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i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. the supreme court comprised by appoint east of former president donald trump ended a most consequential term. scotus on voting rights, affirmative action, student loans and adoption. this on top of last year's rulings concerns abortion, guns, religion and climate change. yesterday, the court released a much anticipated opinion concerning speech and gay rights. at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn't the baker. this case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. then the court decided for the baker, but didn't determine whether a business owner's speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn't want to

create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she never received a request to design a same-sex couple's site nor turned anyone down. smith won. a majority of the court saw colorado's public accommodation laws an unconstitutional attempt by the state to compel her speech. the minority cast the outcome as the first time the court permitted a commercial business to refuse service to a protected class. justice neil gorsuch wrote the majority opinion in which he stated this. all manner of speech from pictures, films, paintings, drawings and engravings to all utterance and the printed word qualify for the first amendment's protections. no less can hold true when it comes to speech like miss smith's conveyed over the internet. lawyers and law schools, with we love hypotheticals and both sides to this case came well armed. justice gorsuch's majority warned if the state were

successful, the government could similarly require an unwilling muslim movie director to make a film with a zionist message or atheist muralist to accept a commission celebrating evangelical zeal so long as they make films or murals for other members of the public with different messages. or the government could enforce a male website designer married to another man to design websites for an organization that advocates against same-sex marriage. justice society mayor's minority opinion responded in kind. she raised the example of a professional photographer who is generally free to choose her subjects. can make a living pay taking photos of flowers or celebrities. the state doesn't regulate that choice. but, she said, if the photographer opens a portrait photography business to the public, the business may not then deny to any person because of race, sex, national origin or other protected characteristic the full and equal enjoy of whatever services the business chooses to offer.

and said sotomayor, if the business offers corporate head shots, it may not nen deny those services to women because the owner believes a woman he is place is in the home. nor sotomayor argued can a website designer refuse to create a wedding website for an interracial couple based on the opinion that the almighty god did not intend for the races to mix. could a stationer refuse to sell a birth announcement for a disability couple because she opposes their having a child? and what about a charge retail store that wishes to reserve family portrait services for traditional families. where would the slippery slope end? president biden weighed in calling the decision disappointing and said that he feared the exclusion of gays and other minorities by businesses. joining me are the successful plaintiff in the website ruling lorie smith and her attorney kristin wagner. she has argued thcases for the supreme court.

the ceo and president of a faith-based legal organization that won 15 cases at scotus and assisted in the legal team that overturned roe v. wade. lori, thank you for being here. hypothetical for you. if a gay man who is a realtor asked you to design a website for his business, are you taking that job? >> of course. and it's not a hypothetical. i have clients who identify as lgbtq. i work with clients from all walks of life. i can't create every message requested of me. >> you do a great job. t hypothetical number two. you do a great job for a man and woman kgetting married. a same-sex couple see the website you create and say we want exactly that. just change the pictures and change the date. don't do anything else. give us what you gave them. how about that? >> i don't specialize in that type of speech. everything i create is enuke and

one of a kind. i am always looking the message i am being asked to create. what's important to emphasize here for the last seven years the state of colorado has been silencing and coercing my speech and forcing me to create a message i don't wish to create. nobody should be put in that position and the court's decision yesterday protects speech, not just for me, for the lgbtq website designer and every other artist out there. nobody should be punished by the government for speaking consistent with their beliefs. >> counselor, i see you shaking your head. let me ask you a question. i read the opinion last night. it's great reading the majority and minority view and i recommend americans interested take the time to do so. it's written mostly in plain speak. i thought before i read it that this was going to be largely predicated on lori's religious beliefs and that is not my takeaway. it's about her speech but makes me wonder, okay, what about

someone who is just uncomfortable with whatever might be the client in front of them having nothing to do with faith. doesn't that open the door for animus to be a determinant? >> the decision does not do that at all. it reaffirmed a principle in the constitution was the first amendment follows a golden rule. we need to protect speech for others, even those we disagree with. what if someone feels uncomfortable? they certainly can't deny service because they feel uncomfortable. the court's ruling says that non-discrimination laws continue to apply to ensure that people can't be denied services or goods because of a protected characteristic. it also says no matter who you are, the government can't force you to say something that you don't believe and that's a win for everyone. >> right. you make it sound as if these are black and white determinations though. i think this is in the gray area. what is speech?

