Barack and Michelle Obama are the 'world's most admired man and woman,' new global poll shows

Former president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama side by side topped the "world's most admired" list for men and women, according to a 2020 YouGov poll.

The poll surveyed over 45,000 people in 42 countries and territories, the London-based public opinion data analytics firm said on its website. Since first starting the poll in 2014, this is the first time former President Obama topped the list over Bill Gates and other political and economic leaders, according to YouGov.

Obama is closely followed by Gates, who is trailed by Xi Jinping (3rd), Elon Musk (9th), Russian President Vladimir Putin (12th), and President Donald Trump who is ranked at 15. A number of sports stars and celebrities were also named on the list including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Michael Jordan, Jackie Chan, and Keanu Reeves.

https://www.insider.com/obamas-chosen-worlds-most-admired-man-woman-new-poll-shows-2020-9

Amy Coney Barrett Is an Extremist—Just Not the Kind You Think

The problem with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has nothing to do with her strongly held religious beliefs and everything to do with her right-wing Republican ones.

By Elie Mystal

For three years, I have dreaded writing this piece. Conservatives have been planning for this day since at least 2017. And they know Democrats are not prepared for what comes next.

CNN and other news outlets are reporting that Donald Trump is planning to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. Barrett is a law professor at the University of Notre Dame and has sat on the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since Trump nominated her to that position in 2017. She is a star in conservative legal circles, and she is only 48 years old. Should Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell succeed in ramming through her appointment—an appointment made, no less, in the midst of the 2020 election—she could serve on the Supreme Court into the 2060s.

Barrett’s elevation to this position has been a long time coming. Her nomination has been made with one issue in mind: abortion. The conservative men who have been attacking a woman’s right to choose for a generation have long pined for a woman to do the final work of denying women their right to their own bodies. They’ve said so: Ramesh Ponnuru, longtime editor at National Review and fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, has written: “The main reason I favor Barrett, though, is the obvious one: She’s a woman…. If Roe v. Wade is ever overturned—as I certainly hope it will be, as it is an unjust decision with no plausible basis in the Constitution—it would be better if it were not done by only male justices, with every female justice in dissent.”

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/amy-coney-barrett-extremist/