Concerned Families of Westchester Newsletter
June 26, 2022
Hello All – Since Friday, there have been hundreds of rallies and demonstrations against the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the right to abortion established in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade. Yesterday in Hastings, about 75 people gathered in protest, with many fine speeches. Some video and many pictures are up on our Facebook page. There were also several other rallies held in Westchester and the Bronx, and a large one is underway today in White Plains. Let us hope these protests continue and intensify in the days and months to come.
The Court's decision came in a case originating in Mississippi. Thirteen states immediately began to implement their own laws outlawing abortion. In a short time, a total of 26 states are expected to criminalize abortion. Beyond this, we are only beginning to comprehend how the Court's decision will change life in the USA. For millions of women and their partners/families, personal decisions will become crises or fraught with anxiety, decisions that we have come to accept as routine. Returning the issue of abortion to the states, according to the Court a democratic plus, means intense political fighting at the state level will become the norm. And many women will die.
These and many other issues are addressed in the insightful essays linked below. But, to repeat, I think we are only beginning to understand how the Court's decision will tear the country apart. In the immediate situation, however, some things seem clear. For example, New York, New Jersey, and the New England states are among the places where abortion is expected to remain legal. For us, then, three questions arise:
· What can we do as part of the larger, national effort to make abortion rights lawful again?
· What can we do to assist women in states where abortion is now illegal? And
· Why has this disaster happened, and can we restore women's rights (and democracy) without making fundamental changes in this country?
It won't be enough to simply elect strong majorities in Congress to pass new legislation affirming abortion rights; the Court would simply rule the legislation unconstitutional. Barring unexpected deaths, therefore, the only way that the Court can be changed to support abortion rights is to expand the Court, adding new, liberal Justices. This would be a tremendous undertaking, requiring a large and liberal majority of Democrats in Congress, as well as control of the Presidency. A long struggle, indeed.
Second, sanctuary states such as New York need to carefully guard our laws protecting reproductive rights, and to invest resources in institutions that will assist women coming from Forced Birth states who need abortion assistance. State funding for these clinics, doctors, and staff makes sense. Support for abortion access funds and other institutions that would assist women coming from other states – travel costs, housing, counseling and support - will have to be greatly expanded.
Our Brave New World of abortion restrictions will require attention to novel legal and civil liberties challenges. Will Texas sue people in New York for "aiding and abetting" an abortion? Can Florida demand the phone records of Planned Parenthood clinics in Westchester? Can mail from drug suppliers in New York be opened for inspection upon reaching Mississippi to see if it contains abortion pills?
Finally, historians have shown that "anti-abortion" was a spearhead of the New Right's attack on feminism and women's rights in the 1970s and 1980s, and that White Supremacy and enhanced patriarchy are at the roots of the incipient fascist movement in the USA. That the Republican Party has placed itself at the head of – and in the hands of – this fascist movement does not mean that "electing Democrats" will, by itself, solve all our problems. Restoring women's rights, or preventing further rollbacks in civil and human rights, will require the victory of a broad-based coalition of people united around demands of liberty and justice for all.
Some interesting/useful reading on the Roe v. Wade crisis
"We're Not Going Back to the Time Before Roe. We're Going Somewhere Worse," by Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker [June 2022] [Link].
"The Long History of the Anti-Abortion Movement's Links to White Supremacists," by Alex DiBranco, The Nation [February 3, 2020] [Link].
"In Overturning Roe, Radical Supreme Court Declares War on the 14th Amendment," by Jordan Smith, The Intercept [June 24, 2022] [Link].
"More People Will Die," by Bryce Covert, The Intercept [[Link].
"Roe's Death Will Change American Democracy," by [Link]. (Perhaps a pay wall.)
