No Sign of the Abortion Distortion Factor
 
       We’re accustomed to the normal court rules being broken when the topic is abortion, as is common to forms of violence that have been socially approved. But the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 did give a unanimous decision knocking down the state of Massachusetts’s law restricting sidewalk counselors from going within 35 feet around an abortion clinic as a violation of the First Amendment.
        As Chief Justice John Roberts put it, “Petitioners wish to converse with their fellow citizens about an important subject on the public streets and sidewalks – sites that have hosted discussions about the issues of the day throughout history.”
        The decision on insurance mandates is likely to come out next week, and we will probably have a word or two to say on it. Readers in the consistent-life community who have short commentaries to offer can send them to weekly@consistent-life.org by Thursday at 3 PM Central.
 

 
Encouraging Whistleblowing
 
        We know of two efforts (unconnected to CL) using the web and billboards to encourage people inside violent organizations to let the facts about that violence be know. Expose Facts has recently put the pictured billboard up in one location and is raising money to put it up right outside other locations where such workers work. It pictures Daniel Ellsberg and said “Don’t wait . . . you might save a war’s worth of lives.” The appeal to abortion clinic workers is different, since those who expose facts about war can find that this gets them into trouble, whereas those who expose facts about babies killed after live birth, statutory rape, sexual harassment of employees, physical assault of patients, money laundering, insurance or Medicaid fraud, tax evasion, consumer fraud, or health and safety violations could be avoiding getting themselves into legal trouble.  Still, this is a common feature of violence: for those forms that require participation by large numbers of people, some people are likely to be found that realize that there is some information that really should be known by the public.   
 

 

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United States Election Referenda 2014
 
        We know there is a good likelihood there will be state or city-wide measures addressing abortion, the death penalty, poverty, and the war on drugs (with all the killings happening, this is a real war, not a metaphor). As for our other issues, racism is mainly covered under immigration referenda, euthanasia could come up as legalizing assisted suicide, and military spending and wars other than the drug war are generally not covered in local elections – though it’s quite interesting when they are.
        We’re expecting to do a special election issue right before the November elections to let readers know what would be of most interest to look for, and of course a post-election issue to tell you how those came out. Please be sure to let us know what local referenda may be of interest – weekly@consistent-life.org.
        Meanwhile, for our subscribers outside the U.S., please let us know of any elections of interest in your areas as well, so we can cover them as news items.
 

Quotation of the Week
Metropolitan Jonah (Eastern Orthodox official at the time)
 
        All the sins against humanity - abortion, euthanasia, war, violence, and victimization of all kinds are the results of depersonalization. Whether it is “the unwanted pregnancy,” or worse, “the fetus,” rather than “my son” or “my daughter;” whether it is “the enemy” rather than Joe or Harry or Ahmed or Mohammed, the same depersonalization allows us to fulfill our own selfishness . . . Pro-war is not pro-life! God weeps for our callousness.