i don't know why so much of this litigation is in a wedding context. okay. i'll roll with it. so i guess the baker is speaking. i guess the website designer, your client is speaking, presumably the florist is speaking, the photographer. what about the stagehand? what about "the wedding singer"? what about the ancillary businesses? are they all offering speech or doing a job like they would do for any other couple? >> if they are doing a job and there is not speech involved, then they are -- the nondiscrimination principles apply and the first amendment does not in the free smeech context. i think you are overcomplicating it. the majority decision by justice gorsuch is clear. there are clear tests in the law as to when speech is involved. we know when speech is involved. and here we have the written printed word. so there is no question that speech is involved. and in terms of justice sotomayor's dissent, as the majority said she is litigating a case that wasn't even before the court and an entirely

different facts. like you said, americans should read the decision and decide for themselves. >> okay. i am in my hypothetical, counselor, i am an atheist and i am in one of these ancillary businesses and when couples get together in a non-religious environment or ceremony i am going to provide my services. wait a minute. this is a religious wedding? i don't want a part of that. is that okay? >> well, i am not sure what your atheist is doing. what matters is are -- >> i am a florist. i am a photographer. i am a web designer or a baker. i am an atheist and i only provide services for fellow atheists even though i hold myself out to the public. >> it's about what the speech is that's being requested. lori has always made distinctions based on what the message is that she is asked to give voice to and that's a critical distinction that the court reaffirmed. the test has always been whether the speaker's message is affected by what the government

wants them to say. that's the test that we will continue to apply. the court didn't create new law. they applied it in a cultural moment where some disagree with lori's message. it's important to stick to protecting freedom because political and cultural winds shift. if the government can compel lori, it can compel the lgbtq website designer as well. we need to remember that. >> this is a law school dream, this case. lori, a final one for you. think of the pharmacist called upon to fill a prescription for birth control who has a religious objection to doing so. i would say, hey, you chose to be a pharmacist and if it you have trouble providing this service, maybe this is not a gig for you. what about someone who says if you want to be a web designer, you've got to serve everybody and your religion can't come into it. you get the final word. >> i create speech for a living. when speech is involved, speech should be protected. this protects not just me, but

losing streak website designer, the jewish cal ig fer, the democrats speech writer, pro-life photographer. we benefit from the court's ruling yesterday. >> to be continued. thank you both so much for being here. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i am inspired for the poll question to ask you the following. here it is. go to smerconish.com and tell me -- and maybe it's a loaded question because of the subject i just discussed and all the news of the week. but i want to hear what you think. which is having the greatest impact on american lives? president biden? is it the congress? is it the supreme court? by the way, when you go to smerconish.com you will see a new feature where you can live chat during the program. we will be pulling some of your comments for me to respond to during the course -- there it is, highlighted at the top of the page. hit me up on social media. this comes, i think, from youtube. what do we have, katherine? i could have continued that segment forever. business owners who want to make money.

what is wrong with that woman? how much business will she lose because of her bigotry? i think i welcome those guests. i love this conversation. but if you sign up for a particular job, you've got to do the job. and when public accommodation butts up against her speech right, i don't think it's an easy call. i'll say that. up ahead, an irs whistleblower claims that the agency was thwarted from fully investigating hunter biden and joe ag maurterrick garland says didn't interfere. will we get an answer? in 1990, tom stuker bought a lifetime pass on united airlines and now he has flown more than 23 million miles. well, he has landed at cnn for a layover to tell us what it's like to be the world's most frequent flyer.

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an airplane anywhere in world at a moment's notice without thinking about the cost. well, that's the life that my next guest lives. tom stuker is a sales and

management consultant working in the auto industry. in 1990, united airlines was offering customers a lifetime flying pass for unlimited travel. stuker jumped at the chance to invest in a companion pass. that means that for the then-hefty price of $510,000 he could fly with a partner first class on any future united airlines "flight." he is 69. he traveled more than 23 million miles. for tom, there is no such thing as a once-in-a-lifetime type of trip. he once brought a friend who loves chinese friend to hong kong for a meal and flew to australia for a three-hour 70th birthday. he and his wife have taken 100 honeymoons. he has been racking up airline points and miles along the way, cashing in on high-end hotel suites, gift cards, cruises and gourmet meals. he once cashed $50,000 worth of walmart gift cards in a single day.

