#5SmartReads - January 9, 2023

Hitha on a win for reproductive rights in SC, the significance of Riches, and Cheryl Johnson

January 09, 2023

Since the Dobbs ruling, the fight for reproductive rights in this country has been fraught. But the ruling of South Carolina’s Supreme Court, which threw out the 6 week abortion ban, is a significant win.

“While the Legislature has the authority to set limitations on “that utmost personal and private” decision in order to protect “unborn life,” Justice Kaye Hearn wrote in the lead opinion, women must be allowed sufficient time to know they’re pregnant and decide whether to end it. 

“Six weeks is, quite simply, not a reasonable period of time for these two things to occur, and therefore the act violates our constitution’s prohibition against unreasonable invasions of privacy,” reads the conclusion by the high court’s only female.” 

The Court’s basis of privacy was based on a clause added to the state’s constitution in 1971 (an amendment passed by the voters). Should South Carolina choose to put abortion on the ballot for their voters to decide, it would require a supermajority in both chambers of the state’s legislature to approve this referendum - and there’s no guarantee that the voters of South Carolina would vote in favor of restricting abortion, as seen in Kansas.

The reporting in this piece is outstanding and incredibly detailed, and please support local journalism and subscribe to your local newspaper.

Here I am, once again, begging you to watch Riches because it’s one of the best shows streaming right now and not enough people are talking about it!

If I can’t convince you, I hope Abby Ajayi, the creator of the show, can.

“As Ajayi describes it, absent was the one Black character who had to be all Black things to all Black people. Instead, characters “can be morally ambiguous, sexually provocative, you can have so many different things,” she says. For her the cast represents the fact that, “There isn't a monolithic Black person or Black perspective. And even this idea of a Black community — there is community but we feel differently, we vote differently. We have different expectations of life.””

Riches has a complexity and decadence to it that you can only get from a multicultural, international show that I personally find lacking in Billions, Succession, or White Lotus. The Black British experience is different than the Black American experience, and you see both - as well as incredible Nigerian representation - in this show.

Please read this whole interview, then move Riches to the top of your watch queue. Just trust me. You won’t regret it.

The executions of protestors continue in Iran, and it’s imperative that we continue to pay attention to the gross violation of human rights happening at the hands of the Islamic Republic.

“At least 517 protesters have been killed and 19.262 others detained from the nationwide protests, according to the latest figures from the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

At least 41 people have received death sentences since the protests began in September, according to Iranian media reviewed by CNN. But that number could be higher.”

January 6th, 2021 showed me just how fragile the democracy we take for granted in this country is. The chaos for the slim GOP majority to elect a Speaker of the House last week further proved that, especially given the autocratic things we hear from their leadership. At the very least, we have better transparency and a more unified Democratic party to hold the line.

Iran, too, once was a beautiful, free, and prosperous nation. What’s happening there could happen anywhere - so please continue to pay attention and stay up-to-date on what’s happening there.

I confess that I don’t really read blogs anymore (which is a shame, given how blogging gave way to this series and this career!).

Jen’s blog, however, is one I continue to savor over my morning coffee, once I’ve dropped the kids off at school. I’m especially fond of her musings posts - her writing is thoughtful, relatable, and familiar - like catching up with a close friend over tea and a delicious pastry in a beautiful café.

I especially loved this practice she introduced to streamline your home life, of documenting the little annoyances or frustrations about your home or your routines and creating simple solutions to resolve them.

One of my biggest annoyances is when I see water droplets on the bathroom or kitchen countertop - I can’t explain why, but if this annoyance is an excuse to get some pretty new Weezie linens for these spaces, I won’t complain.

Last week was the best week CSPAN ever had (fun fact - the Speaker of the House sets the filming rules for the channel…so no Speaker, no rules!), and I laughed and cried watching the Speaker preceedings.

And Cheryl Johnson deserves a long vacation and our deepest respect for keeping the House in some semblance of order during that long week.

If you’re a nerd for parliamentary procedure and learning more about the folks behind the scenes that keep our government running, I think you’ll really enjoy this article. And if you live in the United States, I think it’s your duty as a resident to understand how our government works - including the role of the House clerk.

Reply

or to participate.