Lawyers: Disgraced former president can’t post $464 million bond to appeal New York fraud case

Source: Axios

“Lawyers for former President Trump and his co-defendants said in a court filing on Monday it is ‘impossible’ for them to secure a $464 million bond to appeal New York’s fraud case against them. … Trump and his co-defendants were ordered to pay $464 million in damages and interest after being found liable for financial fraud. Trump is on the hook for $454 million of that amount. In New York, defendants in civil cases are required to post a bond worth at least 110% of the judgment amount in order delay paying the penalty as they appeal, so Trump’s appeal bond total is $464 million. Trump’s lawyers have asked an appeals court to delay the bond posting until his appeal of the case has run its court.” (03/18/24)

https://www.axios.com/2024/03/18/trump-new-york-fraud-case-appeal-bond

ACLU, Once a Defender of Free Speech, Goes After a Whistleblower

Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“Among the unfortunate changes of recent years has been the transformation of the American Civil Liberties Union from an advocate for free speech and other individual rights into just another progressive political organization. Historically, despite much pushback, the group defended the right of people from across the political spectrum to advocate and protest. But the organization has become unreliable on the issue; most recently in the very 21st century debate over gender identity, which sees the ACLU of Missouri targeting a whistleblower who is critical of medical transitions for minors. … Whether you agree with [Jamie] Reed or not, she’s a sincere advocate for a position on an issue that commands attention and has serious policy implications. … Reed is engaged in public debate of the sort that civil libertarians defend, so it’s bizarre to see the ACLU of Missouri putting the screws to her over her advocacy.” (03/18/24)

https://reason.com/2024/03/18/aclu-once-a-defender-of-free-speech-goes-after-a-whistleblower/

Haiti: Gangs unleash new attacks on upscale areas in capital, at least a dozen killed nearby

Source: Associated Press

“Gangs attacked two upscale neighborhoods in Haiti’s capital early Monday in a rampage that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas. Gunmen looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighborhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in violent gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on Feb. 29. An Associated Press photographer saw the bodies of at least 12 men strewn on the streets of Pétionville, located just below the mountainous communities of Laboule and Thomassin.” (03/18/24)

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-killed-gangs-laboule-thomassin-c1f4d1b367b15253cbd28ae9be886440

Now, “qualified immunity” fans justify jailing a forgetful grandmother

Source: Washington Post
by George F Will

“Law enforcement officials in Castle Hills, Tex., took no chances. To protect the safety of the small San Antonio suburb, they clapped the accused miscreant in jail and in irons: handcuffed to a metal bench, unable to stand up and stretch her 72-year-old legs. The grandmother in the orange jail shirt was accused of stealing — months earlier, and for only a few minutes — a petition that she had helped to instigate, and that a signer had submitted to the city council moments before the grandmother supposedly stole it. Next Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments as to whether Sylvia Gonzalez, represented by the indefatigable and infallible Institute for Justice, can sue the city officials who, she says, inflicted on her a retaliatory arrest as payback for her criticisms of the city government.” (03/18/24)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/18/supreme-court-qualified-immunity-texas-sylvia-gonzalez/

Report: Medication abortions rose in year after Dobbs decision

Source: NBC News

“Medication abortions rose in the year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to a report published Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports access to abortion. In 2023, the first full calendar year since the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, there were about 642,700 medication abortions, accounting for about 63% of all abortions in the country, up from 492,210 medication abortions, or 53%, in 2020, according to the report.” (03/19/24)

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/medication-abortions-rose-year-dobbs-decision-report-finds-rcna143874

NRA case shows the Supreme Court must stop informal censorship

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Abby Smith

“If the First Amendment stands for anything, it stands for the idea that a government official can’t go after you just because someone doesn’t like what you say. But that’s exactly what New York state officials did in NRA v. Vullo, a case to be argued before the US Supreme Court this term. … rather than duke it out with the NRA in the marketplace of ideas, the Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services Maria Vullo allegedly took a more pernicious approach: She used the power of her position to pressure insurance companies into refusing to insure the NRA because of its advocacy and its views, according to the NRA’s claims.” (03/18/24)

https://www.thefire.org/news/nra-case-shows-supreme-court-must-stop-informal-censorship

Israeli regime urges UN court to reject South African regime’s request for more emergency orders in genocide case

Source: SFGate

“Israel has urged the top U.N. court to reject the latest request by South Africa for interim orders to prevent starvation in Gaza as part of a case accusing Israel of breaching the Genocide Convention with its military offensive against Hamas. In a written response published Monday by the International Court of Justice, Israel said that claims by South Africa in its request filed earlier this month are ‘wholly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court itself.’ Israel’s response was published on the day that the U.N. food agency said that ‘famine is imminent’ in northern Gaza, where 70% of the remaining population is experiencing catastrophic hunger, and that a further escalation of the war could push around half of Gaza’s total population to the brink of starvation.” (03/18/24)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/israel-urges-un-court-to-reject-south-africa-s-19202538.php

Why does one unelected bureaucrat get to decide credit card fees?

Source: The Hill
by Thomas P Vartanian & William M Isaac

“Director Rohit Chopra and his Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) elevated politics over economics to give President Biden two applause lines in his State of the Union address this month as he took a victory lap for allegedly saving consumers $20 billion annually in credit card fees. In an obviously coordinated effort with the White House against what the president has popularly labeled ‘junk fees,’ the CFPB reduced the allowable cap on credit card late payment fees from $32 to $8. But don’t get fooled into thinking that you will save $24 each time you pay your credit card bill late, or that it is now easier to skip a payment altogether. … As more and more economic issues are politicized, it becomes increasingly dangerous to have large amounts of power in the hands of regulators who may succumb to the temptation to become political vigilantes.” (03/18/24)

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4535434-why-does-one-unelected-bureaucrat-get-to-decide-credit-card-fees/

Want Health And Sanity? You Can’t Trust Any Part Of This Dystopia

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“In a society where products are made to generate profit instead of wellbeing, you’ve got to be conscious and selective about what goes into you. In a society where news media and punditry are produced based on the kind of ratings they will draw and how well they defend the powerful, you’ve got to be conscious and selective about what kinds of news media and punditry you let into your mind. In a society where movies and shows are produced based on how much money they can make rather than how edifying and enriching they are, you’ve got to be conscious and selective about what movies and shows you let into your senses.” (03/18/24)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2024/03/18/you-cant-trust-any-part-of-this-dystopia-if-you-want-health-and-sanity/

Croatia: Top Court Rules That the President Can’t Run in the Parliamentary Election Unless He Quits

Source: US News & World Report

“Croatian’s president can’t run for prime minister, take part in the upcoming parliamentary election or campaign in favor of an opposition party unless he resigns immediately from his current post, according to a ruling on Monday from the country’s top court. President Zoran Milanovic on Friday called a parliamentary election for April 17, but hours later announced that he would run for Croatia’s next prime minister on the list of the opposition Social Democratic Party. The surprise announcement has triggered a deep political crisis in the European Union and NATO-member country, with the state’s constitutional court called in to give its opinion on Milanović’s move to run in the parliamentary election.” (03/18/24)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-03-18/croatias-top-court-rules-that-the-president-cant-run-in-the-parliamentary-election-unless-he-quits