The High Court: Rulings and Rumors

The refusal of the Rethuglican-controlled Senate to even schedule a committee hearing on Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court has resulted in a 4 to 4 split. Several important cases have yet to be decided before the Court takes its traditional 3-month long summer recess. including another assault on affirmative action, lower court rulings on immigration and yet another attack on women's reproductive rights. In the case of reproductive rights, the Court is expected to decide on Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt, which centers on Texas' state law that imposes new "ambulatory surgical care" architectural requirements on women's health facilities and unreasonable restrictions on the providers, even those that don't provide surgical care at all. The objective of the Texas law, cooked up by anti-choice zealots and spoon fed to sympathetic Texas legislators, is to reduce the number of clinics to as few as possible, preferably zero, through the added requirements to retrofit the clinics for "ambulatory surgical care." If the Court splits down the middle, the onerous law will remain in effect until a fifth Justice is seated presumably next year after the elections.

That brings us to the bit of gossip being fluffed by the Wingnut Wurlitzer that says that the Court's right-wing Justice Clarence "Long Dong Silver" Thomas is thinking of retiring after the elections, a move that could add to the liberal side assuming a Clinton win. Sorry, we're not buying it. There's every reason to believe that hardcore wingnuts in the media (outlets like Infowars, Washington Examiner,  The Blaze, etc.) are spreading this "information" from "unnamed sources" as a motivator to get their voters out to the polls in November.  It's even less credible since Thomas' teabagger wife Ginni has just shot down the rumor.  Thomas, at 67, is one of the "younger" justices and still wants to do more damage to the people and party that tried to block his nomination decades ago.

UPDATE:  The Court ruled today that the bans on military-style assault rifles in Connecticut and New York could remain in effect, dealing a blow to the gun manufacturers and their lobbyists.