jane
Well-Known Member
Hi all, I sent this letter to all of my American friends. Feel free to extend the same invitation to yours. Supreme Court appointments aren't just for Christmas, they're for life. We're going to need all of the couches we can get.
Dear America,
By now, you will have learned that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has resigned. Now, it's not like she was a champion of the liberal left, but she did do her part to prevent Roe v. Wade from being overturned, and, from what I can tell, is nowhere near as scary as the monsters lurking in the wings, or even some of the monsters farting into the bench next to her. And, since a 'moderate conservative' of her generation, in our generation, is considered a Raging Amoral Pinko, it really is a loss. Did we ever think that a vestige of the Reagan era would be a more palatable option than the horrors of the future? No, friends, we did not. We really, really did not. Reagan's presidency is now the Halcyon Days, the Cold War a warm bottle served from our collective mother's warm and loving arms.
None of us will be surprised if Bush names another woman to the seat, but we can be damn sure she will be our Auntie Tom. She will be a snake-tongued, homophobic, anti-feminist, 'terrorist'-torturer, who will not just upset the precarious apple cart of justice, but tear it to shreds like a lioness rending a carcass on the Serengeti. Like apples. Apples made of rotting meat. And the rotting meat is like our constitutional.....Look, the point is, there is only one woman on one of the projected lists of proposed candidates. She is scarier than most lionesses and almost all rhinos. Most of the rest are scarier than having your limbs cut off and being drowned in worms, or being eaten alive by giant spiders.
We are, perhaps, also frightened (but not so much) at the prospect of William Rehnquist's retirement as Chief Justice. Willie, whose judicial robe is modelled on something he saw in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Wille, who voted against Roe vs Wade, and desegregation, and yet, his retirement will cripple us with terror. Did we ever think that the loss of a Nixon appointee would do this to us? No, friends, we never, ever thought it could get this bad. We hope that, if he dies with his robes on, they prop him up on the bench, Weekend-at-Bernie's-style, until Bush is safely out of office. After all, it's worked with Cheney since the turn of the century. Did we ever think it would come to this? No, we did not. We should have seen this coming.
But there is hope, America. I know there is. For I have a spare room that sleeps two, and a couch that fits one person under 5'5". I can put a canopy over the little patio out back, and one of you -- two, if you huddle together for warmth and safety -- can sleep there. If you don't mind the spiders. They're not as scary as the Supreme Court, and also, you just have to squish them to make them go away.
So, America, my friend, all hope is not lost. If we all pitch in around the house, share the cooking and shopping, and schedule our showers and poops, it should work out okay. Remember, too, that the Irish government is not unfamiliar with backward, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and theocratic legislation, but fact that this is much better than what you've got now, that alone should scare you all the way to the airport.
Call me when you get here. I'll make some nachos. Bring booze.
Love,
Jane
_____________________
And, when they're done buying their tickets, tell them to write to their friendly local senator:
"Subject: O'Connor is retiring. Take action to protect our rights.
Hi,
As you probably heard, Sandra Day O'Connor just resigned from the Supreme Court. This is an extremely important time for our senators to hear from us. They need to know that we are counting on them to stand up to President Bush and protect our rights -- because with a moderate like O'Connor stepping down and a far-right like Bush making the nomination, well, the stakes couldn't be higher. The Terri Schiavo tragedy showed us all just how far these people are willing to go.
MoveOn PAC has already started an emergency petition, and we're looking to get 250,000 signatures and comments to the Senate before Tuesday -- which is when rumor has it Bush will announce his nomination.
I hope you can take a minute to join me in signing this petition, so our senators know that, in what might be the fight of our lives, we need them to do what it takes to protect our rights.
http://www.moveonpac.org/protectourrights
Thanks!"
___________________________
PS: America, please wake up soon, or soon you won't have the right to.
Sniff.
Dear America,
By now, you will have learned that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has resigned. Now, it's not like she was a champion of the liberal left, but she did do her part to prevent Roe v. Wade from being overturned, and, from what I can tell, is nowhere near as scary as the monsters lurking in the wings, or even some of the monsters farting into the bench next to her. And, since a 'moderate conservative' of her generation, in our generation, is considered a Raging Amoral Pinko, it really is a loss. Did we ever think that a vestige of the Reagan era would be a more palatable option than the horrors of the future? No, friends, we did not. We really, really did not. Reagan's presidency is now the Halcyon Days, the Cold War a warm bottle served from our collective mother's warm and loving arms.
None of us will be surprised if Bush names another woman to the seat, but we can be damn sure she will be our Auntie Tom. She will be a snake-tongued, homophobic, anti-feminist, 'terrorist'-torturer, who will not just upset the precarious apple cart of justice, but tear it to shreds like a lioness rending a carcass on the Serengeti. Like apples. Apples made of rotting meat. And the rotting meat is like our constitutional.....Look, the point is, there is only one woman on one of the projected lists of proposed candidates. She is scarier than most lionesses and almost all rhinos. Most of the rest are scarier than having your limbs cut off and being drowned in worms, or being eaten alive by giant spiders.
We are, perhaps, also frightened (but not so much) at the prospect of William Rehnquist's retirement as Chief Justice. Willie, whose judicial robe is modelled on something he saw in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Wille, who voted against Roe vs Wade, and desegregation, and yet, his retirement will cripple us with terror. Did we ever think that the loss of a Nixon appointee would do this to us? No, friends, we never, ever thought it could get this bad. We hope that, if he dies with his robes on, they prop him up on the bench, Weekend-at-Bernie's-style, until Bush is safely out of office. After all, it's worked with Cheney since the turn of the century. Did we ever think it would come to this? No, we did not. We should have seen this coming.
But there is hope, America. I know there is. For I have a spare room that sleeps two, and a couch that fits one person under 5'5". I can put a canopy over the little patio out back, and one of you -- two, if you huddle together for warmth and safety -- can sleep there. If you don't mind the spiders. They're not as scary as the Supreme Court, and also, you just have to squish them to make them go away.
So, America, my friend, all hope is not lost. If we all pitch in around the house, share the cooking and shopping, and schedule our showers and poops, it should work out okay. Remember, too, that the Irish government is not unfamiliar with backward, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and theocratic legislation, but fact that this is much better than what you've got now, that alone should scare you all the way to the airport.
Call me when you get here. I'll make some nachos. Bring booze.
Love,
Jane
_____________________
And, when they're done buying their tickets, tell them to write to their friendly local senator:
"Subject: O'Connor is retiring. Take action to protect our rights.
Hi,
As you probably heard, Sandra Day O'Connor just resigned from the Supreme Court. This is an extremely important time for our senators to hear from us. They need to know that we are counting on them to stand up to President Bush and protect our rights -- because with a moderate like O'Connor stepping down and a far-right like Bush making the nomination, well, the stakes couldn't be higher. The Terri Schiavo tragedy showed us all just how far these people are willing to go.
MoveOn PAC has already started an emergency petition, and we're looking to get 250,000 signatures and comments to the Senate before Tuesday -- which is when rumor has it Bush will announce his nomination.
I hope you can take a minute to join me in signing this petition, so our senators know that, in what might be the fight of our lives, we need them to do what it takes to protect our rights.
http://www.moveonpac.org/protectourrights
Thanks!"
___________________________
PS: America, please wake up soon, or soon you won't have the right to.
Sniff.