he even earned a guest appearance on a "seinfeld" episode on united's dime. with perks like that it's no sprieds the airline no longer offers such an opportunity yet the company adores him. the airline put his name on two of its airplanes. tom stuker joins me now. thank you for being here. three quick questions at the outset. what's the best seat on the plane? >> my favorite seat is the bulkhead. domestically, i like 1 b. and internationally, i like either especially on the polaris aircraft, which is so great, the 1 apple or 1 lima, the side single seats by the window. it's easy in, easy out. you are close to the bathroom and close to the bar. >> what's the best airport in the world? >> anywhere -- okay. this is a little different. my favorite airport -- there are great things in every airport. my favorite airports are the

united hubs. that's just me fernlly because that's where my united family is. these people are family to me. i get to see my family members at the hubs. these are my best friends. so spending time with people i know at the airports is more important. other people, they might like hong kong or amsterdam or sipping por for those airports. >> okay. number three. best airline meal, if there is such a thing? >> this is going to sound really -- i like a good steak. united serves some nice ones. but my favorite meal, and they don't have it anymore and i miss it so much, they used to have lobster mac and cheese, going back and forth to australia. that was my favorite! with the garlic bread. it was so good! >> when you enter the plane, when you walk on, like i do a lot of flying, nothing like you, believe me.

i don't think i have ever recognized a flight attendant and thought to myself, oh, i know her or i know him from a prior flight. when you get onboard, do they all know you? >> not all of them, but especially on international trips, i know an awful -- i would say probably 50% of the flight attendants i have flown with and know. and like i said, the best part, the best part of flying for me is the interaction with the crew. i love the crews. i have known them, again, they are my family and i have known them forever. they are so great. whether you have never flown before, if you treat the flight attendants and crews nice, they will treat you good, too. show respect to each other. >> a good rule for life. you are in first class 23 million miles worth. i got to believe a lot of celebrities, well-known people. give me one quick celebrity encounter. >> bill murray in the first class lounge chicago. my brother, who is a great bill

murray fan, i told bill i think my brother does a better bill murray than he does. my brother had a great -- a tough life with 28 back operations. bill says, get him on the phone. bill called my brother didn't answer. he left a two-minute message that was just so beautiful. the greatest guy you ever met. bill murray, the celebrity. >> back in 1990, it was a lot of money. it's it's a lot of money today. you knew, hey, this is something i got to do and i am going to get the companion pass as well even if it cost me 500? >> it did. and it was not only the best investment for me. a lot of people think it was a bad investment for united. not really. okay. maybe not for me personally, but when they sold these passes, all the airlines had a cash crunch and what they did was brilliant. what they did is say let's get these passes sold and instead of

borrowing money and pay interest, we will pay it with empty seats later on. i love my united. it's a great -- i love the direction they are going and how they are going green to keep the atmosphere clean for everybody. i love flying. i love flying. and i love the people i meet on the planes and on the ground. that's the best part. >> final question. check a bag, yes or no? >> no if you can get away with it. i mean, online i am going on a two-week cruise in august, so fi got to check a bag. business trips i have to wear suits and, yes, check the bag when you have to. avoid it at all costs. i go to hawaii for ten days without a checked bag. they got -- they got laundromats. if i have to buy clothes and donate at the end because i don't have room in the bag. but i like to save 30 minutes at the carousel. >> love it. thank you so much. by the way, second weekend in august i am open. i got nothing on the calendar.

>> i think my calendar is pretty full. i mean, i'll be up in those friendly skies just about the rest of the year. >> thank you, tom. appreciate it. >> all right. you bet. thanks for having me. >> you bet. social media, youtube, what do we have? can you imagine? at the time i bet his friends are like, you're crazy! now look. dave says, i blue 1.5 million miles in my career and was worn out and didn't want to get on a plane for two years after i retired. i can't imagine flying 23. in 2019, he took 373 trips in 365 days. 1.46 million miles. guess what the market value for that one year of flying was? $2.44 million. 2.44 mil, okay? so he got a bargain back in 1990. please make sure you are going to smerconish.com and voting on today's poll question. i wanted you to think about

this. yes, i am making a point. i am making a point by asking this question because i know how it's going to end. which is having the greatest impact on american lives? president biden, congress, or the supreme court? up ahead, two irs whistleblowers claim hunter biden deserved more serious charges than he pled guilty to but the probe was hamstrung to protect the president. hunter's lawyer says the whistleblowers are disgruntled agents with bias and an axe to grind. so which is it. plus, this year has seen a record-shattering number of anti-lbgtq laws and 20 states have passed bans on gender-affirming health care access for transgender children and teenagers. a federal judge after a trial in arkansas struck down that state's law as unconstitutional. i will talk to doctor who testified in the case and has been treating trans patients for 30 years.

