Steve Thomas

- Donald Trump - “Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” I know... Let’s all have Covid parties! We can all get naked and jump in the jacuzzi and drink and play and have a great time! It’ll be fun! Steve Thomas

Communication at the White House is so bad, people don't even know if they are supposed to show up for work or not. A West Wing meltdown Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Mike Allen https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-mark-meadows-west-wing-65fb1a74-59b4-4cb3-9326-47aa7d83b946.html Two of McEnany's deputies have also now been tested positive. Steve Thomas

The Rules for Displacing an Ailing Presidential Candidate By Brian C. Kalt Sunday, October 4, 2020, https://www.lawfareblog.com/rules-displacing-ailing-presidential-candidate "When presidential candidates die or drop out their parties can replace them up until the day the electoral college votes (this year December 14). In a grim situation where the president-elect dies after the electoral college vote but before the inauguration, the 20th Amendment provides that the vice president-elect swears in on January 20." "Now imagine the following hypothetical scenario: President Wilcox is running for reelection. About a month before the election, she contracts an infectious disease that makes her seriously ill. She feels horrible and her prognosis is unclear. But for now she is conscious and able to communicate. She refuses to invoke Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to transfer power to the vice president, and she refuses to drop out of the presidential race. “I intend to get better,” she says in a statement she makes from the hospital, “and when I do, I will return home to the White House—even if I’m not better until after January 20, because I’m sure we are going to win.” At this point in the story, it matters whether President Wilcox is a Democrat or a Republican. Here, it’s party rules—not state or federal law—that provide the relevant process. The Democratic Party’s Rule F states: The Republicans’ Rule 9(a) is even more vague: But even more problematic would be state ballot requirements. If the party acted early enough in the process—say, shortly after the convention, well before states printed their ballots—they could replace a candidate. In 1972, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton dropped out on August 1, less than three weeks after the Democratic convention. A few days later, the party replaced him on the ticket with Sargent Shriver. Eagleton had been convinced to step down, but even if the party had ousted him against his will, there still would have been plenty of time to get him off and Shriver on ballots. But the closer it is to Election Day, the harder it will be to change the ballots, given the logistical challenge of re-printing and re-distributing ballots. And this year’s pandemic election only increases the difficulty of a late-stage replacement. With early and absentee voting looming larger than ever, it would be likely that the party would have no way to change the name on the ballot. As a result, the party would have no choice but to confuse and upset voters by telling them to vote for Candidate A by marking their ballot for Candidate B." Steve Thomas

"President Trump won't have to recover from COVID. COVID will have to recover from President Trump. #MAGA" — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) October 5, 2020 It's all just a big joke to these clowns. The Party of Stupid. Steve Thomas

Kayleigh McEnany has now tested positive. This is just decimating the White House. I haven't heard anyone talking about deep cleaning the building. Will our Seat of Government have to relocate? Steve Thomas

‘Trump was sent from God!’: MAGA country brings the rally to a stricken president https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/05/maga-supporters-walter-reed-trump-covid-426295 “MAGA Country had gathered to celebrate and pray for their leader — an impromptu festival-meets-vigil for its venerated, living saint. And then suddenly, there he was. After hours of listening to their cheers and acknowledging them via tweet, Trump emerged from his isolation chamber to greet the crowd, creating his own impromptu spectacle. In a brief appearance, Trump rolled past in his motorcade, waving from the window of his massive armored SUV, offering blessings from a hermetically-sealed Popemobile. On Fox News, Trump’s favorite hosts were vowing to fight for Trump, because “you fought for us,” as Laura Ingraham put it.”” Fox News is touting Trump’s bravery. I am you and you are me Together we fight the oligarchy God is on our side I will die for you… Trumps isn’t fighting for us. Donald Trump is fighting for his life because he is vain and stupid. Steve Thomas

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- Omarosa Onee Manigault Newman - “I will tell you there are members of the staff, career staffers, who are very upset about the fact that this outbreak has happened,” she added. “They’re calling it the Rose Garden Massacre.” “So I’m hearing things, and a lot of it is that they just don’t understand why even now the White House has not changed their mask policy. People are still being allowed to roam around the complex saying they’re optional.” https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/angry-trump-aides-are-calling-amy-coney-barretts-announcement-the-rose-garden-massacre-after-19-outbreak/ (The Party of Stupid) Steve Thomas

