May 8, 2022

The pro-abortion side should forefront and elevate women's rights, not stir up violence and anti-Catholic bigotry.

ADDED: This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this is a "false flag" message. Here's the Ruth Sent Us web page. It's not very informative.

MORE: When I do a search of Google News for the group, the hits all seem to be at conservative news sites. I don't believe the group has ever been mentioned in the NYT, and I find only one mention in The Washington Post, 3 days ago, in "The Trailer: Four ways the leaked draft abortion opinion has altered the midterms," by David Weigel:

Since Monday, the liberal group Ruth Sent Us has published the public addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices, urging protesters to walk by them, and ShutDownDC has endorsed a walk-by “protest for reproductive freedom.

If this group "published the public addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices," that's a pretty good sign that they really are radically hostile to conservatives. I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior.

161 comments:

Gahrie said...

The people behind this anti-Catholic hate would never criticize Islam which does actually subjugate women. It was announced this week that they're bring the burqa back to Afghanistan.

Bilwick said...

Doesn't THE HANDMAID'S TALE take place in some sort of statist dystopia?

Maynard said...

This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a "false flag" message.

CNN tells us that law enforcement officials belief that overturning Roe is the signal for Right Wing violence. I am guessing that those fanatic anti-abortion supporters will dress up in Handmaidens Tale costumes and try to burn down the Capitol. Just another insurrection, I suppose.

It all makes sense, doesn't it?

Doesn't it?

rhhardin said...

There's the right to sloth group too.

MayBee said...

Do you think the protests at the Justice's House were also false flag?

What do you think about burning a church across from the WH during the BLM protests were also false flag?

farmgirl said...

It’s a Satanic message, that’s for sure.

gspencer said...

"Give us Barabbas!"

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a "false flag" message.

It's detrimental only in that it shows how perverse some of your fellow travelers are. A lot of people will not see it as an outlier. Which doesn't, by itself, preclude false flag, but I see no reason to think that's the case.

Lyle Sanford, RMT said...

I understand your curiosity about maybe a "false flag", but it feels to me as if there's growing frenzy possessing the left that justifies extreme positions while preventing them from seeing how they're coming across to others outside their bubble.

AlbertAnonymous said...

But it’s the left…. They’re always unhinged. More and more so each day.

Are you trolling your readers again, Professor? Is there any shred of evidence, any inclination you can point to, to indicate false flag? Really?

farmgirl said...

And it isn’t detrimental for Women Rights.
It’s detrimental to Abortion Rights.

I pray.

Original Mike said...

"I don't believe the group has ever been mentioned in the NYT, and I find only one mention in The Washington Post,"

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

(couldn't resist)

Paul Zrimsek said...

"This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a 'false flag' message"

"I don't believe the group has ever been mentioned in the NYT"

Cause, and effect.

Joe Smith said...

It is smart to look for false flags as this behavior is so egregious.

Burning the eucharist is about as bad as it gets, and it will piss me off greatly if that happens.

However, you must recognize that the left has become increasingly radical during the past few years, especially since Obama.

And it has done so with the tacit blessing of Democrat administrations and a complicit media.

One of Trump's biggest failures was not declaring Antifa and BLM terrorist organizations along with seizing their assets and tracing their sources of funding.

These same people should march in front of mosques and burn portraits of Mohammed.

But they won't, because they are cowards...

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior.

Some of us have been saying this about leftists for a long time.

AlbertAnonymous said...

“If this group "published the public addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices," that's a pretty good sign that they really are radically hostile to conservatives. I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior.”

This is because you identify with the liberals but they no longer identify with you… they keep moving left, radical left.

But you know that.

And why do you think you only find conservative sites referring to the group and it’s tactics?

Because the news is owned by the left and they are in the “disinformation/propaganda” business

Quaestor said...

Althouse writes,"I wouldn't use the word 'liberal' to describe this behavior."

Since Jesus and Christianity are the objects of the protests, riots, and intimidation, it is appropriate to cite one of the sayings attributed to Christ.

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."

Liberal doesn't describe the behavior, but it seems to be the preferred label of those who approve of the behavior, approve to the point that they hardly consider doxing and intimidating Justices of the Supreme Court newsworthy.

narciso said...

weasel weigel, ah that's a solid source, they didn't tell you thatso black lives was organized by a white maoist terrorist, who bombed the capitol building in 1984, a real insurrectionists,

Joe Smith said...

Also, Blogger is absolute shit today.

I've had to refresh almost every single post...

I will try to delete multiple posts if there are any.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Behold the intolerant left.

The White Antifa Terrorist left. btw- I don't think Ruth would be happy with this anti-federalist behavior.

n.n said...

Liberal: divergent. Progressive: monotonic. Conservative: Declaration, Constitution less the Twilight Amendment (e.g. planned parent/hood, diversity [dogma], redistributive change). Equal, not politically congruent ("=") treatment for all.

chuck said...

'You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.' -- Donald Rumsfeld

Browndog said...

Yea.

Liberals keep playing word games, rebranding itself because they destroyed the last brand. Whatever opinion polling tells them to call themselves tomorrow, they'll always be what they've always been the world over-

Anti-God communists.

wendybar said...

Kavenaugh's neighbor organized the protest at his house. Not the first time. She is a teacher. Time for her to lose her job just like any conservative would if they organized a protest at anybody's house on the left because it is illegal.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/justice-kavanaughs-neighbor-local-teacher-lacie-wooten-holway-organizing-protest-outside-home/

The Washington Post has an article about her, but since I don't subscribe, I couldn't read it...so I didn't post that one.

Quaestor said...

These same people should march in front of mosques and burn portraits of Mohammed. But they won't, because they are cowards...

True, but it goes much deeper than that. If the Church is guilty of misogyny, her sin is minor compared to Islam's iniquity. On the matter of women generally, comparing Catholicism to Islam is like comparing a garden variety antisemite's aversion to the Holocaust. Faithful Muslims are the misogynists par excellence, yet their crimes go unnoticed by the "liberals".

