Implosion of the Republic

Supreme Court Captured

It has generally been my policy to avoid overtly political commentary in these posts, but if you haven’t noticed, our Nation is currently in a particular set of extenuating circumstances. You need look no further than pretty much everywhere you are looking… but I am going to hone in on the Supreme Court.

While the overturning of Roe was a presaged train wreck, it seems not a day goes by where SCOTUS pulls some other nasty vampire-rabbit out of their hats. We learn that while the orthodoxy of the radical right screams for “state’s rights,” this is not the case when it conflicts with “gun rights” – and how New York’s completely reasonable concealed carry ordinance was struck down. It must have been mildly uncomfortable for the bought justices to ‘settle’ this in the dark shadow of some absolutely brutal firearms episodes. But they would soon have us distracted by the Roe decision.

This distraction also managed to obscure a couple of bizarre “Separation of Church and State” cases – involving our tax dollars going to private evangelical schools, and another case about people on the public payroll being allowed to evangelize at the schools where they are supposed to be teaching our kids.

Overturning Roe will negatively impact millions of women – and their families, and millions of their babies. I don’t believe I need to articulate this much. But the upcoming case that has me tied in knots is the “West Virginia v. The Environmental Protection Agency.” By the time you read this, it may have already been ‘settled’ – although it was already decided by the time the SCOTUS took it on.

Back in the Obama years, in attempts to slow down the continuing Climate Crisis, the Administration instructed the EPA to regulate greenhouse gasses emitted by coal-fired power plants. The statute was never put in place (and this is important) before some eight Coal Barons took the EPA to court under the premise that it violated the “Separation of Powers” clause enshrined in the Constitution.

To review: We have three branches of governance; The Legislative Branch, which makes the laws, the Judicial Branch, which interprets the laws, and the Executive Branch, which enforces the laws. The argument put forward by the Coal Barons is that the EPA, under the Executive Branch – is making laws, and thus violating the separation of powers clause.

But regulations are guidelines, not laws, and they can be arbitrated through Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and their spawn; “Incidental Harassment Authorizations,” “Incidental Take Permits,” and their equivalents in other accepted regulatory compromises should they “pose undue burden” on the applicant.

But the Supreme Court has decided to take this case on, even while the statute was never enacted, and the Plaintiffs can’t demonstrate harm. In normal times they would need to demonstrate harm to have a cause worthy of the highest court in the nation. That the Supreme Court agreed to take this on demonstrates how enthusiastic they are about the outcome…

So what will this mean for environmental regulations? You can expect that the EPA – already seriously eviscerated by former Director, Scott Pruitt, will be firmly nestled in the armpit of some Congressional oversight committee. Environmental regulations will be deliberated by politicians, not by scientists and experts conversant in environmental matters. The outcomes will not be driven by decisions reaching toward a healthier environment, rather they will be weighed against the “least economic harm.”

And as speculated with Roe, this will only be the first move. Should we not prevail in the next election, we can expect to see other regulatory agencies under NOAA, the Department of Interior, and the Department of Health and Human Services similarly eviscerated.

The overturning of Roe will impact millions of US citizens. The West Virginia v. the EPA will impact the entire planet.

Please get out the vote in November.