The Ghost of Publius

Samuel Alito is one of the worst jurists in the history of the Court. His willingness to abdicate and obfuscate in order to make imaginary arguments to justify any position he personally holds is alarming.

That is the question of our time. For now, we relay on the judiciary to continue to pause executive overreach, and pump resources into the 2026 midterms. At the same time, I think Democrats should consider nationwide efforts to convince 34 states to convene a Constitutional Convention.

Correct, Congress is the appropriate and necessary check on Trump's administration.

Pam Bondi and the direction of this DOJ would have made the actual Publius take up arms, I think.

A serious question as an antitrust-adjacent lawyer: How does one openly admit a localized publishing monopoly without some type of enforcement activity following right after? Seems less than ideal.

Also, I'd contend that post Loper-Bright, there's an even BETTER case now than in 1998 that there should be minimal deference to agency revocation considerations. Trump's own justices don't like it when executive agencies exercise raw power in anything!

As opposed to Webster, which says this.

You legitimately do not know what you're talking about.

Plot twist: The shitposter doesn't know what they're talking about.

EO 12968 in 1995 provided standards of reviewing security clearance and outlined the appeal process. Webster v. Doe in 1998 allowed for security clearance review where the clearance revocation gives rise to "colorable" Constitutional claims-- such as clear violation of the First Amendment.

Honestly, the real malice here is that he tries to assert this is a "bill" as if he signs Executive Orders which are law. His efforts continue to focus on undermining every aspect of the separation of powers. Normal people out in the world will passively accept these must be laws. They are not.

Donald Trump's budget plan is available at the link below. His budget will raise the U.S. deficit by $3.078 trillion. Donald Trump's budget will raise the deficit by about $8,921 per person in the U.S.

docs.house.gov/meetings/BU/...

They have to have something on Fetterman, right?

YEAs ---66 Banks (R-IN) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennet (D-CO) Blackburn (R-TN) Blumenthal (D-CT) Boozman (R-AR) Britt (R-AL) Budd (R-NC) Capito (R-WV) Cassidy (R-LA) Collins (R-ME) Cornyn (R-TX) Cortez Masto (D-NV) Cotton (R-AR) Crapo (R-ID) Cruz (R-TX) Curtis (R-UT) Daines (R-MT) Durbin (D-IL) Ernst (R-IA) Fetterman (D-PA) Fischer (R-NE) Gallego (D-AZ) Grassley (R-IA) Hagerty (R-TN) Hassan (D-NH) Hawley (R-MO) Heinrich (D-NM) Hickenlooper (D-CO) Hoeven (R-ND) Husted (R-OH) Hyde-Smith (R-MS) Johnson (R-WI) Justice (R-WV) Kelly (D-AZ) Kennedy (R-LA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Lankford (R-OK) Lee (R-UT) Lummis (R-WY) Marshall (R-KS) McConnell (R-KY) McCormick (R-PA) Moody (R-FL) Moran (R-KS) Moreno (R-OH) Mullin (R-OK) Murkowski (R-AK) Paul (R-KY) Peters (D-MI) Reed (D-RI) Ricketts (R-NE) Risch (R-ID) Rosen (D-NV) Rounds (R-SD) Schmitt (R-MO) Scott (R-FL) Scott (R-SC) Shaheen (D-NH) Sheehy (R-MT) Sullivan (R-AK) Thune (R-SD) Tillis (R-NC) Tuberville (R-AL) Warner (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS) NAYs ---28 Alsobrooks (D-MD) Baldwin (D-WI) Blunt Rochester (D-DE) Booker (D-NJ) Cantwell (D-WA) Coons (D-DE) Duckworth (D-IL) Gillibrand (D-NY) Hirono (D-HI) Kim (D-NJ) King (I-ME) Lujan (D-NM) Markey (D-MA) Merkley (D-OR) Murphy (D-CT) Murray (D-WA) Ossoff (D-GA) Padilla (D-CA) Sanders (I-VT) Schatz (D-HI) Schiff (D-CA) Schumer (D-NY) Slotkin (D-MI) Smith (D-MN) Van Hollen (D-MD) Warren (D-MA) Welch (D-VT) Wyden (D-OR)

If I were a Democrat, and I saw Trump do a purge of high-level generals who were women and people of color and wouldn't be "yes men," I wouldn't vote to advance JD Vance's college friend for Secretary of the Army.

And yet....16 Democrats just did so

Punish what? Unconstitutional state action doesn't need to, and rarely does, result in punishment for an individual. The courts today have done well to keep DOGE at bay temporarily. A judge in Maryland ruled in favor of Dep. Of Ed. against DOGE, for example. Congress has to act for it to matter.

This includes facts that would strongly support two cases now before the courts alleging that Musk/DOGE are exercising government authority in violation of the Appointments Clause.

@mattbaidc.bsky.social in WaPo with details on USAID "tightly controlled" by DOGE⤵️

h/t @samsteindc.bsky.social

I am a Federalist. We need government, and I believe the proper government is one which respect rule of law articulated in the Constitution. Since 1860, that vision has been lost. We can go back, and I advocate for that.

You are conversing with a 30-something lawyer who works in corporate litigation (with a focus on antitrust) and works in midtown Manhattan. I created this account (literally today) to remain anonymous and to speak freely as I please about politics. I intend to publish through SubStack as well.

Yes, which requires overturning Citizens United.

Or, better yet and what I advocate, a Constitutional amendment which makes overturning Citizens United the supreme law of the land.

The cure for America's illness is the dissolution of faction. These are but 2 brief excerpts from Federalist 51, which all should read. George Washington described the evils of faction in his Farewell Address to the nation. We must destroy factional politics.

Democracy, real Democracy, is much more difficult than preservation of the Federalism we've lost along the way. The entire foundation of this persona that I express is my staunch belief and advocacy for the Federalism described by Madison and Hamilton. Federalist 51 predicted our reality exactly.

Because it's what our Founders envisioned for our Constitutional Republic, and it directly subverts the strength of the modern GOP if their base is splintered into smaller blocs. The goal is to subvert the dominant GOP faction, as discussed at length in Federalist 51.

Boycotts are taking hold. Protests are on the rise. Federal courts are hitting back. The Trump-Musk-Vance regime's popularity is plunging and DOGE is losing credibility. In these dark times, it's important to recognize that people are fighting back. Join them.

The "burn and rebuild" path is just as long, isn't it? You can do what I suggest as it burns, and the rebuilding is what I suggest. I think a Constitutional Convention before the midterms could 100% happen if Democrats executed well enough.

I don't mean the podcasters and Gavin McG's of the world, I mean very specifically the normal, everyday people who would give themselves that label. The Trumpian ends are not shocking to me, it shocks me they are comfortable with the despotic means. They could do all this with the Legislature!

Remember when she said in her prior ruling that she was unsure if the Government's application of DOGE was scattershot by design or by sheer incompetence?

I hope the Judge has found her answer.

I think there is a way to weaponize the split in ideology between the center-right and the far-right, and I think proper messaging could very well work to upset the populations of enough states to meet the 2/3 requirement to essentially hit the reset button on our Federal government.

I think if we continue to see Congressional Republicans behave the way they are, the tack of the Democrats should be twofold: Promote and collaborate to expand the number of major political parties in the United States, and convince 34 (2/3) state legislatures to convene a Constitutional Convention.

This persona I embody exists specifically as a counter to the likes of Curtis Yarvin and anyone who's been to a Mises Caucus event in the last 10 years.

I want my Constitutional Republic to remain a Constitutional Republic instead of a monarchy. In my humble belief that is the most readily addressible issue before the nation.