I May Be Driving to Tennessee After All

Our son had offered to chauffeur the dogs in Rhonda's car; but he changed jobs recently and might not be available. 

Also the hip problems that were making driving painful for Rhomda have alleviated a bit since she started working out at the gym. Several of you offered to share driving with me; i may take advantage of your generous offers if you are still available when the great migration happens.

Moving all the guns and ammo will be far simpler by car 

What Motivates Assasins?

4/28/26 NPR has a long article claiming the suspect did not have a radical footprint, "Oftentimes it's like quite centrist, pretty moderate left wing, if anything." while ignoring the whole pedophile, crimes against Iranians etc. notes in his manifesto. Of course, to NPR there is nothing radical about positions that they espouse and promote. I am so glad they get no tax funds anymore; just funding from billionaire leftists 

Capable of Learning

Planaria and Idaho legislators are capable of learning. After the Dobbs decision, Idaho like many other states prohibited abortion. Because of how they wrote the law, some non-abortive procedures such as D&C after miscarriage or where there was no fetal heartbeat became illegal.  Ob-Gyns deserted Idaho rapidly because they perceived a very real risk that these procedures might lead to prosecution.  

Why did they write the law this way? Because pre-Roe, there were states that banned abortion like Oregon that had astonishingly high rates of "therapeutic abortions" to save the life of the mother: in one of those years, there were 166 such abortions for every 1000 live births. I am guessing that many ob-gyns were doing abortions to save Mom and Dad from the embarrassment that Janie was sweet talked out of her clothes by some clever predator. 

Anyway: this is not the first time bad writing has needed correction. In 1776, New York State made Sodom a capital crime. The next year, they revised the statute to clarify that this only applied to consensual sodomy. I wonder if some really horrible case raised such an issue.

So I was curious is this was fixed. SuperGrok, was this fixed?

‐‐----------

Yes, Idaho revised its abortion law in 2023 (effective July 1) to explicitly clarify that certain non-abortion procedures, including D&Cs for miscarriages or incomplete pregnancies, are not considered abortions and are therefore allowed.132b99

Key Details from the Amendment (to Idaho Code § 18-622 and related definitions in § 18-604)

The legislature amended the definition of "abortion" to exclude:

The removal of a dead unborn child (this covers D&Cs or similar procedures after a miscarriage or fetal demise where there is no cardiac activity).

The treatment of a woman who is no longer pregnant (this addresses post-miscarriage care or incomplete abortions/miscarriages).

Removal of an ectopic or molar pregnancy.

Contraception (e.g., IUDs or birth control pills).5de97a

This was done via House Bill 374 (2023), which shifted some prior "affirmative defenses" into clearer exclusions from the definition of abortion. Medical sources (e.g., Abortion Defense Network summaries) confirm this means treatments for miscarriage with no cardiac activity—including medications, D&C, D&E, or labor induction—are not prohibited under Idaho's abortion bans.6ddc46

Context and Limitations

Pre-2023 concerns: After Dobbs (2022), Idaho's near-total ban (the "Defense of Life Act," triggered post-Roe) created uncertainty for providers. Some feared that D&Cs (a common procedure also used in abortions) could be interpreted as illegal abortions, even for miscarriages. The 2023 fix addressed this by narrowing what counts as a criminal "abortion."b59188

Ongoing strictness: The core ban remains—one of the strictest in the U.S.—with abortions generally prohibited except to prevent the death of the pregnant woman (in good-faith medical judgment) or in limited first-trimester rape/incest cases (with reporting requirements). Court rulings have somewhat broadened the life exception (e.g., non-imminent but elevated risk of death), but it does not cover general health exceptions or fatal fetal anomalies unless they threaten the mother's life.26232a

Practical notes: Providers still emphasize careful documentation. Some patients have reported delays or transfers for miscarriage care due to caution, but the law itself now clearly permits indicated D&Cs for non-viable pregnancies.9a0b19

In short, the 2023 revision directly responded to ambiguities around procedures like non-abortion D&Cs by carving them out of the abortion definition. For the most current interpretation, consult the full Idaho Code or a qualified attorney, as enforcement can involve case-by-case medical judgment.

Victory in Maryland

 Engage Armament LLC v. Montgomery County, Maryland (Md. 2025):

Under Criminal Law § 4-209(b), charter counties may regulate the purchase, sale, transfer, 
ownership, possession, and transportation of firearms in areas that are expressly 
enumerated in § 4-209(b)(1)(iii), are direct analogues to those, or otherwise constitute 
places of public assembly. Accordingly, Montgomery County did not exceed its authority 
under § 4-209(b)(1)(iii) in regulating firearms in or within 100 yards of parks, places of
worship, schools, libraries, courthouses, legislative assemblies, recreational facilities,
multipurpose exhibition facilities, and polling places. However, Montgomery County
exceeded its authority under § 4-209(b)(1)(iii) in regulating firearms in or within 100 yards
of hospitals, community health centers, long-term facilities, childcare facilities,
government buildings (as defined), and gatherings of individuals without regard to the place in which they are gathering.

Yes, the sensitive places are wider than they should be (when the last time you heard of a murder at "parks, places of worship, schools, [or] libraries"? But this was a decision of the Maryland Supreme Court. I do not know Engage they raised the Second Amendment in the initial suit. If they did, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is in order.

Favorite Texas Joke

Two young men went to college together. After graduation, they went to separate jobs in New York City and Houston.  Two years later, the guy from New York City had a conference in Houston and called his friend. 

"Let's meet at your hotel in the bar," the newly minted Texas says.

They meet in the bar.

"Everything in Texas is bigger and better. The skies are bigger, the roads are bigger, the women are more beautiful."

After a few drinks, the New Yorker has a call of nature. He asks the bartender where the Men's Room is. The bartender says down to the corridor, turn right, and first door on the right. 

The New Yorker turns left and goes through the door which leads to the pool. The Texan hears a splash and runs out to the pool. His friend is splashing in the pool yelling, "Don't flush! Don't flush!"

Put on Your Tinfoil Hat

I was reading an X thread about how USGS has found the Appalachians (including Maine which i had never thought of as part of that mountain chain) has vast quantities of lithium available. 

The responses were interesting.  Many were not just, the government ignored what happened after Hurricane Helene (which as near as I can tell is true--"those people are not going to vote Democrat") but either created or steered Helene into North Carolina to remove the people for lithium mining to get cheaper. And Biden did this so Trump could take advantage of this!

Some of these people are unaware that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hurricanes of enormous power and frequency hit the East Coast.

There were a lot environmental concerns from people who seem to think that letting the PRC do lithium production is better for Mother Earth.

And my favorite: lithium is not needed because we can make batteries from hemp. Maybe it has been too long since organic chemistry, but I am having trouble seeing how any organic is going to have useful electrochemistry. Perhaps if you get high enough, your EV seems to move.

When Someone Says Trump’s Meanness is Why People Try to Kill Him

Yes, he is mean and unnecessarily combative. But to shoot him for that reminds me of, "If she did not wear that short skirt, she would have provoked the rape." Or "Black men are so ill-behaved that lynching is expected." Or "If she was not such a bitch, i would not need to hit her."