This Is Fine

Top Federal Labor Agency Fires Its Union https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/top-federal-labor-agency-fires-its-union via @TPM

Tweeted by joshtpm on February 15, 2019 at 1:36 AM

🤔

2:17 AM

No motive has been released by DC authorities in the arrest of Ryan Rimas Jaselskis on arson charges in the Comet Ping Pong fire, but a YouTube channel associated with him and his parents posted a QAnon conspiracy theory video on the same day as the fire: http://bit.ly/2X43TGN

Tweeted by tomwcleary on February 14, 2019 at 10:43 PM in reply to tomwcleary

JUST IN: Suspect in custody after Netflix building in Hollywood evacuated http://hill.cm/aeyUoF3

Tweeted by thehill on February 15, 2019 at 2:19 AM

Hannity claims that his sources inside justice department have advised and assured him that steps are already being taken to begin these investigations/prosecutions. He's very excited and confident that Barr is going to act on all these things. https://twitter.com/GoAngelo/status/1096232757884141569

Tweeted by GoAngelo on February 15, 2019 at 2:21 AM

Memor-X

Barr: there has been found no reason for Hilary to go to jail
Hannity: Barr is corrupt and should go to jail
Trump (after watching Hannity): i'm disappointed in my pick with the latest evidence shows that he has bend over for the Dems to save Crocked Hillary

Oh wow I admittedly did not see Hannity having the inexplicably saner take?

Lou Dobbs calls on Attorney General Barr to investigate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts http://mm4a.org/4hT

Tweeted by mmfa on February 15, 2019 at 1:45 AM

3:11 AM

Bam! @RepAdamSchiff takes on health misinformation - and antivax misinformation specifically - in a letter to Facebook and Google, asking them how much money in ad dollars they receive, and what they're doing about their recommendation algorithms. https://schiff.house.gov/news/press-releases/schiff-sends-letter-to-google-facebook-regarding-anti-vaccine-misinformation

Tweeted by noUpside on February 15, 2019 at 2:55 AM

GodEmperorDune

3:28 AM

@TimStone my boi!

7-year-old girl writes note to parents in case "I got killed" during school lockdown http://hill.cm/Ex595ip

Tweeted by thehill on February 15, 2019 at 3:28 AM

:/

@TimStone apparently Facebook has "interested in pregnancy" as a target category that antivax ads use.

Yeah

It's real good

Memor-X

@TimStone this should not be a thing

The joint statement from Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib isn’t wrong on the facts. https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/press-releases/joint-statement-reps-ocasio-cortez-omar-pressley-and-tlaib-fy-2019-government

Tweeted by MEPFuller on February 15, 2019 at 3:32 AM

Memor-X

Hey Mr Trump! did you know that if you abolish ICE you have the money for your wall? just saying

Pelosi: Trump could set precedent letting next president declare emergency on gun violence http://hill.cm/xLTTyAT

Tweeted by thehill on February 15, 2019 at 3:25 AM

after the election of next Democrat President - US is in a state of perpetual National Emergencies as each side gets elected in turn and has one on gun laws

user15026

7:05 AM

A bill abolishing the death penalty in Wyoming got thru the state House, AND a Senate legislative committee. But it just failed on the Senate's floor, 12 to 18. Check out what a Senator said to explain why he wanted to keep the death penalty: https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/wyoming-senate-defeats-death-penalty-repeal-bill/article_0603777b-4059-5101-ab92-3731036c4478.html

Tweeted by Taniel on February 14, 2019 at 8:07 PM

Private Pansy

7:16 AM

@Ash This is some galaxy brain level thinking right here

user15026

Isn't it just? Like... It just breaks me. As a person of faith I am just like dude no you don't get to use Christ like that, you chaotic evil jerk nugget

7:52 AM

@Ash Also an issue: the USA is ostensibly a secular state, so making legal decisions like that based on a religious conviction is not really appropriate

murgatroid99

@Nzall That's a tricky one. You have to make rules based on some beliefs or convictions.

