, who also doesn’t recognise gay marriage either. But at least, the Northern Irish could avail themselves of medical treatment, including abortions in other parts of Britain. And if a gay couple marry in other parts of the UK, Northern Ireland has to accept it.

    So American women are supposed to accept this from a group of judges who apparently back those who have been bombing abortion clinics for years. And killing people in the process. So much for Pro-Life,

    In the 50s middle-class women dealt with the problem by arranging to have a D & C, which for those that don’t know is an operation to have the lining of the uterus scraped in order to prevent heavy periods. In a pregnant woman it becomes an abortion.

    Nowadays, women are given high dosage progesterone in order to abort. At least in the early stages of pregnancy. I suspect in the later stages as well. I have always supported a woman’s right to choose, but I have always felt uncomfortable about late stage abortion. Mainly because most women I have assumed would rather do it as soon as possible. But with testing for various diseases happening at such late stages, late abortions are inevitable.

    But it seems that not all testing is accurate. There have been plenty of babies born that didn’t have the Down’s Syndrome, they were diagnosed with prior to birth. If they are wrong about that, what else are they wrong about?

    Many years ago a friend of mine was raped by her husband and became pregnant. She had an abortion. But she felt tremendous guilt, became pregnant again and had a little girl. The mind boggles!

    I will always support a woman’s right to choose. Just don’t expect me to be happy about it!

    • I doubt the women having abortions are happy about it. This is why it’s a decision that’s best left to the pregnant person and/or their family, instead of the state.
      Unlike those who have been harassing women going to clinics and abortion providers or even killing them, I don’t assume to know what other people should be doing in terms of their own family planning. It seems those people lack humility and find rationalization in defining “life” in evidence-free terms.
      So, like you, I am also pro-choice.

    • @ Linda, the problem with America is that it covers a huge land mass and if you live in the South you are surrounded by other states that have outlawed abortion so your best bet is to fly to another state, but that means you have to make the appointment via email/phone, book a flight and find a hotel room.
      As for medicinal abortions–several red states are forcing women to make an appointment with their doctor to obtain the medications and other red states are literally monitoring people’s mail to make sure they aren’t receiving abortion-inducing drugs.

      As for late term abortions, I believe over 80% of abortions occur during the first trimester and the ones that happen during the second trimester are usually due to the woman having to save money for the procedure and third trimester abortions are usually performed to save the life of the mother.

      For me I have gotten a bit more squeamish about abortion as I have gotten older but since the pro-birth side won’t even discuss what happens when a woman is forced to raise a child she didn’t want or increasing social services to help with children then I will always support a woman’s right to bodily autonomy.

      • @Roderick, usually third trimester abortions are for severe, life-threatening anomalies/deformities in babies whose parents want the baby but don’t want it to suffer, or to save the life of the mother.

12. I think a lot of Americans make the assumption that abortion laws are more liberal in Europe. The reality is that outside the U.K. and the Netherlands the termination limits are lower than quite a lot of US states. Abortion is illegal in Malta which is an EU member and Portugal only allows abortion upto 10 weeks. Most EU states have a limit of about 3 months.

    • Sure, lets cherry pick facts in order to criminalise & punish vunerable and poor women in the US, because some parts of Europe aren’t as liberal on late abortion as Americans might have psychically guesed. Good point.

    • You’re missing a couple of things. From what I understand none of those countries force a woman to visit a clinic more than once to have an abortion. They don’t force women to read materials about the bogus side-effects of abortions or undergo unnecessary tests.
      Most of those European countries probably allow women liberal access to morning after pill while some U.S. states some doctors are allowed to refuse to prescribe and some pharmacists are allowed to refuse to fill prescriptions based on their religious beliefs.

13. I read a quote that said something like

    ‘In America guns now have more rights than women’

    And loved part of Martha Stewart’s quote;

    ‘Time zones are crazyyy
    In Australia its 9am
    In Rome its 1am
    And in America its 1942 ………’

    • So true, @Jennifer E. It’s far more advantageous now to be a gun (or a man with a gun) than a woman in the backward -thinking US.

      • ‘….. (or a man with a gun) ….’ Except if you are a black man with a gun (…. or without for that matter)… !!!

14. Judging from the comments, it seems as if the USA is fast becoming a dystopian society dominated by freaks, it brings to mind the foretelling of many writers and I am thinking of The Handmaids Tale. God save America.

    • @Virginia, not all parts of the US have freak-show quality governments. California, run by rational Democrats, for the most part, is a model for protection the rights of women, as are many other states, including a very few run by Republican governors, including progressive states like Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

      • California, a majority minority state where Caucasians are now in the minority, also works to protect the rights of minorities, not always successfully.

        • If “Latino/Hispanic, any race” isn’t already a little more than 50% in California, it will be soon. But the state’s quite a melting pot. Sometimes successful harmony of blended fondue, sometimes explosions. I don’t think there’s any kind of ethnic issue dealing with abortion. Because of the Spanish/Mexican history, Latino/Hispanic is much more often Catholic. But that doesn’t necessarily mean in agreement with outlawing or harshly restricting abortion & birth control. I think the liberal vs conservative divide is far more powerful on this issue than ethnicity, and people of any ethnicity can be liberal or conservative. (Even when others might think that a political preference by others undermines their own best interest.)

      • Thank you.

15. @Tania, this is incredibly well put. Also,
    I must say, we seriously need to start countering fundamentalist “first heartbeat” doctrine, and also stop guilty trapping women who choose to abort by telling them how hard the decision is and how they will regret it all their lives. The fact is, most don’t. I’ve had friends going through the experience both as young adults and as mothers with children already, and really, few really give any thought on their safe abortion that did not leave complications.

    Also, same subjects wanting to limit abortion rights are often also against contraceptive rights. I live in a country where abortion is “on evaluation” (basically granted on demand, but this is usually a week more of wait time) and cis-women can’t even have a sterilization before being 30 or having 3 children. And, trans people NEED to be sterilized. I’ve tried to vote for candidates making sterilization possible at 18, to no avail. I hope now we will have a public debate on this, and get the law changed, because people seem genuinely stunned by the US development.

    • While I usually value your input and opinion, I am taken aback by your statement that “trans people NEED to be sterilized.” According to whom? And why? It sounds quite a bit eugenicist in origin without context, so I’d love to know how you formed this opinion.

      • Lupron, the so-called puberty blocker, does just that. It is promoted as a pause button but it is profoundly disruptive. They end up anorgasmic, along with a whole host of other side effects.

        Lupron is used for court ordered chemical castration of men.

        Young women on testosterone face urterine atrophy requiring a hysterectomy. As well as early menopause.

        Creating lifelong patients reliant on hormone treatments seems diabolical. Especially since over 80% desist in their dysmorphia once puberty is over. Effeminate boys and tomboys are in the line of fire because they don’t fit in this fashionable and regressive gender ideology.

