It’s been a cool spring, and as summer commences, that trend has largely continued. So the garden is a good 2-3 weeks behind where it was at this time last year. But on the upside, rainfall has been steady and regular, so everything is looking very lush, without any backbreaking effort on my part. Just how we like it!
It didn’t quite make it to fifty, but for almost half a century legal abortion has been the law of the land here in the US. No more.
On June 24, 2022, the gavel fell on Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing reproductive rights, overturned 5-4 by the current US Supreme Court. The test case which led to Roe’s reversal was Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which sought to prevent a Mississippi state law virtually eliminating abortion after 15 weeks from conception. That law was upheld 6-3, but Chief Justice John Roberts joined the progressive minority on the Court when Roe itself became the target of his conservative colleagues.
On June 15th, 2022, the House Select Committee on January 6th released Capitol security footage of an unofficial tour led by Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) the day before the January 6th Capitol Insurrection, clearly showing participants taking photos of congressional security checkpoints, stairwells, tunnels and basement hallways. Not your typical tourist highlights.
Shortly after the attempted coup, Loudermilk was rumored to have assisted potential 1/6 rioters in “casing the joint”, providing access to areas normally reserved for members and staff. At first Loudermilk denied giving any tours at all. Then he said it was just families with young kids. Then he admitted touring a group of 16 adults. During a time period when official tours were banned due to COVID concerns. But it was totally normal. Riiight….
On June 1, 2022, a disgruntled patient opened fire at his doctor’s office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing four before turning the gun on himself. Michael Louis, 45, had received surgery the month before for back pain, but found no relief. Enraged, when his doctor failed to ease his suffering, he bought a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic handgun on May 29th, then an AR-15 style assault rifle just three hours before the shooting.
On 1 June 2022, a Fairfax, Virginia jury found for plaintiff Johnny Depp in a defamation suit brought against his former wife Amber Heard, awarding the actor $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Heard, who had countersued for defamation, was vindicated on one count, and received $2 million in compensation, though no punitive damages were awarded.
By now we’ve all heard of the tragic events at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last week, on May 24th, where Salvador Ramos killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers, after shooting his grandmother. Ramos used two AR-15 assault-style weapons on his rampage, which he had purchased within days of his 18th birthday the week prior. It’s taken far too long for accurate details of the crime to emerge, with conflicting, not to say contradictory, reports about Ramos’ entry to the school, and a mystifying 40-minute delay in active response by law enforcement before terminating the gunman as a threat, exposing an astounding level of incompetence.
