Author: ali redford
I love dogs and people. I want living creatures to thrive. I love to cook, and share the food, but ya gotta get in line in front of the dog.
I Did A Thing
Cartoon One Two Four One
Culture
Josh Lieb Mar 18, 2026
Caption: SHAKESPEARE FOR KIDS. Child actors on stage in Elizabethan costume. One says: “The first thing we do, let’s eat all the ice cream.”
That’s relatable.
Ali Redford makes my day with this one two three seven:
I love the way she stages this — friends at a bar, from the back. That’s exactly where this conversation would take place. It doesn’t matter who’s saying it. And I think this might be the first time Ali has used color. I like it. Thanks, Ali!
Draw my comics. I’ll post them here.
(snip)
Aarrgghhh, Data Centers
So, I have a question; someone please weigh in. And if no one knows, I’ll go to one of the future meetings to ask my question, which is probably dumb. But. We have lots of space in downtown buildings, a decent amount of which would be contiguous with the knocking down of some walls. This space is more than one storey, so ceilings can be high. Using the rest of the information provided at the meeting, I’m wondering why they have to expand the footprint and sprawl, instead of buying and moving into a downtown building? Again, that’s probably stupid. I haven’t seen the city strat plan in years; I’m certain there will still be variances to obtain no matter where it’s located. But that’s not costly. So, please, whoever knows, tell us why there has to be a new facility on the edge of town? And thank you!
So far, I am not in favor of a data center within the city & 3 mile surrounding space. I really am not confident that AI’s gonna last, but that’s a non-arguable point. If this is the future and I have not yet heard how the town is leaning, I’d like everything to be of benefit to people. My city, with good intentions, nevertheless tends to end up owning properties it never planned to own, and which are tough to unload.
March 16, 2026 Cueball
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow report — The Wellington City Council will be discussing at Tuesday’s meeting whether or not to enter into an energy sales agreement between the City of Wellington and CORMER for the development of a Tier IV Data Center, north of the community.
The proposed project location is a parcel owned by the Wellington Humane Society, situated just north of the City Limits but within the City’s utility service territory.
Data centers are the physical infrastructure behind AI — the buildings that house the specialized computers needed to run AI systems. “As demand for AI has surged globally, the race to build this infrastructure has created a major economic opportunity for cities and communities that will act,” according to a communication information overview issued through representatives of Cormer.
Cormor officials state:
“Wellington has something many larger cities do not: available electrical power, room to grow, and the ability to move quickly. This project is designed to put that advantage to work for the community. The bottom line is the project would bring significant new utility revenue to the City, expand the local tax base, and create construction employment, and put Wellington on the map as a technology-forward community — all without requiring Wellington to build any new water infrastructure or take on any new construction risk. The developer pays for all required infrastructure upgrades.”
Cormor officials state that AI is already powering search engines, medical diagnostics, financial systems, and business software used every day. To run AI at scale, technology companies need enormous computing facilities. The United States is currently experince and unprecedented rush to build them.
Over 2,000 new data center projects have been announced across North America since 2023. Technology companies are actively looking for communities with available power, and that is exactly what Wellington offers, according to Cormor spokesmen.
A resolution was introduced by the City of Wellington at the March 3 council meeting. According to the meeting minutes, Dwayne Corcoran, a representative from Cormor, stated that the proposed center north of town would be waterless and would not use batteries like most other data centers. Unlike other developers, their plan is for 14.7 megawatts and will create about 14 high-paying jobs paying $75,000 or more annually.
Council member Cindy Antonich asked about how much electricity would be needed and if the City would profit. Assistant City Manager of Utilities/IT Jason Newberry said with the proposed maximum load of 14.7 megawatts over four years, Wellington’s current system does have that capacity now, and it would be profitable. Newberry then later in the meeting cautioned that if the data center wanted to expand past the 14.7 MW, it will be short on capacity over the next several years.
Council member Jerry Elmore said the city would benefit from the sale of electricity, but not the property tax, as it would be in the county.
The council then tabled the resolution until the next meeting. It passed by a 4-2 vote with Mike Westmoreland, Antonich, Elmore and Jan Grace voting for the table; and Tim Hay and Lucas voted against it.
———
A work session was then called on March 12 to discuss this project again as representatives from the Cormore Data Shelter team, including Dwight Concoran, Dwayne Corcoran and Chris White wished to make a presentation. The following is according to the city clerk’s minutes of that meeting.
