Daily Archives: May 11, 2022

The Gotham Sets Fellows And Projects For 2022 TV Series Labs – Deadline

Posted: May 11, 2022 at 12:19 pm

EXCLUSIVE: The Gotham Film & Media Institute today named Ahya Simone, Br Rivera and Paige Wood (Femme Queen Chronicles), Ariel Zucker and Daryl Paris Bright (GYNO), Chy Chi (Hot Dish), Stacie E. Hawkins (Night Watchers), Connor Austin Jones (On The Line), Maia Nikiphoroff (The Rise of Elisa Lynch), Lauren Ciaravalli (S.L.U.T.), Lori Webster Fore (Soul City),David Barker, Jernimo Rodriguez and Jay van Hoy (Wiring Utopia), and Edith Rodriguez (Youth) as the fellows and projects for its 2022 Gotham TV Series Lab, taking place today through May 13th.

The Gotham TV Series Lab provides teams of up-and-coming creators, writers and producers with the knowledge, resources and mentor support necessary for writing strong pitches and creating solid development strategies. The five-day program is composed of workshops, panels and case studies, with a particular focus on the inner workings of the writers room and new trends in the marketplace.

This year, for the first time, two of the 10 projects included are from the Expanding Communities program,by way of recommendations from partner organizations, Gyno and Night Watchers. Expanding Communities is dedicated to providing resources, a community space, and industry access to individuals with disabilities, as well as Black, Indigenous, PoC, and LGBTQIA+ creators across the film, TV and audio industries.

We are proud to announce the newest cohort for our fourth annual Gotham TV Series Lab which provides writers and creators new to the TV field with first-hand mentorship opportunities with industry experts, said The Gothams Executive Director, Jeff Sharp. This years selections feature ambitious projects with exciting world-building concepts and powerful self-possessed characters representing the continued vitality of this ever expanding art form. We are so grateful to be of service in supporting these amazing creators in reaching their intended audiences.

The Gotham TV Series Lab operates under the artistic direction of Senior Manager, Episodic and International Programming, Gabriele Capolino.The 2022 Lab is being guided by Lab Leaders Neerja Narayanan (Creative Producer, Sony Pictures International Productions) and Rae Benjamin (CEO/Founder, In the Cut; Staff Writer, Netflixs The Witcher).

All 2022 fellows will automatically participate in the 44th Gotham Weeks Project Market, where they will pitch their projects to industry decision makers. More information on the .projects selected for this years lab can be found below.

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Conversations with Friends cast: Who is in the new drama and where have you seen them before? – Heart

Posted: at 12:19 pm

11 May 2022, 14:21

Who is starring in Conversations with Friends and how do you recognise the cast?

After the huge success of Normal People back in 2020, Sally Rooney is back with another adaptation.

Conversations With Friends is based on the 2017 book of the same name and is described as a coming of age drama.

The story follows 21-year-old student Frances as she navigates a series of relationships, including with her ex-girlfriend turned best friend, Bobbi.

But who is in the cast of Conversations with Friends and why do you recognise them? Heres what we know

Alison Oliver is playing the main role of Frances.

She is fairly new to acting, but has previously had roles in Fame Dogs, Woggie, and Home Brewed.

Frances former lover and closest friend is played by Sasha Lane.

You might recognise her for starring as Star in American Honey, while she has also starred in Utopia, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Loki.

Actor Nick is played by Joe Alwyn who has previously starred in The Favourite, A Christmas Carol, Long Halftime Walk and Mary Queen of Scots.

You might also recognise him as Taylor Swifts boyfriend.

Jemima Kirke is playing journalist Melissa who previously starred as Hope Haddon in Sex Education.

Her other credits include Girls, Maniac and Untogether.

Sallay Garnett grew up between Maynooth, Ireland, and West Africa.

She starred as Mary Magdalene in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's iconic Jesus Christ Superstar at the Barbican in 2019 and is also known for her roles in A Girl from Mogadishu and Striking Out.

Tommy Tiernan is best known for hosting The Tommy Tiernan Show and for playing Gerry in Derry Girls.

Caoimhe Coburn Gray's credits include LOVE+ with Malaprop Theatre Company and the short film Flicker.

Kerry Fox previously played author Janet Frame in the movie An Angel at My Table directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and Television Awards.

