Some of the societies with the lowest crime also have very forgiving penal codes—far more forgiving than ours. It’s true that extreme violence in some countries deters crime. It also tends to deter a lot of joyful conduct in those societies, too.

Birthright citizenship is a settled question. Settled in the 1890s. Treated as settled by all courts, Congresses, and pre-Trump Presidents. It’s not a matter of first impression. It’s too charitable to say there’s no good reason to reverse precedent. There’s no bad reason, either. There’s no reason

As a reminder, all public officials in the federal government hold their powers in trust for the benefit of the American people.

The US government is summarily executing people on a weekly basis without telling the American people any of their names or presenting any proof of their guilt, for alleged crimes that do not carry the death penalty in the US.

Trump Wins Hooters Peace Prize

I took snake oil to cure Covid. I wasn’t allowed to say it— a sad story with many victims, chief among them me. The other victims were my fellow “snake-oilers” cowed into silence and millions of afflicted denied my snake oil cure. Fortunately, I am now paid handsomely to complain about it on TV.

The boat was split in half. They were clinging to a capsized PORTION Cotton: "I saw two survivors trying to flip a boat -- loaded with drugs, bound for the United States -- back over, so they could stay in the fight"

This, in a very broad sense, is why the law and common sense distinguish between war and law enforcement. Drug trafficking is a crime, not war. It is tried in courts. The government must carry its burden of proof, so it uses power judiciously. Witnesses get cross-examined on what really happened.

The subheading of this essay is a powerful note to strike: "The real danger is not the fog of war itself, but leaders who hide behind it when the picture is already clear." The author is Brigadier General (Ret.) Donald C. Bolduc, former U.S. Army Special Forces Commander

Again the proper framing here is a “boat drive-by,” not a “fight” or “war.” “Fight” implies the other side is or imminently might attack you violently. That’s not what’s happening here. There’s no evidence that the people being murdered on the boats are armed.

Tax cuts never reduce the deficit by boosting the economy. The math is easy. For every dollar in tax reduction, you need many multiples of that dollar in new revenue to offset the dollar lost. This is because the tax rate only captures a portion of the increase in economic activity.

do I have these numbers right: SCt appointments since 1976: GOP - 10 Dem - 5 Presidential terms since 1976 GOP - 6 Dem - 6

This logic torpedoes any challenges by the GOP to California’s maps as well. Of course, I am aware that an imaginative Court can always conjure up some distinction. But I don’t think the Court will here. Both elections are close, so we can’t change anything.

GOP Rep. Mike Turner: "This activity that's happening in the Caribbean where they are hitting these boats -- these individuals if they were captured and tried and convicted, they would be guilty of criminal activity for which they're not subject to capital punishment. These people are being killed."

Ahhh. The famous “it’s called governing” exception to following domestic and international law.

The boats the regime is claiming are going from Venezuela to the US would need to refuel over 20 times to get to Miami. They are lying to us.

The United States Department of State website disagrees with Leavitt: travel.state.gov/content/trav...

Trump calls human beings “vermin,” “garbage,” “diseases,” “poison,” and “animals.” Then, when I rightfully point out that the same dehumanizing language has been used by fascist regimes to justify humanity’s worst atrocities—Republicans lose their minds. Give me a break.

May your day is lacking a breathy, Irish baritone? Fortunately, there is a cure: Hozier.

Isn’t it more like the fog of boat “drive-bys”? War implies the other side is using weapons to attack you, but that’s not what’s happening here. Also, the “fog of war” makes you shoot repeatedly at wreckage that is already on fire? And his Pentagon office lacks air conditioning?

Guess who suggested that illegal orders should be ignored when Obama was president?

Federal Government Announces Racial Profiling Campaign, Explains It’s Because of the President’s Personal Bigotry

They say he was born on Mt. Paektu, the mythical place of origin of the Korean people, and at the moment of his birth, a new star appeared above the cabin where he was born. They also say the star gave him the power to block hurricanes, but not to resist dozing off during cabinet meetings.