Dwight Corcoran explained the advantages of locating data centers in rural communities, citing lower land costs and access to available power. He emphasized the potential economic impact, including the creation of high‑paying jobs and opportunities for community development. Elmore asked about the long‑term growth potential of the proposed facility. Dwight Corcoran responded that their model focuses on smaller, more flexible data centers designed to scale over time.
Dwayne Corcoran noted that the development team comes from small‑town backgrounds and believes AI data centers will eventually be located in many communities. He explained that the concept includes five‑megawatt pods with an overall load of 14.7 megawatts. Chris White explained the concept of colocation, in which smaller businesses can store and manage data within the facility.
White also discussed the project’s waterless cooling system, which uses a gas rather than chilled water, thereby reducing environmental impact. Dwight Corcoran added that the design incorporates microgrids for both power and cooling, allowing for phased growth and operational flexibility.
Elmore asked additional questions regarding the waterless cooling system, noting that water usage has been a topic of discussion in Sedgwick County. White explained that the cooling system operates at the cabinet level and does not require water. The gas‑based system is fully contained within each cabinet door. White stated that water usage would be limited to approximately two gallons per day, primarily for humidification in the data hall and for domestic uses such as restrooms and break rooms.
Dwight Corcoran discussed the potential economic impact on the City of Wellington, including increased electric utility revenue and job creation. He noted the possibility of expanding the facility’s capacity to 100 megawatts in the future. The discussion included the potential to attract additional technology companies and to create an AI development incubator.
Corcoran stated that the initial phase of the project would utilize approximately 30 percent of the City’s electrical capacity and generate an estimated $1.3 million in electric utility revenue, which he indicated would approximately double the City’s annual electric revenue.
Cormor Data Shelter estimated approximately 200 construction jobs over a two‑year construction period and approximately 20 permanent employees for ongoing operations. Dwight Corcoran noted that the facility would include white‑space rooms and GPU‑based AI infrastructure, which could support new technological developments. He stated that data centers can serve as an engine for attracting new businesses by providing access to advanced computing resources.
The presenters noted that Wellington was selected in part due to its proximity to the regional aerospace industry and the area’s existing investments in regional and national broadband infrastructure.
Elmore raised questions regarding potential environmental impacts, including water usage and noise. Dwight Corcoran and White addressed these concerns, reiterating the minimal water usage and explaining noise mitigation strategies. They emphasized the importance of working collaboratively with the community to address concerns as they arise.
Regarding noise abatement, the presenters stated that backup generators would be operated for approximately 26 minutes per year for routine testing. Outside of testing, generators would be used only in emergency situations, during which noise considerations would be secondary to public safety and operational continuity. Council Member Antonich asked about potential impacts to the Humane Society shelter located in the area. The presenters stated that mitigation measures had been considered to address potential impacts to the shelter and its occupants.
———
In a memo sent to the council for tomorrow’s meeting, Wellington City Manager Jeff Porter states:
“CORMOR has indicated that a site within the City’s utility service area is not feasible without concessions on energy costs. Under City Code, customers with a peak load of at least 1,000 kilowatts may qualify for a negotiated Economic Development rate. CORMOR has communicated an anticipated peak load of approximately 14.7 megawatts (just under 15,000 kilowatts), which meets this threshold.
The proposed project location is a parcel owned by the Humane Society, situated just north of the City limits but within the City’s utility service territory. City staff have confirmed that existing water infrastructure is sufficient to serve the facility. However, the project would require upgrades to the Crusader Substation at West Road and 30th Street, as well as the construction of approximately 3,000 linear feet of new overhead electrical conductors. The developer would be responsible for all costs associated with the required electrical infrastructure.
The proposed electric rate is one cent above the City’s cost of power from KPP Energy. It is important to note that the City has a total power purchase commitment within the KPP power pool. The developer would also be responsible for power losses on their dedicated circuit, as such losses are unavoidable.”
Josh Day, Next Day
No oopsies on posting Josh Johnson! Remember device/keyboard protective protocols.
Oopsie!
I didn’t get “Lay Lines” posted yesterday. Although, I didn’t have/take time to read comics yesterday… anyway, here it is, a day late.
Less Than 2 Weeks!
Tuesday For Science!
This is the answer to yesterday’s Free The Ocean Trivia. I got it correct, but it was a guess because the other ones didn’t really seem correct. Anyway, it’s good eco news for Tuesday, taken from nature!