@murgatroid99 The way I understand it, the intent of a democracy is for you to vote based on what your CONSTITUENTS want, not you yourself

murgatroid99

@Nzall That's true, but I think it's not really that simple either. You can't expect your constituents to know or understand all of the issues. So what they're really voting for is someone who shares their beliefs and convictions so that you make choices the same way they would.

To be clear, I also think he should not be making his decisions that way. But I think there are enough people who make religion the most basic foundation for their decision-making, and who would vote for people like that, that having a rule or guideline like that would essentially remove that group from the decision-making process, and that's not democratic either.

I'm going to bed

2:03 PM

Former MA Republican GOV and 2016 Libertarian VP nom Bill Weld to run in GOP primary against Trump https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2019/02/15/former-massachusetts-governor-bill-weld-says-he-will-challenge-president-trump-for-the-republican-presidential-nomination/?utm_term=.a729cb66bdc9&wpisrc=al_politics__alert-politics&wpmk=1

Tweeted by AaronBlake on February 15, 2019 at 1:57 PM

lol

see howard the field is building up you could just run there

(he won't because he's just an insurance policy for capital)

2:29 PM

“Trying to use the 25th Amendment to try and circumvent the Election is a despicable act of unconstitutional power grabbing...which happens in third world countries. You have to obey the law. This is an attack on our system & Constitution.” Alan Dershowitz. @TuckerCarlson

Tweeted by realDonaldTrump on February 15, 2019 at 3:16 AM

so, the constitution is unconstitutional?

2:40 PM

I had to read this twice. Pompeo tells @roxanasaberi the US is negotiating without preconditions with North Korea -- and not Iran -- because Pyongyang possesses nuclear weapons. https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2019/02/289467.htm

Tweeted by suzannedimaggio on February 15, 2019 at 2:36 PM

@TimStone so if Iran doesn't want to meet those 12 conditions, they simply have to finish developing their own nuclear arsenal?

That would be the implication!

2:59 PM

@TimStone It's almost as if directors of CIA shouldn't be secretaries of state.

3:15 PM

@MadScientist the best I can tell, Alan is saying that using the 25th to remove Trump from office for any reason other than him being physically incapable of being president is considered a violation of that amendment

@Nzall I don't accept anything that Alan Dershowitz has to say any more, with regard to this president or this government

Popehat: Alan Dershowitz is Lying to You

Popehat: Alan Dershowitz Is Still Lying To You

He's clearly wrong on the law, and he just doesn't seem to care

Though the 25th Amendment does explicitly declare that if a president becomes uncapable or unwilling of handing over his power, Article 4 of that amendment is pretty much the way to remove him from Presidency

Well, kinda

> The transfer of authority to the vice president is immediate, and (as with Section 3) the vice president becomes acting president – not president – while the president remains in office, albeit divested of all authority.[6]

3:39 PM

fuck this country sucks

apparently our local children's hospital has their own gofundme situation that you can set up

that that needs to exist is just

awful

@Nzall I'd agree that using the 25th for a bad reason would be extremely problematic, and I think impeachment is much more appropriate for most cases. But the 25th sets a very high bar to remove a president that doesn't want to remove, and at the point where two thirds of congress agree you should go, it's really over in any case

Trump begins in the Rose Garden by talking about the trade negotiations with China. "It's going extremely well. Who knows what that means," he says.

Tweeted by ddale8 on February 15, 2019 at 3:40 PM

Trump is now talking about trade with the United Kingdom. A bit of an odd introduction to an announcement of a national emergency on immigration.