Justine Mitchell is known for Your Bad Self (2010), Amber (2014) and Pure (2019).

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‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ pales in comparison to ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ – Mashable

Posted: at 12:19 pm

Welcome to Fix It, our series examining projects we love save for one tiny change we wish we could make.

For a movie called Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we sure saw a lot of madness but very little of the multiverse.

In the latest entry into the MCU, Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) fights to save America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). America has the incredible power to travel through the multiverse, only she's unable to control it.

One of the movie's most fun visual sequences occurs when one of America's uncontrolled multiverse jumps takes her and Stephen through a series of different universes. These include one where everything is animated and one where everything is just... paint. After that montage, Stephen and America find themselves on Earth-838. From there, the movie splits most of its remaining runtime between that universe and the "original" Marvel universe: Earth-616.

Instead of breaking the multiverse wide open, Multiverse of Madness limits itself. What could have been a chance for Marvel to stretch its imagination falls flat, with the exciting possibility of the multiverse reduced to two possibilities: New York, and New York... but with flowers.

We're already extremely familiar with Earth-616. We've spent over 20 movies and several TV series exploring it. So let's talk about Earth-838. It's got a few quirks separating it from Earth-616: Pizza comes in ball form, people go on red and stop on green, everyone wears dark clothing and hats, and everything is covered in flowers, suggesting this New York is some kind of eco-utopia. Oh, and in this universe, they have memory machines that broadcast your recollections to anyone who may be walking by, just in case you're looking for some handy-dandy exposition dumps.

These things certainly differentiate Earth-838 from Earth-616 visually, but we never find out enough about this universe to understand why these changes may exist, or why they matter at all. It quickly becomes clear that Earth-838 is less a new sandbox to play in it than it is an efficient way to introduce the Illuminati outside of Earth-616 and its canon. The multiverse shouldn't just be a one-way ticket to cameo town: It should be an exciting and meaningful expansion of the world.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Xochitl Gomez, and Rachel McAdams in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."Credit: Marvel Studios 2022

Even when we do learn about changes between Earth-838 and Earth-616, they're always in relation to the Avengers and their battle against Thanos. There's a disappointing lack of imagination here, and an inability to look beyond Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The multiverse is infinite, yet all the movie cares about is what superheroes are like in different universes. Even then, the differences tend to the underwhelming. You're telling me that all that separates Earth-616's Doctor Strange from his multiversal counterparts is a ponytail or a longer beard? Come on, we've seen Frog Thor and Alligator Loki we know things can get much weirder. Plus, thanks to Zombie Strange, we know the movie is capable of getting weirder.

My desire for weirdness and more glimpses of the multiverse no doubt stems from the recent release of Everything Everywhere All At Once, which delves into the concept of the multiverse in a far more satisfying way than Multiverse of Madness. In Everything Everywhere All At Once, action plays out across multiple universes, not just two. Every universe has a distinct feel to it and its own arc. Many are delightfully outlandish: In one universe, people have hot dog fingers. In another, sentient rocks with googly eyes carry out a heartfelt conversation.

Throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, I kept wishing it would engage with the true potential of the multiverse in even one-tenth of the same way that Everything Everywhere All At Once does. Relegating the sheer awesomeness of infinite universes to a quick montage early on simply isn't enough. If anything, it feels like the movie is just ticking a cursory box to say, "see, there are more universes" before jumping back into its main plot, designed to keep Phase 4 on track.

If done right, the multiverse would have opened up the world of Marvel. Instead, its squandered potential reminds us just how narrow the focus of the MCU is.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now in theaters.

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Don’t listen to the trolls. Tom Brady will be fine in the broadcast booth. – Bangor Daily News

Posted: at 12:19 pm

For 20 years in New England, Tom Brady was the ultimate team-first guy. He constantly signed cap-friendly deals that allowed the Patriots dynasty to roll on.

Guess what, nice guys dont always finish last, because Tommy Boy, your ship (more accurately, probably a yacht) has come in!

Fox Sports announced Tuesday that when Tom Brady retires he is going to become their lead NFL analyst, inking a 10-year, $375 million deal. Fun stat, Tom Brady has earned $333 million on the field in his 22-year career. Thats a helluva retirement job.

Here are some other staggering quick outs about Bradys move to the booth.

