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Democrats and activists who sought to enshrine abortion in the New York Constitution with the ratification of a deceptively worded amendment face a new obstacle after State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Doyle ruled that the state legislature failed to adequately satisfy the constitutionally outlined procedure for passing a ballot measure.

“The constitution is the supreme will of the people,” he wrote. “Its amendment should be undertaken by strict adherence to the will of the people.” 

New York requires the state attorney general’s office to issue a formal opinion about the amendment before the legislature fulfills its mandated two-time passage. State Assembly Member Marjorie Byrnes, a Republican, filed a lawsuit noting that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ formal opinion on the ballot measure did not come until after the rushed first vote.

“‘Substantial compliance’ is not compliance, and this court cannot condone actions taken by the Legislature in derogation of the expressed will of the people,” Doyle agreed, waving off Democrats’ excuses for the procedural flop.

Doyle’s smackdown is one of the first actions a court has taken against the several abortion-themed ballot measures facing voters in various states this fall. Corporate media readily admit that the ruling throws a wrench in New York Democrats’ expensive 2024 election strategy to increase turnout in the battleground race for control of the state’s lower legislative chamber.

New York already ensures unlimited, on-demand abortion through the subjective judgment of a medical professional who only needs to

Now that Milwaukee’s controversial election chief has been sent packing, Republicans in critical swing-state Wisconsin are wondering whether the fix will be worse than what previously ailed Milwaukee’s election integrity. 

On Monday, Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall is out — just six months before November’s presidential election. Woodall, roundly criticized by conservatives for her handling (or mishandling) of the closely contested 2020 presidential election in battleground Wisconsin, will be replaced by her lieutenant, Paulina Gutierrez, according to the far-left Democrat mayor. 

Why? 

Johnson spokesman Jeff Fleming told the Associated Press that Woodall’s ouster had nothing to do with her handling of elections but “other issues internal to the election commission office and to city government that raised concern.” What those “issues” are, Fleming didn’t say. 

In an email response to The Federalist’s questions, Fleming said the mayor, fresh off a reelection victory, is statutorily required to appoint approximately two dozen senior administration officials. 

“In three instances, he named someone who was not an incumbent,” the mayor’s mouthpiece said. 

Fleming told WisPolitics that Woodall had written a job description nearly a year ago for a community outreach position, but she refused the position when it was offered to her last week. 

Woodall was out of the office Tuesday on vacation, according to a commission employee. Gutierrez, who has served as Woodall’s deputy for over a year, was said to be in a meeting Tuesday afternoon and did not return The Federalist’s request for comment. 

‘Checkered History’

Pop star Billie Eilish has supposedly found her true self, so why does she look so miserable? In a Rolling Stone profile to promote her new album, Eilish confirmed that she is into girls and presented herself as a suffering artist, with accompanying photos showing her looking dirty and unhappy.

This echoed another Rolling Stone profile from earlier this year, in which Kristen Stewart portrayed herself as loudly and angrily gay, proclaiming, “I want to do the gayest f-cking thing you’ve ever seen in your life.” The accompanying photos also showed Stewart looking unhappy and almost aggressively unattractive (which takes some doing for her).

These profiles are reminiscent of other female celebrities such as Ellen Page, whose photoshoots after transitioning to “Elliot” tend to be portraits of unhappy androgyny. Instead of showing their rainbow identities as sources of liberation and joy, these women are marketing themselves as angry and even miserable.

And it is marketing. Interviews and photoshoots don’t just happen. They are carefully arranged to promote celebrities and their projects. Thus, it is odd that these women are presenting themselves as wretched. As Eilish puts it, “My whole life, I’ve never been a happy person, really. … I experience joy and laughter and I can find fun in things, but I’m a depressed person. I’ve suffered with a lot of depression my whole life.”

The most remarkable part of these interviews is the apparent consensus that wretchedness will resonate with fans. Misery may love company, but it rarely advertises