Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Ah, the different things are different argument.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

T R E 4 5 O N

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

As long as McCarthy is Speaker, the House will never be in order.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

In after Baud. Damn.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Happy National Emergency Day!

Happy National Emergency Day!

by | 266 Comments

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We all know that there’s no national emergency on the southern US border. We all also know that this will not stop the President in declaring a national emergency this morning. The devil will, of course, be in the details. Specifically we’ll need to see not what the President actually says this morning, though that is likely to be hyperbolic and factually incorrect, but what the actual declaration says. Because the drafting of it was surely a fight between the President’s senior policy advisor Stephen Miller, who has a bachelors degree in what is generally reported as political science, and the actual attorneys at the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel and the White House Counsel’s Office who are trying to mitigate potential damage by keeping the declaration as close to constitutional (constitutionally adjacent?) as possible.

Here’s the live feed:

I leave you with the timeless wisdom of Vice President Pence regarding what the President is going to do today:

Expect the crazy to go the whole day…

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

266Comments

  2. 2.

    Punchy

    I’m so old, I remember when agreeing with anything Bill Kristol spewed from his puke hole was an impossibility.

  3. 3.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Punchy: Kristol just tweeted it, the video is Pence explaining why the President, Obama of course, can’t just take unilateral action on these types of matters.

  5. 5.

    Miss Bianca

    You know what’s a real national emergency? My dog still MIA after 72 hours. *That’s* a national emergency.

    Blech and phooey. And a resounding “feh” on top of it. Back to my hole.

  7. 7.

    Immannetize

    Adam — just a typo heads up — “I live you with” might want to be “I leave you with”? Or even “I love you with” if you changed the end of the sentence….

  12. 12.

    Betty Cracker

    That the orange clown is going straight from the signing to his stupid golf resort tells us all we need to know about this “emergency.”

    “There’s an emergency on the southern border. Now watch this drive!”

  14. 14.

    Raven

    Just passing Gainesville headed for the space coast fishing extravaganza! I drove for 5 hrs now it’s chill!

  15. 15.

    Amir Khalid

    So far this WaPo live feed is the best video I’ve seen of Donald Trump. He’s nowhere in sight.

  16. 16.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Miss Bianca: You know what’s a real national emergency? My dog still MIA after 72 hours.

    Damn. Here’s hoping his collar slipped off and he’s lying on somebody’s couch while they print out “Is this your dog?” flyers

  17. 17.

    kindness

    I’m looking forward to Nancy marshalling a vote against it today. Spit in Trump’s eye another time and make Mitch squirm to support the mini-Musollini.

  21. 21.

    Bruce K

    Kristol had another humdinger today:

    The Republican Party faces a binary choice: Stand up for the rule of law or bend the knee to Trump.

    https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1096190920263958529

    The maddening part about that tweet is that it is one letter away from being absolutely accurate. One letter to change “faces” to “faced”, present tense to past tense. So tempted to assume it’s a typo on his part instead of him trying to deny the ugly truth: that the 21st-century Republican Party has already passed a point beyond which there is no repair, no redemption, no salvation.

  24. 24.

    sharl

    LOL/SOB, he still doesn’t know – or pretends to not know* – how tariffs work. (*Personally I assume ‘Option A’ comes closest to the correct answer.)

  25. 25.

    Miss Bianca

    @WaterGirl: She went on an unathorized walkabout – as Huskies do – and has disappeared. No sightings, no soundings, zero, zip, nada.

    Very unlike her not to show up for din-dins. I try to keep the faith and not let dark imaginings swamp me. Meanwhile, FB postings, flyers, shelter hauntings, all the usual means of retrieval.

    Pray for Luna. : (

  33. 33.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Still kicking El Paso? Seriously?. Ohhh! Now he claims all those murders he was referring to are on the Mexican side.

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    @Miss Bianca: Keep us posted on Luna.

    You have probably already done this, but flyers at nearby gas stations, in particular, can be a huge help. Lots of eyes and ears in the neighborhood stop for gas. With weekend coming up, maybe nearby churches and other places of worship too.

    I found a friend’s runaway dog via gas station posters.

  36. 36.

    The Midnight Lurker

    …Nancy knows it. Chuck knows it. It’s all a big con. It’s all a big lie.”

    Goddamn right.

  37. 37.

    sharl

    He sounds rattled. While no one is more deserving of it, it could result in rather ominous consequences.

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jennifer Rubin @ JRubinBlogger
    So is Trump creating a constitutional crisis so people don’t focus on his obesity? Asking for a friend

    I swear she’s gonna capering in front of the White House with a giant papier måché trump puppet head by the Fourth of July.

  41. 41.

    The Midnight Lurker

    “…monsterous caravans…”

    THERE IT IS! He’s signing a National Emergency!!!!

    He says it’s never been a problem before.

  43. 43.

    NotMax

    @The Midnight Lurker

    Now he claims all those murders he was referring to are on the Mexican side.

    Ah, so the fence stopped all those Americans from crossing the border to commit murder, then.

    Sheer lunacy.

  44. 44.

    Elizabelle

    Please let this make Team Mueller decide to drop some closer in and closer in indictments today. Get THAT on the front pages and 24/7 cable wurlitzer.

  51. 51.

    joel hanes

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I’m watching Constitutional government die in a ditch at the hands of the so-called Republican Party
    Somehow, I just can’t do humor today, even black humor, even snark.
    Sorry.

  52. 52.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Wow! Did he bury the lede! Now he’s introducing ‘Angel Moms & Dads’, nobody by name. 70 G killed by drugs… he thinks that number is ‘ridiculously low’… WTF???!!!

  53. 53.

    Kraux Pas

    I didn’t know Fentanyl was brought in from Mexico. Trump, you should ask your big pharma donors about it.

    Also, many people are legally prescribed this and have real pain that needs to be addressed.

  54. 54.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Matthew Yglesias @ mattyglesias
    Traditionally when a president speaks about an urgent national crisis he doesn’t open with a rambling overview of unrelated matters.

