"I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today. I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers. What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach." So said Joe Biden as he endorsed sweeping changes to the Supreme Court including: 18-year term limits, a binding and enforceable ethics code, and a constitutional amendment to prohibit the blanket immunity that the Court just offered to presidents. This stance is a change for Biden, but the Court changed first. During the Trump administration, we learned that the norms and unwritten rules of the past don't hold when someone is willing to flout them. From recusal refusal, to the acceptance of millions of dollars worth of gifts, to decisions that shock legal analysts, today's Supreme Court has flouted in a new era of minority rule. That said, Biden's proposals (for which Kamala Harris has declared her support) have little chance of moving forward. "Term limits and an ethics code are subject to congressional approval, and the Republican-controlled House is unlikely to support either. Both proposals would require 60 votes to pass the Senate, and Democrats only hold 51 seats in the upper chamber. Passing a constitutional amendment requires clearing even more hurdles, including two-thirds support of both chambers, or via a convention of two-thirds of the states, and then approval by three-fourths of state legislatures." Hence, these moves are as much political as anything. Just like today's Supreme Court. WaPo (Gift Article): Biden endorses Supreme Court reforms, amendment to limit immunity. 2Ven Diagram"Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which Maduro controls, claimed early Monday that he won 51 percent of the vote to opposition candidate Edmundo González’s 44 percent, despite independent exit polling and partial results that suggested González captured twice as many votes as Maduro." World leaders cast doubt on Maduro’s claim of victory in Venezuelan election. Once authoritarian-minded leaders take hold, they're difficult to uproot. 3The Mother Lode"When judged by almost any standard other than the revolutions caused by electricity or the internet, generative AI has already done extraordinary things, of course—advancing drug development, solving challenging math problems, generating stunning video clips. But exactly what uses of the technology can actually make money remains unclear. At present, AI is generally good at doing existing tasks—writing blog posts, coding, translating—faster and cheaper than humans can. But efficiency gains can provide only so much value, boosting the current economy but not creating a new one." There's no doubt AI is a big deal that will have a big impact on many industries. But can it live up to the unprecedented levels of investment? The Atlantic(Gift Article): Silicon Valley’s Trillion-Dollar Leap of Faith. 4We Didn't Start the Fire"In a nod to the Montgolfier brothers, the French pioneers of the hot air balloon whose first designs took flight in 1783," the Paris Olympic flame is out of the ordinary in a couple significant ways. First, it's airborne. Second, it's fueled by electricity. "The ring at the base of the balloon houses 40 LED lights which illuminate a cloud of water vapour produced by 200 high-pressure misting nozzles to give the flickering and smoke effect of real flames." 5Extra, ExtraNorthern Exposure: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation during a visit to the scene of a rocket strike that killed 12 young members of a minority Druze community in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights." Who are the Druze? The hit community is a reminder of how multicultural Israel is. It's also a reminder of how close the region is to an all-out war in the North. Dexter Filkins in The New Yorker, writing before the latest rocket attack: Will Hezbollah and Israel Go to War? 6Bottom of the News"Even if you sip Slurpees on the regular, you might be surprised to learn that 7-Eleven, despite being founded in Texas, is a Japanese-owned company." And the 7-Elevens in Japan are a hell of a lot nicer than the ones in America. Could the better version of the store be coming here? Japan-Style 7-Elevens Are Coming to America — and That Means a Vastly Improved Menu. (You could find an improved menu swimming in the Seine.) + Join the hundreds of fellow readers who have scored a Comma-La T-shirt or Hoodie.
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