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<title>25 September, 2023</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Biden Administration’s Next Big Climate Decision</strong> - The liquefied-natural-gas buildout—and fossil-fuel exports—challenge progress on global warming. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-biden-administrations-next-big-climate-decision">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rupert Murdoch Takes a Step Back—Not Away</strong> - Although the media mogul announced that his son Lachlan will become the chair of News Corp. and Fox Corp., he was also careful to quash speculation that he would be retiring. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/rupert-murdoch-takes-a-step-back-not-away">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>House Republicans Refuse to Host Zelensky Because They’re Too Busy Fighting One Another</strong> - Reflections on a day of self-parody on Capitol Hill. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/house-republicans-refuse-to-host-zelensky-because-theyre-too-busy-fighting-one-another">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Soccer Players Restarted Spain’s #MeToo Movement</strong> - A journalist describes the history of feminist activism in Spain and why the World Cup controversy marks a new phase. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-soccer-players-restarted-spains-metoo-movement">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is Trump Just an Ordinary Republican Now?</strong> - The former President’s rhetoric during his recent trip to Iowa wasn’t any tamer, but he no longer sounds distinct from his G.O.P. rivals. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/is-trump-just-an-ordinary-republican-now">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>A Supreme Court case about hotel websites could blow up much of US civil rights law</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="Gorsuch (left) raises both hands in a gesture. Both men wear black suits. They stand in front of a large window divided by wooden window frames. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BLxlEE5nZr1Kd1IANkN8-W9OE9E=/28x0:2972x2208/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72685415/696327606.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch (left) talks with Chief Justice John Roberts on the steps of the Supreme Court following his official investiture at the Supreme Court on June 15, 2017, in Washington, DC. | Win McNamee/Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The Supreme Court hears a civil rights case straight out of a right-wing fever dream.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Vb9huq">
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Deborah Laufer has filed more than 600 different lawsuits — many of which, according to a federal court in Maryland, <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ovgzx8arb8ccyh/21-mc-00014_doc13.pdf?dl=0">appear to follow the same pattern</a>. The defendants are typically small hotels, and Laufer accuses them of failing to comply with a federal regulation requiring that they disclose on their websites whether their rooms are accessible to people with disabilities.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vHaDFZ">
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She also has a remarkable penchant for hiring ethically challenged lawyers. One, Tristan Gillespie, was suspended from the bar of that same Maryland court, in large part because of a scheme where he would use Laufer’s cases to <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ovgzx8arb8ccyh/21-mc-00014_doc13.pdf?dl=0">squeeze money out of these hotels for work that he never did</a>. Another, Thomas Bacon, was, according to the court, Gillespie’s “boss” and the mastermind of a “<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ovgzx8arb8ccyh/21-mc-00014_doc13.pdf?dl=0">scheme that raises serious ethical concerns</a>.” Another former lawyer, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.med.59123/gov.uscourts.med.59123.1.0.pdf">Daniel Ruggiero</a>, was recently <a href="https://www.padisciplinaryboard.org/for-the-public/find-attorney/attorney-detail/312849">forbidden from practicing law for a year</a> due to an unrelated scheme <a href="https://bbopublic.massbbo.org/web/f/BD-2023-006.pdf">targeting homeowners with unpaid mortgage bills</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ILi3Pc">
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<a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/acheson-hotels-llc-v-laufer/"><em>Acheson Hotels v. Laufer</em></a>, one of Laufer’s many cases, is now before the <a href="https://www.vox.com/scotus">Supreme Court</a>. (The case will be argued on October 4.) It reads like the sort of horror story that business lobbyists tell lawmakers in order to sell them on tort reform. It involves a perennial plaintiff and lawyers who appear to have profited from a scheme to shake down small business owners — at least one of whom, Gillespie, is the subject of a <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ovgzx8arb8ccyh/21-mc-00014_doc13.pdf?dl=0">blistering federal court opinion disciplining him for unethical behavior</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XriPGt">
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But behind the absurd facts underlying the case are fairly high stakes. They involve “testers,” civil rights plaintiffs who volunteer to face discrimination so that someone may challenge a discriminatory business’s behavior in court. There are very good reasons why Laufer — whose many lawsuits more than push the limits of the federal courts’ jurisdiction — should not be allowed to file these suits. But, in the worst-case scenario for civil rights advocates, a Supreme Court dominated by conservative Republicans may not only shut down Laufer’s vast array of lawsuits. They may also do considerable harm to civil rights writ large.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rD15Cn">
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It’s hard to assess how likely this outcome is, beyond the fact that the current crop of justices frequently <a href="https://www.vox.com/23180634/supreme-court-rule-of-law-abortion-voting-rights-guns-epa">changes the law to benefit conservative causes</a>. But there is, at least, a real risk that a majority of the justices are so angered by Laufer’s blizzard of lawsuits, and by the behavior of some of her lawyers, that they hand down a far-too-sweeping decision cutting off many meritorious challenges to discrimination.