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can all three be telling the truth? hunter biden's prosecution and plea deal on tax evasion remains a hot bull button issue as the election heats up partly because it's unclear whether the irs was thwarted from fully investigating the bidens. exhibit a. irs whistleblower gary shappley who oversaw the agency's role in the investigation is claiming that the irs investigators recommended far more serious charges and that the u.s. attorney in delaware overseeing the probe, david wise was blocked from bringing charges in other states. he says his criticism led to him being denied a promotion. here is what he told bret baier on fox news. >> we were conducting an investigation of hunter biden following the normal process, getting to the bottom of it t

and ultimately if it was going to lead to another individual, you know, we should follow that to determine what actually was happening, but, you know, there were definitely hindrances that i have never seen before in my 14 years concerning this investigation that didn't allow us to follow through an investigation of any other individual to include president biden. >> but how does that square with exhibit b? when asked about the ace. merrick garland said this. >> mr. weiss was appointed by president trump as the u.s. attorney in delaware and assigned this matter during the previous administration, would be permitted to continue his investigation and to make a decision to prosecute any way in which he wanted to and in any district in which he wanted to. mr. weiss has since sent a letter to the house judiciary committee confirming that he had that authority. i don't know how it would be possible for anybody to block

him from bringing a prosecution given that he has this authority. >> which leads us to a exhibit c, the letter that garland referenced, u.s. attorney weiss wrote to house judiciary committee chair jim jordan on june 7. i have been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of the prosecution consistent with federal law, the principles of federal prosecution and departmental regulations. but according to shappley's testimony in mid 2022 weiss reached out to the top federal prosecutor in washington to ask his office to pursue charges and was rebuffed, as was a request to prosecutors in the central district of california. much has been made over the reporting from "the new york times" piece, quote, a second former irs official who has not been identified told house republicans that same story.

that episode was confirmed independently to "the new york times" by a person with knowledge of the situation. on friday, hunter biden's lawyer abbe lowell pushed back in a letter to the gop chair of the house ways and means committee. called them, quote, disgruntled agents with a bias and axe to grind and accusing republican lawmakers of releasing the transcripts as, quote, an obvious ploy to feed the misinformation campaign to harm our client hunter biden as a vehicle to attack his father. so what actually happened here? joining me to discuss is glen thrush, washington correspondent for "the new york times," where he covers the department of justice. thank you for being here. it's your "new york times" reporting that i referenced a moment ago. can all of these competing accounts somehow be squared? >> who knows? but i think one of the things that is becoming increasingly clear is merrick garland did not do a very good job of explaining the process to us when he

addressed us on friday. this is a much more nuanced process than weiss having completely unlimited authority to move unilaterally. the process would entail, say he goes to d.c. and california and says to them, let's partner on prosecutions involving violations of the tax code and what we're really talking about here, according to the material that's out there, is the 2014 and 2015 tax years are the ones they are targeting. they say, nah, we don't like it, or for whatever reasons that they choose to decline to partner. he can then go appeal, essentially, to merrick garland and say i want to invoke a section of the law called the special -- not special counsel, special attorney whereby you overrule these guys and give full authority. weiss says he never ask that.

