Across The Universe, Cont. -- Galaxy Cluster

 

(click on image to enlarge)

From NASA/ESA, June 20, 2022:  The massive galaxy cluster Abell 1351 is captured in this image by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. This galaxy cluster lies in the constellation Ursa Major in the northern hemisphere.

This image is filled with streaks of light, which are actually the images of distant galaxies. The streaks are the result of gravitational lensing, an astrophysical phenomenon that occurs when a massive celestial body such as a galaxy cluster distorts spacetime sufficiently strongly to affect the path of light passing through it — almost as if the light were passing through a gigantic lens. Gravitational lensing comes in two varieties — strong and weak — and both can give astronomers an insight into the distribution of mass within a lensing galaxy cluster such as Abell 1351.

This observation is part of an astronomical album comprising snapshots of some of the most massive galaxy clusters. This menagerie of massive clusters demonstrates interesting astrophysical phenomena such as strong gravitational lensing, as well as showcasing spectacular examples of violent galaxy evolution. To obtain this astronomical album, astronomers proposed a Snapshot Program to be slotted into Hubble’s packed observing schedule. These Snapshot Programs are lists of separate, relatively short exposures which can fit into gaps between longer Hubble observations. Having a large pool of Snapshot candidates to dip into allows Hubble to use every second of observing time possible and to maximise the scientific output of the observatory.

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, H. Ebeling

Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

Poll: Overturning Roe v. Wade Strongly Disapproved

 

The results of a CBS News/ YouGov poll, taken as the radical Republican Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, would seem to indicate a potential electoral problem for the Republican/ Forced Birth Party (assuming Democrats can pin the tail on the, um, elephant):

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Ted Littleford, @EandPCartoons)

(Patrick Chappatte, NZ am Sonntag, Zurich)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Morten Morland, The Sunday Times, London)

(David Horsey, The Seattle Times)

(John Branch, branchtoon.com)

(Steve Benson, Arizona Mirror)

(Mort Gerberg, @mortgerberg)

QOTD: Trump's "Baleful Influence Continues"

 

"The baleful influence of Donald Trump continues to be felt in American life despite his decisive election defeat in 2020 and subsequent disgraceful behaviour. The supreme court’s regressive, dangerous and insulting decision to abolish a woman’s constitutional right to abortion was made possible by Trump’s appointment of three highly conservative justices who all voted for the change.

This disaster is not all Trump’s doing. A noisy anti-abortion lobby of rightwing Republicans and evangelical Christians has fought for decades to scrap the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling giving women the right to choose. But they represent, at most, one-third of Americans. Trump adopted their minority view for the same reason he champions the gun lobby – for electoral advantage. (our emphasis) -- editorial in The Guardian.

Rule by a radical right-wing minority has taken hold against the strong majority favoring women's reproductive choice, gun safety, and voting rights. The structure of the Constitution that gives low population, rural cultural states like Nebraska and Idaho equal representation in the Senate with highly populated states like California and New York is a major contributor to the skewed representation of the radical right-wing minority in Government. The Senate filibuster magnifies that skewing dramatically. Now, the Senate's Constitutional role in the confirmation of Supreme Court justices is playing out in disastrous terms for the goal of majority rule.

Russia To Default On Debt

 

Russia is about to default on a $100 million interest payment, making it the first time in almost 25 years that it has done so. The sanctions imposed on Russia since it's unprovoked attack on Ukraine have made it impossible to pay the creditors:

"The $100m interest payment was due on 27 May. Russia says the money was sent to Euroclear, a bank which would then distribute the payment to investors.

But that payment has been stuck there, according to Bloomberg News, and creditors have not received it.

'They have not got it,' says Jay Auslander, a US lawyer who has worked on many government debt cases. 'And the overwhelming probability is they're not going to get it.' If this money has not arrived within 30 days of the due date, that is, Sunday evening, that will widely be considered a default.

Euroclear wouldn't say if the payment had been blocked, but said it adheres to all sanctions." (our emphasis)

Although Russia can pay the amount, the situation is a blow to Putin's prestige, and drives home the point that his regime has been isolated from the financial markets of the West because of his war on Ukraine and the crimes his forces have committed there.

In another development, the U.S., UK, Canada and Japan have announced that they will no longer import Russian gold, which accounts for roughly $15 billion in income a year for Russia. In their G7 meeting, the allies vowed to keep up the pressure on Russia:

"US President Biden suggested the other G7 nations - Germany, France and Italy - would also join the ban.

'Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia,' he said in a tweet.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson added: 'We need to starve the Putin regime of its funding. The UK and our allies are doing just that.'"

The only question we'd pose is why this wasn't among the first tranche of sanctions after Putin launched the war in February. Better late than never. 

 

Senator Believes 13-Year-Olds Can Consent To Sex

Here's a disturbing revelation about, as his campaign website crows, "a strong conservative leader committed to God, Family, and the Constitution":

Before he became a leading voice for conservative causes on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator James Lankford [OK] spent more than a decade as the director of youth programming [ed.: gotta program those impressionable minds!] at the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center, a sprawling campground about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City that attracts more than 50,000 campers in grades six through 12 each year.

The Republican lawmaker’s tenure at the camp is a prominent feature of his political profile, noted in the first paragraph of his official Senate biography. That experience is also coming under renewed scrutiny as the Southern Baptist Convention, which is affiliated with the group that owns the camp, faces a reckoning over its handling of sexual abuse cases.

In 2009, while Lankford worked at the camp, the family of a 13-year-old girl sued a 15-year-old boy who was alleged to have had sex with her at the camp. Lankford, who was not in Congress at the time, is not alleged to have had any direct knowledge of the alleged assault, has not been accused of any wrongdoing and was not a defendant in the lawsuit, which was settled for an undisclosed amount before it was scheduled to go to trial.

But in a 2010 deposition in the case, given a week after he was elected to his first term in the U.S. House, Lankford testified that he believed a 13-year-old could consent to sex.  

“Yes, I think they can,” Lankford told Kenyatta Bethea, a lawyer for the girl’s family, according a 155-page transcript of the deposition obtained by The Associated Press.

The age of consent in Oklahoma is 16, and although there is an exception in the law for minors between the ages of 14 and 17 who have sexual contact, there is no provision under which a 13-year-old could consent to sex. When Bethea pressed if his answer was still the same “if I ask you that question in terms of your position as a father,” Lankford maintained his stance.

“Yes, they can,” he said. (our emphasis)

The story goes on to note other horrific examples of sexual assault at the SBC- affiliated camp, though not when Lankford was director of "youth programming."

Well, we can think of at least one other Republican currently in office who doubtless shares Lankford's view of child sex.

A Watershed Week In American History

 

It's hard to remember if or when we had a week filled with more consequential events that the one just passed.  Consider:

-- The "disastrously intemperate" Republican Supreme Court's nullification of a 50- year precedent in overturning Roe v. Wade which stripped millions of women the right to control their own reproductive health and permanently damaged the Court's legitimacy;

-- The Court's nullification of a state's right to regulate gun safety, specifically New York State's concealed carry restrictions which have stood for over a century;

-- The Court's undermining a centuries old ban on direct state aid to the schools teaching religion, fundamental to the principle of separation of church and state;

-- Further evidence of the widespread conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 election, with testimony at the January 6 insurrection hearing from former Justice Department officials on the direct involvement of the Malignant Loser, his closest advisors and Republican officials from battleground states to forward fraudulent electors on January 6, 2021;  and of the "consciousness of guilt" inquiries about obtaining pardons by a number of the Malignant Loser's Congressional MAGA sedition caucus.

-- The first gun safety legislation in 30 years was signed by President Biden this morning, a small step in the right direction that was constrained by the unwillingness of the Republican Party to get out of the pocket of the National Rifle Rampage Association.

All of this, we are told, is on the ballot in November.  Expanding rights vs. restricting rights; sensible gun safety vs. reckless inaction;  a secular republic vs. a theocracy; truth vs. lies; democracy vs. autocracy.  The majority of the American public is behind the Democratic Party's position on each of these;  even Republicans sense the danger in their some of their most absolutist approaches (see below).  In just a week, we've seen how quickly the country can change for the worse, and why, yes, elections have consequences.  In every election at every level from now on, weighing anything other than these top line choices when voting is delusional ... and suicidal.

BONUS:  Heather Cox Richardson on the end of an era.

Republicans Worry About Roe Decision's Impact

 

Politico is confirming what most political analysts expected: while cheering the Supreme Court's odious Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Republican politicians are privately nervous and upset that this will be an issue driving pro-choice advocates to the polls in 2022 and beyond:

"In Republican circles, a consensus has been forming for weeks that the court’s overturning of a significant — and highly popular — precedent on a deeply felt issue will be a liability for the party in the midterms and beyond, undercutting Republicans to at least some degree with moderates and suburban women. [snip]

The problem for Republicans with the Roe decision is that it’s giving Democrats something to grasp onto in an otherwise bleak year — the kind of issue that may animate some lower-propensity voters, including young Democrats, to turn out in November, and blunt the GOP’s appeals to independent voters, a majority of whom also support Roe, according to Gallup.

