Melissa and Mark Hortman served their community in many ways, including training dogs to be service animals for people in need. WCCO's Marielle Mohs spoke with the volunteer group and a veteran who has benefited from their efforts.
Family dog killed in shooting: Melissa Hortman’s impact with Helping Paws
The Hortmans worked with local nonprofit, Helping Paws, to help train service dogs for veterans. FOX 9's Maury Glover has more.
SCOTUS Denies Gender Affirming Care to Transgender People, Live with E. Jean Carroll, and MoreA recording from Joyce Vance's live videoIf you joined us today at noon, you know E. Jean Carroll and I managed to discuss a wide range of topics. We discussed Trump lawyer Alina Habba’s courtroom performance (E. Jean gave her a higher grade than most journalists and explained why), Trump’s misidentification of a photo of E. Jean as his second wife Marla Maples, and what she plans on doing with the $88.3 million Trump owes her when she gets it. E. Jean is a national treasure, and her new book Not My Type is a really good read. It’s smart, it’s fearless like she is, and it’s somehow the best of political commentary without feeling overbearing. Also, in case you need the reminder, this is the woman who beat Trump in court when others failed, not once, but twice. Right now, we need to hear from people who can inspire us, because much of the news is bad. If you missed us live, you can watch the video above. Interested in some frivolous distraction tonight? I’m trying to put together a playlist to listen to while I’m editing my book and I’d appreciate your suggestions! I wrote the book to a heavy diet of Taylor Swift; I couldn’t have done it without her. There are a lot of other artists included, too. I’m grateful for all of the music, but it’s time for me to retire that beloved playlist and put together a new one, and I’d love to have your help. This morning, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Skrmetti, the challenge to Tennessee’s restrictive law on gender affirming care for transgender minors. This one was more or less a foregone conclusion. The Supreme Court was not going to tell states they couldn’t deny transgender kids access to the care they needed. The Court held that the Tennessee law that restricted access to puberty blockers or hormone therapy, treatments that are available to cisgender people who need them for medical reasons, does not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Instead of a higher level of scrutiny, the state need only articulate a rational basis for its law in order for it to survive constitutional scrutiny. Of course, the impact of this decision isn’t limited to Tennessee. The Court has given other states inclined to deny access to treatment to transgender youth, and perhaps even adults, the roadmap for doing so. The decision was a 6-3 split along ideological lines. More to come from the Supreme Court on Friday. There are sixteen cases still pending, as well as cases like the birthright citizenship/nationwide injunction matter on the shadow docket. If you’re concerned about the future of medical research in this country after the Trump cuts, read this piece from Birmingham, Alabama, doctor Mike Saag, an infectious disease specialist involved in treating COVID patients. If you’re not concerned, it’s even more important that you read it. “Most critically, young scientists, many of whom have just completed their training, will find it difficult to impossible to secure funding to support their new careers in a funding environment that awards fewer than one in 30 grant applications. These scientists – who represent our future strength and national dominance in scientific research - will have no choice but to abandon a career in science and will need to find work in other fields that likely will do so much less for our country and our state.” Saag says we’ll all be affected as medical care begins to suffer from a decrease in supply of doctors and innovative treatments that never come online because the programs that supported their development got axed. If today’s Substack Live conversation with E. Jean Carroll felt like the kind of community you want to be part of—engaged, informed, and committed to democracy—I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps sustain this space and everything we build together here at Civil Discourse. We’re in this together, Joyce
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Does the Supreme Court Exist to Protect White Straight Supremacy?A reflection on Juneteenth
Friends, The Supreme Court recent unanimous ruling in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services hasn’t got nearly the attention it deserves. On the surface, the ruling seems innocent enough. The Court merely decided that white and straight employees who allege they’ve been discriminated against don't need to meet a higher standard of proof than do Black or LGBTQ+ employees who sue for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. (Prior to this ruling, some courts had required that white or straight employees demonstrate not only that they were discriminated against but they also worked in a discriminatory environment.) The Court’s decision in Ames appears a logical extension of the 2023 ruling by its six conservative justices ending race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities across the country. But seen against Trump’s bigoted