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</p>
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<h3 id="qDamWr">
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“Testers,” briefly explained
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oQC1dr">
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In <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/455/363.html"><em>Havens Realty v. Coleman</em></a> (1982), the Supreme Court considered a fairly ordinary case involving “tester” plaintiffs. A civil rights organization sent two individuals, one Black and one white, to “test” whether two apartment complexes would discriminate between these two individuals. Sure enough, the white tester was told that apartments were available for rent, while the Black tester was allegedly lied to and told that no units were available.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EHUJgS">
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As a general rule, no one is allowed to file a federal lawsuit <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/17/22538462/supreme-court-obamacare-california-texas-stephen-breyer-standing-individual-mandate-constitution">unless they have been injured in some way</a> by the defendant they are suing — a requirement known as “standing.” <em>Havens Realty</em> held that the Black tester had standing to sue the apartment complexes because she was allegedly treated differently than white testers, a classic case of racial discrimination.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ko9ahf">
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These testers are often the best, or even the only, way to smoke out discrimination that may otherwise go undetected or unsanctioned. Most families that inquire about renting an apartment will simply walk away if they are told that none are available. Even if they suspect discrimination, moreover, they are unlikely to be able to prove it unless they happen to know about a family of a different race that received a different response from the same landlord. And even if they are sure that they were turned away unlawfully, they may not be willing or able to track down a lawyer and file a lawsuit.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8mJrW1">
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Laufer, for her part, claims she is no different than the testers in the <em>Havens Realty</em> case.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8NuqJH">
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A <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/36.302">federal regulation</a>, known as the “Reservation Rule,” requires hotel websites to “identify and describe accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms offered through its reservations service in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his or her accessibility needs.” Not all hotels are actually required to offer accessible rooms, but this regulation is supposed to ensure that no one books a room and travels to a faraway town, only to learn that they cannot use the room they’ve booked.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eDtPTS">
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Laufer’s brief describes her as a “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-429/274500/20230802150335267_No%2022-429%20Acheson%20Hotels%20v.%20Laufer%20Respondents%20Brief%20Filed.pdf">Reservation Rule ‘tester’</a>” who “tests online hotel reservation systems for compliance independent of travel plans, and then seeks injunctions requiring noncompliant hotels to abide by the Rule.” Essentially, she searches the internet for hotel websites that don’t comply with the Reservation Rule, and then files lawsuits against hotels that do not adequately lay out how accessible their rooms are.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cxutDM">
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Significantly, Laufer does not appear to have any intention to actually stay in most of these hotels.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="agH6cX">
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The lawyers representing her in the Supreme Court (who, to be clear, are not the same lawyers who’ve been accused of unethical behavior while representing her) argue that Laufer’s actions are “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-429/274500/20230802150335267_No%2022-429%20Acheson%20Hotels%20v.%20Laufer%20Respondents%20Brief%20Filed.pdf">legally indistinguishable from the standing challenge this Court rejected in <em>Havens Realty</em></a>.” Similarly to Laufer, the testers in <em>Havens Realty</em> “had no intent to rent an apartment in the complex, but rather inquired for the purpose of testing whether the realtor would provide her with accurate information.” And yet the Supreme Court determined that these testers had standing to sue in <em>Havens Realty</em>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jtkr7r">
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But there is one very important difference between Laufer and the <em>Havens Realty</em> testers. The Supreme Court has long held that litigants do not have standing to raise “<a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14691052534062892510&hl=en&as_sdt=6,47&as_vis=1">generalized grievances</a>” in federal court — that is, a federal plaintiff must not only assert that the defendant has injured them in some way, they must also allege that they’ve been injured in some way that is not shared by the public at large. As the Court put it in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10150124802357408838&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr"><em>Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife</em></a> (1992), this injury must be “particularized.” It must be specific to the actual plaintiff.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fnovCU">
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In <em>Havens Realty</em>, the Black tester made an inquiry to a specific landlord and was allegedly lied to because of her race. That’s a particularized injury, specific to this one individual, and not shared by other people.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GwTHT7">
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Laufer, by contrast, alleges that she is unable to find information online that is also unavailable to everyone else in the world. Thus, under cases like <em>Lujan</em>, she does not have standing to bring her lawsuits, absent something more.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="01sgwc">
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There should be no question, in other words, that the Supreme Court will dismiss the <em>Acheson</em> <em>Hotels</em> case because Laufer lacks standing. The question is whether the Court will use this case as a vehicle to roll back standing for testers who bring stronger cases where, like the Black tester in <em>Havens Realty</em>, they experienced an injury that isn’t shared with millions of other people.
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</p>
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<h3 id="M1dujK">
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This dispute over Reservation Rule testers exists because of a poorly drafted statute
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qxpDDg">
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Because the Constitution does not permit federal courts to hear cases where the plaintiff lacks standing, Laufer’s case must be dismissed. But such a decision is likely to take an already weak regime protecting travelers with disabilities and make it even weaker. Indeed, the reason why Laufer filed so many lawsuits — and why some of her lawyers may have behaved unscrupulously in order to make sure they got paid for representing her — most likely lies in a poorly drafted provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act that gives disabled travelers few good options to deal with hotels that flout the Reservation Rule.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bQrEIr">
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The ADA permits a plaintiff challenging a violation of this rule to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/12188">obtain an injunction requiring a non-compliant hotel to fix its website</a>, and it allows that plaintiff to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/2000a-3">have their attorney’s fees paid by the defendant</a> if the plaintiff prevails in court. But the plaintiff may not obtain money damages if they prevail.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0EciEG">
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Thus, a hypothetical disabled plaintiff who flies across the country, only to discover that their hotel cannot provide them with an accessible room, will get nothing. They will not be reimbursed for the cost or inconvenience of finding a new room, or for the humiliation of being turned away from a hotel that promised to give them shelter. At most, they might obtain an injunction requiring the hotel to update its website in the future. (Because of the <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/461/95/">strict rules limiting who is entitled to seek an injunction</a> in federal court, they might not even be entitled to that limited relief.)
