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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Happy National Emergency Day!

Happy National Emergency Day!

by Adam L Silverman|  February 15, 201910:25 am| 266 Comments

This post is in: America, Crazification Factor, Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Election 2020, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Popular Culture, Post-racial America, Not Normal

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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:

Mike Pence: The president usurping power and end-running Congress is "a profound mistake." pic.twitter.com/GjDbHDvh0u

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 15, 2019

Expect the crazy to go the whole day…

Open thread!

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Previous Post: « Imagine This
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Reader Interactions

266Comments

  1. 1.

    TaMara (HFG)

    February 15, 2019 at 10:29 am

    I’m so old, I remember when Mexico was going to pay for the wall.

  2. 2.

    Punchy

    February 15, 2019 at 10:31 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:32 am

    @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.

  4. 4.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:33 am

    Yea! National Emergency Day!

    Sorry, I got you nothin’! What’d you me get me?

  5. 5.

    Miss Bianca

    February 15, 2019 at 10:35 am

    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.

  6. 6.

    Another Scott

    February 15, 2019 at 10:35 am

    @TaMara (HFG): Yup.

    Let’s not forget that it was a cynical ploy from the beginning, also too. We can blame Sam Nunberg.

    Joshua Green:

    Joshua Green Verified account @JoshuaGreen

    Truly unbelievable that THIS is the genesis of Trump’s “national emergency” –>
    (source: https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Bargain-Bannon-Storming-Presidency/dp/0735225028/ …)

    [image]

    (via ddale8 on Twitter)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  7. 7.

    Immannetize

    February 15, 2019 at 10:36 am

    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….

  8. 8.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 10:36 am

    @TaMara (HFG): How did everything go yesterday?

  9. 9.

    Immannetize

    February 15, 2019 at 10:37 am

    @Miss Bianca: That is rotten! Sending homecoming guidance to your pooch.

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 10:37 am

    @Miss Bianca: Your dog is missing? For real? What happened?

  11. 11.

    Yarrow

    February 15, 2019 at 10:37 am

    @Miss Bianca: Oh, no! What happened?

  12. 12.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:38 am

    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!”

  13. 13.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 10:38 am

    @Immannetize: Thanks, fixed it.

  14. 14.

    Raven

    February 15, 2019 at 10:38 am

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

  15. 15.

    Amir Khalid

    February 15, 2019 at 10:39 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:39 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:41 am

    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.

  18. 18.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:41 am

    @Miss Bianca: Oh no!

  19. 19.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:41 am

    Orange Julius is speaking now…

  20. 20.

    Amir Khalid

    February 15, 2019 at 10:41 am

    @Amir Khalid:
    He showed up. Damn.

  21. 21.

    Bruce K

    February 15, 2019 at 10:41 am

    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.

  22. 22.

    AnotherBruce

    February 15, 2019 at 10:42 am

    Aaaaah, the robust smell of fresh articles of impeachment should be in the air!

  23. 23.

    Amir Khalid

    February 15, 2019 at 10:44 am

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

  24. 24.

    sharl

    February 15, 2019 at 10:44 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:44 am

    @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. : (

  26. 26.

    joel hanes

    February 15, 2019 at 10:44 am

    Time to impeach.

  27. 27.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:45 am

    Here it comes…

  28. 28.

    Raven

    February 15, 2019 at 10:46 am

    @Miss Bianca: Poor baby!

  29. 29.

    Amir Khalid

    February 15, 2019 at 10:46 am

    Besides, I tweaked my back bending over Sister today and my mood is not great.

  30. 30.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:46 am

    Sorry. More empty blathering… he had me for a sec.

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 10:47 am

    @joel hanes: I’m more an imnectarine kind of guy. I don’t like the fuzz on the impeaches.

  32. 32.

    Kelly

    February 15, 2019 at 10:48 am

    3″ of new snow, temps in the high 20’s. Gonna XC ski Santiam Pass today!

