This Is Not a Drill: Contemplating RBG's Death

So you know how you'll always remember where you were and what you were doing during certain moments in history? I'm kinda annoyed that I happened to be scrolling through Facebook while sitting on the toilet at work when I saw a friend's post that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. The news was so fresh that I only saw a story from a local radio station when I googled it. But, seeing as this comes at a monumentally shitty time, maybe sitting on the toilet was appropriate after all.

Her time on the Supreme Court was as long as I've been alive, but long before that she had made a name for herself arguing for women's full equality with men. Her biggest criticism of Roe v. Wade? That it was decided on the right to privacy, rather than equal protection. In the past 10 years, she was the leader of the liberal justices and became a pop culture feminist icon. Throughout all her health troubles, it just seemed like nothing could keep her down. I was expecting this within the next presidential term, which was an argument for voting for Biden even if he isn't your favorite. That has become all more urgent now.

Seriously. I've been kinda wishy-washy on telling people to vote for Biden if they live in reliably blue states because of how the Electoral College works. Now, though? Vote for Joe Biden because, by all rights, the nomination should not be made until after the election. Vote for Joe Biden to protect women's rights, LGBT+ rights, voting rights, etc. on the Supreme Court. Vote for Joe Biden so he wins the popular vote, even if he loses the electoral one, just to further prove that the Electoral College belongs in a bygone era and the US should become an actual democracy. Also, advocate for ending lifetime appointments for judges at the federal level in the first place. Seriously, lifespans are damn long now and the current system allows lucky presidents to shape the courts for generations after they're gone, for better or worse.

Also, call you senators, particularly if they're Republicans, and tell them you will do everything in your power to get them out of office if they force through a nominee before the election. Donate to Amy McGrath's senate campaign, she's the democratic challenger to Mitch McConnell, currently losing in the polls but we can only hope, right? Vote for her is you're from Kentucky, please, I'm so tired of the old turtle man. After the tantrum he threw for nearly a year about not voting on Obama's nominee to replace Antonin Scalia, that he is already talking about confirming Trump's nominee when Ginsburg's body ain't even cold yet, is such bold-faced hypocrisy. I would say I'm surprised, but I'm not; I made a status on my personal page complaining about him doing this before he'd even done it.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was just one of eight Jewish justices to ever serve on the Supreme Court, and the first who was a woman. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, has just begun. Celebrate and remember her remarkable life, and demand your senators do the right thing in honoring her dying wish. May her memory be a blessing. Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof. Justice, justice you shall pursue.