News Notes
We had many disappointments with this year's NYS legislative session, not least because the Democrats controlled both houses and the governorship. IMO this underscores the importance of electing not "just Democrats," but people who fight for us and get things done. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Working Families Party have several good candidates in tight races. Check out the website of CFOW friend Vanessa Agudelo, who is running for Assembly in the 95th district (Peekskill). For some insights into other legislative fights, read "New York Progressives and Socialists Are Hoping to Turn Legislative Setbacks Into Electoral Electricity" by Karma Samtani, In These Times.
For the most part, state laws sanctioning individuals and businesses – "contractors" – who support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement in support of Palestinian rights have been unsuccessful. This week, however, a federal court allowed Arkansas to enforce its law against such contractors. The court's majority opinion states that "economic decisions that discriminate against Israel... are not inherently expressive and do not implicate the First Amendment." Given the make up of our Supreme Court, this could well become the Law of the Land, opening the way for states to criminalize all kinds of unpopular/critical speech. To learn more, read "Rights Advocates Decry 'Very Frightening' Court Ruling Upholding Anti-BDS Law," by Julia Conway, Common Dreams [June 23, 2022] [Link].
We watch with excruciating pain the martyrdom of the people of Afghanistan, barely finished with 20 years of US war and now afflicted with not only an oppressive government, but also famine and earthquake. How the world can sit by and withhold aid on the grounds that the Taliban government forbids schooling for girls is beyond me. More than $9 billion of Afghani funds is sitting frozen in US banks, while the Blockade of Death marches on. To learn something of this tawdry story, see Democracy Now's program from last Thursday, with Norwegian aid coordinator Jan Egeland, [Link].
CFOW Nuts & Bolts
Please consider getting involved with Concerned Families of Westchester. Weather permitting, we meet for a protest/rally each Saturday in Hastings, at 12 noon at the VFW Plaza (Warburton and Spring St.) A "Black Lives Matter/Say Their Names" vigil is held each Monday from 5:30 to 6:00 pm in Yonkers at the intersection of Warburton Ave. and Odell. To learn about our new project, "Beauty as Fuel for Change," go here; and to make a financial contribution to the project, go here. If you would like to join one of our Zoom meetings, each Tuesday and Thursday at noon, please send a return email for the link. Our newsletter is archived at https://cfow.blogspot.com/; and news of interest and coming events is posted on our CFOW Facebook page. If you would like to support our work by making a contribution, please send your check to CFOW, PO Box 364, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706. Thanks
Rewards!
This has been a stressful week. Perhaps stalwart readers will appreciate something light and mellow. Some Teddy Wilson jazz tracks from the 1940s got me through this Newsletter; I hope you will enjoy them also.
Best wishes,
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
CFOW Weekly Reader
Featured Essays
The Long, Troubled History of the Supreme Court—and How We Can Change It
By Louis Michael Seidman, The Nation [June 20, 2022]
---- American politics is saturated by reverence for an ancient and anachronistic document, written by people who in many cases owned other human beings, and never endorsed by a majority of the inhabitants of our country. Liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, Congress members and Supreme Court justices, all insist on their own partisan versions of constitutional obedience while our political culture collapses, crucial public needs go unmet, and the ties that bind us together as a country fray. We need to understand that conventional constitutionalism is irrational and wrong. It attaches religious significance to a decidedly secular and deeply flawed document. It is standing in the way of saving our country. It has got to stop. … The Supreme Court's history is important and often misunderstood, but the crucial question to answer is how the court operates now and how it is likely to operate in the immediate future. Unfortunately, whatever our experience during the Warren Court era, the modern Supreme Court has returned to its historical role as the defender of class privilege, racial hierarchy, and misogyny. From the invalidation of campaign finance legislation, to the hobbling of efforts to control climate change, to the recent threat to abortion rights, the justices have allied themselves with the most reactionary forces in American life. So what is to be done? [Read More]
Colombia: Petro, Francia, and Hope
By Boaventura de Sousa Santos
---- For the first time in Colombia's history a leftist candidate won the presidential elections. For the first time a black and working class woman (a miner and domestic worker) was elected vice-president. The Latin American continent never ceases to surprise us, and if surprises sometimes depress us, other times they fill us with hope. In this case, hope is decisive because the alternative, both in Colombia and on the continent, would be despair and the possible collapse of the already fragile democracy. It is therefore important to analyze the causes of this victory and what it means. In a country of 49 million inhabitants, where a quarter of the voters are 28 years old or younger, the vast majority of young people voted for Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez (especially those between the ages of 18 and 24). It is in the youth that the need for change is most alive. They were one of the main forces of the national mobilization that in 2021 stopped the country to demand an end to the neoliberal austerity policies. [Read More] Also of interest is this Democracy Now! interview with incoming vice-president Francia Marquez, "A New Form of Government Is Possible" [June 21, 2022].