  33. 33.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:48 am

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

  34. 34.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 10:48 am

    If he sees his shadow it means six more weeks of emergency.

    ;)

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    February 15, 2019 at 10:49 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:49 am

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

    Goddamn right.

  37. 37.

    sharl

    February 15, 2019 at 10:50 am

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

  38. 38.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2019 at 10:50 am

    Is it possible to roll your eyes so hard that they roll right out of your head?

  39. 39.

    hedgehog mobile

    February 15, 2019 at 10:50 am

    @Miss Bianca: Oh no! Sending go home doggie vibes and hugs for you.

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 15, 2019 at 10:50 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:51 am

    “…monsterous caravans…”

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

    He says it’s never been a problem before.

  42. 42.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 10:51 am

    @The Midnight Lurker: Any idea who this Bob Wiya guy is he keeps referring to?

  43. 43.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 10:51 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:51 am

    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.

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 10:51 am

    @Miss Bianca: Oh, no! I would be beside myself. Just thinking about it is upsetting enough. Prayers for both of you.

  46. 46.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:52 am

    @sharl: TOTALLY rattled.

  47. 47.

    waspuppet

    February 15, 2019 at 10:52 am

    10 minutes after he declares a national emergency, I’m declaring a national embarrassment.

  48. 48.

    sharl

    February 15, 2019 at 10:52 am

    @Miss Bianca: Oh no! Hope Luna shows up quickly, none-the-worse for whatever adventure she’s on.

  49. 49.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 10:53 am

    @The Midnight Lurker: What is your quote from?

  50. 50.

    waspuppet

    February 15, 2019 at 10:53 am

    @The Midnight Lurker: That’s Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer to you, Inheritance Boy.

  51. 51.

    joel hanes

    February 15, 2019 at 10:54 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:54 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:54 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:54 am

    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’

  55. 55.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:55 am

    @Adam L Silverman: No clue, sir. But I’m working on it.

  56. 56.

    debbie

    February 15, 2019 at 10:55 am

    Back to death penalties for drug dealers. Asshole.

  57. 57.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2019 at 10:55 am

    @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.

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 10:55 am

    @The Midnight Lurker

    It’s all a big con. It’s all a big lie.

    There’s that ol’ debbil projection again.

  59. 59.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 10:55 am

    @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.

  60. 60.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:56 am

    Trump is excited by a death penalty in the trade deal???!!!

    Words fail…

  61. 61.

    debbie

    February 15, 2019 at 10:56 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    New highs on Wall Street, actually.

  62. 62.

    Yarrow

    February 15, 2019 at 10:56 am

    @Miss Bianca: Sorry to hear that. Fingers crossed she’ll turn up.

  63. 63.

    Miss Bianca

    February 15, 2019 at 10:56 am

    @Elizabelle: Good thought, I have one up at one of the gas stations, will drop some off at the other two today!

  64. 64.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 10:57 am

    @Kraux Pas: Too late, President Xi is going to classify it as a deadly, deadly drug. That’s like double secret probation.

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 15, 2019 at 10:57 am

    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

  66. 66.

    debbie

    February 15, 2019 at 10:58 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    No, he’s saying it’s ok to murder children if you’re a citizen. //

  67. 67.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:58 am

    A second National Emergency???!!

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

  68. 68.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 10:58 am

    @The Midnight Lurker: Please report back!

  69. 69.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 10:59 am

    @The Midnight Lurker: Narrator: There is no death penalty in the trade deal.

  70. 70.

    debbie

    February 15, 2019 at 10:59 am

    @Miss Bianca:

    Fingers crossed for a return very soon.

  71. 71.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 10:59 am

    “…lot’s of things happening. That’s the story.”

    Death can not be this busy.

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:01 am

    @debbie: Well my weekend plans just got exciting!//

  73. 73.

