Snapshot · Pod Save America
Aggregating this week's decisions, the pattern is consistent: corporations cannot be sued for human rights abuses or cancer-causing labels, but individuals cannot sue state or federal officials for violating their rights.
Where this was said
At 28:38 · chapter starts 23:55
Not every ruling this week broke cleanly on ideological lines. The Monsanto decision was 7-2, with Kagan and Sotomayor siding with the conservatives, while Ketanji Brown Jackson and Neil Gorsuch dissented. Leah Litman thinks the majority probably got it right: Congress made an explicit choice in FIFRA to prioritize uniformity and EPA expertise over state-level jury verdicts when it comes to pesticide labeling [1] — Leah Litman "The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that only the EPA — not state courts or juries — can require changes to pesticide warning labels. Leah Litman t…" 23:56 . But she has larger concerns — this ruling joins a pattern in which corporations are increasingly insulated from accountability, from human rights liability to cancer claims. The plaintiffs can still try to compel the EPA to update the label going forward, but they cannot recover damages for harm they've already suffered.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that only the EPA — not state courts or juries — can require changes to pesticide warning labels. Leah Litman thinks the court probably got it right because Congress explicitly chose uniformity and EPA expertise over state-level accountability.
This week corporations can't be sued for human rights abuses or inadequate cancer warnings, but TPS holders, prisoners, immigrants, and permanent residents all lost the ability to enforce their rights. The Roberts Court has one consistent answer to the question 'who gets to sue': corporations.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
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