Originally published at: Inside The Last-Ditch Legislative Effort To Protect Journalists Before Trump Comes To Town
In the lame duck session, the energy on Capitol Hill is busy and frazzled, as Democrats try to squeeze in any lingering priorities before they’re shut out of power for at least two years. Republicans are largely intent on blocking or slowing down those priorities, while members jockey for position in the new trifecta. Amid…
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Does anyone care anymore about the First Amendment to the Constitution?
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I know most of you are tired, but this is the moment when winners step up and losers start whining. I say we make a concerted effort to call Republican Senators - whether from your own state or not - and ask whether they want to be counted as men, or Trump’s bitches. I know that if they hear this enough times, a handful of them will refuse to look like whipped dogs, and that’s all we need. One or two to decide they don’t want history to mock them as lapdogs. So how about we stop whining like bitches and start fucking fighting.
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”Good night and good luck.”
Murrow said that back, when we knew the honor of something, dear, meaningful, which has been our way of life for a very long time. All because of a campaign promise to Cletus, Who figured that the leopards would only eat other people‘s faces.
Back to the days of the railroad police, McCarthyism, mining police, etc. on the other hand. We’ll see what it’s like to have a government run by a fraternity house, alienator are strongest trading partners, and also our neighbors north and south upon whom we rely. Eric Trump proclaiming this with glee. Forfeit Medicare and Social Security so that billionaires may benefit. Good times.
Trumpism. Because changing the constitution is too much work.
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How will legislation matter when Trump can just send SEAL Team 6 to knock off anyone he pleases as an “official act” and get full immunity?
Face it folks, we’re entering the “Caligula” faze of American history. From far enough away it might be entertaining, but I’d never want to be anywhere near where the action is right now.
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That there is the dilemma.
You do that and you destroy the thing that you’re trying to save.
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We’ll see if attempting to fight Calvinball with laws works. It relies on legal folks willing to do the work to constantly fight back, including judges.
The AG and Gov here in CA are girding for what will be an unending stream of lawsuits against the evil empire. The best we can hope for is that we run out the clock on him like he did on us. Those individuals targeted better have lots of money on hand for lawyers. That alone pisses me off no end.
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There’s another last-ditch bipartisan effort
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I’m in south Cook County. The Sandhill Cranes have been flying over all day. I assume they’re headed for the Kankakee River marshes to fatten up for the next leg of their trip.
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When infotainment becomes politainment, we’re fucked.
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No.
This has been another edition of “Simple Answers to Simple Questions.”
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Might only be a matter of time before TPM is sued out of existence.
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Well, can’t the all-Republican Congress just repeal anything that’s passed? And/or the Felon President either issue an Executive Order (legality irrelevant; he’s the prexy) or violate the “law” (being unaccountable)?
The “law” thing is just rearranging the deck chairs. The Congress (Hi, Chuck!) needs to go with something that can’t be trivially negated. Judges and justices.
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Sure! Whenever right wing hate speech and lies are so unfairly curtailed!
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Well that clears things up.
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YES!! We’ve had our weeks of shock and dismay. Time to get back to work. Thank you, sir.
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Thank you for this article.
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Intuitively, it makes sense to protect the journalist, but I wonder if tactically it might be better to protect some other things instead.
I’m sure many of us doubt the patriotism of our countrymen, but you start rounding up journalist or vulnerable individuals for nothing more than what they say or believe, I think you get a shitstorm coming from all sectors that will blow up MAGA’s backside and explode their collective heads.
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Not so much because it is work but by because until we can change the political climate the changes are apt to be for the worse.
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The first thing totalitarian government does is shut down freedom of the press. DOJ will be busy under Trump shutting press down with cost of legal fees. Sigh. Each day the magnitude & scope of the wave coming to wipeout pillars of our democracy just gets more frightening. He rules every single branch.
MAGA is the enemy within
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