$37.5 million annually is more than Tom Brady has made in any season of his 23-year career, save for 2021 when he made $39 million. Hes due $30 million in 2022, so the Fox gig would technically be a promotion. If there is such a thing as a promotion from being Tom Brady on a football field.

The quick, lazy comparison made by many on Tuesday was you know, Joe Montana tried to broadcast, and he wasnt very good, why does Fox think that Bradys worth this money? Because it doesnt matter if hes good. CBS paid Tony Romo $18 million, and we know hes not good. ESPN backed up a similarly sized Brinks truck to Troy Aikmans doorstep, and though hes come a long way during his career at Fox, nobody is speaking his name in the same sentence as John Madden or Merlin Olsen. The money doesnt matter because Fox needs a splash. People are going to watch football games regardless of the broadcast team, but whether hes good, bad or bad or Collinsworth, Tom Brady the announcer is going to be water cooler conversation. (Dated reference, I guess the discourse would happen now on Twitter? People bottle their own water and tote it around these days from what Ive seen.) The last word on performance goes to Nick Fitzy Stevens.

If we get vanilla presser deferential TB12? Meh.

If we get Im the baddest motherfker on the planet Brady? Hell be great.

What do you think if youre Tony Romo? What do you think if youre Troy Aikman? Here people thought your deals were totally off the Richter scale and Tom Brady gets $20 million more. And he doesnt get it now, its bread on a windowsill, his, whenever he wants it. What about the Mannings? You have a year of the Manning-cast, you work from home, people think Eli is nerdly funny. And now the countdown is on until Tom Brady not only moves into your neighborhood, but hes apparently bulldozing your McMansions and building his own pliability utopia on top of them.

What does this mean for the duration of Tom Bradys playing career? Most pundits seem to think that this meant Brady would play one more season and move up to the booth. That may be. This is a fascinating turn of events for Brady. I never saw this for him. I saw a Michael Jordan-style post career. Clothing line, maybe eventually ownership, but definitely not coaching and any regular gig that would weigh him down. You know, like broadcasting the 4:25 p.m. game every week. But I guess he has $375 million reasons to say why not.

My initial reaction was I guess this puts an end to the Brady to Miami for an ownership stake hypothesis. Some have agreed: Jeff Darlington and Rich Eisen came to a similar conclusion. While others compared him to Dwyane Wade in that Wade is apparently an analyst somewhere and also apparently owns a piece of the Utah Jazz. The fact that I wasnt totally aware of either fact makes me think that comparing Tom Brady to Mr. Wade might be akin to apples and oranges. I want the Brady to Miami thing to go away. Maybe when hes retired, if he wants a stake of the team and that isnt seen as a conflict of interest, fine. (How could it not be, youre literally meeting with coaches and players on your opponent on a weekly basis under the guise of broadcast preparation. That feels like something the NFL would like to avoid.) Just like Stanley would do anything to take points away from Dwight during Beach Day, Ill do anything to keep TB12 out of South Beach.

Brady will be fine in the booth. Hes a hard worker, hes a capable speaker who understands the game. If he cuts loose, hell be great. If he tries to play it safe, hell get crushed. There will be no neutrality on Bradys broadcasting performance. I would imagine that after 22 years of gridiron dominance there are some trolls out there sharpening their knives to take him down a peg or two in something hes new at. Brady will be a must see, when and if he ever ascends to the booth. As we know with Tom Brady, things can change quickly.

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Star Island Mail Boat now welcoming passengers to Isles of Shoals – Seacoastonline.com

Posted: at 12:19 pm

Special to Seacoastonline| Portsmouth Herald

KITTERY, Maine Seacoast Maritime Charters, in conjunction with Star Island Corporation,announces a new offering for area residents and guests.

For the 2022 season, guests are now welcome to ride the mail boat to Star Island at the Isles of Shoals. Subject to availability and by prior reservation only, members of the public may ride the M/V Utopia and the M/V Shining Star on scheduled daily runs to supply the Oceanic Hotel on the historic island, considered by many to be the unofficial capital of the Isles of Shoals.

Star Island supports a population of up to 400people in the summer. Little-changed since its heyday in earlier centuries,Star Island is known for its sustainability program and for having the largest off-grid solar power array in New England. These leisurely informal trips provide an insiders view into the comings and goings of island life, and are a fascinating and unique way to experience the Isles of Shoals.