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uH7r0W">
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As Laufer’s current legal team argues in its brief to the Supreme Court, “because Title III[ of the ADA’s] private cause of action is limited to injunctive relief, suing to enforce the Reservation Rule is essentially useless to a disabled traveler who encounters a noncompliant reservation website while looking for a room based on imminent travel plans, <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-429/274500/20230802150335267_No%2022-429%20Acheson%20Hotels%20v.%20Laufer%20Respondents%20Brief%20Filed.pdf">as no injunction could be entered in time to help</a>.” Laufer says that, as a tester, she hopes to mitigate this problem by pressuring hotels to fix their websites in advance.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LXO5A4">
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Meanwhile, lawyers who represent ADA plaintiffs need to get paid, and there’s little honest money to be made representing plaintiffs seeking to enforce the Reservation Rule.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v5pnpH">
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Consider the scheme that led to attorney Tristan Gillespie, who represented Laufer in hundreds of her lawsuits, <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ovgzx8arb8ccyh/21-mc-00014_doc13.pdf?dl=0">being suspended by a federal court</a>. According to an investigation conducted by that court, Gillespie filed hundreds of nearly identical lawsuits against noncompliant hotels, and then immediately sent them letters offering to settle the entire case for “<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ovgzx8arb8ccyh/21-mc-00014_doc13.pdf?dl=0">a flat attorney fee of $10,000</a>.” But Gillespie did not do anywhere near $10,000 worth of legal work in each of these cases. He mostly just “plug[ed] the hotel information into a template complaint, allowing him to generate pleadings at a rapid pace.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z3hKaX">
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As the investigation determined, “<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ovgzx8arb8ccyh/21-mc-00014_doc13.pdf?dl=0">Gillespie routinely bills ‘at least 3.9 [hours] of attorney time’</a>” for performing this very brief task. “On the day that Gillespie filed sixteen cases, Gillespie represented in three subsequent fee petitions that he spent 4.9 hours, 4.9 hours, and 3.9 hours drafting the complaints, for a total of 13.7 billable hours.” It’s simply not credible that he spent anywhere near this amount of time on these cases.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NwQMJu">
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At the same time, however, if lawyers don’t inflate their fees then it’s unlikely that they will be willing to represent plaintiffs bringing Reservation Rule cases — because they will be paid virtually nothing for each case. Scrupulous lawyers figure out very quickly that they cannot earn a living litigating Reservation Rule cases, and so the rule goes largely unenforced.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Vb5rug">
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The ADA’s weak remedies for Reservation Rule violations, in other words, basically guarantee that either the rule will not be enforced at all, or, at least, that it will be enforced largely through lawsuits filed by lawyers willing to act — shall we say, “creatively” — to ensure that they get paid. Plaintiffs who are actually injured by a rule violation have little incentive to sue, and good lawyers have no incentive to represent such plaintiffs because they will earn barely any money for doing so.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0wVOEF">
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<a href="https://www.vox.com/congress">Congress</a> could fix this imbalance by allowing injured plaintiffs to seek money damages. Or it could fund a team of lawyers and investigators at the Justice Department who could file their own suits challenging violations of the Reservation Rule. Until that happens, however, the rule is likely to remain a paper tiger.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8AIgNm">
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Again, none of that changes the fact that, under the Constitution, Laufer does not have standing to bring hundreds of different lawsuits against hotels she never plans to visit. But the absurd facts underlying <em>Acheson</em> <em>Hotels</em> did not arise from sheer random happenstance. They are the result of a poorly designed policy.
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</p>
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<h3 id="6PzxGA">
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Why shouldn’t the courts just let this one slide?
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QkOLWO">
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Because a decision denying standing to Laufer could render the Reservation Rule even more toothless than it already is, it’s worth asking why the courts shouldn’t just loosen the rules governing standing to ensure that disabled travelers have some meaningful protection. What’s the value in policing the rules governing standing, if doing so turns important legal protections into something much more hollow?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cvH3rt">
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One answer is that disabled plaintiffs like Deborah Laufer aren’t the only people pushing the limits of federal courts’ jurisdiction right now. And, if the Supreme Court takes a too-expansive approach to standing, the benefactors are unlikely to be civil rights plaintiffs and their lawyers.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q1iPQ0">
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Consider <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/17/22538462/supreme-court-obamacare-california-texas-stephen-breyer-standing-individual-mandate-constitution"><em>California v. Texas</em></a><em> </em>(2021), a case where a notoriously partisan judge <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/2/21147037/obamacare-supreme-court-texas-john-roberts">attempted to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act</a>. The plaintiffs’ legal theory in <em>Texas</em> was truly audacious. They claimed that a provision of <a href="https://www.vox.com/obamacare">Obamacare</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/17/22538462/supreme-court-obamacare-california-texas-stephen-breyer-standing-individual-mandate-constitution">that literally does nothing at all</a> is unconstitutional, and that the proper remedy for this alleged constitutional violation is to strike down the Affordable Care Act in its entirety.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xd5HeD">
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While several lower court judges took this argument far more seriously than it deserved, seven justices did not. These justices correctly realized that no one has standing to file a lawsuit challenging a statutory provision that does nothing, because <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/17/22538462/supreme-court-obamacare-california-texas-stephen-breyer-standing-individual-mandate-constitution">no one is injured by a statutory provision that does nothing</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UEAq5j">
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Take away the rule that federal plaintiffs may not bring generalized grievances, however, and it’s unclear that the Supreme Court reached the correct result. If Laufer can sue because she worries about hotels that might harm other disabled people, why can’t anti-Obamacare plaintiffs file similar lawsuits because they worry that this law is bad for the country?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V5CwUD">
|
||
Similarly, consider Judge James Ho’s concurring opinion in <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca5.213145/gov.uscourts.ca5.213145.506860229.1.pdf"><em>Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA</em></a> (2023), the case where several right-wing judges attempted to ban the <a href="https://www.vox.com/abortion">abortion</a> drug <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/4/10/23677220/texas-abortion-pills-usa-updates-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk">mifepristone</a>. Ho claimed that anti-abortion doctors have standing to challenge the FDA’s approval of this drug because “doctors delight in working with their unborn patients — and <a href="https://www.vox.com/scotus/23841718/edgelord-federal-judiciary-james-ho-fifth-circuit-abortion-guns">experience an aesthetic injury when they are aborted</a>.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1nbX4W">