    Frankensteinbeck

    February 15, 2019 at 11:01 am

    @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.

  74. 74.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:02 am

    Why stop at halfway measures? Put WALL around Texas!

  75. 75.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:02 am

    @The Midnight Lurker: The dead travel fast.

  76. 76.

    debbie

    February 15, 2019 at 11:03 am

    OMG, he’s worse than a Jewish yente with the whinging!

  77. 77.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:03 am

    @Frankensteinbeck: I’m sorry, what now?

  78. 78.

    Kraux Pas

    February 15, 2019 at 11:03 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:03 am

    @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.

  80. 80.

    Keith P.

    February 15, 2019 at 11:04 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Did he make the “karate chop” motion too?

  81. 81.

    Pogonip

    February 15, 2019 at 11:04 am

    @Miss Bianca: Try nextdoor.com , if you haven’t already. Quite a few lost pets are recovered by Nextdoor in my area. Good luck!

  82. 82.

    Searcher

    February 15, 2019 at 11:05 am

    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?

  83. 83.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:05 am

    @debbie: Oy vey…

  84. 84.

    Frankensteinbeck

    February 15, 2019 at 11:05 am

    @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.

  85. 85.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:05 am

    @Adam L. Silverman

    So the Walking Dead is a lie? Say it ain’t so, Joe!

  86. 86.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:05 am

    I don’t think they have the adderall dialed in correctly this morning.

  87. 87.

    FelonyGovt

    February 15, 2019 at 11:07 am

    And there’s such an emergency he’s going to Mar A Lago right after this.

  88. 88.

    Miss Bianca

    February 15, 2019 at 11:07 am

    @Pogonip: oh, thank you for that! Will do!

  89. 89.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 11:07 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:08 am

    @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.

  91. 91.

    guachi

    February 15, 2019 at 11:09 am

    Apparently the national emergency is a woman telling Trump, “no”.

  92. 92.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:11 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:11 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:11 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:11 am

    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

  96. 96.

    JPL

    February 15, 2019 at 11:11 am

    @Miss Bianca: Do you have nextdoor? I know ours is helpful in reuniting pets with owners.

  97. 97.

    SFAW

    February 15, 2019 at 11:12 am

    @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.”

  98. 98.

    Raven

    February 15, 2019 at 11:12 am

    @Miss Bianca: I’m the king of lost dogs in my hood on Facebook. Might be worth a try.

  99. 99.

    Elizabelle

    February 15, 2019 at 11:13 am

    @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.

  100. 100.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:13 am

    @Adam L. Silverman

    Hm. Bob Wiya. Isn’t he the host of This Old Caravan?

  101. 101.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:13 am

    @NotMax: Actually that should be “say it ain’t so William”.

  102. 102.

    Kraux Pas

    February 15, 2019 at 11:14 am

    We didn’t have a deal with China. We had the WTO.

    ::Facepalm::

    billions and billions and billions and…

  103. 103.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:15 am

    @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.

  104. 104.

    JPL

    February 15, 2019 at 11:15 am

    Wow the local NBC station just cut away from him….

  105. 105.

    zhena gogolia

    February 15, 2019 at 11:15 am

    @Miss Bianca:

    Oh, I am so sorry! I adore huskies! Praying for her to come home soon.

  106. 106.

    sharl

    February 15, 2019 at 11:16 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:16 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:16 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:17 am

    @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.

  110. 110.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:17 am

    @NotMax: Could be, I don’t watch a lot of PBS during the day.

  111. 111.

    debbie

    February 15, 2019 at 11:17 am

    “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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:17 am

    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?

  113. 113.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:18 am

    @Kraux Pas: So I’ve heard.

  114. 114.

    Chyron HR

    February 15, 2019 at 11:18 am

    “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.”

  115. 115.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:19 am

    @debbie: Have a nice drive.

  116. 116.

    JPL

    February 15, 2019 at 11:19 am

    @Kraux Pas: What does that mean?

