President Trump Names Sen. Tom Cotton, Others as Possible Supreme Court Nominees

On Wednesday President Trump released the names of 20 potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees he is adding to the short list he created in 2016.

Among those named as potential Supreme Court justices is U.S. Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas.

In response, Sen. Cotton released a statement, saying, “I’m honored that President Trump asked me to consider serving on the Supreme Court and I’m grateful for his confidence. I will always heed the call of service to our nation. The Supreme Court could use some more justices who understand the difference between applying the law and making the law, which the Court does when it invents a right to an abortion, infringes on religious freedom, and erodes the Second Amendment.”

In his remarks, President Trump said the 20 individuals he named would be jurists in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Samuel Alito.

The Trump Administration has made several judicial nominations that impact Arkansas — including Judges Lee Rudofsky, Steve Grasz, David Stras.

Judge Grasz was one of the three judges last month who unanimously decided to unblock four pro-life laws Arkansas passed in 2017. The laws currently are not being enforced pending a hearing before the entire Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

At this point there’s nothing to suggest that President Trump will be making another U.S. Supreme Court nomination anytime soon, but it’s good to know which potential nominees his administration might consider.

You can find the names of all 20 additions to the president’s short list of possible judicial nominees here.

Arkansas Lottery Launches New Scratch-Off Tickets

The Arkansas Lottery launched five new scratch-off tickets last week.

The tickets cost anywhere from $1 – $10 each, and are part of the state-run lottery’s trend of rolling out a steady stream of new lottery games every month.

As we have said many times, these scratch-off tickets prey on poor and desperate lottery players by offering long odds on expensive tickets and big jackpot prizes.

Players who buy the lottery’s newest $10 scratch-off ticket have roughly a two out of three chance of losing their money — and the odds of winning the jackpot are a staggering one in 360,000.

Scratch-off tickets like these are controversial, because they are tied to problem gambling and gambling addiction.

A 2015 study in Canada described them as “paper slot machines.” 

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions found a link between how often a person played scratch-off tickets and the severity of a person’s gambling problem.

Despite all of this, the Arkansas Lottery relies very heavily on scratch-off tickets for revenue.

And even though lottery ticket sales have spiked this year, only a fraction of the money the Arkansas Lottery makes is going to students.

Photo Credit: Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery Billboard in Missouri by Tony Webster, on Flickr.