It's A Coup, It's A Coup But My Congress Won't Admit It, plus
Good writing, good licks, plus
It's A Coup, It's A Coup But My Congress Won't Admit It
Apologies to The Who.
I read a lot but I don’t read everything, so forgive me if I’ve missed one of our Congressional Democrats explicitly calling the coup a coup. This AP story says that Democrats have accused Musk of leading an internal coup but doesn’t identify any who did, and the followup quote, from Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen, doesn’t mention it.
“We will do everything in our power in the Senate and the House to stop this outrage,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said. “And in the meantime, since we don’t have many Republican colleagues who want to help us, we are doing everything we can with our colleagues through the courts to make sure that we uphold the rule of law.”
Why yes, not many Republicans do seem inclined to step up, possibly because 1) they aren’t that exercised about it, and 2) the bazillionaire guy who’s in charge of it has threatened to bankroll primary challengers against anybody who gets in the way.
Some, like North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, even acknowledged that what Musk is doing is unconstitutional — but “nobody should bellyache about that.”
“That runs afoul of the Constitution in the strictest sense,” Tillis said. But “it’s not uncommon for presidents to flex a little bit on where they can spend and where they can stop spending.”
Musk has now got his tentacles into the treasury, the office of personnel management, USAID, and the GSA, which manages federal properties, and where his minion has sent out instructions to terminate more than 7,000 government leases nationwide, which we can assume he has no intention of paying off.
The AP story refers to Musk’s love of “dabbling” and “tinkering,” while this is more like smashing and grabbing.
At least Chuck Schumer has momentarily stopped tweeting about the threat tariffs on Mexico might pose to Superb Owl pizza prices, instead focusing on how the “asinine” (strong!) assault on USAID will affect . . . egg prices.
Honestly I understand why Schumer thinks egg prices are key to winning the next election, as some Democrats have left themselves no choice other than to think that’s all that cost them this last one, but the number of voters who are gonna look at the price of eggs and think “LEAVE USAID ALONE!” can be numbered in the low single digits.
And “next election” is looking not so much like a meaningful frame of reference right now. Better to live in the moment for a while, frustrating as it may be.
Bodies upon the gears, gentlefolk. Bodies upon the gears.
Good writing, good licks
The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in D.C. sued the far-right Proud Boys organization after the group vandalized the church in 2020. The church won a multi-million dollar judgement against the group, and have now been awarded the Proud Boys trademark after the organization predictably failed to pony up.
District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Tanya Jones Bosier, a Joe Biden appointee, on Monday ordered Proud Boys International, L.L.C. to transfer its interest in the name to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church is now entitled to the group’s interests in the Proud Boys trademark, and the group cannot sell or transfer the name without the church’s consent or the court’s approval, the order said.
The Proud Boys were headed at the time by Enrique Tarrio, who drew an 18-year bit for his role in planning the January 6 insurrection, and who has of course been since relieved of that burden by Chucky the homicidal dummy. Tarrio is now threatening to rain down retribution upon everybody involved in the trademark order and any other indiginities he and his partner in crime, Jesus Christ, may have suffered.
“Though the corrupt judicial system unjustly confined me two weeks ago, my faith in Jesus Christ has set me free. I pray for their sake they do not suffer the same fate as Pharaoh. However, let it be known: retribution is inevitable.”
Fucking Jesus, man. He needs to keep better company. Draw the line somewhere, dude. Get the old man to sizzle somebody now and again.
Emily Sanders Hopkins is not a revolutionary, explicitly, most of the time, but she’s an excellent person, a fine writer, and a celebrated cartoonist. Check her out at Emily Writes Back, where she offers reasonably priced subscriptions.
Local Pestering
The operative word here is "local.” Do you have a coworker you know voted for Trump? Email that person and ask them if they would mind going with you to your gynecological appointment this week because you’d like their input. Ask them how long they think federal law will allow them to wear blouses like that at their age? Allow them to offer ideas in meetings, but make them pay you $25 for each idea. Laugh and assure them you’re just teasing, but do collect the money.
Rep. Ayana Pressley, an attenuated Squad member, called Musk, who is now officially a U.S. goverment employee and has presumably been awarded all the security clearances he was denied as a private citizen, and for good cause, a “Nazi nepo-baby.”
"He’s a Nazi nepo baby who breaks everything he touches," Pressley said late yesterday. "And right now he’s locked himself in a room with grandpa’s Social Security check."
I know that the unvarnished Eli Valley isn’t to everybody’s taste, but I do urge you to acquire him. He’s on BlueSky too, for those of you who indulge.
And finally, Kroptotkin visits Sam Altman.
More Comfort Music
Animal Collective, Painting With (“FloriDada”); Stan Getz and João Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto (“Desafinado”); Bill Frisell, Good Dog, Happy Man (“Pipeline” live).
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Take care; be well.
It's hard waking up and looking around these days. Criticizing Schumer and the Democrats for not constantly stamping their feet and holding their breath until they turn blue is inappropriate. Lawsuits are being filed and what little is available to be done when one is in the minority in all three branches of government appears to be happening. When you figure out how to get through to the people who voted for this or stayed home out of pique, other than pointing out the price of eggs, let me know.