agenda and the widening discrepancies between the political power of Black or LGBTQ+ people relative to the power of white straight people, the Ames case should trouble everyone. Trump and his lackeys have argued that discrimination against white and straight Americans occurs under the cover of diversity, equity and inclusion. And Trump has gone to great lengths to undo what it calls “illegal D.E.I.” — ousting diversity officials from federal agencies and removing D.E.I. references from government websites. The Ames ruling could be the death knell for D.E.I. because it makes it easier for white and straight people to argue that a D.E.I. policy at the workplace caused an employer to discriminate against them. The Supreme Court I got to know in the 1970s when I worked in the Solicitor General’s office understood its responsibility to balance the scales of justice in favor of the powerless — including Black people, women, and gay people. That Court understood that as majoritarian institutions, Congress and the executive branch could not always be counted on to reflect the needs of people with far less political power than straight white men. Hence, they assumed that one of the Court’s essential roles in our system of self government — indeed, the core of its moral authority — was to give extra weight to the challenges or aspirations of such minorities. Even Nixon’s appointees—Harry Blackmun, Lewis Powell, and Warren Burger—seemed to understand this important counter-balancing role. Blackmun wrote the Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, and Powell and Burger joined him (as did four Democratic appointees to the Court—William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, William Brennan, and Potter Stewart). Douglas, Marshall, and Blackmun were the intellectual leaders of that Supreme Court. Their opinions gave the Court its moral heft. They drew not only from the Constitution as written but also from their understanding of how the nation had evolved, and of the distribution of power. Like an earlier Supreme Court that unanimously decided in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka that separate schooling for Black and white children was inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional, the Supreme Court I argued before understood that America must rely on the Court to protect the rights of the voiceless and the powerless. Today’s Supreme Court majority doesn’t have a clue about the court’s moral authority or its essential role in counter-balancing a distribution of power disadvantaging Black or LGBTQ+ people. The Republican appointees to today’s Supreme Court are political hacks intent on entrenching the power of the already powerful. Five were nominated by presidents who lost the popular vote; three were nominated by a president who instigated a coup against the United States and were confirmed because a rogue Republican Party mounted scorched-earth campaigns to put them on the Court. The current Supreme Court has no interest in counter-balancing the majoritarian tendencies of Congress and the President. To the contrary, as demonstrated by the Ames decision, today’s Court is at best the third majoritarian branch of government. On Juneteenth — the day we commemorate the end of slavery in the United States — it is well to ponder that there is no longer any branch of government dedicated to protecting the life chances of those with less political power due to their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or sexual orientation. This is deeply unfortunate. |
Juneteenth EditionIt’s Thursday. There are 502 days until the midterm elections. The pro-lifers want to kill a bunch of kids, Jerome gets real and a word about Juneteenth in Trumpland.Be advised: This newsletter uses profanity. It’s the only way we can talk about that idiot and his fucking flagpoles. Note: Oh, Sexy Patriots, this is a fun one. Our favorite couch-fucking, ass-kissing bitch-weasel vice president joined Bluesky yesterday. He did it so he could troll decent people over the Supreme Court’s cruel and shitty anti-trans decision yesterday. So why is that fun? Because it further reveals what a pathetic fucking loser this guy is. We are on the precipice of yet another goddamn war in the Middle East and Justa Totaldickhead (JD) Vance is pulling his pud and playing on his phone trying to piss us off? Ha! Someone should tell Jansport Dumpbreath (JD) we’re already pissed off. We get that he thought he would get our goats and upset us, but we really just feel sorry for him. Well not really because he’s a total piece of shit, but still, this is embarrassing behavior for the Vice President of the United States. Hell it’s embarrassing behavior for any adult, but doesn’t this weird motherfucker have a job? And how stupid does a person have to be to get kicked out of THIS situation room? Was there furniture in there Trump doesn’t want stained? Anyway, if you’re on Bluesky and you like it like we do, our suggestion is to act like the plastic that comes on a couch and just block that weird dick. If this is how he’s spending his time, then he’s already lost. Y’all have a blessed day. Except for Jiggly Dudebreasts (JD) Vance. He can eat shit. More: The Hill Note two: Let’s check in with ol’ Elon Leon and see how he’s doing and oh shit. We’re not doctors, but we seriously recommend that NOBODY let this man put a chip in their brains. BREAKING: SpaceX Starship explodes during static fire test  Thu, 19 Jun 2025 04:10:03 GMT View on BlueskyNote three: We know that looks bad, but surely we can take some comfort in the knowledge that the freak with all the space contracts has been posting pictures of drug tests he allegedly passed. Don’t you feel better? More: The Independent Note four: Huffington Post is reporting that Democrats aren't sure what to say about Iran. Our suggestion? NO NEW FUCKING WARS!!! More: HuffPost Note five: Flavor Flav gets it. Wish this dude was our president. Let’s stop the wars and I mean ALL of them,,, it’s horrible and I hate what’s going on! This is not what unity is all about!! Thu, 19 Jun 2025 06:52:19 GMT View on BlueskyNote six: The Albany Times Union has more guts than the NYT apparently. They’re straight up telling their readers not to vote for Cuomo. Nice to see a newspaper that isn’t Fox News in print. More: Times Union Note seven: We’ve been impressed with Mamdani’s campaign, but he messed up big time. Sometimes you need to just say you fucked up and you’re sorry. More: Jewish Telegraphic Agency Note eight: We’ve already said enough about the stupid flagpole shit, but we did want to share this story about scumbag asking the workers if they were undocumented. No, bro, you’re thinking of Trump properties. More: HuffPost Note nine: We know a lot of people are hating, but we’ve actually really enjoyed these NBA finals. Y’all think OKC will close it out tonight? Note 10: And while we’re talking sports, the other day we said we were excited to see Shohei Ohtani pitch for the Dodgers. And that was true. But we also should have taken that moment to talk about how disappointed we’ve been that a team with such a massive Hispanic fanbase has been quiet on what ICE is doing in L.A. Other than Kike Hernandez speaking up, the team has been shamefully silent. A new report this morning said the team is going to announce a plan to help the immigrants being hurt by ICE. This is a welcome and long overdue step. More: FOX LA, KTLA Note 11: We’re dying to know how this dumb motherfucker thinks the Declaration of Independence relates to the Civil War. Trump: "The Civil War -- it always seemed to me maybe that could've been solved without losing 600,000 plus people."  Wed, 18 Jun 2025 19:21:10 GMT View on BlueskyNote 12: We’ve been bummed about Senate Democrats voting for that crypto bullshit, so it was really nice to see them giving Hegseth hell yesterday. We especially enjoyed watching Elissa Slotkin tell Hegseth that he didn’t have the “guts and balls” of his predecessor. More of this, please. More: The Hill Note 13: Tim Kaine says he regrets his vote for Kristi Noem and that she’s disappointed him. We like Kaine but come on, bro. Did he think the puppy-kiling was just a quirk? More: NBC News Note 14: We’ve had so much bad and scary news about the FDA and the war on good drugs, but here’s a REALLY encouraging story. A twice-a-year shot that almost totally prevents HIV has been approved by regulators. We’re shocked and relieved the brainworm butthead didn’t fuck this up, and we’d bet he still will. More: Associated Press Note 15: The Republican talking point on going to war with Iran is that Trump should be able to do whatever he wants and we should just trust him. It makes sense. After all, when has he ever been wrong about… oh right. BARTIROMO: How would you like to see the US respond to Iran? JONI ERNST: Well, this will be entirely up to the president ... whatever that call is that is made by President Donald Trump, I will be supportive of  Thu, 19 Jun 2025 12:21:45 GMT View on BlueskyNote 16: President Obama warned this week that we’re damn close to an autocracy. We can debate whether we are already there or not, but we can’t debate how sick the burn was about his inauguration crowd being bigger. More: The Hill Note 17: We hate Tucker Carlson so much and we really hate him for making us laugh so hard as Ted Cruz keeps saying “you called me a sleazy feline.” These two deserve each other. More: The Independent Note 18: Trump took down Hillary Clinton’s portrait to put up a fugly meme of himself. Remember when the White House wasn’t a tacky shithole? More: Raw Story Note 19: Today’s Happy Ending is an easy one — it’s been 19 years since Taylor Swift debuted. We love you Tay Tay! And thanks for always backing democracy and decent people! Note 20: And on that melodic note, let’s go do some news! We sure hope y’all are hanging in there this week. At least you didn’t have to join a social media network where everyone hates you just to feel something. Love y’all! We love you Tell ‘em, Jerome A tough one to celebrate Today’s clips U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers meet next week, but their agenda suggests they’ll skip some expected topics — including a vote on Covid shots — while taking up a longtime target of anti-vaccine groups. More: NBC News President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again ripped a reporter to their face, this time after they dared to bring into question the idea that his supporters are completely and utterly behind every move he makes. More: HuffPost President Donald Trump lashed out at Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire in a Thursday morning Truth Social tirade that saw him declare that “MAGA HATES FoxNews.” More: Mediaite The latest from Adam |
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