The Questionable Authority

The Questionable Authority

@questauthority.bsky.social

Father, Army Husband (Ret.), lawyer. KUSK alum; public servant. Litigation disaster tour guide. Odd Fellow (and odd fellow). Proud member of the terminally online community since 1993. he/him

33.2K followers3.4K following22.5K posts

In honor of national black cat day, here's a photo of Hiss (2002 - 2019). She was a legendary badass - named after the second thing she did after being born. (First was rip her way out of her own amniotic sac.) During her 17 years, she stared down a fox, rode a pig out of the neighborhood...

This. I'm down 50ish on Zepbound, the office is like 65, and it's absolutely awful.

Wintermute@romeosidvicious.willkill.us

One of the weird side effects from dropping ~57 lbs on Mounjaro that I didn't expect is how freaking cold I get. It's only in the 60s in the morning right now and I'm in a hoodie. This used to be shorts and tshirt weather for me.

I saw a post referring to an AI as a "silicon RA," and not only is that a wonderful way to wind up producing shit academic work, it's a wonderful way to telegraph your views about students, and does shit to develop future scholars.

Rebecca Williams@volcanologist.bsky.social

To me, these people are ceasing to be academics and scholars.

The Questionable Authority reposted

You can do the same thing, buying a house and borrowing against it—ha ha, just kidding, normal people get taxed annually on their wealth via property taxes, the "you can't tax wealth, the economy will collapse!" rule applies solely to the super-rich.

Steven T. Dennis@steventdennis.bsky.social

For the fabulously wealthy, paying taxes is pretty much optional. They can borrow against their vast wealth, which is mostly an untaxed capital gain, without paying taxes. When they die, the capital gain goes to zero. And loopholes exist to bypass the estate tax too.

For the nonlawyers: This is an accurate description of the DOJ's position. Legally, as they frame it, it is an "Air Bud" argument - new, but no rule against it. It's simultaneously bananapants clownshoes crazy and morally reprehensible.

Owen Barcala@obarcala.bsky.social

So if you're following, DOJ's theory here is they can file an initial complaint with probable cause based on incorrect facts, then file a superseding complaint that removes those facts and proceed without probable cause. Novel indeed.

The Department of Justice invented a new way to lose in court today.

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social

DOJ asks for clarity, and MJ says that he will not rubber stamp second complaint as DOJ has suggested. He won't sign it unless he has time to review and make probable cause finding...So for now we're going to move forward with preliminary hearing on basis of first complaint.

I understand each of the words in this post individually, but not when they're put in this sequence.

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social

DOJ: What we filed is superseding complaint. The way we read the rules -- I admit it's novel -- I had not done this before. Our reading is that to issue a superseding complaint, that does not require probable cause. If we were seeking an arrest warrant, it would.

There was a time, not long ago, when the Department of Justice was professional.

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social

MJ asks how he should proceed. Gist is that he wants to know should he proceed on first or second complaint....Second has new info, potentially info that has been corrected. What to do?

The Questionable Authority reposted

My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today. Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad and I married in 2008, Walter stood beside us as our best man.

The Questionable Authority reposted

Replying to @rincewind.run

everyone in the south: “first time?”

Ghostly Bree@mostlybree.kitrocha.com

Also the US has never had free & fair elections for everyone, and if this is your first time worrying about it, welcome to the party! Fortunately lots of people have been here for decades and know what to do, if you are ready to listen!

The Questionable Authority reposted

Replying to @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social

Trump and Co. will try to steal the midterms. They're already trying. Gerrymandering, bad faith lawsuits, voter intimidation, and a whole lot of lies. But they don't have a genius secret plan. They're already doing whatever they can think of. And it's beatable. Shouldn't have to, but here we are.

The Questionable Authority reposted

Genuinely: We crossed that line a while ago. It can still be recrossed, but only with a lot of sustained and deliberate effort

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social

I don't know that there is a definitive line to cross that makes you say, "I live in a police state now" but when masked gunmen can routinely brutalize the public, citizen or immigrant alike, with impunity, you have reached that point.