        In Canada anything but affirmation (essentially confirmation of self diagnosis) is illegal. A father in BC was recently sentenced to jail for mis-gendering his daughter.

        More obfuscation in the guise of kindness.

        Eugenics is right.

        • Are you saying that because chemicals block a natural process, that irrespective of the fact that a person is asking for these medicinal interventions for themselves (or their family members are asking for those who are interested in such interventions), so that they can better cope with their body dysmorphia (which the American Psychiatric Association, the American Pediatric Association, and a whole host of other medical associations approve of and recommend for those in the trans community), because YOU disapprove of that process, they should not get these treatments?
          Following your logic, shouldn’t we also stop cancer patients from getting Chemo? Stop the medicinal intervention of those who have headaches or migraines? Stop access to abortion pills?

          • 80 percent of those suffering from body dysphoria desist if allowed to complete puberty. Think about that for a moment.

            Reddit has a de-trasition group of 35,000 members. It is sobering reading. These are irreversible changes.

            Paediatric care somehow reconciles itself with elective double mastectomies and chemical castration.

            “Not cool” as Solaia wrote elsewhere about enforced sterilization.

        • @PC

          ‘…. was recently sentenced to jail for mis-gendering his daughter’.

          WTH!!! This thing is getting scary because isn’t it natural that as the father he will always see the biological birth of the person first and foremost? So people now live in fear for saying the wrong thing even to their own. Wow, wow, wow. How long was the sentence?

          • There was a news blackout in Canada on the court case.

            Enclosed is an excerpt from: Discourse, Mar 16 2021 – Father jailed after referring to biological female child as his daughter

            “The warrant was issued by a judge for the arrest of a father after calling his biological female child his “daughter,” and referring to her with the pronouns “she” and “her.” The father was found to be in contempt of court.
            The father is a father to a gender non-conforming biological female 16-year-old who identifies as transgender and prefers the use of male pronouns. The father has repeatedly called this person his daughter, though the court has forbade it. The transition has been underway for more than two years.
            On Tuesday at 10 am Vancouver time, the father surrendered himself to the court in response to the Attorney General of British Columbia’s warrant his arrest for contempt. He was the arrested and jailed. The warrant was issued by Judge Tammen on March 4, 2021.
            A summary of the gag order:
            “[1] AB, a 14 year old transgender boy, applies for a protection order to restrain his father, CD, from publishing, speaking or giving interviews about this case or about AB’s personal and medical information.
            “a) CD shall be restrained from: i. attempting to persuade AB to abandon treatment for gender dysphoria; ii. addressing AB by his birth name; and iii. referring to AB as a girl or with female pronouns whether to AB directly or to third parties;
            “b) CD shall not directly, or indirectly through an agent or third party, publish or share information or documentation relating to AB’s sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical health, medical status or therapies.”

            On December 14, 2020, the father was compelled by Justice Mazari’s court to collude in the gender “transitioning” of his fourteen year old daughter and told not to call his biological female child his daughter. In response, Hoogland made a Charter challenge engaging his right to freedom of speech.
            When he appeared in family court, the judge forced him to sit in the prisoners’ dock, said the father’s lawyer Carey Lind said, even though he was guilty of no crime. The judge referred to him as “the accused.” Lind made an application for the judge to recuse himself on the basis that all of this was prejudicial. The father released additional details about his child’s behaviour that the court disallowed.

        • I understand what you said, and I think you have very valid points. @PC

16. Perhaps the obfuscation over the person who actually gives birth will now end.

    The ACLU alters a RBG quote on abortion to remove the word. Leading politicians cannot say it. Health authorities jump through linguistic hoops to avoid using it. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson could not define it.

    Chest feeders, mentruators, AFAB, womb carriers, birthing persons and the many others too ridiculous to repeat.

    Is there a Neptune like fog profoundly affecting this topic?

    This affects women.

    • @PC, I don’t see the need for this. Trans men usually have wombs. Many countries, including mine, unfortunately require sterilization as part of the gender alignment process. Not cool, because while rare, “detransition” seems to be much more common among trans men who started the process in late teens/early adulthood than trans women. Precisely people mostly born with ovaries and womb.

      • I respectfully disagree Solaia. If we are unable define women, we cannot protect women’s hard fought rights.

        In Canada, the government defines woman as “all people who identify as women, whether they are cisgender or transgender women.”

        Single sex places like prisons and shelters are open to those who self identify as women. This is not a kindness. Male spaces could conform for male bodies, rather than imposing on women.

        Women who identify as men, are not permitted to transfer to men’s prisons.

        Feeling or identifying like the opposite sex, is akin to being filled with the holy ghost. Subjective spiritual feelings should not be guiding policy.

        Helen Joyce wrote an intriguing book on this ideology. I’ll have to ask Marjorie to consider a look at her for the next round of suggestions. I’d be keen to see if something interesting appears in her chart.

    • Is there a definition of “men?”

      • Adult male human beings.

        As Helen Joyce said recently: ‘Irrespective of where you stand on the abortion issue, we need clear, polite, unapologetic language about the reality of human existence and that’s man, woman, male and female,’

        Sex matters.

        Thanks to Marjorie for allowing this interesting exchange to happen.

        • Cosmetics can never change DNA.

        • So the definition of women can be as simple as “adult female human beings?”

          • Precisely.

            I stumbled across this recently at astologyking:

            “Neptune retrograde 2022 begins on June 28 at 25° Pisces and ends on December 3 at 22° Pisces.

            Neptune retrograde is generally associated with stripping away the illusions, dreams, and false realities that have clouded your vision.”

          • Gender is a spectrum, no matter how much people dislike it. While intersex (I’m using the term to cover a wide range of people who do not define themselves as polar male or female) people have been around forever (remember the Greek myth of Hera questioning Tiresias, who was transformed into a woman, then back to a man, about which gender enjoyed sex more? https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tiresias), it is again those who only believe that what they are (which may not be as polar male or female as they really are in private, think of Lindsey Graham, who’s a veteran) to be the only possibilities that have used the strictures of religion to give cover to their narrow thinking.
            Many cultures all over the globe accepted non-polar (male/female) genders, include those in Europe (as the Greek myths demonstrated). Think also of two spirits in American Indigenous cultures.
            Nature offers a lot more variations than the human imagination can fathom.

    • @PC, the question directed to Judge Brown to “define a woman” was a right-wing trap by a particularly vile female senator who happens to be an ideologue and an idiot. Judge Jackson was art and piolitically astute enough to recognize it for the trap it was. There’s no “good” answer or one that wouldn’t be politicized or ridiculed.

      I never had to have an abortion but throughout my college years in London and Paris I kept a stash of travelers cheques in my desk drawer adequate to cover the fees if I needed an abortion — and the name of a reputable abortion clinic. Once I returned to the US I worked to promote and protect women’s rights.