    I accidentally clicked over to NPR and heard him talking about ‘new records’, so I assume he was bragging about the DJIA before getting to the ‘national emergency’

  57. 57.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Raven: You’re an inspiration to us all. Driving for any length of time in our current state of planned NATIONAL EMERGENCY! takes nerves of steel. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

  59. 59.

    Adam L Silverman

    @The Midnight Lurker: So is he calling for more Americans to be killed because he thinks the numbers are ridiculously low? I can’t tell because he didn’t finish the sentence or the thought.

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Daniel Dale @ ddale8
    Trump, adopting the grammar of a non-native English speaker, says, quoting Xi Jinping, “We give death penalty to people who sell drugs.”

    President Krusty the Klown

  67. 67.

    The Midnight Lurker

    A second National Emergency???!!

    It’s all about drugs and gangs!! What?!! Was there a A-Team marathon on Nick last night?

  73. 73.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Adam L Silverman:
    This is the first time I’ve seen you since I found out: Did you hear about Attack on Titan? That the big reveal of the series is… the titans are Jews? I am not kidding. Hook noses, star armbands, the works. The creator is a Japanese ultra-nationalist fuckhead trying to justify Japan’s role in WWII.

  78. 78.

    Kraux Pas

    Note to “President” Trump: We don’t support giving surplus military equipment to local law enforcement because we don’t support waging war on our citizens.

    Also, he drones. Drones and drones and drones sooooooooooo painfully.

  79. 79.

    Kay

    @sharl:

    He sounds rattled

    I’m just not scared of him in that way anymore. This is a stunt to cover his big weak ass because he completely and utterly blew negotiations and some adult will intervene. He lives and dies based on moronic and cynical cable tv celebrities. And dies is the second part of that.

    He had no way to get out of the mess he made without doing this, so he did it. There’s no more thought put into it than that. This isn’t master strategists sitting in a room planning six months out. It’s a bunch of low quality grifters throwing shit against a wall, which is how Pelosi beat them without breaking a sweat. It wasn’t hard for her because they’re bad at their jobs. “Jobs” is even a stretch.

  82. 82.

    Searcher

    Have we considered the possibility that he wants to be impeached?

    I mean, the consensus can is that he didn’t really want to be President, he just wanted to spend the rest of his life grifting off Hillary Clinton’s victory. Maybe he wants to get kicked out so he can grift on that instead?

  84. 84.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Adam L Silverman:
    The anime Attack on Titan. You’re familiar with it, right? It came out in the manga that the titans are Jews. Not by name, but a single ethnic group, drawn like classic Jewish stereotypes complete with star armbands, who use their power to turn into giant cannibal monsters to rule the world. It only gets more heavy-handed from there. The whole show has been a lead-up to justifying fascism and the Holocaust. I have no idea what the cartoon studio and distributors are going to do.

  89. 89.

    The Midnight Lurker

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Any idea who this Bob Wiya guy is

    There’s a rapper no one has ever heard of and a guy who has a blog about dogs.

    And yes, sir. I’ll keep searching.

  90. 90.

    debbie

    @Pogonip:

    There’s probably a petfinder.com for MB’s area. It’s a great resource for broadcasting. Also, I get plenty of missing pet posts on FB.

  92. 92.

    NotMax

    OT.

    Heh. Now there’s something you don’t hear every day. Line from a movie on in the background:

    “When I got back from the war, my wife gave me the clap.”

  93. 93.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Frankensteinbeck: I know the title, I don’t read manga and don’t watch a lot of anime. This doesn’t surprise me though, given that anti-Semitism is pretty common in Japan, especially among the traditionalists.

  94. 94.

    Elizabelle

    @Pogonip:
    @ Miss Bianca:

    Yes! Nextdoor is marvelous! You might learn that a neighbor has Luna safely fenced in, or homed, while they’re looking for her owners.

    Lot of dogs recovered via Nextdoor in our area.

  95. 95.

    Yarrow

    This call I'm on with some people in DC is hilarious. The "But the courts will stop him" line is being delivered with a quaver.

    "Alexa, order Depends for the Senate GOP Caucus."
    — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 15, 2019

  97. 97.

    SFAW

    @mrmoshpotato:

    You’re an inspiration to us all. Driving for any length of time in our current state of planned NATIONAL EMERGENCY! takes nerves of steel.

    It was either that, or going shopping “so that the terrists don’t win.”

  99. 99.

    Elizabelle

    @NotMax: He might not assume it was purely love or infidelity. Had a long chat a few years ago with a very old and very shrewd woman about some WW2 service members’ wives who became working girls in their absence.

  103. 103.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Yarrow: This is what happens once you’ve realized what the Federalist Society hacks who you’ve crammed onto the courts are really likely to do.

  106. 106.

    sharl

    @Kay: I’m mostly reassured by your analysis, and I’m in general agreement, though

    …some adult will intervene…

    is concerning, given the kind of adults who surround him. I’m sure he’s counting on them to show him the exit. Then again, the kind of people he listens to helped bring us to this point. I like Marcy Wheeler’s idea:

    Anyway, I hope Trump names it the Coulter-Hannity Emergency Declaration, bc they're the only ones pretending this is an emergency.— emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 14, 2019

  107. 107.

    Kraux Pas

    @Adam L Silverman:

    This doesn’t surprise me though, given that anti-Semitism is pretty common in Japan, especially among the traditionalists.

    This is true among “traditionalists” or revanchists in most places.

  108. 108.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Raven:

    I’m the king of lost dogs in my hood on Facebook.

    Translation: I’m wanted for stealing dogs all over the municipal area in which I live.

  109. 109.

    SFAW

    @Amir Khalid:

    I can’t take more than a few seconds of his empty blather.

    You are made of sterner stuff than I. “A few seconds” of his disgustingness might cause my head to a-splode.

  111. 111.

    debbie

    “Now I do politics.” My head hurts. I have to drive to the other side of town to get my car serviced. If there are reports of road rage on I-70 or I-270, it will be me.

  112. 112.

