The Supremes: The Supreme Court and its right wing majority go back into session today facing a docket loaded with cases on affirmative action, voting, religion, and gay rights.

  The court in some of  its recent decisions has limited the powers of federal regulatory agencies, notably in the last term curtailing the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to fight climate change. Coming up are cases that challenge the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

  A side issue coming before the court this fall is that of  conflict of interest. The court is expected to handle a North Carolina lawsuit that would give state legislatures more power over the election process, and an Alabama case that could further weaken the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

  Among the justices hearing election cases will be Clarence Thomas, whose wife, Ginni, is a confirmed denier that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Ms. Thomas lobbied to have the election overturned, yet denies that she ever discussed it with her husband. “You cannot look at these cases objectively without acknowledging the fact that, taken together, they could determine whether or not the United States remains as the democracy we have come to love,” former Attorney General Eric Holder told Politico. So far, Justice Thomas has not recused himself.

  Supreme Court decisions have always angered the losing side, but generally over the years the opinions have aligned with the values of the majority of Americans. Not so in recent years.

  In a Gallup Poll taken in June, before the court overturned the right to abortion, only 25 percent of respondents said they had a high degree of confidence in the Supreme Court. 

  At this point, the Court’s majority appointed by Republicans, three of them by Donald Trump, are expected to vote aligned with party values. A NY Times editorial says, “Over the past several years, the court has been transformed into a judicial arm of the Republican Party,” and that, “the court has unmoored itself from both the Constitution it is sworn to protect and the American people it is privileged to serve.” 

The War Zone: Russian forces retreated and Ukrainian troops are now patrolling the streets of the ruined city of Lyman, a strategically important town in the Donbas region Russia claims to have annexed. The Russians described their defeat in Layman as a movement to  “more advantageous positions.” 

  The loss of Lyman threatens Russia’s hold on the entire region even as the Ukrainians also press to take back Kherson in the south. With bridges and supply lines cut, the Russian occupation of Kherson is shaky as well.

The Aftermath: Eighty-six people are confirmed dead after Hurricane Ian, most of them in Florida, as authorities continue to search the rubble for bodies and survivors. 

  Ft. Myers beach and other island communities are among the most devastated with thousands of homes and boats destroyed.

  Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending himself for not calling the evacuation order sooner, but thousands of people rode out the storm at home anyway. 

Trumped Up: Donald Trump ratcheted up the tension between himself and Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell with a social media post attacking McConnell’s support for “these Trillions of Dollars worth of Democrat sponsored Bills,” while also taking a racist swipe at the senator’s wife.

  “He has a DEATH WISH,” Trump posted Friday on his Truth Social platform, attacking McConnell for agreeing to fund the government through December. He also disparaged McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who was Trump’s Taiwan-born transportation secretary, calling her McConnell’s “China loving wife, Coco Chow!”

  McConnell, Chao, and Trump have a history. Chao resigned from the Trump administration shortly after the January 6^th insurrection and McConnell said the then-president was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.”

  Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former member of Trump’s press team, tweeted, “He’s not even trying to hide the racism at this point. Just despicable.”

Hard Knocks: The NFL Players Association fired the neurologist who approved of letting Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa keep playing after he hit his head in a game against the Buffalo Bills and came up wobbly on his feet.

  The neurologist had acted as an adviser to the Dolphins team doctor, but the team doctor has the final say on whether to put a player back in the game.

   Tagovailoa finished the Buffalo game then hit his head again four days later against the Bengals and was carted off the field.

  Firing the neurologist is a move to show that somebody actually cares about the players. Letting Tagovailoa keep playing after stumbling like a drunk, then letting him play again in less than a week, proves that just about everybody running the NFL has head injuries.

The Obit Page: Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who famously declined the Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando at the 1973 Academy Awards, has died at age 75. She had breast cancer.

  Only two weeks ago, Littlefeather was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where she spoke of her impending death saying, “I’m crossing over soon to the spirit world and you know, I’m not afraid to die.”

The Spin Rack:  Tesla sold a record 343,000 electric cars in the third quarter. That’s 42 percent more than the same quarter last year. — At least 125 people are reported to be dead after a stampede in a soccer stadium in the city of Malang, Indonesia. Angry fans rushed the field after their team lost, but the situation appeared to be further aggravated by the police response of firing teargas and beating people with batons. — Britain’s New Prime Minister Liz Truss has reversed plans to abolish the top income tax rate of 45 percent on high earners after the announcement of her tax cutting agenda roiled the financial markets and caused a drop in the value of the British pound.

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