Woody Pfister said...

https://twitter.com/kathrynlopez/status/1522973793781694464?s=21&t=dhJTRI8x-s2weMC3rvU7ww

Seems real enough

Amadeus 48 said...

There is a huge trust issue here. Should you trust Google searches? Did you also try Duck Duck Go or Bing? Maybe your Google search is complete. Does it mean anything that everyone except conservative sources is not writing about Ruth Sent us? Would you trust stories selected by Yahoo News or Bloomberg to inform you? Should you?

The bubbles that we all live in are real. My liberal friends (I have no progressive friends) have no idea of facts that have not appeared in NYT or on NPR. They have never looked at the data on global warming. They have never considered the studies on the effectiveness of masks in the Covid 19 pandemic. They really don’t know much about the tactics or goals of antifa or the black bloc. I could perhaps come up with a comparable list for my conservative friends— the 2020 election being a fertile ground for selective a partial information.

There is plenty to consider and debate, but both sides seem to limit the information they take in as information, and they operate from the position of half- information.

This is an argument in favor of free speech and against monitors of information, misinformation, and disinformation.

Musk rules! John Stuart Mill lives!

Amy Welborn said...

Well, this happened in your town within the last 24 hours:

https://madison.com/news/local/madison-anti-abortion-headquarters-hit-by-molotov-cocktail-vandalism-graffiti/article_526660ea-776d-50ca-9baa-4b4a9337dca7.html

Woody Pfister said...

https://madison.com/news/local/watch-now-madison-anti-abortion-headquarters-hit-by-apparent-molotov-cocktail-vandalism-graffiti/article_526660ea-776d-50ca-9baa-4b4a9337dca7.html

False Flag Arson Attack in Madison

BUMBLE BEE said...

They'll kill 'em in the womb and out. As Yellowbeard said... "I'll kill anybody who gets in the way of me killing anybody".

BUMBLE BEE said...

How about "I'm from the good guys in the Waffen SS". All better now?

Doug said...

Their violence-promoting insurrectionist behavior is an inconvenience for the NYT, WaPo and other legacy media. Move along, citizen.

Jamie said...

I'm trying to think through the desecration of the Eucharist. I was raised Catholic and am now Episcopalian, but maybe more appropriately Anglo-Catholic in that I pretty much still hold with a lot of Catholic doctrine. So desecrating the host kind of hits me in the gut, even though I know the people doing it would not believe that it's the actual Body of Christ. (FWIW, I don't think God is harmed by this kind of action... but I do believe people who do it are doing great self-harm as well as being incredibly discourteous, though that's not a strong enough word.)

But I'm trying. Is the point of it that the Catholics are destroying the sacrament of abortion, so they feel justified in destroying a Catholic sacrament? Or is it less symbolic - we want to hurt you because you hurt us, and besides we think you're nothing but stupid superstitious Nazis and we're committed to punching your kind? Or is it just a pure basic animal reaction, like a gorilla tearing up leaves to show its anger?

Doug said...

Are you trolling your readers again, Professor? Is there any shred of evidence, any inclination you can point to, to indicate false flag? Really?

Her own moral outrage at these provocations is all the evidence she needs that these are the actions of responsible feminists.

Doug said...

Are you trolling your readers again, Professor? Is there any shred of evidence, any inclination you can point to, to indicate false flag? Really?

Her own moral outrage at these acts of evil is all the evidence she needs that these are not the actions of responsible feminists.

MountainMan said...

Jonathan Turley tweeted earlier this morning: Justice Kavanaugh's neighbor is organizing the protest outside his home. Teacher Lacie Wooten-Holway declared 'We’re about to get doomsday, so I’m not going to be civil to that man at all."

I guess she doesn't know this is against Federal law and, if his home is in VA, also against VA law. What a wonderful neighbor.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a "false flag" message.

I saw a bit of video of the protest held vaguely outside the Kavanaugh house. The protesters were chanting; "You don't care if people die!". As if the protestors care that they're demanding the right to terminate human lives.

cfkane1701 said...

You might be right. Here's another false flag operation that happened right in Madison.

https://madison.com/news/local/madison-anti-abortion-headquarters-hit-by-molotov-cocktail-vandalism-graffiti/article_526660ea-776d-50ca-9baa-4b4a9337dca7.html

Those sneaky conservatives, bombing a pro-life organization because the liberals consider that sort of activity beyond the pale. So committed are they to the rule of law.

Gk1 said...

I have yet to hear our president, democrats or other fellow liberals call out this intimidation and thuggery for what it is, so we can only presume they wholeheartedly endorse this behavior.

They won't be happy until one of the conservative justices gets killed, apparently. They will rue the day they went down this road.

ConradBibby said...

If it's a false flag and not an authentic expression of left-wing, anti-Christian hate, then has the left started issuing condemnations of the ideas being attributed to "Ruth Sent Us"?

gspencer said...

Not just a Catholic thingy,

"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live"

boatbuilder said...

I think that Althouse gets credit for expressing her initial concern--false flag--exploring it and getting her answer.

Her continuing trust in what once were "mainstream" sources remains troubling.

Skeptical Voter said...

Why a fellow with a conspiratorial turn of mind might look at all this activity--seemingly coordinated and not "spontaneous" as though there wwas some evil cabal named "RuthAnon".

I mean I hear a lot about QAnon with barely a scintilla of evidence that such a group involves more than a couple of dozen people--that assuming that it is not simply a chimera in fever dreams in the NYT and WaPoo newsrooms.

So maybe with equal, or slightly more justification I can prattle on about "RuthAnon".

I can recall that some followers of Islam got all wee wee'd up about stories that copies of the Quran were either burned or put in toilets at Gitmo.

Can I expect to see armed Catholics in a frenzy at burning of the Eucharist?

n.n said...

Latin liberalis "noble, gracious, munificent, generous," literally "of freedom, pertaining to or befitting a free person," from liber "free, unrestricted, unimpeded; unbridled, unchecked, licentious."

