In the Roberts court, conservatives are still winning

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/20852163.54692/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9ib3Bpbmlvbg/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdBe8ec941d This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a tell-all book of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - The Supreme Court [finds religion](. - This book is definitely not on [Donald Trump’s summer reading list](. - Is time [running short for TikTok]( and [Facebook](? - And, yes, it’s all [Trump’s fault](. Little sisters, big win. Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty Images Strange Bedfellows in Black Robes Nobody was much surprised when the Supreme Court decided teachers in Catholic elementary schools aren't covered by employment discrimination law. What was a bit of a shock, though, was that two liberal justices, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, joined the conservative majority in Wednesday’s ruling. It’s odd: Against a backdrop of extreme political division, this summer’s Supreme-Court-o-Rama has been a spectacle of bipartisanship. Consider two other rulings this term: the Louisiana abortion case, where Chief Justice John Roberts crossed ideological lines, and the LGBTQ discrimination case, where Justice Neil Gorsuch did likewise. Noah Feldman takes on the obvious question: [Which side came out ahead?]( As usual, the conservatives. While Gorsuch’s earlier decision applying Title VII anti-discrimination law to LGBTQ people was a landmark, the broadening of the ministerial category on Wednesday pretty much guarantees religious institutions will be able to discriminate against LGBTQ employees by defining their roles as mission-relevant. Breyer and Kagan are now on board with that result. (Today's other major decision was only a [partial win]( for conservatives, Noah Feldman writes in a second column.) The big takeaway from the recent spate of rulings is that the man who sits at fulcrum of the court can choose which way it will tip. In the past 15 years, the court has had three swing justices: Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy and now John Roberts. But there’s never [been one quite like Roberts](, explains Cass Sunstein. While Roberts shares a penchant toward minimalism with O’Connor and, like Kennedy, sees a “heroic” role for the court, he’s primarily interested in precedent. As he wrote in the Louisiana abortion case, “Adherence to precedent is necessary to ‘avoid an arbitrary discretion in the courts.’” The quote comes from Alexander Hamilton, although not the [Disney+ version](. Social Media Giants Under Political Siege The upside of social-media gianthood is your app gets on everybody's phone and your founders make billions. The downside is that politics inevitably intrude on life’s simple pleasures, such as coding and spending your billions. Facebook Inc. learned this a while ago, but still hasn’t quite figured out how to handle it. Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg met with civil rights groups this week to discuss how the omnipotent social network could further the cause of social justice, or at least stop hurting it. [The meeting didn’t go well](, writes Tae Kim. Zuckerberg & Co. still refuse to make simple concessions that could make Facebook less of a megaphone for hate. They're still using an old playbook that keeps resulting in painful own-goals. Rising behemoth TikTok is in a political stew of a different sort. President Donald Trump has threatened to ban the Chinese-owned company from the U.S., ostensibly over China’s handling of the coronavirus, but also at a time when his administration is looking around for ways to punish Beijing for its crackdown on Hong Kong. A ban would [infuriate many millions of American TikTok users]( and seems unjustified by national-security concerns, writes Tae Kim. Ironically, TikTok, which has an American CEO, chose to pull out of Hong Kong while American tech companies are still tenuously sticking around, note Tim Culpan and the busy Tae Kim. Such is the [complex political plight of a social-media giant](. Lies, Damn Lies, and Presidential Candidates  Covid-19 has closed the world's amusement parks, but if you’re craving a terrifying ride, try going inside Donald Trump's mind. “Too Much and Never Enough,” a family memoir by the president’s niece Mary Trump, will put you through plenty of loop-de-loops, and probably leave you nauseated. Timothy L. O’Brien, who has [his own volume in the Trumpian oeuvre](, [gives it a rave](: “Mary’s clarity, training, discipline and sharp eye help make her a reliable narrator, and she’s a fluid, witty writer to boot.” A clinical psychologist, Mary diagnoses her uncle with antisocial personality disorder, a longstanding but undiagnosed learning disability, and the affliction that "he knows he has never been loved.” Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden may also have had a rough home life. But he did not come from a family of coal miners; his wife and daughter were not killed by a drunken driver; and he wasn't arrested on the streets of Soweto, South Africa, on the way to visiting Nelson Mandela. [Biden's lies are whoppers](. And, warns Ramesh Ponnuru, those who tout Biden's "character" should realize how lucky he is to have Trump as an opponent. Telltale Charts Unemployment in the U.S. is [far worse than in other leading nations](, and it's Trump's fault, notes Matthew A. Winkler. Further Reading The pandemic is exposing how [America’s health disparities]( by race and income are among the greatest in the world. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Trump may be [disenfranchising his own voters](. — Jonathan Bernstein Iraq's prime minister has a chance to turn the [murder of a popular scholar]( into a campaign against Iranian influence. — Bobby Ghosh A new [Cold War with China]( could bring out the best in American democracy. — Hal Brands Who’s winning the pandemic?  [Financial fraudsters](. — Joe Nocera ICYMI Who’s losing the pandemic? [Brooks Brothers](. Who's looking past it? [Barry Diller](. The only tourists left: [bond-market tourists](. Kickers Hummingbirds can [“count their way”]( to food. (h/t Scott Kominers) Aaron Rodgers throws a Hail Mary to [New York City’s Cheeseheads](. But does he [throw like a girl](?  Japan wants thrill-seekers to [just shut up](. Note: Please send beer, bratwurst and complaints to Toby Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net.  Like Bloomberg Opinion Today?  [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access]( and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022