...The decision to maintain the status quo on mifepristone by the same court that struck down Roe v Wade may be a quiet nod to the waning legitimacy of the court, and a concern about further backlash.
But what if the politics of judicial reform are already shifting under the justices’ feet?
The high-profile state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin — and the potential fallout — suggests that may be the case. During the midterms, that quintessential purple state delivered slim victories to a Democratic governor and a Republican senator. Less than five months later, though, a left-leaning candidate, Judge Janet Protasiewicz, ran up a double-digit advantage over her right-of-center opponent. [snip]
But Wisconsin’s judicial election earlier this month suggests that the White House’s assessment of how judicial politics plays among Democratic voters no longer holds water. That election may signal a broader shift in the tectonics of voter mobilization in respect to courts and judges more generally.
The most obvious reason for thinking something has changed is that it was Democrats, and not Republicans, who were galvanized by the judicial election. These voters, moreover, were moved by the issue of judicial power but were not motivated as much by the goal of electing Democrats. In a state Senate race held that same day, the Republican candidate eked out a win. That too was a highly consequential election, giving Republicans a Senate supermajority and the votes to oust officials through impeachment. [snip]
If the political script on judicial power gets flipped in Wisconsin — if GOP legislators act to rein in a liberal-leaning court — what could this bode for a broader change nationally? Or what happens if conservative federal judges or Supreme Court justices advance a far-right agenda reviled by progressives and even many centrists?
Surely, the next time Democrats have full control of Washington, the push to overhaul the judiciary will be a top priority, if they have the votes.
That the mifepristone case was ever heard, much less advanced to the Supreme Court, is a testament to the extent to which the judicial branch, at least in certain circuits, has been filled with radical right- wing Republicans (i.e., Christofascists). The Supreme Court's Republican supermajority is, if nothing else, highly partisan and political. They see the ground shifting against their party on the abortion issue and may be acting to stem the damage. Elections matter.
Fox Corp.’s $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges is eye-popping, but the ultimate cost to the media company is likely to be much lower. [snip]
How much the lawsuit will actually end up costing Fox is unclear because there are ways it can defray some of the expense, primarily through insurance and the use of tax deductions.
Fox can deduct the Dominion settlement from its income taxes as an expense necessary for the cost of doing business. Fox Chief Communications Officer Brian Nick has confirmed the deductibility of the settlement.
Big companies often deduct large settlements to help offset some of the cost, but since settlement amounts are usually confidential, it’s difficult to pin down exactly how much they benefit. Payments that are seen as restitution or compensation can be deducted, while payments made to the government or at the direction of a government are usually not deductible.
Robert Willens, a tax professor at the Columbia University School of Business, estimates that after the tax write-off, Fox will incur about three-fourths of the settlement amount, about $590 million...
The settlement wasn't going to change the Fox "News" business model, but seeing them get away with this is infuriating. All the more reason the Smartmatic lawsuit needs to go through the trial process to bring as much pain to these bastards as possible.
Nearly every 2024 GOP presidential contender or likely candidate that spoke at a major evangelical gathering in Iowa over the weekend vowed to fight against “woke” transgender policies.
The fact that not a single person on stage mentioned same-sex marriage, the banning of which was once a top priority for social conservatives, put a punctuation mark on the new rallying cry on the right.
The GOP’s shift on social issues is the result of quickly changing public attitudes ― including within their own party ― toward the acceptance of gay marriage, as well as polls that show some Americans’ unease with the pace of change on trans issues. [snip]
Former Vice President Mike Pence received a warm reception from the crowd after he framed the fight over trans issues as one based on religious freedom. He also praised Iowa for passing legislation that banned gender-affirming medical care for minors.
“The battle against radial gender ideology is a battle for religious freedom, and it’s a battle we must fight,” Pence said, drawing a round of applause. [snip]
Targeting trans rights isn’t just campaign fodder, either.
Last week, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives approved legislation on a party-line vote banning transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male from competing on girls or women’s sports teams at federally supported schools and colleges. The bill has no chance of passage with a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Democrat in the White House, but it’s yet another sign of how the issue is resonating within the GOP.
Already this year, almost 500 anti-trans bills have been introduced in nearly every state in the country, including some that would require genital inspections. And while national Republicans have sought to target trans healthcare for minors, GOP-led states like Missouri are moving forward with measures that would severely curtail access to transgender healthcare writ large...
It's all part of the GQP's decades- long strategy to search out the most vulnerable, ostracized minority and afflict it for political gain. If they can give it the veneer of religious "values," all the better.
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