Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Monday said it would pay Duke Energy $129 million to abandon its plans to build an offshore wind farm off North Carolina. It was the fourth such deal struck by the administration to throttle the development of offshore wind power, a source of renewable energy that President Trump has disparaged for decades. Under the agreement, Duke Energy would surrender its lease in federal waters for a wind farm that was planned in the Carolina Long Bay area, roughly 15 to 22 miles off southeastern North Carolina. The project was in the early stages of development and construction had not yet begun. The government plans to reimburse Duke Energy $129 million, slightly less than the amount that the utility paid for the lease under the Biden administration. Duke Energy would then reinvest that money in other sources of energy favored by the Trump administration, which could include new nuclear and natural gas projects, according to the utility company.”
Ann Marimow & Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “When police officers sweep up location data from cellphone users near crimes scenes, they must comply with the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a modest victory for privacy rights in the digital age. Such so-called geofence searches have become a popular tool for law enforcement, but critics say they put at risk the personal data of everyday Americans and violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizure. 'An individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in records about his cellphone’s location, and police intrude on that constitutionally protected interest when they demand the information — even though for only a limited time, and from a third-party tech company, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for five justices in the 6-to-3 decision.
“But her opinion went no further, and it returned the case to a lower court to decide whether the search at issue in the case, which took place after a Richmond, Va., bank robbery, had violated the Constitution. 'It is therefore now up to the court of appeals,' she wrote, 'to decide whether, at each step of the search process, the warrant satisfied the Fourth Amendment’s requirements of particularity and probable cause.'” Politico's report is here.
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an emergency request by Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice who lost a Senate race in 2017 after he was accused of sexual misconduct, blocking Mr. Moore from collecting an $8.2 million defamation verdict over a campaign ad run against him in that race. The decision kept in place a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which in April erased a jury’s verdict that Mr. Moore had been defamed by a Democratic group’s television ad. Mr. Moore’s request was denied by Justice Clarence Thomas, who is assigned to handle emergency applications from that region of the country.... This is likely not the last time the Supreme Court will deal with Mr. Moore’s issue. His lawyers said Mr. Moore also planned to ask the Supreme Court to rule more permanently on the merits of his case but that they had asked for more immediate temporary emergency relief as well.”
Mark Sherman of the AP: “The Supreme Court on Monday dramatically expanded presidential power, upholding ... Donald Trump’s firings of the heads of independent federal agencies with one important exception, the Federal Reserve. The justices allowed Fed governor Lisa Cook to stay in her job while she fights the Republican president’s effort to fire her over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied. But other than at the nation’s central bank, with its role of setting interest rates, the court held that presidents have free rein to fire agency heads at will, despite federal laws that require a cause for such dismissals and a 91-year-old decision that had limited executive authority. With the six conservative justices in the majority, the nine-member court jettisoned its unanimous decision in Humphrey’s Executor that had limited when presidents can fire agencies’ board members — in part to try to ensure decision-making free of political influence.” Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Many things anger Donald Trump, but nothing more than not being able to control a Black woman: ~~~
~~~ Colby Smith & Tony Romm of the New York Times: Donald “Trump renewed his intention to try and fire Lisa D. Cook from the Federal Reserve on Monday, saying he would look for a way to oust her after the Supreme Court blocked his previous attempt to fire a sitting governor at the central bank. In a social media post, Mr. Trump described the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 decision as 'procedural,' adding that he would 'take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions concerning the Welfare of the United States of America!' Mr. Trump took the extraordinary step of trying to fire Ms. Cook from the Fed last year, claiming that she had misrepresented her finances in order to obtain more favorable mortgage terms. Ms. Cook has not been charged with a crime, and has denied any wrongdoing. She challenged her firing in court, as her lawyers sought to argue that the attempted dismissal fit a pattern by Mr. Trump, who has sought to pressure the Fed into lowering interest rates. In late September, a federal judge allowed Ms. Cook to continue serving in the role as she contested the legality of the firing, prompting the administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.”