|
||
<em>Alliance</em> is a quintessential case involving a generalized grievance. It is a lawsuit filed by anti-abortion doctors who are mad that abortions exist, and who want the courts to make them harder to obtain. But, under Ho’s theory, these doctors can sue based solely on their belief that a world with abortions in it is more ugly.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mDsHSm">
|
||
The point is that, if the courts start relaxing the rules governing standing to benefit disabled plaintiffs like Laufer, many litigants will take advantage of those new rules — including litigants who want to use the courts to impose their right-wing views on the rest of the country. And, in a judiciary controlled by Republicans, these reactionary plaintiffs are far more likely to prevail than someone seeking to make the hotel industry more friendly to disabled travelers.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5VFVMs">
|
||
Historically, Democratic judicial appointees have tended to support more expansive theories of standing, while Republican appointees have tended towards making it hard to file federal lawsuits. In the past, this alignment made sense because the Democratic coalition includes civil rights lawyers, and other plaintiff-side advocates who both benefit from expansive standing rules and hope to use these rules to vindicate the rights of the most vulnerable.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cMLuoV">
|
||
But, as Ho’s <em>Alliance</em> opinion and the <em>Texas</em> litigation suggests, this partisan alignment is shifting. As University of Virginia law professor Richard Re <a href="https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=404002065095090005118025074105098031102074091084049053125004109000112104122125030025056004106123018045005086071086111017070097107034037021035124004067018001078095073047083085005095065115002070066093091004079018109024123096029125017113075012097081078&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE">notes in a recent paper</a>, Justice Samuel Alito, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22545464/supreme-court-winners-losers-democracy-voting-rights-obamacare-republican-samuel-alito">most reliable Republican partisan on the Supreme Court</a>, “may be a more likely vote for standing than, say, [liberal] Justice Kagan.” Many Republican-appointed judges are <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/2/23706535/supreme-court-chevron-deference-loper-bright-raimondo">eager to expand the power of the federal judiciary</a>, now that they control it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tWi1zz">
|
||
Re also asks whether liberals and conservatives are experiencing a “standing realignment,” where the former push for tighter restrictions on who can file a federal lawsuit as those lawsuits increasingly become tools of the right.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dzAapd">
|
||
It’s probably too soon to predict whether such a realignment will occur. For now, the civil rights bar appears to be <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-429/274925/20230809095019333_FINAL%202023.08.09%20-%20Laufer%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf">standing up for Laufer’s expansive standing theory</a>, and plaintiff-side lawyers remain a strong presence in Democratic politics — and will <a href="https://www.vox.com/22233051/biden-courts-republican-trump-supreme-court-judicial-nominations-senate-dick-durbin">likely play an outsize role in helping Democratic presidents choose judges</a> for the foreseeable future.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z8Nyyc">
|
||
But if judges push broad theories of standing, the biggest winners are not likely to be disabled people like Laufer. They are much more likely to be the far-right advocates behind cases like <em>Texas</em> and <em>Alliance</em>.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>The extraordinary need for disaster warning systems, explained</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="A house damaged by Hurricane Maria stands in Grand Bay, Dominica, on Thursday, May 10, 2018." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lwL3XB2S2hgonrq2Tid56R01Wcs=/51x0:2718x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72685330/GettyImages_989899348.0.jpeg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
After severe damage from Hurricane Maria, the Caribbean island of Dominica is building up an early warning system to protect residents from disasters. | Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg via Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
This tiny Caribbean country shows why early warnings are an essential climate change adaptation.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V83ulf">
|
||
WOTTEN WAVEN, Dominica — This lush, leafy village of 200 residents, known for its hot springs, is less than 6 miles from the shore, but when Hurricane Maria battered the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica in 2017 with winds reaching <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/maria-landfall-dominica-category-5/story?id=49923831">160 miles per hour</a>, the residents here were cut off from the rest of the world for weeks.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tVmL0h">
|
||
Though regional forecasts showed that a storm was brewing a day before landfall, many people in the region had no idea that it would turn into a monster. Maria erupted from Category 1 strength to <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/10/590">Category 5 in just 15 hours</a>. The Dominican government issued a <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/dominica/post-disaster-needs-assessment-hurricane-maria-september-18-2017">public advisory</a> over radio, text message, and social media warning of the approaching storm’s sudden strength just 1 hour and 15 minutes ahead of its landfall. Many residents without radios, phones, or computers didn’t get a warning at all.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I042uB">
|
||
Dominica is a rocky, jungle-covered island with about 70,000 residents, and Wotten Waven is nestled in the caldera of one of its nine volcanoes. Getting there from the capital Roseau on the coast requires driving up and down stomach-churning switchback roads. When Maria’s high winds and heavy rain quickly caused water, mud, and downed trees to block the few roads into the village, it meant help couldn’t get in and residents couldn’t get out.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hkQTxY">
|
||
It also cut off phone and internet access to the village, so when a resident had a medical emergency after the storm, a local hobbyist stepped in. “An amateur radio operator used his handheld radio to call headquarters,” said Clement Pierre-Louis, the deputy chair for community disaster response in Wotten Waven. “They sent a helicopter, picked him up, took him to the hospital in town, and immediately he was flown overseas, where he had surgery for a heart attack.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="Two men in t-shirts and baseball caps in front of flowering trees." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Jb86Oj94cy9mn0eSCv0Oa6J-Eho=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24944996/DSC08116.jpeg"/> <cite>Umair Irfan/Vox</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Rudolph George (left) and Clement Pierre-Louis in Wotten Waven describe their efforts to protect residents from future storms.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KFBPlv">
|
||
Maria ultimately <a href="https://wrd.unwomen.org/node/134">killed 65 people</a> on the island, damaged more than 90 percent of homes, and caused <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/11/28/a-360-degree-look-at-dominica-post-hurricane-maria">$1.3 billion in damages</a>, equal to 224 percent of the country’s GDP. Maria continues to haunt Dominicans as many still live in homes damaged by the storm. But it’s also given residents more resolve to prepare for future calamities, deploying more sophisticated tools as well as some traditional methods — from real-time weather stations to conch shells — to predict and communicate dangers.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l0eKJ8">
|
||
