My understanding is that these clergy were blocking the loading/pickup lanes at the airport terminal (because ICE was using it to transport detainees). This is illegal, and the clergy chose this form of civil disobedience in the expectation of being arrested.
January 24, 2026 at 1:24 AM
My understanding is that these clergy were blocking the loading/pickup lanes at the airport terminal (because ICE was using it to transport detainees). This is illegal, and the clergy chose this form of civil disobedience in the expectation of being arrested.
This sort of protest is designed to present the police with two bad options. They can arrest peaceful clergy, in which case they look like fascist goons, or they can let the protest continue, in which case they look impotent to handle defiance.
Often they manage to achieve both failure modes.
Often they manage to achieve both failure modes.
January 23, 2026 at 9:01 PM
This sort of protest is designed to present the police with two bad options. They can arrest peaceful clergy, in which case they look like fascist goons, or they can let the protest continue, in which case they look impotent to handle defiance.
Often they manage to achieve both failure modes.
Often they manage to achieve both failure modes.
January 22, 2026 at 10:43 PM
I wish I believed that. No one was punished for the torture memos, and John Yoo is still a professor at Berkeley, and Jay Bybee is still on the 9th Circuit.
January 22, 2026 at 3:03 AM
I wish I believed that. No one was punished for the torture memos, and John Yoo is still a professor at Berkeley, and Jay Bybee is still on the 9th Circuit.
One of those most responsible for the end of the Roman Republic.
January 20, 2026 at 8:42 PM
One of those most responsible for the end of the Roman Republic.
But there would have been marginal soldiers who struggled to afford a full cuirass, but who could have afforded half of one.
January 16, 2026 at 6:53 AM
But there would have been marginal soldiers who struggled to afford a full cuirass, but who could have afforded half of one.
She already knows.
January 15, 2026 at 6:28 PM
She already knows.
IANAL, but my understanding of how the current SCOTUS views executive power suggests that this would also require an amendment. They won't let federal prosecutorial authority live outside the control of the President.
January 14, 2026 at 2:34 AM
IANAL, but my understanding of how the current SCOTUS views executive power suggests that this would also require an amendment. They won't let federal prosecutorial authority live outside the control of the President.
Most people don't remember the "hated" codicil.
January 13, 2026 at 7:29 AM
Most people don't remember the "hated" codicil.
Gee, it's as though SCOTUS should have considered these problems before staying the lower court's injunction.
January 12, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Gee, it's as though SCOTUS should have considered these problems before staying the lower court's injunction.
I keep a link to the whole thread around: web.archive.org/web/20220126...
TechnicallyAHat on Twitter
“Judge: Mr. Giuliani, your client is charged with recklessly....
Giuliani: This is an outrage Your Honor. My client is not reckless. Everything he does, he does knowingly and intentionally.
Judge:.....
web.archive.org
January 11, 2026 at 8:39 PM
I keep a link to the whole thread around: web.archive.org/web/20220126...
If SCOTUS decides to go joyriding, the presence or absence of some new bill supposedly authorizing Trump's tariffs won't matter.
January 10, 2026 at 12:02 AM
If SCOTUS decides to go joyriding, the presence or absence of some new bill supposedly authorizing Trump's tariffs won't matter.
Even if Congress were to pass such a bill (unlikely), it would still be unconstitutional to delegate their taxing power to the president this way.
January 9, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Even if Congress were to pass such a bill (unlikely), it would still be unconstitutional to delegate their taxing power to the president this way.
We've legalized the Gestapo in the expectation that they would only use those powers against criminals/immigrants/homeless/untermenschen. We're learning that they see us in those categories, too.
We need to get rid of many of the legal doctrines that shield police from consequences for abuses.
We need to get rid of many of the legal doctrines that shield police from consequences for abuses.
January 8, 2026 at 5:20 PM
We've legalized the Gestapo in the expectation that they would only use those powers against criminals/immigrants/homeless/untermenschen. We're learning that they see us in those categories, too.
We need to get rid of many of the legal doctrines that shield police from consequences for abuses.
We need to get rid of many of the legal doctrines that shield police from consequences for abuses.
And they've been turning Charlie Kirk into their Horst Wessel.
January 7, 2026 at 3:28 PM
And they've been turning Charlie Kirk into their Horst Wessel.
Well, he would know, wouldn't he?
January 6, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Well, he would know, wouldn't he?
They're not crying. They're complaining to the manager, because they (correctly) expect that the manager will intercede on their behalf.
January 6, 2026 at 5:21 AM
They're not crying. They're complaining to the manager, because they (correctly) expect that the manager will intercede on their behalf.
I'm certainly not denying that gangsters can do a lot of damage before their downfall. But blatant aggression didn't work out for Athens, didn't work out for Napoleon, and didn't work out for Hitler (among many others).
January 5, 2026 at 5:35 PM
I'm certainly not denying that gangsters can do a lot of damage before their downfall. But blatant aggression didn't work out for Athens, didn't work out for Napoleon, and didn't work out for Hitler (among many others).
But one should note while reading it that Athens lost the war they were provoking.
It turns out that even strong nations can't afford to engage in naked gangsterism.
It turns out that even strong nations can't afford to engage in naked gangsterism.
January 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM
But one should note while reading it that Athens lost the war they were provoking.
It turns out that even strong nations can't afford to engage in naked gangsterism.
It turns out that even strong nations can't afford to engage in naked gangsterism.
I don't think they're looking to get engaged. Just a summer intern.
January 5, 2026 at 5:34 AM
I don't think they're looking to get engaged. Just a summer intern.
Unfortunately, our current Congress is barely capable of keeping the lights on. They have neither the ability nor even really the interest in debating matters of national policy.
This does at least accomplish the point of your second post, though.
This does at least accomplish the point of your second post, though.
January 4, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Unfortunately, our current Congress is barely capable of keeping the lights on. They have neither the ability nor even really the interest in debating matters of national policy.
This does at least accomplish the point of your second post, though.
This does at least accomplish the point of your second post, though.
Mike Johnson is trying to close the place.
December 31, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Mike Johnson is trying to close the place.
Rome's ability to take conquered peoples and turn them into Romans seems to have been nearly unique in the ancient world. They still struggled with this sometimes (e.g. the Social War), and they lost the ability after the Crisis of the 3rd Century, but most of their competitors never really tried.
December 31, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Rome's ability to take conquered peoples and turn them into Romans seems to have been nearly unique in the ancient world. They still struggled with this sometimes (e.g. the Social War), and they lost the ability after the Crisis of the 3rd Century, but most of their competitors never really tried.
That's why I didn't even understand what point Urban was trying to make with his post. It's a city. It has a lot of daycares, even if not as many as it might need. It also has a lot of pizza parlors, laundromats, bars, gas stations, etc.
December 30, 2025 at 11:13 PM
That's why I didn't even understand what point Urban was trying to make with his post. It's a city. It has a lot of daycares, even if not as many as it might need. It also has a lot of pizza parlors, laundromats, bars, gas stations, etc.
Too many people seem to see voting as an expressive act rather than a strategic one.
December 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Too many people seem to see voting as an expressive act rather than a strategic one.