Supreme Court temporarily blocks order requiring Navy to deploy unvaccinated forces

Source: CNN

(CNN)The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to temporarily freeze a lower-court opinion requiring the Navy to deploy special operations forces even though they have refused to get vaccinated for Covid-19.

The court's order means that while special operations forces -- including more than two dozen Navy SEALs -- continue to challenge the Navy's vaccine mandate on religious grounds in court, they will not be actively deployed or punished for their position.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

Alito, writing for himself and Gorsuch, said that he agreed that the Navy had a "compelling interest" in preventing Covid-19 infection from "impairing its ability to carry out its vital responsibilities" but that it's "summary rejection" of requests for religious exemptions was by "no means the least restrictive means" for furthering its interests. He said the challengers "who have volunteered to undertake demanding and hazardous duties to defend our country" had been treated "shabbily" by the Navy.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/25/politics/navy-covid-supreme-court-seals/index.html

Let's say a Supreme Court Justice resigned today because of health reasons or whatever...

What happens to the cases coming up in April, May, or June? Will their vote be on record, or will any case that's decided after they leave be with only 8 Justices?

Can someone please let me know which Senators asked Ketanji Brown Jackson about abortion?

I know Sen. Feinstein did, but it was more about if Roe was precedent and if it's super-precedent like Brown. This subject is super-important to me, thank you.

United States Supreme Court reverses decision on Wisconsin legislative maps

Source: WBAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBAY) - The United States Supreme Court has reversed the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s judgment regarding legislative maps backed by Gov. Tony Evers.

The case was remanded for further proceedings.

“On remand, the court is free to take additional evidence if it prefers to reconsider the Governor’s maps rather than choose from among the other submissions. Any new analysis, however, must comply with our equal protection jurisprudence,” reads the majority opinion.

The redistricting maps created an additional majority-Black district in Wisconsin, saying it was necessary to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

Read more: https://www.wbay.com/2022/03/23/united-states-supreme-court-reverses-decision-wisconsin-legislative-maps/

Who do you think will be the 2028 nominees for each Party?

We always hear about 2024, but that's boring (and divisive, because Biden is our President and he said that he's running again if he remains healthy). It will almost certainly be Biden and Trump (assuming that he'd not indited and is relatively healthy as well). So let's talk about 2028.

Only one thing is certain about 2028: It won't be Biden or Trump, no matter who wins in 2024, one reason being age. So who will it be? Well, first we must divide the question into two different scenarios. One if we win in 2024, and one if we lose. The 2028 Republican nominee won't make much difference on 2028 regardless if they win or lose in 2024, but ours will.

ON THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE

If we win in 2024 (and I suspect that we will), Harris will be the clear favorite in 2028. While I don't think that there will be any serious challengers, I could be wrong. There could be some. I expect the VP to win. Sitting VP's haven't lost their Party's nomination in over a century.

If we lose in 2024, it's a whole new ballgame. I'd expect a fierce primary. Harris will almost certainly run, but I doubt that she would win the nomination. After a Party loses, the VP usually doesn't get the nomination again. Dan Quale tried this in 2000 and didn't come close, and I suspect the same will happen to Pence if he runs in 2024. Biden did, but as VP his Party won twice. So who will it be? Pete Buttigieg will be 46, but I don't know if he'd be the front-runner. Blinken? Possibly. Gavin Newsom? I like this choice. He'll be 60, still young. AOC? She'll turn 39 in the October before the election, but winning nationally might be a stretch. Beto? If he can pull of an upset in Texas this year and get re-elected in 2026, than oh yeah he's the frontrunner. But that's a very big IF. Now...

ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE

Tucker Carlson would be my guess. They seem to love snake oil salesmen, and he does have a big following on their side. Can he fire up a crowd as good as Trump? I don't know, but he doesn't seem so. Can he debate himself to a win in the primaries like Trump did? Absolutely (against their people at least). He made Ted Cruz choke, who himself is a good debater. As for Cruz, I guess he'd have a chance, but I expect him to finish 2nd or 3rd more than 1st. Perhaps he'll be their VP choice. Donald Jr.? I doubt it. No charisma, even if Trump wind in 2024 and he's running an coattails. Josh Hawley? Perish the thought. Rubio? He has to win his own Senate Seat first. DeSantis? Probably has the best shot to the nomination out of all of them, but my guess is still Tucker. Remember, they are insane. They picked Trump, and will likely pick him again.

Opinions?

Manchin comes out against Biden Fed nominee Raskin, throwing her confirmation into doubt

Source: CNBC

Sen. Joe Manchin, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, said Monday that he opposes one of President Joe Biden’s nominees to the Federal Reserve, leaving her candidacy to join the central bank with the slimmest of hopes.

“I have carefully reviewed Sarah Bloom Raskin’s qualifications and previous public statements. Her previous public statements have failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation’s critical energy needs,” Manchin said in a statement.

“I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to support her nomination to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board,” he added. Raskin is a former Fed governor and served as the deputy Treasury secretary in the Obama administration.

Manchin’s formal opposition all but dooms Raskin’s bid to be the Fed’s next vice chair for supervision, one of the most powerful banking regulators in the world. While it’s possible Raskin could garner support from a moderate Republican, a Senate split 50-50 means anything but a unified Democratic party makes the odds of success for any presidential nominee perilous at best.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/14/joe-manchin-opposes-sarah-bloom-raskin-federal-reserve-nomination.html

Happy Daylight Saving Time!

Love it getting dark later, even if it takes a few days to get used to!

President Biden: "We will not fight the third world war in Ukraine."

Immigration arrests in the US plunge under Biden administration, data show

Source: CNN

(CNN)Immigration arrests in the United States have plunged under President Joe Biden compared to his predecessor, who cast a wide net of who was eligible to be taken into custody, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data released Friday.

Under Biden, the Department of Homeland Security rolled out a series of policy changes that marked a departure from the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement measures. That included modifying guidance to focus arrests on national security, public safety and border security risks.

ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations made more than 74,000 administrative arrests -- for immigration violations -- in fiscal year 2021, according to agency data, down from the Trump administration when annual administrative arrests hovered over 100,000. ICE, under the previous administration, had given officers more latitude to make arrests.

Senior ICE officials on Friday emphasized the impact of the pandemic on operations, pointing out the difficulty of comparing the data to past years.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/11/politics/immigration-arrests-plunge-biden-administration/index.html

Manchin sits with Republicans during State of the Union

Source: Yahoo! News

Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, opted to sit on the Republicans' side of the House chamber during President Biden's first State of the Union address.

While Americans decry what is happening in Ukraine, the United States continues to allow the import of more than half a million barrels per day of crude oil and other petroleum products from Russia during this time of war," Manchin said this week.

Manchin also reportedly did not stand with his fellow Democrats when the president spoke about an expanded child tax credit, a policy over which the senator has expressed serious qualms.

The details: Manchin was seen sitting between Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). He was the only Democrat seen sitting with Republicans.

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/manchin-sits-republicans-during-state-031721449.html