Recent extreme weather events continue to reveal the dangers of inadequate warnings, and not just for small island states. The <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate/2023/8/14/23831460/hawaii-fires-maui-wildfires-death-toll-search-rescue-missing">wildfire on Maui</a> amid a severe drought this past August <a href="https://apnews.com/article/maui-hawaii-wildfire-death-toll-3dc505d4d83b6af5ee01fdaf173c4f01">killed 97 people</a>. It was the deadliest wildfire in the US in more than a century, in part because the fire spread so quickly and because the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/us/warning-sirens-never-sounded-maui.html">emergency warning systems on the island didn’t sound</a>. A sudden storm in Libya this month killed close to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/libya-floods-death-toll-revised-chaotic-response/story?id=103299845">4,000 people</a> as it burst dams and triggered flash floods, leaving residents little time to get to safety. And <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/23389508/hurricane-ian-death-toll-storm-florida-landfall-climate">Hurricane Ian</a> last year became the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/10/07/hurricane-ian-deadliest-florida">deadliest storm</a> to hit Florida since 1935 when it <a href="https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/weather/2023-02-04/ian-death-toll-up-to-149">killed at least 149 people</a>. Ian <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2022/9/28/23376761/hurricane-ian-rapid-intensification-climate-change">rapidly intensified</a> and changed course before landfall, so evacuation alerts were issued too late for some residents.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2optUU">
|
||
Yet over the course of the last century, disaster fatalities in general declined, despite more frequent weather extremes and growing populations. According to the <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/weather-related-disasters-increase-over-past-50-years-causing-more-damage-fewer">World Meteorological Organization</a> (WMO), the number of disasters over the last 50 years has increased fivefold, but the number of deaths has fallen by almost two-thirds.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="06SkWS">
|
||
Better predictions and warnings about impending catastrophes are a huge driver of this trend, and international aid groups are hoping to use these tools to drive down deaths further. “Just 24 hours’ notice of an impending hazardous event can cut the ensuing damage by 30 percent,” Petteri Taalas, the secretary-general of the WMO, <a href="https://library.wmo.int/records/item/58209-early-warnings-for-all">wrote in a report last year</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Iqh5SA">
|
||
But one-third of humanity — mainly in developing countries and in small island states — does not have adequate early warning coverage, according to the <a href="https://library.wmo.int/records/item/58209-early-warnings-for-all">United Nations</a>. Dominica is now part of a <a href="https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/press_release_mdb_joint_statement_on_ew4all.pdf">$3.1 billion</a> UN campaign launched last year to ensure that everyone in the world is protected by a disaster early warning system by 2027. For island countries and remote communities with little room to retreat and few resources to fall back on, these systems are even more critical.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="Rooftops amid a forested hillside" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yjoOxoz_DDZmT62zQVEkbFAbrFU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24945108/PXL_20230516_193510268.jpeg"/> <cite>Umair Irfan/Vox</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Wotten Waven is nestled in the caldera of one of Dominica’s nine volcanoes.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gd7G2z">
|
||
Across Dominica, the government, development banks, nonprofits, and ordinary residents are working to ensure that no one is caught off-guard when the next cyclone spools up, becoming a laboratory whose findings will inform the <a href="https://resourcewatch.org/data/explore/Populations-in-Coastal-Zones?section=Discover&selectedCollection=&zoom=3&lat=0&lng=0&pitch=0&bearing=0&basemap=dark&labels=light&layers=%255B%257B%2522dataset%2522%253A%2522995ec4fe-b3cc-4cf4-bd48-b89d4e3ea072%2522%252C%2522opacity%2522%253A1%252C%2522layer%2522%253A%25222e533124-3258-4ec2-a777-beed1712d1a0%2522%257D%255D&aoi=&page=1&sort=most-viewed&sortDirection=-1">40 percent of humanity</a> that lives within 60 miles of a coastline.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nc2e1G">
|
||
Still, with average temperatures rising, many disasters are reaching greater scales and into regions where humanity has never experienced them before. Warmer air is making hurricanes dish out <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-and-global-precipitation">more rain</a> and hotter water, which fuels sea level rise and in turn leads to more destructive <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/9/9/16278822/storm-surge-danger-hurricane-florence">storm surges</a>. “We know for sure with <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate">climate change</a>, things are going to get a lot worse. And we’ve got to prepare for the worst,” said Rudolph George, a disaster coordinator in Wotten Waven.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mCHEAv">
|
||
Despite vast improvements in weather forecasting, recent disasters have shown intense wind, rain, waves, and heat can still catch people by surprise. More people are living in vulnerable areas too. And when a hurricane or wildfire is bearing down, a warning is only the first step; people need the resources to act on those warnings and to recover in the aftermath in order to save lives. Dominica is aiming to become a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/dominica-on-track-to-be-worlds-first-climate-resilient-nation">climate-resilient nation</a>, but the true test of its warning system will be the next major hurricane, and it’s only a matter of time before the next one lands on its shore.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="TpE53M">
|
||
Dominica is preparing for the next major hurricane, but is still reeling from the last one
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kuwdXt">
|
||
Warning people about impending disasters in a country like Dominica requires tracking multiple threats and deploying many different communication strategies.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OtdWzd">
|
||
Dominica has 365 rivers, so when a tropical storm rolls in, fast-rising water levels are often an early sign of floods and mudslides in a region. A big part of Dominica’s revamped early warning system is deploying rain gauges and water level monitors throughout the island and teaching local response managers to interpret the data. Working with the World Bank, Dominica recently inaugurated 34 hydrology and meteorology stations to get more precise local forecasts.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XHDCK3">
|
||
“These were constructed to allow Dominica to access real-time weather information, and document it and transmit it to the <a href="https://www.weather.gov.dm/">Met Services Office</a> that can then feed into a potential early warning system,” said Mary Boyer, a disaster risk management specialist at the World Bank. “Until the system was put in place, they were relying on Guadeloupe for weather information, and other French islands.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zYj30f">
|
||
The next challenge is conveying the potential threats to the community and giving them practical advice. “Not everyone understands the jargon of the weather report,” said Sandra Charter-Rolle, director-general of the Dominica Red Cross.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="People sitting at a conference table" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/I1UbMqwcEMwv1nFQZu1Q-u1woWg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24945023/Redcross_Breifing_1.jpeg"/> <cite>Kreig Harris/UN Foundation</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Sandra Charter-Rolle of the Dominica Red Cross (center) describes the various tactics people on the island use to warn of disasters.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mq1Mas">
|
||
And when an emergency does occur, towns and villages send signals over multiple channels — radio, text message alerts, social media. “In some communities, they will use the church bells, they will use the conch shells, something that will alert the residents because not everybody can listen to the radio, or even have social media,” Charter-Rolle said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2cL4ba">
|
||
