JUDICIAL ACTIVISM. The Roberts Court handed down a set of pro-big business, anti-free speech, anti-environment decisions today. The court ruled taxpayers can’t challenge the federal government’s funding of faith-based organizations. Businesses don’t have to worry much about the Endangered Species Act. Schools can punish students for speech with a perceived “pro-drug” message. And interest groups can run TV and radio ads endorsing a candidate, right up until the election.

As Brad points out, four of the five majority opinions were penned by Alito or Roberts, with the four liberal-leaning justices dissenting. Might be a good time to re-read Simon Lazarus‘s piece on how disastrous the Robert court is — and will continue to be.

–Ann Friedman

Ann Friedman is a columnist for New York magazine’s website and for the Columbia Journalism Review. She also makes pie charts for The Hairpin and Los Angeles magazine. Her work has appeared in ELLE, Esquire, Newsweek, The Observer, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and many other outlets. She lives in Los Angeles, but travels so often the best place to find her is online at annfriedman.com. Follow @annfriedman