Hi friends,
Some people get important work done with minimal fanfare and maximum efficiency. A stellar example is Elizabeth Warren, who kicked into high gear to successfully restore the FAA rule that guarantees automatic refunds when flights are canceled or significantly delayed.
It was Warren who engineered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its funding mechanism in the wake of the financial crisis. The CFPB is self-funded and doesn’t rely on Congressional appropriations. This funding structure was intended to insulate it from shifting political winds.
The CFPB’s funding mechanism was the subject of a case that reached the Supreme Court. The CFPB, which oversees payday lenders, credit card companies, and student loans, survived the legal challenge intact.
After the [7-2] decision came down, Warren hustled over to the Court steps and, summoning up all of her senatorial dignity, said, “Woo-Hoo!”
Pharmaceutical companies have reaped massive profits — often paying no taxes — while tens of millions of Americans have fallen into medical debt and many suffer premature deaths over the past decade because they couldn’t afford their meds.
Big Pharma has been reaping profit margins of 15 percent or more. The District Court ruling and the Biden Administration’s efforts to negotiate lower drug prices are welcome correctives.
The company behind the Williams Pipeline is no longer seeking an extension of its 2019 permit, which expired this month. The gas pipeline that would have stretched from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to the Rockaways was defeated by dogged activism to curtail the expansion of gas infrastructure.
Williams’ move to walk away from the federal extension is being viewed as a victory by the environmental community, which has already moved on to the next big pipeline fight.
Now, they are hoping to stop the Iroquois Pipeline Company from enhancing two New York based compressor stations along its route, which runs from Wadington on the border with Canada all the way to Dover near Connecticut. .
Tell Governor Hochul to retire the Iroquois Pipeline.
Many of us feel frustration with public perceptions that take hold without regard for the facts. Apparently, the fact that the Dobbs decision came during Biden’s Administration has confused even some Democratic voters about who is responsible.
A progressive coalition, United for Democracy, is focused on educating and activating voters
by reminding them of Donald Trump's role in assembling the court that overturned abortion rights.
The recent revelations about the Alito family’s upside-down flag and the old news that Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Thomas, was active in the planning for January 6 make it all the more important that the Supreme Court is a major consideration for voters.
More work is required to educate voters, and Jesse Wegman writes today that that work should fall to the Judiciary Committee, which could subpoena Justice Alito or even his wife.
[F]ederal recusal law is clear: “Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
In the Jan. 6 cases, recusal should not be a close call.
Tell Senator Durbin that the Judiciary Committee should take action to pressure Alito and ensure that the public understands the dangers of this Court.
Here’s a judicial win that hits very close to home. My own unglamorous work includes civic education and voter registration. A Florida law contains a provision to interfere with that work and the ACLU challenged it. Happily, a federal court permanently blocked the provision.
Keep on keepin’ on!
with love,
L