04/07/23
Good morning! It’s Friday, April 7th.
Good Friday.
Ironically. (You’ll see why in a minute)
Also, National Beer Day.
Luckily. (Again, you’ll see why in a minute)
And now, the news.
Tennessee Three
-via NY Times
It’s a sad day in America. It’s a sad day for our democracy. And yet, in a very real way… it is nothing new.
The Tennessee state house voted on the possible expulsion of three state house reps who used their Constitutionally afforded right to peaceably protest and did so in service of their constituents who were asking them to help pass reasonable gun control.
The Tennessee Three is made up of two Black men, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, as well as a white woman, Gloria Johnson.
The resolutions for their expulsion were the same – breaking the rules of decorum in the House.
Now, no reasonable person believes that’s what this was about but still – that was technically what the vote was for.
And on Thursday, April 6th, 2023. Two Black men were expelled from the Tennessee State House, while the white woman kept her job by one vote.
There is no difference in their decorum. The difference is, of course, that the two Black men were, well, two Black men.
Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Do not let anyone even try.
And meanwhile, Tennessee has done nothing to actually help people. Lend me end this segment with a quote from protestors outside of the capital:
“You ban books. You ban drags. Kids are still in body bags.”
Reminder: Clarence Thomas is Bad, Actually
-via ProPublica
ProPublica has released a bombshell report alleging that Supreme Court Justice, and historic badman, Clarence Thomas accepted luxury trips from a Republican donor, including travel on private jets and superyachts, for more than two decades.
And here’s something fun… we actually don’t totally know if this is illegal or not. Because the Supreme Court doesn’t have an enforceable code of conduct.
Which uh… they should. They should consider one.
The donor in question, Harlan Crow, says it was just, you know… time with his bud. No biggie. And for sure no one, while they were all on a $500,000 9-day trip to Indonesia in 2019, was like – “Hey. Don’t forget that we stay hating justice, okay?”
And it’s not just big vacations (although a $500,000 vacation is, factually, wild). As you may remember from the Meadows Hour, Ginni Thomas, Clarence’s wife, was texting Marky Meads, to send thoughts and prayers in his insurrection because she believed the 2020 election was stolen. Well, turns out that Crow gave a Ginni Thomas-founded Tea Party group a ½ million dollars, and also paid her $120,000 salary.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, called the report “simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice on the Supreme Court,” and vowed that his panel would take action.
So, we’ll see. But the point is… it’s not the worst thing Justice Thomas has ever done. But it’s still bad. And we shouldn’t let Justice’s get away with this stuff.
It’s among many things they shouldn’t get away with. But it’s up there. They don’t have a code of conduct! Can you believe that!
Trans Athletes in West Virginia
Hey, here’s something that’s actually not terrible! If you can believe it!
The US Supreme Court on Thursday refused to intervene in an ongoing case that involves West Virginia's law attempting to ban transgender girls from participating in girls' sports teams at school.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented – of course.
This is surprising but good, actually. Always surprised when the Court does a good job.
On top of that, the Biden administration’s Department of Education announced a proposed change to Title 9, which would make it illegal for schools to broadly ban transgender students from sports teams that align with their gender identity, rather than their assigned sex at birth.
I’m sure this’ll go all the way to the Supreme Court, but conversatives are hateful and weird. But in the meantime… these are two good stories.
We’ve had a lot of fun here today (just kidding!) but before you head out into the weekend, I want to come back to Tennessee for a second.
Because history wasn’t made on Thursday. It was repeated.
Two Black men were expelled from Tennessee statehouse for a singular reason – because they were Black.
Because they were Black and refused to step back. To be silenced.
And I’m begging you, actually begging, to NOT stop talking about it.
Don’t waste anyone’s time by being surprised. Don’t embarrass yourself with surprise.
Get angry.
Stay angry.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Justin Jones. Justin Pearson.
We stay proud.
I’m proud of you.