    JPL

    I ran some errands and just returned a few minutes ago. I switched the channel and it appears that the local abc station is still carrying him. The TV is on mute and he seems quite expressive this morning .. Lots of hand signals. Did anyone ask him if Don Jr. was going to get indicted?

  114. 114.

    Chyron HR

    “My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve declared a national emergency that will outlaw Mexicans forever. We begin construction in five minutes.”

  119. 119.

    Kay

    I could certainly be wrong but I just think the entire Republican Party hinging their next election on not just a single issue – demonizing immigrants- but a single SUB issue- this wall, is insane.

    The Wall has consumed everything. For months now. And it doesn’t go away, it just gets bigger and bigger.

    If you’re telling me they planned this, that they wanted to make the central theme of the GOP a wall, then I think it’s a bad plan. If instead they stumbled into it and now can’t get out of, which is what I think, I also think that’s a bad outcome.

    That better be some wall. Near-magical, because it has to make voters forget everything else and also not notice they don’t HAVE anything else.

  120. 120.

    Adam L Silverman

    @JPL: He was once again trying to explain that the tariffs were resulting in huge inflows of capitol to the Treasury. And that Mexico is actually, in reality, paying for the wall because of how he renegotiated NAFTA into the not actually in effect and most likely not ever going to be USMCA.

  121. 121.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Elise Foley @ elisefoley
    Trump on his national emergency declaration: “I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn’t need to do this. But I’d rather do it much faster.”

    Coming soon to a lawsuit, I’m sure.

    Somebody needs to work out the equivalent of billable hours for the Executive branch lawyers are going to be working on a suit the de facto client keeps losing before it’s filed. $300, $400 an hour?

  128. 128.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Kay: They’re not. They’re pivoting to post-birth abortion must be stopped based on the legislation revising the rules for medically/therapeutically necessary 3rd trimester/late term abortions in NY and VA.

  129. 129.

    Kraux Pas

    Can we start a lifetime pension fund with a target for $10 million dollars for the first reporter who asks “Mr. President, how do you respond to charges that you’re a dipshit and lying fraud?”

    I’m flexible on the phrasing.

  132. 132.

    Yarrow

    @Kay:

    If you’re telling me they planned this, that they wanted to make the central theme of the GOP a wall, then I think it’s a bad plan. If instead they stumbled into it and now can’t get out of, which is what I think, I also think that’s a bad outcome.

    Agreed. It’s a mess they have no idea how to get out of. They can’t stop Trump from talking about The Wall because it’s like a reunion tour for a band–it’s one of the classics that the fans demand he plays.

    They’re in it, they can’t get out of it, he won’t shut up about it. It’s a total mess for them. And a losing talking point for everyone except for the few remaining rubes who love it.

  134. 134.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kay: What she said

    I would also like the add that I strongly suspect the Republicans in Congress are setting Trump up so he has to resign and they get Pence before 2020.

  136. 136.

    Kraux Pas

    @JPL: The first bit was me quoting Trump answering one of his questions. Then my response.

    The last bit was a video pointing out a verbal tic he has that has been quite manifest during this speech and Q&A.

  139. 139.

    Kay

    I read that congressional Republicans are planning on running against Democrats because Democrats are “radicals”

    They better. It’s that or running ON this wall. They’re thrilled that they think they have a wholly negative platform- that’s the optimistic view. The BEST frame for them is “we won’t do anything, and they might”.

  140. 140.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    aniel W. Drezner @ dandrezner
    Did Trump actually claim that Sean Hannity wouldn’t change his mind if Trump did??!!

    Not watching ,don’t know the context, but did some reporter actually ask him about Secretary of Everything Hannity?

  142. 142.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Translation: I’m wanted for stealing dogs all over the municipal area in which I live.

    LOL! That’s how I interpreted it too.

    Using this time of NATIONAL EMERGENCY! as a cover for running a dognapping ring out of his carhole. For shame Raven.

    FOR!
    SHAME!

  143. 143.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Kraux Pas: The local guy from Maryland just did a good job pushing him on where he gets the numbers he cites and that flustered the President. Now he’s angry and pissy.

  146. 146.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Karen:

    Richard M. Nixon @ dick_nixon
    Pelosi is going to cock a big fat gun at the Senate and dare them to condemn this, and a lot of them will do it. Probably a simple majority.

    Declaring the emergency is political weakness.

    Nixon’s twitter ghost has more faith in Senate Rs than I do (though I’m sure Libertarian Rand Paul will lead the fight!), but Nadler and Castro have already prepared a motion to block the order.

  152. 152.

    sharl

    @Kay:

    I just think the entire Republican Party hinging their next election on not just a single issue – demonizing immigrants- but a single SUB issue- this wall, is insane.

    Yeah, about the history on The Wall: Where The Idea For Donald Trump’s Wall Came From

    Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border did not come from security analysts following years of study or through evidence that a wall would reduce illegal immigration. Amazingly, for something so central to the current U.S. president, the wall came about as a “mnemonic device” thought up by a pair of political consultants to remind Donald Trump to talk about illegal immigration.

    In 2014, Trump’s plan to run for president moved into high gear. His political confidant was consultant Roger Stone. “Inside Trump’s circle, the power of illegal immigration to manipulate popular sentiment was readily apparent, and his advisers brainstormed methods for keeping their attention-addled boss on message,” writes Joshua Green, author of Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Nationalist Uprising. “They needed a trick, a mnemonic device. In the summer of 2014, they found one that clicked.”

    Joshua Green had good access to Trump insiders, including Sam Nunberg, who worked with Stone. “Roger Stone and I came up with the idea of ‘the Wall,’ and we talked to Steve [Bannon] about it,” according to Nunberg. “It was to make sure he [Trump] talked about immigration.”

    Thanks boys!

  153. 153.

    jonas

    Yeah, well Obama’s no-good, very bad EO was designed to *protect* brown people. Trump’s Emergency Declaration is so we can stomp on more brown asses and protect the delicate fee-fees of some redneck MAGAt on the Michigan UP who has never even seen a Latino in his life. So totes different.

    /Wingnut Wurlitzer

  156. 156.