In Wotten Waven, residents formalized an ad hoc system of knocking on doors to alert neighbors and recruited local amateur radio operators to send alerts when official channels go down, effectively deputizing the whole village as emergency responders for the next hurricane. “We deal with incidents when all other communication has failed,” said Pierre-Louis. “To prepare better for next time, we must ensure that all people are involved.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Cp3x73">
|
||
Once a warning does go out, Dominicans can get to work. “Preparation would look like bringing boats ashore, boarding up windows, stocking up on food supplies, knowing the shelters that they can evacuate to if need be, even stocking up on medication,” said Christine John of the Dominica Red Cross.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8ujgOQ">
|
||
In 2020, Dominica completed two dedicated <a href="https://odm.gov.dm/projects/regional-emergency-shelters/">regional emergency shelters</a> where residents can stay during a major hurricane. The country is also upgrading its building codes in line with its <a href="https://www.oecs.org/climate-&-disaster-resilience/">neighbors in the Caribbean</a> and ensuring that there are schools, churches, or offices in every community that can also protect people during an intense storm. The Dominican government has built <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1180477017/dominica-recovers-hurricane-maria-2017">more than 7,000 homes since Hurricane Maria</a> using revised construction codes and upgraded materials, but there are still residents whose houses are missing walls or roofs from the storm.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="A brick building on the side of the road near sunset." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cgV-NhjEmFb6O-LlF9BlR0XY2LQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24945007/PXL_20230519_214736179.jpeg"/> <cite>Umair Irfan/Vox</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
The Layou Regional Emergency Shelter in Dominica was built as a retreat for residents during severe weather.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AmiEYr">
|
||
Wotten Waven also bears some scars from the 2017 storm. “The main access road to the community is still blocked from Hurricane Maria, so they’re using bypass roads, alternative routes to get to that community,” Charter-Rolle said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9SaZHA">
|
||
Many of Dominica’s challenges are playing out in the <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/island-countries">48 island countries</a> of the world, but also remote coastal regions. These places also face their own unique threats and will have to examine their own hard lessons from past disasters to stay ahead of future emergencies.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="CmA8yB">
|
||
Early warning systems are only one part of reducing deaths from disasters
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VRrQUn">
|
||
The foundation for reducing disaster fatalities must be built well before the catastrophe occurs, and in some cases, there is no other choice. Earthquakes, for example, are notoriously difficult to predict, like the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Morocco earlier this month that killed at least <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02880-3">2,800 people</a>. But scientists know which parts of the world are <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/21/16339522/earthquakes-morocco-turkey-syria-explained-science">most likely to experience tremors</a> even if they don’t know exactly when they will occur.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wxst9d">
|
||
From this information, governments can enact building codes that allow structures to withstand quakes and save lives. Seismically active regions like Japan require building designs to withstand shaking but in some earthquake-prone places like Turkey, officials have <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-2023-turkey-syria-earthquake-government-istanbul-fbd6af578a6056569879b5ef6c55d322">struggled to police builders</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SxVKuT">
|
||
Similarly, researchers can monitor trends like sea level rise and ocean temperatures to figure out which areas face the greatest chances of getting hammered by a tropical cyclone or inundated by storm surge. That can yield insight into how to build a home, how tall to make a seawall, or where it makes sense to retreat. But this too depends on the money and the political will to enforce the rules.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EHg6BR">
|
||
Dominica is currently working to stabilize the main road that crosses the island to ensure access to villages further inland in the wake of a major hurricane. “The [World] Bank is working with the government to make that road the most resilient in Dominica, in terms of slope stabilization, and other bioengineering — a mix of nature-based solutions and great infrastructure — so that road stays there for the next 50 years,” Boyer said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="A worker&nbsp;repairs the roof of a house damaged by Hurricane Maria in Layou, Dominica, on Tuesday, May 8, 2018." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GDcgz8O0oRwnpOiqS7poY2vUd_4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24945010/GettyImages_989901366.jpeg"/> <cite>Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
After Hurricane Maria, Dominica imposed new building codes and built thousands of homes, but many residents still live in houses bearing damage from the storm.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nxqs6L">
|
||
And the need for warnings and communication doesn’t end when the ground stops shaking or when the winds die down. Oftentimes, the rubble of an earthquake or the floodwaters after a hurricane can be more dangerous than the event itself, leading to injuries and illnesses. Warning people about whether water is drinkable, where downed power lines are still energized, and where roads are impassable can prevent further casualties and route emergency services more effectively.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1E0HdV">
|
||
All the while, the global climate is changing, increasing catastrophic risks around the world. The rising concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere may be the most important early warning of the threats in store for the planet. But with most countries remaining <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate/23864312/climate-change-stocktake-cop28-dubai">far off course from their climate change goals</a>, it’s a warning that many are already tuning out.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CKner4">
|
||
<em>This story was supported by a grant from the United Nations Foundation. </em>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q6rszR">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dihFwS">
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>The Hollywood writers strike may finally be ending</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="Writers Walk The Picket Line During The WGA Strike At Netflix" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MU84lo_aKwGJJT7Gj2jvyqSswlI=/307x0:5076x3577/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72684921/1498534184.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
The longest labor strike in Hollywood history may be ending. | Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
What to know about the WGA’s tentative deal to end the longest labor stoppage in the industry’s history.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wgRhGk">
|
||
Hollywood’s longest and most costly <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/7/13/23794036/sag-strike-2023-wga-updates">labor strikes</a> may finally be coming to an end.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fDUY0H">
|
||
Late in the day on Sunday, September 24 – after 146 days of labor stoppage, the longest strike in Hollywood history by a long shot – the WGA, which represents Hollywood’s writers, and the AMPTP, an association of Hollywood’s largest studios and production companies, announced that an agreement had been reached.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zhz5AA">
|
||
According to an announcement sent to members by the WGA leadership on Sunday night, the union “reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<aside id="X1Xtim">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
<h3 id="oA2uAp">
|
||
What does the agreement say?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hOCt0t">
|
||
We don’t know yet, but we likely will in the coming days. According to the WGA’s announcement, “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional—with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bKiJZF">
|
||
