Last Call For The Road To Gilead, Con't

Abortion is now illegal in Oklahoma, and Republicans gleefully plan to make sure it's illegal everywhere.

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday signed a bill into law that makes performing an abortion illegal in the state, with an exception only in the case of a medical emergency. 

"As governor, I represent all 4 million Oklahomans and they overwhelmingly support protecting life in the state of Oklahoma. We want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country. We want to outlaw abortion in the state of Oklahoma," the governor said. 

Senate Bill 612, which cleared the state Senate last year and the House earlier this month, makes performing an abortion or attempting to perform one a felony punishable by a maximum fine of $100,000 or a maximum of 10 years in state prison, or both. The law does not provide exceptions in cases of rape and incest. 

Under the measure, the woman would not be criminally charged or convicted for the death of her "unborn child." The legislation does not prohibit the use, sale, prescription or administration of contraceptives. 

The governor was joined at the signing by members of the Oklahoma legislature, faith leaders from across the state, as well as representatives from anti-abortion advocacy groups.
"I know this bill will be challenged immediately by liberal activists from the coast, who always seem to want to come in and dictate, and mandate, and challenge our way of life here in the state of Oklahoma. The most important thing is to take a stand and protect the unborn and protect life in the state of Oklahoma," Stitt added. 

Stitt's signature on the legislation made Oklahoma the latest Republican-led state to approve new restrictions on abortion access in recent weeks. Last month, Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law a ban on most abortions in the state after 15 weeks, similar to a Mississippi law that's before the US Supreme Court, and South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has signed legislation that further restricts access to medication abortions in the state.

 

That third paragraph, where the mother won't be charged, and use of contraceptives won't be a crime, is not in this bill, true.

 

Those will be in the next bill, after the SCOTUS ruling that destroys Roe. 

I've been running this series of posts for years, and traveling down this road you can see the outskirts of Gilead in the distance.

We don't have much farther to travel, and much further to fall.

Another Day In Gunmerica, Con't

NYPD are looking for a suspect who used a smoke device to cover their shooting of multiple people at the 36th Street Station in Brooklyn.

Eight people were shot and eight others were injured in a mass shooting in a Brooklyn subway during Tuesday morning rush hour, according to FDNY spokesperson Amanda Farinacci.

A preliminary investigation shows a possible smoke device was detonated, according to a senior law enforcement official. The NYPD said afterward that there are no active explosive devices.

The attack occurred at about 8:30 a.m. when the Fire Department of New York was called to the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood for a report of smoke.

A male suspect possibly wearing a gas mask and orange construction vest fled the scene, police said, citing a preliminary report.

First responders encountered gunshot victims throughout the subway station and others who had been injured in the ensuing chaos, though it's not clear how the others were injured. Authorities haven't released detailed information on how the shooting unfolded yet.

The mass shooting comes amid a rise in shootings in New York over the past two years and a particular rise in violence on the subway that has become a focus of Mayor Eric Adams' administration. There have been 617 crime complaints so far this year on the transit system, a 68% increase from this point last year, NYPD data shows.

The incident is the second mass shooting, defined as at least four people shot, in Brooklyn this year and the fourth in New York State, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The first Brooklyn mass shooting of the year was on January 13 at a Brooklyn event hall.

 

Here's hoping they catch the bastard, but the planning here may signify a terrorist attack of some sort. We'll let the authorities find out for sure. 

Here's what I do know: firearms outnumber people in this country, and more will die every day.

It's A Gas Gas Gas, Con't

As highway robbery by energy companies continue, pushing up prices everywhere, the Biden administration is finally realizing that if they're not seen actively trying to lower the cost of fuel now, voters are going to raise the cost of being a Democrat in November.

President Biden will announce plans for the Environmental Protection Agency to allow a blended form of gasoline that uses ethanol, known as E15, to be sold this summer — a measure long resisted by some energy and environmental groups that could help deliver short-term relief at the pump.

The administration will do this by having the EPA issue an emergency waiver for the summer sale of E15. Typically, E15 cannot be sold in most of the country between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of air pollution rules. The White House has argued that the use of E15 can shave 10 cents off each gallon of gasoline. E15 is currently sold in 30 states at more than 2,300 gas stations, the Energy Department has said, but that is just a fraction of the more than 150,000 gas stations in the United States.

The news will come during a day the president is set to visit the Poet ethanol plant near Des Moines as the administration pushes Congress to approve new energy subsidies aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign fossil fuels.

The flurry of activity around gas prices will come just hours after the federal government is scheduled to release an inflation report that could show prices rising by as much as 8 percent relative to last year, despite the Biden administration’s months-long efforts to bring inflation down. High prices have emerged as a nettlesome political problem for the White House, lowering Biden’s popularity even as the United States sees a boom in job growth and economic output.

 

That CPI inflation report came in at 8.5% inflation, with gasoline up a third from last year. The hope is that this is peak inflation for this cycle, but who knows the answer to that.

Biden's at least taking action.  Republicans will attack him anyway.