SUPREME COURT UPDATES:

Supreme Court Shifts Power Over Federal Regulations to Federal Judges – 

* Make it harder for Federal Prosecutors to go after January 6 rioters

* Denied Steve Bannon request for review of his 4 month prison sentence. 

By: Emmanuel Roy

Washington, DC – The conservative majority of the Supreme Court continues to overturn decades of established legal precedents, courtesy of Donald Trump’s appointment or three conservative judges. 

This week, the Supreme Court shifts power over federal regulations from agencies to judges, by overuling a judicial doctrine that has protected many federal regulations from legal challenges for over four decades — delivering a major victory to conservatives and business groups seeking to curb the power of the executive branch. 

The 6-3 decision divided the court along ideological lines. Known as Chevron deference, the old Reagan-era doctrine required judges to defer to agencies’ “reasonable” interpretations of “ambiguous” federal laws. Its fallout will make it harder for President Joe Biden or any future president to act on a vast array of policy areas, from wiping out student debt and expanding protections for pregnant workers to curbing climate pollution and regulating artificial intelligence.

The 6-3 majority also sided with criminal rioters of January 6.  In another opinion released today, the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of a federal law used to charge hundreds of people with obstructing Congress during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, jeopardizing many of those criminal cases. 

The 6-3 ruling — in which two justices crossed the court’s usual ideological lines — may force federal prosecutors to reconsider charges in dozens of pending cases, and it could require judges to resentence some defendants already sent to prison for interfering with Congress’ effort to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the last presidential contest. About 350 of the 1,400-plus charged Jan. 6 defendants have faced obstruction charges, which are now thrown into doubt by the court.

Also, Steve Bannon, the architect of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign for president  is going to prison. The Supreme Court  rejected a last-ditch bid by the longtime Donald Trump ally to stave off a four-month prison sentence for defying subpoenas from the Jan. 6 select committee three years ago. The high court’s decision — a one-sentence denial without explanation — means the influential right-wing podcaster will head to prison on July 1, with his release date just days before the November 2024 election.

Amy Lindgren

Hey, it’s nearly Independence Day: How’s it going with your New Year’s resolutions?

Talk about a non sequitur. Probably the last thing on your mind is that list of goals you made in the depth of winter, when the sky would always grow dark before you even started dinner.

Of course, that’s exactly the reason to think about those resolutions now, even while you’re planning beach trips and barbecues. The less front-of-mind your goals are, the more important it is to revive them.

So now for the fun stuff: Moving ahead in life and enjoying the independence that gives you. And there we have the connection to Independence Day. When we reach our goals, we gain freedom from whatever it is holding us back.

Not only that, but the Fourth of July holiday happens to fall almost exactly midway through the year, making it an excellent time for a check-in.

Ready? Here are five steps for ensuring you’re on track (or for getting yourself back on track, if not):

1. Find your list of goals from January: This first step could be the hardest, depending on your level of organization. But once you’ve found the list, you can move on to Step 2.

2. Check your progress: Were there multi-step goals that need several stages to complete? If yes, it’s time to check where you are in that series of steps. For example, if the goal was to finish that last semester of college that you’ve been putting off, you know the steps are going to include things like meeting with an admissions counselor and getting a copy of your old transcript. So, did you?

3. Toss out the lame-duck goals: If any of your goals were tied to something you’re no longer involved in, or don’t care about anymore, it’s time to cross them off the list. For example, if you wanted to join a certain committee at work but actually changed jobs instead, that goal is obviously not needed anymore.

Along the same lines, you can also eliminate goals connected to things you’re no longer interested in, such as specific hobbies. Pruning your list at mid-year is a good way to create space for the goals that really matter to you.

4. Triage the remaining goals: Suppose you now have 10 goals on your list, after crossing off three or four. Which of these is the most important to you? The second-most important? Rank the remaining goals and then re-arrange them in order with the most important first.

Okay, deep breath. Now cut the bottom half of the list. In the example where you had 10 goals after the initial pruning, you will now have five after tossing the bottom half of the list. These are the goals you’re committing to for the remainder of the year, with the other five going to the side for the moment.

If that feels radical, consider that it’s better to complete five goals than to not complete 10. In other words, you get points for completion, not for having a long list.

5. Schedule the required steps on your calendar: This is where things get real. Using the example of going back to school, now you must list the steps that goal would require. For example, in addition to meeting with an admissions counselor and ordering your transcript, you’ll also need to explore ways to pay for tuition and perhaps talk with your boss about changing your schedule to accommodate classes.

Whatever your goals, the assignment is the same: Identify the necessary steps, then assign each one to a specific day on the calendar. When you do this, the steps become commitments rather than a vague idea of something you have to get around to, which helps ensure you actually move forward in the process — and in your life.

Building the momentum

Not everyone is a natural goal-setter — perhaps most people aren’t, in fact. That’s the reason that simple processes like this can be so important. They help you gain momentum while keeping the project as low-key as possible.

But what if you didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions last January? That’s easy: Do it now instead. These can become half-year goals, or you can shift your concept of “new year” to be July 1-June 30, the way some government agencies do.

As long as you’re moving forward to achieve your dreams and goals, you’ll be on track this Independence Day. It’s your chance to take control in your life and celebrate that freedom.

Related Articles

Working Strategies: Land or Launch: Should 20 somethings be living at home?

Working Strategies: Next steps for ‘non-trad’ grads

Working Strategies: Launching your career-change job search

Working Strategies: College is over, graduation over, what next?

Working Strategies: Avoiding the ‘Tell us about yourself’ trap

Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.

Washington County’s new website, which has a “.gov” extension, goes into effect on Monday.

The county government is moving from co.washington.mn.us to a new, more secure domain — washingtoncountymn.gov — and updating each county employee’s email address with the new domain extension.

The new website address complies with Federal Homeland Security recommendations. It also creates consistency with other government organizations, builds public trust in the website, and takes advantage of enhanced security features that come with “.gov” domains, county officials said.

The “.gov” extension can be used only by U.S.-based government organizations. It is managed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which provides layers of security that other domains such as “.com,” “.org” and “.us” do not, officials said.

The public can continue using the former website address, www.co.washington.mn.us, which will automatically redirect to washingtoncountymn.gov. This fall, the county will transition all county email addresses to the washingtoncountymn.gov address.

Washington County Library’s website address will not change. It remains www.washcolib.org.

Related Articles

St. Paul man sentenced to nearly 14 years for killing West Side store worker

Oakdale Summerfest to feature pop-up splash pad and fireworks show

Alamo Drafthouse to reopen in Woodbury

‘If it fits through the front door, we’ll work on it.’ Longtime Lake Elmo veterinarian retires after 52 years.

Where to find Fourth of July fireworks and events in the St. Paul area