What we know is that the WGA’s pattern of demands included cost-of-living to writers’ minimum salaries, residuals, working conditions, hiring practices, and the potential use of artificial intelligence to get around the need to hire and pay writers. There’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23696617/writers-strike-wga-2023-explained-residuals-streaming-ai">more to say</a>, but in general the demands are designed to protect writers from the severe hit to pay and job stability that’s come along with the pivot to streaming and the potential further changes from the advent of generative AI. SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents the actors, put forward a similar set of demands.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="xiENuU">
|
||
Does this mean the writers aren’t on strike?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yE6M18">
|
||
There’s light at the end of the tunnel, but this isn’t all buttoned up yet.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uvcFZ0">
|
||
According to the WGA, once a memorandum of understanding is established between the AMPTP and the WGA, the negotiating committee will vote on whether to recommend the agreement to the union’s leadership. If the leadership authorizes a vote to ratify the contract, then membership will vote.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tAAGHy">
|
||
At that time, the leadership will also vote on whether to end the strike. “This would allow writers to return to work during the ratification vote, but would not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval,” the WGA’s message explained.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vwPIEH">
|
||
The union will suspend picketing immediately, but writers will not return to work until the leadership ends the strike. (The union encouraged WGA members to join the SAG-AFTRA picket lines in the meantime.) The leadership is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, September 26.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yj2iUp">
|
||
This timeline is similar to the events ending the last strike, which happened 15 years ago. The WGA and AMPTP held their final meeting on February 9, 2008 and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2008-02-09/wga-announces-tentative-deal">reached a tentative deal</a>. The WGA filed a strike termination two days later, on February 11, and the next day, the writers voted to end the strike. The WGA then ratified the new contract two weeks later, on February 26. Members could reject the deal, but it’s very unlikely.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1qbeG9">
|
||
On the AMPTP side, there’s no vote to be had — the offer is the offer.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="P9gy25">
|
||
Are the actors in SAG-AFTRA still on strike?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Wp6umy">
|
||
Yes. The SAG-AFTRA strike is separate from the WGA strike, and until an agreement is reached between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA, the actors remain on strike. Most production, for obvious reasons, can’t resume until that strike ends.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YK07xk">
|
||
However, the WGA’s agreement with the AMPTP historically sets the template for Hollywood’s other trade unions. The DGA (which represents directors) already <a href="https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/dga-ratification-vote-amptp-1235653169/">ratified their agreement in June</a>, averting their own strike. But whatever’s in the WGA’s agreement will likely help set the tone for a SAG-AFTRA’s agreement, and we can expect to see them back at the bargaining table soon.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="ncsLDq">
|
||
Does this mean everything’s going to go back to normal?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pK8vBO">
|
||
No. TV and film production doesn’t happen overnight, and while it will likely ramp up rapidly once the actors come back to work, the lengthy strike has caused inevitable delays and hiccups.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nhzz0M">
|
||
The fall TV schedule, for instance, is largely full of reality and game shows; we won’t see a return to “normal” for a while. However, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/9/19/23880858/drew-barrymore-show-writers-strike-backlash-apology">talk shows such as Drew Barrymore’s</a> can now return to the air without risking censure from the WGA. Similarly, late night talk shows (such as those helmed by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers) <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/late-night-talk-shows-return-post-wga-strike-1235733847/">are likely to return</a> by early October.<strong> </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6BCLhe">
|
||
It seems unlikely that movies like <em>Dune: Part Two</em>, which was pushed into 2024, will be pulled back onto the 2023 schedule once actors and writers are permitted by their unions to promote work again. But once SAG-AFTRA’s strike ends, risks of further delays will drop off.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZFGQqI">
|
||
But October had long been seen as kind of a last-ditch moment for an agreement to be reached without catastrophic meltdowns in the industry. That said, many workers <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/2023/8/22/23840473/writers-strike-actors-wga-sag-workers-economy-impact">inside and outside of Hollywood</a> have incurred immense financial losses during the strike, and studios Warner Bros Discovery, which initially saw a bump to their bottom line, have projected earnings losses for 2023.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="joA9QH">
|
||
Once we see the agreement, we’ll know exactly how much of an effect the strikes had on the future of Hollywood. For now, though, the focus is likely to be on recovery, in an industry that’s already reeling from years of potentially bad financial decisions, covid delays, and existential struggles.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Wall Street and Cellini please</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ruling Dynasty, The King N I and Galahad pleas</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Telangana Golconda Masters to be held from September 27</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hanghzou Asian Games | India gets second gold as Titas blows away Sri Lanka in women’s cricket final</strong> - The Indian women’s team is missing a genuine quick bowler in its ranks since the retirement of Jhulan Goswami and Titas looks to be a worthy successor.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hangzhou Asian Games | Gold medal favourite Bopanna-Bhambri pair suffers shock exit, Ankita, Rutuja progress to pre-quarterfinals</strong> - The defeat will rankle the Indian pair all the more as Bopanna is a top-10 player in doubles while Bhambri too is ranked among the top-100</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rathotsavam at Tirumala a grand affair</strong> - Elaborate arrangements by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams ensured that the festival went off without incident</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sena split | Official hearing on disqualification pleas to begin on October 13; Shinde group opposes clubbing of petitions</strong> - The Shiv Sena split in June last year following a rebellion by Mr. Shinde, who went on to become CM after unseating the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Here are the big stories from Karnataka today</strong> - Welcome to the Karnataka Today newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories to follow today. Curated by Nalme Nachiyar.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Morainic foundation, population, building pressure behind Joshimath subsidence, say scientific reports</strong> - Joshimath’s susceptibility to land subsidence because of being located on a foundation of loose sediments coupled with increasing population pressure and multi-storeyed buildings, including hotels, in the town are some of the factors cited in nearly all the reports submitted by eight different institutions</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kerala High Court asks Kasaragod Collector to take steps to hand over houses to families of endosulfan victims by October 15</strong> - The court passed the order on a writ petition filed by Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust alleging that despite the completion of the construction of 36 houses several years ago, the Collector had not taken any steps to hand over these to the beneficiaries</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Messina Denaro: Notorious Italian Mafia boss dies</strong> - The 61-year-old, who spent decades on the run, boasted that he could “fill a cemetery” with his victims.