Damn, I would have liked to have seen that. If you can figure out how to give me a link to that, I'd love to see it.
I generally block anyone who scolds me, or who is just dumb. If someone wants to have a debate with me about something, I'm fine with that, but at a certain point I just say "later, gator." I know I blocked 2 other people who ONLY showed up to Wonkette to bitch about my posts. I couldn't help but think it was the same person with a sock puppet. Now I've got a 3rd one who I haven't yet blocked, but who I mostly just ignore.
Oh, I think the part I always remember is her link to D'Amato, who was an outright crook. My lifelong Republican mother would not even argue that point. If you have a minute, Google "Oheka Castle" and the owner's connection to D'Amato.
I grew up in the town where Oheka Castle is, so Al D'amato was my parent's senator when I was a kid. I think they knew he was a crook even back then.
Unfortunately, some of ours, believe the republican lies of thirty years duration, or so. Watch any thread that mentions Hillary, and you will get some very clueless, (mostly, but not limited to) men, who jump on just to call her a war hawk, and all the other direct from Richard Melon-Scaife's stable of smears and propaganda. They seem to be easily swayed when Obama could not wave a magic wand and make everything better, and now, Biden is getting the same, lack of support from those who do not understand political reality.
The 6-week ban (that is not actually 6 weeks) is another way of referring to what the GQP calls a “heartbeat” bill. Now, that’s also a misnomer because the embryo doesn’t actually have a heart at that point. However, embryonic cardiac cell activity can be detected with a transvaginal ultrasound of a pregnant person at around 6-7 weeks after the start of last period, and it is the existence of this activity that determines whether an abortion is permissible under Texas law.
Of course, a transvaginal ultrasound isn’t medically required for an abortion, but it’s been required under Texas law for some years. Its use becomes even more problematic when you consider the use of abortion medications, which the FDA recently approved for prescription via telemedicine, which I presume wouldn’t require an ultrasound at all (would be a bit tricky to insert the probe through the computer screen, I would think).
Texas got around THAT issue with SB4, which took effect in December, and requires abortion medications to be prescribed/dispensed in-person, and are banned after 7 weeks (not 7 weeks) even though the drugs are safe & effective through 10 weeks. Violation of SB4 is a felony, so that’s fun.
Probably more detail than you needed, but as a lawyer who also happens to be a woman who lives in Texas, I pay a lot of attention to this crap.
Wow! So you grew up in Huntington on the 'Gold Coast'. I never lived on LI, but my parents did before I was born, in Hicksville - not the same kind of place.Mind you I did go to a fancy-schmancy wedding (and reception) once in one of the "Five Towns" (I forget which one), so...
Anwyay, boy there sure is some corruption that went on in Oheka Castle and its environs. This Melius guy sure sounds like he was mobbed up (see also D'Amato and Tom Golisano), and among other stories I found, this one was quite intersting..."Friends of Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius who was shot through the eye have warned the masked gunman to turn himself in." hmm, what kind of friends were those? And by the way, this was from the Daily Mail in the UK!
This from The Gothamist was also interesting..."While police say that it "appears that Mr. Melius was the target," his friend, former Senator Al D'Amato, had a stronger assessment: "It was not a robbery. It was an attempt at assassination."An attempt, Al? - so are you saying it was not successful and someone maybe had to help it along? Hmmm...
That building sure has some history, the outside being used for a number of films and TV shows, some of which I've seen.
Also, found a picture of Melius with singer Debbie Gibson, who was about a head taller than him.
It's so nice to know that crime never takes a vacation where the rich and powerful are concerned.It's THE AMERICAN WAY!
Reading all the details that you provided here makes me MORE angry, as I know YOU and many others of US, know much more about this than any of these Texas Turds. But then they don't want to know about all that 'icky girly stuff', something that I'm sure you've run into all your life.
I would say this should be required reading for all of these assholes, but of course they would just call it whatever the Republican lie of the moment is, and ignore it completely.
I sent you a post before that might help - I'll repeat part of it here..."...depending on your browser, you can do a search for a particular word or name on any page and in this case search AdmNaismithHer first comment will be 2 below that afterwards."
The others from her and me and the others yelling at her will follow after that.