    WaterGirl

    To say that I find this declaration of emergency distressing would be quite the understatement. I feel sick.

  158. 158.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @NotMax: I take great malicious delight in pointing out the to the Anime fan bois that the Yamato was chased out of it’s only surface battle, the thing it was designed for, by the USS Johnson, a destroyer.

  159. 159.

    Kraux Pas

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    What do you think Anime and Magma is, it’s nothing but trying to rewrite history so Japan is both justified and the winners of WWII.

    Subsets of the genre, sure. A lot, by far the majority of what I have seen, is not.

    Japan does get a decent image boost from its cultural exports. We can’t blame them entirely for their war atrocities disappearing down the memory hole, though. A lot of that has to do with people in the west not caring about what happened in Asia.

    None of this stops me and my boyfriend from wanting to have our honeymoon in Japan when we get married.

    ETA: I have not seen attack on Titan.

  161. 161.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Karen: In reverse order: The law that provides the President with the power to declare a national emergency allows Congress to challenge it and cancel the declaration. Either chamber can initiate a joint resolution cancelling it. It only requires a simple majority vote in both chambers and once one chamber passes it, the other is required to take it up within 15 days. And if I’m remembering correctly, in the Senate it can’t be filibustered/isn’t subject to a cloture vote. If it passes both chambers, the it, like other legislation goes to the President to sign. If he vetos it, then Congress can override under the normal veto override rules: 2/3 majority in each chamber.

    To your first question, a lot of NeverTrump conservatives are concerned that taking this action sets up a future Democratic president to use the national emergency declaration powers for things like climate change, healthcare access, and/or gun violence. Speaker Pelosi, in the attempt to scare the congressional GOP leadership in both chambers to head this off yesterday, basically said this in plain terms in her press conference yesterday. That clearly didn’t get the message across as it was reported that McConnell encouraged the president to do this because McConnell is counting on the courts stopping this. I think there is a distinct possibility that McConnell is going to be wrong here.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Helen Kennedy @ HelenKennedy
    Obama “told me he was close to starting a big war with North Korea.”

    Lying about his communications with his predecessor about critical foreign policy issues is crossing another line.

    Tom Nichols Retweeted Helen Kennedy
    I hope President Obama holds a press conference. I think former Presidents should be mostly silent and give speeches to donors and go make some money. But this is an exception. We need to know (1) if this is true, and (2) if it’s not, we need the WH to explain itself.

    I’d be fine with this, but the ex-president who needs to speak up is the one with the R by his name

  165. 165.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The problem is going to be that once it passes both chambers, the joint resolution cancelling the national emergency, is subject to presidential veto. Which the President would likely do. Then the question is whether you can get enough Republicans in the Senate to vote with the 48 members of the Democratic Senate caucus to override the veto.

  166. 166.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    It’s hard for me to get upset about the wall because right now, today, Trump pretends he built the wall. The imaginary wall is the same as a real wall to his supporters. We already know this. They completely folded on HALF the wall promise, which was “Mexico will pay for it”.

    It reminds me of “voter fraud”. We were busy compiling proof and filing lawsuits and none of it mattered. Voter fraud is imaginary so that was the realm. We were in the wrong dimension :)

    The wall is or isn’t but the idea of the wall is the thing for them. These are people who accepted it when Trump dropped HALF the promise, the part where they don’t have to pay for it. They rolled right along with that.

  167. 167.

    The Dangerman

    I listened for a little while; he gives mea headache. I had to mute him right about the time I detected him getting excited about how China kills drug dealers. If he can’t get Wall, maybe he can get off (the non Ivanka edition) but making the border a free fire zone.

  174. 174.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Kay:

    The Wall has consumed everything. For months now. And it doesn’t go away, it just gets bigger and bigger.

    I’m reminded of the orange asshole saying the wall just got 10 feet taller in response to protesters during his campaign.

    The wall was stupid then, and it’s stupid now.

  176. 176.

    scav

    Will provide some sort of entertainment to see how congressional Repubs, aka Team Doormat, attempt to lie their way out of this one, especially in the somewhat implausible situation of actively being questioned about it by any journalists.

  177. 177.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Tommy Vietor @ TVietor08
    Was the question, what racists do you follow on Twitter?

    Zeke Miller @ ZekeJMiller
    Trump: “Ann Coulter, I don’t know her …I haven’t spoken to her in way over a year”

  178. 178.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Rick Wilson @ TheRickWilson
    Ever seen anyone coked to the gills?

    Because you’re seeing someone who is talking just like a person coked out of their damn mind.

    Billy Corben @ BillyCorben
    As I often describe it: a person on cocaine starts one sentence and finishes another.

  180. 180.

    rikyrah

    On emergency declaration, Pelosi reminds GOP it won’t always be in power
    02/15/19 11:21 AM
    By Steve Benen

    …………………………

    “I know the Republicans have some unease about it no matter what they say, because if the president can declare an emergency on something that he has created as an emergency, an illusion that he wants to convey, just think of what a president with different values can present to the American people.

    “You want to talk about a national emergency? Let’s talk about today, the one-year anniversary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in America. That’s a national emergency. Why don’t you declare that emergency, Mr. President? I wish you would.

    “But a Democratic president can do that. Democratic president can declare emergencies as well. So, the precedent that the president is setting here is something that should be met with great unease and dismay by the Republicans.”

  185. 185.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Chyron HR:

    This is performance art, right?

    Anyone who has different interests than me is an awful horrible person, right? History nerd talk, deal with it.

  187. 187.

    rikyrah

    @Adam L Silverman:

    That clearly didn’t get the message across as it was reported that McConnell encouraged the president to do this because McConnell is counting on the courts stopping this. I think there is a distinct possibility that McConnell is going to be wrong here.

    Nancy Smash should force a vote in the House, and then put it on Turtle’s doorstep, where he must bring it up for a vote. Force all those posturing GOP’ers to actually have to vote on it.

  188. 188.

    Adam L Silverman

    @rikyrah: The issue isn’t getting the joint resolution passed, the issue will be getting enough Republicans in the House and the Senate to get a 2/3 supermajority in both chambers to override the President’s veto.

