Abortion Under Attack: Supreme Court Hints It Will Uphold Mississippi’s Ban, Threatening Roe v. Wade

Lawrence: Supreme Court ‘Crushed’ Trump | The Last Word | MSNBC

The Supreme Court unanimously denied Donald Trump’s effort to overturn Pennsylvania’s election results. Lawrence O’Donnell says the court told Donald Trump “you are out of your mind.” Aired on 12/8/2020.

Goodbye Civil Rights: Amy Coney Barrett's America Is a Terrifying Place

THE GUARDIAN: With her confirmation all but inevitable, how bad will Barrett be? It’s hard to say for sure – but it doesn’t look good

Amy Coney Barrett’s America is a terrifying place
So that’s that then. The confirmation hearings are over and it is almost inevitable that Amy Coney Barrett will be confirmed as a supreme court justice before the November election. Barrett will shift the supreme court from a 5-4 conservative majority to a 6-3 super-majority, a move that could fundamentally reshape America. Goodbye civil rights, hello Gilead.

You’ve got to hand it to the Republicans really; they get things done. They don’t care about being called hypocrites. They don’t care about ignoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish that she not be replaced until after the election. They don’t care about common decency. They don’t care about democracy. They just care about power – and they will do whatever it takes to get it.

So just how bad will Barrett be? Could her confirmation mean the end of Roe v Wade and the federal right to an abortion in America? Is marriage equality in danger? Is it possible she could criminalize birth control? Is America on its way to becoming a Divine Republic? Are we going to look at The Handmaid’s Tale and realize it was a documentary? » | Arwa Mahdawi | Saturday, October 17, 2020

Dark Money & Barrett Nomination: The Link Between Big Polluters & the War on ACA, Roe & LGBT Rights

During confirmation hearings this week for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island opted not to ask the judge any questions. Instead, he gave a 30-minute presentation on how right-wing groups, including the Federalist Society and Judicial Crisis Network, use dark money to shape the nation's judiciary. We air excerpts from his presentation and get reaction from Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Notre Dame Faculty Sign Open Letter Urging Judge Barrett to Halt Her Nomination | MSNBC

John Duffy, a Notre Dame English Professor of 22 years, joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss an open letter he drafted that was signed by nearly 100 of his colleagues urging Judge Amy Coney Barrett to halt her nomination process. He explains that "We are not asking her to withdraw. We are simply asking her to pause and to let the election play out and then to be guided by its results." Aired on 10/15/2020.

Harris: ‘People Are Scared’ of Losing ACA ‘in the Middle of a Pandemic’ | MSNBC

Sen. Kamala Harris discussed the ACA in her opening statement at Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination hearing. Harris said, “People are scared of what will happen if The Affordable Care Act is destroyed.” Aired on 10/13/2020.

Religious Group Scrubs All References to Amy Coney Barrett from Its Website

THE GUARDIAN: People of Praise, a tiny charismatic Catholic organization, admits removing mentions and photos of Trump’s supreme court pick

A tiny religious organization tied to Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee, sought to erase all mentions and photos of her from its website before she meets with lawmakers and faces questions at her Senate confirmation hearings.

Barrett, a federal appeals judge, has declined to publicly discuss her decades-long affiliation with People of Praise, a Christian group that opposes abortion and holds that men are divinely ordained as the “head” of the family and faith.

Former members have said the group’s leaders teach that wives must submit to the will of their husbands.

A spokesman for the organization has declined to say whether the judge and her husband, Jesse Barrett, are members.

But an analysis by the Associated Press shows that People of Praise erased numerous records from its website during the summer of 2017 that referred to Barrett and included photos of her and her family. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Opinion: Is Amy Coney Barrett Joining a Supreme Court Built for the Wealthy?

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Future decisions by a very conservative majority could give corporations even more weight and workers less.

Much of the public anxiety about Amy Coney Barrett — judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Notre Dame law professor and Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court — has focused on the question of abortion, and whether as a believer in originalism and a practicing Catholic she would be likely to vote to reverse Roe v. Wade.

At least as consequential might be her position on the Social Security Administration: She has suggested that an originalist — whose view of the law is rooted in the idea that the duty of judges is to ascertain whether laws reflect the original meaning of the Constitution — might say that it is not clearly permissible given a strict reading of the Constitution. This isn’t to say that she thinks it should or even could be repealed. “Some decisions,” she wrote, “thought inconsistent with the Constitution’s original public meaning are so well baked into government that reversing them would wreak havoc.” But it does indicate that in the area of judicial philosophy, there are many ways to be extreme. » | Kim Phillips-Fein | Ms. Phillips-Fein is the author of “Invisible Hands: The Businessmen’s Crusade Against the New Deal.” | Sunday, September 27, 2020

America has turned into a joke! A sick one at that! – Mark

Im Eiltempo zum Supreme Court

SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG: Nur eine Woche nach dem Tod der liberalen Richter-Ikone Ruth Bader Ginsburg nominiert Donald Trump die konservative Abtreibungsgegnerin Amy Coney Barrett für das höchste US-Gericht. Statt Konsens sucht Trump Streit.

