Reads for September 29

 Yes, abortion will be the big issue in the November 2024 elections.  Every single time the issue has come up for voters, abortion rights has ALWAYS won.

That is because this country is simply not "polarized" on the issue and has never been ever since the abortion laws started becoming liberalized in the 1960s.  Despite their loudmouthed rhetoric and their occasional violent actions, the antiabortion nutjobs have always been on the fringe of public opinion.

This is why I am more optimistic about Democrats gaining seats in both chambers of Congress next year.

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Legislators in Michigan decided to do something about child marriage.

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The teenage crossdressing  creep who assaulted at least three girls at Tualatin's Hazelbrook Middle School has been arrested and charged with one of the assaults.  All three of the attacks on girls have been captured on video.

Speaking of this middle school, earlier today there was a bomb threat made against it.

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According to one court, "transgenders" are not "marginalized," a word that needs to be thrown into the Banned Words List.   The court also said it was okay for Tennessee and Kentucky to bar quack surgeries on minors.  link

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Obituary:  The big death of today was the death of longtime California senator Dianne Feinstein, who was 90 years old.  She had been on the SF Board of Supervisors, mayor of the city, then later became senator.  

She had suffered from ill health in recent years, but apparently she died of natural causes.

Snip:

In the Senate since 1992, Feinstein fought for what she called "sensible gun laws," worked to preserve the environment and improve her state's water infrastructure, and she championed LGBTQ+ rights and the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Feinstein authored and helped pass the federal assault weapons ban in 1994. The law expired in 2004, and along with other Democrats, including President Joe Biden, Feinstein advocated to reinstate it. 

The California senator also helped establish the nationwide Amber Alert network to alert the public to missing children. 

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