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday upheld Mississippi’s grace period for late-arriving mail-in ballots, rejecting a push by the Trump administration to invalidate a state law. The ruling means Mississippi’s law, which allows elections officials to count ballots postmarked by Election Day and received up to five business days later, will remain in place, at least through the midterm elections. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the court’s three liberals in supporting the state law. The decision is a blow to efforts by Republicans and Mr. Trump to roll back mail-in balloting, and will also leave in place similar laws in at least 18 other states and territories, including 2026 battleground districts in Nevada and California. It is also a defeat for [Mr.] Trump, who has long criticized voting by mail, falsely claiming that the practice is open to fraud and helped lead to his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.” Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ James Downie: "Alito's argument – that counting ballots after Election Day means 'the electorate’s choice does not occur on election day, and the federal election-day statutes are violated' – is some of the dumbest reasoning I have ever seen. The 'choice' doesn't occur at the time of counting!" MB: Alito isn't even trying. He's just registering his solidarity with the Dear Leader, which does not require a logical, honest argument. Thanks to RAS for the link.
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday declined a request by ... [Donald] Trump to review a $5 million civil judgment against him after a jury found in 2023 that he sexually abused and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. The announcement by the justices did not include any reasoning, and no public dissents were noted. A second case that arose out of Ms. Carroll’s allegations also could be headed to the Supreme Court. In January 2024, a separate jury ordered Mr. Trump to pay Ms. Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of a decades-old rape. Lawyers for Mr. Trump have said they plan to ask that the justices also hear that case.” Politico's report is here. The AP's report is here.
Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: “The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider a Republican push to enforce strict Arizona voting laws passed in the swing state after the 2020 election. The high court has allowed some similar rules to take effect temporarily before, including Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship requirement for state and local elections and a Virginia purge of voter rolls that the state said was aimed at keeping noncitizens from voting.... Donald Trump’s Republican administration joined the appeal after lower courts found the measures violated federal voting laws. The high court is expected to hear arguments in the fall and hand down an opinion after the midterm elections.”
Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: “The Supreme Court refused Monday to revive a $300 million defamation lawsuit filed against CNN over its coverage of a prominent attorney’s remarks made while defending ... Donald Trump during his 2020 impeachment. The majority declined to take up the case in a brief, unexplained order. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented, calling on the court to reconsider the legal standards for public figures who claim defamation. Alan Dershowitz said the news network aired only a portion of the comment made during his defense of the president, distorting his meaning to make him look like he’d 'lost his mind,' according to court documents. The network said that multiple outlets had interpreted his remarks in a similar way, and Dershowitz couldn’t show CNN was trying to mischaracterize what he said.” An NBC News report is here.
James Talarico accepts the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator, representing Texas. Thanks to Heather Cox Richardson for the heads-up:
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The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Iran War. From the pinned item at 6:30 am ET: “The United States and Iran have agreed to halt their attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and allow vessels to move freely through the waterway, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations. Iranian officials have not confirmed that an agreement has been reached as of early Monday morning local time. A deal would bolster a tenuous cease-fire after the two sides traded strikes over the weekend, undercutting the nascent recovery of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The number of ships navigating the vital corridor for oil and gas shipments dropped steadily over recent days.”
What War? The POTUS* Has Other Concerns. Sarah-Jane Collins of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: "... Donald Trump posted a meandering screed on Truth Social on Sunday to report his findings after a day spent touring monuments and fountains in Washington, D.C. The 594-word diatribe was a confusing romp through Trump's design priorities, though it began with praise for himself.... But there was one monument the president wasn't happy about.... 'The Reflecting Pool is now in full use after suffering great damage from Criminal, Radical Left Vandals, people that truly hate our Country,' Trump wrote.... The post provided more detail on the president's claims than before, but still no evidence.... Trump also visited Lafayette Square—which he called Lafayette Park — where he inspected more renovation work, including the replacement of flagstone pathways and, reportedly, the development of a new monument to himself: 47 maple trees. After the square, Trump took a tour of the East Potomac Golf Links with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and golf course designer Tom Fazio and his son.... Trump said work [on the links] would begin Sept. 1st." ~~~
~~~ Marie: (I think the woman pictured with Trump at the golf course is his girlfriend Natalie Harp.) Trump says he's an expert on grass -- "I know more about grass than any human being, I think, anywhere in the world" -- and on buying "good trees," but see Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread on the incompatibility of grass & maple trees. BTW, 47 maples in Lafayette Square? Where did Trump get that idea? I don't think Trump is dreaming up all these tributes to himself. For instance, I doubt Trump was aware the National Parks sold passes. I mean, try to imagine Trump taking the kids camping. So how would he know to slap a picture of himself on the passes unless somebody gave him the idea?
