Best Quotes of the Week – May 14, 2022

“The wife of a Supreme Court justice doing what Ginni Thomas did is utterly unheard of in the history of the United States.  Justice Thomas, talking about [the] legitimacy of institutions – either the White House or the court itself – he should recuse himself, which he refuses to do, from any case involving the president of the United States and the election.”

Carl Bernstein, condemning Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for criticizing Americans opposed to the possibility of Roe vs. Wade being reversed

Describing Thomas as “rogue” and “disingenuous”, he added, “There is a real failure of institutions, especially on the Supreme Court, by a rogue justice who would not say, ‘I’m going to step aside.’”  Bernstein also noted that Thomas’ wife, Virginia (Ginni) Thomas, had worked to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Thomas had given a speech at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta last week chastising people for “becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes.”  The Court, Thomas said, “can’t be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want.  The events from earlier this week are a symptom of that.”

It has to be noted that, in December 2000, Thomas was among the SCOTUS justices who ordered the state of Florida to stop counting ballots for the presidential election; thus handing George W. Bush the presidency.

“I’m a rape victim myself.  And when you realize what’s happened in your life, the trauma, the emotional, the mental, the physical trauma in a woman’s life, that decision ― she should make that decision with her doctor and between her and her God.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, in an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation”

Mace added that, while she backs abortion rights and wants to see abortion laws handled at the state level, she would personally only support anti-abortion legislation in South Carolina that has exceptions for rape, incest and in cases where the woman’s life is in jeopardy.

“Is the state of Mississippi going to force those girls and women who have this tragedy inside them to carry the child to term?  Are you going to force them to do that?”

Jake Tapper, interviewing the Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves about the possibility the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision

It was a Mississippi case that led to this critical moment in judicial history.  Tapper also asked Reeves if the state will force mothers to carry a child to term, even if the fetus is detected with “serious or fatal abnormalities that will not allow [it] to live outside the womb,” and in cases of incest.

Reeves argued that abortion procedures overwhelmingly happen in elective cases while incest is a much more uncommon circumstance by comparison.  “If we need to have that conversation in the future about potential exceptions in the trigger law, we can certainly do that,” he said.

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Happy Mother’s Day 2022

“They say our mothers really know how to push our buttons – because they installed them.”

Robin Williams

Image: Business Today

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Retro Quote – Dave Barnhart

“‘The unborn’ are a convenient group of people to advocate for.  They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or chronically poor.  They don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct.  Unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare.  Unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural and religious baggage that you dislike.  They allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them because they cease to be unborn.  It’s almost as if – by being unborn – they have died to you.  You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone.  They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus but actually dislike people who breathe.  Prisoners?  Immigrants?  The sick?  The poor?  Widows?  Orphans?  All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible?  They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.”

Pastor Dave Barnhart

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Word of the Week – May 7, 2022

Monopsony

[mə-NAHP-sə-nee]

Noun

Greek, 1930s

Economics – a market situation in which there is only one buyer.  From the Greek suffix “mono” meaning “one” and the Greek “opsōnein,” meaning “buy provisions.”  Monopsony can be easily mistaken with “monopoly,” but they have somewhat inverse definitions.  While a “monopsony” is a fiscal condition in which there is only one buyer of a good or service, a “monopoly” is a situation in which there is only one producer of a good or service.  Economic theory proposes that monopsonies can lead to lower wages for workers because they are paid less than their marginal revenue product.

Example: Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter is proof the ultra-rich have been granted a monopsony over the media by the U.S. Congress.

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Video of the Week – May 7, 2022

During the “Netflix Is A Joke” festival at the Hollywood Bowl on May 3, veteran comic Dave Chappelle’s performance came to a halt when a man rushed the stage and attacked him.

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Tweet of the Week – May 7 2022

Sen. Lindsey Graham

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Political Cartoon of the Week – May 7, 2022

Keith Knight

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Funniest Quote of the Week – May 7, 2022

“Was that Will Smith?”

Chris Rock, to Dave Chappelle after the latter was attacked onstage

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Most Disturbing Quote of the Week – May 7, 2022

Lake Mead | Credit: George Rose/Getty

“I would say there is a very good chance as the water level drops that we are going to find additional human remains.”

Lt. Ray Spencer, Las Vegas homicide detective, after a barrel containing human remains surfaced in Lake Mead

Spencer added, “I think anybody can understand there are probably more bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead, it’s just a matter of, are we able to recover those?”

An ongoing drought has led to a steep decline in the water level of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest manmade reservoir, which is located in Nevada and Arizona and is formed by the Hoover Dam. Water levels have dropped to 1,055 feet, down from 1,080 feet a year ago — an alarming trend for a reservoir that provides water to more than 40 million people in states like Nevada, Arizona and California, as well as Mexico.

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Worst Quotes of the Week – May 7, 2022

“I think we will resurrect that case and challenge this issue again, because the expenses are extraordinary and the times are different than when Plyler versus Doe was issued many decades ago.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, about the 1982 Supreme Court decision that struck down a Texas law that had denied state funding to educate children who had not been “legally admitted” to the United States

Abbott wants Texas to challenge the ruling because of its high cost to Texas taxpayers.

“Democrats have convinced themselves that Russia stole the presidency, which rightfully belonged to Hillary Clinton. And they mean it when they say it.  And that’s why they are taking us to war with Russia.  So, that’s not their goal — saving Ukraine, saving human lives.  No, that’s not their goal. Instead, the war in Ukraine is designed to cause regime change in Moscow. They want to topple the Russian government. That would be payback for the 2016 election.  So, this is the logical, maybe the inevitable, end stage of Russiagate.”

Tucker Carlson, describing how he thinks the Democratic Party is somehow responsible for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

“We shall have our theocracy very soon.”

Vincent James, a radical White nationalist celebrating the leaked Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade

James also said he hopes the decision will eventually lead Americans to seeing Justices Alito and Thomas “throwing gay people off of tall buildings”.

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