Monday, December 13, 2021
Narrow abortion ruling by SCOTUS
In a ruling on Friday, the court held that a lawsuit by Texas abortion providers could go forward – but only on narrow grounds. Only those state officials responsible for licensing medical providers may be sued, the court ordered – no one else involved in the state’s practical maintenance of SB8 is liable. The ruling said, for instance, that the providers could not sue court clerks, those bureaucrats tasked with actually docketing the lawsuits that would enforce SB8.
For providers, it seems that the best possible outcome for the suit now is that they may be able to secure an injunction preventing medical providers from being delicensed. These perplexing limits placed by the court on which parties can be sued to challenge SB8 ensures that though the suit against the law will be at least partly allowed to go forward, it will be largely toothless.
In the meantime, SB8 will remain law. Women in Texas are effectively banned from securing a legal abortion in the state, even though the still-standing Roe v Wade decision says that they have a right to one. It’s likely that SB8 will remain in effect at least for the duration of Roe’s lifetime – meaning that Texas women will not be able to obtain legal abortions after six weeks for the foreseeable future. Many of the initial media responses to the court’s opinion emphasized that since the suit was allowed to go forward, on technical grounds, the ruling was a narrow win for the abortion providers. But in reality Friday was a massive win for the Texas government, and for anti-choice forces nationwide.
The fact of the matter is that the court is already set to overturn Roe and allow states to ban abortion outright. That much was clear to anyone who listened to last week’s oral arguments in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, a case surrounding the constitutionality of a 15-week ban in Mississippi
That ruling is scheduled to come down in late May or early June. When it does, a slim majority of states are expected to ban abortion, either immediately or very soon thereafter. That means that soon SB8 – and the copycat bills that it has inspired in states like Florida and Arkansas – won’t be necessary for the anti-choice lobby to achieve their aims. Instead of concocting an elaborate enforcement process in which vigilantes enforce their abortion bans, the states will be able to enforce their bans themselves.
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The bearded 6ft reporter who was told he CAN use the female changing rooms in Selfridges, Matalan, Uniqlo and Agent Provocateur after telling staff he identifies as a woman
High street retailers are allowing men to use their female changing rooms – so long as they say they identify as women.
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has found that shops, including luxury retailers, will welcome men into traditional female spaces if they do so.
A 6ft-tall male reporter with a beard, who said he identified as woman, was given permission to use fitting rooms in the female sections of stores including Selfridges, Matalan, Uniqlo and even the lingerie brand Agent Provocateur’s concession in Harrods.
In each instance, the reporter, who was wearing a Covid face mask, made his excuses and left without crossing the threshold.
It comes as women’s rights campaigners embarked on a mass leafleting campaign on high streets across the country to highlight how ‘women and girls are losing their rights to single-sex spaces’. Heather Binning, of the Women’s Rights Network, who is organising the campaign, said this newspaper’s findings were ‘truly disturbing’ and showed that ‘common sense has gone out of the window’.
‘While we believe everyone can identify however they wish, shops should not be letting men who say they are women go into female changing rooms,’ she said.
‘It might be well-meaning and shops do not want to be accused of discriminating against anyone but it is utterly wrong that the wishes of a tiny minority are being allowed to trump the safety and dignity of women and young girls who are getting undressed.’
The investigation came after this newspaper’s Charlotte Griffiths wrote last week about how she was shocked to find two men in women’s changing rooms at Zara as she undressed.
She was later told by a manager that the issue was ‘sensitive’ but ‘as a general rule, if people are carrying women’s clothes to try on, they can use the changing rooms on the women’s floor’.
Her experience prompted a deluge of responses, with many condemning the store for not protecting single-sex spaces for women. Others suggested it was transphobic to question other people’s gender and that they should use the fitting room they felt most comfortable in.
To test how widespread the issue was, the MoS asked the top 25 high street stores if they had a policy for changing rooms.
Several, including Primark and Urban Outfitters, only operate unisex booths, whereby men and women will change in cubicles next to each other.
Meanwhile, Next, H&M, John Lewis and M&S said customers were free to choose a fitting room that suits their chosen identity.
For those shops that did not reply to our questions, a male reporter conducted a ‘mystery shopper’ investigation. In each case, the reporter asked if he could use a changing room in the store’s ladies section since he identified as a woman.
The default was always ‘yes’ – in line with the guidance from the sector’s trade body, the British Retail Consortium – although some assistants did check with superiors.
In the Harrods concession of Agent Provocateur, a staff member said she was ‘fairly sure’ it was OK but had to consult a colleague. While the reporter waited, another member of staff on the shop floor addressed him as ‘sir’ and asked how she could help.
Upon returning, the first staff member said: ‘We are happy to do it but we would recommend normally that you go to one of our boutiques instead, they’re just a bit more used to it and there’s a lot more privacy because our fitting rooms are just quite open here.’
A female staff member at the women’s fitting rooms in Nike Town on London’s Oxford Street was hesitant at first but then said: ‘They normally don’t allow men because women can feel disturbed if they come out wearing just a bra.’
The group Fair Play For Women actively campaigns against the loss of female-only spaces, such as toilets and changing rooms.
They have said service providers have relied on ‘simplistic and incomplete trans-inclusion guidance’ and ‘elevating the needs of one protected group over another’.
Dr Nicola Williams of Fair Play For Women added: ‘This is the whole problem with allowing people to self-identify their sex. It means you don’t have to look transgender or actually be transgender to be allowed in to what should be a women’s only space.
‘It means there is no way for shop assistants to distinguish between a 6ft guy with a beard and someone who is transgender.’