On a typical trip, guests will ride out with mail, food, freight and whatever else is headed out to the island that day- along with commuting island staff, hotel guests and volunteers. Some trips include a stop at the local lobster wharf to pick up the evenings meal.

In summer, coastal weather is generally calmest on the morning trips. On the way, out we typically see seals, porpoises and the occasional whalein addition to gannets, loons and a variety of other birds, including bald eagles. We will most often pass close to working fishermen and commercial traffic navigating the Piscataqua River. The run to the Isles of Shoals takes about an hour. Guests are welcome to engage in conversation with the crew, help navigate the boat or simply enjoy the ocean breezes and the sunshine sparkling on the water.

Once at the island, visitors have the opportunity for a 45 minute walk ashore (morning trips only), a self-guided tour of beautiful Star Island (dont miss a peak into the historic stone chapel) while the vessel is unloaded and readied for the return trip.

On the return trip back to America (as the original Isles of Shoalers would say) the passenger list could include island staff and guests as well as mail, luggage, recycling, empty fuel tanks and the occasional surprise. We have hauled everything from pianos to palm trees and many things in between.

Our regular morning trips run from late June to September, leaving Portsmouth at 7:30 a.m., and returning before 11 a.m., on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Every Tuesday afternoon in summer there is an expanded trip which includes a guided stopover at Appledore Island (or an afternoon at Star Island) and a tour of the grey seal colony on neighboring Duck Island. This trip departs Portsmouth at 1:20 p.m., returning to the dock at around 6 p.m.

Other Mail Run trips are available throughout the season from April to October andthere is often room for guests. These trips sometimes have a quick turnaround, and do not always allow for island walks. Guests are welcome on all of these runs, space permitting. Call for off-season availability.

Call Seacoast Maritime Charters to learn about available trips and to reserve a space at 207-337-0446. Last minute reservations are encouraged, as long as there is room on the boat.

The service helps to support the non-profit Star Island Corporation, which maintains the island and offers it to the public for visits like these.

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Zongbo Jiang’s bizarrely beautiful 3D world offers a hopeful perspective on the climate crisis – It’s Nice That

Posted: at 12:19 pm

Shared Planet is the kind of bizarrely beautiful and intricate creation that Hieronymus Bosch would have made if he was born in the 21st century and knew how to use Blender. And while that 15th century artist warned his audience of the perils of sexual excess, Zongbo Jiangs Shared Planet deals with contemporary issues with equal outlandishness but a much more positive outlook. Inspired by the BBCs documentary The Year Earth Changed, Zongbos 3D utopia highlights the miraculous flourishing of nature which occurred due to the lower human activity during the pandemic.

I consider myself an earthling and my practice to be visual activism, Zongbo tells Its Nice That. Focusing on issues such as mental health, animal rights and the environment, I endeavour to offer an alternative digital representation of the dilemmas within these areas, to open and continue the conversation of how we can improve the way we all live on this planet as earthlings.

In the midst of the current climate crisis with its dominant narrative of impending doom, Zongbos visual activism provides a welcome glimpse of hope. He tells us that his creative practice revolves around Wired magazines founder Kevin Kellys concept of Protopia which refers to a state that is better today than yesterday. Zongbos vision of a world in which humans and nature live in blissful harmony takes this concept to new heights: I wanted to create this space that was fun and enticing, to build this idea of hope and change that we can achieve if we recognise our past mistakes, he explains. Accompanied by the soothing sounds of birds chirruping and rain falling conceived by talented sound-designer Menex, Shared Planet invites you to wade through lush water reeds to discover crystal pools inhabited by strange and beautiful creatures, their anatomies morphing mesmerisingly between animal, plant and human forms.

While the scene is idyllic and the message hopeful, each tiny detail and character which Zongbo designed has meaning and relates to careful research and a re-imagination of data he gathered for the project. There are four main protagonists in his story of ecological regeneration Wildlife, Air, Noise and Water. Each character is based on areas of the environment or nature that benefited from humans being stuck in lockdown, says the artist.

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This Is What To Expect On Board The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship – Travel Off Path

Posted: at 12:19 pm

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With the worlds biggest cruise ship having recently set sail with passengers for the very first time heres what those waiting to board Wonder of the Seas can expect.

Having reported a few months ago that the ship was due to launch back in March, it has since completed its maiden voyage sailing around both the Eastern and Western sides of the Caribbean on 7-night cruises.