Kathy, I see his superspreader campaign rallies combined with his belief in herd "mentality" (grin), as nothing less than trying to spread the corona virus as much as possible. He and advisors always shrug it off as "individual choice", but he's asking them to put their lives on the line "for him". To say nothing of what he is going to ask them to do between November and January if he loses. Steve Thomas

This is the thing I have been most afraid of. In an interview with Chris Wallace on 10/04/20, Trump advisor, Steve Cortes said, “The fact that he still got infected shows us that unfortunately this virus has that kind of power,” Cortes said. “The president, though, and he’s made this clear, he was unwilling to completely sequester himself, to take no risk, because leaders take risks. And he is the servant of the people as well as the commander-in-chief and so he said he must be around the people he serves. He took reasonable risks.” https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/chris-wallace-hammers-trump-aide-why-did-the-first-family-feel-that-the-rules-didnt-apply-to-them/ A while back, I wrote an essay that compared Donald Trump’s inauguration speech to Eva Peron’s Speech to the Descamisados on October 17, 1951 https://www.marxists.org/history/argentina/peron/1951/speech.htm “And I had to come to thank all of you, my beloved descamisados from all corners of the fatherland for being willing to risk your lives for Perón. I was certain that you knew – as did I – how to serve as Perón’s entrenchment. The enemies of the people, of Perón and the Fatherland, have also long known that Perón and Eva Perón are ready to die for this people. Now they also know that the people are ready to die for Perón. Compañeros, I ask just one thing today: that all of us publicly vow to defend Perón and to fight for him until death. And our oath will be shouted for a minute so that our cry can reach the last corner of the earth: Our lives for Peron!” I noted that they shared several similar themes: I am you and you are me Together we fight the oligarchy God is on our side I will die for you Ergo… Steve Thomas

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Azerbaijan has released a one-minute military music video that is……. unusual. https://twitter.com/simulacrax/status/1311772844364361728 Steve Thomas

The Real Nightmare Scenario: A Sick Mike Pence “The U.S. government knows how to handle an incapacitated commander in chief, but has no idea how to deal with a very sick vice president.” By GARRETT M. GRAFF https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/10/02/pence-trump-covid-coronavirus-sick-425329 The second problem is with the statute, the Presidential Succession Act, that guides the line of succession beyond the vice presidency. It may not really be constitutional—and the nation may find the law tested in a moment of great crisis. There’s a clear and well-understood debate that the law dodges a vexing question: Are the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tem considered “officers of the United States” for constitutional purposes and thus eligible to succeed to the presidency at all? No less an authority than the author of the Constitution himself, James Madison, argued that they were legislators, not constitutional officers, and thus ineligible to become president. The process outlined in the law appears to be in conflict with other parts of the Constitution that hold that only executive branch officials are “officers” and that uncertainty could allow it to be disputed in court. Republican Senator John Cornyn raised the question of what would happen if a speaker of the House or Senate president pro tem ascended to the presidency—and then was challenged by the secretary of State, who argued that the legislators didn’t count as constitutional officers. “Believe it or not, the secretary actually has a rather strong case, in my view,” Cornyn said. “Who is the president? Whose orders should be followed by our armed forces, by our intelligence agencies, and by domestic law enforcement bureaus? If lawsuits are filed, will courts accept jurisdiction? How long will they take to rule? How will they rule? And how will their rulings be respected?” Later, a special bipartisan “continuity of government” commission led jointly by the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute, concluded, there “are serious policy and constitutional objections to having congressional leaders in the line of succession.” Steve Thomas

I've been wondering who's in charge at the White House. Trump's in the hospital struggling to breathe and Pence is in hiding. Literally, who's in charge there? Mark Meadows? Stephen Miller? Jared Kushner? Steve Thomas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Succession_Act Presidential Succession Act The United States Presidential Succession Act is a federal statute establishing the presidential line of succession.[1] Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the United States Constitution authorizes Congress to enact such a statute: Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.[2]

I have a question about the line of succession. I had always understood that if the President and Vice-President both become incapacitated, that the line of succession passes to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. I read the other day that this open to some doubt, and that the Republican Party is already preparing lawsuits to prevent that from happening. Can anyone clarify that for me? Thanks, Steve Thomas

Joe, And that's going to be a problem, because the "reporting" is coming from the White House, which has not exactly been known for its forthrightness. It was Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows who "reported" that he has mild symptoms. Why didn't that "report" come from a doctor? Steve Thomas