Clownfish Collapse in Size as Ocean Temperatures Break Records·
Written by Matthew Russell
In the shallows of Papua New Guinea’s Kimbe Bay, scientists have documented a surprising adaptation among one of the ocean’s most recognizable fish. During a 2023 marine heatwave, orange clownfish—familiar to many as the inspiration behind *Finding Nemo*—began shrinking. Not just slimming down, but actually shortening their bodies to weather the rising temperatures of their coral reef home, as reported by AP News.
This previously undocumented response was observed across dozens of breeding pairs tracked over several months. The findings, now published in *Science Advances*, offer rare insight into how marine species are physically changing to survive extreme climate conditions.
Clownfish are shrinking their bodies during marine heatwaves.
The Heatwave That Triggered a Transformation
Between February and August 2023, researchers repeatedly measured 134 clownfish as ocean temperatures soared to levels resembling a “hot bath,” according to Newcastle University doctoral researcher Melissa Versteeg, whose team led the study alongside local organizations Mahonia Na Dari and Walindi Resort. The scientists discovered that nearly three-quarters of the adult fish shrank at least once during the period, decreasing in total length by several millimeters. These changes happened in mere weeks—not over a lifetime, as previously assumed in similar cases, according to Vox.
Unlike earlier studies that linked climate to stunted growth in birds and mammals over generations, this was physical shrinkage in mature individuals. The observation challenges assumptions about static adult body sizes and opens new possibilities for understanding animal adaptability.
This size reduction is a physical adaptation, not just weight loss.
A Strategy Rooted in Survival and Social Balance
The shrinking wasn’t random. It was synchronized, particularly within breeding pairs. Versteeg’s team found that pairs where both fish shrank together had better odds of surviving the heatwave. The behavior, documented in the wild for the first time in reef fish, helps sustain clownfish social structure, Sustainability Times reports.
Clownfish live in tight-knit social hierarchies, often with one dominant breeding pair and several subordinate members. Size plays a critical role in that hierarchy. When heat stress reduced food availability or oxygen levels, shrinking may have reduced the energy and oxygen needs of the fish. Coordinated downsizing likely helped avoid social conflict and maintain reproductive bonds.
Speaking to the The Washington Post, Newcastle marine ecologist Dr. Theresa Rueger emphasized how this size shift offered advantages: smaller fish may manage heat stress better and require fewer resources—both of which are scarce in warming seas.
The phenomenon was discovered during a 2023 heatwave in Papua New Guinea.
Beyond Clownfish: A Broader Pattern in a Warming Ocean
Clownfish aren’t alone. Scientists have linked higher global temperatures to shrinking trends in a range of species, from birds to mammals. A 2019 study showed that North American birds shrank by an average of 2.6% over several decades. But the clownfish response is distinct because it occurs rapidly, during the adult life stage, and in direct response to a single environmental event.
Thermal stress may trigger these changes by limiting the availability of oxygen and nutrients. Smaller bodies have less demand and are more efficient under strained conditions. There’s even speculation that clownfish, like marine iguanas, may be reabsorbing bone or fat tissue to reduce size, though more study is needed to confirm this hypothesis, BBC News reports.
Scientists measured 134 clownfish monthly and saw widespread shrinkage.
The Limits of Adaptation
Despite this remarkable display of flexibility, adaptation has its limits. The heatwave that prompted this discovery was the first of three consecutive ones in the region. Many of the clownfish studied didn’t survive them all. Coral bleaching—another side effect of heat stress—is stripping clownfish of their sea anemone homes. These vibrant, venomous hosts are essential for clownfish survival, offering shelter and protection. Without them, even the most adaptive clownfish may struggle to persist.
Moreover, this shrinking behavior is not a cure-all. As pointed out by University of Massachusetts fish biologist Joshua Lonthair in The Washington Post, if shrinking turns out to be a widespread response to environmental pressures, it may fundamentally alter how scientists understand growth and maturity in marine life.
Looking Ahead
The clownfish shrinking phenomenon marks a breakthrough in how marine biologists interpret resilience. It’s a glimpse into the extraordinary ways wildlife tries to keep pace with a planet in flux. While researchers continue to explore the exact mechanisms behind this body-size shift, one thing is clear: even iconic species like the clownfish are being reshaped by climate change—literally.
Understanding these changes is crucial, not just for preserving individual species, but for forecasting the health of entire marine ecosystems. In a world growing hotter by the year, adaptation may be the difference between survival and extinction.