garland says he never did this. part of this is how incomplete an explanation gare land provided to us. >> in my hand i have my own marked-up version of the print edition of "the new york times" which contains infamous paragraph number 21. quote, that episode was confirmed independently to "the new york times" by a person with knowledge of the situation. what exactly did you confirm? >> we confirmed -- i am not going to go much beyond what we wrote. but i will tell you that the general sense that we have is that he approached the prosecutor in southern california with a request to partner and was denied. that is the alpha to omega of what we know and what we have reported thus far. we are continuing to -- >> okay. that seems to support what -- it seems to support what shappley has said, which is that at this meeting on october 7, 2022,

weiss comes in and says, look, i am not the decisionmaker here. >> it doesn't support that at all. it supports this one fairly narrow aspect of the story. look, the main thing with shappley, what we are seeing, and, obviously, there is new information presented in this testimony that has changed narrative of the story, right. we are now talking about the d.c. and california charging decisions. we hadn't been talking about that before. let's just affirm that he has placed that into the record. but a lot of these other characterizations have not been challenged. we are not seeing him cross-examined by minority counsel on his testimony and he has yet to say that he will appear under oath before the committee as merrick garland has. so the suggestions, the question here is, there are two sets of questions here, right. what's the fact set which is what we are attempting to determine and what are the suggestions that shappley is making and what's the gaps

betthose two accounts? >> the person who could clear this up it seems to me is u.s. attorney weiss. first of all, do you agree with is that? secondly, do you expect he will soon speak? >> i do. i think weiss from our reporting, weiss is particularly frustrated with shappley's characterization of himself as a whistleblower. he doesn't think there has been any retaliation against shappley and what we're sort of hearing from scuttlebutt inside the department is that weiss is frustrated by the version of accounts that are going out there. now, that said, there was one line in the announcement of the hunter biden plea deal that freezes everything. he said that this is, quote, unquote, an ongoing investigation, end quote, which took lot of the people by surprise. it means that he, weiss, cannot be dragged before any congressional committee and forced to answer those questions under oath while this is going on. >> i know i'm dreaming, but i

want to see, you know, shappley, weiss and garland, you know, all like this and clearing this up once and for all. thank you so much. we will continue to read your reporting on this. >> great talking to you. more social media reaction. i think this comes from the live website chat that we just initiated which had so much traffic that it crashed. hopefully, it's coming back. big fan, but where were you in the beginning of the hunter story? you discounted it. now other media has acknowledged you're on the program. no, kelly, that's not fair at all. and those who listen to me in my day job object siriusxm know i talked about it from the get go, didn't believe the way the story lched from the "new york post" should have been the case. i thought it warranted then a full airing and conversation. so there you go. now you can say, oh, he loves trump! but i am also the guy who said at its core it's an addiction

story. don't think that it's a corruption story. hunter's got issues. i don't see the evidence that joe does. but it's an addiction story. i would love to talk more about it. believe me. listen to me on radio. i get three hours a day. answer the poll question at smerconish.com which is asking, which is having the greatest impact on american lives? president biden, the congress, or the supreme court? still to come, a judge in arkansas has ruled unconstitutional a state law banning transgender care and surgery for minors. i am going to ask a doctor who is an expert witness for the plaintiffs about the science of trans heart alth care. ♪ the biggest ideas inspire new ones. 30 years ago, state street created an etf that inspired the world to invest differently. it still does. what can you do with spy? ♪ ♪

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kind of restriction on medical care for transgender people. this week in north carolina the legislature sent the governor a bill that bans doctors in the state from providing gender-affirming care to minors even if there is parental content. ? louisiana legislation that bans hormone treatments, puberty blockers and surgeries for young people. before such anti-trans medical restrictions get tested in everyday life, they are running into legal roadblocks. this week federal judges in kentucky and tennessee temporarily blocked similar laws in those states and judges have also temporarily blocked alabama and indiana's versions. foremost is arkansas where a federal judge after an eight-day trial struck down the state's save adolescents from experimentation, or safe act, banning gender transition care for minors. the judge said said it was unconstitutional. the first to block such a ban for an entire state. in his decision, jums james

moord jr. said it skrim snated against transgender people and violated the constitutional rights of doctors. wrote, quote, rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well being of patients and pro prohibiting it the state undermined the interests it claims to be advancing. he added there is nothing unique about the risks of gender-affirming medical care for adolescents that warrants taking this medical decision out of the hands of adolescent patients, parents and doctors. he also dismissed most of the state's expert witnesses as unqualified. saying their opinions were, quote, grounded in ideology rather than science. joining me is dr. dan karasic who was a plaintiffs expert witness in the arkansas case as well as florida. a professor emeritus of psychiatry of the university of california san francisco. he has been providing care for trans people for more than 30

years. doctor, i read the opinion. the judge made a number of fact findings largely based on your testimony. i want to run through four quickly. number one on the screen, gender identity is not something that an individual can control or voluntarily change or, doctor, as i would say, you can't pray it away, correct? >> yes. are gender identity is a deeply felt sense of being male, female or another gender. it's not something where someone can just decide one day that they are not going to be transgender. >> number two. the lack of alignment between one's gender identity and their sex assigned at birth, gender incongruence, can cause significant distress. the medical term is gender dysphoria. the point i take away is it's a recognized medical condition, the sort of thing that you find in the dsm. true? >> yes.

