Next Draft - Kingdom Come
Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing vacation. I took a couple weeks off from NextDraft only to return to find American democracy on the brink. At this point, it's no surprise that the Supreme Court was going to use all the time possible to delay a decision (and hence, the case against Trump) in the presidential immunity case. But it is surprising, even by this Court's standards, how far the majority was willing to go toward turning our president into a king. Today the Court issued something of a split decision. Split in the sense that it offered a hell of a lot of immunity but not total immunity. From Chief Justice John Roberts: "At least with respect to the President’s exercise of his core constitutional powers, this immunity must be absolute. The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official." And split in the sense we now have the era of American democracy before this decision and the era that now begins after it. On a practical level, this decision sends things back to the DC court for a series of arguments on which Trump actions were official and which weren't. That will clearly delay things well beyond the November election. For the deeper level, I'll leave it to the dissenting opinions from Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor: "The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the country, and possibly the world. When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution. Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military dissenting coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune. Let the President violate the law, let him exploit the trappings of his office for personal gain, let him use his official power for evil ends. Because if he knew that he may one day face liability for breaking the law, he might not be as bold and fearless as we would like him to be. That is the majority’s message today." Jackson: "The majority of my colleagues seems to have put their trust in our Court’s ability to prevent Presidents from becoming Kings through case-by-case application of the indeterminate standards of their new Presidential accountability paradigm. I fear that they are wrong. But, for all oursakes, I hope that they are right. In the meantime, because the risks (and power) the Court has now assumed are intolerable, unwarranted, and plainly antithetical to bedrock constitutional norms, I dissent." My take: While the immunity case started as an almost ridiculous reach by Trump to avoid being held to account for his horrifically anti American actions, this decision has turned it into something even larger. Indeed, I'd advise you to focus less on what the SCOTUS immunity ruling means for the crimes of the last Trump administration and more on what it could mean for the crimes of a possible next one. 2The Clash"If I go, there will be trouble. And if I stay, it will be double. So come on and let me know, should I stay, or should I go?" —The Clash 3Align in the SandTo add a little more stress to America's inside threat, let's consider the threat building on the outside. Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The World Is Realigning. "Like a lightning strike illuminating a dim landscape, the twin invasions of Israel and Ukraine have brought a sudden recognition: What appeared to be, until now, disparate and disorganized challenges to the United States and its allies is actually something broader, more integrated, more aggressive, and more dangerous. Over the past several years, the world has hardened into two competing blocs. One is an alliance of liberal-minded, Western-oriented countries that includes NATO as well as U.S. allies in Asia and Oceania, with the general if inconsistent cooperation of some non-liberal countries such as Saudi Arabia and Vietnam: a Liberal Alliance, for short. The other bloc is led by the authoritarian dyad of Russia and Iran, but it extends to anti-American states such as North Korea, militias such as Hezbollah, terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad, and paramilitaries such as the Wagner Group: an Axis of Resistance, as some of its members have accurately dubbed it." 4In the BuffToday's news probably has you feeling a little nostalgic for the mornings when you could open your browser without a feeling of dread. We can't bring back the old news, but this seems like a good day to bring back the old internet. Aside from the buffering, it was glorious. FastCo: What the internet looked like in 1994, according to 15 webpages born that year. (As a bonus, this look back makes '94 seem young.) 5Extra, ExtraOzempic Babies: "Some women report that they got pregnant while taking the birth-control pill. Others were previously diagnosed as infertile, but say that they conceived after taking a course of the drugs." Does Ozempic have yet another impact? Does Ozempic boost fertility? What the science says. 6Bottom of the News"Germany’s first School Toilet Summit has met, seeking initiatives across the EU’s biggest country to make facilities less off-putting for children driven to holding it in all day rather than visiting the loos that up to half of pupils have said they try to avoid." German summit aims to flush away bad school toilet experiences. |
Older messages
Swing and Mifepristone
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Mifepristone Allowed (for now), Nanorobots to the Rescue ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The Public Arena
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Canceled Tours, Spreadsheet Superstars ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Lawyers, Guns, and Sonny
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Hunter Guilty, Apple's AI ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Home Alone
Monday, June 10, 2024
Home Insurance-less, Hostage Rescue Op ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Throwing in the Vowel
Friday, June 7, 2024
Pat's Wheel Stops, Weekend Whats, Feel Good Friday ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
VMware license changes mean bare metal can make a comeback through 'devirtualization', says Gartner [Thu Jul 4 2024]
Thursday, July 4, 2024
Hi The Register Subscriber | Log in The Register {* Daily Headlines *} 4 July 2024 Cloud migration reversed VMware license changes mean bare metal can make a comeback through 'devirtualization'
A $7 Low-Effort, High-Payoff Glitter Eyeshadow
Thursday, July 4, 2024
Here's what you missed on the Strategist. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. A $7
Bye-den?
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
President Biden pushed back on the idea he might step away from the nomination. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The Polls Are Bad for Biden — But Not Fatal
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer poll position First Post-Debate Polls Are Bad for Biden — But Not Fatal While the debate
GeekWire Mid-Week Update
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Read the top tech stories so far this week from GeekWire Top stories so far this week Seattle-area EV drivers left searching for fast chargers due to 'epidemic' of cable theft Electrical
Thursday Briefing: What’s at stake in Britain’s election
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Also, Biden told an ally he is considering leaving the race. View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition July 4, 2024 Author Headshot By Daniel E. Slotnik Good morning. Today,
Microsoft lays off employees in new round of cuts
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Breaking News from GeekWire GeekWire.com | View in browser BREAKING NEWS Microsoft conducted another round of layoffs in the latest workforce reduction implemented by the Redmond tech giant this year.
Battleground is Back!
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Happy 3 Years of Battleground! 🎉 Battleground is Back! By Justin Brown • 3 Jul 2024 View in browser View in browser To my longtime readers: Welcome back! To new subscribers who have joined during my
The ultimate hack for traveling with a suit
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Expert advice from King Charles' former suit maker View in browser The Recommendation Yes, you can pack a suit in your carry-on An illustration of a suit as a brief case. Illustration: Alvaro
The Nojoementum
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
The Pressure Grows, Weekend Whats, Feel Good Friday ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