And, with Wonder of The Seas having recently arrived in Europe with the ship set to sail in the Mediterranean throughout the summer months many will be wondering what it is actually like on board this monster-sized vessel.

Well, you are in luck as throughout this article we will take a look at what the ship offers when it comes to places to wine and dine, relax, keep fit as well as the variety of entertainment choices on offer to passengers.

Its not the first time that one of Royal Caribbeans fleet has earned the title of the worlds biggest cruise ship with its Symphony of the Seas having previously held it.

In fact, with Wonder of the Seas now in operation the company now owns the worlds five largest ships with each of them able to accommodate nearly 7,000 passengers at any one time.

So, how big exactly is Wonder of the Seas?

Measuring in at a mammoth 1,118 feet (362m) in length and weighing in at 236,857 tonnes Wonder of the Seas spans across 18 decks, making it possible to play host to a maximum capacity of 6,988 passengers.

And, this number does not even include crew members with the ship also having enough space to accommodate up to 2,300 cruise ship staff.

Royal Caribbeans newest addition Wonder of the Seas features a brand new neighborhood on board, which spans over two of the ships decks.

Named the Suite Neighborhood, passengers are able to stay at one of its 188 suites on offer, as well as sit back and relax at one of the neighborhoods bars and restaurants or soak up the atmosphere at its freshly designed sun deck and infinity-style plunge pool.

The ship also offers seven other neighborhoods to visit on board with each providing their own unique options for drinking and dining in along with a variety of entertainment to enjoy.

With nearly 3000 cabins on board Wonder of the Seas 2,867 to be precise there are a selection of different rooms that can be booked by cruise-goers.

This includes the following staterooms:

All rooms offer occupants the chance to connect to WiFi, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of the ships room service options and spa-like services.

With 20 different restaurants to choose from, you are certainly not going to find it a difficult task to find somewhere to eat or drink when on board Wonder of the Seas with the ship offering all types of cuisine.

Whether youre looking to eat at one of the vessels upmarket eateries, or wanting to grab a quick and easy snack on the go you are not going to be lost for choice for what this ship has to offer.

Those on board can even check out a new addition to the selection of Royal Caribbeans dining options the Mason Jar which offers some of the best when it comes to Americas southern delicacies.

Due to its huge size, Wonder of the Seas is able to offer passengers the opportunity to choose from a selection of swimming pools on board.

This includes the ships huge pool deck which boasts a number of slides, as well as a variety of sun loungers and beds to soak up the sun.

For anyone who is fortunate enough to spend time sailing into the sunset on Wonder of the Seas there is certainly a wide variety of entertainment options for cruise passengers to enjoy.

This includes:

And this is just a taste of what you can expect with the ship also boasting its Central Park, which features in excess of 10,000 plants.

You can check out what else Royal Caribbeans new monster cruise ship Wonder of the Seas has to offer by clicking here.

A few weeks ago we reported that Royal Caribbean had begun constructing the next addition to its fleet of cruise liners with Utopia of the Seas set to sail in 2024.

Once built and in operation the ship will take over from Wonder of the Seas as being the worlds largest cruise liner.

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John Roberts Should Follow The Constitution In Dobbs Decision – The Federalist

Posted: at 12:18 pm

A majority of U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) justices allegedly still maintain that the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which federally legalized abortion in the United States, is unconstitutional. According to a Saturday report from The Washington Post, as of last week, the majority of five justices to strikeRoeremains intact, according to three conservatives close to the court.

Published in Politico last week, the leaked February draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito makes clear that Roe must be overruled, with the high court noting how itwas egregiously wrong from the start and that its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.

It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives, Alito wrote.

In addition to Alito, the majority is comprised of Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, according to the Politico and Post reports.

Noticeably absent from the majority opinion, however, is Chief Justice John Roberts, who is reportedly set to join the Democrat-appointed justices in opposing the rectification of the high courts previous rulings on abortion.

A person close to the most conservative members of the court said Roberts told his fellow jurists in a private conference in early December that he planned to uphold the state law and write an opinion that leftRoeandCaseyin place for now, The Washington Post report said in reference to the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization case. But the other conservatives were more interested in an opinion that overturned the precedents, the person said.