In The Name Of Peace, Love, & Understanding
Today, I have Zoia Horn in mind especially, but it’s a really busy day in Peace & Justice History, with lots to inspire and motivate us, and most of that is below. (I wish we could put small images side by side, or else that I could figure out WP’s preferred method for that.)
| March 16, 1190 The entire Jewish community of York, England, perished while observing Shabbat ha-Gadol, the last sabbath before Passover. Gathered together inside Clifford’s Tower, the keep of York’s medieval castle, for protection from the violent mob outside, many of the Jews took their own lives; others died in the flames they had lit, and those who finally surrendered were massacred and murdered.  Clifford’s Tower This occurred just after the beginning of the Third Crusade. “Before attempting to revenge ourselves upon the Moslem unbelievers, let us first revenge ourselves upon the ‘killers of Christ’ living in our midst!” |
| March 16, 1827 The first newspaper owned and edited by and for African-Americans, Freedom’s Journal, was published in New York City. It appeared the same year slavery was abolished in New York state.   two of the early founders of Freedom’s Journal  |
| March 16, 1921 The War Resisters International was founded with sections set up in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. By 1939 there were 54 WRI Sections in 24 countries, including the U.S..  WRI No More War demonstration in Berlin 1922  Their symbol: a broken gun.Their slogan: “The right to refuse to kill.” Their founding statement WRI today |
| March 16, 1968 U.S. troops in South Vietnam killed 504 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, a pair of hamlets in the coastal lowlands of Quang Ngai Province. The victims were from 247 families, completely eliminating 24 of them, three generations with no survivors. Among the dead were 182 women, 17 of them pregnant, and 173 children, including 56 infants, and 60 older men.  Young girls sheltering behind their mother during My Lai Lt. William L. Calley, Jr. commanded the men of Charlie Company, First Battalion, Americal Division, and was the only one tried out of 80 involved in what is called the My Lai Massacre. The Army, including a young Major Colin Powell, at first tried to cover it up and the media resisted reporting it. Some of Calley’s soldiers refused to participate, but only 24-year-old helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and his crew stopped it by putting themselves between the villagers and the troops pursuing them.Chief My Lai prosecutor William Eckhardt described how Thompson responded to what he found when he put his helicopter down: “[Thompson] put his guns on Americans, said he would shoot them if they shot another Vietnamese, had his people wade in the ditch in gore to their knees, to their hips, took out children, took them to the hospital…flew back [to headquarters], standing in front of people, tears rolling down his cheeks, pounding on the table saying, ‘Notice, notice, notice’…then had the courage to testify time after time after time.”  Lt. William L. Calley Some of Calley’s soldiers refused to participate, but only 24-year-old helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and his crew stopped it by putting themselves between the villagers and the troops pursuing them.  Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Hugh Thompson’s story (An archived NYT piece that still wants a sign-in/up) More on My Lai 2015 article by Seymour Hersh who broke the original story: |
| March 16, 1972 Reference librarian Zoia Horn refused to testify against the Harrisburg Seven who were on trial for an alleged conspiracy to kidnap then-National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger. Five of the seven were current or former Catholic priests or nuns. Horn had been implicated by an ex-convict informer placed in the Bucknell University library by the FBI.  Reference librarian Zoia Horn Though given immunity from self-incrimination, Zoia objected to the idea that libraries could become places of infiltration and spying. Charged with contempt of court, she was sent to jail for 20 days until a mistrial was declared. Judith Krug, longtime director of the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, said that Horn was “the first librarian who spent time in jail for a value of our profession.” At the trial she asked to read a statement of explanation, but was led away in handcuffs before she had begun her third sentence: “Your Honor, it is because I respect the function of this court to protect the rights of the individual, that I must refuse to testify. I cannot in my conscience lend myself to this black charade. I love and respect this country too much to see a farce made of the tenets upon which it stands. To me it stands on freedom of thought—but government spying in homes, in libraries and universities inhibits and destroys this freedom. It stands on freedom of association—yet in this case gatherings of friends, picnics and parties have been given sinister implications, and made suspect. It stands on freedom of speech—yet general discussions have been interpreted by the government as advocacies of conspiracies.” Zoia Horn in the California Library Hall of Fame |
| March 16, 1988 Iraqi forces acting under orders from President Saddam Hussein attacked the Kurdish village of Halabja with a variety of poison gasses including mustard gas and the nerve agents sarin, tabun, and VX. About 5,000 non-combatant men, but mostly women and children, died from the chemical weapons.This was part of Saddam’s al-Anfal campaign, a slow genocide of the Kurds in Iraq. About 2000 villages were emptied and leveled as well as a dozen larger towns and cities, tens of thousands were killed.  Kurdish father Omar Osman and his infant son, victims of Saddam Hussein’s poison gas attack on Halabja, Kurdistan (Iraq) The Human Rights Watch full report on the al-Anfal Campaign |
| March 16, 2003 Rachel Corrie, an American college student in Gaza to protest Israeli military and security operations, was killed when run over by a bulldozer while trying to stop Israeli troops from demolishing a Palestinian home.  The 23-year-old from Olympia, Washington, was a member of International Solidarity Movement and was the first nonviolent western protester to die in the occupied territories. Remembering Rachel Corrie |
| March 16, 2003 Over 5000 coordinated candlelight vigils and demonstrations took place, in more than 125 countries, in an eleventh-hour protest against the U.S. invasion of Iraq.   Knoxville, Tennessee Trafalgar Square, London |
Some Things To Watch, From Joyce Vance
The Week Ahead
March 15, 2026
Joyce Vance Mar 15, 2026
It’s another week full of legal proceedings. And a little politics, too.
