Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
@gigansprogress.bsky.social
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M Hunter Nebula Center for Wrong Rock Studies Senior Analyst https://www.jstor.org/stable/3174209?seq=7 He/him
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Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
peterlucier.bsky.social
We need to be absolutely clear

The President is claiming authority to violate the law, and the Constitution

The law in question is exceedingly clear. The Constitution is equally clear

What the president is claiming authority to do and has already done is unambiguously illegal and unconstitutional
nytimes.com
President Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority to repurpose unspent federal funds to pay members of the military during the government shutdown, escalating his challenge to the authority of Congress on spending matters.
Trump Signs Memo Expanding His Authority to Spend Federal Money
The president gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wide authority to repurpose funds to pay members of the military without approval from Congress, which has the sole constitutional authority to decide federal spending.
nyti.ms
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
gigansprogress.bsky.social
The trump admin seems hellbent on punishing key blocs of the electorate which propelled him to victory, its wild
gigansprogress.bsky.social
"I don't work for the federal government, but if I were a federal worker watching them illegally pay a bunch of other people while ignoring me...whew" (2025)
gigansprogress.bsky.social
I really can't get over how its held together by negative polarization and nothing else, and if that starts to go they're in freefall
gigansprogress.bsky.social
Yeah I guess that explains why they couldn't transfer to MILPERS for uniformed pay because it didn't exist so they just paid them straight out of RDT&E though I have no idea how they broke DFAS to make that work
gigansprogress.bsky.social
The weird way the reconciliation bill was written actually might allow continued pay of certain DHS personnel but not USCG, and definitely not FBI, though I don't know reprogramming authorities vs DOD's
gigansprogress.bsky.social
Will PMPs and Acquisition/Federal Budget regs mean anything in 2 weeks? Lets find out together!
gigansprogress.bsky.social
My booth at AUSA, where in I just walk through various DAU courses with Industry personnel is a smash hit
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
jakluge.de
How many Russian soldiers have died in the war against Ukraine? I made my own estimate based on regional budget data. The results are very close to those of Mediazona's "200" project, even though they use an entirely different data source.
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
bbkogan.bsky.social
There may also be a technical problem. Their system may not allow obligation from an account whose funding has lapsed. And there *are* no FY2026 milpers accounts yet, so their system may not have even allowed Trump to transfer to a non-existent FY2026 account and illegally spend anyway.
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
bbkogan.bsky.social
The mechanism through which Trump is paying the troops is the most blatant large Antideficiency Act (ADA) violation in US history. It's also clearly willful. No one has been charged under the ADA before, but violations carry a two-year jail term. The statute of limitations is five years.
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
bbkogan.bsky.social
Trump's mechanism to pay the troops during the shutdown is by far the most illegal budgetary action he's taken as POTUS, potentially setting the stage to break everything.

It's also needless because Congress would easily pass a troop pay bill if Johnson were willing to gavel in.

Long thread.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/national-security-presidential-memorandum-nspm-8/
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
tomnuttall.bsky.social
Another poll puts AfD within sneezing grasp of a majority in Saxony-Anhalt (election next Sept). Perversely, some in the CDU suspect they will find an AfD majority easier to handle than the party just falling short. That could see the AfD seek to tempt CDU waverers, potentially splitting their party
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
tomnuttall.bsky.social
Important, deeply reported piece in Stern on the CDU's agonising debate over whether to maintain the anti-AfD "firewall" in its current form. Unless the AfD's rise is somehow arrested, I fear this is a dilemma without a solution. www.stern.de/politik/bran...
Brandmauer: Wie die CDU an einem neuen AfD-Kurs arbeitet
Die Union findet kein Rezept gegen die AfD. Jetzt beginnt in der CDU eine Debatte über eine Öffnung zur extremen Rechten. Das könnte die Republik verändern.
www.stern.de
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan
Reposted by Distinguished Herbert West Fellow, Miskatonic Institute Gigan