(Video) Ed Yong on An Immense World [New book]
[FB – Ed Yong is a science/health writer for The Atlantic, and a frequent guest in the CFOW Newsletter. His new book is about how animals see and otherwise experience the world.]
---- "I sort of figured that, having been interested in science from as long as I can remember, I would be a PhD student, and make a career for myself and research. And it turned out that the one hitch with that plan was that I am catastrophically bad at doing actual research. I was the world's worst graduate student….So instead, I thought that I would find a different purpose and better joy in talking and writing about science, which is what I did. That nourishes my soul much more; I get to learn about a lot of really cool things." An Immense World is the delightful new book from The Atlantic staff writer Ed Yong, and he joins us on the show to talk about meeting animals on their own terms, the connection between Jane Austen and mice, peacocks and The Bee Gees; how hearing is also a kind of touch and how deer-like creatures transformed into whales; his pandemic puppy and his literary inspirations. [See the Talk] [And after getting to the You-Tube page, click on "Browse."] Also interesting is this short essay by Ed Yong, "How Animals See Themselves," New York Times [June 20, 2022] [Link].
The War in Ukraine
Are We Sure America Is Not at War in Ukraine?
Bonnie Kristian June 20, 2022, 5:13 a.m. ET
---- In the more than three months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the Biden administration has said a lot of things about the war. It had to walk a few of them back almost immediately, like when President Biden's statement that Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" turned out not to be a call for regime change. On other points, its rhetoric has sharpened over time: In March, America's goal was to help Ukraine defend itself; by the end of April it was a "weakened" Russia. But on one thing the administration has been very consistent: America won't get into war with Russia for Ukraine. … Much of the praise and critique of Mr. Biden's Ukraine policy has accepted his version of events. But are we sure Americans can reliably recognize when we've joined a war? … Are we at war in Ukraine? If we swapped places — if Russian apparatchiks admitted helping to kill American generals or sink a U.S. Navy vessel — I doubt we'd find much ambiguity there. At the very least, what the United States is doing in Ukraine is not not war. If we have so far avoided calling it war and can continue to do so, maybe that's only because we've become so uncertain of the meaning of the word. [Read More]
(Video) "The Famine Is Coming": War in Ukraine & Climate Crisis Contribute to Food Insecurity in Somalia
From Democracy Now! [June 23, 2022]
---- Experts are warning of a pending global food shortage due to the climate crisis, blocked grain shipments amid the Ukraine war, and a lack of humanitarian aid. Joining us from Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, says poorer countries in Africa aren't able to financially compete with richer countries to afford basic staples like wheat. Egeland calls on G7 countries to take immediate action to prevent a global famine — which he believes is still stoppable. [See the Program] Also of interest is "The Ukraine War's Role in Exacerbating Global Food Insecurity," b , Counterpunch [June 24, 2022] [Link] and "Starving civilians is an ancient military tactic, but today it's a war crime in Ukraine, Yemen, Tigray and elsewhere," by Tom Dannenbaum, et al., The Conversation [June 21, 2022] [Link].
