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In today’s newsletter:

• The Alabama state Supreme Court makes a chilling ruling

• One school board wants the National Guard called in

• John Oliver makes a tempting offer to Clarence Thomas

• And some good news for people who hate gerrymandering

⏱️ Estimated read time: 4.8 minutes.

In first, Alabama Supreme Court declares frozen embryos are ‘unborn children’

Republicans’ war on women continues. In what’s being called a “chilling legal first,” the Alabama state Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos are children, and that those who destroy them can be held civilly liable. Critics fear the ruling could upend in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on it every year.

The case stems from an incident in 2020 when a patient at a fertility clinic in Mobile accidentally dropped and destroyed other couples’ frozen embryos. Those couples filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful death—and after working its way through the appeals system—the state’s highest court ruled such a case could proceed.

Defying both science and logic, the court ruled that the frozen embryos were “unborn children,” and thus protected by both state law and the state’s constitution. The justice writing the opinion even managed to inject toxic, fundamentalist theology into the court’s official ruling, writing, “even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing His glory.” So much for separation of church and state.

Reproductive rights groups fear the ruling could have ripple effects nationwide. Aside from jeopardizing IVF treatment options, the ruling could also have implications for contraceptives. The ruling came on the same day word leaked that Donald Trump secretly supports a nationwide 16-week ban on safe abortions. 

Meanwhile, corporate-sponsored Democrats seem more eager to use safe abortion healthcare as a “get out the vote” tactic than actually moving to protect women’s rights. Notably, they refused calls from Progressive Democrats to impeach at least two Supreme Court justices for lying under oath about overturning Roe. 

Violence at this school is so bad, the school board wants National Guard called in

Well, we’ve hit another new low in the “greatest country in the world.” Yesterday four members of the Brockton, Mass., school board asked their town’s mayor to request assistance from the U.S. National Guard to help control the violence at the town’s high school.

Brockton High School, which is about 40 minutes south of Boston, is one of the nation’s largest high schools, with close to 4,000 students. School board members say violence and drug abuse there is out of control. Earlier this month, teachers and students publicly demanded change after a fight video from the school went viral. In May, three students were hospitalized and five others arrested after a stabbing took place outside the school.  

School board members say enough is enough, and they want the National Guard brought in to restore order. Aside from increasing militarization in schools, critics say such a move would do absolutely nothing to address the root causes: income inequality and school funding. The median household income in Brockton, the first majority-Black city in New England, is $35k a year less than the rest of the county. Meanwhile, the average rent is $2,666 a month according to RentCafe—more than twice the national average.

That’s to say nothing of the immoral way we fund schools in the United States: property taxes. Nationwide, property taxes account for 36% of all school funding (in Massachusetts, they account for 51%!). Forbes says the U.S. is the only rich country where students from rich families get more education funding than students from low-income families. 

Nevertheless, the mayor has refused to make the request, so it’s unlikely the National Guard will actually be called in.

➡️ Question of the Day

To celebrate Presidents Day yesterday we asked who was the worst modern Republican President not named Donald Trump. In the interest of fairness, today we’re asking, who do you think is the worst modern Democratic President? Tell us why in the comments!

Yesterday’s Results: It started out close, but then the Gipper pulled ahead.

Mary voted for Reagan: “The tax changes under him have led to an underfunding of all programs and made sure the poor stayed poor.”

JCF agreed: “Ronald Reagan introduced more destructive capitalistic policies than the other two.”

But Dennis voted for Dubya: “Though Reagan is a close second (his inaction on AIDS, trickle down economics … ) Bush Jr. left us with the legacy of two unnecessary wars with both ending miserably for us and for them. Iraq is teetering on becoming an annex of Iran and Afghanistan is a horror show for its citizens.”

The experts weigh in: A new poll of historians that came out this past weekend ranked every president from best to worst—and no surprise here: Donald Trump came in dead last.

A million-dollar offer to Clarence Thomas: “Get the f*ck off the Supreme Court!”

Late night TV host John Oliver made a tempting offer to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, albeit one that he will almost certainly refuse: Oliver is offering him $1 million annually, plus a luxury motor coach worth $2.4 million—if the Republican judge resigns from the high court immediately. “Corrupt” Clarence Thomas has long history of accepting lavish gifts.

Meanwhile: In his second episode back behind The Daily Show desk, Jon Stewart ripped into Swanson chicken heir turned fascist fanboy Tucker Carlson last night.

🗞️ Also making news…

Here are some stories the algorithms may have kept out of your feed this week.

On Gaza…

• The U.S. is almost certain to veto an Arab-backed resolution calling for a ceasefire this morning at the United Nations that’s scheduled to be voted on at 10 a.m. ET.

• Instead, the U.S. is proposing a ‘temporary ceasefire.’

• Israel is vowing to invade Rafah by Ramadan, which begins March 10, if hostages are not freed.

• Meanwhile, a new report says 90% of children under the age of 2 in Gaza are facing severe food poverty.

On the climate crisis…

• Nearly the entire population of California is under flood alerts today as rain drenches the state. If you’re in LA, stay safe and stay off the roads (if you can).

• New research reveals lobbyists in New York state are ‘aiding and abetting’ the climate crisis (duh).

• Despite the ongoing crisis, the Biden administration is weighing delaying a policy that accelerates the move away from fossil fuels.

Also making news…

• In his first direct comment on Alexei Navalny’s death, Trump complained about his own legal woes—without condemning Putin.

• As Russia pushes forward, Ukrainian soldiers say U.S. aid delays have left them exposed.

• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange begins his final legal battle in the U.K. today to avoid extradition to the U.S.

• Capital One is buying Discover for $35 billion.

Good News: One of the country’s most gerrymandered maps gets redrawn.

After being firmly in control of a reactionary Republican party for more than a decade, Democrats in Wisconsin may now actually have a shot at retaking the state legislature. That’s because yesterday the state’s Democratic governor Tony Evers signed into law a new, more balanced map that was begrudgingly passed by state Republicans.

The AP says Republicans passed the new map to avoid having the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court redraw the lines. The old maps were considered some of the most gerrymandered in the country—and the new ones will be in place for November. See folks, change can happen!

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