In the Atlantic (gift link) Law professors Akhil Reed Amar, Josh Chafetz, and Thomas P. Schmidt analyze Trump and Co’s nefarious plan to circumvent the Senate’s advise and consent role: The Senate’s check on the president can of course lead to friction and frustration at the start of an administration, while a new president’s nominees are considered and sometimes even rejected by the Senate. Advice and consent takes time. But as Justice Louis Brandeis famously observed, checks and balances exist “not to promote efficiency but to preclude the exercise of arbitrary power.” The purpose of the Constitution “is not to avoid friction” but “to save the people from autocracy.” Trump would prefer that the Senate agree to recess so that he can install the rogues gallery of drunks, traitors, rapists and freaks to the cabinet positions he needs to wreak revenge on his enemies. So far, it doesn’t seem that the Senate is willing to go along, preferring to maintain their prerogatives. For now, at least. But Trump has a Plan B, which I’ve written about before.
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The biggest question in the case against Asif Rahman, a CIA employee accused of leaking Israel’s battle plans, is motive.
The post Israel Delayed Its Attack on Iran Due to CIA Leak, Prosecutors Allege appeared first on The Intercept.
Plus, new data on Liz Cheney’s election effect, the connection between real estate and your insurance premium, and a hidden city discovered under the ice.
I wrote the other day about the Elon and Vivek show planning to cut the so-called “entitlements.” That plan is becoming clearer by the day. Philip Bump writes: Data from the White House Office of Management and Budget indicates that about 12 percent of federal spending this year will be on Medicare, about 1 in 8 dollars the government disburses. Spending on Medicare is equivalent to 95 percent of the amount spent on national defense. This means that those interested in cutting federal spending — like President-elect Donald Trump’s allies (and fellow billionaires) Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — were almost necessarily going to eventually arrive at the idea that the government should spend less on programs such as Medicare and Medicare specifically. They like to talk about how they will trim federal spending by targeting the federal workforce, but firing every single nonmilitary employee would eliminate only about 4 percent of the budget. If your plan is to cut a third of the budget (as Musk has said he wants to do)? You’ve got to aim higher than that.
When art sparks outrage.
Syrian government forces are expected to: 1. Leave Al Bu Kamal, Deir-ezzour, Palmira and stop at al-Qaryateyn to protect Homs. 2. Leave Daraa and retract to the limits of Damascus rural area. That will limit the defence of a larger area to a smaller area, secure Latakia, Tartous, Damascus and Homs.
Meanwhile Israel is considering annexing southern Syria.
Apparently some Iraqi militias Hezbollah forces are at Homs to fight, but HTS is still strong and is very well equipped, including with plenty of drones.
Indiscretions = rape, sexual harrassment, financial mismanagement and serious alcohol use disorder. Roy is not alone in that belief, of course. After all, the man they all worship is guilty of all but the alcohol problem. He’s an adjudicated rapist, fraudster and sexual harrasser. And 75 million or so Americans voted for that so you can’t say that it’s a deal breaker. I don’t know if Hegseth will make it. But I won’t be surprised if he does. He’s a quintessential Republican alpha male.
A warming climate may cause more bird couples to break up.
The post When Songbird Couples Split appeared first on Nautilus.
JEN, QUENTIN, STEPHANIE, and DAVID enter a conference room located deep inside the DC Beltway. DAVID sits in a chair. QUENTIN sits in a chair facing the opposite direction. STEPHANIE throws a chair through the window and sits on the table. JEN picks up a chair and duct tapes it to her back, then sits on STEPHANIE.
DAVID: All right, everyone. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this is the most important holiday party of our lifetime. Who’s in charge of the food?
STEPHANIE: Joe Biden is in charge of the food.
DAVID: Great. What food is he bringing?
JEN: He’s not bringing any food.
DAVID: What do you mean?
QUENTIN: He didn’t buy or make any food. He’s not bringing any food.
Interest rates settings depend on forecasts of price inflation, wages and unemployment. There is now sufficient evidence to suggest that the Reserve Bank should begin to cut interest rates soon and arguably at its December Board Meeting. The balance of risks if it stays there much longer is that the economy will fall into a Continue reading »
Australia’s vote this week in support of a UN General Assembly resolution aimed at creating an “irreversible pathway” to a Palestinian state caps a year of important symbolic changes by the Albanese Government on this issue. But there is a fatal flaw at the heart of government’s policy of creeping recognition of a Palestinian state: Continue reading »
Incoming US President Donald Trump will force us, as citizens of the ‘West’, to face the demon in the mirror. They “will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.” Donald J Trump about the people of Gaza and their defenders. “Western justifications Continue reading »
In Asian media this week: Disaster survivor says she wishes she had died. Plus: Macabre dispute over Pakistan protest deaths; Trump’s new term, crisis time for AUKUS: Martial law becomes South Korea’s democratic moment; Fentanyl America’s problem, says Beijing; Women’s freedom means no going back on population decline This week marks 40 years since the Continue reading »
In an expected move, the leading organization of the far-right “constitutional sheriffs” movement has endorsed...
BBC and Disney+'s Doctor Who Showrunner Russell T. Davies has some interesting thoughts to share about the future of streaming and television.
The Trump administration may soon have a new weapon to target perceived enemies.
The post Silencing Dissent: Attacks on Free Speech and Nonprofits Are Already Ramping Up appeared first on The Intercept.
The Trump administration may soon have a new weapon to target perceived enemies.
The post Silencing Dissent: Attacks on Free Speech and Nonprofits Are Already Ramping Up appeared first on The Intercept.
The corruption this time is going to be epic Last February, as Donald Trump was running for the Republican presidential nomination, he appeared at SneakerCon in Philadelphia to debut his latest branded product, gold sneakers emblazoned with the number 45. They retailed for $399 and reportedly sold out immediately, or at least orders for them did. They ended up going for thousands of dollars on ebay. Nobody knew exactly where these sneakers were made or who was making them but Newsweek reported that the designs were trademarked by CIC Ventures LLC out of Palm Beach and its managers were two Trump associates. The website states that the company selling the shoes is located in a small town in Wyoming and declares that the shoes “are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals.” It uses the name, image and likeness under a license agreement. That same company is now selling a new product called “Fight, Fight, Fight” cologne and perfume which sell for $199, also under a license agreement.