Papering the record for appeal.
¶It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the approach to Cincinnati on I-75 North. It’s one of my favorite stretches of highway, with the way it wraps around a hill to reveal the Cincy skyline, gradually descending to the Ohio River and the double decker bridge that crosses it. It’s beautiful, particularly at night.
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¶The legal reality is that Roe v. Wade never rested on the soundest of constitutional grounds. The Court didn’t have the votes for an equal protection footing, so the majority opinion relied on a newfound fundamental right to privacy. That is, and always was, the Achilles heel of the decision. The late Justice Ginsburg criticized the decision, and questioned its long term viability, for this very reason.
¶At some point, you expect stare decisis to strengthen all but the shakiest of legal grounds for a Supreme Court decision, but it just wasn’t there this time.
¶So the optimistic view following yesterday’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which I’m choosing to take, is that we’ve been given an opportunity to present the issue in a way that lets a future Supreme Court base a rights-affirming decision on a more stable legal footing.
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¶It’s a wedding day on St. Pete Beach!
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¶Good morning!
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¶Last night vibes—chilling with Teddy on the patio.
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¶Renee and I had dinner at the Middle Grounds tonight, a favorite of ours that we’ve been going to for years. The boys are usually with us, so I’ve always avoided the mango encrusted grouper, since Jake is allergic to mangos. He’s not with us on this trip, so I decided to give it a try, and realized on closer inspection of the description that it’s actually Jake’s worst nightmare—mango and pistachio in the same dish (he’s allergic to both)!
¶It was delicious, by the way. ;-)
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¶U.S. history is staked with milestones relating to the attainment of rights–freedom, suffrage, privacy, equality. I’ve always viewed our system as a process that moves toward more rights for its people. Progress is achieved in fits and starts, of course, but our history has always moved in the same direction–more rights for the people.
¶That all changed today when the Supreme Court actually eliminated an existing, federally protected right of all women of the United States by overturning its decision in Roe v. Wade.
¶The country I know and love is suddenly a country that takes rights away from its people.
¶That’s backwards. And disgusting. And horrific.
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¶The Rays jumped out to an early lead but gradually let the Yankees back into the game, eventually losing. We did see Aaron Judge hit two home runs, though, which was pretty cool. He cleared the catwalks on one that actually came right toward our left field bleacher seats. There is no question about his talent–he’s an absolute monster; a once in a generation power hitter.
¶Watching him crush two home runs was special, and will undoubtedly become a baseball memory that I cherish.
¶But, it’s the Yankees in Tampa Bay, which means their fans outnumbered Rays fans in the stadium. I hate that.
¶So, as a Rays fan, my favorite memory of the night was watching Judge come to the plate with bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning. Yankees fans were confident he was going to crush a grand slam. He had, after all, already hit one of his two homers for the day. They could just feel the grannie in the air. And so could Renee and I, frankly. The guy is flat out fearsome in that situation, and the entire stadium–Yankees fans, Rays fans, and, I suspect, the players, too–felt that.
¶But the Rays pitcher had nerves of steel and struck him out swinging. Beautiful!
¶That at bat, with the tension and battle that comes with every pitch and every swing in those situations, is everything I love about baseball.
¶And, I have to admit, the redemption opportunity baseball gives every player, often later in the same game, is part of it, too, even when it works for the Yankees. Judge did, after all, hit that cat-walk-clearing second home run of the game in the top of the seventh inning, his first at bat following that strikeout in the top of the fifth. Mr. Judge redeemed himself, with emphasis.
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¶Tropicana Field is, without question, the worst stadium in baseball. The facility just doesn’t function well, at all. The people are always amazing, though, and make up for the facility in many ways.
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¶Sure it’s the worst stadium in baseball. But, Renee and I are at the ballpark, watching the Rays and rooting against the Yankees. And that makes everything ok.
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¶First pitch, Rays v. Yankees.
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¶Visiting a favorite of mine for dinner tonight—Ted Peters, which is famous for its smoked fish. Renee has never been a fan but was willing to go. She got a hamburger, but tried my smoked salmon. She actually liked it, and vowed to order the smoked Mahi next time we go. And she loved the German potato salad.
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¶The Mexican restaurant at the end of the street — Agave — has become one of our favorites over the last several years, but you have to go early because it always gets crowded. Renee and I were ready for an early dinner tonight after rolling into town early this morning, so it seemed like a logical choice.
¶Salsa, tacos, and beer. And a bit of ice cream for dessert. Perfect dinner.
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¶Free EV charging at the Chamber of Commerce in St. Pete Beach.
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¶My sister Janet and her husband Ray were the last people to stay in our condo since we weren’t able to take our usual trip over winter break. They left this picture on our refrigerator, which was the perfect thing to find at 2AM after a long day of driving!
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¶We arrived at the condo at about 1:30 AM this morning. We don’t have the new sticker for opening the gate to the parking garage, so we’ll wait for the guard to get back from patrol.
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¶One benefit of making “the drive” to St. Pete Beach in my car instead of Renee’s—nicer bathrooms. Grocery stores instead of gas stations. A nice perk, for sure.
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¶Teddy has been great in the car again. He’s quiet, but a little nervous this time, I think. He loves the walks when we stop to charge, and happily gets back in the car when we’re ready to go. I don’t think he fully relaxes in the car, but seems to do ok.
¶Here Renee is giving him a drink while we charge in Acworth, Georgia.
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¶Tesla SuperChargers are generally located in grocery store or shopping center parking lots. There’s usually a small patch of grass nearby, which Teddy appreciates.
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¶20/20/20.
¶We made it from Perrysburg to Florence, Kentucky for the first segment of the drive—much better than I thought. The car automatically started preconditioning the battery for fast charging when we were about 20 miles away. We charged to about 90% in a little over 20 minutes, for a little under $20. Incredible.
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¶We’re driving the Tesla to Florida for the first time today. We’ve continued to drive Renee’s gas car for our drives to St. Pete even after getting the Tesla three years ago. But, with current gas prices, we have a bit more motivation to go electric on this trip.
¶So, we headed out on our first real cross country trip in the Tesla this morning at about 4:30.
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