A brief thought on the Third Amendment

Everyone, including me, finds it a brief spark of hilarity that we've actually got a Third Amendment case going on here, right? And it is hilarious.

But here's the thing. The third amendment actually matters. Maybe not as much as the others, but it does.

Why?

Because if you want to bring in a honkin' big chonk of troops to put somebody down the hard way, you need a place to put them. You need a place to stage them, and you need a place to house them.

And if you still want some semblance of legality for greater public consumption - if it isn't just an out-and-out coup - that means you can't just make people take them in. Congress has to approve it. The executive and the military can't do it by themselves. Not legally.

Which means you can't just start quietly stacking up an assload of army on the down-low without also moving the supplies around and also getting permissions and also the approval of Congress, and people are going to notice.

It may not be much of a speedbump on the highway to autocracy, but it's still a speedbump. And right now, I'm grateful for every one of them, no matter how small...

...or hilarious....

...they might be.

Today's News (2020/6/10): Fascism Flailing edition

Things are getting spicier tonight, as Donkeyballs Donald starts tweeting threats against Washington State governor Jay Inslee. They'd be funny, except for the New York Times article detailing exactly how close we came to a bloodbath in DC last week.

1. No Sign Of Antifa So Far In Justice Department Cases Brought Over Unrest
2. Message from GOP lawmakers to Iowans: We don't want you voting
3. Flynn committed perjury, and DOJ request to toss his conviction was ‘corrupt,’ ‘politically motivated,’ court-appointed adviser argues
4. Trump campaign sends letter demanding CNN retract its poll, apologise
5. CNN tells Trump campaign to go fuck itself
6. After record primary turnout, Iowa senate Republicans try to limit vote-by-mail in presidential election
7. IBM quits facial recognition, joins call for police reforms
8. an interactive webmap I made of vigilantism
9. Donald Trump threatens Jay Inslee with military intervention
10. Exactly how close we came to a bloodbath in DC last week

( The articles )

Today's News (2020/6/10): Police Violence edition

As always, I recommend going to the tally thread here. Far more here than I can tally, including more intentional blindings, more shooting-for-sport, and some real gore, particularly a near-range plastic bullet that broke a skull and opened a massive head wound. She'll be recovering for a year and a half if she's lucky.

These are just items that caught my eye.

1. [SEATTLE] She Protested In Seattle, Then Spent 2 'Terrifying' Days In Jail
2. [WASHINGTON, DC] ‘What I saw was just absolutely wrong’: National Guardsmen struggle with their role in controlling protests
3. [SEATTLE] Seattle Public Schools to consider temporarily cutting ties, reevaluating relationship with police
4. 32 states allow police to have sex with arrestees and call it consensual
5. What an LRAD is, and how it fucks people up.
6. [ROME, GEORGIA] “KKK is here to stay” rally [EDITOR: MAY BE OLD]
7. Tacoma teachers union wants uniformed police officers removed from schools starting in fall
8. 'I can't breathe,' Oklahoma man tells police before dying. 'I don't care,' officer responds.

( The articles )

Today's News (2020/6/10): COVID-19 edition

Only three, but as a general warning: COVID-19 outbreaks are getting far worse, and not particularly in cities with large protests. Arizona's infection rate is skyrocketing, for example.

It's about to get really bad again. Be ready.

1. Fauci warns that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over
2. Trump’s Tightly Packed Republican Convention Likely Heading for Jacksonville, Says Report
3. CDC Says Coronavirus Infections in the U.S. Are Increasing Sharply as the Rest of the World Figures It Out

( The articles )

Today's News (2020/6/10): General edition

No time to come up with anything even vaguely clever. The rest of the news.

1. Literally actors posing as Black Panther splinter group
2. Washington State Governor Inslee: "I have become convinced the Pierce County Sheriff should not complete the investigation of the death of Manuel Ellis."
3. A factual critique of J.K. Rowling's manifesto against transgendered people
4. Zoom closes account of U.S.-based Chinese activist after Tiananmen event
5. A White Woman, Racism and a Poodle
6. Hannity Compares Trump to George Floyd: ‘He Was a Victim of Crooked Cops’
7. “No, I Am Not Okay”: A Black Journalist Addresses His White Friends
8. Some Democrats Are Highly Adept at Losing Battles That Haven't Begun Yet
9. THE DEMANDS OF THE COLLECTIVE BLACK VOICES AT FREE CAPITOL HILL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
10. Trump to Keep Confederate Names on Bases, Halting Pentagon Talks
11. Evangelical group wants gays removed from anti-lynching bill
12. Car crashes into crowd of protesters, no one seriously injured
13. Statue of Jefferson Davis torn down on Monument Avenue

( The articles )