Outspoken Black Man

"A court case involving President Donald Trump’s efforts to sabotage voting by mail reached the Supreme Court on Monday. The executive order at the heart of Trump v. California is one of many attempts by Trump and his Republican Party to make it harder for voters to mail their ballots and to potentially invalidate lawfully cast ballots that are submitted by mail.

The executive order is particularly significant, because, with it, Trump is claiming the unilateral authority to change US election policy in ways that, at least according to the Constitution, can only be done by Congress or by state governments. Trump and many of his Republican allies have previously urged other institutions, such as Congress or the Supreme Court, to shift US election rules to benefit the GOP. But now, he’s claiming the power to rewrite those rules himself.

The March executive order at issue in California claims to be an effort to prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections. But several provisions of the order seem designed to intimidate state and local election officials by threatening them with illegal prosecutions. Another provision would forbid the US Postal Service (USPS) from delivering many mailed ballots, which would have political benefits for Trump.

Democrats have been more likely to vote by mail than Republicans since at least the Covid-era 2020 election, and this trend has continued post pandemic. So, any election policy that suppresses mailed ballots will harm Democrats and help Republicans.

In late June, a federal district court determined that several provisions of Trump’s executive order exceed his authority and must be struck down.

The issue before the Supreme Court in California, however, does not concern whether the executive order is legal or not. Instead, Trump’s lawyers claim that the district court acted prematurely by invalidating the executive order before it was fully implemented and before several federal agencies have an opportunity to flesh out how its provisions will actually work. Those lawyers, in other words, want to buy time for federal agencies to implement parts of the order before it can be challenged in court.

This is actually a plausible argument, as Trump’s brief to the justices makes several significant concessions that, if embraced by the justices, would significantly weaken Trump’s order at least for the time being. As Trump’s lawyers now characterize his order, it doesn’t do much of anything until several federal agencies take additional steps.

Still, the stakes in this case, which arises on the Court’s “shadow docket,” a mix of emergency motions and other matters that the justices often decide very quickly, are quite high. Even if the justices do hold Trump to the promises his lawyers made in their brief and issue an opinion explicitly stating that the order currently imposes no obligations on anyone, that will still set up a future reckoning on whether Trump’s efforts to suppress voting by mail are valid. Eventually, those agencies will act, and several of them are likely to do so before the midterms, and, then, the question of whether Trump can fundamentally alter how US elections are conducted will have to be decided by the courts.

Trump’s executive order, if fully implemented, could potentially change the results of federal elections and place Republicans who did not win in office. It also matters because Trump claims the power to decide how states conduct federal elections, despite no statute that authorizes his order — thus, potentially expanding his own powers and the power of all future presidents."

"The Trump administration has denied two of Gov. Tina Kotek’s requests for firefighting-assistance grants as wildfires ravage Eastern Oregon.

While the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved three of the state’s requests for financial assistance for the Lower Dry Creek, Awaka Butte and Grasshopper fires, the agency chose not to grant the state emergency federal funding for the East Evans Creek and Rowe Creek fires.

Following the agency’s denial of the federal assistance grants for the two fires, Oregon’s U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, wrote to Robert Fenton, the head of FEMA, to express alarm and to argue that the decision represented “a major shift in administrative policy” for the agency.

“The State of Oregon is currently in a dire wildfire situation — the worst in the nation — with 86 active fires, as of July 27th, burning over 1 million acres with over 33,000 Oregonians under some level of evacuation and widespread impacts to critical infrastructure, including water and power, affecting alert and warning and 911 capabilities,” the letter states.

WILDFIRE TRACKER

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In the letter, Wyden and Merkley argued that the two fires had met FEMA’s criteria for federal funding, including that 150 primary residences are in immediate threat.

The FEMA grants cover up to 75 percent of a state’s firefighting costs for blazes that threaten to become major disasters. The funding can be used for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies, mobilization and demobilization and other activities.

The East Evans Creek fire has burned nearly 16,000 acres, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. At one point, the blaze sent over 230 homes into a Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation. All evacuations since have been called off, and the fire is now at about 68% containment.

The Rowe Creek fire complex, which includes multiple blazes, has burned 300,592 acres and sits at 42% containment. Multiple levels of evacuation remain in effect for areas near the fires.

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According to a statement by Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday, Oregon has 30 days to appeal the FEMA denials and said “the state is considering next steps.”

The pieces of shit like Phony Stark (Elon) are not dragged out and given street justice is what is the second worst problem in society.

To avoid the misleading headline, he was in a room that was instructed to not applaud, and he did not remove himself when the police asked, saying they'd have to carry him out, which seems to more specifically be the issue. They didn't just slap cuffs on him soon as he clapped the article explains.

LMFAOOO! PROJECTING MUCH?!