      It won’t happen overnight, but I predict the Rethuglican Taliban will rue the day that the Supreme Court they hijacked gave them the “victory” they’ve long sought. It will be Pyrrhic.

      • I have an idea who the ideology is, if to define a woman is now a right wing trap.

        An adult female human being, seems like a good answer that will withstand any ridicule.

        • Exactly

17. To maintain global sanity its time to turn our backs on US ‘cultural’ influence as much as possible.
    They are a disaster, an ill starred event, a blight and a curse.

    • Thank you for the immediate analysis, Marjorie.
      My hope is that this will be the last straw before immense corruption and manipulation finally gets taken down in the U.S.

      Marina: “US ‘cultural’ influence”
      NO. It is NOT the overall theme of what MOST people in my country really want.
      It’s a large but still minority point of view, which has used some inherent weaknesses in our political structure to hijack, manipulate, take over power in ways that subvert democracy, repress voting, make bizarre district changes, etc.
      See the remarks of the governor of California – by itself as large as the UK, and with half as much population – about how his government is working with the other West Coast states to ensure that this entire more than 1,000 mile span will have legal protection for health rights.
      Also, see the reports on the many companies that have announced they will fund travel for medical care.
      If you need links to these spots of good news, I can provide them.
      There’s still a need to not only have a federal law to reverse this decision, but to also undo the decades long process of subversion by a MINORITY of the American population to put theocratic rules on all of us.
      And yes, there have been some awfully ineffective and sometimes corrupt political maneuvers, or inaction, by Democrats that helped the Republicans get to this point.
      But – Please don’t suppose that the decision of five partisan hacks represents what MOST Americans believe is right.

      • ‘Please don’t suppose that the decision of five partisan hacks represents what MOST Americans believe is right.’ Which is exactly what beggars belief and has left millions worldwide and most Americans’ jaws on the floor. Democracy has gone on vacation.

        • Despite being famous for democracy and talking a lot about it, there are some ways the U.S. system was always intended to be anti-democratic. The vote of someone from a lower population state counting more than someone from a larger state, was from the beginning as part of the nation’s original sin of allowing slavery. The first “state’s right” that worried people from states allowing slavery, was that they could continue it, rather than being outvoted by the states that were already more enlightened. The Founding Fathers got some things right, in some ways very humane innovations. But they were wrong to allow this evil, as the bargain to get all the states into the new nation.

          There are some other ways that were not intended to contradict democracy, but they have been used that way. Redistricting jerrymandering, pushing through these supreme court justices who look for excuses to impose their religious beliefs, etc. There are many analysts with good reports on how it got to this. I recommend the coverage from the Los Angeles Times.

          As a Californian, I can say that Gov. Newsome’s position implements what I want as a citizen. Clarence Thomas’s position doesn’t.

          I think this issue is so big that it could be the wedge that cracks open a potential Constitutional Convention or rewriting of The Rules here, at the nation’s Pluto Return. Not all empires make it past 250 years. Many thinkers from Edward Gibbon in 1776 up to Ray Dalio today have shown the historical pattern of rise and decline. And, potentially, renewal, which is my hope and prayer.

      • Thank you, Chris, so well stated and I agree wholeheartedly. As a fellow adopted Californian I, too, hope for this: “I think this issue is so big that it could be the wedge that cracks open a potential Constitutional Convention or rewriting of The Rules here, at the nation’s Pluto Return. Not all empires make it past 250 years.”

    • As much as I am a willing consumer of U.S. culture, I’m also aware of its hegemonic influence across the globe. When I travel outside of the U.S., I am often dismayed to find this influence reflect back to me, especially without some of the conversations we’re currently having regarding its context (such as appropriation, the muting or ignorance of diverse voices, the use of the N-word, etc.).

      I’m also very concerned about the ignorance of the U.S. populace regarding eugenics and its popularization by Californian governmental and social influencers (i.e., in Pasadena, including the LA Times Publisher between 1917-1944), which also coincided with the golden age of Hollywood (and the simultaneous derogatory depiction of people of color, often played by white actors in black, brown, red and yellow face and the anglicizing of even European names).
      https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2021-07-20/california-eugenics-reparations-sterilization-essential-california and https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/eugenics-crusade/.

      Unfortunately, that tradition has, unconsciously or not, continued. Think of John Wayne, Charlton Heston and Clint Eastwood and their popularization of gun culture and the idealized American west or stereotypes of urban violence.

      And many also aren’t aware of the fact that southern California (i.e., Anaheim), and by extension, central California (where many popular Hollywood A-listers, and a newly arrived pair of royals, have a home) were and are still hot beds for KKK activity (https://fullertonobserver.com/2019/01/07/a-brief-history-of-the-ku-klux-klan-in-orange-county-notes-on-the-banality-of-evil/ and https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-klan-rally-in-anaheim-erupts-in-violence-one-man-stabbed-20160227-story.html), the domestic-terrorist organization that Hollywood helped to reinvigorate in early 20th century: https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/retropod/how-hollywoods-first-major-blockbuster-revived-the-kkk/

      So, yeah, even though I also agree with Chris that the latest SCOTUS decision regarding both guns and abortion do not reflect the views of the majority of U.S. Americans, since Hollywood often export blockbusters that feature white, male heroes that perpetuate the idea of the white savior that coincide with handout of aide, the need for which hundreds of years of colonization and resource looting, including deliberate toppling of democratically elected leaders and propping up of corrupt governments, I’d also like to see less U.S. cultural influence abroad.

      • Yes … we need a multipolar world

        • Rummana,

          In general, I agree with you about a multipolar world. At the same time, if they’re modeled after U.S., China, Russia or even Modi’s or 1945 India, Johnson’s UK, current Ethiopia (all with both past and current colonial history), or any country (too many examples to list) where the people are in some ways conditioned to believe (even subconsciously) that being proud of one’s culture means the need to denigrate or eliminate another, which, I think, is an inevitable precondition to colonization (in small or large part).
          I wonder if the transitions of outer planets into new signs will help usher in a new understanding we, humans, have of ourselves, about our virtues, foibles and what lies in between, so that we’d approach each other with a healthy mixture of curiosity and understanding. While I think friction from conflicting interests/objectives are unavoidable, perhaps we’d come to a point where we’re more opened to learning from each other’s successes and failures while accepting that the world is much more complex than we’d like / can handle as flawed single organisms alone (i.e., the gender, sexuality spectra, different modalities of living) and accept that what we find unfamiliar is not unnecessarily invalid, but rather less known/acknowledged.

          • Yes

      • @Chris, as a fellow Californian, I agree with your take on Governor Newsom, who’s done a far better job than I ever expected.

        The danger of a constitutional convention is that’s what the right-wing has eagerly sought for years, to rewrite the Constitution from their distorted pseudo-Christian perspectives. Since it’s likely apportioned one -state, one vote, not based on population, the fundamentalist little.states and red states like Texas could out-vote.the monied population-dense blue states like California, New York and Illinois.