  190. 190.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    From yesterday

    Sam Stein @ samstein
    16h16 hours ago
    When told that McConnell had already given the president his blessing for an emergency declaration, the GOP lawmaker was momentarily speechless.

    “Oh, wow,” he said, adding, “Well, he’s got a primary,”

    I’ll believe it when I see it, but it’s interesting.

  191. 191.

    NotMax

    The term Constitutional crisis is too often bandied about willy-nilly.

    Not today. This is Democracycon-1.

  193. 193.

    frosty

    @Raven: Have fun! We’re leaving Falling Waters this morning and heading for Topsail Hill and Big Lagoon State Parks for the next two weeks. I’m not a fisherman but I’ll be watching your cohorts on the beach.

  196. 196.

    Brachiator

    @Kay:

    It’s hard for me to get upset about the wall because right now, today, Trump pretends he built the wall. The imaginary wall is the same as a real wall to his supporters. We already know this. They completely folded on HALF the wall promise, which was “Mexico will pay for it”.

    It reminds me of “voter fraud”. We were busy compiling proof and filing lawsuits and none of it mattered. Voter fraud is imaginary so that was the realm. We were in the wrong dimension :)

    Great points. Yesterday I ran across some YouTube video that showed a bunch of right wing pundits, Ann Coulter and company, insisting that Trump had to build the wall or else his chances for re-election would evaporate.

    This is all bullshit. Trump regularly breaks promises or just outright lies about them, and his supporters will suck up whatever version of Trump nonsense makes them happy.

    Remember when Trump solemnly promised to repeal and replace Obamacare? Then after bluster and nonsense and inaction by the Republican Congress, Trump repealed the individual mandate and then declared Obamacare repealed.

    Same shit with Wall. Trump either built the wall or fought off the Democrats to get the wall, or did everything and nothing. Typical Trump grifter misdirection.

  197. 197.

    scav

    @Adam L Silverman: I think that’s the second step, or rather icing on the cake if it acually rolls back the declaration.. The first accomplishment wiuld be getting Team R — the supines — to officially nail their colors to the doorstep.

  198. 198.

    germy

    Being Raised by Two Narcissists Taught Me How to Deal with Trump

    Two years in, some people are still expecting one of his scandals to bring him down. I know better.

    I’ve never seen either of my parents show legitimate remorse for anything they’ve ever done (and the list includes my dad running over my foot with his car by accident). Shame is a consensual activity. For someone to be shamed, they have to accept your reality that they have committed a bad act. In order for someone to accept someone else’s reality, they have to hold that person in high enough esteem. Assholes make sure no one ever hits the bar. If you object to asshole behavior, you’re “crazy,” “a whiner,” “doing it for personal gain,” etc.

    The media and Democrats alike may be used to a more traditional model of public politics, where extremists can be brought low by Have you no sense of decency, sir?–style moments. In the past, it was assumed that when someone was caught out in an obvious lie, they would retreat and admit fault.

    Except Trump’s answer to, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” is pretty clearly a solid no.

    https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3kga4j/being-raised-by-two-narcissists-taught-me-how-to-deal-with-trump?utm_source=vicetwitterus

  199. 199.

    kindness

    I’m curious when this National Emergency declaration is official so that the House can vote against it. Anyone know what kind of timeframes to expect?

  200. 200.

    The Midnight Lurker

    @Adam L Silverman: Searched for Robert ‘Bob’ Wiya (different spellings used):

    Bob Wian – founder of Big Boy’s resturant. Died in 92’? Trump was probably a patron before he discovered McDonald’s has a drive thru.

    United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation. Trump and his spawn have been attacking Warren.

    Robert Wiya has player profile on SportsTG. He sucks.

    Rugby player for the Moss Vale Dragons (Scotland) named Bob Wiya.

    There’s a guy in Australia named Robert Haynes that runs a enviromental health program for Aboriginal communities called ‘Pika Wiya’. This looks like straight up scocialism, so I don’t this is Trump’s guy.

    I can’t find anyone with anything even remotely having that name, having anything to do with Angel Moms or anything with anyone present. I reviewing the tape now.

    Why don’t I just start a search for Mr. Covfefe?

  201. 201.

    NotMax

    @scav.

    Congress has ceded more and more power to the president since WW2. This *may* mark the point where they stand up and declare “Enough.”

  202. 202.

    Another Scott

    Pelosi and Schumer joint statement:

    Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement on the President’s Unlawful Emergency Declaration
    FEBRUARY 15, 2019

    Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released this joint statement on President Trump declaring a national emergency:

    “The President’s unlawful declaration over a crisis that does not exist does great violence to our Constitution and makes America less safe, stealing from urgently needed defense funds for the security of our military and our nation. This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process.

    “The President’s actions clearly violate the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, which our Founders enshrined in the Constitution. The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities in the Congress, in the Courts, and in the public, using every remedy available.

    “This issue transcends partisan politics and goes to the core of the Founders’ conception for America, which commands Congress to limit an overreaching executive. The President’s emergency declaration, if unchecked, would fundamentally alter the balance of powers, inconsistent with our Founders’ vision.

    “We call upon our Republican colleagues to join us to defend the Constitution. Just as both parties honored our oath to protect the American people by passing the conference committee bill, the Congress on a bipartisan basis must honor the Constitution by defending our system of checks and balances.

    “The President is not above the law. The Congress cannot let the President shred the Constitution.”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  204. 204.

    Gravenstone

    @Frankensteinbeck: I’m sure the Japanese fought a shitload of Jews in all the nations they sought to subjugate while trying to secure resources throughout the Pacific.

    Sadly, several mangaka seem to hold rather abhorrent political views

  206. 206.

    Martin

    @Adam L Silverman: I don’t see how the courts stop the declaration. The law provides a clear path for Congress to block the president. It’s not USSCs fault that Congressional republicans are too chickenshit to stand up to the president.

    As for the shift in spending priorities, I could see the courts stopping that. And if they don’t, and Trump takes billions from CA disaster relief, well, there are still 7 republican seats out here for us to overturn, including the minority leader and ranking member on intelligence. We flipped 7 last year, we’ll flip 7 more next year.