The progressive path and grade. Yesterday's classical liberal is today's conservative.

Quaestor said...

Althouse writes, "This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a 'false flag' message."

False flag, a trope brought into currency mostly through the novels of John le Carré as one of the "tradecraft" terms within the culture of his British Intelligence "Circus" that has become the first-line defense of the tinfoil hat brigade. (BTW, David J.M. Cornwell, bound as he was by the OSA, made up that tradecraft lexicon out of whole cloth. The real insider language of spies and counter-spies remains secret.)

The first things to keep in mind when exploring for false flags are they are rare and usually small-scale because old jokes aren't funny, and secrets spread widely aren't secrets anymore. As the Hávamál puts it, "Confide in one, never in two. Confide in three and the whole world knows." The Lincoln Project's notorious false flag stunt just involved six people, but somebody snitched, which is why we know rather than assume.

YoungHegelian said...

It is, of course, telling that the Roman catholic Church is the target of such vitriol. After all, anti-Catholicism plays a big part in both American history & the history of the Left.

There are many other Christian sects that are anti-abortion. Orthodox Jews are anti-abortion. As pointed out above, Islam is not exactly women's liberation friendly, even if it tends to be more permissive on abortion. So, why the fervor against the RCC in particular?

That's a good question.

Rabel said...

In the past you have disapproved calling the abortion rights people the "pro-abortion side."

Has something changed?

Freder Frederson said...

Burning the eucharist is about as bad as it gets, and it will piss me off greatly if that happens.

Whoever is spreading this bullshit doesn't know anything about the Catholic (or Orthodox and even Anglican) church. Bread is not eucharistic until it has been blessed. Any leftover after mass is dissolved in water and disposed of directly to the soil, along with leftover wine (never into a sewer system). Unless you find a priest who is willing to betray the church and commit a serious mortal sin you are SOL.

MikeR said...

A perverse kind of evidence for the "liberal leaker" theory. The argument against has been, Who could think that this will help persuade conservative Justices?! This will lock them in to their positions (also very dubious). No one could be this dumb!
But they could. They don't have to have it all worked out.
Instead of telling me how you have figured out that leftist ought to be responding, look at the range of how they actually are.

Michael K said...


Are you trolling your readers again, Professor? Is there any shred of evidence, any inclination you can point to, to indicate false flag? Really?


Bingo!

MikeR said...

"Ruth sent us" - hilarious. We don't want to blame her for this...

n.n said...

A handmade tale has progressive viability. Karmic irony.

Sally327 said...

I don't think "women's rights" is an allowed term anymore or cause. It conflicts with transgender issues and has to give away to those concerns (e.g., tampons in men's bathroom at school). Perhaps there is a way to make the possible overturning of Roe v Wade be about more than just what child bearing biological females care about.

ambisinistral said...

"I don't believe the group has ever been mentioned in the NYT"

It seems to me a lot of things aren't mentioned by the NYT. Maybe you should start less slavishly following it.

Spiros Pappas said...

A Russian false flag? Sounds ridiculous.

Freder Frederson said...

It is rich complaining about the unhinged left considering the violence

ConradBibby said...

"This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a 'false flag' message."

It's time for dems of good conscience to face facts: Your party has been successfully infiltrated and is now largely under the control of Marxists. It is no longer a "liberal" party. It is now a party that seeks to destroy religion, family, free speech and thought, fair elections, the right of parents to control what kids are taught in school, and economic liberty in order to concentrate all power and influence into the hands of an unaccountable government elite backed by big tech and the academy. What you are witnessing is real and it's time for you to come to grips with it. If you truly wish to advance the cause of liberalism these days, vote Republican.

Sebastian said...

"If this group "published the public addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices," that's a pretty good sign that they really are radically hostile to conservatives. I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior."

If? Pretty good? Oh, you wouldn't use the word liberal?

These are your allies. This is what it now means to be pro-abortion. These are progs fighting the culture war. Your "liberalism" is irrelevant. It's all prog, all the time now.

Whose side are you one? The radical prog anti-liberals, or the deplorable actual liberals--you know, the people who'd like to settle the abortion issue democratically?

Kevin said...

I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior.

You should consider why RINO is widely used but not LINO.

The answer doesn’t reflect well on the left.

Kevin said...

This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a "false flag" message.

Why are you so sure the Left cares about women’s rights?

Original Mike said...

"I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior."

I haven't known what to call these assholes for some time now. I fall back to 'leftist' for want of anything better.

Freder Frederson said...

It is rich to complain about left wing extremists when practically all the violence (including murder, arson, bombings and assaults) related to abortion is from the right.

effinayright said...

Yeah, all those shrieking ,purple-coiffed, nclit-ringed, ugly harpies with macramé-ed armpits and enough hair on their fat legs to weave an Indian blanket are actually conservative gals cos-playing as "wymyn" for the day..

(I mean, don't ALL conservative women long to dox and harass Supreme Court justices at their homes, especially the conservatives???)

And isn't it....precious...that wymyn had no problem with an all-male Court deciding Roe in the first place, but now --in a mixed gender court---it's "No uterus, no opinion!!"

Hilarious.

People who think think such witless hypocrisy is destroying liberalism in America.

n.n said...

Conservatives are Declaration and Constitution. They... We are, in principle, abolitionist. #HateLovesAbortion

Kai Akker said...


--- the liberal group Ruth Sent Us

Which is more annoying, the egregiousness of this group's nominative claim, or its radical accuracy?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Remember liberals spewing racist epithets after Proposition 8? My own son witnessed White rioters screaming “nigger!” at a Black WNG sergeant during the Seattle riots. The Left unhinges easily. The emotionally fragile long to emote. The search for false flags sounds like a desire to excuse your co-religionists. A bit like Inga and her Boogie Boyz.

MadTownGuy said...

I must wonder if "Ruth Sent Us" is funded by $oro$ bucks.

Inga said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Maynard said...

It looks like right wingers fire bombed an anti-abortion group's office in Madison according to Madison.com. I wonder which churches are next.

