Dear friends,
Happy New Year!
I love to take a long view AND I find it increasingly difficult to remember what happened a few weeks ago. I don’t think this a cognitive problem, but the cumulative effects of the pandemic and the relentless news cycle — what I like to call too-muchness. So, I rely on others for annual round-ups of everything.
Tomorrow, I will report on the products of Kathy Hochul’s gubernatorial cram session in the last days of 2022. Today, I will rely on other folks to report.
For better or worse, we have to pay close attention to the courts and the people who are appointed to them, especially because federal judges get lifetime appointments. This is on our docket today and you will be hearing more soon.
Lifetime appointments and a non-binding code of ethics give the judicial branch too much power. It's time for reform!
Read more about the proposed Judiciary Act and sign the letter to your Congressional representative. This quick action is from Demand Justice.
Biden’s 97 confirmed judicial appointments have been among his considerable achievements. Seung Min Kim and Colleen Long provided the following analysis.
Biden has outpaced the last two presidents in their first two years and he has done more than anyone to make the federal bench more representative of the American people.
Three out of every four judges tapped by Biden and confirmed by the Senate in the past two years were women. About two-thirds were people of color. The Biden list includes 11 Black women to the powerful circuit courts, more than those installed under all previous presidents combined. There were also 11 former public defenders named to the circuit courts, also more than all of Biden’s predecessors combined.
If you haven’t heard Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during oral arguments yet, take in an episode of Strict Scrutiny. You will be enormously proud to have voted for the president who appointed her.
Heather Cox Richardson wrote a thoughtful summation of a year that ended with more promise than it began.
Erin in the Morning, who is new to me, recounts the year’s progress for trans rights, without ignoring the larger context of anti-trans rhetoric, violence, and legislation.
Finally, I really enjoyed Michael Thomas’s distillation of the year’s top climate stories. Although we followed many of these stories and took action on a number of them, there is something satisfying about seeing them all in one place.
Have a great day!
with love,
L