  207. 207.

    Kay

    @Brachiator:

    Democrats should hire a full time person or persons to track the wall, with a dedicated Twitter and Instagram account.

    Team Trump know the difference between the idea of the wall and the wall is a problem- Miller made a point of how amazed we’ll be at the speed of construction. We won’t be amazed. If I were a con-crew like they are I might have put off the reality of the stretch of fence. If they even get that done.

  208. 208.

    Doug R

    @joel hanes:

    I’m watching Constitutional government die in a ditch at the hands of the so-called Republican Party
    Somehow, I just can’t do humor today, even black humor, even snark.
    Sorry.

    Well, it’s been worse, especially if you weren’t white. The Indian Exclusion Act comes to mind.

  209. 209.

    NotMax

    @Kay

    Within the Sims franchise, all it take s is sufficient money and a few seconds to build a wall.

    What? You say that’s not a reflection of how things work in real life?

    //

  210. 210.

    bemused

    “Expect the crazy to go the whole day…”
    It’s been insane for several years now and counting….

  212. 212.

    Plato

    Read on bbc

    It is likely that over the coming months, the lawyers in Washington will be far busier than the bricklayers in Arizona and Texas and California.

  213. 213.

    germy

    BEDFORD, N.H. (AP) — William Weld, a former Massachusetts governor who ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016, became the first Republican to take a serious step toward challenging President Donald Trump in 2020.

    Speaking Friday at a breakfast in New Hampshire, Weld said he has created a presidential exploratory committee. He blasted Trump for leaving the nation in “grave peril.”

    Asked to comment on Weld’s campaign, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders responded: “Who?”

    Stephen Stepanek, the chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, pointed to Weld’s past support of President Barack Obama and said he didn’t “expect his campaign to get very far among Republican primary voters.”

  214. 214.

    Brachiator

    @Yarrow:

    If you’re telling me they planned this, that they wanted to make the central theme of the GOP a wall, then I think it’s a bad plan. If instead they stumbled into it and now can’t get out of, which is what I think, I also think that’s a bad outcome.

    Agreed. It’s a mess they have no idea how to get out of. They can’t stop Trump from talking about The Wall because it’s like a reunion tour for a band–it’s one of the classics that the fans demand he plays.

    McConnell knew about the national emergency declaration and is prepared to defend it to the death. Fox News and right wing pundits knew about the national emergency declaration and pushed round-the-clock commentary about how Trump needed the wall to ensure his re-election. None of this is off the cuff. No matter how stupid it looks or sounds.

  216. 216.

    rikyrah

    @Adam L Silverman:

    @rikyrah: The issue isn’t getting the joint resolution passed, the issue will be getting enough Republicans in the House and the Senate to get a 2/3 supermajority in both chambers to override the President’s veto.

    I know…but, I want to put all those GOP posturing phonies on the spot with an actual vote…you know the usual group of absolute phonies like Little Susie and Thirsty Marco….

  218. 218.

    Kay

    Congressional Republican:

    John Harwood
    ‏Verified account
    @JohnJHarwood
    3h3 hours ago
    More
    “He undoubtedly will be enjoined from carrying it out. And, we all move on.”

    To what? Your other wonderful ideas for the country? What would those be? By “move on” they mean “do nothing and hope Democrats implode”

    I love “will be enjoined” too. Completely and utterly passive. Committed to not doing their jobs.

    Trump doesn’t have to over-reach. They handed it to him long ago. This just makes it formal.

  221. 221.

    AThornton

    I don’t believe Senate Republicans will vote to override the Emergency Decree in the first place. And if that does pass neither the House nor Senate will be able to muster the GOP votes needed for a 2/3 majority to override Trump’s veto.

  222. 222.

    trollhattan

    @Gravenstone:
    Oh god, Marco and Rand, always looking for a camera to be concerned in front of but when have they ever strayed from the Republican flock? Has either, even once?

  225. 225.

    Brachiator

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    What do you think Anime and Magma is, it’s nothing but trying to rewrite history so Japan is both justified and the winners of WWII.

    Anime is a huge genre. Not all of it is about clinging to lies about Japanese military history.

    Magma is hot fluid or semifluid material below or within the earth’s crust from which lava and other igneous rock is formed on cooling.

  226. 226.

    geg6

    @Martin:

    I would think courts could easily stop it if they take their duties seriously. The mechanism and reasons a president can use an national emergency declaration are spelled out in law, a law that was put in place right after Watergate for exactly this sort of possibility. What was the intent of the law? What is the clear language of the law? Is this order within the parameters of the intent and language?

    Of course the courts can stop it.

  228. 228.

    Matt McIrvin

    @AThornton: The next step is to pin this abomination to every one of them who votes for it. The actual wall is a chimera; it’s never going to exist and we all know it. But everyone who supports this emergency declaration is glued to Trump and to his most unpopular policy yet.

    They’re actually counting on the courts to save them from themselves. That’s weak, stupid behavior.

  229. 229.

    Martin

    @Gravenstone: I suspect they may be taking Pelosi’s warning seriously. Consider a Democratic president elected in 2020, signs us back into the Paris Accord and then declares a national emergency with powers to drastically cut emissions in order to meet the 2030 target.

  230. 230.

    trollhattan

    @geg6:
    Both Brett and Squi believe in executive autonomy. The only remaining question is just how appalled John Roberts is with this shitshow. I’m not liking our odds, although it may be tied up for months in the meantime.

  231. 231.

    catclub

    @rikyrah:

    Nancy Smash should force a vote in the House, and then put it on Turtle’s doorstep, where he must bring it up for a vote. Force all those posturing GOP’ers to actually have to vote on it

    I think this is much less of a problem for GOP senators than you suggest. They (at least 95% of them) will have no problem voting not to override a veto.
    They (at least 95% of them) will not be punished by their voters for doing so.
    They might not like it, but so what? They probably don’t like dialing for dollars 6 hours a day – but they do it.

