Biden's Supreme Shift

Plus, tiny truck driver.

July 31, 2024

The Flag

Good morning and Happy Wednesday! Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:

  • US: New acting Secret Service director, FBI official face Senate questions on Trump assassination attempt (Fox News)

  • World: Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro in disputed election (AP)

  • Business: Google parent Alphabet’s partnership with AI firm Anthropic under investigation in the UK (CNBC)

  • Technology: Meta is rolling out its AI Studio in the U.S. for creators to build AI chatbots (TechCrunch)

  • Sports: Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson help Team USA dominate Japan in women's hoops (NBC News)

And of course, some good news: 4-Year-Old Boy with Cystic Fibrosis Gets to Live Out His Dream and Become a Garbage Truck Driver.

POWERED BY THE FREEPORT SOCIETY

It doesn’t matter who you voted for in past elections or will vote for in 2024. Our country is undergoing profound changes driven by a powerful force that many don’t fully understand.

Elon Musk has called it his “biggest fear,” and a leading research firm predicts it could bring 300 years of change in just two years. This shift will transform daily life—from work and travel to how we manage our finances.

While the changes may seem alarming at first, those who are prepared can seize new opportunities. To learn more about these developments and how to get ready, click here.

Left: Harris' Eric Holder Problem, Robert Kuttner, American Prospect

Left: Did the Early 1990s Break American Politics?, David Klion, The Nation

Right: Can Harris' VP Pick Save the Democrats?, Aaron Flanigan, AMAC

Right: Turley Exposes NewsGuard: Again Proving It's a Powerful Scam, Margot Cleveland, The Federalist

SUPREME COURT

Biden’s Supreme Shift

Today’s Top Story: On Monday, President Joe Biden called for Supreme Court reforms that he says will ensure accountability and restore the public trust in the court.

Reporting from the Left: Biden calls for major Supreme Court reforms, including term limits, at Civil Rights Act event Monday (CNN)

Reporting from the Right: Biden, Harris call for Supreme Court term limits, code of conduct, limits on presidential immunity (Fox News)

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Time for Change Has Arrived

The Top Argument From The Left: My plan to reform the Supreme Court and ensure no president is above the law, Joe Biden, The Washington Post: “This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. … What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach. … we have had term limits for presidents for nearly 75 years. We should have the same for Supreme Court justices. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court. Term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity. That would make timing for court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary. It would reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come. I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court. … I’m [also] calling for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. This is common sense. The court’s current voluntary ethics code is weak and self-enforced. Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt.”

Honorable Mention #1: Why Joe Biden Couldn’t Hold Back on Supreme Court Reform Any Longer, Sherrilyn Ifill, Slate.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

A Good Idea From Biden

The Top Argument From The Right: Yes, President Biden Has One Good Idea, John Fund, National Review: “No doubt, several of Biden’s proposals will be rooted in his displeasure with the Court’s recent rulings on federal abortion rights, affirmative action in higher education, and gun regulations. But a term-limit rule — that would grandfather in current justices — is a reform that wouldn’t have any near-term effect on the composition of the Court. The idea has drawn support from across the political spectrum. … Our Founding Fathers did not limit the service of Supreme Court justices in order to ensure their independence. But that’s a relic of a time when the average life expectancy was 38. Today, it is more than twice that. It’s a good thing that modern medicine is extending everyone’s life, but the time has come to remove the incentives that make justices serve until they drop dead or go the way of Joe Biden. … Returning our courts to their proper place in our constitutional framework is a tall order and one that wouldn’t be accomplished merely by abandoning life tenure for Supreme Court justices. But the idea is a sensible step, enjoys support from both conservative and liberal legal scholars, and just might give Congress the opportunity to prove to the American people that it’s still capable of bipartisan action.

Honorable Mention #1: How Biden’s Supreme Court reform push might play on the campaign trail, Haisten Willis, Washington Examiner.

Honorable Mention #2: Biden Wants To Destroy The Supreme Court So It Can’t Curb Government Power-Mongers, Hans. A. Von Spakovsky, The Federalist.

FLAG THIS

Majority Support Term Limits

A poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies surveyed 1,500 eligible voters regarding term limits for Supreme Court justices. The results showed that 58% supported term limits, while 13% opposed them. Among 2020 Biden voters, 69% were in favor, with only 6% against.

Notably, among 2020 Trump voters, a majority (54%) also supported term limits, with 20% opposing them. Regarding lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court, 40% of respondents opposed them, while 30% supported them (Newsweek).

Do you support term limits for Supreme Court Justices?

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WATERCOOLER

Lunar Photographer, Freebies, Competitive Blueprints

On This Day in 1964, Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, takes the first close-up images of the moon—4,308 in total—before it impacts the lunar surface northwest of the Sea of Clouds. The images were 1,000 times as clear as anything ever seen through earth-bound telescopes.

POWERED BY THE FREEPORT SOCIETY

It doesn’t matter who you voted for in past elections or will vote for in 2024. Our country is undergoing profound changes driven by a powerful force that many don’t fully understand.

Elon Musk has called it his “biggest fear,” and a leading research firm predicts it could bring 300 years of change in just two years. This shift will transform daily life—from work and travel to how we manage our finances.

While the changes may seem alarming at first, those who are prepared can seize new opportunities. To learn more about these developments and how to get ready, click here.

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