Friday Politics Roundup | SCOTUS is back; Independent State Legislature Doctrine; Biden pardons; right-wing sues over student loan cancelation; ACLU sues Central Bucks over LGBTQ discrimination

<p>The Supreme Court is back in session. According to <a href='https://www.vox.com/authors/ian-millhiser'>Ian Milhiser of Vox</a>, “The Supreme Court’s <a href='https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/9/26/23343192/supreme-court-voting-rights-abortion-affirmative-action-race-medicaid-clean-water'>new term could be even more consequential than its last one</a>.”  “A single case, Moore v. Harper” Millhiser writes, “threatens to fundamentally rewrite the rules governing federal elections, potentially giving state legislatures…nearly limitless power to skew those elections.” </p> <p>A right-wing legal organization based out of Wisconsin, the Institute for Law and Liberty, is <a href='https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/10/04/student-loan-forgiveness-black-borrowers/'>suing the Biden administration over plans to cancel some student debt</a>.  Because the Biden administration has stated that his student loan cancelation plan will help narrow the racial wealth gap and advance racial equity, the Institute for Law and Liberty argues that the action constitutes an “improper racial motive.” </p> <p>Biden announced that he is <a href='https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1127308146'>pardoning thousands of people convicted of simple possession of marijuana</a>, saying in a statement that “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It's time that we write these wrongs.” The executive action will apply to more than 6,500 people convicted of simple possession under federal law or under the D.C. code. </p> <p><a href='https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/10/inflation-reduction-act-climate-economy/671659/'>Reporting in the Atlantic</a>, Robinson Meyer gives an uncharacteristically upbeat report on how the Inflation Reduction Act could prove to have a much bigger effect on a shift to a post-carbon economy than most people expected. That comes in response to a surprisingly cheery report by the investment bank Credit Suisse. </p> <p>Hundreds of youth activists from the global S