  232. 232.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Just turned on MSNBC and saw some clips of the televised breakdown today. He’s claiming the Prime Minister of Japan nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Has anyone contacted the Japanese embassy?

  233. 233.

    catclub

    @Martin:

    Consider a Democratic president elected in 2020, signs us back into the Paris Accord and then declares a national emergency with powers to drastically cut emissions in order to meet the 2030 target.

    THAT gets taken to court,
    and then the SC that did not revoke Trump’s Emergency decides to revoke the Democratic president’s emergency.
    None of this is a problem for Trump. Or the GOP.

  234. 234.

    Gravenstone

    @Martin: I can as easily envisage both of them thinking to themselves, “when I’m president …” and falling in line with Trump. At least in terms of upholding a veto, even if they give lip service to the measure to stop the declaration.

  235. 235.

    Martin

    @geg6: 10 USC 2808:

    a) In the event of a declaration of war or the declaration by the President of a national emergency in accordance with the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) that requires use of the armed forces, the Secretary of Defense, without regard to any other provision of law, may undertake military construction projects, and may authorize the Secretaries of the military departments to undertake military construction projects, not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces. Such projects may be undertaken only within the total amount of funds that have been appropriated for military construction, including funds appropriated for family housing, that have not been obligated.

    That would seem to leave the question of whether the wall is rightly seen as a military activity. I don’t think it’s a stretch considering other military constructions in the past such as coastal defenses. The law seems to consider national emergencies as being equivalent to acts of war, so if you would allow a construction during an act of war (you would) then you would need to allow it now. As to whether it’s really a national emergency, the whole point of the 1974 law was to give Congress a check on that very question. If Congress refuses to utilize that check, that doesn’t seem to be a legal issue. And relying on the courts to do the job of Congress is not something I would think the courts would be overly eager to reward. I’d stuff it right back in their face in the ruling – Congress has the check, have the courage to use it.

  236. 236.

    Seanly

    @A Good Woman:

    Well and he’s falsely implying that all of the drug deaths are due to illegal immigration and drugs coming over just the Southern border. Off the top of my head, I think there are at least 4 or 5 fallacies with his thinking on just that statement.

  239. 239.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    Being Raised by Two Narcissists Taught Me How to Deal with Trump

    Two years in, some people are still expecting one of his scandals to bring him down. I know better.

    Unfortunately, this is more about how to react and retain your own sanity, and nothing about how to defeat a narcissist who has become one of the most powerful world leaders, complete with people whose entire job is to fluff his fragile ego.

    It’s also wrong about one key thing:

    Wielding rejection is the most classic case of asshole behavior. But it’s also the one that’s the most exploitable by the press. This White House is one of the leakiest administrations of all time, and for all the turnover, Trump hasn’t been able to stop people from gossiping to reporters. It’s those leaks, and his inability to stop them, that should scare Trump—grifts don’t work if you can see the trick being pulled.

    Trump himself is a source of leaks. He loves to play to the press. Especially the NY Times, which he also claims to hate.

    The best grifters get the suckers to willingly play along, and to defend the con artist from attacks.

  240. 240.

    catclub

    @germy:

    William Weld, a former Massachusetts governor who ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016,

    The point to note is that the OTHER former governor of Massachusetts who is a member of the GOP has shown no interest in challenging Trump.

    That “Who?” from Sarah Sanders was pretty good.

  241. 241.

    Bill Arnold

    @PaulWartenberg:

    Did the Shitgibbon really say that the Japanese Prime Minister nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize???

    It has been reported.
    Trump claims Japanese prime minister nominated him for Nobel Peace Prize (John Bowden – 02/15/19 12:21 PM EST)
    See my quite relevant link at #181:
    @Bill Arnold:

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Adam, I assume that’s one of your coincidence jokes. (They could have retired the number. Also, FWIW, Abe might have been tricked into a photo op.)

  242. 242.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @catclub: I think a primary challenger who can get media attention and who is willing to run against trump on a partisan suicide mission can do great things for this country. I think you get half of that with Weld, and you might get the other half from Kasich. But maybe the sleepy aging prep-schooler will surprise me.

  244. 244.

    Martin

    @Seanly: Most of the deaths are due to pharma companies, pharmacists, and overprescribing doctors.

    Billionaire John Kapoor dangled lavish bonuses and used a music video parody featuring a rapping fentanyl nebulizer to motivate his young sales force to talk doctors into prescribing potentially deadly doses of his company’s opioid pain reliever, the pharma founder’s disgraced CEO testified Wednesday.
    …
    In one instance, a physician was nicknamed “the $9 million man” because of his potential value to Insys, Babich said. The pharmaceutical manufacturer provided him first-class travel arrangements and hired his girlfriend to keep him happy, he said, adding, “We were hopeful it would equate to more scripts for us.”

    He acknowledged Insys even took on one doctor who a sales rep warned in an email “runs a very shady pill mill” because, “he was the biggest writer of that type of product in the Chicago area and getting that revenue was very important to our company.”

    The Sinaloa cartel has nothing on the US healthcare systems brazenness.

  245. 245.

    germy

    @Brachiator:

    The best grifters get the suckers to willingly play along, and to defend the con artist from attacks.

    True. And he’s a great grifter, just a terrible president.

  247. 247.

    GxB

    @sharl: I saw a recent discussion where it is thought an advisor emphasized the need for “the wall” to be “transparent” – meaning the mnemonic should not be seen for what it is. It was conjectured that prez goodbrains, being unable to grok such an abstract concept just latched onto the fact that this wall now needed to be see-through. Thus setting up the whole “needs to have slats to see drugs being catapulted over it” fiasco.

    It was a stupid argument, but donnie’s razor being what it is, it’s quite possibly accurate.

  249. 249.

    chopper

    @Adam L Silverman:

    i haven’t read the law, is it definitely a joint resolution, or is it a concurrent resolution? looking it up i’ve been finding stories suggesting either.

  250. 250.

    WaterGirl

    @Cheryl Rofer: I think this goes all the way to the Supreme Court, and we get a repeat of Bush v. Gore in that they will rule in his favor but state that their ruling is not intended to be taken as a legal precedent.

