Mr. Bear says we need an open thread. Who am I to argue?
Supreme Court Oral Arguments at 10 am – Does Idaho’s Need to Control Women Trump the Existing Law that Guarantees EMTALA
Should women with pregnancy emergencies in Idaho be left to die rather than receive life-saving emergency treatment?
Should a state law be able to trump a federal law? (which goes against a very basic legal principle)
That’s really the issue that is in front of the Not-So-Supreme Court today.
First off: EMTALA stands for Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
The Biden administration argues that EMTALA – which requires emergency rooms that participate in Medicare to provide “necessary stabilizing treatment” – supersedes an Idaho law that makes it a crime to provide an abortion except in a handful of narrow circumstances, including to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.
We talked about EMTALA earlier this week:
I am not a lawyer, but I am a woman, and as far as I can tell, Idaho’s position is fuck yeah, let the women die.
An audio feed of oral arguments is live-streamed on the Court’s website, and the Court posts the audiolater in the day. On the afternoon of each argument, the Court posts transcripts of that day’s arguments.
On The Road – arrieve – Saudi Arabia, part 2
arrieve
The second day in Jeddah I took a walking tour of Al Balad, the old town of Jeddah. It became a thriving port in the 7th century, and because it is less than 50 miles from Mecca, Al Balad was, and Jeddah is, a gateway city for pilgrims. The 650 buildings in the district—now a UNESCO World Heritage site—mostly date from the 19th century; many were built from blocks of coral carved out of the nearby Red Sea, with distinctive wooden balconies called rawasheen.
The tour was a little haphazard but this was so much more interesting than all the jewelry stores and construction sites on the previous day.
On The Road – arrieve – Saudi Arabia, part 2Post + Comments (17)
Many of the buildings are dilapidated and some are in danger of collapsing, as the steep cost of upkeep led to many of the families leaving for the newer, more modern living options in Jeddah’s suburbs. The Ministry of Culture has now financed a full restoration project, and the streets were full of construction crews when we were there.
Many of the architectural details in Al Balad are this bright blue, or a slightly more subdued green.
Tuesday Late Night Open Thread
I tried to find this on YouTube with no luck. This is Trae Crowder at his best.
ON DAVID PECKER AND THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER AND ALL THAT pic.twitter.com/230FG0Iam7
— Trae Crowder (@traecrowder) April 23, 2024
Open thread.
Meanwhile, in the Senate… They Are Getting it Done!
The Senate is voting right now to limit debate. It needs 60 votes to pass, and we are way past that, but apparently everyone has the opportunity to vote even if the threshold has been reached.
McConnell had a press conference scheduled for 2:30, which was moved back to 2:45.
Link to McConnell. (spit)
McConnell leads off his press conference by saying there were no DEMOCRATIC “no” votes on aid to Ukraine, and he expects that to be true in the Senate as well.
But of course, from there, McConnell leads off with what a terrible mistake it was for Biden to leave Afghanistan! WTF?
McConnell seems to be blaming the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Biden because we left Afghanistan.
On the plus side, McConnell is blaming Tucker Carlson for supporting Putin, so there’s that!
Update: Leader Schumer speaking right now. If you choose “start at the beginning’ go to 4 hrs : 49 minutes to see Schumer’s announcement that this has essentially passed! But waiting for the final vote either tonight or tomorrow. But the outcome is clear.
Link to the Senate sesion and Chuck Schumer (Schumer starts around 4;49)
The Senate on Tuesday advanced the House-passed supplemental funding package to provide long-awaited aid to Ukraine, Israel and other allies, teeing up the legislation for final passage.
Senators voted 80-19 to limit debate on the $95 billion foreign aid package, which includes $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid, $8 billion for Taiwan, and a smorgasbord of national security items that includes a possible ban on TikTok.
“The time has come to finish the job to help our friends abroad once and for all,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday morning on the floor. “I ask my colleagues to join together to pass the supplemental today as expeditiously as possible, send our friends abroad the aid they have long been waiting for. Let us not delay this. Let us not prolong this.”
“Let us not keep our friends around the world waiting for a moment longer,” he added.
A final vote could take place as early as Tuesday night if both parties yield back enough of the 30 hours required between cloture and final passage. If no time is yielded back, a final passage vote would be set for Wednesday night.
Senators are continuing to work toward a possible amendment agreement to speed up a final vote on the four-bill package, but those talks hit a snag over the weekend.
Meanwhile, in the Senate… They Are Getting it Done!Post + Comments (192)
Trump’s NY Criminal Trial, Day 6
It’s Day 2 of the actual trial! Day 6, if you include jury selection.
Best sources of live blogging that I have found.
Josh Kovensky at TPM – Live Blogging
*Mark Sumner at Daily Kos – Live Blogging
Tyler McBrien at Lawfare – Live Blogging on Twitter
*Mark Sumner at Daily Kos includes live blogging of the contempt hearing that started at 9 am.
Emotional support pup and kitty for the occasion.
On The Road – arrieve – Saudi Arabia, part 1
arrieve
I submitted several sets of pictures of my trip through the Suez Canal on New Year’s Eve a few weeks ago. The next few sets cover our stops in two Saudi Red Sea ports, Jeddah and Yanbu, before ending the cruise in Aqaba, Jordan. Fortunately, the Red Sea, at least where we were, was calm, although rumor had it that we were being guarded by one or more ships while we sailed.
I had never been to Saudi Arabia, and had never particularly wanted to go there. And I doubt I will ever go back, but I am glad I saw a little of this very strange, but interesting, country.
Our first day in Jeddah I had signed up for an excursion to a desert city called Hegra, built by the same people who built Petra. It was expensive because you had to fly there, but the pictures I saw online were fascinating and I figured, When am I ever going to be in Saudi Arabia again? Unfortunately, but maybe not unsurprisingly, not enough people signed up and it was cancelled. So I found myself taking a last-minute tour of Jeddah’s corniche and shopping district that did turn out to be interesting, though not perhaps in the way the tour guides intended.
On The Road – arrieve – Saudi Arabia, part 1Post + Comments (27)
After a long drive past a lot of construction sites and a fence behind which we were assured was a Formula One track, we arrived at the corniche, where the main attraction appeared to be this giant sign. I like that I captured one of the locals inside the first “D”.