The Climate Crisis
Republican Drive to Tilt Courts Against Climate Action Reaches a Crucial Moment
June 19, 2022]
---- A Supreme Court environmental case being decided this month is the product of a coordinated, multiyear strategy by Republican attorneys general and conservative allies…. Victory for the plaintiffs in these cases would mean the federal government could not dramatically restrict tailpipe emissions because of vehicles' impact on climate, even though transportation is the country's largest source of greenhouse gases. The government also would not be able to force electric utilities to replace fossil fuel-fired power plants, the second-largest source of planet warming pollution, with wind and solar power. And the executive branch could not consider the economic costs of climate change when evaluating whether to approve a new oil pipeline or similar project or environmental rule. Those limitations on climate action in the United States, which has pumped more planet-warming gases into the atmosphere than any other nation, would quite likely doom the world's goal of cutting enough emissions to keep the planet from heating up more than an average of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with the preindustrial age. That is the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic hurricanes, drought, heat waves and wildfires significantly increases. The Earth has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius. [Read More]
The Martyrdom of Julian Assange - Continued
Julian Assange Is Enduring Unbearable Persecution for Exposing US War Crimes
By Marjorie Cohn, Truthout [June 21, 2022]
---- Ever since U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel formally ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S. last week, press freedom advocates around the world have been mobilizing. Assange Defense, on whose advisory board I serve, is organizing a national and international campaign to pressure U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Joe Biden to drop the extradition request and dismiss the charges against Assange. The stakes could not be higher. The charges, which include 17 counts under the infamous Espionage Act, could result in 175 years in prison for the journalist who exposed U.S. war crimes. Assange's indictment is based on WikiLeaks's 2010-2011 disclosures of U.S. war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and the military prison at Guantánamo. Those revelations included 400,000 field reports about the Iraq War; 15,000 unreported deaths of Iraqi civilians; and systematic rape, torture and murder committed by Iraqi forces after the U.S. military "handed over detainees to a notorious Iraqi torture squad." WikiLeaks also disclosed the Afghan War Logs, which are 90,000 reports of more civilian casualties by coalition forces than the U.S. military had admitted to. [Read More]
Also of interest – "Merrick Garland: Drop the Charges Against Julian Assange," by June 24, 2022] [Link]; and "The Assange Animus and the Spy Trial Ahead," b June 24, 2022] [Link].
Israel/Palestine
Gaza: Israel's 'Open-Air Prison' at 15
From Human Rights Watch [June 14, 2022]
---- Israel's sweeping restrictions on leaving Gaza deprive its more than two million residents of opportunities to better their lives, Human Rights Watch said today on the fifteenth anniversary of the 2007 closure. The closure has devastated the economy in Gaza, contributed to fragmentation of the Palestinian people, and forms part of Israeli authorities' crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against millions of Palestinians. Israel's closure policy blocks most Gaza residents from going to the West Bank, preventing professionals, artists, athletes, students, and others from pursuing opportunities within Palestine and from traveling abroad via Israel, restricting their rights to work and an education. Restrictive Egyptian policies at its Rafah crossing with Gaza, including unnecessary delays and mistreatment of travelers, have exacerbated the closure's harm to human rights. "Israel, with Egypt's help, has turned Gaza into an open-air prison," said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. "As many people around the world are once again traveling two years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gaza's more than two million Palestinians remain under what amounts to a 15-year-old lockdown." [Read the Report]. For a very good video summary of the Report, go here.
Our History
(Video) Juneteenth Special: Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
From Democracy Now! [June 20, 2022]
----- In a Juneteenth special, we mark the federal holiday that commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. We speak to the writer and poet Clint Smith about Juneteenth and his new book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. "When I think of Juneteenth, part of what I think about is the both-handedness of it," Smith says, "that it is this moment in which we mourn the fact that freedom was kept from hundreds of thousands of enslaved people for years and for months after it had been attained by them, and then, at the same time, celebrating the end of one of the most egregious things that this country has ever done." [See the Program]
