There are a bunch of cases coming before the Supremes of which I find three in particular to be very interesting on their merits. Of course, I have opinions on them.
First up is Jouppi v. Alaska:
In 2012 a pilot named Kenneth Jouppi contracted to fly a passenger from Fairbanks to Beaver, Alaska, which happened to be a dry town. Unknown to Jouppi (or so he claimed), the passenger packed several cases of beer, which were found during a search by Alaska State Troopers. The passenger pled guilty and paid a fine for bootlegging, but Jouppi pled not guilty, and after a jury trial he was found guilty, and Alaska seized his $95,000 Cessna 206.
For transporting a few cases of beer?!?!?!
Now after 14 years, Jouppi is 85 years old and retired, and the case is headed to Chief Justice John Roberts and his band of not so merry men and women.
If you ask me, Alaska ought to be forced to hand Jouppi back his Cessna forthwith, and everyone connected with seizing it ought to be thrown into the pokey.
Say, did I ever tell you about our dog named Pokey?
Oh, but that’s another story, never mind.
Next up, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy:
Here’s the background according to Wikipedia:
In 2020, Colorado voters approved Proposition EE to establish universal preschool which was codified by the Early Childhood Act. The act created the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. Under a “mixed delivery system”, public and private providers are required to “provide eligible children an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability, as such characteristics and circumstances apply to the child or the child’s family”.
Clearly you can see the problem.
The hate-filled Catholic Church and the idiots it has brainwashed over the years (or at least some of them) are upset that they will have to provide services to preschool children regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We can’t have that, can we?
The funding from two Catholic preschools was yanked because they categorically refuse to allow preschoolers or preschoolers from parents who might not conform to the Catholic rigid belief of sexual and gender identities.
I trust I do not need to express my opinion of this suit or further expound upon my opinion of the Catholic religion in general. I’ll save that for another day, I guess.
And finally there is Grand v. City of University Heights:
An Orthodox Jew named Daniel Grand in the City of University Heights invited some neighbors to his home to pray. The city’s Law Director Luke McConville decided that Grand’s home had become a house of worship and he needed a permit!
Oh, good grief!
Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age, but fuck that city Law Director Luke McConville!!!
I think Orthodox Judaism is just as wrong-headed as Catholicism or any other belief based on supernaturalism, but come on. Let’s get real. A permit for a prayer circle?
Enough said.
PS Neighbors complained that Daniel Grand’s prayer meeting or shul would create traffic and parking problems in the neighborhood. To which Mr. Grand replied that Orthodox Jews aren’t allowed to drive on the Sabbath, which is when his prayer meetings would be taking place. And note that he’s referring to the true original meaning of Sabbath (i.e., Saturday), not the corrupted fake meaning that Christians use.
