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[Preface:] The word “lord” comes from “loaf ward” — the guardian of the bread, and Sunday was known, through the 17th and 18th centuries in Britain as “the Lord’s Day.” This is because they didn’t have “the weekend” and knew that Sunday is not the Sabbath but the day of Christian celebration. Now, this Sunday is the Idolatry Day, but only once every seven years — (is that right?) — will it be a Donaldmass?
Anyhow, this is Laudable Links #34. I allow myself too much license in writing these things. I can blame the flesh, and I can blame journalists, but none of that matters when I’m trying to start a revolution. [That’s a joke. I know my scope. A friend once told me I could perhaps start a cult if I “had any charisma at all, even the slightest bit.” America has been spared by my deficiency.]
So, laudable links worth reading. . . . Maybe these?
Bonus scandal! The unbearable lightness of DOJ’s self-negotiations: CREW submitted a FOIA request and got a positive negative in return. Kayvan Farchadi and Meghan Faulkner report that “DOJ division that should have handled Trump IRS lawsuit has no record of it.” You figure it’s part of the new “the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional” OLC edict?
When Donald decided that Posse Comitatus Act did not apply to him. . . or to D.C.. . . he sent National Guard in to Washington to restore order. The troops, we know, have mainly walked around the monuments area, picked up trash, and been bored. Still, they cost money for deployment, and they were visible. Big man! Big power! Big people in big uniforms being obedient to the big man with big power!
At Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, FOIA requests turned up where money went, especially with regard to the Marshal’s Service. “U.S. Marshals Service records show $18M in costs supporting Trump’s DC takeover” speaks for itself, but this $18,000,000 came from somewhere. It isn’t, like ICE or the Pentagon, money that was allocated anew. Rather, this was robbing Peter to pay Paul (if Paul is a MAGA apostle). Marshals 1) provide security for federal judges, 2) track down fugitives and bail jumpers, 3) run the federal Witness Protection program. All of these functions suffered for Donald’s big boy bluster.
[Quote:|] The most significant cost was nearly $6 million pulled from USMS’ tactical operations division, the unit responsible for responding to high-threat and emergency situations. The agency also pulled over $3 million from its investigative operations division and over $2 million from the D.C. Superior Court, reducing the number of marshals providing security in a high profile courthouse in D.C. during a surge of threats against judges. [|End Quote]
That’s devastating. The Marshals do some terrorist (domestic terrorist) investigation, and that got hit hardest. Next hardest was the investigations unit. But then taking $2,000,000 from the D.C. Superior Court just during the D.C. takeover, and right when MAGA was having FoxMax scream about Judge Boasberg? But, heck, MAGA is still on about the DC prosecution of Trump that got stopped. Click on “surge” to learn more.
75 deputy marshals were sent to play with troops in D.C., but it was done the way Donald always does things — shambolically.