Tweeted by ddale8 on February 15, 2019 at 3:42 PM in reply to ddale8

🤷‍♂️

For Trump specifically I would right now disagree with invoking the 25th, unless there is significant non-public information. But e.g. if he shows more unstable and reckless behaviour around using the military, that is something that could justify the 25th in my opinion

@MadScientist I've seen an opinion that I generally agreed with - that impeachment has become viewed as an almost unreachably high threshold, when that was not at all how it was viewed by the founders

@MadScientist I think there is a complicating factor that because A25.4 (transfer of authority to the VP if the President is unwilling) has never been invoked, most people only know is as the Amendment that made Ford president, and the more absurd couple of multiple hour periods that Dubya Bush used the amendment to transfer power over to his VP during his colonoscopy

3:47 PM

@Nzall Absurd? That's kind of become one of the standard uses, hasn't it? Did Obama never have any procedures for which he had to go under anesthesia during his 8 years?

Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with issues related to presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the Vice President becomes President (as opposed to Acting President) if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office; and establishes procedures for filling a vacancy in the office of the vice president and for responding to presidential disabilities. The Twenty-fifth Amendment was submitted to the states on July 6, 1965, by the 89th Congress and was adopted on February 10, 1967. == Text and effect == Article II, Section 1...

If that's any accurate, Obama never used it

He did consider using it at various times, but he never ended up doing so

@Nzall thanks

4:05 PM

"We'll lose in court," Trump says of his national emergency order, before going on a list of courts likely to deny him.

Tweeted by jdawsey1 on February 15, 2019 at 4:03 PM

I'm sure that will play out well when they appear with a half-assed argument in front of the judge

I mean yeah it'll be some US Attorney tasked with defending the government here when, uh

I'm not a lawyer or anything but I don't think they really have anything even if they whole-ass it

Trump says he asked a couple generals what they'd use this money for if Trump didn't emergency-seize it for the wall. He says he can't say what they answered, but "didn't sound too important to me."

Tweeted by ddale8 on February 15, 2019 at 4:05 PM in reply to ddale8

tbf it probably isn't

I mean, it's important if you want them to do what they're doing probably

But whether they need to be doing that to begin with eh

just take all of the f35 money but instead of building a wall give it to me instead

If only there were some kind of well named legal podcast that did analysis on potential cases like this

4:09 PM

trump's intonation here — going UP on like every fifth WORD as he discussed the COURTS — was honestly hypnotic https://t.co/Ll9YQaHEFy

Tweeted by davidmackau on February 15, 2019 at 4:05 PM

Oh my god that is brain-breaking

"I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster," President Trump says of his national emergency declaration.

Tweeted by kaitlancollins on February 15, 2019 at 4:10 PM

lmfao

have fun working with this whichever US attorney has to

@TimStone Isn't that.... the very definition of NOT an emergency??

SHHH PRESIDENT GRAMPA IS TALKING

this is like if a defense attorney's client accidentally confessed on national television

I can't bring myself to watch this

4:16 PM

@TimStone The problem is, how much money can he spend on a wall before the courts tell him to knock that shit off

probably not a lot, the standard to get a temporary restraining order is very low

Probably only what's in the spending bill, yeah

The administrative overhead of moving the funds around is a deterrent enough from getting it before the courts take a preliminary look

"She's off the reservation," says @POTUS of @AnnCoulter. "I think she's fine but I just don't speak to her."

Tweeted by W7VOA on February 15, 2019 at 4:19 PM in reply to W7VOA

He's also just implied that the purpose of the wall is to bolster his reelection chances?

(which obviously, but again, you don't just...say it)

he just... spoke it out loud

Asked about the DEA saying drugs cross at ports of entry, and stats showing crossings are down, and where he gets his numbers, Trump says, "I get my numbers from a lot of sources, like Homeland Security, primary. And the numbers I have from Homeland Security are a disaster."

Tweeted by ddale8 on February 15, 2019 at 4:22 PM in reply to ddale8

lol

"People said 'Trump is crazy' but "it ended up being a very good relationship" with the #DPRK, says @POTUS in rambling response to question about hopes for second summit with Kim Jong Un.

Tweeted by W7VOA on February 15, 2019 at 4:29 PM in reply to W7VOA

I uh

Those are not mutually exclusive realities

4:31 PM

he said something about rocket ships over Japan, I just read.

