It’s been a newsworthy week. We went from heralding backup Gators quarterback Treon Harris’ commandeering of a clutch win against Tennessee to vetting details of his sexual assault investigation. Wearily, we’re happy to bring you a We-hope-the-investigation-is-carried-out-fairly-and-hopefully-this-is-the-last-time-a-Gator-is-accused-of-sexual-assault edition of...
Darts & Laurels
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is known primarily for two things: his extreme conservatism — though he might prefer the term “judicial restraint” — and his tendency to make bizarre and controversial statements about the Constitution. Scalia struck again this week when, during a speech at Colorado Christian University, he asserted that the U.S. government can “favor religion over non-religion.” Perhaps someone should direct Scalia to Article 6 of the Constitution, which forbids any “religious test” for public office. There’s also that pesky First Amendment, which makes sure Congress passes no law law favoring religion. We’re giving a have-you-ever-even-read-the-Constitution? DART to Antonin Scalia.
The news out of the Supreme Court wasn’t all bad this week. On Monday, the nation’s highest court declined to hear appeals of cases from the state level that declared marriage equality bans unconstitutional. By letting these rulings stand, the Supreme Court indirectly legalized marriage equality in five states: Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. This series of events brings the total number of states with legalized marriage equality to 24 — plus the District of Columbia. That number could increase to as much as 30 as the implications of the Court’s decision take effect at the state level. Despite howls from conservatives like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, about the Supreme Court’s “judicial activism” — pretty strange considering the Court actually opted not to do anything — this week’s events are a clear sign that nationally legalized gay marriage is a question of when, not if. A spread-the-love-around LAUREL to the Supreme Court.
Warren Buffett, the world’s third-richest man, is known far and wide as the “Oracle of Omaha” for his prowess in picking stocks. Unfortunately, Buffett made an unusually significant error during a speech at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit. During his speech, Buffett joked that when his first wife lost her credit card, he “made no attempt to get it back because the guy was spending less than she was.” Buffett’s quip alluded to stereotypes of women as mindless spenders that have long since been debunked. Buffett’s comment may have been in jest, but it was still in poor taste, particularly coming at a summit meant to honor financially successful women. An it’s-not-the-1950s-anymore DART to Warren Buffett.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott prides himself on being anti-abortion. Of course, what that really means is that he works tirelessly to restrain the reproductive health care choices of Florida’s women as much as possible. Now, a new radio ad from the Evangelical Environmental Network is using Scott’s language against him by framing climate change as a religious and moral issue. A voiceover in the ad states: “I do believe we should do all we can to protect our environment. It was given to us by God.” The ad cleverly points out the hypocrisy of many pro-life conservatives, including Scott, who often only seem to care about “life” until the moment it leaves the womb. A show-them-what-anti-abortion-really-means LAUREL to the Evangelical Environmental Network.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 10/10/2014]
