A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1481665
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1481665
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Backward???
Of Course: In Missouri, Pregnant Women Can’t Get Divorced | Crooks and Liars
By Susie Madrak — February 26, 2024
In many right-wing Jesus-y states, laws tend to treat women (especially pregnant women!) as chattel, with no right to autonomy. A Democrat is trying to change that. Via KC4.com:
“It just doesn’t make sense in 2024,” said State Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democrat representing District 14 in Platte County, and that’s where it becomes a problem for her.
She introduced a bill this legislative session that essentially says pregnancy cannot prevent a judge from finalizing a divorce or separation.
“I just want moms in difficult situations to get out if they need to,” she said.
She agreed that while the law was made with good intentions, like making sure kids are taken care of, she feels it needs to be updated to reflect modern times.
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Here’s to hoping it’s a big, bad week.
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Here is Trump’s complete with FBI filing
Are you aware that Donald Trump is a criminal who has been found liable for rape, defamation and fraud? His father, Fred, was found liable for racial bias by the DOJ in 1973. Fred Trump was also arrested for his participation in a KKK riot. Here’s his FBI file. Hope it helps. https://vault.fbi.gov/fred-c.-trump
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It’s hardly surprising that some liberal commentators (like Josh Marshall yesterday) have been saying that a virtual incumbent presidential candidate like Trump getting 60% of the primary vote in a very conservative state is a sign of weakness. But so does a former Trump administration communications figure, which makes it more salient:
The question about Marshall’s commentary is, if he believes it’s a weak primary showing, why is he unwilling to comment on its significance in the general election? If Trump is a 100% shoo-in as nominee regardless, the primary result is hardly worth commenting on unless it has some significance to the general.
There are only two options: either Haley voters don’t fall behind Trump in the general, or they do – which will it be? (my own guess is that 99% of them vote for Trump in November – their zombie loyalty to the GOP always wins out).
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Steve Vladeck on the Jack Podcast yesterday
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Less than a day after suffering a crushing defeat in her home state’s primary, Nikki Haley was dished another blow Sunday when the powerful conservative group Americans For Prosperity Action reportedly said it’d no longer bankroll her long-shot campaign. The super PAC, which is backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, said it’d instead focus its attention—and checkbook—on more competitive races in the House and Senate, POLITICO reported, citing an email sent to staff by Emily Seidel, the group’s CEO. Seidel said they’ll still be cheering for Haley to defeat Donald Trump, but said they’ll no longer dish out dough on campaign advertisements and events for Haley. “She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort,” Seidel wrote, according to POLITICO. “But given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don’t believe any outside group can make a material difference to widen her path to victory.” Haley, who has been soundly defeated in each of the four primaries she’s faced Trump in, did not immediately comment on the PAC scaling back its financial support.
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“Rundo is to remain in custody pending resolution of appellant’s motion to stay release pending appeal. No lower court may order his release absent further of this Court.”
Question for those who know more about such things than I do: is it normal for an appeals court to feel like it has to preemptively forbid tEh kRaZy from lower level courts like this?
Or is it a measure of just how badly the trumpist appointees have damaged our courts?
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It is such a shame, that it has come to this
U.S. Air Force Member Sets Self on Fire Outside Israel’s Embassy in D.C. to Protest War in Gaza (msn.com)
An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, in apparent protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which he described as a “genocide.”
The burn victim, who identified himself in video of the incident as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, reportedly succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, according to independent journalist Talia Jane, who posted on social media that she is in contact with Bushnell’s family and friends.
Emergency response vehicles near the Embassy of Israel in Washington on Feb. 25, 2024.© Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images
An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, in apparent protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which he described as a “genocide.”
DC Fire and EMS (DC FEMS) said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that it responded to an incident outside the embassy at 12:58 p.m. to find the fire extinguished by U.S. Secret Service members. Secret Service spokesperson Joe Routh told TIME in a statement that officers of its uniformed division responded to what appeared as “an individual that was experiencing a possible medical / mental health emergency.”