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kosovo and Serbia row over monastery gun battle</strong> - A Kosovan policeman and three ethnic Serb gunmen are dead after a siege of a monastery in Kosovo.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Niger coup: Macron says France to withdraw troops and ambassador</strong> - France’s president says the ambassador will leave and all military co-operation will end in the coming months.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Nagorno-Karabakh: Thousands flee as Armenia warns of ethnic cleansing risk</strong> - A growing stream of ethnic Armenians are leaving after Azerbaijan’s seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh last week.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Lego axes plan to make bricks from recycled bottles</strong> - The toy giant finds that the new crude oil-free material did not cut carbon emissions.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A partial car substitute? Trek’s new cargo bike, reviewed</strong> - A pricey but feature-rich offering from Trek had me pedaling for my groceries. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1968104">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>NASA spacecraft returns to Earth with pieces of an asteroid</strong> - Breathe easy, there’s a bounty from Bennu inside. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1970704">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inside the race to stop a deadly viral outbreak in India</strong> - With viral spillovers happening more frequently, containment is a fragile shield. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1970599">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The history of syphilis is being rewritten by a medieval skeleton</strong> - Columbus may not have brought syphilis back to the Old World after all. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1970581">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>NASA’s asteroid sampling mission is on course for landing this weekend</strong> - “The spacecraft trajectory and performance have just been spot on.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1970566">link</a></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Two old men felt they were close to their last days and decided to have a last night on the town.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
After a few drinks, they ended up at the local brothel.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The madam took one look at the two old geezers and whispered to her manager,
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Go up to the first two bedrooms and put an inflated doll on each bed. These two are so old and drunk, I’m not wasting two of my girls on them. They won’t know the difference.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The manager did as he was told and the two old men went upstairs for their business.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
As they were walking home the first man said, “You know, I think my girl was dead.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Dead?” said his friend, "Why do you say that?’’
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Well,” replied the first, “she never moved or made a sound all the time I was making love to her.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
His friend said, “Could be worse, I think mine was a witch.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“A witch? Why the hell would you say that?” asked the other.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Well, I was making love to her, kissing her on the neck and I gave her a little bite. Then she farted, flew out the window, and took my teeth with her.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Mahmood551"> /u/Mahmood551 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16rpjm1/two_old_men_felt_they_were_close_to_their_last/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16rpjm1/two_old_men_felt_they_were_close_to_their_last/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A guy had a massive crush on this woman.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
He was so enchanted by her that every time he saw her he got an instant hard-on.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
In order to avoid any embarrassment from such an obvious happenstance he decided to call her and ask her out over the phone.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
To his surprise she agreed and they made plans.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
As soon as he hung up he thought, “Shit, what am I gonna do? I’ll get a hard-on as soon as I see her and she’ll never talk to me again.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So, man-like, he came up with what he thought was the perfect solution to him problem. He duct-taped and tied his man thing to his leg.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
On date night he went up to her door, doublechecked his work with a pat on his leg and rang the doorbell, but when she opened the door he kicked her in the face.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Mahmood551"> /u/Mahmood551 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16r91cb/a_guy_had_a_massive_crush_on_this_woman/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16r91cb/a_guy_had_a_massive_crush_on_this_woman/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A man and his wife were in divorce court, but the custody of their children posed a problem…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The mother gets up and says to the judge that since she brought the children into this world, she should retain custody of them. The man also wanted custody of his children, so the judge asked for his justification. After a long silence, the man slowly rose from his chair and replied, “Your Honor, when I put a dollar in a vending machine and a Coke comes out, does the Coke belong to me or the machine?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/blueblueelephant"> /u/blueblueelephant </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16qyyul/a_man_and_his_wife_were_in_divorce_court_but_the/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16qyyul/a_man_and_his_wife_were_in_divorce_court_but_the/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Irish Toast</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
An oldie but a goodie
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
John O’Reilly hoisted his beer and said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me life, between the legs of me wife!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
That won him the top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night!
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
He went home and told his wife, Mary, “I won the prize for the best toast of the night.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
She said, “Aye, did ye now. And what was your toast?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
John said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me life, sitting in church beside me wife.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Oh, that is very nice indeed, John!” Mary said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The next day, Mary ran into one of John’s drinking buddies on the street corner. The man chuckled leeringly and said, “John won the prize the other night at the pub with a toast about you, Mary.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
She said, “Aye, he told me, and I was a bit surprised myself. You know, he’s only been in there twice in the last four years. Once I had to pull him by the ears to make him come, and the other time he fell asleep”.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Insteadly"> /u/Insteadly </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16rapeu/irish_toast/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16rapeu/irish_toast/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I tried dipping my balls in holy water and a nun caught me.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
I told her I wanted my nuts to feel the power of God, but she said that was sack religious.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/HappyFamily0131"> /u/HappyFamily0131 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16rgi25/i_tried_dipping_my_balls_in_holy_water_and_a_nun/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16rgi25/i_tried_dipping_my_balls_in_holy_water_and_a_nun/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
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