Yeah, it seems to have been a rambler's reference to North Korean ICBM tests

In case you’re wondering and I know you are...Matt Whitaker is still at DOJ (for now) in the Associate Attorney General’s Office. @LauraAJarrett

Tweeted by ShimonPro on February 15, 2019 at 4:36 PM

President @realDonaldTrump signs the Declaration for a National Emergency to address the national security and humanitarian crisis at the Southern Border.

Tweeted by PressSec on February 15, 2019 at 4:02 PM

It's exceptional how bad that photo is, lol

4:49 PM

steel slats https://t.co/WUDNwvOXpc

Tweeted by TrumpDraws on December 21, 2018 at 2:27 AM

It appears to be the beginning of the bitter end for Paul Manafort. The Special Counsel's Office is going to file its sentencing memo for his criminal case in Virginia TODAY. Stand by for a fast-moving Friday.

Tweeted by kpolantz on February 15, 2019 at 4:40 PM

Glad we haven't had any excitement yet

looks at clock, blinks

@Timodc writes in @BulwarkOnline: "The President Is Hallucinating and I Think We Should Be Concerned" https://bmbl.us/2Ebw1Ak

Tweeted by JimSwiftDC on February 15, 2019 at 11:08 AM

2

5:31 PM

Harpoon successfully captures #space debris in @UniOfSurrey lead project to address the growing issue. Read more: http://ow.ly/kMfW30nIbLl https://t.co/lV8UengszH

Tweeted by UniOfSurrey on February 15, 2019 at 12:30 PM

Harpoons. in. Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace

5:43 PM

Maduro says his government held secret meetings with Trump officials http://hill.cm/s6Rp3lr

Tweeted by thehill on February 15, 2019 at 5:43 PM

user15026

5:56 PM

@TimStone great. great. so great.

@TimStone soooo... this is the one the US so recently recognized as the legitimate president? or... the other one? the authoritarian despot?

is he the bad one? or the one with no power?

(Answered my own question; Maduro is the baddie, Guaido is the one recognized by some governments but with no power)

6:48 PM

he's the one who is by any real measure literally the president

Wipqozn

Police to lay 1st-degree murder charge against father of girl found dead after Amber Alert
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/brampton-amber-alert-homicide-1.5020744

:(

The IRS’s tech stack still runs on 60(!) year old infrastructure. This is totally fine. https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/reports/2018-annual-report-to-congress

Tweeted by seanrose on February 15, 2019 at 6:58 PM

7:03 PM

@TimStone Oh, so it didn't capture actual debris, but it was a successful test

Yeah I guess it's "test debris"

Tweeted by markgeragos on February 15, 2019 at 6:59 PM

7:29 PM

@radleybalko Breaking news on the no knock raid in Houston where 2 residents were killed and 4 police shot: The informant who allegedly made a successful drug buy there doesn't exist. https://www.click2houston.com/news/investigates/channel-2-investigates-major-questions-raised-about-raid-turned-shootout-after-warrant-reviewed

Tweeted by kylejack on February 15, 2019 at 7:08 PM

Sarah Sanders tells reporters President Trump signed the spending bill about 20 minutes ago. He signed the emergency declaration earlier this morning.

Tweeted by kaitlancollins on February 15, 2019 at 7:30 PM

Moacir

So, you guys are getting a wall?

probably not

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander says Trump declaring an emergency is unwise and inconsistent with the Constitution: "It is unwise because if this president can declare a national emergency to build a wall, the next president can declare a national emergency to tear it down."

Tweeted by kaitlancollins on February 15, 2019 at 7:36 PM

@TimStone Yuuuup

Okay from a purely procedural perspective yes but otherwise that doesn't really follow at all

🚨 SCOOP: Deutsche Bank has decided that none of the more than $4 billion it promised to spend on consumer relief after the global mortgage crisis will go to distressed U.S. homeowners https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-15/deutsche-bank-reverses-pledge-to-help-distressed-homeowners @Tschoenberg22

Tweeted by davidjoachim on February 15, 2019 at 7:34 PM

Ah, I see

7:40 PM

the go-to for these idiots had been "buh what if someone declared climate change an emergency" (it is)

Yeah, that at least makes sense as a hypothetical

This only sort of makes sense if we're admitting that the "emergency" here is manufactured which like, we certainly can and should, but

the real national emergency is the friends we made along the way (?)