Sometimes your political adversary comes up with a good idea that puts you in a bind. You can agree with the idea and help your adversary. Or you can oppose the idea and look like a heel. Trump mercifully spares us these difficult choices by advancing no good ideas.

Drugs are not weapons. Drug traffickers are not terrorists. The US wasn't attacked. Boats on open water far from US coasts aren't a security threat. There is absolutely no argument for self-defense in Caribbean boat strikes, nor in possible war with Venezuela. This campaign is lies upon lies.

Speaking of disobedience, Schmitt once argued that Missouri lawmakers could ignore the ballot initiative passed by Missouri’s voters that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.

In medieval England, this was an actual punishment. Those who refused to submit to the law could have a writ of outlawry issued against them, meaning they had no protection from the law. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaw

Senator Kelly is correct. Plus a Public Service Announcement: KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1. The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal: "orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."

You’ll notice she didn’t answer the question but instead pivoted to her “activist judge” talking point. The judge is not an activist. But no order is binding if there is an “activist judge” exemption to following orders. Can the next Dem president invoke this if he or she disagrees with SCOTUS?

Senator Kelly is absolutely correct. Orders are presumed lawful. Failure to obey an order is grounds for a court martial. That the order is unlawful is a defense, but it’s a difficult defense to establish. Service members confronted with lawless orders are between a rock and a hard place.

Klobuchar: "What the president has done is taken a horrific crime that occurred in DC and went 2,400 miles away to Somali & somehow indicted an entire group of people, 80k of them in my state, as well as all naturalized citizens. This is what he does. He tries to make people hate each other."

Mark Kelly: "This president, when he says things like 'third world countries,' what is he really saying? I think what he's saying is he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that's disturbing. It's un-American."

"If the U.S. military operation is not an armed conflict of any kind, these orders to kill helpless civilians clinging to the wreckage of a vessel our military destroyed would subject everyone from SECDEF down to the individual who pulled the trigger to prosecution under U.S. law for murder."

In addition to the due process clause, 18 USC s. 2441 prohibits the boat killings: “Whoever, … commits a war crime … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.” 1/

2100 children have died from Covid. According to the this non-peer-reviewed FDA “study,” 10 children died from the vaccine. Vaccinate. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/h...

This is cold-blooded homicide. Suppose for a moment that the initial strike had a lawful military objective. The follow-on strike to kill people clinging to the wreckage did not. Killing them did not further any military objective, much less an objective proportional to the deaths. It’s just murder.

Still stuck on how some people just said remember: crime is illegal in a video and the president and the ruling party’s response was to announce many times that the river of blood will flow if we hear this heresy once more

Abraham Lincoln, 1855. www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...

“The National Guard is stranded somewhere on this battlefield of partisan politics. They are not ready for this arena, and we should never have asked them to be. Politics is not a military mission.” @juliettekayyem.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

The size Trump proposes (90,000 sq ft) for the ballroom is almost the size of an ordinary Wal-mart (105,000 sq ft).

20 years old. Her entire life ahead of her. Killed for no reason at all. Tragic.

When he gets boxed in on a question, he gratuitously insults the questioner. That’s his “pivot.” That’s his move.

A member of the FBI threatened Thomas Massie's staff with criminal investigations, if he didn't "straighten up and play ball".

She’s trying to resurrect the discredited and absurd “independent state legislature” theory.

The President doesn't want you standing up and speaking out against him, so he's coming after me to intimidate all of us. But I won't back down — and neither should you.

Definitely an overlooked point: The authoritarian far right, including its white nationalist iterations, are self-consciously global in scope and liberals need to adapt to that:

Unchastened by the Comey and James dismissals, it looks like federal law enforcement may be going for a second helping.

Trump is incredibly corrupt.

Senator Kelly essentially quotes the UCMJ. Hegseth’s position is that quoting the UCMJ is a violation of the UCMJ.

Is it an offense under the UCMJ to quote the UCMJ in a video? We may be about to find out. See 892. Art. 92 of the UCMJ (punishing violations of “any lawful” order or regulation; violations of lawless orders are not punished!)