So, as the new West Coast Pact starts talking about how to get everything moving again we need to talk about control; control of the virus and control of the government. ‘Cause this isn’t over yet. The virus is still…
Weird Times: The Rise Of Ad-Hoc Federalism
Well, that was not what I expected to happen yesterday. It seems that there are some new Interstate Compacts forming. With the dystopian-fiction names of “The West Coast Pact” and the “6-States Council”, though that second one keeps getting updated;…
Firing Inspectors: Exposing The Weakness In The System
Trump’s been busy in the last few days, demonstrating the weakness in the United States’ “Inspector General” model of Executive oversight; for the details see Trump Firing Intelligence IG For Doing His Job? Sure, Why Not? and more recently Fired…
Still Idiots: Not Totally Wrong
According to any sane reading of the Constitution, the State here in the United States does not have the power to issue mandatory quarantine orders. They just don’t. Because they are expressly forbidden from “abridging” “the right of the people…
No, Just No: Department Of Justice Goes For Broke
Sheriff Barr is gettin’ a mite bit envious of them Banana Republics down South o’ th’ Border. They asked Congress to authorize indefinite pre-trial detention. You can see Mother Jones’ coverage at Trump’s Justice Department Proposes Indefinite Detention in Emergencies—Like…
Executive Branch Jobs: One Is More Than Enough
One person really shouldn’t be able to have more than one Executive branch job. For one thing, how could you manage? There’s no way Mulvaney (or Grinell or any of the others) is actually doing a good job in all…
Pollution: You’re Soaking In It
Humans have a nasty habit of really messing up wherever they live. Especially businesses, and especially unregulated businesses. Economics has this concept they call externalities. These are the effects of a process that don’t have to be paid for by…
DOJ Ball: This Has Already Gone Too Far
The Department of Justice has gone more than a bit freaky lately; see Wonkette’s PULL THE F*CKING FIRE ALARM and Bill Barr Breaks The Justice Department for some frankly revolting details. Regulatory Capture. That’s the concept in government that describes…
Impeachment: A Stupid Thing Happened On The Way To The Senate
Well, lots of really stupid things. And even more stupid things have happened after it got there. There is one stupid thing that matters more than all the rest. Trump seems to genuinely think that he’s a king. To be…
National Territories: Taxation Without Representation
Territories, federal districts, protectorates; whatever you call them, their very existence violates one of the foundational principles of this country. No taxation without representation. In the United States, this is repeated at us endlessly, from elementary level history to Schoolhouse…