Tag: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dead At 87

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (public domain)
UPDATE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already announced “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a true American hero, has died at the age of 87. An announcement from the high court said the cause was complications from metastatic cancer of the pancreas. The statement added that Ginsburg died at her home in Washington surrounded by family. From NPR:

Architect of the legal fight for women’s rights in the 1970s, Ginsburg subsequently served 27 years on the nation’s highest court, becoming its most prominent member.

Her death will inevitably set in motion what promises to be a nasty and tumultuous political battle over who will succeed her, and it thrusts the Supreme Court vacancy into the spotlight of the presidential campaign.

Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

Sadly, Ginsburg’s passing gives Republicans a chance to possibly solidify the conservative-leaning of the high court to a 6-3 majority. In 2016, with nearly a year left in President Obama’s time in office, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to consider Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick B. Garland. Hours after Antonin Scalia died in February of 2016, McConnell said, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.” Democrats in the Senate, which votes to approve SCOTUS nominees, have almost no power to stop a simple majority vote on Ginsburg’s replacement.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Discharged From Hospital “Doing Well”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (via Flickr/CC license)
Whew! Thank you universe! Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital after being treated for a possible infection in her latest health scare. More from CNN:

“Justice Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital,” a Supreme Court spokeswoman said in a statement Wednesday. “She is home and doing well.” Ginsburg had been taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore early on Tuesday “after experiencing fever and chills,” spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg said.

“She underwent an endoscopic procedure at Johns Hopkins this afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August,” Arberg said on Tuesday, announcing Ginsburg’s hospitalization. “The Justice is resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment.”

Ginsburg’s quick discharge is the latest apparent dodge of a health scare for the 87-year-old justice, who has proven adept at continuing her job without interruption despite her health issues.

We need to wrap the Notorious RBG in bubble wrap and keep her safe. Not only do we need her sanity come the fall court season, but you know if the unspeakable were to happen, the Donald would be thrilled to nominate another far-right, uber-conservative nominee to the court.

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News Round-Up: December 17, 2019 (You’ll Never Guess The Cover Guy)

L-R Josh Rimer and Heath Busse (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • The Gaily Grind: After hottie Josh Rimer, travel blogger and Mr. Gay Canada 2019, shared that he and his fiancé Heath Busse were turned away by the Sheraton Hotel in Puerto Vallarta for their upcoming wedding, Hilton reached out: “We’ll gladly host your wedding ceremony and feast for FREE for you and your 45 guests at Hilton Puerto Vallarta!” • Miss Manners: A ‘committed Biblical believer’ wrote to an advice columnist asking for help after a ‘presumptuous’ gay relative mentioned bringing his boo to a family holiday dinner. Miss Manners had the perfect response. • Military Times: A new survey shows some 50 percent of troops said they had an unfavorable view of him. By comparison, just a few weeks after his electoral victory in November 2016, 46 percent of troops surveyed had a positive view of the businessman-turned-politician, and 37 percent had a negative opinion. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg• The Hill: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday responded to Donald Trump’s suggestion that the Supreme Court could stop the impeachment process, saying “the president is not a lawyer.” The Constitution states that the U.S. House of Representatives “shall have the sole Power of Impeachment” and the Senate “shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.” • Yahoo News: Outgoing Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin commuted the sentence of a man who had been convicted of decapitating a woman and disposing of her body in a 55-gallon barrel. Since his November defeat to Democrat Andy Beshear, Bevin has issued 428 pardons, many of them controversial. • NBC News: Rick Gates, the former deputy campaign manager for Donald Trump and ex-business partner of Paul Manafort, was sentenced to three years probation and 45 days in jail on Tuesday after he cooperated extensively (more than 500 hours) with federal investigators. • Transformation: Comedic actor Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, HBO’s Silicone Valley) adds “thirst trap” to his resume. Sharing that he never thought he’d be “one of those people” who post shirtless pics, he told his Instagram followers he found out a year ago he was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and “decided I wanted to transform how I looked.” He adds that he’d have never been able to achieve his new fitness on his own crediting a full year with “the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time.”

 

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I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long so here we are. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked. I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time. So big thanks to @grantrobertsfit who started working with me at the beginning of the year and made me understand true physical pain for months and months. Then, once we started shooting, a massive thanks to @davidhigginslondon and his team (@ellispartridge, @thebeardypt, @tomcheesemanfitness) for training me almost every day and making me strong, limber and injury free. I can almost touch my toes now. (And thank you for forcing me to do cheat meals David.) Matthews Street Catering for their delicious and healthy meals. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordon for putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year. I promise I’ll be interesting again some day. #thirstyshirtless (Photo by @markupson.) (edit: I left off one very important person: @lancecallahan who trained me for 6 years and helped me build the foundation I could use to do this. Thank you!)

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Declared Cancer-Free

The ‘notorious’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been declared cancer-free by her doctors and is recovering well from her recent surgery, according to a Supreme Court spokesman.

From The New York Times:

“Her recovery from surgery is on track,” the spokeswoman, Kathleen Arberg, said in a statement. “Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required.”

Justice Ginsburg, 85, underwent surgery in late December to remove two nodules from her left lung. She missed this week’s arguments, and will be absent from the bench next week, too, Ms. Arberg said.

“Justice Ginsburg will continue to work from home next week and will participate in the consideration and decision of the cases on the basis of the briefs and the transcripts of oral arguments,” Ms. Arberg said.

Earlier this week, Politico reported aides to Donald Trump were “reaching out to political allies and conservative activist groups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s possible death or departure from the Supreme Court.”

But our girl is just fine, folks. No worries.

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Supreme Court Declines To Block Trump’s Asylum Ban

Donald Trump’s week just got that much worse as the Supreme Court has refused to reinstate Donald Trump’s asylum ban while a government appeal is pending.

From The New York Times:

The court was closely divided, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining the four-member liberal wing in turning down the administration’s request for a stay of a trial judge’s order blocking the program.

The court’s brief order gave no reasons for its action. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh said they would have granted the stay.

In a proclamation issued on Nov. 9, President Trump barred migrants from applying for asylum unless they made the request at a legal checkpoint. Only those applying at a port of entry would be eligible, Mr. Trump said, invoking what he said were his national security powers to protect the nation’s borders.

Lower courts blocked the initiative, ruling that a federal law plainly allowed asylum applications from people who had entered the country unlawfully.

“Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States,” the relevant federal statute says, may apply for asylum — “whether or not at a designated port of arrival.”

In related news, NPR is reporting that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery Friday for early stage lung cancer.

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital in New York performed a lobectomy, removing one of the five lobes of the lung.

Short of complications in recovery, doctors say prospects look good for a full recovery for Ginsburg, 85. She hopes to be back on the court for the start of the next argument session in early January.

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Falls, Fractures Ribs

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The New York Times reports that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell in her office last night and fractured three ribs.

The 85-year-old Justice is hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital for treatment and observation.

The tough gal broke two ribs in 2012 and didn’t miss a day of work at the high court.

The next sitting of SCOTUS begins November 26.

I’ll be happy to donate a rib if it will help her (and keep her on the high court for two more years).