Es soll jetzt vor allem schnell gehen. US-Präsident Donald Trump steht am Samstag hinter seinem Pult im Rosengarten des Weißen Hauses, um Amy Coney Barrett für den vakanten Platz im obersten Gericht der USA zu nominieren. Nur eine Woche nach dem Tod der liberalen Richter-Ikone Ruth Bader Ginsburg, noch bevor sie in dieser Woche beerdigt werden wird.

Und noch vor der Präsidentschaftswahl am 3. November wird voraussichtlich der US-Senat mit seiner republikanischen Mehrheit Barretts Nominierung zustimmen. Keine 40 Tage sind es bis dahin. Im Schnitt haben Nominierungsverfahren bisher 67 Tage gedauert. Am 12. Oktober sollen die Anhörungen beginnen.

Nennenswerte Opposition aus den eigenen Reihen ist nicht zu erwarten. Zumindest keine, die die Mehrheit im Senat gefährden könnte. Trump sagte am Samstag, "dies sollte eine unkomplizierte und schnelle Bestätigung werden". Mit nichts anderem ist zu rechnen. » | Von Thorsten Denkler, New York | Sonntag, 27. September 2020

"RBG": Film Director Reflects on Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Lifelong Fight for Gender Equity

In her later years, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was internationally known simply as her initials — RBG — and a 2018 documentary film by the same name about Ginsburg's legal career, personal history and unexpected celebrity became a surprise smash hit. We speak with Julie Cohen, co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary "RBG," about Ginsburg's early years and leadership in fighting for equal rights for women, including arguing a case before the Supreme Court with nine male justices who were condescending to her. "She never let that condescension get her down," notes Cohen. "She was a deeply strategic person."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Look Back at Her Life

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer, the court announced. She was 87.

Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court's liberal wing consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court’s Feminist Icon, Is Dead at 87

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg’s pointed and powerful dissenting opinions earned her late-life rock stardom.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, who in her ninth decade became a much younger generation’s unlikely cultural icon, died at her home in Washington on Friday. She was 87.

The cause was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court said.

By the time two small tumors were found in one of her lungs in December 2018, during a follow-up scan for broken ribs suffered in a recent fall, Justice Ginsburg had beaten colon cancer in 1999 and early-stage pancreatic cancer 10 years later. She received a coronary stent to clear a blocked artery in 2014.

Barely five feet tall and weighing 100 pounds, Justice Ginsburg drew comments for years on her fragile appearance. But she was tough, working out regularly with a trainer, who published a book about his famous client’s challenging exercise regime. » | Linda Greenhouse | Friday, September 18, 2020

Pete Buttigieg: Supreme Court Ruling Is a Big Step Forward

Former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg reacts to the Supreme Court decision prohibiting discrimination against gay and transgender people.

Fareed: Supreme Court Tumbles into Dysfunction

CNN's Fareed Zakaria says that the US Supreme Court was one of the last bastions in Washington that towered above the political fray, but following the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation battle, it is now part of the dysfunction that has overwhelmed almost the entire American system.

Why Lisa Murkowski Opposes Brett Kavanaugh | The Last Word | MSNBC

Lawrence looks at the markedly different standards Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins had for how they weighed their decisions on Brett Kavanaugh and why they ultimately decided the way they did. Maya Wiley, Jill Wine-Banks, and Lisa Graves discuss.

Jeffrey Toobin: Roe v. Wade Will Be Overturned

CNN's chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin gives his take on what effect Brett Kavanaugh will have on the Supreme Court now that he's secured enough votes for confirmation.

Is SC Nominee Brett Kavanaugh So Damaged He Can't Be A Fair Jurist? | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Hours ahead of a crucial vote on his confirmation, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a new WSJ opinion piece that he might have been 'too emotional' in his congressional testimony last week. The panel discusses.

Eve Ensler to White Women Supporting Kavanaugh: Stand with Survivors & Fight This Nomination

Opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is growing across the country as the Senate prepares to vote on his nomination, just one day after senators were given their first chance to see the FBI’s new investigation into Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s claims that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when she was a teenager. More than 300 protesters were arrested Thursday during a massive sit-in on Capitol Hill against Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by multiple women. The Senate is planning to hold a key procedural vote on his confirmation Friday morning. A final vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation is expected on Saturday. The decision rests on four senators who have not yet announced how they will vote: Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as well as Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. We speak with Eve Ensler, award-winning playwright and author of The Vagina Monologues. She is also the founder of V-Day, a movement to end violence against women and girls. She recently published “A Letter to White Women Who Support Brett Kavanaugh” in Time Magazine. She says to sexual assault survivors watching the Kavanaugh nomination unfold, “Your pain matters. Your experience matters. The trauma that you have faced matters. And there are many of us, many of us supporting you, loving you, holding you as you try to heal from this experience.”

Kellyanne Conway: I'm a Victim of Sexual Assault

Counselor to President Trump, Kellyanne Conway, tells CNN's Jake Tapper that she is a victim of sexual assault while discussing the testimonies of Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Analyzing Brett Kavanaugh’s Troubled Nomination

Larry and guests discuss Brett Kavanaugh’s troubled nomination to the US Supreme Court. Then, foreign affairs expert Joel Rubin on Donald Trump’s performance at the UN General Assembly.