Oh, thank you so much for saying that! Sometimes I do feel like I’m shouting into the void, especially when I’m responding to something in my notifications as opposed to a more recent non-comment. (I also review and respond to non-comments on my iPad, which takes longer.)
But, I figure that if I can help explain what’s going on to even one Wonker, then it is worth it. Sort of like how I explained the details of SB8 and how it relates to menstrual cycles/conception to my 77-yo childless uncle by marriage over Christmas. He was against the concept of SB8, but didn’t appreciate how truly horrible Texas law is until I explained the details. It does make a difference, even if I have to work to gain one ally at a time, who will hopefully pass it on…
Again, interesting questions, but largely irrelevant at the moment.
I think it is without question that SB8 (and SB4) are unconstitutional under Roe and its progeny. However, given the 5th Circuit & SCOTUS rulings that allowed these laws to take effect, we’d need (one or more) test case(s) to test the limits. I saw another Wonker who suggested covering legal expenses and damages for a test case, but you’d have to find one or more willing participants first.
Personally, I’d LOVE to litigate a case in defense of someone who provides, or aids in the providing of, a prohibited abortion under SB8. I’d do it pro bono, as long as someone was willing to cover the the potential damages, plaintiff’s attorney fees, and cost of appeals. But it is still a lot to ask of someone to consciously violate a law, even if it is currently blatantly unconstitutional.
I recently had a really interesting conversation with another Wonker on this topic, so I’ll skip to the point. As an attorney who has followed SCOTUS since before Roberts was appointed CJ, I actually do think he’s concerned about his own legacy/the Court’s legitimacy. It’s why he sometimes sides with the minority, or provides the “swing vote.” (I still have a lot of issues with him, especially on the issue of voting rights.)
That said, he no longer has the votes to overturn/control the other 5 “conservative” justices. With Thomas, Alito, and the TFG 3 (what I refer to as the “SCOTUS5”), he has a group that are just fine being partisan political hacks who don’t care about precedent.
For example, I suspect Roberts will be part of the 5-4 minority when SCOTUS overturns Roe in the Mississippi abortion case (I hope I’m wrong about the outcome here, but I fear that I’m not). I suspect he’ll vote this way not because he agrees with Roe, but because he recognizes there are no legitimate grounds for overturning Roe.
Contrast this to CJ Earl Warren in Brown v Board of Education, which held that separate is inherently not equal, and overturned established precedent in Plessy v Ferguson that separate but equal was ok. Warren had the votes to issue a majority opinion in Brown, but he twisted arms to make sure the decision was a unanimous 9-0 decision. Warren did so because of the significance of Brown, as well as the need for the Court’s decision overturning Plessy to appear legitimate.
Unfortunately, I think we’re way past that point now.
Yes, I grew up on the Gold Coast, but don't be impressed, because I lived there in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was mostly middle class people living there. Now a house there is $700,000 and the taxes are $30,000 a year. When I was a kid, houses were $30,000. That's a beautiful area, and if you have a chance to visit, you should. Huntington is a really lovely town, especially down by the harbor. Another cool place in town is Coindre Hall. It's an old mansion on the harbor. I used to go out there and just look at all the little boats in the harbor. Now it's gotten popular and there's no solitude there. There are a few old mansions out on Long Island's Gold Coast that I like to visit. There's a coffee table about the mansions of the Gold Coast, and it tells you about all the houses that have been lost over the past decades. It's interesting to see all the people who used to live out there.
There's another house in LA that I took a friend ( a native Angeleno) to. It's called "Greystone." It's funny because it's been in a million movies and TV shows, including a Bette Davis movie. I had been going there for years, when I read something about it being the place where a famous homosexual murder had happened. It was also a political scandal, AND it was the basis for a Raymond Chandler story. My friend and I enjoy going there with a blanket and a picnic lunch and take a nap. We've been doing that for years, and the last time we went it said "no blankets, no picnics, no napping, on the lawn."
Melius is a very interesting character. I always go out to Oheka Castle for dinner when I go to NYC, but now they're supposed to be turning it into condos. The grounds are gorgeous. They host the most extravagant weddings there.
That's terrifying!
But I'm guessing that doesn't apply to the federal bench.
Damn, I would have liked to have seen that. If you can figure out how to give me a link to that, I'd love to see it.
