A VOCAB LESSON ON “CLOTURE” AND “NUCLEAR OPTION”
February 2, 2017
SIX MORE WEEKS
|Of Winter! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, predicting Spring will have to wait for now. So grab your hats and coats because the only thing we can cover for you are stories on the Supreme Court.
VOCAB LESSON
|Erin Kelly with USA Today explains why “cloture” and “nuclear option” are words you need to know with reference to DONALD TRUMP’S Supreme Court nominee, JUDGE NEIL GORSUCH. She provides a briefing on the battle ahead and the technical terms that will determine its outcome.
BUT HEY, THAT'S BUSINESS
|Nominee for Supreme Court justice, NEIL GORSUCH, has a history of cozying up to business interests in his time as a private lawyer. He often fought to curb securities class action lawsuits, which could certainly impact some of his thinking on the high court’s bench. Lawrence Hurley with Reuters reports.
NEVER SAY DI
|California Senators DIANNE FEINSTEIN and KAMALA HARRIS have some concerns about JUDGE GORSUCH. Senator Feinstein, the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee: “I’ve repeatedly stated that the next justice must have respect for precedent, be within the mainstream and protect the fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution.” But she’s concerned that the nominee will want to overturn Roe, something Trump had promised in a SCOTUS pick while on the campaign trail.
LIVIN' LIFE WITHOUT FEAR
|“On Wednesday morning, liberals woke up, did the math and realized it was time to be concerned about RUTH BADER GINSBURG’S fiber intake. Also bone density. Also exposure to airborne viruses (Madame Justice, what is your flu shot status?), and salmonella, and slippery ice, and also: Has anyone heard how scientists are coming along with a Zika vaccine?” Monica Hesse in The Washington Post reports on the hordes of people who want the Notorious RBG to remain in good health.
SPEAKING OF
|Yesterday, JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG returned to the Virginia Military Institute more than two decades after her majority decision opened the all-male bastion of the school to women. She told an audience of cadets Wednesday that she knew her ruling “would make VMI a better place.” Marcia Coyle with The National Law Journal reports.
LIE WITNESS NEWS
|Catch JIMMY KIMMEL’S latest segment of “Lie Witness News” in which he asks folks on the streets of Hollywood what they think of the new Supreme Court nominee, ROB KARDASHIAN. Apparently, there was a strong consensus among interviewees that Kourtney would have been a stronger choice
OTHER NEWS
Science and the US Supreme Court: The Cases to Watch in 2017
Scientific American“If Gorsuch is confirmed by the US Senate, the court’s ideological center would shift towards the conservative. Nature looks at the science-related cases that are already on the court’s agenda this year, and others that are likely to advance to the highest court in the land.”
What SCOTUS Nominee Neil Gorsuch's Past Rulings on Education Cases Could Mean on the High Court
The 74“This year could be a landmark one for education decisions by the high court with four school-related cases pending.”