07/25/25

Good morning! It’s Friday, July 15th.

National Talk in an Elevator Day

This is my favorite thing to do, to the point that none of my friends like being in an elevator with me anymore because they know, once those doors close, if someone’s in there with us, I really want to make it a moment.

I’m trying to create a memory for people! I’m not going to apologize for any of it!

And now, the news.

France to Recognize Gaza

-via AP News, The Hill, and Axios

Starting with big news out of France – France’s President, in the middle of a firestorm of controversy over his huge lawsuit with Candace Owens (lol imagine him caring about that) announced on Thursday that France will recognize Palestine as a state, a decision that will be formalized at the UN General Assembly in September.

France is not the first to do this, more than 140 other countries have done this, including more than a dozen in Europe, but it is the largest and more powerful.

The decision comes as Gaza’s food crisis has reached new, tragic, levels, with the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency saying that one in five children is malnourished, with the Commissioner-General citing a colleague telling him: “People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s president insisted the country was providing humanitarian aid “according to international law.” Failing to note, however, that just last week troops shot and killed Palestinians as they were to go get some of that aid. Not sure where that fits in with international law.

France’s announcement was in direct contrast to Thursday’s other headline – Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, announced the Trump administration is leaving the ceasefire talks, blaming Hamas for failing to engage in good faith efforts.

A spokesperson for the officer of Netanyahu spoke with reporters on Wednesday, the day before this announcement, and noted: “President Trump has come up with an innovative plan for the future of Gaza.”

As you may recall – his plan was an AI video of turning Gaza into Trump casino and kicking Palestinians out of the place they have called home for generations.

Confusingly, the State Department wouldn’t say if the US is fully pulling out of its roll in negotiating the ceasefire.

Trump v Powell

-via CNN

On Thursday, Trump took a to the headquarters of the Federal Reserve headquarters, which is in the middle of a renovation that I’m sure we were all definitely aware of before this moment.

And it was… tense. I watched the videos. Super tense. And I’m a child of divorce!

I’m sure it was nice for Trump to meet Jerome Powell though – the man he, himself, appointed to the position but just last week he said he was surprised that Biden appointed him. (And no one corrected him!)

The point of the visit was really just for Trump to again pressure Powell to lower interest rates, this time in front of his face, in response to a reporter’s question.

This was the first visit for Trump, and the first visit by any president since 2006 – because Presidents typically trying to avoid looking like they’re interfering in anyway with the Fed’s independence.

But not Trump! He’s not like the other presidents. He came here to eat overcooked McDonalds, do fasiscm and interfere with the independence of the Fed. And guess what… he’s all out of overcooked McDonalds.

SCOTUS v VRA

-via AP News

On Thursday, the Supremes, who are on summer vacation but still take on little bebe cases and rulings, blocked a lower-court ruling out of North Dakota in a redistricting dispute, noting in the order that the lower-court ruling is blocked for now but reminded us that they have two huge voting rights cases on the docket for next term and oh boy does my tum tum hurt even just thinking about it.

So brace yourself for some Voting Rights Act lectures that will come early next year when those cases are argued, and then likely again in the summer when they’re decided.

But let’s do a little baby one now!

First, this specific ruling stems from a 2023 case which argued that, in the state, a legislative map was drawn to split (or crack) two large Native American communities into multiple districts, therefore diluting their power.

They sued a new map was drawn to put two reservations, which are 60 miles apart, in the same district.

Following that redistricting, three Native Americans, all Democrats, were elected in the state with a Republican-supermajority – previously mathematically impossible.

However… this past May the Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled that only the Department of Justice (you know, the one that Pam Boni runs. The one that’s like who even was Jeffrey Epstein, if you really think about it) can bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Section 2 of the VRA prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in one of the language minority groups listed in another part of the VRA. Later it added that you also couldn’t discriminate against voters who need assistance while voting.

So this lower court ruled that private individuals or groups, like the ACLU, can’t sue under this section. You, as a voter, no longer have a voice in this. The Department of Justice does, but you do not.

On Thursday, the Supremes granted an emergency stay, so for now – individuals and groups can sue under section two.

But… they will take that case up next year.

Justices Historical Badman Thomas, Aleako, and Gorsuch all dissented from the stay. So they will vote it down next year.

This is a major one.

The other major one was on the docket this past term, but the kicked it down the street to next term, and that’s a Louisiana redistricting case stemming from a suit that was brought because although Black residents make up nearly one-third of the population of Louisiana, there is only one majority-Black congressional district. Out of six.

There are four ways to gerrymander a legislative map. In North Dakota they cracked it. Here, they’re packing it.

The Louisiana legislature established a 2nd Black-majority district, which was signed into law by the governor. A group of non-Black voters sued under the 14th Amendment saying, get this… that this was racial gerrymandering!

Part of the 14th says “No state shall... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” and that is called the Equal Protection Clause.

In this case, the Supreme Court interpreted it to prohibit states from doing racial gerrymandering unless the plan passes strict scrutiny which is a vibe and also the highest level of judicial review, which requires a two-part test, in which the government must prove a compelling government interest and that the law is narrowly tailored.

Strict scrutiny is very hard to pass.

This case made it all the way up to the Supreme Court but was punted, with the Justices requesting to rehear it next year. In the meantime, the two-district court remains in effect.

Historical Badman Justice Thomas dissented the delay.

This case has serious consequences and, like the other case, could limit the reach of the Voting Rights Act which the Roberts Court has done at nearly every single turn, starting with Shelby v Holder. Which is why I will never trust Chief Justice Roberts and, in all honestly, probably have a stomachache for the next 11 months as we wait for these decisions to be handed down.

And I know that was a lot of information and I know sometimes on a Friday I like to do a little bit of a fun Friday show but please, I am begging you, please believe me when I say this… this is absolutely my idea of a fun Friday.

(Also, speaking of Strict Scrutiny – it’s not only a vibe and a legal term, it’s also a great podcast about the Supreme Court and one of the hosts, Leah Litman, just put out a book called “Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes” which I got and highly recommend)

Here’s This Cat

-via AP News

And finally… I can’t do another Epstein story. I just can’t.

In New Zealand there’s a cat, this is real, on a crimewave! He’s fifteen months old and he steals clothes off laundry lines – but, like, fancy clothes. A $181 cashmere sweater. Silk boxers.

But not all fancy clothes. One day he came home with a 5-foot-long stuffed snake.

5 feet! That’s 1 and ½ inches shy of a Kim! Because as we all know, I’m 5 1 ½ the same height as America’s sweetheart Rachel Bilson

His owner now runs a facebook group to try and return the items to the victims of this literal catburglar.

The cat’s name?

Are you ready for this?

Leonardo da Pinchy

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of Leonardo da Pinchy.

He has a passion! Good for him!

All cats really. Especially Councilwoman Ruth Meowser Stanton. Who has a passion for being the world’s best.

But more than general thievery… because you’ve stolen my heart and I know I’m never getting it back… I’m proud of you.