        • True … similar to what the right wing is trying in India … change the constitution

        • @Nicole

          We cannot let ourselves be held hostage to change by what the right-wing might get from a Constitutional Convention. The Equal Rights Amendment (https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/), for instance, finally has been ratified by enough number of states and I think now is the time to finally finalize it.

          • I agree that the Equal Rights Amendment should be incorporated. The problem is with the timing of the final radification..It came after the last deadline extension the Congress granted. There are probably too many in the Congress now who are opposed to women ‘s rights to grant another time extension..And some now more conservative states now want to rescind their approval.

          • @Nicole,

            Sorry, your comment wouldn’t let me reply underneath it.

            I don’t think the GOP (at least in the Senate) is dumb enough to go publicly full throttle against the ERA, at least not before the midterms. They’d need a cover, as they did in the 70s with Phyllis Schlafly and abortion.
            And the public supporting RvW will be eyeing ERA hard, especially since both C. Thomas & McConnell have illuminated the GOP strategic path for all to see.
            They were afraid enough of the backlash after the Uvalde & Buffalo shootings to push through a pretty weak gun-reform bill (with its own loopholes and no assault-rifle or large-capacity magazine ban, of course).

      • I don’t want to get too far off topic for the issue of abortion, but you’re right about racist history in SoCal. The local judge’s massive, multi billion dollar homeless decision, that was two years ago I think? is over 100 pages of very eloquent history about how racism did a lot to make things as bad as they got, and ending racism in housing has to be a crucial part of the solution.

        • Thank you for this Chirs. Do you happen to have a link for the decision?
          As any limit set on access to abortion disproportionately affects those who are poor (which, because of how slavery was rationalized and Jim Crow was structured, translates more often to people of color), I think it’s very important to to look at the cross-section of reasons behind legal decisions that ultimately alter the lives of every American (which, because of our cultural and economic influence in the world, has a ripple effect well beyond our own borders).
          It is also interesting and important to note that in a comment (by Sharon Kennedy) below that Fullerton Observer article giving details about the history of KKK activities in Southern California, that a list of those KKK members, which was in possession in the Library of Congress went missing in 1982, which happens to be a year after Reagan was sworn in as the 40th U.S. President. This is the man who ignored the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic because he and people like him thought it would only kill homosexuals and intravenous drug users (i.e., urban Black population suffering from the crack-cocaine epidemic: https://www.britannica.com/topic/crack-epidemic), and similar bigoted beliefs by Trump led him to downplay COVID’s devastation (because it has disproportionately killed people of color).
          We cannot ignore the role bigotry has played in U.S. history. In my dealings with cancers, I find that while they can be very nurturing to those they see as “family,” they can be downright awful to those whom they see as “outsiders” to that definition.

18. I live in Savannah, Georgia, four miles from the tiny village of Pin Point–birthplace of Clarence Thomas. It’s like the Wild West all over again here. The other day I was walking behind a man in the parking lot of the local Home Depot and noticed that he was wearing a holster with a gun. Two days later I was standing in the check-out line of a grocery store. Same thing–the man in front of me was wearing a holster with a gun. A couple of months ago I was with a friend in the lobby of a movie theater when in walked a pistol-packing woman wearing a MAGA cap. I mean, these people are certifiably insane….and Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, is adding to the insanity, having recently signed a bill that permits concealed carry of handguns. It’s gotten to the point where I’m apprehensive about entering public places…..or just leaving my home. Far-right crazies are coming out of the woodwork. And now SCOTUS has overturned Roe and Justice Thomas is hinting that contraception and same-sex marriage are next on the chopping block. We’re talking fascism, plain and simple.

    • Thanks Marjorie, this is such a dark day for women. In America a gun has more rights than a woman has. This SCOTUS is populated with radical Justices who lied under oath in order to be sworn in. The corruption in this country is tearing us at our seams.

19. What struck me yesterday is that America – the new/ free land – was built upon Cromwellians and those who left their counties in Europe, because of Kings or Queens who were extravagant or loose. It has a puritanical/religious undertone and also “their rights”. America has so many charts. Yet the Pilgrim Father’s Chart has a Capricorn Sun in the first and a Sagittarius Moon in the twelfth house, with a Sagittarius Ascendent. Surely this indicates a strong belief Religious views and Laws?

    • What date and location are you taking into account?

      • 21st December, 1620. 06.00. Plymouth MA. Pilgrim Father’s Chart.

    • That’s an interesting idea, Helen. I looked at the date for the arrival of the Mayflower in New England, and it is 11 November, 1620 (GC). Obviously, this isn’t the date or chart you’re referring to. Can you supply details of that please?
      What’s interesting about November 1620 though, is Sun 19 Scorpio, conjunct Mercury 12 Scorpio opposing Pluto at 12 Taurus and Jupiter at 15 Taurus. These square onto Black Moon Lilith at 16 Aquarius. A hefty power dynamic going on, some control freakery, and potentially groups of rebellious women (BML in Aquarius) – all activated by this summer’s Uranus/Mars/Nodes line up in July/1st August, and the Lunar eclipse at 16 Taurus in November. The Nodes are Sagittarius/Gemini, and the Moon could be in late Taurus or early Gemini.

      They’ll be coming for the “witches” amongst us next……the Salem Witch Trials of June 1692 had Pluto at 27 Cancer.

      • Hi Jane. Thank you for your information. The chart is from Nick Campion’s The Book of World Horoscopes 2004. Pilgrim Father’s Natal, Chart 21st December 1620 NS, 06.00 LMT +4.42.28 Plymouth MA. Page 350, if you have the book.

    • Helen “America – the new/ free land – was built upon Cromwellians”
      While that was an important influence, it’s very simplistic to look for a single source of American attitudes through history.
      The French trappers and settlers were important. Cromwell would have despised Mardi Gras.
      The Spanish Conquistadores and the territory that used to belong to Mexico are important. Crowmell would have hated the Catholicism in California and Florida.
      The Quakers were early, very active abolitionists.
      “Even old New York was once New Amsterdam.”
      There was over 200 years of European exploration and settlement by the time of American independence.
      After 1776, there have been many waves of immigration from many parts of Europe, and from the rest of the world. U.S. population in my Gen-X demographic would have gone down, if not for immigration. I’ve enjoyed good friends, neighbors, colleagues who were from India, China, Vietnam, Burma, Canada; Armenians, Iranians, Filipinos. I’ve never yet met anyone who would endorse Cromwell’s approach to government. I think among today’s 330+ million Americans, attitudes Cromwell would celebrate are very much the minority.

20. Marjorie,

    Is there a chance of the US splitting up (again)? Are there any astrological similarities between now and the US Civil War era?

    The only similarities that I can see is that Pluto would have been a third across its path (so, tr Pluto trine natal Pluto) at around the start of the US Civil War.

