🇺🇸 Watching Wedding Websites

Good morning, and happy Friday. These are the headlines we love to see, check this out. A San Jose crane business flew a 1,800 square-foot American flag to honor a Vietnam vet.

Plus, is Tom Cruise back to save movie theaters once again?

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TRENDING

Left: July 4 Is All About America's Right of Revolution Eli Merritt, Los Angeles Times

Left: Help Protect U.S. Democracy Against the Right-Wing Margaret Sullivan, The Guardian

Left: Biden Can't Hide From the Media Forever Walter Shapiro, The New Republic

Right: Yes, Virginia, America Really Is a Good Country Charles Lipson, RealClearPolitics

Right: The Left Pursuing a Second American Revolutionary War David Samuels, UnHerd

Right: Can John Roberts Stave Off a Dem Assault on the Court? Jonathan Chait, NY Mag

QUICK CLICKS

Hatch Act and Hunter, Britney Spears Slapped, Nauta Pleads Not Guilty

World: Russian fighter jets harass American drone over Syria for second time in two days, US Air Force says (CNN)

US: Experts baffled by White House invoking Hatch Act to dodge Hunter Biden cocaine question (Fox News)

Health: 'Forever chemicals' could be in nearly half of US tap water, a federal study finds (NPR)

Entertainment: Britney Spears Slapped By Security After Attempting To Get Picture With NBA Star: Report (Daily Wire)

US: Trump valet Walt Nauta pleads not guilty in classified documents case (POLITICO)

World: Tourist who defaced Rome's Colosseum claims not to know it was ancient (USA Today)

US: Pills laced with fentanyl killed Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, Robert De Niro's grandson, mother says (CBS News)

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SCOTUS

Watching Wedding Websites

The Supreme Court issued several landmark rulings late last month, including a decision that upheld a website designer’s right to refuse to create same-sex wedding websites. The court held this decision is protected by the designer’s free speech rights, while the state of Colorado claimed the move violated its laws protecting LGBTQ+ individuals.

Reporting from the Left: Supreme Court limits LGBTQ protections with ruling in favor of Christian web designer Ariane de Vogue and Devan Cole, CNN

Reporting from the Right: Liberal theory trying to dismiss Supreme Court win for Christian graphic designer shot down by legal experts Kristine Parks, Fox News

From The Flag: Many on the left have decried the decision, arguing it puts gay and transgender individuals at risk and further highlights the conservative leaning of the nation’s highest court. But free speech advocates support it. Here’s more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Right Wing SCOTUS Keeps Rolling Back Rights

• This is a continuation of the Roberts’ Supreme Court using Free Speech as a trump card to advance its conservative agenda.

• Rights for LGBTQ+ people have been expanding for 20 years, but with one decision, SCOTUS swung things back.

• This was expected, but still jarring, as the court decided public accommodations do not actually need to be available to everyone.

The Roberts Court Has Turned the First Amendment Into a Wrecking Ball ‍Joseph Pace, Slate: "The First Amendment was once an indispensable tool for protecting the rights of the marginalized. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, subversive artists and anti-war dissidents invoked it to neutralize state efforts to muzzle their voices. Civil rights groups and unions used it to invalidate laws enacted to criminalize protest and intimidate activists. It’s no exaggeration to say that, without the shield the First Amendment provided, many progressive legislative endeavors would have been strangled in the cradle. The Roberts Court, however, has turned that shield into a wrecking ball, using the First Amendment to take aim at the very laws that were enacted to protect the vulnerable. 303 Creative v. Elanis... ignores the context—the tragic history and continuing discrimination—that necessitated Colorado’s law in the first place. And it adopts an absolutist, almost fetishistic view of First Amendment that turns 'free speech' into a trump card, real-world consequences be damned."

The Supreme Court Allows Discrimination Against LGBTQ People ‍Pema Levy, Mother Jones: "Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion for the court’s conservative justices... The court’s three Democratic-appointed justices dissented. (The designer) wants to create wedding websites for opposite-sex couples but not for same-sex couples—a form of economic discrimination that harkens back to the era before the civil rights movement. But under Colorado’s public accommodations law, services offered to some people must be offered to all. ... The court ruled that the web designer’s work is a form of artistic expression and that forcing her to create a website for a same-sex wedding is compelling speech in violation of her First Amendment rights. The ruling thus draws a huge loophole in civil rights law for businesses who claim that their product is a form of speech. It creates a new reality for LGBTQ people, who can now face discrimination from businesses... In some areas of the country, this might make it difficult to procure certain goods and services."

One more opinion piece from the Left: Supreme Court Marks End of Pride Month by Letting Shops ‘Express’ Disapproval for Gay People—By Not Serving Them ‍Lisa Needham, Balls & Strikes

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

It’s a Free Speech Issue, and the Court Got It Right

• After same-sex marriage was legalized, many were silenced if they believe in traditional marriage — this upheld their free speech rights.

• This was a more significant decision than the court striking down affirmative action, because free speech and expression are so vital.

• The court upheld a time-honored tradition of protecting speech, not based on its content, but because it’s our most basic liberty.

Same-Sex Marriage Doesn’t Trump the Right to Dissent Nicole Ault, Wall Street Journal Opinion: "When the Supreme Court held that the Constitution gives same-sex couples the right to marry, Justice Samuel Alito warned that the decision 'will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy.' ... he wrote: 'I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools.' Justice Alito’s fears were well-founded... But in 303 Creative v. Elenis... the court forcefully affirmed the freedom to dissent. ... Many similar cases are pending around the country, and the ruling ought to resolve them, in part because it affirms that speech is still protected by the First Amendment even when it is for sale."

303 Creative is a more important case than SFFA v Harvard David Strom, Hot Air: "As a practical matter, though, affirmative action affects fewer people than freedom of speech. ... So while the decision was a step forward on the road to race neutrality, most people won’t see much of a change in their lives. Not so for the 303 Creative case, although on its face it affects even fewer people. ... Obviously, few of us design websites for weddings, so what is the big deal? Only this: the Court was asked to decide whether any person could be forced to express ideas with which they disagree. Designing a custom website is a form of creative expression, in the same way that writing a song or creating artwork is. It literally is meant to celebrate something, and demanding somebody engage in the celebration of something of which they do not personally approve is essentially demanding they express ideas contrary to their moral principles."

One more opinion piece from the Right: Web designer's victory at Supreme Court is free speech win for all Kristen Waggoner Erin Hawley, Fox News Opinion

FLAG THIS

Fewer See Same-Sex Relations as “Morally Acceptable”

Polling conducted last month found 64% of respondents consider same-sex relationships to be “morally acceptable,” which is down from 71% in 2022.

That said, the number who accept gay relationships on moral grounds are significantly higher than in recent decades: in 2002, 38% considered them morally acceptable. By 2012 it had risen to 54%.

Republican respondents drove this year’s decrease, with 41% in approval, down from 56% a year ago (Gallup).

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Hoover Dam Construction Begins, Why Banks Want Your Salary, Summer’s Underrated Ingredient

On July 7, 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men would work ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures in the world.

Fast Company: How to deal with people who pretend to know more than they do

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Domino: This is Summer’s Most Unexpected, Underrated Ingredient

Today I learned that the migratory monarch butterfly known for its spectacular annual journey across the Americas was officially declared endangered in 2022.