A day barely passes without a new report on extraordinary Trump Family Corruption: ~~~
Paul Sonne & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: “When Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Kazakhstan’s president at the St. Regis Hotel last September in New York..., [Donald] Trump jumped in by phone as the men sealed a deal on a top priority for Washington. During the call, Mr. Trump and his team won an agreement from the Kazakh leader to give a little-known American company access to one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of tungsten, a metal that the United States desperately needs for the production of missile warheads, fighter jets, computer chips and other critical goods. Ahead of the deal, the Trump administration approved preliminary applications for as much as $1.6 billion in federal financing for the American company, now called Kaz Resources, which plans to break ground on the project in rural Kazakhstan....
“Mr. Trump['s] and Mr. Lutnick['s] sons were soon doing business with partners in a deal that their fathers were negotiating, continuing a pattern of self-enrichment in the second Trump administration that has few precedents in American history. Within weeks of the St. Regis negotiations, investors with a firm called Dominari Securities, which is housed at Trump Tower in New York and partly owned by the president’s two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, joined with other partners to take a 20 percent stake in a corporate entity related to the Kazakhstan project. Around the same time, Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment company controlled by Mr. Lutnick’s family and overseen by his sons Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, helped one of the lead investors working with Dominari on the Kazakh deal raise $210 million in new capital for a related entity. Such rounds of fund-raising typically net Cantor millions of dollars in fees.” The link appears to be a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~
Paul Krugman is horrified anew: "I don’t think many people even now understand just how much of a departure what’s happening now is from past US history. I still see people saying we might be, could be heading for another Gilded Age. But we have a level of concentration of wealth in the hands of a few people that is something like three times what it was at the peak of the Gilded Age. We’re in a super duper Gilded Age.... So how much has Trump enriched himself since returning to the White House about 500 days ago? The answer is ... maybe five billion dollars. Divide that by 500 and we basically have a Teapot Dome sized corruption scandal on an average day under Trump. So it’s basically day after day of scandals as big or bigger than Teapot Dome. Our corrupt grandfathers, great-grandfathers were pikers compared with this...." (Also linked yesterday.)~~~
~~~ Marie: BUT, if by chance you happen upon some lonely soul attending the Great American State Fair, you can put a mike in his face, right under the bill of his frayed MAGA cap, and he will tell you, "Ah thank Presidint Trump is doin' a great job!"
Mind you, there are all kinds of corruption. In some cases, it is not a money-making proposition: ~~~
~~~ Patrick Marley & Ben Bindayof the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s efforts to alter how elections are run faced an avalanche of setbacks last week, as Republican senators rebuffed him and court after court hindered his administration’s plans to, as one judge put it, undercut 'the sacred right to vote.' The pushback has infuriated the president, who has ramped up his threats and demands as he openly grows increasingly worried about the investigations and impeachment that could come if Democrats win control of Congress. But with the general elections just four months away, Trump is racing the clock as states make final preparations for early voting. The urgent push to change election rules by several arms of the federal government has created a volatile sea of shifting and contested election policies, many of which are before the courts. The climate of uncertainty is creating headaches for election officials and risks confusing voters, reanimating conspiracy theories about rigged elections and spurring postelection disputes.” ~~~
~~~ Here's John Oliver on redistricting: ~~~
~~~ David Rohde of MS NOW: “Bill Pulte, the acting director of national intelligence, has stirred fear by choosing as his chief of staff a GOP election operative who oversaw a poll watching program that included Jack Posobiec and other conservative conspiracy theorists. The staffer, Christina Norton, also appears to have no experience working in the intelligence community. 'It is horrifying,' a former senior U.S. intelligence official told MS NOW Saturday. 'Not only does Norton have absolutely no background, experience or expertise in national security or intelligence, but her principal qualifications appear to be loyalty to Pulte and an embrace of absurd election-interference conspiracies.'... Pulte’s choice of Norton is also likely to increase concerns among Democrats that ... Donald Trump intends to use the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to interfere in the midterm elections. Pulte, a loyalist with no intelligence experience, has used his current position as head of federal mortgage agencies to refer political rivals of the president for federal criminal prosecution.”
