The Supreme Court in free fall.

April 29, 2023

The primary purpose of this newsletter is to open the Comments section for the weekend. (Everyone can read; paying subscribers can post.) As always, please be respectful and “like” worthy comments to promote them to the top for other readers.

The Supreme Court in free fall.

The Supreme Court is being battered by daily scandals (see below). Justice Alito inexplicably chose this moment to whine to the Wall Street Journal that he resents having to do his job. The pathetic interview is here (and is available to all): WSJ, Justice Samuel Alito: ‘This Made Us Targets of Assassination’.

Alito’s grievances include the need to learn how to pronounce “mifepristone,” the need to rule on an emergency stay that affects the healthcare of tens of millions of women, and the fact that the Supreme Court is subject to criticism. (Apparently, Alito believes that the First Amendment right to criticize the government does not apply to the Supreme Court.)

Alito’s staggering lack of self-awareness and callous disregard for the lives of Americans affected by his rulings was revealed as we learned of another scandal involving the Supreme Court—this time involving Chief Justice Roberts. From 2007 to 2014, Chief Justice Roberts’ wife, Jane Roberts, generated $10.5 million in commissions as a legal recruiter. Firms appearing regularly before the Court paid Jane Roberts hundreds of thousands of dollars (at least) during that period, according to a whistleblower. See Business Insider, JJane Roberts, Who Is Married to the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Made $10.3 Million in Commissions: Documents.

The Court has lost all credibility. It is time for Congress to take control of an out-of-control Court that is not only incapable of policing itself, it is incapable of understanding that there is a problem. It doesn’t get worse than that.

Senate Republicans refuse to extend the deadline for ratifying Equal Rights Amendment.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans defeated an effort to extend the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. See Roll Call, Senate GOP blocks joint resolution nixing Equal Rights Amendment ratification deadline.

Why would any woman support a Republican member of Congress who opposes equal rights of women under the law?

Two victories for reproductive liberty.

Proponents of reproductive liberty blocked abortion bans in two states on Friday. See The Guardian, ‘This was unexpected’: abortion bans blocked in Nebraska and South Carolina.

The tide is turning. Republicans have overplayed their victory in Dobbs and shown their true intentions. Keep up the fight!

Join Jessica Craven and VoteRiders on Tuesday.

For fans of “force-of-nature” activist Jessica Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water, join Jessica as she moderates a discussion on Tuesday, May 2nd at 12:00pm Eastern with  Sylvester Johnson III, National Volunteer Manager and Voter ID Coalition Coordinator of VoteRiders. Register here: Meeting Registration - Zoom.

Concluding Thoughts.

For my birthday, my wife surprised me with a trip to see Tulare Lake in the San Joaquin Valley—which I had long wanted to see. Tulare Lake was once the largest lake west of the Mississippi. It has long since been drained but reappears every couple of decades when nature reminds us who is in charge of Earth. The story of the resurrected lake is here: CNBC, California's reappearing Tulare Lake could remain for two years (cnbc.com).

We enjoyed dinner at a rooftop restaurant in Visalia on Friday (The Elderwood) where I took the picture below of the sun setting over the most productive agricultural valley in the US. It was good to be outdoors to watch the life-given sun majestically descend into the western horizon. We should do it more often.

Enjoy the weekend!