Republicans, said Sarah Longwell, a moderate Republican strategist who became a vocal supporter of Joe Biden in 2020, are now 'the dog that caught the car.'”  (our emphasis)

The article notes that most analysts don't believe it will be enough to save the House for the Dems, but much can happen in the months between now and November. If the Dems press hard that this decision is just the beginning for the radical right-wing court -- see Clarence Thomas' concurring decision for proof -- they may convince enough voters of the wide-ranging, negative impact on their personal lives.

Despite public crowing that his three appointments to the Court tipped the balance to overturn Roe, the Malignant Loser is said to be anxious about the ruling's impact on his electoral chances if and when he runs. He's always been on thin ice with suburban Republican and independent women voters due to his manifest character issues and more, and his role in this debacle for women's rights should play prominently.

BONUS:  Greg Sargent on what Democrats must do now --

... Democrats have to be ultra-clear about this fall’s elections. They need to tell voters: If you let us keep the House and deliver us two more Senate seats, we will end the filibuster, pass a bill nationally codifying abortion rights, and undertake far-reaching Supreme Court reform.

Of course, the court could strike down such a national abortion bill. But ... Democrats can tell voters that they would reform the court to prevent this, vowing: “We will declare war on the Supreme Court to keep that law viable.”

Make those Republican fears come true!

Today's Cartoons -- Republican SCOTUS Edition

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Jeff Darcy, Cleveland Plain Dealer, from May)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Ann Telnaes, Washington Post)

(Patrick Chappatte, Le Temps, Geneva)

(Ed Hall, Artizans.com)

(Michael de Adder, Washington Post)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(Ben Jennings, The Guardian, London, from May)

 

(Pia Guerra, @PiaGuerra)

Tweets Of The Day

 

On the hideous Dobbs decision -- 

Forced birth in a country with:

—No universal healthcare
—No universal childcare
—No paid family & medical leave
—One of the highest rates of maternal mortality among rich nations

This isn't about "life." It's about control.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) June 24, 2022

 

Three men — Presidents GHW Bush (Justice Thomas), GW Bush (Justices Alito, Roberts), Trump (Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Alito) — two of whom won with a minority of the popular vote — have done this to tens of millions of women and to the rule of law. This must be undone.

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 25, 2022

 

American democracy if it is to endure needs a SCOTUS widely accepted as an impartial referee, but this Court, by how it was constituted & by rulings that appear to be more about policy than law, has for many forfeited its legitimacy. Our democracy is in deeper danger as a result.

— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) June 24, 2022

 

If Manchin and Collins are genuinely surprised and irate, there's an easy fix: suspend filibuster, enlarge court, add 4 justices, overrule Dobbs. It would blow up Court, and I'm not saying I'm for it; but OTOH the Court is now positioned to be a regressive force for a generation.

— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) June 25, 2022

 

Men. Show up. Don’t be silent.

— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) June 24, 2022

 

if you are in the entertainment business do not shoot in states with forced birth
if you have a college kid, don't send her OR him to a school in a state with forced abortion
if you are vacationing don't visit a state with forced abortion
If you are opening a business...

— Jennifer 'I stand with Ukraine' Rubin 🇺🇦🇺🇦 (@JRubinBlogger) June 25, 2022

 

The man who stacked the court and made killing Roe v. Wade possible has been credibly accused of sexual assault, sexual misconduct, and rape by 15 women.

— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) June 24, 2022

 

Abortion is a fundamental right for all women. It must be protected. I wish to express my solidarity with the women whose liberties are being undermined by the Supreme Court of the United States.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 24, 2022

 

 

Quotes Of The Day -- They're Coming For It All

"Friday’s ruling was another reminder, for a country that needs no more, that Americans cannot take for granted the freedoms they enjoy. Their decisions, particularly how and whether they vote, can have direct, dramatic and negative consequences for their lives. A decades-long conservative crusade to nullify federal abortion rights has now succeeded, because Senate Republicans underhandedly stacked the court with justices who have proved to be disastrously intemperate. This tragic moment should wake Americans to reality:  They must defend their rights, or they are liable to lose them." -- Washington Post editorial board this morning (our emphasis)

____________________

"The crowd began gathering a little after 10, when the word came down that the Court’s decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was every bit as bad as it was long feared to be. Pro-choice activists waved signs and chanted and sang. Anti-choice activists waved signs and chanted and sang, and prayed to whatever God they believe ordained that, if you have a Glock, you have more rights than if you have a uterus. Reading the 6-3 majority opinion, and the dissents thereto, is like wandering through a legal nightmare of the 19th Century. And in one line in his concurrence, Justice Clarence Thomas, who is the de facto Chief these days since, plainly, nobody’s listening to John Roberts any more, makes that awful specter into grim reality.

