Yesterday, I had a bit more paperwork to do for the prison. It took longer than I wished – but it was a bit easier than the first two because instead of having to go the the website ands turn a pdf into a jpg so I could type into it, the prison emailed me a blank word document. Obviously I have saved copies of everything. I’m pretty sure that’s the last one.
I don’t remember subscribing to The Intercept – I presume it happened because I signed something- but I have not seen this lede story anywhere else, and I don’t think it should be ignored, so I’m sharing. Feel free to browse down, and if you go to another page, browse down it also. They have a lot of information.
Harry Litman at Talking Feds on a story that is definitely not getting ignored – so much is being discussed I thought I’d bring an actual Constitutional lawyer to address it.
And if you want to listen to another lawyer, here’s a Michael Popok (Legal AF, Meidas Touch) a variety of legal issues. You can also see it on YouTube, but if, like me, you aren’t paying YouTube, this is a way to skip the ads, even if you aren’t paying Meidas either..
Today I have an appointment with my PCP in the afternoon. Hopefully tht won’t slow me down.
Don’t ask me what it will take for Americans to wake up and wee what is happening. I don’t know. Robert Reich doesn’t know. John Pavlovitz doesn’t know. If any of us knew, we would have started doing it. Marcie Jones at Wonkette doesn’t know either. If only we did.
Nice to know some people have a sense of proportion. About time someone did.
I can’t actually post the “Dose of Democracy” daily news email, but this link has most of the information from Tuesday’s. One wonders how long Shapiro will stay mad at the Apricot Antichrist. At least it’s something.
Yesterday, I found another Substack besides Wonkette which allows comments from no-paying subscribers – The F***ing News. And, even more so than on Wonkette, Hoo boy, do you ever hear back. In your email. Most of is is “like”s, but there are also replies, and the email contains the full reply, so you don’t need to leave your inbox unless you want to reply to (or like) the reply you got. I take that as evidence above and beyond the statistics and ratings that Substack is really reaching people.
I don’t often post John Pavlovitz. But I am today. He is not saying anything, for instance, Robert Reich is also saying. But he is saying is in a voice metaphorically like a volcano. Maybe you know someone who needs to read (or hear – there is a “voiceover” 4:21 minutes long.)
I have posted items I found in Wonkette Tabs before, but this is the first time I am posting a link to the Tabs themselves. Tabs are a collection of newsworthy articles which for some reason no Wonkette individual writer is writing a whole post about. But that doesn’t mean the stories are necessarily trivial. In fact, I’m posting to the link today because I was overwhelmed by the amount of consequential news. I’m not expecting everyone to go to every story it could take you all day – but as a summary, I found it effective on its own.
On Saturday, it was revealed that the regime wants to suspend habeas corpus. I’m not sure what part of “There is no invasion, and you can’t do that there here” they don’t understand. Because that was spelled out in the rulings on the use of the Alien Enemies Act – and Miller in discussing it explicitly used the term “invasion” in discussing the possibility.
I’m sure you get why I had to include this article. The information is valuable and the title is priceless. It’s also frivolous, so I’m posting two others which aren’t.
Joyce Vance discusses the possibility of a subpoena for the White House – or rather, for someone in it. Although neither Joyce nor the judge spells out exactly who, I would bet there is solid precedent established during Nixon’s second term. And IMO we need to follow that precedent and maybe even extend it if possible.
Obviously this is a few days old, since Mothers'(or Mother’s) Day was yesterday. But this should not happen ever on any day. Everyone is always entitled to due process by the Constitution. I refer to the Belle video for the best explanation I have ever heard of why.
Yesterday, I wondered how badly I need to get over being annoyed by American exceptionalism, at least over some things. But I’m at the point where If I see the phrase “American Pope” one more time, I might – I don’t know – beat my head against the wall or something. Yes, he is American born, which makes him a birthright American citizen. Yes, his brother still lives in the US, and yes, they do Wordle together every morning. But the Pope is also a naturalized Peruvian citizen, which means at the very least he should be called a dual citizen, or an American-Peruvian. (I just learned before getting ready to post that he is in fact a dual citizen.) But frankly, as right wing as the American Roman Catholic church is today, that gives me a lot more hope that if he were in fact just an American. Pope Francis was also from South America. OK, end of rant. Let’s have something good for a change. My email from the ACLU yesterday had this subject line: “Breaking: Rümeysa Öztürk is free!” The case is not over. But for now, she can wait it out in her own community with her own asthma meds.
This link is to a video about 16 and a half minutes. It is about government surveillance and data collection. The CEO, IMO, had balls the size of church bells to name it Palantir, and if I were Chris Tolkien, I’d take him to court over it – if I knew about it. Not that is isn’t appropriate – particularly in how sinister and dangerous the misuse of it can be – it just irks me to see a word invented by JRR Tolkien ripped out of context for commercial use.