In the past, Roberts has notably joined the leftist justices of the court in opposing laws that restore legal protections to the unborn. In June 2020, the chief justice was the deciding vote in a case striking down a Louisiana law requiring that individuals who performabortionsat clinics have admitting privileges in a nearby hospital, with the majority arguing that the law place[d] an undue burden on women seeking abortions.

Roberts also joined his fellow constitutionally illiterate colleagues last year in opposing Texas six-week abortion ban, with the chief justice laughably implying that women have a federal right to an abortion under the U.S. Constitution.

The Texas law has had the effect of denying the exercise of what we have held is a right protected under the Federal Constitution, Roberts wrote. The laws clear purpose and actual effect has been to nullify this Courts rulings The nature of the federal right infringed does not matter; it is the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system that is at stake.

As if his faulty jurisprudence on the issue wasnt bad enough, Roberts is also reportedly attempting to prevent the court from overturning Roe, with reports alleging that the chief justice is actively trying to persuade Coney Barrett and Kavanaugh to take a more incremental approach to allowingabortion restrictions.

Such actions are not unheard of for Roberts, who in 2012 attempted to convince Justice Anthony Kennedy to switch his position on the unconstitutionality of Obamacare to obtain the leftist corporate medias approval of Supreme Court jurisprudence. After initially siding with his fellow Republican-appointed justices, Roberts cut a last-minute deal with the leftist justices to preserve the Affordable Care Act by falsely deeming the laws individual mandate as a part of Congresss taxing power.

Roberts pays attention to media coverage. As chief justice, he is keenly aware of his leadership role on the court, and he also is sensitive to how the court is perceived by the public, reported CBS News Jan Crawford in 2012. There were countless news articles in May warning of damage to the court and to Roberts reputation if the court were to strike down the mandate It was around this time that it also became clear to the conservative justices that Roberts was, as one put it, wobbly.'

Whether its the Obamacare decision or Dobbs, Roberts overtly political actions arent preserving the image of the court in the eyes of the American people; theyre destroying it. The primary responsibility of a judge is not to center judicial decisions on either the prejudices of the leftist press or the whims of the American public, whose opinions fluctuate on a regular basis, but to ignore such political noise and interpret the Constitution as written. Anything short of this is merely political gamesmanship.

Roberts bid to play politician is not only professionally grotesque, but its no different than what past justices have done in some of the most highly contentious SCOTUS cases in U.S. history. Just as the justices ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson and Dred Scott v. Sanford allowed their personal views to obstruct proper jurisprudence and adherence to the Constitution, Roberts prioritization of his public image over his role as a judge is no different.

Shawn Fleetwood is an intern at The Federalist and a senior at the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

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In Alaska, A Special Election Reveals How The Left Wants To Rig The Vote – The Federalist

Posted: at 12:18 pm

Next month, Alaskans will vote in a special primary election for the states single congressional seat, left vacant by the death of Republican Rep. Don Young in March. Young, the longest-serving Republican in the history of the U.S. House, was Alaskas sole congressman for 49 years, so the election to replace him is in some ways an historic event for the state.

But its also historic in another way: it will be Alaskas first ever statewide mail-in primary election. That is, there will be no in-person voting at all. Every single voter on the statesbloated and error-riddled voter rollswas automatically mailed a blank ballot.

Whats more, there will be no verification requirements for these mail-in ballots. Voters will simply need to fill out their ballot and have a witness observe them sign the envelope. The states Division of Election has explicitly saidit will not verify the authenticity of the signatureson the ballots.

Normally, to vote by mail in Alaska you have to submit an absentee ballot application ahead of time, which includes a signature that can be used to verify the signature on the completed ballot. But not for this special mail-in election, which is already a chaotic and confusing mess, with48 names on the primary ballotand a new ranked-choice voting process in place that will send the top four vote-getters from the primary to the in-person general special election in August (which is on the same day as the regular statewide primary election for the November midterms).

By any measure, Alaskas special election is a mess. But why should the rest of the country care? Because Alaskas insane statewide mail-in election is a template for how the left wants to run elections nationwide. Democrats and left-wing activists would love nothing more than to hold elections entirely by mail with as few safeguards in place to prevent ballot fraud.

Indeed, Alaska presents a unique and in some ways ideal test case for the left. For one thing,Alaskas voter rolls are a mess. As of 2020, voter registration was 118 percent of the estimated vote age population, meaning there were more registered voters than actual people who could vote (this problem is getting worse in Alaska; in 2018 it was only 103 percent). Making matters worse is a 2016 Alaska law that automatically registers residents to vote when they submit an application for the states permanent fund dividend.

