Source: Washington Post
by Ruth Marcus
“Justice Amy Coney Barrett is turning out to be the most intriguing — and to some extent, surprising — of the nine Supreme Court justices. Now in her fourth term on the bench, Barrett is certainly no liberal. As expected, she voted to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion. That was not a one-off; Barrett has also joined majorities to dramatically expand gun rights, limit affirmative action and curtail the power of regulatory agencies. Nor is she in danger of disappointing conservatives in the mode of a Harry A. Blackmun, John Paul Stevens or David Souter …. Still, benchmarking Barrett against her conservative colleagues — and against expectations at the time she was confirmed — she has been what passes for a pleasant surprise since being named to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020.” (05/01/24)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/01/amy-coney-barrett-handmaid-justice-conservative/
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Okay, yes, police are currently in the process of violently stomping out political dissent on university campuses across America following multiple statements from President Biden attacking the protesters as ‘antisemitic’ for opposing the genocide he’s been enthusiastically facilitating in Gaza. And okay, fine, bands of right wing thugs are currently going around terrorizing students who don’t align with the US government’s support for the state of Israel. But before any of my fellow liberals get any wild ideas about ceasing their support for Biden during an election year just because of a little tyranny and genocide, I think it’s important to remind everyone that all this fascism would feel way more fascisty if Trump was president.” (05/01/24)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2024/05/01/remember-all-this-fascism-would-feel-way-more-fascismy-under-trump/
Source: New York Post
“Disgraced former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein appeared haggard and was handcuffed to his wheelchair at a Manhattan criminal courthouse Wednesday, his first time in public since New York’s highest appeals court overturned the sex crimes conviction against him. Wearing a smart blue suit and tie with a US flag pin, the ex movie mogul was wheeled by a court officer into the room. During a brief hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court a new judge assigned to the case, Justice Curtis Farber, took the first steps toward setting a new date for the 72-year-old ‘Pulp Fiction’ producer to face a re-trial in the Empire State. Manhattan District Attorney’s Alvin Bragg looked on from the front row as prosecutors in his office told Farber they could be ready as soon as September to try the case for a second time.” (05/01/24)
https://nypost.com/2024/05/01/us-news/harvey-weinstein-makes-first-court-appearance-since-acquittal/
Source: Niskanen Center
“Does the Biden economy have bad election timing or an unfair fed?” (05/01/24)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/does-the-biden-economy-have-bad-election-timing-or-an-unfair-fed/
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Alexander Langlois
“Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which in recent weeks spread to direct military exchanges with Iran, Biden administration officials remain convinced they can achieve a broader Middle East peace through an Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization deal which would entail a U.S. security guarantee for Saudi Arabia. Indeed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, said that a U.S.-Saudi security pact is nearing completion. However, Washington should reject this lopsided strategy as it works against U.S. interests and is not practical.” (05/01/24)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-saudi-arabia/
Source: CNBC
“Just ahead of its blowout first-quarter earnings report on April 25, Google laid off at least 200 employees from its ‘Core’ teams, in a reorganization that will include moving some roles to India and Mexico, CNBC has learned. The Core unit is responsible for building the technical foundation behind the company’s flagship products and for protecting users’ online safety, according to Google’s website. Core teams include key technical units from information technology, its Python developer team, technical infrastructure, security foundation, app platforms, core developers, and various engineering roles. At least 50 of the positions eliminated were in engineering at the company’s offices in Sunnyvale, California, filings show. Many Core teams will hire corresponding roles in Mexico and India, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC.” (05/01/24)
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/01/google-cuts-hundreds-of-core-workers-moves-jobs-to-india-mexico.html
Source: The Atlantic
by Russell Berman
“A Republican does not become speaker of the House for the job security. Each of the past four GOP speakers — John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, and Mike Johnson — faced the ever-present threat of defenestration at the hands of conservative hard-liners. The axe fell on McCarthy in October, and it has hovered above his successor, Johnson, from the moment he was sworn in. That is, until yesterday. In an unusual statement, the leaders of the Democratic opposition emerged from a party meeting to declare that they would rescue Johnson if the speaker’s main Republican enemy at the moment, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, forced a vote to oust him.” (05/01/24)
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/05/mike-johnson-democrats-marjorie-taylor-greene/678248/
Source: The Pamphleteer
by David Hunt
“A few weeks ago, the mayor’s office announced that the protracted, often contentious discussion over LPRs would continue: three more community conversations about the technology would take place before Metro began final negotiations with data vendors. The meetings, which took place last week, were sparsely attended. … Though the pilot program was successful — MNPD attributed the arrests of 112 criminals over the course of seven months to the LPRs — concerns about potential privacy violations remained. Over the years, immigration advocates, libertarians, and those worried about the technology’s impact on minority communities coalesced on one side, arguing against the growing surveillance state and its potential to be abused by agencies such as ICE.” (05/01/24)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/reading-the-license-plates/
Source: The Hill
“Briahna Joy Gray and Robby Soave look back at the last 24 hours of the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University and the lead up to its dismantling.” (05/01/24)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/4636140-rising-may-1-2024/
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The Guardian reports that the Saudis are looking to make a separate deal with the U.S. in which Washington gives them everything they want in exchange for nothing: ‘All three parts of the draft deal involve the US giving vital strategic assistance to Saudi security. In place of progress towards Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Saudi monarchy is presenting a purely bilateral deal as a US win in its efforts to contain Iranian expansionism and in Washington’s ‘great-power competition,’ particularly with China.’ This ‘less for less’ agreement is no better for the U.S. than one that also involves Israel.” (05/01/24)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/just-say-no-to-the-saudis-plan-b