Come to Bluesky for the Alf Hog. Stay to watch a politician lose 110% of his shit over horrible NFL commentary.

Chris Kluwe, adjudicated poaster@chriswarcraft.bsky.social

So all that being said - that particular kick by Dixon was fucking terrible by objective NFL standards. The hangtime was shit, the location was shit, the distance was decent, and the only reason the announcers were losing their shit is because they DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT PUNTING IN THE NFL MEANS

The Questionable Authority reposted

Replying to @rickhasen.bsky.social

I would feel bad for the DOJ lawyer getting creamed by this panel but he is taking an evil position and trying to subvert free and fair elections.

Congratulations, Republicans. I'm a well-off white dude in his 50s. I'm a lawyer. I have additional degrees (plural) in commercial law. I am institutionalist and adverse to major change by nature. And, thanks to your decades of hard work, if I'm not a socialist now, I'm just a short step away.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "While oil prices are temporarily high ... the United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars"

The Questionable Authority reposted

The Questionable Authority reposted

Replying to @questauthority.bsky.social

*Megacorps should be defined broadly, using effective control. We've seen billionaires use multiple companies they control toward common ends plenty. Also the "corporate veil" needs a more holes than it has right now; there should be a "oh, come on, just look" test for alter ego, minimum.

*Megacorps should be defined broadly, using effective control. We've seen billionaires use multiple companies they control toward common ends plenty. Also the "corporate veil" needs a more holes than it has right now; there should be a "oh, come on, just look" test for alter ego, minimum.

Me, getting back home from run: oh, I thought you were going to get dad up. Mom: after this game. Me: I'm going to take a quick shower,I'll be ready for the scenic drive you wanted to take after that. Mom: OK, I won't be. Me: it's really beautiful out, the light's great. Mom: after this game.

I really want this sex pest, Hillary, and their whole motley crew of unprincipled two-bit political hacks to just sit down, shut up, and go the hell away.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Bill Clinton: "I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace's bathroom"

The Questionable Authority reposted

The Orange County Registrar of Voter (OCROV), led by Bob Page (who had to undergo a full on baseless inquisition by our HB city council), is the gold standard for not just our state, nor our country, but for other countries as well in that they come in and ask “how do we keep our elections secure?”

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

BREAKING: The Trump DOJ just sent letters to local election officials across California — every county in the state — demanding they identify potential noncitizens on their voter rolls and set aside their ballots. Local officials would "risk significant federal scrutiny" if they failed to comply.

Was just sign-waving for my friend Makana Paris, who is running for State House out here. Couple thoughts: 1: The states are where it's at, and that's going to be true for the foreseeable future. (It always was, really, but even more than it used to be.) 2: State legislators work their asses off.

4: Personal thing. This is the first election cycle since my wife retired from the Army. Working, running errands, getting food, waving signs, going back home (not on base), and just being a real part of a community is such a wonderful blessing.

I've never been entirely sure of what "federalism" really means, but the DOJ's theory that any time a state does anything contrary to federal law, the DOJ can sue the state because breaking federal law violates the supremacy clause definitely isn't it.

Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social

JUST IN: Trump admin asks 9th Circuit for emergency order by tom'w (Sat) to segregate ballots from 20K on CA rolls whom DOJ suspects are foreign. DOJ says Judge Carter constructively denied relief by failing to act. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/28... Earlier: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

The Questionable Authority reposted

Replying to @mrose.ink

Boss and his boss, independently, at interviews for this gig early last year: "Aren't you afraid you'll be bored if you take this job? Me: "Ask me in five years. Right now, I'm afraid I won't be." Me, frequently, since: "Boss, when you interviewed me you promised boredom and you're not delivering."

The Questionable Authority reposted

This needs to be said openly: This is what happens when the government is led by someone who attempted a coup d’etat, and his agencies are run by his stooges.