I generally block anyone who scolds me, or who is just dumb. If someone wants to have a debate with me about something, I'm fine with that, but at a certain point I just say "later, gator." I know I blocked 2 other people who ONLY showed up to Wonkette to bitch about my posts. I couldn't help but think it was the same person with a sock puppet. Now I've got a 3rd one who I haven't yet blocked, but who I mostly just ignore.
Oh, I think the part I always remember is her link to D'Amato, who was an outright crook. My lifelong Republican mother would not even argue that point. If you have a minute, Google "Oheka Castle" and the owner's connection to D'Amato.
I grew up in the town where Oheka Castle is, so Al D'amato was my parent's senator when I was a kid. I think they knew he was a crook even back then.
Unfortunately, some of ours, believe the republican lies of thirty years duration, or so. Watch any thread that mentions Hillary, and you will get some very clueless, (mostly, but not limited to) men, who jump on just to call her a war hawk, and all the other direct from Richard Melon-Scaife's stable of smears and propaganda. They seem to be easily swayed when Obama could not wave a magic wand and make everything better, and now, Biden is getting the same, lack of support from those who do not understand political reality.
I totally get you, it's all just so infuriating. I really wish Democrats in every state would start putting out 'personhood' bills for adult women😁
The 6-week ban (that is not actually 6 weeks) is another way of referring to what the GQP calls a “heartbeat” bill. Now, that’s also a misnomer because the embryo doesn’t actually have a heart at that point. However, embryonic cardiac cell activity can be detected with a transvaginal ultrasound of a pregnant person at around 6-7 weeks after the start of last period, and it is the existence of this activity that determines whether an abortion is permissible under Texas law.
Of course, a transvaginal ultrasound isn’t medically required for an abortion, but it’s been required under Texas law for some years. Its use becomes even more problematic when you consider the use of abortion medications, which the FDA recently approved for prescription via telemedicine, which I presume wouldn’t require an ultrasound at all (would be a bit tricky to insert the probe through the computer screen, I would think).
Texas got around THAT issue with SB4, which took effect in December, and requires abortion medications to be prescribed/dispensed in-person, and are banned after 7 weeks (not 7 weeks) even though the drugs are safe & effective through 10 weeks. Violation of SB4 is a felony, so that’s fun.
Probably more detail than you needed, but as a lawyer who also happens to be a woman who lives in Texas, I pay a lot of attention to this crap.
Wow! So you grew up in Huntington on the 'Gold Coast'. I never lived on LI, but my parents did before I was born, in Hicksville - not the same kind of place.Mind you I did go to a fancy-schmancy wedding (and reception) once in one of the "Five Towns" (I forget which one), so...
Anwyay, boy there sure is some corruption that went on in Oheka Castle and its environs. This Melius guy sure sounds like he was mobbed up (see also D'Amato and Tom Golisano), and among other stories I found, this one was quite intersting..."Friends of Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius who was shot through the eye have warned the masked gunman to turn himself in." hmm, what kind of friends were those? And by the way, this was from the Daily Mail in the UK!
This from The Gothamist was also interesting..."While police say that it "appears that Mr. Melius was the target," his friend, former Senator Al D'Amato, had a stronger assessment: "It was not a robbery. It was an attempt at assassination."An attempt, Al? - so are you saying it was not successful and someone maybe had to help it along? Hmmm...
That building sure has some history, the outside being used for a number of films and TV shows, some of which I've seen.
Also, found a picture of Melius with singer Debbie Gibson, who was about a head taller than him.
It's so nice to know that crime never takes a vacation where the rich and powerful are concerned.It's THE AMERICAN WAY!
Reading all the details that you provided here makes me MORE angry, as I know YOU and many others of US, know much more about this than any of these Texas Turds. But then they don't want to know about all that 'icky girly stuff', something that I'm sure you've run into all your life.
I would say this should be required reading for all of these assholes, but of course they would just call it whatever the Republican lie of the moment is, and ignore it completely.
Great for you to post this in any case...
I sent you a post before that might help - I'll repeat part of it here..."...depending on your browser, you can do a search for a particular word or name on any page and in this case search AdmNaismithHer first comment will be 2 below that afterwards."
The others from her and me and the others yelling at her will follow after that.
Oh, thank you so much for saying that! Sometimes I do feel like I’m shouting into the void, especially when I’m responding to something in my notifications as opposed to a more recent non-comment. (I also review and respond to non-comments on my iPad, which takes longer.)
