Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 7

https://www.propublica.org/article/wisconsin-elections-commission-marge-bostelmann-republicans

"Bullied by Her Own Party, a Wisconsin Election Official’s GOP Roots Mean Nothing in Volatile New Climate"

In the face of repeated calls to back Donald Trump's bogus claims that the 2020 election was stolen, Marge Bostelmann of the Wisconsin Elections Commission remains resolute: “I’m a Republican who stands up for the truth and not for a lie.”
...
In a rare interview, Bostelmann wept at one point. For the most part, though, she was defiant, insisting the 2020 election was not stolen by Joe Biden.

Bomb threat shuts down Oregon Health & Science University clinic after anti-trans information posted online

According to an email sent to members of the AFSCME union representing OHSU employees, the threat was in response to a story posted on a far-right, anti-trans website alleging a cancer patient had been dropped by the clinic over remarks she made about the LGBTQ+ community.

Stewart said the threat came after patient Marlene Barbera became unhappy about a trans flag hanging in the reception area of the Richmond clinic, where she was receiving breast cancer treatment. Multiple far-right media websites shared Barbera’s statements, in which she alleged “gender to be a nonsense and sexed bodies to be a reality.” She said the “transgenderism banner” was hanging like a “Nazi flag behind the reception desk.”

The social media account Libs of TikTok, which has millions of followers and is known for posting anti-LGBTQ+ content, posted about Barbera’s account the day before the bomb threat. As of Saturday morning, a tweet sent by the account had 4.3 million views and nearly 11,000 retweets. The account, run by a woman named Chaya Raichik, has a history of directing harassment and threats toward children’s hospitals that provide care to transgender youths and teenagers.

Judge orders airline lawyers to take extremist advocacy group's "religious-liberty training"

Trump-appointed federal judge orders sanctions against attorneys (which is a rather large hammer to swing, and usually reserved for more egregious misconduct like using ChatGPT to generate fake case citations for you) for a disagreement over "does not" vs "may not" wording:

The sanctions, in large part, were ordered as a result of the fact that — following a jury loss in the employment case — Southwest was supposed to send out a notice that it “may not” discriminate against flight attendants on the basis of their religious practices and beliefs, but instead sent out a notice that it “does not” discriminate and a follow-up memorandum about “civility.” (Southwest is appealing the jury verdict.)

and he apparently made up this punishment on his own, without request from the plaintiffs:

Carter and her lawyers did not ask for anything like this “religious-liberty training” when she filed her motion for sanctions on Dec. 30, 2022.

It wasn’t until Starr filed an order on May 16 that he announced he was considering adding “religious-liberty training” into his sanctions order in the case.

the Alliance Defending Freedom, the group that will conduct this "religious-liberty training", is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

https://apnews.com/article/georgia-redistricting-lawsuit-voting-rights-act-8e785443695a4774db1d42035452139b

Judge refuses to toss discrimination lawsuits over Georgia voting districts

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge has refused to dismiss lawsuits alleging Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts illegally discriminate against Black voters.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled Monday that he could only decide disputes over the facts of the cases and the credibility of the witnesses after a full trial, which he set for September.

“Additionally, given the gravity and importance of the right to an equal vote for all American citizens, the court will engage in a thorough and sifting review of the evidence that the parties will present in this case at a trial,” Jones wrote.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-issue-1-fails-to-pass-2023-results/

Ohio votes against Issue 1 in special election. Here's what that could mean for abortion rights.

Washington — Ohio voters on Tuesday definitively rejected a closely watched proposal known as Issue 1 that would've made it more difficult to amend the state constitution, delivering a crucial victory to pro-abortion rights supporters ahead of a November vote on enshrining reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution.

The Associated Press projects the proposed constitutional amendment failed to garner the majority support it needed to pass. With all precincts reporting, and 58,000 absentee and provisional ballots outstanding, the measure was failing by a margin of 57.01% to 42.99%.

Issue 1 would have raised the threshold for approving future changes to the state constitution through the ballot box from a simple majority — 50%, plus one vote — to 60%.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/08/texas-federal-courts-abbott-paxton-cornyn-trump/

How the Texas AG’s office became a pipeline for conservative federal judges:
In just a few decades, the Texas attorney general’s office became a powerhouse in national legal fights over abortion, health care and immigration. Here’s a timeline of how it happened.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/vulnerable-house-republicans-sweat-the-gops-new-abortion-pill-proposal

A GOP effort to ban the sending of abortion pills by mail is already causing a lot of problems for the battleground district Republicans who are crucial to keeping a GOP House majority.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/13/politics/coffee-county-georgia-voting-system-breach-trump/index.html

Georgia prosecutors have messages showing Trump’s team is behind voting system breach. Specifically, the person who illegally granted access went and emailed Trump's team directly to invite them, and then Trump's operatives went to the site and dug around in the voting machines.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/tlaib-medical-debt

Tlaib Bill Would Prohibit Medical Debt From Appearing on Credit Reports
"Americans should not be denied access to basic needs that improve their quality of life, like employment, housing, or transportation because of medical debt," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

Ron DeSantis suspends second elected prosecutor

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has once again suspended an elected local prosecutor, a move that comes as his presidential campaign struggles amid a continued reset. DeSantis on Tuesday suspended Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell, a Democrat who is the only Black woman serving as a local prosecutor in Florida.

The photo of De Santis laughing during torture of a Guantanamo prisoner sums him up pretty well. He's one of the most disgusting GOP pols. I wish him unwell.