  117. 117.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2019 at 11:20 am

    This is pretty scary.

  118. 118.

    Raven

    February 15, 2019 at 11:21 am

    @mrmoshpotato: Shit we’re goin fishin!

  119. 119.

    Kay

    February 15, 2019 at 11:21 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:22 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:22 am

    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?

  122. 122.

    Raven

    February 15, 2019 at 11:22 am

    @Adam L Silverman: In Normaltown!!!

  123. 123.

    A Good Woman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:22 am

    So I had to know where the 70K drug deaths came from, and I think I found the source. He botched it, naturally

  124. 124.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:22 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: They don’t have him dialed in quite correctly.

    And he, as usual, has no idea how immigration works.

  125. 125.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    February 15, 2019 at 11:23 am

    @Frankensteinbeck: 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.

  126. 126.

    The Midnight Lurker

    February 15, 2019 at 11:23 am

    @JPL: So did my local NPR station. Hilarious.

  127. 127.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2019 at 11:24 am

    I should be cleaning the house, but this press conference could be historic.

  128. 128.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:24 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:24 am

    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.

  130. 130.

    JPL

    February 15, 2019 at 11:25 am

    @Adam L Silverman: That’s what I thought. He’s crazy. I just put the sound up and he uses many facts and homeland security spends to much money.

  131. 131.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:25 am

    @Raven: You get the email I sent late last night?

  132. 132.

    Yarrow

    February 15, 2019 at 11:25 am

    @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.

  133. 133.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2019 at 11:26 am

    @Adam L Silverman: Reporters are saying there is no teleprompter. Which is easy to believe.

  134. 134.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    February 15, 2019 at 11:26 am

    @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.

  135. 135.

    thalarctosMaritimus

    February 15, 2019 at 11:26 am

    @Miss Bianca: I’m so sorry to hear the news. I hope Luna is found safe and sound very soon.

  136. 136.

    Kraux Pas

    February 15, 2019 at 11:26 am

    @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.

  137. 137.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:26 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: Will he literally bite the head off the guy from CNN?

  138. 138.

    JPL

    February 15, 2019 at 11:26 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: You spelled histrionic wrong.

  139. 139.

    Kay

    February 15, 2019 at 11:27 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:27 am

    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?

  141. 141.

    Karen

    February 15, 2019 at 11:27 am

    @Adam L Silverman: So what happens next? Did this create a precedent and now the next Democratic President can declare this? Can Nancy SMASH stop this?

  142. 142.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2019 at 11:28 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:28 am

    @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.

  144. 144.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:28 am

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques

    You mean the resurrected Yamato didn’t save the universe? Say it ain’t so, Yoshi.

    ;)

  145. 145.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2019 at 11:28 am

    @JPL: Definitely histrionic.

  146. 146.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 15, 2019 at 11:29 am

    @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.

  147. 147.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:30 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: Makes sense, given that he didn’t even provide any real, specific details of the national emergency declaration.

  148. 148.

    Frankensteinbeck

    February 15, 2019 at 11:30 am

    @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.

    That might be the hottest take I’ll hear all day, even with Trump’s announcement.

  149. 149.

    Yarrow

    February 15, 2019 at 11:30 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Declaring the emergency is political weakness.

    Dick Nixon is right about that. It’s weak, he’s weak and he knows it makes him look weak.

  150. 150.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:30 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: He did.

  151. 151.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Always a relief when he stops talking.

    Now to clean the kitties’ bathroom.

  152. 152.

    sharl

    February 15, 2019 at 11:32 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:33 am

    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

  154. 154.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:34 am

    @Frankensteinbeck

    Yowzah.

    Or ought that to be Yaoizah?

    ;)

  155. 155.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2019 at 11:35 am

    That was one of the most disturbing public statements I’ve ever seen.

    — Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) February 15, 2019

  156. 156.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 11:35 am

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

  157. 157.

    rikyrah

    February 15, 2019 at 11:36 am

    @Miss Bianca:

    I will pray for Luna …sending positive thoughts

  158. 158.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    February 15, 2019 at 11:36 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:36 am

    @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.

  160. 160.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2019 at 11:36 am

    @NotMax:

    Yaoizah?

    Is that the unrevealed spelling of the name of G-D?

  161. 161.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:37 am

    @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.

  162. 162.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:38 am

    @NotMax: I don’t know if you saw it, but they found the Hornet.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 15, 2019 at 11:38 am

    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

  164. 164.

    Chyron HR

    February 15, 2019 at 11:39 am

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    “YEAH BROTHER WHENEVER ONE OF THOSE NERDS STARTS IN ON THEIR POKEY-DOKEY-DAN, I JUST REMIND THEM THAT WE NUKED THOSE BASTARDS TWICE!”

    This is performance art, right?

  165. 165.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 11:40 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:40 am

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:41 am

    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.

  168. 168.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2019 at 11:41 am

    @Raven: Even more inspiring. Why are you looking at me like that?

  169. 169.

    joel hanes

    February 15, 2019 at 11:43 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    It _is_ a little difficult for me to see Akira, Princess Mononoke, and The Ghost In The Shell in that framing.

  170. 170.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 15, 2019 at 11:44 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: 45 years ago I despised Nixon with every fiber of my being, but I have to say the dude’s really come around in his old age.

  171. 171.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:44 am

    @Immanentize

    In certain (um, how to put this) select private clubs, most probably.

    ;)

  172. 172.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:46 am

    @Adam L. Silverman

    Lesson 1: Don’t poke the Hornet’s rest.

  173. 173.

    Kay

    February 15, 2019 at 11:47 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The imaginary wall is almost surely better than any real section of fence will be. He should have kept it imaginary. Let his supporters keep whatever picture is in their heads.

  174. 174.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2019 at 11:47 am

    @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.

  175. 175.

    JPL

    February 15, 2019 at 11:48 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: According to Andrew McCabe, trump listens to Putin about matters pertaining to North Korea, so maybe trump is confused who told him what.

  176. 176.

    scav

    February 15, 2019 at 11:50 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:51 am

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 11:54 am

    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.

  179. 179.

    Kay

    February 15, 2019 at 11:55 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    That’s probably true though- he definitely obsesses on how many celebrities he knows and speaks to.

    He saw her on “the shows”! Like my (late) grandmother, with “my programs” :)

  180. 180.

    rikyrah

    February 15, 2019 at 11:56 am

    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.”

  181. 181.

    Bill Arnold

    February 15, 2019 at 11:58 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:
    @Adam L Silverman:
    For Adam Silverman in particular if he hasn’t seen it. I’m not describing it (pic from 2015) because it hasn’t been memory holed yet (and google is a thing), but oh my. (look up the number):
    Prime Minister Abe waves
    via

  182. 182.

    Neldob

    February 15, 2019 at 11:58 am

    @Miss Bianca: I am so sorry. Remember to check craigslist for lost and found things.

  183. 183.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 11:59 am

    @Kay

    Live-in housekeeper, during the 1950s/early 1960s, would insist on time for “my shoot ’em ups.”

  184. 184.

    RedDirtGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Oh dear! So sorry to hear that. Hope the pup shows up soon!

  185. 185.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    February 15, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    @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.

  186. 186.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 15, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    @Bill Arnold: The question is whether that is a coincidence.

  187. 187.

    rikyrah

    February 15, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    @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.

  189. 189.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    @rikyrah

    What, if anything, leads you to surmise she won’t?

  190. 190.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 15, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:16 pm

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

    Not today. This is Democracycon-1.

  192. 192.

    Another Scott

    February 15, 2019 at 12:16 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Of course, cocaine would kill him given the state of his health…

    He’s brain damaged, not a coke head.