    That way they can take it on a case by case basis, by which I mean if a Republican president does it, it’s legal; if a Democratic president does it, it is ruled as not legal.

    What a shitty day this is for our country.

  251. 251.

    Michael Cain

    @Martin:

    that requires use of the armed forces

    I think this phrase is going to cause the administration no end of trouble. If they don’t make a substantial deployment of troops to the border, then they likely fail this legal requirement. If they do make such a deployment, then they need to explain why it’s legal under the requirements for when the military can be used for domestic law enforcement. I suspect the grab for Treasury money is included at least as much because the lawyers think they won’t get the DOD money over this phrase as anything.

  252. 252.

    cain

    @Kraux Pas:

    I really don’t understand anti-semitism. I really don’t. I don’t even know how this hate gets started. Old hindu folks, my relatives also don’t like Jews. But they can’t tell me a single thing they are doing that is bad other than “they run the worlds markets” and I’m like “and.. so what?” I mean there is a shit ton of rich people out there who aren’t jews that are doing terrible or immoral things.

  253. 253.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Steve in the ATL: has Michael Avenatti declared his lifelong passion for, and expertise in, eminent domain cases? Have he and Bob Odenkirk been seen in the same room?

  254. 254.

    Gelfling 545

    @sharl: They couldn’t tell they were dealing with a moron who wouldn’t know a figure of speech if it walked up and bit him?

  255. 255.

    geg6

    @Martin:

    That would seem to leave the question of whether the wall is rightly seen as a military activity. I don’t think it’s a stretch considering other military constructions in the past such as coastal defenses. The law seems to consider national emergencies as being equivalent to acts of war, so if you would allow a construction during an act of war (you would) then you would need to allow it now.

    I think it is quite a stretch. What is the military need? Coastal defenses happened during war. There is no war and there is no proposal to provide similar defenses along the coasts, which would actually make more sense than the wall, since more of the drugs he rails against come in that way (albeit, in cargo containers).

    Regardless, even if the courts won’t take on the legality of this “emergency,” they’ll have no choice but to take on the hundreds/thousands of cases of eminent domain that will be coming their way.

  256. 256.

    Gelfling 545

    @Cheryl Rofer: Anyone watching that must now be aware that he is unfit to walk about unattended, much, much less be president. They may not admit it out loud but they are aware.

  257. 257.

    Tazj

    @Miss Bianca: I’m hoping and praying Luna comes back homes to you very soon. You must be so worried. My brother has had 3 huskies and I had a shepherd/husky mix. Those stinkers do love to wander.

  258. 258.

    Miss Bianca

    @Tazj: Thanks, and thanks to all the folks who had good suggestions for other places to post notices. Just joined that neighbor thing so that I could put a notice there…Lord, I hope something works!

  260. 260.

    WaterGirl

    @Miss Bianca: I am holding my breath for you. Tried prayers earlier but thought perhaps I needed to up my game by holding my breath and crossing my fingers.

  261. 261.

    J R in WV

    @Miss Bianca:

    Well, at least you are dealing with a dog designed for harsh winter conditions, so not like a short hair of some sort.

    Hoping your puppeh comes home soonest!!!!

  262. 262.

    MisterForkbeard

    @WaterGirl: What’s interesting about this is that this kind of language *regularly* comes out of Republican lawmakers about literally everything Democrats do.

    The democrats very rarely put out the “This is wildly unconstitutional and a complete attack on America’s values and government.”

  263. 263.

    WaterGirl

    @MisterForkbeard: You’re right. What a depressing day for our nation and our democracy.

    Lawfare has an article up that makes it seem like congress won’t be able to stop them and the courts are the best bet for that. Others say the courts will either stay out of it or the SC will rule in their favor. The intersection of those two beliefs is pretty much non-existent. Makes me want to go rock in the corner somewhere. This is a very bad day.

  264. 264.

    Another Scott

    @chopper: https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/emergency-powers is supposed to be a good writeup of the ins-and-outs of what can and cannot happen. IANAL.

    A Guide to Emergency Powers and Their Use

    December 5, 2018

    Unknown to most Americans, a vast set of laws gives the president greatly enhanced powers during emergencies. President Donald Trump’s threats to bypass Congress and secure funding for a wall along the border with Mexico by declaring a national emergency are not just posturing. The Brennan Center, building on previous research, has identified 123 statutory powers that may become available to the president when de declares a national emergency, including two that might offer some legal cover for his wall-building ambitions (10 U.S.C. 2808 (a) and 33 U.S.C. 2293 on our list below). An additional 13 statutory powers become available when a national emergency is declared by Congress.

    Below are two tables (for a printable PDF version of both tables, click here). The first lists several important laws that establish general frameworks for different kinds of emergencies (including national emergencies, major disasters, public health emergencies, etc.). The second sets forth the 136 statutory provisions available during national emergencies; it displays these powers by subject matter, specifies the conditions triggering their use, and lists the occasions on which they have been invoked. This table is sortable/searchable by level of restriction on the president’s powers, U.S. code title, and keyword. Our top-line observations from this research may be found here, while our methodology for compiling the database is available here. Separately, we have developed a running list of national emergencies declared since the National Emergencies Act went into effect. And we did a deeper dive into some of these powers in the January/February 2019 issue of The Atlantic.

    *This page was updated on Jan. 23, 2019.

    (See the original for embedded links.)

    HTH.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  265. 265.

    sm*t cl*de

    @Brachiator:

    Magma is hot fluid or semifluid material below or within the earth’s crust from which lava and other igneous rock is formed on cooling.

    Your answer is nuncupatory. Magma is a French prog-rock band.

  266. 266.

    Hob

    A couple of people so far have said things about manga or anime being a “genre”. Manga = comics from Japan or in a Japanese tradition; anime = animation from Japan or in a Japanese tradition. Comics isn’t a genre, it’s a medium; same for animation. Mystery, romance, science fiction, etc. are genres; comics and animation can be about any of those things and more. Sorry, pet peeve of mine.

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