~~~ Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: A March ruling by the Merit Systems Protection Board “whose purpose is to protect federal workers from unfair firings..., broke with decades of precedent, accepting the White House’s argument that Article II of the Constitution gives Mr. Trump the power to dismiss officials without due process. By that theory, he can essentially erase civil service protections, even for public servants — in this case, immigration judges — whose engagement with the law often puts them at odds with Mr. Trump’s political aims. The board’s decision ... defanged the most effective method for federal workers to challenge their dismissals.... And it came after the Trump administration leveled a concerted pressure campaign on the board in public and private, according to people with knowledge of the process. The private push — little different from calling a federal judge and telling him how to rule — was led by a White House aide [-- James Sherk --] who for years has been intently focused on making it easier to quickly fire federal workers.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Trump Finds Another Black Woman to Insult. Paul Schwartzman of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Sunday used his social media platform to denigrate Janeese Lewis George, the democratic socialist who recently won D.C.’s Democratic mayoral primary, describing her as a 'Communist adherent' whose likely election would threaten the nation’s capital. Trump, in a midafternoon Truth Social post, misrepresented a number of Lewis George’s positions, though he also wrote that he would meet with the Democratic nominee who, in a deep blue city, is all but assured of succeeding outgoing Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) in January.... Lewis George, in a statement released by her campaign, struck a measured tone, writing that 'most' of Trump’s claims about her are 'incorrect,' but adding that she would meet with the White House and is 'willing to work with anyone, including the Administration, to improve the lives of D.C. residents.... I will stand up to anyone who puts our city or its residents in harm’s way.... Making D.C. safe and more affordable for our residents is my immediate focus.'”
Eileen Sulliavan & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: “Across the federal government, employees are working in buildings that have persistent health and safety problems, in part the result of decades of backlogged maintenance that totals as much as $50 billion, according to one recent estimate by an oversight board. In several years, the cost is set to exceed the entire value of the federal government’s real estate portfolio, the Public Buildings Reform Board said earlier this year. The health and safety risks were exacerbated last year by the Trump administration’s push for federal workers to return to the office, forcing more employees into buildings whose longstanding needs had gone unaddressed for years.... The decline and decay has been decades in the making, but the coronavirus pandemic created new problems.... The approval process [for repairs and improvements] takes an average of 435 days, the G.S.A. said, and in many cases even longer, meaning costs balloon as problems fester....”
~~~ Jason Wilson of the Guardian: “An opaque White House office staffed largely by veterans of Elon Musk’s 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) has quietly rebuilt some of the federal government’s most sensitive websites – for passport applications, voter registration, prescription-drug pricing and children’s savings – in ways critics say appear to violate federal law. The National Design Studio (NDS) was established by a Donald Trump executive order last August, and is led by Trump-aligned Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and staffed by Doge veterans.... The NDS built and now operates four public federal websites: ndstudio.gov, trumprx.gov, realfood.gov and trumpaccounts.gov. All four ran commercial visitor-tracking software, configured to evade the privacy tools many web users install, and none carry the public filings federal privacy law requires under laws including the Privacy Act of 1974 and the E-Government Act of 2002.
“Separately, none of the NDS’s spending or its arrangements with outside vendors appears in USAspending, the federal contracting database, raising questions about how it is funded and overseen. Separately, the NDS has also built and runs White House-controlled versions of services the US Congress assigned to other federal agencies.... Combined, the sites route sensitive interactions Americans have with their government through infrastructure the White House apparently controls, and outside the reporting and accountability systems that normally cover federal agencies.”