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The next 12 - 24 hours are going to be very unsettling. 1) A lot of people, perhaps millions, are going to wake up this morning and realize that this is not a hoax. Their belief system will be shaken. This is not something that is going to magically going to go away and like a miracle is going to just disappear and that Donald Trump doesn’t know what he is talking about. They are going to start disbelieving what he’s telling them, perhaps about everything. They are also going to realize that if it could happen to Donald Trump, it could happen to them. 2) Donald Trump is going to come face to face with his own mortality, perhaps for the first time in his life. If he recovers, he will come out of this more humble and kind. Or, he can come out of this more arrogant then ever, convinced of his own immortality. Only time will tell how he deals with this. Steve Thomas

Joe, There are enough people out there who believe that Donald Trump is the Messiah, put on earth to save us. If he gets better, I just hope they don't start passing it off as him resurrecting and rising from the dead. Steve Thomas

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/nancy-pelosi-should-isolate-for-continuity-in-government-as-both-trump-and-pence-may-have-cnn-doctor/ "“You’re saying everyone who has been in contact with Hope Hicks, or in these situations, should be quarantining right now?” CNN’s Don Lemon asked. “Yeah, everyone should be quarantining now,” Dr. Reiner replied. “And I’ll go even further and say that the Speaker of the House should be protected in isolation now because it doesn’t violate the rules of physics now for both vice president and the president of the United States to get sick,” he continued. “The continuity of government requires that we have a clear leader here and it’s very possible the president and the vice president can both become sick right now,” he explained. “So, I would limit activity for the Speaker of the House and make sure she’s really isolated and in a relatively sterile environment.”" Steve Thomas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Right-wing_militia_organizations_in_the_United_States List of militia organizations in the United States 0–9 1st Mechanical Kansas Militia A Alpha 66 WHYU-LP Arizona Border Recon Atomwaffen Division List of Atomwaffen Division members who faced criminal charges B Black Legion (political movement) Boogaloo movement Branch Davidians C Christian Identity Christian Patriot movement Citizens for Constitutional Freedom Constitutional militia movement Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord F FEAR (terrorist group) FEMA camps conspiracy theory H Hutaree I Idaho Light Foot Militia Indiana White Caps M Dennis Mahon Michigan Militia Militia of Montana Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Minuteman Project Minutemen (anti-Communist organization) Missouri Citizens Militia Missouri Militia Montana Freemen N New York Light Foot Militia O Oath Keepers Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge P Patriot movement Posse Comitatus (organization) R Ranch Rescue Red Shirts (United States) Republic of Texas (group) Jon Ritzheimer Ruby Ridge S Sovereign citizen movement T Texas Emergency Reserve Texas Light Foot Militia Three Percenters U United Constitutional Patriots W Washington State Three Percenters White Aryan Resistance White League White Patriot Party Whitecapping Steve Thomas

Here's a legal question. Can you indict a sitting President for mass murder? Steve Thomas

Donald Trump’s Proud Boys aren’t just standing by Published on October 1, 2020 By Jordan Green https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/donald-trumps-proud-boys-arent-just-standing-by/ “Members of Oregon Women for Trump joined the Proud Boys for their rally in Portland last weekend. “We love Oregon, and we want Oregon to stay American,” an Oregon Women member named Carol said during the rally. “And we support the Proud Boys…. We need more men like the Proud Boys. “This is our time to stand up, stand out, stand against not only Marxism, but to anarchy and Black supremacy,” she continued. “This is a war, folks, that we have got to fight back. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough from all these punks, evildoers, including our [Democratic] governor and our mayor and all their ilk.” Representatives of both groups pledged that their members will be at ballot-drop boxes during the election. “We will be — the Proud Boys from the Portland chapter, for Oregonians — we will try to do the best we can to secure some of those most strategic ballot places that are going to be dropped off,” said Flip Todd, the chapter vice president. While pledging to monitor ballot-drop sites, Oregon Women for Trump also solicited funds to support the Proud Boys. “It will come back for your safety because we love to stand on the frontlines,” Todd said, as supporters handed cash up to the stage. “We love to be your wall. We love to see people geared up. We like this kind of thing. It’s great. We appreciate it. And, like I said, every single dime goes towards pepper spray, things that we need, whether it’s body armor, helmets, first-aid equipment, tourniquets, things like that. “Even the paintballs,” he continued. “You know the little CS […]? They’re $2.75 apiece to xxxxing have pepper spray, okay? Anyway, that’s what stuff like that goes for — so you guys are safe, in a worst-case scenario.”” Steve Thomas