    And of course we are at the Pluto Return now.

    Tr Pluto trine natal Pluto would also have occurred around the late 1930s (FDR) and start of WWII. Did the start of WWII save the US from another Civil War at the time?

    The similarities that I see are that at each of the three trines, the US Supreme Court’s decisions were controversial and defined the era (Dred Scott around the time of the US Civil War, SCOTUS blocking most of FDR’s New Deal till ‘the switch in time that saved nine’ in the late 1930s, and now the repeal of Roe v Wade)

    • The States will be splitting but this won’t come until a little bit later when all the outer planets start shifting into new signs, 2025/2026. The Pluto Return is just beginning as the country hasn’t gone through it’s “death” in order to be reborn again.
      In addition, the Mars Uranus NN conjunction is coming up and that should bring something massive to the forefront as well. We have a lot more ahead!

    • See post May 6 2022 – looks messy in the extreme for the 2028 election and just on. But not quite civil war.

      • @Unmystic Mom, the first consequence I see is we will see Blue States and Metropolitan Areas in Purple States start to “fortify” legally against these onslaughts. Democrats at local level seem to often be more combative than those in national politics. See Governors Newsom and Widmar, or Attorney Generals.

        And, if a split is going to happen, it may not come through a Civil War. Just by certain States telling they stop supporting others through Federal funding etc.

21. Dems have been in a good position to upset historical trends and overperform expectations in the coming Midterm and 2024 Elections according to astrologers. So this is just one more piece of the puzzle as to why. Desperate and unwise GOP handing elections to them on a silver platter basically.
    But what puzzles me is, even though some astrologers have written off Kamal Harris’s chances of taking over from Biden, there seems to be some buzz about a female POTUS in 2025. Given her ambitions, I can’t see her turning down the opportunity and I can’t see any other Democrat female candidate challenging her by not wanting to step on her toes or shine; so to speak. So I was racking my brain as to how, given her current poor favorability ratings, could she maybe turn it around and beat someone like say, DeSantis. And this current political suicide decision by SCOTUS may be how she rallies women behind her. As they say, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. She could ride this anti-abortion backlash gravy train right into the 2025 inauguration.
    No guarantees, but plausible. Wow.

    • And as Marjorie alluded to, Chief Judge Roberts has a front row seat watching his party go down the toilet. From Trump to this.
      In an ironical twist of fate, Trump may have been the best thing to happen for Democrats in 50 years. Hilary’s loss may have been a ‘blessing’ in disguise.

    • Non-astrologically speaking, I could see Stacey Abrams in that role, not Kamala Harris.

      • @Unmystical Mom, Stacey Abrams has one of the most “blessed” charts I’ve seen out there. But, in absence of TOB, I’m not confident it has enough elements tying it to the US Chart to make her a figure in National level.

        • I assume TOB means time of birth which is 4:44pm with A’ rating according to Astro.com I think. Which makes her a Gemini Rising; same as Kamala interestingly.
          Marjorie did an analysis of her recently with said time.

      • @U. Mom: I agree. But Stacey has 3 main problems.
        1. She lack credentials, and this is an understatement.
        2. She’s not married, not in a relationship as far as I know, and has no kids. Check all Presidents throughout history and you’ll see she’d be an anomaly. Americans like Presidents with families. Kamala may not have given birth, but she married into kids. Ironically both are Gemini risings and both have never given birth.
        And lastly, she’s overweight. Now I know this might sound harsh, but Americans are brutal with appearances especially where women are concerned. Kamala, at least by their standards, is photogenic.
        So Stacey, despite being politically sharper, would be at a disadvantage. It has been rumoured that Jim Clyburn is not a fan either. And his endorsements clearly carries weight. Given his history of political pragmatism, he would likely never back Stacey over Kamala. She needs a Governor or Senate seat to prove herself overtime.

        • Well well well, I did what you said and checked all the US presidents.
          5 US presidents DID NOT HAVE CHILDREN. George Washington, the very 1st president, was sterile from smallpox. James Polk was sterile from a urinary stone operation. Warren Harding, who was morbidly obese, did not have children. James Buchanan, who never married, did not have children. Andrew Jackson did not have children.
          No children, check. Obese, check. Unmarried, check.
          Not even a nice try this time Troy.

          • Mrs. Bhali, at no point did I say ‘no’ other Presidents were childless or unmarried. You should’ve looked up what the word “anomaly” means.
            And apparently you missed the part where I paraphrased that women are held to a different standard. It may not be good but it’s the reality in America.

        • 2. She’s not married, not in a relationship as far as I know, and has no kids.

          Just go ahead and say it, Troy. People suspect that Stacy Abrams is a lesbian and I have heard that she has a white girlfriend.

          I remember during the election in 2018 the governor before Kemp made this remark about wanting a ‘family’ to reside in the governor’s mansion after he and his wife left ( he was term limited).

          As far as Clyburn is concerned he needs to retire along with Pelosi and Hoyer because they all have stayed beyond their expiration date.

          • @Roderick: Her sexuality never factored into my statement you highlighted. But now that you mention it, I wouldn’t be surprised if she is gay, or at the very least Bi’. This, if so, would however create another significant hurdle. Just ask Buttigieg. And he’s a highly educated and accomplished liberal white male!
            I had figured Stacey wouldn’t be viable until 2032, but if she’s gay this could set her back to as far as 2040 in my humble opinion. My assessments also factor in potential GOP candidates. And as I’ve said before, Gov. Spencer Cox is one to watch. He already has a strong but low key profile. Imagine for example, Mitt Romney quitting politics and Cox runs for his Senate seat. He’s practically a shoe in. Adding Senator to his solid resume would creat a quandary for Dems to find a suitable challenger. DeSantis is the flavor of the moment, but Cox is the future when Trumpism slows down.
            Always remember this, whether one likes it or not, America leans conservative. Especially as whites continue to make up the electoral majority. And Hispanics aren’t overly liberal either!

    • @Troy, it may help she is from Californis, and the state is stepping up majorly on this. Governor Newsom immediately tweeted:

      “Abortion is legal in California.

      It will remain that way.

      I just signed a bill that makes our state a safe haven for women across the nation.

      We will not cooperate with any states that attempt to prosecute women or doctors for receiving or providing reproductive care.”

      They became prepared.

      • Former VP Pence and McConnell want a federal ban on abortion so yeah.

        I can see that happening if DeSantis wins re-election in Florida this November which seems like a done deal and runs and wins the presidency in 2024 and I think that Democrats are defending around 20 seats in the U.S. Senate in 2024 with several in red states unfortunately.

        If Biden is still alive in 2024 he will stubbornly run and I think that most Democrats will acquiesce and not mount a primary challenge against him and he will go down in flames against DeSantis.