Margaret Brennan, et al., of CBS News: "Sen. Bill Cassidy strongly criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine skepticism and handling of the nation's public health, despite having delivered the key vote to advance Kennedy's nomination last year. Cassidy, a medical doctor who chairs the Senate health committee, said on 'Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan' that it's 'easy to surmise' that Kennedy made promises to him to win his vote, and since then, the commitments that the HHS secretary made to him and the country 'have been violated.' 'If you build public health upon a foundation of lies, then you're going to have the absence of adequate public health,' he said. Brennan's interview with Cassidy was conducted on June 25. Cassidy explained that he cast the vote to help confirm Kennedy because the alternate scenario was having him installed in a czar-type role without any congressional oversight. 'Bobby Kennedy was going to have the ear of the President. The President seems to be fascinated with the Kennedys,' Cassidy remarked."
David Wallace-Wells of the New York Times suggests the dominance of the MAGA movement was just a mirage. MB: I don't think Wallace-Wells pays enough attention to voter characteristics like selfishness, shortsightedness, cockeyed optimism, tribalism/racism, or to the carelessness, incompetence, inefficacy and selfishness of our elected officials.
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19 comments:
Cost of Living
No Credit For the Bare Minimum
"The Supreme Court won’t step in and stop President Donald Trump from having to pay $5 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for sexually abusing and defaming her, despite his argument that a president shouldn’t be burdened with defending himself against decades-old charges."
Real Scientists Can't Stop Sciencing
"Climate.us today launched the full version of its new independent, nonprofit climate information website, creating a public-backed home for trusted climate science at a time when access to federal climate resources has become increasingly vulnerable to disruption.
The launch reflects strong public demand for reliable climate information. One-third of the funding to support the launch of Climate.us came from more than 2,500 small donations (approximately $250,000) from people who contributed to help preserve access to science-reviewed climate information. More than 80 scientists have volunteered to serve as subject matter expert reviewers."
From the Kazakh Mine Reporting
"New research from @nytimes finds that the US government is actively doing "critical minerals" deals with FOURTEEN different companies that have financial ties to the Trump and/or Lutnick families - deals worth around $9 billion in all:"
If DiJiT is giving Lafayette Square a do-over, what are the odds that "someone" will suggest replacing the equestrian statue in the middle of the square, with a Turkmenistan-style statue of Dear Leader, rotating with arm outstretched to the moving sun, inspiring and leading his people to the Golden Age? The rationale is easy to justify moving the current hero on the pedestal - President Jackson. DiJiT's enablers will claim that Jackson ended up in Lafayette Square by mistake, and should be relocated to Potomac Park. And who should go on that empty pedestal? Some Frenchman? No, best to inspire the people with a golden effigy of the Most Powerful Human of All Time (TM - Most-PHAT). As for the Marquis ... he can eat cheese.
Next ... taking over Grant's Tomb in NYC, against possible future need.
When you're desperate, table scraps taste good.
But that's all the Supremes are offering. The main meal is still going to the Executive. They continue to rule against those parts of the Deep State that can exert any control over the (any) Mad King.
Are they sure no Democrat will ever inhabit the White House again? Or are they relying on Democrats to be just and sane?
Otherwise, I can't begin to fathom what they are thinking.
James Downie
"Alito's argument – that counting ballots after Election Day means "the electorate’s choice does not occur on election day, and the federal election-day statutes are violated" – is some of the dumbest reasoning I have ever seen. The "choice" doesn't occur at the time of counting!"
So the Swine Court has decreed that Fatty is the most powerful man in the world and can do pretty much anything he wants with no legal, moral, or ethical consequences. Now he can fire anyone (except from the Fed--the. Swine aren't stupid. They know that the Moron in Charge could do serious damage to their investments by fucking with the Fed).
Here's my thought. If we were ever to elect a Democrat to the presidency with some serious balls (M or F), he or she should immediately fire every single mofo with the tiniest connection to the Traitors and to Fat Hitler from every branch of government. Gone. Clean sweep.
