Tea Party Seeks To Regroup

A federal judge ruled late Friday that Tennessee’s law restricting drag shows is unconstitutional. The decision is a ray of sunshine during Pride month as state bans on drag performances and related bills that exclude and deny care to transgender individuals proliferate across the country. The Tennessee law, the Adult Entertainment Act, bans “adult cabaret entertainment,” including performers dressed in drag, in public spaces or any place where a minor could view it.

President Joe Biden signed a debt ceiling deal on Saturday, averting a default on the nation’s debt predicted for Monday, thereby narrowly avoiding an international economic crisis. The House had approved the bill on Wednesday followed by the Senate on Thursday. Biden, who brokered the deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), has framed the agreement as a bipartisan deal in the mold of a bygone era in which the two parties used to work together.

Fort Bragg, one of the largest military bases in the country, officially became Fort Liberty on Friday, the first of nine military bases in the South that will ditch their confederate namesakes. The renaming effort got underway after the murder of George Floyd sparked a reassessment of and backlash against the country’s memorials to the Confederacy.

CNN: “Nearly the entire field of 2024 Republican candidates and likely contenders will flip pork chops and mingle with a crowd of politically plugged-in caucus-goers Saturday in Iowa as they participate in GOP Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual ‘Roast and Ride’ event.” Donald Trump “is skipping the get-together.”

The latest episode of Trial Balloon is live for members. In the aftermath of the debt ceiling fight, both sides are declaring victory. Meanwhile, the GOP presidential field is getting very crowded. .memberful-global-teaser-content p:last-child{ -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); } Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising.

“A federal judge says Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional,” the AP reports. U. S. District Judge Thomas Parker, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote that the law was both “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad.” He also added that the statute encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.” From the opinion: “There is no question that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.