Thursday Open Thread

15 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread”

1. Oops.  Guess the Denver Federal Center is actually a potential future mall, or business park?

   Here’s a Map of the For-Sale Government Properties the GSA Pulled From Its Website

   The General Services Administration plans to sell hundreds of government buildings, including FBI headquarters. Use our interactive tools to see where they are—and the congressional districts they're in.

    

   https://www.wired.com/story/map-for-sale-government-properties-gsa/

    

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   1. That link has updated information:

      Hours later, 123 buildings, including high-profile sites like the J. Edgar Hoover Building and Veterans Administration buildings in Washington, DC, were removed from the list. By Wednesday, the entire list had disappeared from the GSA website.

      ….

      Sources tell WIRED that the posting of the list yesterday has resulted in chaos at the GSA. “There’s a reason we have processes, and they just don’t follow them,” one source says.

      “Amateur hour,” says another source.

       

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      1. But like the leak of Alito's Roe v Wade draft, we'd probably better assume the GSA plans are more or less real.

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      2. These are all for sale! Wait. No. Only some of them are for sale. Maybe none of them are for sale. But some of them might be for sale.

         This fits with the way Trump's administration is doing everything.

         • You're all fired! Wait. We need you. Come back! Well some of you are needed. We'll only fire the new people and the courts say we can't actually fire you but we might not follow the rules anyway.
         • Your funding is gone! Wait. It's back. Wait. It's less. No wait. It's the same amount. Ok you can only spend it $1 at a time.
         • Big tariffs now! Wait. Maybe later. Wait. Smaller tariffs. Wait no tariffs, but maybe tariff's later. 

          

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   2. The Federal Center has, or had, a dozen free public EV charging stations – they are all offline now.

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   3. Shell Game Correction. You SAY it's the GSA, but that hides the ball.

      Actually, Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the Republican Party are crashing the country.

      Well, you could also argue that Russia is behind it all.

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2. "Post-Constitutional America" Josh Marshall at TPM

   Josh Marshall does the work that WaPo & NYT are not doing.

   This article from the Post is just one jaw-dropper after another. Musk met yesterday with Republican senators and then the House GOP caucus.

   There’s a budget, appropriated money that defines what the government does and provides the money to do it. But Musk, absent any visibility even for much of the executive branch, is simply changing everything. But wait … he’s going to set up a system where Republican members of Congress can call and ask to “get problematic cuts reversed quick.”

   What the fuck?

   First of all, why are Republicans the only ones finding out what’s even happening in the government? That’s a good question. But set aside the privileged position of Republicans here. How on earth are we in this position where members of Congress, the ones who write the budget, appropriate and assign the money, now have to go hat in hand to beg for changes or even information from the guy who actually seems to be running the government? Elon isn’t just the President. In the realm of administering the fundamental structures of the state he’s something quite a bit more than the President. It’s impossible to capture the level of constitutional perversion this represents.

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3. Why the fuck are they cratering the National Weather Service? March Wheeler at EmptyWheel.

   Last week the ghouls of DOGE came to gut NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) by firing all the probationary employees, because they were the easiest to fire. It was terrible, but it won’t be their last visit.

   I wanted to take a moment to focus on this small and amazing agency because in all the chaotic headlines, outrageous speeches, and feral conduct, it’s easy to miss how consequential the Trumpist destruction of NOAA will be, if no one can stop it. Americans, and to a degree the whole world, depend on the nerdy, devoted folks at NOAA to keep the fish biting, the crops abundant, the land peaceful, and their homes and businesses safe and dry.

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4. The Financial Cost of the Colorado Energy Plan

   TL:DR; We're talking electrical bills going up by a factor of 5 or more. And rolling blackouts.

   Sometimes I feel I should be posting about the Musk/trump shitstorm. But plenty are and I have nothing unique to add to that. So, I continue trying to improve things on energy.

    

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   1. “why is the CEO and PUC not suggesting nuclear……”

      Where do you plan to mine the uranium ore? What is your plan for disposing of radioactive mine tailings and who pays? Can’t keep touting nuclear unless you also cover the drawbacks. And note I did not mention spent waste. 

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5. Wooo WOKE WINS! 

   Trump pulled back from tarriff with Mexico as woke owns his brain causing tremors and foot weakness. Wooo the Woke Ray is working! 

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6. So we already have a twice-impeached felon in the White House.  How about a disbarred US Attorney running the DC office?

   Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking the District of Columbia’s bar association to investigate Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney in the capital, saying that he had “abused” prosecutorial power to threaten his political opponents.

   In a letter to the bar association on Thursday, the senators, led by Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the committee’s top Democrat, also accused Mr. Martin of violating professional standards by refusing to recuse himself from a case involving a Capitol rioter he privately represented and dismissing charges against the man.

   Mr. Martin, a Missouri Republican who has used social media to threaten critics of President Trump and Elon Musk, has upended one of the most important U.S. attorney’s offices in the country. He has purged nonpolitical career staff involved in the investigations of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and at times directly interceded in prosecutorial decision-making.

   “Mr. Martin has abused his position in several ways,” Mr. Durbin wrote, referring his complaint to the bar association’s office of disciplinary counsel, the body that recommended the disbarment of Rudolph W. Giuliani over false claims he made in lawsuits after the 2020 election.

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   1. I think they've also asked NY to investigate Emil Bove.  Good.  Keep it up.

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   2. Sadly, bar associations and other arrangements for attorney discipline take a long, LOONNNNGGGGGGGG time if the named offender wants to draw things out. 

      Last time I checked, John Eastman was suspended, not yet disbarred, in California. For actions taken in late 2020 and early 2021.  After complaints were made in 2021.

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      1. Well, it depends on the jurisdiction and the nature of the conduct.  Also, because it goes after a license in some way, there is due process to which the attorney is entitled.  

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