If you want to make an election less secure, you pair bloated voter rolls with mass mail-in voting and then strip all safeguards and verification requirements from the mail-in ballots, which is exactly what Alaska has done.

The state governments weak excuse for conducting a statewide mail-in election is that, because a special election must be held within 90 days of the vacancy (in this case, Youngs death on March 18) there simply wasnt time to hire and train the 3,000 poll workers a standard in-person election would require. But even if you buy that, the state has not yet explained why it decided to conduct the mail-in election without any mechanism to verify the authenticity of the signatures on the ballots.

On top of all this, the special primary election next month and the special general election in August will be the first election cycle in Alaska that employs ranked-choice voting, which voters approved in 2020.

Its hard to imagine an election scenario more ill-suited to such a convoluted and confusing scheme than this special election, partly because voters will be choosing among an unheard of 48 candidates in the special mail-in primary election and partly because the special in-person general election will take place on the same day and perhaps even on the same ballot as the regular primary. (The special election is to choose someone to serve out the remaining months of Youngs current term, the regular general election is to choose the states next at-large congressman.)

As Sarah Montalbano of the Alaska Policy Forumnoted recentlyin the Alaska Watchman, that means the bifurcated ballot will have both a special election chosen by [ranked-choice voting] and a general primary election instructing voters to choose only one!

Montalbano calls Alaskas special election a perfect storm, and for anyone concerned about election integrity and fairness, it certainly is a perfect storm. But for anyone who wants to make elections as unsecure and as open to fraud as possible, whats about to happen in Alaska is ideal.

It represents the institutionalization of the extraordinary changes to absentee voting in some states during the 2020 presidential election amid fears of in-person voting amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Those changes, which got rid of nearly every safeguard for mail-in voting, were supposed to be temporary, necessitated by the pandemic.

But the left never lets a crisis go to waste, which is why were about to see in Alaskas special election a dry-run for what Democrats would like to do nationwide: use every trick in the book to make our elections less secure.

John Daniel Davidson is a senior editor at The Federalist. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Claremont Review of Books, The New York Post, and elsewhere. Follow him on Twitter, @johnddavidson.

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In Alaska, A Special Election Reveals How The Left Wants To Rig The Vote - The Federalist

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Legal Ways States And Pro-Lifers Can Stop Abortion Radicals’ Violence – The Federalist

Posted: at 12:18 pm

Pro-abortion groups this past week have called for increased lawlessness to express their opposition to the expected reversal of the Supreme Courts decision in Roe v. Wade. Apparently having failed to persuade either the court of the soundness of their legal position or Congress of the necessity of codifying Roe in a federal statute, these groups are committing, or threatening to commit, hate crimes targeting churches and worshippers.

The real or intended victims of these outrages are not defenseless. The legal system affords them robust protections against violations of their right to free exercise of religion. These include both federal and state criminal and civil remedies and private civil actions under federal and state law.

Churches and congregants alike should make full use of our legal system to protect themselves against pro-abortion forces that are vandalizing church property and attempting to intimidate believers as they worship. Not only do they owe it to themselves to defend their religious liberty, they have a duty to the larger community to combat these unmistakable hate crimes.

To date, President Biden has failed to personally denounce these threats to religious liberty by the pro-abortion forces that are Democrats political allies and core constituents. So has his Justice Department, which was quick to condemn parents appearing at public school board meetings. An unnamed White House official made a meaningless comment, and Press Secretary Jen Psaki finally condemned violence, threats, or vandalism on Twitter Monday, but the president himself has yet to speak out against pro-abortionists recent violent tactics.

Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland should be publicly shamed if their inaction continues. And if the administration chooses to turn a blind eye as the legal rights of American believers are trashed, state attorneys general can and should fill the breach.

Private persons can also bring tort actions under federal and state law, and if successful might obtain monetary damages in amounts that could be a significant blow to the pro-abortion movement and its (often undisclosed) donors.

The assaults on religious liberty are coming in two forms. One is the vandalization of church property, such as happened in Boulder, Colo., soon after the leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs. Vandals broke the windows and spray-painted over the doors of the Sacred Heart of Mary Church and left pro-abortion messages, including keep your religion off our bodies and my body, my choice.