gender dysphoria is a diagnosis in the dsm-v. >> number three. gender dysphoria is a serious condition that if left untreated can result in other psychological conditions, including depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidality and impairment in functioning. my take away, doing nothing is not an option. you would say what? >> yeah, that's my experience as well. you know, i have been working with trans youth for decades now, and i have seen the tremendous benefit that youth get from gender-affirming care for those who need it, and those who are -- who need it but can't access it could have great distress as a result. >> the fourth finding of fact that i pulled out of the opinion. based on your testimony, it is widely recognized in the medical and mental health fields for many people with gender dysphoria, the clinically

significan significant distress can be relieved by living in gender transition, meaning relief comes when you live your identity. is that fair? >> yeah, i think that's fair as well. for those people who have gender dysphoria and are having dispress and impairment as a result, for many of those people transitioning is necessary to provide relief from that distress. >> a concern that i think some parents have, and some of the proponents of the bills that i just described, is that social influence is going to be outcome determinative. so to you as a practitioner, how do you weed out social influence, peer pressure? this is just a fad type of thing. >> so, we make a diagnosis of gender dysphoria which includes six months of clinically

significant distress or social or occupational impairment. so it's not just that someone learns that there are transgender or non-binary people in society and is, you know, contemplating that as an identity. it's that they are having distress about the difference between their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth. that's going on for months or years and is really impairing their lives. >> how often in your practice, i'm limited on time, so a short answer is appreciated. how often in your practice for decades, thousands of trans patients, have you encountered rer regret? >> the regret -- regret is rare. and when i have -- when i have encountered it, it's -- people sometimes have regret about

losing their job, losing their family, other aspects of societal discrimination that they weren't prepared for. but i don't see regret of people making a binary transition and then, you know, regret doing so. >> thank you, doctor. thanks for allowing me to quickly run through the factual predicate as i could get to. >> thank you. checking in on your social media comments. what do we have? you reported on the mental health crisis on american youth. i heard a psychologist say coming out trans youth often suffer depression. is it possible when a -- kyle, i am not an expert and i don't understand your question. i am going to say read the arkansas opinion. an eight-day trial. all this back and forth. it's hard to separate fact and

fiction. eight-day trial. federal judge. listen to both sides what was most stunning to me having invested the time to read it. the family evidence. the parents and the kids who testified typical fact pattern. it's been going on for years. young man, young woman realizes when they are, you know, in third grade, hey, something's not right. five years later they write a letter because they are afraid of having the conversation. they write a letter to their parent and say, like, here is the deal. and the experts saul cited in the case say it's not something you get talked into. it's not like your kid goes to school tomorrow and come home and have a new message because it's like the yo-yo or pet i don't know why i'm so fired up about this. still to come, more of your best and worst social media comments and the final result of the poll question from smerconish.com.

you know the answer to this. which is having the the greatest impact on american lives? is it president biden? is it the congress, kevin mccarthy, and chuck schumer? or is it the supreme court? i'm jayson. i'm living with hiv and i'm on cabenuva. it helps keep me undetectable. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month.

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so there's the answer to this week's poll question at smerconish.com. which is having the greatest impact on american lives, 32,000-plus voted and 78% have the correct answer. i knew that was the way that it was going to go but i wanted to do it nonetheless to drive home the point. every four years i find myself on cnn or sirius xm, when you go out and vote think about the consequence of presidents

picking the entire federal judiciary, not just the supreme court when there is a vacancy but much more law frankly gets made at the appellate level. maybe next year is the year that people keep it in mind. katherine, show me one social media reaction. i think if you're charging for it, it is not a free speech reaction. oh, right, says bob. look, it is very hard to regulate these matters. what is speech? if i'm a magician, entertaining at a party, am i delivering speech like a florist or a baker? to be continued, have a happy fourth. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the subway series menu. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. for freeee. that's what i'm talking about. order in the subway app today.

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