#weekend reading

[longreads]

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

In this week's Top 5:

* Quiet, please (The New Yorker) * An ode to art (The New York Review of Books) * The value of vultures (The Washington Post) * The Big Ea(t)sy (Oxford American) * A marginal conversation (The Yale Review)

Learn why our editors are recommending these stories. 

[contemplatingoutlander]

Politicians in Robes: Part I

The Roberts Majority: Dictators Since Day One

The Supreme Court began another term this week. Most court watchers and other analysts have been reluctant to accept the truth of something I’ve long argued: that the Roberts Court is as agenda-driven as the House or Senate Republican caucuses. They have already put their thumbs on the scale in this election and are poised to intervene again if the results don’t suit them. 

We are at least a decade past the point when we should be convinced of what Abraham Lincoln stated in his first inaugural address: 

"The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon the vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by the decisions of the Supreme Court . . . the people will have ceased to be their own rulers.1 " [emphasis added]

[...] The interests behind the Federalist Society (FedSoc) – in particular the Kochs, Leonard Leo, and other plutocrats and theocrats – are the same interests who have spent the 21st century funding and organizing the MAGA takeover of the Republican Party. I’ve coined the portmanteau “plutotheocratic” as a compact way of describing this coalition of interests. (See the Appendix for a brief overview of the history and major players in the plutotheocratic coalition.)  The six FedSoc justices are properly understood not as “umpires” scrupulously “calling balls and strikes,” but as politicians in robes. However, it’s important to recognize what kinds of politicians we are dealing with. The FedSoc Six are first and foremost Federalist Society operatives. That means that they usually act in the interests of the Republican Party – except when the partisan agenda of the day conflicts with the long-term plutotheocratic agenda.  [...]

Creating a Death Spiral for Democracy 

For about 40 years, we saw a fairly predictable ebb and flow in the federal commitment to advancing greater freedom and equality and to constraining corporate threats to consumers, working people, and the environment. Under Republicans, this commitment would ebb; under Democrats, it would flow. But beginning in 2010 with the Citizens United decision, if not a bit earlier, Roberts’s agenda-driven majority turned that ebb and flow into a death spiral for American democracy. 

Decision after decision shifted more and more electoral power to the FedSoc Six’s plutotheocratic sponsors – who in turn used that power to take greater control of Red state governments and purge Republican congressional caucuses of RINOs – which in turn was used to place more and more Federalist Society true believers on the Federal bench, and eventually the Supreme Court. 

[See more excerpts below the cut.]

[...] The Supreme Court has, of course, made many rulings that overturned previous major precedents or led to significant social change. But consider:

Brown v. Board of Education - Earl Warren and the other eight justices joining him did not owe their positions to a cabal of civil rights activists who had contributed billions of dollars to law schools, foundations, think tanks and political campaigns.

Roe v. Wade - Harry Blackmun and the six justices joining him on Roe v. Wade did not owe their positions to a cabal of pro-choice activists who had contributed billions of dollars to law schools, foundations, think tanks and political campaigns. 

Gideon v. Wainwright - Hugo Black and the eight other justices joining him did not owe their positions to a cabal of indigent prison inmates who had contributed billions of dollars to law schools, foundations, think tanks and political campaigns.  

But the members of the Roberts majority do owe their positions to a cabal of plutocrats, who directly benefited from rulings like Citizens United and Loper Bright, and theocrats, who have a fierce ideological commitment to outcomes like Dobbs and Hobby Lobby, who together have contributed billions of dollars to law schools, foundations, think tanks and political campaigns. Again, per Lincoln, we have ceased to be our own rulers.

The Federalist Society literally planned and executed an unprecedented transfer of unchecked political power to their own loyalists.5 They brag about this in unguarded moments and in their “safe spaces.”

[bookishnotes]

One thing about me, I’ll read on the bus.

[tarotchariot]

Weekend message

This is for the weekend of Good Friday, or if you see this at another time can be a message directly for you as you see this.

Treasure chest

“An unforeseen windfall of new abundance comes to you now”

This card speaks of concerns about your financial well-being. It can highlight that you have been thinking about how you might rebalance your situation, or feeling the pinch somehow.

As I write this, I am hearing news about practical monetary deals being hindered by new policies - perhaps something has changed that might be worrying. But at the same time, it feels like you aren’t alone- it’s mentioned that people are speaking up.

For someone here there is a move that is coming up as a focus, whether it’s a house move, job move, I see something being wheeled around.

It’s being really brought through that there is support, there will be, even if right now it feels like there isn’t.

Be open to the idea that surprising and positive things can happen when you least expect it.

There looks to be some important information online that will possibly surprise you, as well as spirit trying to communicate with you this weekend.

Energetically speaking I see that perhaps we are hovering over something too much and need to give a concern a little space to allow things to happen. Like the saying goes - a watched pot never boils. And this can be literal as well, for example if you are cooking or baking this weekend, you may need to exercise a little patience.

Here are some notes from the guidebook for you to work best with the weekend:

Your prayers for financial support have been heard, and assistance is here for you now. It comes in wonderfully unexpected ways.

When you feel grateful before the demonstration occurs, it reveals your faith.

Affirm frequently:

“Thank you for all of the support, supply, abundance, and money that you bring me. I am grateful for these riches, which I use in divine ways to bring blessings to earth.

Have a great weekend and a happy Easter if you celebrate!

[relatablejoe]

✨ To let the light in, we first need to embrace the darkness. It’s in those shadowy corners that we discover our strength. 🌑✨ So let’s shine a little hope on those hidden places and watch the magic unfold! Remember, even the smallest light can brighten the darkest nights. 🌹💕

[knithacker]

I recently came across a new book called "The Wonder of Wool" by Justine Lee and Jess Morency (https://buff.ly/IOfnq47), and thought you might be interested too. It tells the story of Lee’s shift from the high-pressure fashion industry to a mission of reviving heritage British wool - she even knit samples from all 62 native sheep breeds to see which could make the best sustainable yarn. Along the way, the book digs into fashion’s environmental toll but also points toward a more hopeful path, showing how rare-breed wool could form the basis of a more ethical, lasting knitwear industry. Definitely one I’m adding to my list! 📚🐑

Order your copy: 👉 https://buff.ly/IOfnq47

[malevolentmoonlight]

On the Wings of Shekhinah: Rediscovering Judaism’s Divine Feminine, by Rabbi Leah Novick

Voices of the Matriarchs: Listening to the Prayers of Early Modern Jewish Women, by Chava Weissler

[aterimber]

Description: Neal does something stupid. What Peter can't figure out, is why.⁠ ⁠ Words: 710⁠ ⁠ Like the preview? Read the FULL story over on my Patreon! I post NEW short stories every 2 weeks!⁠