The false flag operations continue.

Jupiter said...

"If this group "published the public addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices," that's a pretty good sign that they really are radically hostile to conservatives. I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior."

If their intention is to preserve the status quo ante of the last 50 years, wouldn't that make them a "conservative" group?

Jupiter said...

"This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this a "false flag" message."

What would that mean, a false flag message? That one or more of the people associated in some ill-defined way with this group are actually hoping that their actions will increase the likelihood that Roe is over-turned? Or what?

Just 'cuz people behave like absolute scum doesn't mean they aren't on your side.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Projecting.

Mr. D said...

Of course this "Ruth Sent Us" group will get attention on conservative sites, for the same reason you almost near find anything concerning Antifa on a liberal site. It cuts both ways, of course -- you won't find much about QAnon on conservative sites, but liberal sites are usually replete with references to it. And this is a very old game -- about a decade ago, I had liberal friends telling me all about the activities of someone named Orly Taitz, who I'd never heard of and was never discussed by anyone in my circles.

sprx said...

Burn the Eucharist?
How would that even work?
As demonstration drama this would be like the micro-Stonehenge in Spinal Tap.
Still, I guess it’s the thought that counts.

DanTheMan said...

Maybe it's the left, using a false right wing front group pretending to be lefties to send lefties to protest so they can then blame right wing terrorists! A double-false flag operation!

Or maybe it's just exactly what it looks like: the extreme left wing of the Democratic party, fresh from burning down police stations, promoting looting and a foreign invasion, who created lawless "CHOP" zones, forever using mob violence, screaming and intimidation to get their way.... just doing it one more time.

285exp said...

Modern journalism is all about deciding which facts the public shouldn’t know about because they might reflect badly on Democrats.

rhhardin said...

They're working on the basis of feelings, not structure. It looks liberal to me.

rhhardin said...

I don't know what burning the Eucharist might be but it would be high on the don't care list.

Ann Althouse said...

"Do you think the protests at the Justice's House were also false flag?"

Most likely just idiots, but if I were designing a false flag thing and had no morality and loved chaos, I might pick that. These people are getting photographed and are easily identifiable, so the potential for false flag operations to be discovered is ridiculously high.

Odi said...

It doesn't seem they've been around very long as a group, which suggests they're a front for other organizations. It would be very interesting to see who is funding them. The usual suspects surely, but a little sunshine never hurts.

Mark said...

Here's the Ruth Sent Us web page. It's not very informative.

They link to https://strikeforchoice.org, which in turn says it is endorsed by:
Vigil for Democracy
Wall of Moms
Wall of Many
Raging Grannies
Code Pink
Resistance SF
Women's March SF
Refuse Fascism
Kavanaugh Off Our Court
Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights
Ruth Sent Us

Furthermore, they have the implicit support of Jen Psaki and the White House, i.e. Joe Biden.

Even a thought of false flag reeks of desperation. This is EXACTLY what could be expected of leftist pro-abortion groups. And not very original. This is ACT-UP in red capes and white bonnets.

Odi said...

It doesn't seem they've been around very long as a group, which suggests they're a front for other organizations. It would be very interesting to see who is funding them. The usual suspects surely, but a little sunshine never hurts.

Iman said...

It’s a tough go when you look to serial liars like Weigel for facts.

Mark said...

The notion that "women's rights" is about, much less dependent upon, being able to destroy that which is natural and unique to women, that it is about being able to kill another human being with impunity, is even more detrimental to genuine women's rights.

As for these groups, it is always best to be true to oneself. You be you, I say to them. Let your true nature come out.

MalaiseLongue said...

"These people are getting photographed and are easily identifiable, so the potential for false flag operations to be discovered is ridiculously high."

Isn't that one more reason not to suspect a false flag operation? As if a reason were needed apart from the "looks like a duck, walks like a duck" heuristic. These people are stone stoopid.

StephenFearby said...

Antifa finally makes its move in Madison.

DM:

Antifa goons hurl Molotov cocktail into offices of Wisconsin anti-abortion group and spray chilling message saying: 'If abortions aren't safe you aren't either'

At least one Molotov cocktail was thrown into the offices of the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action late Saturday or early Sunday

It happened at the Madison headquarters on International Lane

A passerby reported seeing smoke coming from the building

A window was also broken and the building was covered with graffiti

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10794791/Antifa-goons-hurl-Molotov-cocktail-offices-Wisconsin-anti-abortion-group.html

Iman said...

‘I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior.”

Until DEMOCRAT LEADERSHIP denounces “this behavior”, “liberals” can’t honestly run away from it.

Joe Smith said...

'These people are getting photographed and are easily identifiable, so the potential for false flag operations to be discovered is ridiculously high.'

Unlike the oh-so-brave Antifa and BLM folks who love to loot and burn in anonymity...

Michael K said...

Was this a "false flag" operation, too?

The Madison Police Department understands members of our community are feeling deep emotions due to the recent news involving the United States Supreme Court.

Early Sunday morning, our team began investigating a suspicious fire inside an office building on the city’s north side.

It appears a specific non-profit that supports anti-abortion measures was targeted.

Joe Smith said...

"Give us Barabbas!"

Or Biggus Dickus : )

John Enright said...

I was slow to figure out who Ruth was. I spent a couple of minutes thinking about the biblical Ruth. Which I guess was silly.

Iman said...

Look, the official position of the Democrat Party is that abortion is to be unrestricted all the way, up to and including the child’s birth. That’s not where the majority of Americans - including women - are on this issue.

cubanbob said...

Ann Althouse said...
"Do you think the protests at the Justice's House were also false flag?"

Most likely just idiots, but if I were designing a false flag thing and had no morality and loved chaos, I might pick that. These people are getting photographed and are easily identifiable, so the potential for false flag operations to be discovered is ridiculously high."

If this was a false flag it would have been exposed. These people are idiots but far Left wing idiots and no doubt vote Democrat.

Dude1394 said...

The word “democrat” encapsulates them exactly.

