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Michigan’s Already Got Roe on the Ballot Prime Badge
07.12.22 | 9:36 am

I wanted to follow up on Nicole Lafond’s post from yesterday afternoon. Subject to signature verification, a broad right to abortion and reproductive rights in the form of a state constitutional amendment will now appear on the ballot in Michigan in the November election. It seems very likely the referendum will win and essentially end the abortion issue in the state of Michigan going forward, excluding the possibility of a national abortion ban or Court ruling that might conceivably override the state constitution. One recent poll shows that 58% of Michigan residents oppose the Dobbs decision and 52% strongly oppose it. Only 34% support it.

Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool) Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
Durbin Not Buying Ridic Biden Deal For GOP Anti-Abortion Judge
INSIDE: Graham ... Viktor Orbán ... A Look At The Universe
07.12.22 | 8:11 am
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Beware Of The ‘Recent Monticello Visitor’
07.11.22 | 6:23 pm

Getting outraged over Fox News holds little allure these days, but occasionally the network will do something so quintessentially Fox News that you have to sit back and marvel at the layers of mendacity.

Today’s little Fox News gem was a segment on what a huge bummer it is to visit Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello these days, what with all the focus on slavery and what not at what was built as a slave plantation.

A bow-tied, bespectacled guest for the segment was billed hilariously in one chyron as a “recent Monticello visitor.” Turns out there’s a little more to the story.

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Where Things Stand: Abortion May Be Directly On The Ballot In Michigan This Fall Too
This is your TPM evening briefing.
07.11.22 | 6:15 pm

A group of pro-abortion activists in Michigan have succeeded in collecting close to double the signatures necessary to get a question on the ballot this fall that, if approved by voters, would codify abortion rights into the state constitution.

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Right-Wing Think Tank Family Research Council Is Now A Church In Eyes Of The IRS
The FRC, a staunch opponent of abortion and LGBTQ rights, joins a growing list of activist groups seeking church status, which allows organizations to shield themselves from financial scrutiny.
07.11.22 | 11:26 am
The Rule of Law Requires Constraining a Corrupted High Court Prime Badge
07.11.22 | 11:22 am

Late last week as we were discussing Roe, the corruption of the Court and various avenues to constrain that corruption, I got a series of emails from TPM Reader lawyers experiencing what amounts to a crisis of faith in the assumptions of their profession. They were remarkably similar. It was clear the debate had struck a very particular nerve.

So, for instance, TPM Reader SB wrote saying he entirely agrees with the need to codify Roe and if necessary take further steps to constrain the Court if they then strike down such a codification. But then he added this.