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…
For Reals: The U.S. Should Have A Shadow Cabinet
How to properly oversee the executive branch has been something of an … obsession … here since the beginning of the blog. And I think the calls for the Democrats to form an unofficial “shadow cabinet” can contribute to that.…
This Is America: We Don’t Do Kings
There really aren’t a lot of things you can get 5 million people to agree on in the United States these days. Not even what to watch on TV. 5 million would be a pretty good viewership for a popular…
No More Kings: Not Here, Not Ever
I pointed this out back in February: This is America; we don’t do royalty. It’s really very basic civics. You literally cannot get more un-American than caring about the King or Queen of England. But trying to be a King…
You Should Read This: Will Trump Force America to Break Up?
Bill McKibben at Mother Jones dipped his toe in the water yesterday with a piece titled “Will Trump Force America to Break Up?“. It’s pretty good. The closing paragraph does a decent job of summing up the current situation: Maybe…
Oh, Gavin: You Are Really Not Meeting This Moment
Governor Newsom, you need to step up your game here. ‘Cause this is only going to get worse. Let’s set aside the issue of jackbooted federal thugs roaming the streets with masks and assault rifles. Firstly, because the whole country…
A Reminder: Policing Is A Civilian Job
Apparently, a large portion of the United States thinks that it’s OK for police to be military these days. And, as of this weekend, that it’s OK for military to be police. They’re wrong. It’s important to maintain this distinction,…