> ~~friends~~ judges

fuckin yep

what stops any progressive emergency is the skeleton army that is the federal judiciary

and mitch knows that

(and also in the particular dumb case, you can't just un-eminent domain something)

7:57 PM

Does this photograph show a penguin or a plane? In 1918, a subcommittee hearing became somewhat contentious as this very question was debated. https://go.usa.gov/xEUFx

Tweeted by USNatArchives on February 15, 2019 at 7:50 PM

See everything has always been dumb but now everything is all the time

chuckles

NEW: Judge Amy Berman Jackson has imposed a gag order on Roger Stone.

Tweeted by CharlieGileNBC on February 15, 2019 at 7:55 PM

Who knew flagrantly defying a judge would backfire?

@TimStone That was a fun read

@TimStone I'm trying and struggling to see a penguin.

user15026

@TimStone The sheer amount of circles they go in in that discussion/debate is impressive.

Oh, because the plane model was called Penguin?

Yes, lol

8:11 PM

Like F-117s are called Nighthawks?

that's somehow even dumber than my read of "I mean, if you look at it like this and say the frame is the body, the wings are the wings, and the tail is absurdly large feet,"

Incidentally, I thought the F-117 was the coolest thing ever when I was a kid.

I mean, I still do but I used to too.

Well it's for training and can't actually fly so they're supposed to not technically be "planes" but merely "penguins" which is what the whole debate is over

?

oh gdi

> Tennessee becomes first state in the South with hate crime law protecting transgender people

user15026

8:24 PM

@Unionhawk that was my original thought too til I read the article and honestly, that article's argument sounded more ridiculous

8:51 PM

BREAKING: Multiple people have been wounded in an active shooter situation at Henry Pratt Company is west suburban #Aurora. Schools in the area are on lockdown. We have the latest… https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt6pJs8F4UE/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=y0l7ooyv05h5

Tweeted by ABC7Chicago on February 15, 2019 at 8:46 PM

NEW: In a blow to investigative journalism, Lexis Nexis has told media organisations they’re now banned from using 'Trace IQ' – a private database that lets journalists search home addresses and phone numbers – citing the public’s concerns about data use https://www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/journalists-have-been-banned-from-a-powerful-database-that

Tweeted by MarkDiStef on February 14, 2019 at 12:22 PM

Seems like that's more a case to get rid of Lexis Nexis than specifically revoke media access 🤔

9:06 PM

@TimStone Shooter apprehended

9:33 PM

THIS JUST IN: Senate Finance Committee launches bipartisan investigation into conservative think tank over Maria Butina meetings with senior U.S. administration officials in 2015. Story TK

Tweeted by timkmak on February 15, 2019 at 9:33 PM

@TimStone loooooooool

Mueller's office says in a new court filing that investigators executed search warrants on accounts used to "facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release" and several included communications with Roger Stone.

Tweeted by bradheath on February 15, 2019 at 9:32 PM

9:45 PM

Trump's now on the way to Mar-A-Lago

something something emergency

9:56 PM

Well, this is interesting: the location of a Taiwanese Patriot battery was just revealed by Google Earth's new 3D-rendered maps. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6709677/Taiwans-military-secret-exposed-Google-Maps-3-D-images-locations-defense-missiles.html

Tweeted by mattkorda on February 15, 2019 at 9:43 PM

Kane County coroner responding to the shooting scene in Aurora, #Illinois.

Tweeted by W7VOA on February 15, 2019 at 10:05 PM in reply to W7VOA

Ah shit :/

MBraedley

Donald Trump declares national emergency over border wall funding