Here's what would happen. A suit would be brought. The Swine would take it up within a day or two using their favorite tool of authoritarian jiggery pokery and determine that "Oops! We missed that part of the Constitution that limited the president's powers. Sorry. And while we're at it, no immunity for Democrats. That was a one time deal (until a Traitor is back in power). Also, this Democrat prez doesn't have an Article II to do whatever she or he wants to do. We were only kidding."
You think this is a stretch? I don't.
So wait....'The Reflecting Pool is now in full use..." sez the Dear Leader? In use? In use for what? Swimming? Fishing? Sailing? Bathing? Wading? What is the use to which he refers? Never mind. He's a moron. What's the use?
Three presidents died on July the fourth: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams
and James Monroe.
The 4th is only five days away.
Just sayin'
And now a few words from our Founders.
There is no mention of Christianity or Jesus in the Declaration or the Constitution. Most of the Founders were deists NOT Christians. And if you're looking for something more substantial (more substantial than the Constitution's rule against a state religion, which Christian Nationalists like Alito consistently ignore?) how 'bout a treaty ratified by the full senate?
"In 1796, the final full year of George Washington’s presidency, the United States, through the agency of David Humphreys, negotiated the Treaty of Tripoli in an attempt to shield American merchant ships. The treaty was signed in Tripoli on November 4, 1796, and again at Algiers on January 3, 1797. Article 11 reads as follows:
As the government of the United States of America IS NOT IN ANY SENSE [emphasis, mine] founded on the Christian Religion, – as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen [Muslims], – and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
The Treaty of Tripoli was read aloud in the US Senate, and copies were provided for every senator." It was ratified unanimously without debate.
Of course, the cherry pickers for Christ ignore any history that does not suit their fantasies and invented historical phantasms.
Akhilleus,
After the Supines decide that Democratic Presidents can't fire anyone they want without cause I suggest sending all the Republicans working in government to do a ten year study on the effectiveness of the US prison system where they have to live like a prisoner for the entire study behind bars.
RAS,
I was ready to say that your suggestion would include Fat Hitler except, of course, he doesn't work for the government. Never has. He works only for himself. Still and all, a ten year study session behind bars would do him a world of good. Us too. Also the entire world.
Akhilleus,
We could renovate the "Winter White House" into something more fitting for a man of Trump's legacy. And give all his advisors rooms next to his.
Got to Rush the Corruption
"Eviction notices have been sent to farmers in northern Vietnam to make way for a US$1.5 billion Trump Organization-branded luxury golf resort project that is already behind schedule. If the farmers refuse to comply with orders to surrender their land, they will be subject to enforcement, according to the written instruction from local officials in Hung Yen province seen by Bloomberg News.
Officials are racing to clear the remaining land as the developer pushes to get construction under way to open the first golf course in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2027.
For months, dozens of residents have contested the compensation offered by local officials for land that contains ancestral graves and orchards of banana, longan and orange trees that have provided for generations of the same families."
Krugman on the Supremes empowering the awful:
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-court-sides-with-dictatorship?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=277517&post_id=204141930&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_content=watch_now_button&r=9hsah&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
I read that Head Swine, John Roberts, in his own particularly slippery manner, sniffed that presidents (I assume he means this president*) must be able to fire government employees at will and hire others he trusts. But what about the American people? Don't we get any say here? How about a sleazy, chiseling grifter whom no one can trust surrounding himself with equally sleazy and unqualified grifters and lackeys? Shouldn't we be able to trust people brought in to do our business? At the very least, they should be qualified, no matter their political persuasion. Look for the right to have exploding heads all over the place should a Democratic president attempt anything like this sort of wholesale firing of unqualified traitors.
Ken, re above: Not only will there never be another Democratic president, but they will make sure there will never be an election at all. They can make this happen lots of ways-- If the Subhuman Court can have actual laws etc appear off their super secret docket, one Dictator of All can just call anything an emergency and cancel elections. I imagine the followers would be happy to help with that. Insurrection II, coming to you in early November, 2026...
AK-- you are so silly. The Reflective/ing Pool is doing its job: reflecting. That is all. It has no other "use." Except, now it is under military and surveillance observation, poor thing. s/. (I fully agree, the Head Moron is also at full use: being a Moron.)
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