      • I have to agree with Troy about Americans’ obsession with appearance. Traditionally the taller male presidential candidate wins. An obese woman, no matter how qualified, starts the race with definite disadvantages. Even (male) Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor, had bariatric surgery to lose weight before a presidential run.

        All the examples you cite, @Mrs. Bhali, date from before the television era, which changed so much. And George Washington married a woman with children.

        I think Stacey Abrams is wonderful but she needs more experience. Men, especially rich businessmen, can run for high office with limited political experience but, in the US, there’s a strong double standard for women politicians who have to be two or three times as qualified and experienced as their male opponents to win. I earnestly hope she can win the Georgia governorship to set her on a course for higher office.

    • @Troy great observations. Any thoughts about Susan Rice? She’ll be a strong candidate and formidable DeSantis foe given her range of experience here in the states and abroad. Currently, she heads Biden’s Domestic Policy Council and is tasked with policy and bureaucratic reform.

      As for some wondering if the country will split…. We are witnessing the younger generation fed up with all these hindrances to their rights and they’re demanding reform. Only 22% voted in the last midterms, but I suspect a much higher turnout in November. Mobilized in the wake of Uvade & Roe, they’re becoming cognizant of political mechanics and rather savvy in approach. However, they’re realizing their in-state vote is so gerrymandered that a vote barely counts towards the House and state representation ….They’re frustrated that they cast a ballot into an Electoral College and Senate that is biased against POC that live in urban & heavily populated areas where the GOP makes it difficult to vote … THEN yesterday a compromised SCOTUS shot down Roe and to codify abortion care, an antiquated 60 vote constitutional requirement is needed; even though their candidate won the popular vote and his party secured the house and senate. Exasperated and furious, they’re galvanized to rid this country of the draconian electoral college system. That may require great redistricting and merger of borders….North Dakota has a Population 700K / South Dakota 800K / Wyoming 500K and EACH has 2 Senators; whereas California, has 2 Senators and a population of over 40 MILLION. This translates into low-population, land mass rural states having unbridled dominion. Generation Next is having NONE of this and I sincerely believe they’ll reform/redraw/redistrict the country to create a more equitable “System.” I’m looking forward to Pluto in Aquarius!

      • @Cyn, Susan Rice is a highly skilled, knowledgeable government official but has never run for office and has.little or no campaign experience and electoral/political seasoning. She also has a reputation for being incredibly bright but “difficult,” i.e. she doesn’t suffer fools gladly.smd wants things done right. She also has a son who somehow morphed into a right-wing Trump Republican.

        I agree, as a current Californian but former inhabitant of the DC political world, with your assessment of the electoral imbalance. I understand how frustrated younger generations are with the current political system, but until they start mobilizing and actually showing up to vote in vast numbers to vote out Republicans who do the gerrymandering.and are perpetuating their own power to oppress others, color me skeptical that they’ll take real action rather than just talk.

        • @ Nicole, Susan Rice sounds like a great choice but she was the fall girl for Benghazi and Republicans would bring that up in a campaign.

          The Democrats really need to start grooming a new generation of politicians rather than running retreads of people with dubious political backgrounds.

      • @ Cyn. I appreciate your optimism about younger voters but I doubt that anything can get them off their couches and to the polls.
        Remember this is the generation whose apathy ultimately cost us Roe and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
        As for the imbalance of representation in the Senate, all I have to say is that Republicans are very politically savvy and understand numbers better than Democrats-it is easier to change the political leanings of small population states than those of large population states.

        • “Remember this is the generation whose apathy ultimately cost us Roe”

          In Generation X myself, I think that’s an incredibly unfair slam against Millennials.
          Born around 1981 to 1996, they turned 18 in 1999 to 2014.
          Republicans were stacking the deck for a long time before that.
          Also, until just a few years ago, * Boomers outnumbered Millennials. *
          If EVERY Millennial wanted the same policy, but the majority of Boomers wanted something else – Boomers would get their way. Especially since people in midlife to early retirement are always more politically active than people finishing high school, entering college, or exiting it to get into the workforce and try to make ends meet… unsuccessfully, having to live at home WITHOUT an endlessly rising standard of living and opporttunity, far more than any prior generation.
          It’s not that the avocado toast made them too stupid to find their way to the voting booth.
          Gen-X has less than half the total population of EITHER Boomers or Millennials, by the way. If we were totally united about any particular issue or candidate, it wouldn’t matter worth a damn unless we could get close to a majority of either Boomers or Millennials into a coalition with us.
          The Reverse Scooby-Doo Argument, “They only got away with it because of those non-meddling kids!” doesn’t seem to me to hold water.

          • ‘It’s not that the avocado toast made them too stupid to find their way to the voting booth.’

            @Chris, you do have a way with words…. lool!! I love avocado. #avocadotoastmatters

      • @Cyn: I like Susan Rice, but I do concur with @Nicole Larson’s points about her.
        With any Dem candidate, a thorough assessment of their potential disadvantages must be done in order to properly evaluate their chances of success. It’s easy to get enamoured with a candidate’s character, but it’s prudent to take a more comprehensive look at their potential as the stakes are too high right now for anything less!
        As much I’m no fan of Kamala, she’s in the strongest position as a viable woman candidate for 2024. Gretchen Whitmer has been banded about but it remains to be seen what kind of campaign she could mount. She has potential tho.

22. At the moment the Johnson – led UK is far more likely to model itself on the dark side of the US than anywhere else.
    And that is very sad, as well as dangerous. The EU nations are not the enemy here, so stop blaming them, Liz.

23. Thanks Marjorie. I fear the pendulum hasn’t yet swung far enough, and there really is more to come. Here’s CNBC’s summing up of Clarence Thomas’ suggestions for reconsideration:

    “The cases he cited are Griswold vs. Connecticut, in which the Supreme Court said married couples have the right to obtain contraceptives; Lawerence v. Texas, which established the right to engage in private sexual acts; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which said there is a right to same-sex marriage.”

    Griswold was 1965; Lawerence 2003; Obergefell v Hodges 2015.

    In 1965 Neptune in Scorpio crossed those degrees which are sensitive to this summer’s Uranus-Mars-Nodes conjunction in Taurus – from 19 in January, back to 17 by June that year. 2015 has the Uranus/Pluto square in Aries and Capricorn. 2003 has various aspects of interest, including the idealistic Jupiter opposition Neptune in Leo and Aquarius, and the Nodes entering Taurus in May.

    As you say, “I can’t think of any grand conclusions – except the USA may have to crash into rock bottom before there’s a turning point.” Profoundly depressing, and very scary indeed.

24. Protests about the rights of unborn children contrast mightily with the lives of children gunned down by 2nd-amendment nutcases and their addictions to AR-15s and “open carry” semi-automatic pistols. Newpeeps posting comments from GOP politicians that “losing children to violence has to be the price to pay for gun ownership and protections from the government”. A very typical “manly” statement.