Inga said...

Regarding the group Ruth Sent Us…

“Church Militant, the right-wing Catholic news outlet that just last week heavily promoted its interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, in which the Georgia congresswoman said that Satan was controlling the Catholic Church, suggested that protesters should be met by loyal Catholic men, who "need to step up, form a group and take them out."”

I found this while doing a search on the group Ruth Sent Us. It seems there are extremists on both sides that are creating havoc.

"Firing up the right wing"

“It's hard to see all that without wondering whether church protests would give the right exactly what they want: a chance to cast the reversal of Roe in defensive, rather than offensive terms. As Dave Weigel wrote at the Washington Post this week, "nothing creates content for conservative media, and the Republicans who increasingly speak through it, than furious protesters…all of it sync[s] up with a message Republicans have made since 2017: that the left is sowing violence and chaos."”

Link to article here

Owen said...

Threshold question is, were these demonstrations false flag or not? IMHO the evidence points to "No."
Which leads to the question, What were these people thinking they would accomplish, beyond having a memorable Saturday night pissing off people in a quiet neighborhood? IMHO they knew this was for (inter)national media consumption, not so much the very local effect. It's pure theater on the cosmic stage. They're all potentially famous and can brag about this to their grandchildren (if, considering the cause they espouse, they have any).
But at the cosmic theater level, what do they add besides (a) same old substantive message (no new data or arguments) and (b) evidence that they are prepared to turn very personal, very mean, without any further warning? IMHO if I were in charge of SCOTUS security I would be making a list and checking it twice.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

https://madison.com/news/local/madison-anti-abortion-headquarters-hit-by-molotov-cocktail-vandalism-graffiti/article_526660ea-776d-50ca-9baa-4b4a9337dca7.html

Aggie said...

"I wouldn't use the word 'liberal' to describe this behavior."

Is this one of those, 'Clown nose on, Clown nose off' situations? What would one call them, then? There's no escaping that guerilla intimidation tactics are in play, targeting conservative justices in their homes. Or are we to believe it's not happening because they're not 'liberals'>? If by that, you mean classical liberal ideology, then I would understand. It's becoming a bit antiquated to use the term though in today's politics, though. They're not Bull Moose either, but so what? Turley noted in one of his tweets that the protests at Kavanaugh's home were organized by one of his neighbors, who is on a crusade against him. How nice for her. I guess she's not a 'liberal' either - although she's hiding very well by appearing to be exactly that..

Scotty, beam me up... said...

The Federalist website was able to do some digging of who is behind the group “Ruth Sent Us”, whose website points to another group callled Strike for Choice. From there it appears to get murky where their support money comes from. I suspect Dark Money from the left is involved with this group that may be hard to trace without a forensic accountant (funny how the Biden Administration bemoans dark money on the the right but clams up and is good with it when it is used on the left, but I digress).

https://thefederalist.com/2022/05/06/the-kavanaugh-circus-continues-more-dangerous-than-ever/

As for the name of their group “Ruth Sent Us”, the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg would be appalled at them calling for harassing her former colleagues at their homes or anywhere else in her name. Ruth may have disagreed with the conservative justices on the court but considered them friends.

Mary Beth said...

On the question of whether it's a false flag and who owns the site:

It's registered to someone who uses the email address vigilfordemocracy@(company that provides email addresses). An email that is his name @vigilfordemocracy.com would appear more valid to me, but I can see preferring the ease of gmail or yahoo or hotmail. You can forward your site's emails, but anyone that doesn't use a proxy to register a controversial site like that might not be skilled at forwarding emails.

His Twitter feed matches the sentiments from the ruthsent.us website. It could be an extra layer of fakery, but that seems weird since the site does not link to the Twitter feed.

The mailing address of the registrant is a PO box. It also shows up as the mailing address of one of the business contacts for vigilfordemocracy.com in bizpedia, but with a different name than the one used to register ruthsent.us. A search shows a news article about her where her group painted "desegregate" at the entrance of a park that was for residents only. Another article places her at an anti-Trump rally in San Francisco.

(When I did a search for both names together, it showed an article on The Federalist website. If I had found that first it would have saved me a lot of time. https://thefederalist.com/2022/05/05/meet-the-shady-left-wing-group-targeting-scotus-justices-and-their-families/)

Levi Starks said...

A liberal is exactly what I say they is, nothing more, nothing less.

paminwi said...

I laugh heartily at this post! Just because the NYT doesn’t mention this group and the Wapi only once there must be something fishy about them. Maybe it’s the conservatives planting a false flag! 😂😂😂 I have never seen the Professor take a nuanced stand on abortion-maybe I have missed it. But that she hasn’t mentioned her own limits tells me she’s in favor with g abortion until the first breath has been taken by a delivered baby. You can make a judgement about people when they don’t outright condemn behavior from activists on their own side. Just as I have made judgement about Biden and that heartless press secretary for not condemning this behavior I can make a judgement about the Professor.
Just my thoughts in short form. Hard to write more while in the car.

Brylinski said...

From to Glenn Reynolds: Stipends are available for the people who protest at the homes of the Supreme Court Justices, and he wonders who is paying for this: https://instapundit.com/519287/.

Paid protesters?

farmgirl said...

“I wouldn't use the word "liberal" to describe this behavior.”
Gotta watch out for that slippery slope… it’s gonna get you, too.

tim maguire said...

To be a liberal in the western world today, you must first reject all liberal values. Yes, this would be detrimental to the pro-abortion cause and it might be a false flag operation, but it's also right in the activist left's wheelhouse so i see no reason to suspect this to be a false flag any more than any other particular protest.

tim in vermont said...

If we had a genius on our side who could come up with “Ruth Sent Us,” the left would be doomed to the wilderness.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

LOL unfortunately false flags have entered domestic politics through repeated intrusions into political discourse by our own intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Sad. But these pop-up “groups” or “movements” should always be considered disinformative until proven trustworthy.

Bruce Hayden said...

