Today is Thursday, June 30, 2022. Today Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first Black woman Justice. She replaces Associate Justice Stephen Breyer after his retirement took effect at noon. She joins a Supreme Court that has lost legitimacy for many millions of Americans who have lost faith in the body after two recent decisions last week that has spurred outrage: the overturning of New York’s concealed carry law that now makes it much easier to carry firearms in public and the gutting of Roe v. Wade just last Saturday. On a podcast today featuring Jon Stewart and writers for the show Tocarra Mallard and Kris Acimovic, Stewart, who is no stranger to controversy, said that the Supreme Court and Fox News have a lot in common. He then went on a rant as to why the current court is not “fair and balanced.” Stewart then called the Supreme Court the “Fox News of justice.” Stewart excoriated the “ridiculous kabuki theater” of justice confirmation when anyone being considered for the high bench can just go out and lie to no repercussions. He slammed the court for lacking consistency, where now states can’t regulate the carrying of guns but can definitely regulate a woman’s womb.

The irrational bent of the present Supreme Court dealt a major blow to climate action by handcuffing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s ability to regulate planet-warming emissions from the country’s power plants, just as scientists warn the world is running out of time to get the climate crisis under control. This ruling was covered in an online article by Ella Nilsen for CNN entitled “How the Supreme Court ruling will gut the EPA’s ability to fight the climate crisis.”

The insane decision is a major loss for the Biden administration’s climate goals, as it calls into question the future of federal-level climate action and puts even more pressure on Congress to act to reduce emissions. Now environmental lawyers are digesting the court’s opinion and determining how the agency could act on climate change going forward. One critic of the ruling has said that EPA’s authority is constrained by the ruling in its ability to regulate the power sector. Other sectors of the economy, however, say, transportation or industrial emissions are not affected by the opinion.

The EPA will now have to consider what action it can take within the confines of the ruling. Two other pathways are carbon capture and sequestration that could be considered by the agency. This method of attacking planet-warming emissions is where the carbon is scrubbed out of power plant emissions before it enters the atmosphere. It’s an expensive technology and scientists have warned that it’s not on its own a significant enough solution to power plant emissions.

The Biden administration must now craft a regulation for power plant emissions that will fit within the confines of the Supreme Court’s opinion. This will probably not be so easy then. In my opinion, this new ruling just highlights the worsening partisanship that is now being practiced by a conservative-leaning court. All of these recent rulings are unpopular and go against what anyone would deem rational and acceptable for a large swath of the population. What is the solution to this horrible arc toward injustice being practiced by today’s Justices on the Supreme Court?

More evidence of the former president’s moblike character have emerged today in the online article by Kasie Hunt, Ryan Nobles, and Zachary Cohen entitled “Hutchinson was 1 of the witnesses Trump world sought to influence, sources say.” Thus this article sheds light as to why the House select committee decided to have a surprise hearing so quickly on Tuesday since it was Cassidy Hutchinson, the aide to Mark Meadows, who was the leading witness at the proceeding, who admitted that she was one of those witnesses who was contacted by somebody attempting to influence her testimony, three sources familiar with the hearing presentation told CNN.

During the dramatic hearing, it was the committee’s vice chairwoman, GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who said that the panel had heard from people connected to former president Donald Dumpf’s world who may have been trying to intimidate them. As we now know, Hutchinson was one of those witnesses. To me, and to anyone with a brain, this kind of reaching out to witnesses who intend to testify before this committee smack of witness tampering and should be prosecuted immediately. Cheney read some of the statements that were directed to possible witnesses, which, as we have learned, include Cassidy Hutchinson herself. Is the Department of Justice now listening? When asked about these allegations of witness intimidation or influence, Cheney said, “It’s very serious. It really goes to the heart of our legal system. And it’s something the committee will certainly be reviewing.” Everyone should be revulsed by these new allegations being lobbed against the former president himself or his henchmen.

It’s getting late here. Elliot and I spent the early part of the evening watching the conclusion to Under the Banner of Heaven, the Hulu series starring Andrew Garfield and Sam Worthington in a twisty, in-depth examination of extremists – and murderers – operating within the Mormon religion. Tonight we watched the last episode, which was about 90 minutes or so. It was very tense and satisfying. The book was written by Jon Krakauer and it’s one of the creepiest books anyone has written in a long time. Krakauer’s examination of the details of the Mormon establishment is rife with sublime insights into those areas of the religion that are inexplicable to the rest of us, especially with its emphasis on polygamy and the subservience of women. The series covers the probe of a double murder that eventually leads to two brothers well known in the Mormon community who insist they were commanded by God to kill two innocent victims, the wife of one of the other brothers and the wife’s daughter. Andrew Garfield plays the Mormon detective, Jeb Pyre, assigned to the case and is very convincing as a man of the law confronting extremism in his own faith. His nonbelieving, atheistic partner is played by Gil Birmingham as Native American Bill Taba, who provides a nice contrast to Pyre’s religious commitment. One detriment of the series was the backstory that managed to be very confusing, as the origins of Mormonism are presented as the current investigation continues its relentless arc toward the apprehension of the perpetrators. So if you have Hulu and are in the mood for a new series to watch, here is one to consider.

Have a good Friday. Tomorrow marks July 1, which is so incredible to me. Half of the year is now over. Wasn’t it only New Year’s Eve 2022 a little while ago?

Stay safe and be well.