Tuesday: Maduro and Flores hearing
The U.S.-ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by U.S. forces on January 3 at their Caracas home. They were arrested pursuant to an indictment federal prosecutors had obtained and taken to the U.S. to face those charges. Both pled guilty and are currently detained pending trial. The superseding indictment can be found here. We discussed it at length here.
There was supposed to be a status conference on the case this Tuesday. But the government wrote the Judge, Alvin Hellerstein in the Southern District of New York, requesting a “brief continuance.” The stated reason was to permit discovery to proceed before the parties returned to court, a reasonable request given the likely amount of evidence the government will be turning over to the defense and the time it takes to review it with defendants who remain in custody.
But the government has been busy on the case already, opposing the defendants’ efforts to use Venezuelan government monies to fund their defense. Prosecutors say Maduro is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela and hasn’t been considered by the U.S. to be so for several years. Madura and Flores’ lawyers argue the laws and traditions of the country permit it to fund their defense. A Venezuelan official has said they are prepared to do so.
The defendants argue that their inability to access certain third-party funds to pay for their legal fees violates their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights to due process and effective assistance of counsel. The parties have filed their briefs, and Judge Hellerstein is expected to consider the legal fees dispute during the March 26 hearing.
Tuesday: Illinois Primary
Illinois voters head to the polls Tuesday to choose their Democratic and Republican nominees for the open Senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin, who is retiring after almost three decades. Two members of the House, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, have thrown their hats into the ring, leaving their seats up for grabs. Three additional Illinois representatives are retiring: Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky, and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
That means the Illinois delegation will look different, possibly younger, heading into 2027, and we will have new names to learn. Kamala Harris won the state with 54.8% of the vote in 2024, and it’s unlikely Democrats will lose any seats. In Kelly’s district, former representative Jesse Jackson Jr, who pled guilty to misusing campaign funds in 2013 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison (he served a little under two years), is trying to make a comeback, but he is one of 10 Democrats running for the seat. Jackson, who represented the district for over 20 years before going to prison, is up by double digits in two polls.
Everyone expects Governor JB Pritzker to handily win reelection. But as a potential 2028 presidential contender, there will be heavy scrutiny of how he handles himself during the campaign and how well he performs and leads the Democratic ticket. So there’s a lot to see here.
Under Illinois law, only poll workers and poll watchers can be at the polls on election day, and other people may not mill around outside as voters go about their business. Nonetheless, there have been concerns that ICE might show up to intimidate people. But DHS’s Assistant Secretary for Election Integrity, Heather Honey, issued a statement in late February, saying “Any suggestion that ICE is going to be present at polling places is simply disinformation.” She committed that there would “be no ICE presence at polling locations” during a call with voting officials from across the country.
That makes sense and I’m inclined to believe it. But only because doing it now would trigger legal challenges that would likely be decided against the administration. If they’re going to do this, we’ll likely see it for the first time when voters go to the polls in November.
Wednesday: Fulton County.