NPR’s head legal analyst, leftist and Dem party stalwart, Nina Tottenberg, apparently is claiming that the leading theory is that it was a conservative clerk who leaked the draft opinion. And, no doubt, in the august circles that she runs in, that is probably true. Highly unlikely, but true for the echo chamber she represents.

Jason said...

The vile anti-catholic/christian bigotry here is pretty consistent with the anti-catholic/christian bigotry I get from known proggies this week.

Claiming this is a false flag is pretty much wishful thinking.

Jason said...

If the left wants to defend publishing the home addresses of judges in order make it easy for the mob to intimidate or harass them, I can think of a few abortionists who might do with the same treatment.

Jason said...

If the left wants to defend publishing the home addresses of judges in order make it easy for the mob to intimidate or harass them, I can think of a few abortionists who might do with the same treatment.

Browndog said...

. These people are getting photographed and are easily identifiable

As in, being identified is some sort of deterrent? As in, fear of being prosecuted for the crime they are obviously committing?

hawkeyedjb said...

Islam is generally anti-abortion. Do you see any protests in front of mosques, any burning of Korans? Some abuses of women are more... acceptable.

MadisonMan said...

Sure, they should do forefront and elevate. But they won't.
I notice the local paper is now all full of stories from the 1960s/1970s re: Abortion. How nice for Democrats that abortion has driven the price of gas ($4/gallon!) off the front page. And Ukraine? What's that? Hunter who?

Yancey Ward said...

Oh, fuck's sake. If this group were a false flag organization, the NYTimes and WaPo would be all over it with the proof. The very fact that the mainstream media have ignored it is proof that the group is authentically pro-abortion. They don't want to draw attention to the group.

Gahrie said...

These people are getting photographed and are easily identifiable, so the potential for false flag operations to be discovered is ridiculously high.

You mean like the Tiki torch carrying "Proud Boys" at the Virginia campaign event?

Richard said...

False-flagged folks will be arrested. Lefties skate.

BoatSchool said...

Guess Kavanaugh’s neighbor must continue to be a false flag operation since, not for the first time, she’s organist a protest outside his home,

C’mon Ann. You’re better than this.

wildswan said...

The RuthSentUs TikTok video about invading Catholic churches is on view at

https://www.clevelandtlmfriends.com/protests-inside-our-churches/

However, I think it is a video made at some church other than a Catholic church (because of the antifa-type way way someone tells the person filming to "go.") There are people dressed as Handmaids in the video. I don't think the video is a conservative false flag, I think it is Made by Foreigners - the Chinese maybe - who are making propaganda which they hope will be divisive. But in their foreign way that don't know what real Americans fear and what they laugh at. For instance, the women in their costumes are at the laugh end, not the fear end, of thoughts about the future. At least, I think so. And if they come into a Catholic Church I expect everyone will sit there laughing heartily.
The person organizing the pickets at Kavanaugh's home has a sister working for Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia so her mission and position is clear.

robother said...

The "wall of separation" built by liberals sooner or later becomes a ghetto. Over time, any assertion of a supra-human basis for morals or law in the public sphere becomes intolerable. In the liberal view, religious or spiritual values are strictly relegated to the privacy of the individual mind or church on Sunday.

These protesters are expressing outrage at the Catholic challenge to a purely materialistic or hedonistic view of human life. As with Althouse, liberals generally find these extreme actions counterproductive to the political cause. But the default materialist view they hold in common.

Jupiter said...

"But it’s the left…. They’re always unhinged."

I recall, back when I played in a band, one night when the campus feminazis had decided to direct their hate hose at us, on account of a poster we had put up with a picture of a half-naked woman (Madonna, actually) on it. They stood around outside Taylor's Tavern, chanting "Rip the Rocks off Rock'n'Roll!". I couldn't resist strolling out there at the break, just to rile 'em up. They riled pretty easy, I must say.

But I noticed that several of the "protesters" were people I had seen dancing at previous gigs. They only hated us and wanted to see us publicly mutilated this week because someone had suggested it. A couple weeks later they were paying their two bucks cover to see us again.

That's Entertainment!

Marc in Eugene said...

I'll admit that it never occurred to me (when I saw those tweets of the Ruth Sent Us people) that they are a 'false flag operation' but then I'm not one of the deplorable people on the "populist right that’s steeped in paranoia", as Ross Douthat put it this morning.

Marc in Eugene said...

"This map is no longer available due to a violation of our Terms of Service and/or policies."

Somebody's taking the RSU people seriously; their map of the Justices' houses is suppressed.

who-knew said...

Now we can take the possibility of false flag operations seriously? When it was conservatives raising the possibility about Jan 6th it was a crazed conspiracy theory. However there was actually some evidence of it on Jan 6th what with an actual antifa member and some FRI agents being IDed at the riot. The evidence for a false flag operation here is nothing more than 'no true liberal would do this'.

Michael K said...

As usual, Inga posts a link to an article that has nothing to do with her argument.

She's all in with the "false flag" theory, though

Rockport Conservative said...

I hate to see them take the name of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in vain. She would never have suggested protesting at anyone's house, especially any of the SCOTUS homes.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

ADDED: This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this is a "false flag" message. Here's the Ruth Sent Us web page. It's not very informative.

Well, it's leftists at the homes, and it's the Leftist Biden Admin that's refusing to condemn this, and it's Leftists in public who are justifying, supporting, and defending this.

Occam's Razor usually cuts correctly

Now, you could try to claim that the attack on the pro-life site could be a "false flag" operation, because we don't know who did it.

But we know who's at the Justices' homes, and we know which government officials are refusing to oppose this.

You can't "false flag" that

Marc in Eugene said...

Whoever is spreading this bullshit doesn't know anything about the Catholic (or Orthodox and even Anglican) church. Bread is not eucharistic until it has been blessed. Any leftover after mass is dissolved in water and disposed of directly to the soil, along with leftover wine (never into a sewer system).