Miranda Yardley, 54, who was born a man but now describes herself as a post-op transsexual, said: ‘The surrendering of women’s changing rooms to anyone who claims to be a woman really is nothing other than the natural consequence of saying that anybody can be a woman.’
It appears that most shops were following guidance from the British Retail Consortium.
Tamara Hill, its employment adviser, said: ‘Retailers strive to be inclusive and encourage their customers to choose whichever fitting rooms they feel most comfortable using.’
However, Debbie Hayton, a teacher and transgender rights campaigner, said: ‘The shop workers are left in an impossible position. Shops have a duty to produce a clear policy that they consult on and everybody understands.’
The MoS repeatedly tried to contact Stonewall, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity, but they failed to respond.
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IRS data proves Trump tax cuts benefited middle, working-class Americans most
Congressional Democrats have argued that one of the best ways to pay for their legislation is to raise taxes on wealthy households, which, according to many on the left, have benefited disproportionately and unfairly from the 2017 tax reform law passed by Republicans and signed by former President Trump. The latest data, however, proves that this claim is pure mythology.
Income data published by the IRS clearly show that on average all income brackets benefited substantially from the Republicans’ tax reform law, with the biggest beneficiaries being working and middle-income filers, not the top 1 percent, as so many Democrats have argued.
A careful analysis of the IRS tax data, one that includes the effects of tax credits and other reforms to the tax code, shows that filers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $15,000 to $50,000 enjoyed an average tax cut of 16 percent to 26 percent in 2018, the first year Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went into effect and the most recent year for which data is available.
Filers who earned $50,000 to $100,000 received a tax break of about 15 percent to 17 percent, and those earning $100,000 to $500,000 in adjusted gross income saw their personal income taxes cut by around 11 percent to 13 percent.
By comparison, no income group with an AGI of at least $500,000 received an average tax cut exceeding 9 percent, and the average tax cut for brackets starting at $1 million was less than 6 percent.
That means most middle-income and working-class earners enjoyed a tax cut that was at least double the size of tax cuts received by households earning $1 million or more.
What’s more, IRS data shows earners in higher income brackets contributed a bigger slice of the total income tax revenue pie following the passage of the tax reform law than they had in the previous year.
In fact, every income bracket with filers earning $200,000 or more increased its tax burden in 2018 compared to 2017, and every income bracket with a top limit lower than $200,000 paid a smaller proportion of the total personal tax revenue collected.
That means that Republicans’ tax reform law resulted in the tax code becoming slightly more progressive — the exact opposite of what Democrats have claimed over the past four years.
The IRS data further shows that the tax reform law — which included a variety of business tax cuts, including a large reduction in the corporate income tax rate — spurred economic mobility.
Every income bracket with a top level lower than $25,000 experienced a reduction in its number of filers, and every income bracket above $25,000 increased in size, with the biggest gains occurring in the brackets with a floor of at least $100,000.
The fact is, Republicans’ 2017 tax reform law did exactly what was promised: It lowered taxes for all income groups, provided the greatest benefits for middle-income households, and spurred economic growth that helped reduce poverty and improve prosperity.
It would be a grave mistake for Democrats to eliminate key parts of this important legislation.
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Tucker Carlson Interviews Australian Senator Forced Into COVID Camp Despite Multiple Negative Tests
The tyrannical measures adopted by the Australian government to combat the coronavirus have turned the country into a police state at lightning speed.
On Thursday, South Australian Sen. Alex Antic joined Fox News’ Tucker Carlson to explain how, despite multiple negative COVID-19 test results, he was sent to a coronavirus quarantine detention camp.
According to ABC News, a new law went into effect in South Australia on Nov. 23. Unvaccinated travelers are only allowed back into the state with an “exemption” and they must quarantine for two weeks.
Since Antic refuses to divulge his vaccine status, it’s likely authorities believe he is unvaccinated.
Antic told Carlson, “I have been concerned about some of the powers that have been gifted to the unelected bureaucracy in this country for a long period of time. I’ve spoken about them quite forcefully.”
Antic was working in Canberra, New South Wales, when he was informed that upon his return to South Australia, he was to report to a “medi-hotel” — a hotel that has been converted into a detainment facility — in Adelaide.
“That was completely out-of-step with other people’s experiences, completely out-of-step with what had been done in my previous trips to Canberra and back,” Antic said.
“Here’s the kicker,” Antic said: Ten minutes after he was told he would be going to the quarantine facility, he received a call from a journalist who knew all of the details. Hmmm.
This symbiotic relationship between the government and the media is reminiscent of the U.S. government’s connection with the legacy media. Remember how a CNN camera crew happened to arrive at Roger Stone’s home just before the FBI raided it?
“When I arrived at the airport, there was a camera crew and a photographer and a journalist all there to capture it,” Antic told Carlson. “I’ve never been more concerned about the things going on in this country.”
Antic has also learned that he will be receiving a $4,000 bill from the Australian government to cover the costs associated with his stay at the “hotel.”
“This is the lesson for the United States. Parliaments all over the country in Australia have gifted unrivaled powers to their bureaucrats. And they did so on the basis that we were told it was two weeks to flatten the curve. They never did so on the basis that there were going to be two years to keep people locked down and mandate vaccinations,” he said.
“The bureaucrats everywhere across the world — but certainly in Australia it’s true — they never like to get out of the warm bed of power and coercive control.”
Antic is speaking the truth. The pandemic has brought out the worst instincts in public officials around the globe, elected and unelected alike.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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Kristina Pimenova, once said to be the most beautiful girl in the world. Note blue eyes and blonde hair
Bliss: What every woman wants: to feel safe and secure in the arms of her man. Robert Irwin and Rorie Buckey. See 
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