As you may recall from our earlier discussion, Judge J.P. Boulee sent the Justice Department and Fulton County to mediation in the case filed by the latter over the government’s seizure of voting records. Wednesday is the date by which the parties must let the Judge know whether they’ve been able to resolve the matter voluntarily. If mediation failed, it will be up to the Judge to decide whether the records are due to be returned, which they almost certainly are (the government gets to keep copies), but the administration could face some messy, revelatory testimony in court if the County goes into the unusual decision to have a U.S. Attorney from Missouri take over the matter, rather than the local U.S. Attorney.
The Rest of the Mess
Pam Bondi wants to deprive state bar associations of their ability to consider ethics challenges to federal prosecutors’ behavior.
DOJ has posted a proposed new regulation in the Federal Register that would prohibit state bars from proceeding while DOJ is conducting an internal review. Nothing in the rule would preclude DOJ from engaging in endless delay and short-circuiting state investigations.
In practice, state bar associations have routinely deferred to DOJ to conduct internal ethics proceedings before they act against a Justice Department lawyer. But that was under the old rules, where DOJ took ethics seriously. And as a practical matter, state bars, not Pam Bondi or Donald Trump, decide whether to give a specific lawyer a license to practice law in their state, so it’s difficult to see how the government has a legal leg to stand on here. It would be like Donald Trump deciding who can be a barber in Oklahoma or a cosmetologist in Arizona.
There is a 30-day comment period for the proposed regulations that will close on April 6. Comments will be public. Expect a wide variety of members of the legal profession to weigh in against the administration’s transparent effort to prevent state bar action against DOJ officials who are in ethical trouble. Congress made it clear in a law called the McDade Amendment that government attorneys “shall be subject to State laws and rules … governing attorneys in each State where such attorney engages in that attorney’s duties, to the same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State.” The measure was passed in 1998 amid concerns about overzealous prosecutors. Pennsylvania Republican Representative Joseph McDade (R-PA) championed the measure after he was acquitted on bribery and racketeering charges.
The SAVE Act heads to the Senate for a vote this week.
We’ve been talking about it for months. This appears to be the week the Senate will vote on the SAVE Act. It has already passed in the House. In our conversation at Big Tent last week, Marc Elias opined it would not pass. The Senate would have to abandon the filibuster rule to get it across the finish line. That would be a last-ditch measure that Republican Senators have long argued against, but some seemed to waffle on the issue last week.
Trump tried to get Republican Senators to abandon the filibuster last November. He made that pitch with visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at his side. Orban heads what he has called an “illiberal democracy” in that country. It was quite an image.
The issue last year was the pending government shutdown. Trump called on Senate Republicans to scrap the filibuster rule and allow simple majority votes to prevail on that issue and for most other legislation. They declined, even though, or perhaps because, Trump promised his party that if they did, the GOP would “never lose the midterms and we will never lose a general election” for the foreseeable future. It will be interesting to see if that pitch reemerges this week as Trump tries to pass a measure designed to suppress Democratic votes in the upcoming election.
Senators on both sides of the aisle have long understood the power that honoring the filibuster gives both sides; it’s a form of mutually assured retention of power. But Texas Senator John Cornyn, long a proponent of the filibuster, put out an op ed in the New York Post arguing that the SAVE America Act is more important than it is.
“For many years, I believed that if the US Senate scrapped the filibuster, Texas and our nation would stand to lose more than we would gain … My fellow conservatives and I have proudly used the 60-vote threshold to protect the country from all sorts of bad ideas and dangerous policies. But when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt…Today, Democrats are weaponizing the Senate’s rules to block the SAVE America Act, defund the Department of Homeland Security and hurt the American people — all to spite President Donald Trump.”
It was quite a reversal of long-held principles in service of Trump from the Texas Republican, who is facing an uphill battle to hold onto his Senate seat. He faced a primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Neither candidate reached the 50% threshold necessary for an outright win, so there will be a runoff, which is scheduled for May 26, although there have been whispers of a voluntary resolution. How we are about to find out if other Republican senators want to hold onto any of their institutional power or are willing to throw it away on Trump and a law that has strong arguments against its constitutionality.
Finally, Julie Le, the former government lawyer in Minneapolis who we met in this piece, when she begged a judge to hold her in contempt so she could get a good night’s sleep, has launched a Congressional campaign website. “This job sucks,” she told the judge. Now, it appears she might be looking for a new one, since she was ultimately removed after her outburst in court.
We’re in this together,
Joyce
Remember Stormy Daniels?
Here’s an update.
Scottie's Playtime 