    IMHO, IANAMD.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  193. 193.

    frosty

    February 15, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    @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.

  194. 194.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    @Raven

    Y’all be careful. No telling which borders those caravans of fish have crossed.

  195. 195.

    Martin

    February 15, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    @NotMax: Oh, that was my favorite cartoon as a kid. First exposure to anime.

  196. 196.

    Brachiator

    February 15, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:23 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:28 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:31 pm

    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.

  203. 203.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 12:33 pm

    @Another Scott: Wow.

  204. 204.

    Gravenstone

    February 15, 2019 at 12:33 pm

    @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

  205. 205.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 15, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I keep remembering Carrie Fisher saying that his weird sniffing was definitely a sign of heavy coke use, and she was an expert.

  206. 206.

    Martin

    February 15, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:43 pm

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

  211. 211.

    Gravenstone

    February 15, 2019 at 12:43 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: So this revelation is still only in the manga? I gave up watching after season one of the anime.

  212. 212.

    Plato

    February 15, 2019 at 12:43 pm

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    @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.

  215. 215.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    @Plato

    No matter what, the lawyers cash in. More sure a wager than one on the Sun rising in the morning.

  216. 216.

    rikyrah

    February 15, 2019 at 12:50 pm

    @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….

  217. 217.

    rikyrah

    February 15, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    @NotMax:

    What, if anything, leads you to surmise she won’t?

    nothing….just hoping that she does.

  218. 218.

    Kay

    February 15, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    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.

  219. 219.

    Gravenstone

    February 15, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Paul and Rubio are already making mouth noises that they would not support this National Emergency farce. Of course, their eventual votes will belie this temporary posturing.

  220. 220.

    trollhattan

    February 15, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:
    Still conflicted between snorting coke or adderaII. Definitely coke during his Studio 54 days but the other makes a certain sense today.

  221. 221.

    AThornton

    February 15, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 12:56 pm

    @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?

  223. 223.

    PaulWartenberg

    February 15, 2019 at 12:56 pm

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

  224. 224.

    West of the Rockies

    February 15, 2019 at 12:58 pm

    @joel hanes:

    Fruits Basket, anything by Miyazaki…

  225. 225.

    Brachiator

    February 15, 2019 at 12:58 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    @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.

  227. 227.

    cwmoss

    February 15, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: I assume Magma is an autocorrect thing, but I like it anyway!

  228. 228.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 15, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:03 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:10 pm

    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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:10 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    @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.

  237. 237.

    Martin

    February 15, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    @catclub: I don’t think their optimism is as powerful as our cynicism.

  238. 238.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    In a bizarre sing-song cadence, Trump acknowledges that his national emergency will face legal challenges, but expresses hope that SCOTUS will eventually rule in his favor. pic.twitter.com/F4DCzKrsns

    — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 15, 2019

  239. 239.

    Brachiator

    February 15, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:19 pm

    @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.

  243. 243.

    donnah

    February 15, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    That singsong bit was both scary and hilarious. Mostly scary. He was way off his leash in that speech.

  244. 244.

    Martin

    February 15, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:30 pm

    @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.

  246. 246.

    germy

    February 15, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    @catclub:

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

    And I thought the GOP had made a pact: “No challengers!”

  247. 247.

    GxB

    February 15, 2019 at 1:33 pm

    @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.

  248. 248.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 15, 2019 at 1:35 pm

    @NotMax:

    No matter what, the lawyers cash in.

    At least something good came of this wall stupidity!

  249. 249.

    chopper

    February 15, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:57 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    @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!

  259. 259.

    Mayur

    February 15, 2019 at 2:30 pm

    @Brachiator: https://media.giphy.com/media/xT0Gqs2LQIevTVmjNm/giphy.gif

  260. 260.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2019 at 2:35 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 3:01 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    @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

    February 15, 2019 at 10:41 pm

    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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