The burn victim, who identified himself in video of the incident as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, reportedly succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, according to independent journalist Talia Jane, who posted on social media that she is in contact with Bushnell’s family and friends.
Bushnell, who was wearing fatigues on Sunday in Washington, was a DevOps engineer based in San Antonio, Texas, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Bushnell reportedly sent a message to media outlets before his planned self-immolation. “Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people,” he warned.
On Facebook Sunda
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May the Defendant have an incredibly bad week, filled with closing walls and falling dominoes.
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AND you missed the drivel.
Well … shoot!
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If posts are going to be so Tweet heavy please figure out a method of posting the entire thread. If you don’t have a Twitter account you can’t view more than the one tweet, so that Vladeck tweet is worthless as presented.
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You are completely discounting the DOZENS of G-pols who have committed career harakiri by rejecting Trump and saying so, both vociferously AND often.
Those people are STILL speaking out against trump, and STILL making very good points about NOT voting for him in the general.
And, about those who speak out against him and still say they’ll vote for him?
Elections are still private affairs. I say half of those people leave the “president” boxes empty.
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David you have been a great addition to TPM. I look forward to your morning article to get me up-to-date with an enjoyable read. Thank you.
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Here you go!
1. A quick #thread on where things stand with former President Trump's application to #SCOTUS to keep the January 6 prosecution on hold.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
First, we expect whatever the Court does to be a "miscellaneous order." Such an order can theoretically come at any time and without warning.
2. Second, although the justices *are* having a regularly scheduled Conference today, chances are that the Court has already made whatever decision it's going to make—and we're just waiting for the disposition.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
So why has it taken 2 weeks so far? It's *impossible* to know, but:
3. My best guess is that one of two things has happened:
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
Possibility 1 is that the Court has voted to *deny* the stay, and some number of justices are writing separate opinions respecting that result (concurrences/ "statements"/dissents).
Two weeks is *not* that long for that.
4. Possibility 2 is that the Court has voted to go all the way to the merits—to issue a brief ruling by the full Court that *affirms* the D.C. Circuit's rejection of former President Trump's immunity.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
Such a disposition would also take a little time to craft/get everyone behind.
5. If, instead, the Court was inclined to grant the stay and also expedite its consideration of the merits, hold argument, etc., there's *no* reason for this delay; that order could and should have come pretty quickly (and I wouldn't expect any separate writings respecting it).
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
6. And if the Court voted to grant a stay but *not* expedite, that might well have provoked dissents from one or more justices. That might explain the delay, but (1) those justices would have every reason to move quickly; & (2) I still think this outcome is very unlikely overall.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
7. In other words, although there are several explanations for why it's taking the Court this long, the most likely ones are all *bad* for Trump. None of this is a guarantee, of course; one of the *problems* with the shadow docket is how much we're left to guess. But that's mine.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
8. Anyway, I hope this thread is helpful. For longer explanations of all of this, see the issue of my #SCOTUS newsletter, "One First," that tried to cover all of the bases:https://t.co/Y3LJVfAUq4
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 23, 2024
/end
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“Breeding families”
For sale or just to rent out?
Amazing lack of self awareness by the Congressman.
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“”" It turns out that the evasion of accountability may be something of a family trait acquired through generations of natural selection “”""
Unless this trait is adaptive for a POPULATION with all its individuals subjected to the same environmental pressures to survive…over MILLENNIA…this is just an ignorant thing to say. Turley is showing us who he is.
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I live across the street. Was wondering what was going on.
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There was an article in NYT over the weekend where Haley supporters were interviewed, and roughly 50% said they’d vote for the Trump in the general. The authors noted that the number would most likely be higher.
I think the “vote against not for” dynamic will be in play, where many Haley supporters will be voting not for Trump but against Biden and the Dem policy agenda. Maybe not 99% of them though. We just need a few to sit out the election instead, and it will help Biden.
The article also showed a strong desire for a third party option with the Haley voters, but so far there doesn’t seem to be any serious candidate option in that direction.
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