    Yet the GOP insist on converting schools into jails and fortresses. Blasting Biden et al for not doing anything on that topic.

    Only in Amerika…

    Cannot leave the US soon enuf. Yah, it is safer in Europe than here.

    • Make it make sense!!!!

    • “Cannot leave the US soon enuf.”

      That’s not trivial for someone who needs to work for a living, unless they’re a “digital nomad” who doesn’t mind a life of constant moving and uprooting.
      My understanding is that most European nations are easy for an American to visit for up to three months, but only if no work is done.
      To get a permit to stay and work for a few years, requires a years long, expensive and complicated application process, unless the applicant has world-class skills or brings millions of dollars into their new country.
      Half of Americans couldn’t come up with $400 in a medical emergency. They’re not equipped to just say, “Oh France is nice in the spring, let’s move there tomorrow.”

25. Soon after the ruling, riot police were deployed to the Supreme Court to protect it against protesters who were referred to as ‘Domestic Terrorists’. How quickly the women in the US have become second rate citizens. Hasn’t even been 24 hours since the decision dropped and DHS is already calling potential protestors terrorists. This is shocking.

    • they need practice in suppressing potential insurrectionists.

      what a crock.

    • As a women I find this whole argument extremely difficult. I wholeheartedly agree with abortion for extenuating circumstances and for young women and people who make a mistake and deal with it straight away. Yet other side of me wonders why there are so many abortions in allegedly sophisticated countries. The Pill and other contraceptives have been around for fifty years. It was meant to stop backstreet abortions and give choices. Therefore, I can’t get my head around why their is a need for so many abortions.

      • @Helen, especially in the US, lots of women and girls don’t have access to healthcare and can’t afford birth control. The Republican Taliban is intent also on restricting access to healthcare, especially for poor people.

        • And a woeful lack of standardized or even decent sex ed. Abstinence is still taught to a great extent. When adults are un- or under-educated in human sexuality and actively deny its existence, how can we expect children to learn any better?

          “While abstinence-only programs are widely rejected by health professionals who care for young people, including the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, Congress has spent over $2 billion on domestic abstinence-only programs between 1982 and 2017; current funding totals $85 million per year. Under current guidelines, U.S. states cannot use funds to educate adolescents about contraceptive use or discuss contraceptive methods, except to emphasize failure rates.”
          https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/abstinence-only-education-failure

          A country that undercuts its public education system, which the U.S. has been doing for decades, is one that robs its own future. Studies on public education has shown evidence that racial prejudice plays a large part in the decision to defund public education. Standardize testing was designed and popularized by eugenicists.
          https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/racist-beginnings-standardized-testing

          We’ve been cutting off our nose to spite our face for a long, long time.

      • Abortion in the US HAS been dramatically dropping over the years. Women ARE being very responsible in their choices, abortion IS a last resort. I would post links to these statistics but they are very easy to find, and I think it is important for everyone to be responsible for their own education (much like you are saying women should be responsible for their reproductive choices).

        • Where are the laws, holding fathers responsible? Surely if women are denied control over their own reproductive rights, the men who did not consider their own part in contraception, must be at least held financially responsible.

      • Helen, America is NOT a sophisticated country.
        America is overly influenced by religion.
        Over the past three decades the pro-birthers have taken informative sex education out of public schools and replaced it with abstinence only sex education which even forbids teachers from answering any of their students questions about sex.
        So a lot of teenagers end up ‘learning’ about sex from their friends and exchanging misinformation and wives’ tales which led them into unplanned pregnancies.
        Add that to the shaming of sex by religion to sexual abuse, incest and date rape then you end up with majority of abortions.

    • Women are not second rate. Yet women apart from extenuating circumstances, must take some responsibility with their own bodies as well. Otherwise it makes us look like we can’t make decisions and are helpless. I am not talking about rape or incest here or other problems. I am pointing out that adult women have choices, more so than at any other time. It may be annoying that nature has made us the baby carriers, nonetheless that is part of the way our bodies are. We now have choices with contraception. So why are their so many abortions? Surely this is the question America and other countries need to ask?

      • You’re actually 100% wrong, Helen. Abortions have been in decline for decades.

        This is about bodily autonomy. Right now, every pregnancy is a crime scene, every miscarriage a chance to be imprisoned, and everyone who is in your life a possible informant for the state. It’s appalling and incredibly scary. Never has abortion been illegal like this — we live in a capitalist informant state. Receipts from flights taken, and hotels booked are now suspect, and period tracking apps are surveilled. If you stumble while pregnant, you could be tried for murder. Abortion is a human right. It is healthcare. Pregnant people’s bodies are now the property of the State. This is about the freedom to do as you wish for your body. It’s why next up are same-sex relationships, contraception, gay marriage, and trans rights. Women are not even second-rate, they are property. As far as protecting life, it ends at birth. There is no support for parents, no childcare, no school lunches for kids living in poverty, no protection at all, and no healthcare. There is only a militarized police-state ensuring forced births or death or prison. So that’s worse than second-rate. This is serious. And it’s very very very bad.

        • Thanks, Tania for explaining the overall mindset of the pro-birthers in America–they love the fetus but ignore the child.

        • Tania. 100% wrong is a bit strong for an opinion. By all means, you can say you don’t agree with me. Yet to tell someone on an open forum they are wrong, is not allowing free speech. However, living in the U.K. and being an older women, who has been lucky to have contraception all her adult life. I find American attitudes so old fashioned. Also, I have managed to stick up for myself and have refused men, I didn’t want to go to bed with. Perhaps it was the men I chose to be with? Women like me have taken that chance to take back control of our bodies. As for “bodily autonomy”, if two people go to bed and have agreed to share their bodies for sex – they have wavered their autonomy, as they have agreed to share their bodies. I am surprised how many women look upon men as sex terror suspects. As not all men are like this.

          • “Yet to tell someone on an open forum they are wrong, is not allowing free speech.“

            Helen, silencing (or the desire to silence) disagreement with your own opinions is the very definition of censorship. Rethink your position about this.

      • Hello Helen. Like someone else replied earlier to your comment, it has to do with access to healthcare. Planned Parenthood, which is a non profit that offers free reproductive healthcare access to wome lost a huge chunk of financial support during the Trump administration. The Catholic church has lobbyist that lobby for restrictions for access to health care. Blaming women and faulting them for not being responsible is ludicrous. Also, like someone else mentioned in their reply, abortion rates have been dropping especially from the Obama years on. Hope this clarifies the confusion somewhat. One thing I. Must say that many young people had taken for granted their rights. So I imagine this new ruling is ice water on a sleepy head to wake up and start mobilizing.