I guessed what was coming when I saw the name of the commenter; I've forgotten if FF is Catholic or not but I've seen his name on Catholic or culturally Catholic websites for as long as I've had a computer. The 'blessing' is more properly called, in the Catholic Church anyway, the 'consecration' and is believed to change-- no desire to get into the theology of it all, none-- the simple bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Our Lord-- tantum ergo Sacramentum veneremur cernui... praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui etc.

Undistributed Hosts (as the consecrated wafers are called) are conserved in each church's tabernacle, for worship outside of Mass and for distribution to the sick in their homes etc.

A consecrated wafer that has been dropped onto the floor or suffered some other sacrilege may be disposed of via the sacrarium, which, as FF correctly wrote, drains directly into the earth. The more traditional practice is that the priest simply consumes it himself.

These days when Holy Communion is more commonly distributed by laymen and -women via the hands of the communicant, who then herself places the Host into her mouth, the incidence of dropping and other accidents has much increased, as has the incidence of people (woefully undercatechized, perhaps) electing to 'take the bread home for later', or some such nonsense. I think FF's suggestion that the RSU people would need the connivance of a priest is risible.

farmgirl said...

Freder- I always thought the priest consumed any extra- body &blood, at the point after Consecration- when cleaning the chalice and paten after Communion: it’s never put on the ground.

Holy water maybe- and you’re right, never down the drain.

Bender said...

Stealing a consecrated Host is easy enough. Just go up for Communion acting like a half-normal person, receive in the hand, and secretly walk off and surreptitiously place the Host in your pocket. Then go and perform whatever burning or Black Mass profanities you want.

And, yes, Jesus can take care of Himself, but all such desecrations are manifestations of the Passion -- those who do it seek to crucify Him again.

Leland said...

Most likely just idiots

WaPo interviewed the idiots outside Kavanaugh's home. Maybe they just wanted to let the idiots know they had the right place. The story didn't seem like they found a false flag.

MadTownGuy said...

"Ruth Sent Us" isn't listed in the the list of organizations at OpenSecrets.org, so if they are funded it's not directly or through the usual sources.

Karen of Texas said...

"Whoever is spreading this bullshit doesn't know anything about the Catholic (or Orthodox and even Anglican) church. Bread is not eucharistic until it has been blessed. Any leftover after mass is dissolved in water and disposed of directly to the soil, along with leftover wine (never into a sewer system). Unless you find a priest who is willing to betray the church and commit a serious mortal sin you are SOL."

Wrong, "Fred". As a former Eucharistic minister, consecrated hosts that are not distributed during the Mass are placed back into the tabernacle, ensconced in a covered ciborium or two. And any consecrated wine left in the cup after offering to congregants who approach the altar to receive the body of Christ is drunk by the eucharistic minister(s) who offer the cup.

Norpois said...

I think Ann, whom I greatly respect, is having a hard time accepting that there are very nasty extremists on "her" side of this issue, just as many conservatives (used to) have a hard time accepting there are nasty extremists on their side. I forget if Ann believes Roe is defensible as a matter of constitutional jurisprudence. But only Con Law professors can believe this is about the Constitution.
95% of Americans think this is a political question decided by a group of unelected politicians they agree or disagree with depending on outcomes. Sadly, they are not entirely wrong. If Dred Scott didn't convince the Court to stay out of big-time political issues on which the country is split 60-40, nothing else will.

ken in tx said...

About left over communion wine being poured out on the ground, I know of at least one Catholic priest who thought that it had to be consumed after being blessed. He and another Air Force chaplain got drunk performing this duty in South Korea when I was there.

Tina Trent said...

They aren't speaking for Catholicism. Nothing to add.

Gahrie said...

It is rich to complain about left wing extremists when practically all the violence (including murder, arson, bombings and assaults) related to abortion is from the right.

36 million dead babies, especially the ones born alive, beg to differ.

Gahrie said...

Her own moral outrage at these acts of evil is all the evidence she needs that these are not the actions of responsible feminists.

No woman must be made to feel bad about, or responsible for, anything, ever.

Gahrie said...

Liberals keep playing word games, rebranding itself because they destroyed the last brand.

It's yet another way the beginning of the 21st century is repeating the beginning of the 20th century. The Democrats went from "Liberal" to "progressive", destroyed the reputation of "progressive" and switched back to "Liberal". If there is a red tsunami this year, expect the Democrats to do it again.

I'm beginning to get scared that the Great Depression II is just around the corner.

Tina Trent said...

Ethnic women reject abortion as sin far more than White women do. Is that Elizabeth Moss wearing ethnic uterus?

West TX Intermediate Crude said...

Re Nina Tottenberg's speculation that a conservative clerk leaked the draft-
No conservative would leak to Policico, a leftist publication, for fear of being doxxed.
It doesn't pass the smell test, it defies common sense, and it came from NPR.
The leftist trifecta.

Barry Dauphin said...

Burn the Eucharist? Are they first going to get a priest to consecrate the hosts or do they not have a clue about what the Eucharist is? Sounds like a real pseudo-intellectual.

Jamie said...

Whoever is spreading this bullshit doesn't know anything about the Catholic (or Orthodox and even Anglican) church. Bread is not eucharistic until it has been blessed. Any leftover after mass is dissolved in water and disposed of directly to the soil, along with leftover wine (never into a sewer system). Unless you find a priest who is willing to betray the church and commit a serious mortal sin you are SOL.

Correct on the doctrine - it's just bread until consecrated. But if memory serves, one holdup to the taking of Communion in the hand instead of directly from the priest's hand to the communicant's mouth was that it could enable a baddie to palm the consecrated host instead of consuming it, and then do bad things with or to it.

Yes, it's an idea with a bit of "blood libel" conspiracy-theory hand-wringing about it. But apparently, if this Ruth Sent Us group is to be believed, they're considering it. Who knows - maybe, out of some shred of remaining deference to social norms they might just order some wafers from whatever supply house and make their protest 100% theater.

But I was also pretty exercised about Piss Christ back in the day, and a crucifix is only a crucifix, not the Person of Christ as the consecrated Eucharist is to believers. Has there been a Piss Buddha yet? A Piss Gaia? I KNOW there's been no Piss Mohammed.

