Scott Colom has won the U.S. Senate seat from Mississippi! Woo-HOO!
The White House’s top lawyer has warned the Democrat in line to lead the House’s chief investigative committee that aggressive oversight of the Trump administration “may cross the line into blatant criminality,” a threat that experts called legally dubious.
Ya think?
In a three-page letter to Representative Robert Garcia of California, the incoming chairman of the Oversight Committee, the White House counsel, Will Scharf, said Democrats had “evinced a clear intent to transgress” constitutional limits on congressional investigations. He predicted that their inquiries would be used “to harass and aggrandize, rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end.”
The Supreme Court settled a case near the end of Trump’s first term that said congressional inquiries must serve a legislative purpose. (Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP (591 U.S. 848, decided July 9, 2020) I have no idea if how much of a limit that puts on Congress regarding, say, presidential corruption. But articles of impeachment are a legislative purpose, right?The same case rejected Trump’s argument that he had absolute immunity. I understand federal prosecutors across the country have been told to get ready for war, or resign.
This is likely to get contentious.
Moving on — there are a couple of article out this week that tell us the techbros are having second thoughts about being aligned with Trump. The first is by Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom and the former president, global affairs at Meta. In Getting Too Close to Trump Was a Mistake in The Atlantic, Clegg writes that associating with Trump looked smart in January 2005 but turned out to be a disaster for Big Tech and AI. “Anti–Big Tech, and (alas) anti-American, sentiment has never been higher in large parts of the world, and most major economies—including Canada’s, India’s, Germany’s, and Brazil’s—are now scrambling to have less, not more, of what Silicon Valley produces,” Clegg writes. See also The Tech Right Pivots Left by a bunch of people at Politico. Suddenly Democrats don’t look so lame.
But speaking of tech bros — the NVIDIA scandal looks to me like something that in the past might have brouight down a president, never mind Jensen Huang. It appears Trump was told multiple times that Huang was a security risk, and Trump brushed it off. He doesn’t seem to grasp what the security risk even is. Yesterday Trump said Huang told him he had “no idea” the person he was involved with was a spy, which seems to have excused the entire matter as far as Trump is concerned. He thinks it’s just a sex scandal. Lord knows the man understands sex scandals. National security, however, not to much. See also A Scandal at the Center of the Economy by Charlie Warzel at The Atlantic.
Today is Armistice Day. Yeah, I know, it’s supposed to be Veteran’s Day, but I’m old school. Trump gave a speech that some thought was disgusting. And you can’t miss what happened at the Tomb ov the Unknowns today. A guard reprimanded Pete Hegseth and a group with him.
Thank God for that guard who gave Hegseth the what-for at Arlington. The most unconscious people in the world, oblivious to anything around them.
One of the psychics I follow kept seeing the number "56". Hopefully it means Mary Peltola will soon join Sen. Colom.
I'm watching for the Republican in Congress or the media who appreciates the meaning of the wipeout. Voter turnout was huge. Madow said the 2nd highest ever. I suffer from the same tendency as other Democrats to argue that this is a mandate for action on my pet peeve. It's not a mandate on ANY single issue. It's a general and loud repudiation of what is and isn't getting done. The issue of corruption seems to have scored big, but how many voters understand the issue?? Because it's not just Trump profiteering – it's Congress insider trading and K Street. Regardless of how much the 'average' voter understands, the 'average' voter is pissed about the direction the country is on and they blame Republicans. At the moment, Fox news and the outgoing Speaker blame the voters. Yeah, that will bring them back.
Trump has no basis in law to prevent Congress from doing investigations. And even less basis to threaten to charge members of Congress with being charged with crimes. This is a pitcher throwing balls instead of strikes to brush the batter back. Hit him, he's on base. Keep throwing out of the strike zone, he's on base. Trump's fight to keep the truth out of the public view will convince more voters he's crooked.
I'm not sure if a majority in the USSC wants to keep designing loopholes for Trump. At some point, those loops become the rope you get hung from. Trump is not popular. He will go down in the history books as the most corrupt US president ever. Does the USSC want to be remembered as Trump's chief enabler?
Some, like Hannity, are predicting the voters will return in the next election cycle? It might happen if the GOP starts coming up with solutions to problems that enraged the public. And there's room for debate about just what issues put them over the edge. But they are pissed and of the GOP changes nothing in the next two years, what makes them think voters will return? Oh, that's right. Tho only plank in the GOP platform besides corruption is hating on liberals. So if they say enough nasty shit, the voters who put liberal Democrats in power in TX will go blind to inflation and the brutality of ICE.
Lots of time yet, but the GOP is on track now to lose even MORE seats in the next election.
I slept fantastically well last night. First time in months. I think this will be a season of needed relaxation for millions, the world able to finally breathe and dream after two years of complete ugliness. To say nothing of the last 40 some years of conservative up-is-down, greed is good stupidity.
The next two years are going to be nasty, as the cornered rats are steered toward prison. The last people leaving the cult are the most fanatical, in part because they need Dear Leader to keep them out of jail.
What we need are aggressive leaders who understand that their job is to get the ball moving, and moving downhill early, to get us through to 2028 in best position possible. We learned the cost of dawdling, with Merrick Garland, who could've caught the rats early, when the problem was much smaller.
Leadership is critical and is the current big battle. The other side knows this, and is likely cultivating or threatening the current crop of compromisers.
A guard reprimanded Pete Hegseth and a group with him.
Hegseth has given that guard with a medal. "Well done, Specialist" he told him.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/12/pete-hegseth-medal-soldier-reprimand