        • This forum is open to all counties who allow the internet. I am not blaming women. Yet I fail to see how women are not taking responsibility for their views and body. Surely America has education, women’s groups, women politicians and so forth. This is 2022. I am reading post on here that reads more like the 1920’s. Perhaps European women have always used their ingenuity with men. Not all men are nasty sex pests, nor all male politicians uncaring. Women have a responsibility for themselves and can form support political groups etc. I worked in education and this is where women should be lobbying to get their message across. You are not victims and can find ways of being strong. America has opposition political opportunities too. Women will only become strong, if they talk to men on the same level. Co-operate with those who will listen.

          • Helen,

            Your suggestions, while some valid and logical, neglect to take into account facts on the ground.

            If you don’t like people pointing out your mistakes, which, by the way, is also a part of (their) free speech, then perhaps you should be presenting evidence-based opinions. Those, who are in the know, letting you know where you might be incorrect in your assumptions are not infringing on your free speech, as you were already able to state what you wanted to and no one is stopping you from further making those opinions known. At the same time, we are going to keep telling you where you have made incorrect assumptions.

            Free speech does not preclude you from the rebuttal of your speech. If you assume that you can say whatever you want and everyone else has to shut up about the parts they find uninformed or even ridiculous, then you would be the one engaging in anti-free-speech beliefs.

          • Hi Helen, it really depends on what state you live in. The USA is not one thing – but is very different state to state. The Guardian has a really nice map today showing where ending a pregnancy is legal and where it is not or soon will not be. The Blue States are where it is legal. These are also the same states that have the best schools and Universities in the Nation, as well as most of the best economic opportunities. The USA is not one thing, it is not homogenous, and it varies state by state. Those of us living in Blue States think the rest of the country has gone nuts. The Federalist society and Leonard Leo have packed the courts, and this is what we have.

          • “I worked in education and this is where women should be lobbying to get their message across.”

            Helen, as a UK resident, perhaps you are unaware of the complexities of education here in the US. After the 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” case in which it was ruled that U.S. public schools must be desegregated, our conservatives undertook a program to destroy public education in America. And it has been working, sadly.

          • @Helen, in many states, especially in the Deep South, Republican legislators and Christian fundamentalists have worked assiduously to dumb down school curricula, requiring teaching of creationism as equally or more valid than science, and to defund public education. Their goal is to force or direct kids into religious schools funded by taxpayers, something that the right-wing Supreme Court just ruled this week states must do if they fund any private education programs. (Most do, especially for special education or other programs.)

            I too am an older woman, but I was educated in a mix of public and private schools in the US (in the south when Virginia closed many public schools because they opposed integration) and an English public school for A-Levels. I can tell you there is little comparison between the English and American systems, which vary radically from state to state, especially in content and quality.

        • Milmae, yes. Helen, I drive by a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas five days a week (yes, it’s one of the last ones operating in the state). It has a privacy fence around it. Almost every day there are anti-abortion protestors outside the fence holding signs, chanting, very publicly praying, etc. They are not only there to have their “free speech.” They are there to intimidate and harass women. That, too, is an “access” issue.

    • Given the fact that America has NEVER elected a female head of state, no matter how much more qualified she is than her male counterpart (the latest examples include both the 2020 and 2016 elections), the dearth of female top executives in the private industry, the gender pay gap, the pink tax, the incremental loss of access to abortions or even contraceptives since RvW, etc., have American women ever been treated as equal citizens?

26. America’s descent into utter entropy continues at an even more alarmingly increasing rate.

    Trump’s malignant legacy, is at the heart of the gradual destruction of a once-admired country.

    • They will be going after LGBTQ rights next. Article in the WP today on Clarence Thomas’s antediluvian attitudes to birth control too. Yet people can walk about with a gun in public they’ve now decided. World turned upside down.

      • @Virgoflake and Loving vs. Virginia is probably upheld mainly because Thomas’ own marriage is interracial.

        • Solaia, conservatives have a 6-3 majority so they could strike down Loving without Thomas’s vote.

          • That would be the ultimate “joke” on Thomas. Watching Thomas operate along side of the GOP is like watching Get Out in vivo.

    • Erm, once admired is pushing it. Mild ridicule to outright contempt and disgust is a more accurate trajectory .

      • Marina,

        The damage left by Trump during his ghastly four-year tenure as POTUS is incalculable.
        The USA is now beyond redemption.

27. Such events in the USA confirm my belief that the UK was right to leave the EU – which will surely morph into a similar United States of Europe if it is not checked. The balance of power shifted dramatically in the EU/USE when so many former Soviet bloc countries joined. They are still finding their voice and that voice is formed by past experience of Russian domination. It seems to me, they are only too ready and willing to impose it on the rest of the EU/USE member states – to the ultimate detriment of Western democracy.

    NB The biggest problem, in both the USA and a potential USE, is the heavy reliance on a written constitution rather than, as in the UK, legal precedence. Fundamentalism is ultimately unsustainable – we can’t go back in time however ‘golden’ an historic age might seem.

    • @Liz, Supreme Court is an uniquely American issue. After the UK left the EU, none of the member countries even operates in Common Law system where law is formed through precedents. EU countries have these things codified, and EU Court of Justice is responsable for monitoring the parts in common. It certainly doesn’t dictate the law, that’s keft for Parliaments of member countries.

      • Solaia. Exactly my point – EU countries have the law codified and the EU Court of Justice arbitrates between them.

        Concerns have already been raised as to some decisions of the Court of Justice which are/can be viewed as overtly political in nature. It is not easy to leave politics entirely to one side.

        In any case I was referring to the future possibilty of Europe as a federal superstate rather than it’s current status as a supra national organisation. A federal superstate would face the same difficulties we see in the USA.

    • I doubt there could ever be a USE. Each European country is a sovereign state with their own identities and histories. Just no comparison in any shape. The EU is the nearest thing.

      • The movement from a trade and investment organisation, to it’s present form as a supra national organisation and it’s future as a federal superstate has been discussed from the very beginning, back in 1952 when it was simply the European Coal and Steel Committee.

        Organisations, countries, superpowers evolve. They can’t remain static or dependent on a single codified / written constitution – as the various treaties (from the Common Market to the Treaty of Rome and then the Lisbon Treaty) demonstrate.

    • You have to be joking!
      Aside from the completely different setups or the independence of all the member states, We in the UK have far more involvement with the US Forced Birth patrol. See their envagelists trying to push their agenda in Ireland during the abortion ref and in Scotland and England.

28. “All countries have a darkness at their heart and maybe Pluto is just dyno-rodding through the US sewers to dump the cr** out into the open in order to evoke enough of a response to clear at least some of it out of the way. Faint hopes.”

    I don’t think these hopes are faint. I think this is exactly what Pluto is doing. Darkness can only be truly seen when it is brought into the light.

    • Agree with you, L.Bear and I would believe hopes are faint if it were not for the Majority who are disgusted and dismayed by this decision, and I feel, one way or another, common sense will prevail. I believe this is the beginning of darkness being brought to light, and it’s a long road ahead.

29. Tipping point