However, as we near our annual festival, we will be worshipping a state flower that once flourished throughout the wayside but now has been plowed under by a burgeoning population.

The GOP has been working hard for quite some time to ban mask mandates, prevent vote by mail, edit school books, cut back retirement benefits of all sorts, batter the free press — and criminalize abor tion. I’m an older guy (93) who has seen through the fog for many years as they (Republicans) have tried to make “liberal“ a dirty word. I still see it as a word having the same root as Liberty.

Why the funny spelling of that one word, “abor tion?” Because I’m trying to bypass the strange censorship system instituted by The Leader in recent months on its blog comments. The Leader has been a champion of the surviving Free Press during these days of Donald Trump. But “abor tion,” for instance, is a little word that is neither dirty nor criminal — except, perhaps in the minds of those with whom the paper is forced to deal for whatever reason. I won’t contribute to the problem by speculating here.

Meanwhile, at least since about 2008 — when he claimed Barack Obama could not be President because he was born in Africa — Donald trump has lied to the American public. Some of you who will be voting for the first time in 2024 were about 2 years old back then in 2008. But I was 79 then and have been listening to his lies ever since — his quest for power via the greedy underbelly of human nature.

Despite claiming to be “pro-life,” Republicans actively oppose policies that directly support children and their families.

The Republican party supports forcing women to give birth against their will, but opposes providing child care, paid leave or health care in general. Just another form of slavery — reinstating it in a form existing in 1861, based on sex rather than skin color. Just what is this place in which women should be kept?

But this was never really about returning power to states. It’s all about control over our bodies. I say “our,” you will notice. However, it is women who at the moment are bearing the brunt of control. I’m not seeing much concern over hit-and-run fathers, the role of vasectomies, etc.

Freedom of choice in this difficult world should begin with impregnated women, particularly young ones ill prepared for motherhood.

More than 860,000 abortions took place in the U.S. in one recent year. Whose “right to life” is being supported by banning such abor tions? Should we be restricting the futures of young people with whom we’ll never really concern ourselves further . . . because of some feel-good slogan applied to gobbets of undeveloped sperm? Left to grow to adulthood, these 860,000 unwanted children would have been limiting and encumbering the young-adult and pre-adult lives of well over a million Americans  . . .  and adding their bit to the premature destruction of an overpopulated planet with limited resources.

Most anything I could write on at length would be out of date by next week. So just read up on comments by The Squad (of whom I wrote here recently): “Abortion care is a fundamental human right . . . Our most vulnerable communities will bear the brunt of any decision to ban or restrict access to any safe, legal reproductive care — especially Black, brown, indigenous, LLBTQIA+ and low-income people.” Or perhaps Pramila Jayapal, who is a Democrat running for re-election to the U.S. House from our state’s 7th District: “I will never stop fighting to protect abortion rights, even as the Supreme Court and GOP Republicans ramp up their attacks.”

Or go back to Trump-style lies on the GOP side . . . the attempt to make Associate Justice Alito look more like a victim than a sneak. Google the following headline: “Fox News hosts and Republican lawmakers are pushing a baseless rumor that Justice Alito has gone into hiding for his safety.”