Hey, I once fell flat on my face skiing in Gatlinburg! But it wasn't being too far over my skis, it was from skiing directly into a mud patch (yep, it was a little melty) and having the skis instantly stop while the rest of my body kept going.

All true, I don't deny those. But they also made a strategic decision to not even hold votes to patch all the loopholes exposed and exploited by Trump 1.0 (except the ECRaPTIA). Even if they don't pass the filibuster, getting R's on record opposing sensible limits and enforcement is valuable.

There *might* be an element of truth to this, but it sure looks more like the same generational scolding as the avocado toast moral panic. Also, it doesn't seem any worse than the false economy of buying more than you'll ever use at Costco because the per-unit price is "cheap".

Where's the Dem equivalent of a "Contract with America"? I'm still irritated that they squandered the 2021-2022 term when they had full control, barely scratching the surface of all the weak points exploited by Trump 1.0. Emergency powers? Selective enforcement? "Acting" department heads?

If I remember right, that book envisaged industrial-sized sailboats as a replacement for international air travel. I would totally switch to that, if available!

On further research, this might cleanly fall under mendacity, greed, and bad faith. If I'm grokking the reporting correctly, much of the released water is being captured by well-connected megafarms downstream, as opposed to reaching the ocean. But it'll still be a disaster for farmers this summer.

And if he can do this based on his authority over the Army Corps of Engineers, he can do even worse via the TVA.

Definitely won't help inflation when veggie prices go up.

I still had a shred of hope that the military might resist illegal or unconstitutional orders. But there's no codified process I know of to disobey a legal-but-asinine-and-supremely-damaging order.

@democracydocket.com What can be done at the state level when federal fails? E.g. Set up escrow accts to receive federal taxes pending funding freeze reversal? Prosecute pardoned criminals on related state crimes? Sanctions on admin officials and GOP pols? Is anyone leading such efforts?

Trump views laws the same way he always viewed real estate contracts and bank loans: what are the repercussions for breaking them?

Norms, laws, precedents... none of it matters if there are no consequences. You have to apply leverage, wherever you can find it.

We knew from Trump 1.0 that he would ignore any restraining laws that didn't include consequences (remember the Hatch Act?!). Where's the enforcement clause in the 2022 amendments to the IG Act?
Please learn from the past: as a law-MAKER, make your laws better!

I was ambivalent on banning TikTok -- why obsess over hypothetical CCP influence ops while giving free rein to the actual homegrown ones?

But with that disgrace of an error message, I'm all for letting them die now. So I'm letting my rep (you!) know.

Also, plug in your phone, it's almost dead.

WTF? Regardless of Georgia Access's major fubar, KP got your money but still won't cover you? And your healthcare providers won't give "credit" until things get resolved? This is a 3-way clusterfuck, compounded by everyone delegating their decision-making to flawed computer code.

I read Blackbird Pond, can't remember when, but liked it a lot. I don't remember anything at all scandalous about it, unless it's the useful reminder that religion can make people do stupid things.

Huh, never heard of this one. Added to my queue, which is now dominated by books being banned in Tennessee school libraries. I'm halfway through "Wicked" at the moment, definitely finishing it.

Doc's Marina Grill. Individual stalls (with real doors!) and shared sinks, makes perfect sense, no idea why it isn't more common. And a public health benefit: guys wash their hands more reliably when women might see it!

Oh ffs, there's a character limit on posts?! As if text takes up any storage space at all compared to images?