Over the past two years, Colorado has seen a series of attacks (not all proclaiming pro-abortion views) on Catholic churches. These attacks include one last October on the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, and another in September on St. Louis Catholic Church in a Boulder suburb (involving pro-abortion graffiti).

What is happening in Colorado unfortunately has been happening throughout the country. In January, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reported that there had been at least 129 attacks on Catholic churches in 35 states and the District of Columbia since May 2020. Secular sources like The Wall Street Journal have noted the increase in desecration of Catholic churches as well. If Roe is indeed overruled, expect worse.

In a second line of attack, the shadowy pro-abortion group Ruth Sent Us has called, not only for demonstrations outside the homes of six Supreme Court justices, but also for the disruption of services in Catholic churches on Mothers Day during Sunday mass. The group posted a message on Twitter, stating Whether youre a Catholic for Choice, ex-Catholic, of other or no faith, recognize that six extremist Catholics set out to overturn Roe. Stand at or in a local Catholic Church Sun May 8.

Protesters disrupted planned services at Old St. Patricks Cathedral in New York City, some engaging in grotesque pantomimes of abortion immediately outside the church grounds.Christopher Plant, whose bio says he is the pastor of St. Bartholomew the Apostle Catholic Church in Katy, Texas, took to Twitter on Monday to report that the churchs tabernacle had been stolen the night before.

Meanwhile, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the headquarters of pro-life group Wisconsin Family Action in Madison, Wis., with the words If abortions arent safe you arent either graffitied outside. A pro-life center in Denton, Texas was also defaced.

These dangers to the peaceful exercise of religious liberties must be confronted and overcome. Even if the Biden administration refuses to quell threats and intimidation, believers have and should use the remedies that the law provides for them.

Of these remedies, one powerful option is, ironically, The Freedom of Access to [Abortion] Clinic Entrances Act (FACE). In an obvious legislative compromise, FACE protects not only abortion facilities, providers, and clients, but also criminalizes actions or attempts intended by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship. Likewise, FACE criminalizes the actions of anyone who intentionally damages or destroys the property of a place of religious worship.

Enforcement of these criminal provisions is, however, in the hands of the vehemently pro-abortion Biden administration, which can be expected to tailor the execution of the laws to its political ends. Even so, FACE offers other means for vindicating religious liberties.

This is because FACE also authorizes churches and individual worshippers injured by the relevant misconduct to bring private actions on their own behalf. If entitled to relief, they may obtain either (or both) an injunction against the misconduct or compensatory and punitive damages, along with an award of reasonable legal fees. These legal awards, especially if they include punitive damages, could be crippling for pro-abortion defendants.

Finally, FACE authorizes state attorneys general who find reasonable cause to believe that a violation is being, has been, or may be occurring, to bring civil actions. The Virginia attorney general has already signaled his intention to refer any criminal violations for prosecution. Concerned citizens should demand that their state attorneys general follow suit.

States also commonly have hate crimes statutes that are similar to these federal civil rights laws. Colorado, for example, has at least two statutes that might apply to the vandalization of a Catholic church in that state. One statute makes it a crime knowingly to desecrate (which includes defacing) any place of worship. It will be interesting to see if the states Attorney General Phil Weiser, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, will bring a case under the states anti-desecration law on behalf of the Catholic churches in his jurisdiction.

Lawsuits against the pro-abortion extremists who attack churches or worshippers can also be brought under state tort laws by the injured parties. Professor John Banzhaf of George Washington University Law School has argued that civil actions, especially if class actions, can bring justice to those who suffered injuries when peaceful protests have turned into violence that damaged their lives or property. For instance, journalist Andy Ngo sued those who beat when while he was covering a peaceful protest that turned into a riot, alleging the torts of assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as a violation of the states anti-racketeering act.

Finally, churches and worshippers should remember that they have a legal right of self-defense against threats to life and limb.The choice of forms that self-defense should take churches might install security cameras, provide cans of pepper spray to their congregations, or even bring in defenders who openly bear arms is best left to the consciences of pastors and congregants within the confines of applicable law.

Robert Delahunty is a Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute for the American Way of Life. Teresa S. Collett is a Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, where she directs the Pro-Life Center.

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Legal Ways States And Pro-Lifers Can Stop Abortion Radicals' Violence - The Federalist

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