Heather Cox Richardson adresses the direction in which we may be heading. OK, this is a quibble – you can have your own opinion on how important it is, but it always bothers me. Yes, “Brave New World” is a dystopian nobel, but it is utterly unlike just about every other dystopian novels in that its inhabitants are not miserable, and that is by design. Everyone in it is conditioned from conception to be in a specific labor pool, and also to be comfortable with the jobs in that labor pool. Hence, everyone is employed practically from birth (however it is defined.) The inhabitants do not want for necessities such as food or shelter or health care. All that is provided by the government. The goverment also provides access on demand to a powerful antidepressant (in fact, I don’t think the word “antidepressant” is strong enough for soma.) Birth control is perfected, and there is no nosigyny, so casual sex can be casual and guilt free. Destructive emotions are dealt with in group sessions. Even a form of religion is government-provided. There is no resistance, not because it’s sternly put down, but because there is nothing to resist – everyone is happy (except that one guy, an no one pays attention to him because they are all happy.) And it works. The seeds of its destruction do not come from within it, but from a place so totally outside it that it has been overlooked. Republicans, authoritarians, do not want a Brave New World. Because for them, cruelty is the point, and there is no cruelty in the Brave New World world. They want a 1984 world, in which people can be tortured for counting to four. And that is what the surveillance is for.
Here is what the 19th has to say about the new pope. He’s not perfect, but he’s far better than I feared when Francis died. I can say with some confidence that he is personable. At least one of his friends is delighted that the rest of the world will get to meet him.
Yesterday, I see I forgot to post at the regular time again. I hope I didn’t scare anyone, or at least not too much. I also got an email with a petition from the PAC “Patriotic Millionaires.” The petition is certainly an interesting idea, and I would suggest a good one. But you can make up your own mind on that. Also yesterday, Axios announced that there is a new PAC called “Ban the Trade” dedicated to passing legislation barring Congresscritters from trading on the stock market. And it appears they are going to hoist the traders with their own petard (bomb). Finally, Ann Telnaes has won the Pulitzer for cartooning. Take that, Jeff Bezos!
I no longer get the Daily Beast directly, but The Lever sent me this today, and I feel compelled to share it. Imagine holding a grudge since 1988. For that matter, imagine holding a grudge against a work of art, not just against the artist, but against all its viewers, including those who weren’t even born yet.
June 14 is, among other things, Flag Day. It’s also being called as No Kings Day and mass demonstrations are being organized. Here’s the link to find an event near you.
Yesterday, I did receive by email the approval of the documents I sent to San Carlos (where Virgil is.) Not in time to visit that day, though. I had sent a note through the electronic system – they print it out and give it to him on paper, so it’s not immediate – asking him to call me, but, as I type, I haven’t heard from him yet. (The other thing I did was put the need for a new form on my calendar for next year – with about 2 weeks to spare. In the meantime, I don’t really know how to plan. I expect I’ll hear from him in time to plan effectively, but just now, it’s frustrating.
Robert Reich on the May Day demonstrations. This is helpful but not, IMO, good enough to run on Sunday. Particularly since the following day Trump** issued an executive order defunding NPR and PBS. My local public radio station is not a member of NPR, but it does – or it did – receive some federal funding.
HuffPost covers the Apricot Antichrist’s declaration that being poor is good for you. You may think that sounds like St. Francis – but nothing could be farther from the truth. Sur, Francis lover poverty, but that was because he chose to be poor. That’s 180 degreed from being forced to be poor because everything you had was taken away from you. Francis would not have been in favor of that at all.
Heather Cox Richardson writes about the media – not the mainstream media, and not the media of the resistance, but the Turmeric Tyrant’s own media – which may be the direst threat to democracy of all, more so than his flouting of the law and the courts, because it creates and intensifies a cadre of true believers who are beyond the ability of reason to influence. Yes, we’ve already observed that in his first term and in his campaigns, but this is an escalation on an undreamed of scale.
Yesterday, I learned that 15 Democratic Senators had voted to confirm David Persue as the Mango Menace’s ambassador to China. I immediately searched to see whether either of mine was one of them, and they were not. I don’t know whether I scares them with my letter the last time they voted to confirm someone, or whether they received so much flak from so many constituents that it scared them, but I know one of them is scared – Benet thinks he can run for governor instead. I believe if he thinks he can beat Phil Weiser in the primary he has another think coming – heaven knows I hope that’s the case. I also learned that I need to get a new application on file – and I was supposed to so so by 2:30 today in order to visit on Sunday. I didn’t even find the email until after 2:30, so I clearly didn’t make the deadline. I sent Virgil an electronic note to call me ASAP. We have decisions to make.
I agree with Talking Points Memo that the most important part of this story is likely the order of magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, but I am sharing a non-paywall link to the NYT article as well. We were all introduced to the role of magistrate judges during the special counsel investigations of the Persimmon Palpitine, but a refresher: magistrate judges cannot preside over felony trials, but they can and do assist federal judges in such cases, including issuing orders to parties. The order issued by Judge Netburn in this case is 100% valid, even though it is also apparently 100% unprecedented. I’d say Judge Netburn has been paying attention. (BTW, there’s lots more in the TPM Memo than just this one story.)
Harry Litman takes a dive into the partnership between Trump** and Bukele, assisted by the New York Times. It’s very seldom I am the first to archive a story – in fact I believe this is the first time it has happened – which suggests to me that these details would be news to a whole lot of people. But I still have more faith in Litman that I do in the Times, so I read this first.