But, I figure that if I can help explain what’s going on to even one Wonker, then it is worth it. Sort of like how I explained the details of SB8 and how it relates to menstrual cycles/conception to my 77-yo childless uncle by marriage over Christmas. He was against the concept of SB8, but didn’t appreciate how truly horrible Texas law is until I explained the details. It does make a difference, even if I have to work to gain one ally at a time, who will hopefully pass it on…
I would probably unblock her, if I could see the whole conversation. I'm sure it was entertaining. Oh, well, maybe Disqus will work one day.
Again, interesting questions, but largely irrelevant at the moment.
I think it is without question that SB8 (and SB4) are unconstitutional under Roe and its progeny. However, given the 5th Circuit & SCOTUS rulings that allowed these laws to take effect, we’d need (one or more) test case(s) to test the limits. I saw another Wonker who suggested covering legal expenses and damages for a test case, but you’d have to find one or more willing participants first.
Personally, I’d LOVE to litigate a case in defense of someone who provides, or aids in the providing of, a prohibited abortion under SB8. I’d do it pro bono, as long as someone was willing to cover the the potential damages, plaintiff’s attorney fees, and cost of appeals. But it is still a lot to ask of someone to consciously violate a law, even if it is currently blatantly unconstitutional.
I recently had a really interesting conversation with another Wonker on this topic, so I’ll skip to the point. As an attorney who has followed SCOTUS since before Roberts was appointed CJ, I actually do think he’s concerned about his own legacy/the Court’s legitimacy. It’s why he sometimes sides with the minority, or provides the “swing vote.” (I still have a lot of issues with him, especially on the issue of voting rights.)
That said, he no longer has the votes to overturn/control the other 5 “conservative” justices. With Thomas, Alito, and the TFG 3 (what I refer to as the “SCOTUS5”), he has a group that are just fine being partisan political hacks who don’t care about precedent.
For example, I suspect Roberts will be part of the 5-4 minority when SCOTUS overturns Roe in the Mississippi abortion case (I hope I’m wrong about the outcome here, but I fear that I’m not). I suspect he’ll vote this way not because he agrees with Roe, but because he recognizes there are no legitimate grounds for overturning Roe.
Contrast this to CJ Earl Warren in Brown v Board of Education, which held that separate is inherently not equal, and overturned established precedent in Plessy v Ferguson that separate but equal was ok. Warren had the votes to issue a majority opinion in Brown, but he twisted arms to make sure the decision was a unanimous 9-0 decision. Warren did so because of the significance of Brown, as well as the need for the Court’s decision overturning Plessy to appear legitimate.
Unfortunately, I think we’re way past that point now.
I typed in AdmNaismith for a search, and I didn't find anything.
I wonder if it's because I blocked her? Damn, I'm sorry I can't see that, since I'm sure I'd enjoy it.
Yes, I grew up on the Gold Coast, but don't be impressed, because I lived there in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was mostly middle class people living there. Now a house there is $700,000 and the taxes are $30,000 a year. When I was a kid, houses were $30,000. That's a beautiful area, and if you have a chance to visit, you should. Huntington is a really lovely town, especially down by the harbor. Another cool place in town is Coindre Hall. It's an old mansion on the harbor. I used to go out there and just look at all the little boats in the harbor. Now it's gotten popular and there's no solitude there. There are a few old mansions out on Long Island's Gold Coast that I like to visit. There's a coffee table about the mansions of the Gold Coast, and it tells you about all the houses that have been lost over the past decades. It's interesting to see all the people who used to live out there.
There's another house in LA that I took a friend ( a native Angeleno) to. It's called "Greystone." It's funny because it's been in a million movies and TV shows, including a Bette Davis movie. I had been going there for years, when I read something about it being the place where a famous homosexual murder had happened. It was also a political scandal, AND it was the basis for a Raymond Chandler story. My friend and I enjoy going there with a blanket and a picnic lunch and take a nap. We've been doing that for years, and the last time we went it said "no blankets, no picnics, no napping, on the lawn."
Melius is a very interesting character. I always go out to Oheka Castle for dinner when I go to NYC, but now they're supposed to be turning it into condos. The grounds are gorgeous. They host the most extravagant weddings there.