Bunkypotatohead said...

Happy Mother's Day.

Mary Beth said...

About left over communion wine being poured out on the ground, I know of at least one Catholic priest who thought that it had to be consumed after being blessed. He and another Air Force chaplain got drunk performing this duty in South Korea when I was there.

Father Mulcahy? It wasn't a thing in the book or film, as far as I can recall, but in the book MASH, he was known as Dago Red because he drank all the leftover communion wine.

Christopher B said...

Christopher Rufo and others have been pointing out that one of the first things the Critical Theory people rejected was Enlightenment Liberalism, to distinguish it from the appropriation of generic liberalism by a certain American political party.

See tenet 2 here.

So if you want to go down that road, you may be correct in claiming that the protestors are not 'liberal'. On the other hand, until Democrats start distinguishing their abortion position in practical ways from the protestors, such as recognizing that even Roe said prohibition in the first trimester was acceptable, the distinction doesn't mean very much.

Christopher B said...

'first trimester' should have been 'last trimester'.

guitar joe said...

"Liberal doesn't describe the behavior, but it seems to be the preferred label of those who approve of the behavior,"

Most of these folks call themselves "progressives" or "woke." There has always been a divide between extremists and people who, broadly speaking, share the same goals. You could be anti war and pro civil rights in the late 60s and through the 70s and not support the Weather Underground or the Black Panther party. In fact, those groups spoke with disdain about liberals.

Mike Petrik said...

Friends, the idea that a Catholic Church will typically not have any consecrated Hosts available to desecrate is mistaken. Please do look up the word "tabernacle."

Mike Petrik said...

Thanks and apologies to both Marc (7:12 p.m.) and Karen of Texas (7:59 p.m.) who corrected this misconception before I did.

Marc in Eugene said...

No apology necessary: there are certainly occasions when I comment before reading the thread and, anyway, moderation of comments (with which I have no problem, apart from this) means that there are often going to be repetitions of the same idea or opinion or fact. If only Althouse would move her blog to a different... /joking.

ccscientist said...

Birth control is readily available (condoms, IUD, the pill). If abortion is your go-to form of birth control, you are lazy and lack foresight. In addition, abortion can damage the uterus. Acting as if the killing of a baby is no big deal is....sick.

Narayanan said...

West TX Intermediate Crude said...
Re Nina Tottenberg's speculation that a conservative clerk leaked the draft-
No conservative would leak to Policico, a leftist publication, for fear of being doxxed.
=========
better Q to ask : would Politico accept from a conservative clerk leaked the draft-
and not doxx?

farmgirl said...

So brave:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/godless-leftists-storm-sunday-mass-cathedral-lady-angels-attempt-shut-service-los-angeles-video/

farmgirl said...

So brave:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/godless-leftists-storm-sunday-mass-cathedral-lady-angels-attempt-shut-service-los-angeles-video/

Tina Trent said...

The Catholic Church has a Pastoral program for women who have had abortions. It is called Project Rachel. Maybe someone you know would benefit from it.

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

I find it odd that the pro-abortion forces are so strong that they are willing alienate the last remnant of pro-life Dems. The only remaining pro-life Dems are heavily - if not uniformly - Roman Catholic. Disrupting and desecrating their religious observances seems to be a bit of an own-goal.

Chris Lopes said...

"This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this is a "false flag" message."

Yes because liberals aren't as capable as conservatives of doing stupid shit that hurts their own cause.

Stephen St. Onge said...

       
If this group “published the public addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices,” that’s a pretty good sign that they really are radically hostile to conservatives. I wouldn’t use the word ‘liberal” to describe this behavior.


        Yeah, and no True Scotsman would commit such a heinous act, and Real Communism® wouldn't murder people by the tens of millions because by definition, Real Communism has wonderful results.

        But Actually Existing Communism does invariably result in mass murder, Actually Existing Scotsmen do perform heinous acts, and Actually Existing Liberals do indeed try to set mobs on people they are pissed off at.

        Do try to acknowledge reality, Ann.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this is a "false flag" message

It's a "call to action", not a "message".

So it could be that "Ruth Sent Us" are agent provocateurs rather than actual American leftists.

But unless you're claiming that the people actually doing the church invasions, actually threatening the SCOTUS members at their homes, are not themselves American leftists, it ca not be a "false flag" operation.

It is theoretically possible that the Madison terrorist attack on the pro-lifers was a "false flag". But if so it was a well executed one, and, more importantly, it's something the Left has done repeatedly, so it's an entirely believable "false flag".

Did the Left wing Mayor of Madison condemn the attack? Heck, from what I saw of the Madison Police response, even they didn't fully condemn the attack (imagine the words they'd use if a pro-lifer had done the equivalent to a Madison aboriton clinic).

It's hard to say "that's a false flag attack", when your side is embracing the attack

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"This is so detrimental to the cause of women's rights that I want to explore whether this is a "false flag" message."


The problem you face, Professor Althouse, is that your side has decided to embrace the positions that "speech we don't like its violence" and "violence by people we agree with is [protected] speech".

So they people who you are currently siding with see absolutely nothing wrong with threatening people, or burning down buildings.

Heck, that's what they did all Summer of 2020, and they were celebrated for it.

So, you have a choice to make:
Are you like them?
or
Are you what you've always defined as a "decent human being", since decent human beings don't engage in actual domestic terrorism to advance their political agendas.

The NeverTrump people said they were "switching sides" to the Democrats because Trump was so befouling the Republican Party that the Party had to be defeated to get rid of the stench"

Now, the "stench" that Trump "befouled" the Party with was listening to the voters, making them promises, and then actually keeping those promises. And this is a "stench" to them because they're actually politically Left, and so giving Republican voters what the voters want is verboten

But the argument is, in principle, a valid one.

So, are you going to continue to douse yourself with the stench of the domestic terrorists?

Or are you going to work for the crushing of the terrorist Left, no matter the short term cost?