I’ve been using the C-word a lot since January. For good reason. As I said at that link: “Taking direct control over the functions of the State without legal authority is a coup.” That was in reference to Musk and…
Enabling Fascism: The Supreme Court Targets Judicial Review
I mentioned this earlier, but hadn’t done a whole post about it yet because, well, we apparently live in a world where the Supreme Court ordering the end of meaningful judicial review by any lower courts isn’t the main story?…
Version Control: Every Word Of Every Law Should Be Tracked
I’ve brought this up before. Proposed legislation should be tracked with version control. As I said in that earlier piece: See, as it stands now it’s not uncommon for a law to be passed with no one able to say…
Complicity: Fiddling Around While America Burns
“Killed By A Big Beautiful Bill”. What a stupid line to have to to put on a country’s tombstone. Many, many commentators from the reality-based community have pointed out the many, many terrible things this legislation will do if it…
The Old Dog Needs Some New Tricks: Learning From The Laboratories Of Democracy
Every democracy that changes its rules is an experiment; each democracy that differs from the others is an experiment. All democracies are the laboratories of democracy. And the United States has failed to learn from them. Mostly, that’s just age:…
Mission Creeps: The California National Guard Is Working For The DEA Now
So, apparently the regime has found another use for a federalized California National Guard, other than jackbooting around Los Angeles with their rifles hanging out. So, now they’re off to Coachella. Valley, that is. Working for the DEA. Who, as…
Authoritarians United: The Military Is Socialized To Obey
Back in March, when the serious coup-ing kicked off, I wrote two of these short posts to point out that the police and the courts were unreliable opponents of a coup: Those have both gone pretty much as expected. Now,…
Dropping The Ball: The Mighty 9th Circuit Has Struck Out
The panel of the 9th Circuit that’s dealing with the illegal takeover of the California National Guard whiffed it yesterday. In two very significant ways. First, and probably most significantly, they held that Trump is “likely to prevail” on the…
Consistency In Law: Tattoos, Cosmetic Surgery, Circumcision and Puberty Blockers
Let’s leave aside all the arguments about any of these as medical treatments, since that’s actually not necessary to make the point here. What matters here is personal choice, consent and consistency. So let’s look at these four issues. Are…
Emergency Powers: Not Just For Emergencies Anymore?
The United States has a proud history of limiting the government’s powers. This is a good thing. And necessary, really, if you want your State to be a democracy. After all, a State with no effective limits on legislative or…