'In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, & Obergefell.'

"They’re coming for it all, people. That’s what this carefully engineered radical conservative majority was bought and paid for. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse was absolutely right when he rose on the Senate floor last July 27, and tried to explain what he called The Scheme—the long-march campaign to buy a hardcore conservative majority on the Supreme Court." -- Charles P. Pierce, in Esquire, on "The Hard Right Has Gotten What It Paid For" (our emphasis).  More evidence of this, if any was needed, was the statement from Mike Pence -- yesterday's "hero" who's quickly reverted back to the Christofascist windsock he's always been -- that abortions should be banned nationwide, a position opposed by the vast majority of Americans (just like overturning Roe was).  Other prominent Republicans have made it clear that this is the ultimate goal, which can be accomplished as early as 2024, with the election of a Republican President and a Republican House and Senate.  

But overturning Griswold (contraception), Lawrence (same-sex sexual activity) and Obergefell (same-sex marriage) only requires a lawsuit bubbling up to this radical, ultra- reactionary SCOTUS for the march backwards to continue, and Clarence Thomas has openly invited them.

 

Overturning Roe v. Wade: Excerpts From Dissent

 

Yesterday, Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor issued their dissent (authored by Justice Breyer) in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (19-1392), which overturned 50 years of precedent and removed the right to reproductive freedom for American women.  Here are some of the passages we thought were key to that dissent:

(p. 4 of Dissent)

 

(p. 14 of Dissent)

 

(p. 20 of Dissent)

 

(p. 57 of Dissent)

(p. 60 of Dissent)

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Michael de Adder, Toronto Star)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Matt Davies, Newsday)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Rob Rogers, Counterpoint)

(Kevin Kallaugher, The Economist, London)

Tweets Of The Day

Elections have consequences, reproductive rights edition --

 

BREAKING: The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade, ending our constitutional right to abortion. We know you may be feeling a lot of things right now — hurt, anger, confusion. Whatever you feel is OK. We’re here with you — and we’ll never stop fighting for you.

— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) June 24, 2022

 

And that’s it. #RoeVWade is no more. Women no longer have the rights to their own bodies. Those rights now belong in the hands of state government.

This is what happens when you choose how to vote based on “likability” instead of policy. Hillary warned us.

— Drew Comments (@sjs856) June 24, 2022

 

If you don’t see where this is going, you’re blind https://t.co/rJQXnebeQH

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) June 24, 2022

Workin' for the man --

 

There's a lot of absurdity here but don't miss the description of one of the most pivotal players in Trump's coup plot as a Trump "employee" https://t.co/kRfms3YSRn

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 24, 2022

To pardon or not to pardon --

 

Why didn’t Trump pardon ‘em all on his way out the door? Easy: Pardons end the danger of criminal self-incrimination and thus prevent their recipients from taking the Fifth w/out being held in contempt.Dangling pardons protects a corrupt POTUS; granting pardons puts him at risk.

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 24, 2022

Can't even trust your patrons anymore --

 

NEW: @alexjholder, the filmmaker and 1/6 committee witness, said Donald Trump was on the phone with Vladimir Putin just minutes after the news broke that Putin dismissed Trump’s Hunter Biden allegations 9 days before the 2020 election. (w/ @EugeneDaniels2) https://t.co/9XgNi2m0Dr

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) June 24, 2022

 

There's pain at the pump, then there's PAIN AT THE PUMP --

 

Thanks Biden https://t.co/41VeWKiQtg

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 24, 2022

 

Who doesn't love a baby panda (TGIF!) --

 

We’ve got a stage 5 clinger here…😏😂🐼 pic.twitter.com/ny3Vt8Rkfz

— Fred Schultz (@FredSchultz35) June 24, 2022

 

 

Weekend Music

 

Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the street -- or for just relaxing and playing Antonio Vivaldi's "Summer" from his violin concertos celebrating "The Four Seasons."  Hope you enjoy.