You: "I don't want to support Elmo's Twitter, but this still is where the cool kids are, and I value this community."
Me: "Yes, community matters! But your community is relocating. Here are some of the great writers, thinkers, and kind souls currently active on Mastodon: 1/
This feels like a good time to remind everyone that six days from now my bride and I will climb on @HawaiianAir #25 to celebrate our 30th anniversary by learning to sail on a 33' sailboat cruising Molokai, Lanai, + Maui + earning our @__ASA__ 101, 103, 104 certifications. 1/
I share this so that my fellow Olds can remember who they are: ageless magical beings who are still 5 and 21 and 35 and 50. We've experienced most of the ages, and so we are all of them.
2/
@HawaiianAir@__ASA__ And I share this so you Youngs can learn that youth is delightful but not conclusive. That age should not be denigrated (and ffs stop picking on Pelosi, the greatest SOTH since LBJ; maybe better).
3/
From a trial lawyer's perspective, this short hearing on Alex Jones' emergency motion to suppress the contents of his cell phone is amazeballs. Short thread: 1/
First, trial judges generally bend WAY over backwards to protect lawyers from possible legal malpractice actions, and put privilege-waiver genies back in the bottle when possible. Why? Bec they want the case to be about *the case*, not setups for a later malpractice action.
2/
For a judge to *not* at least grant temporary protection while a lawyer gets his sh*t together is remarkable.
But Jones abused discovery so badly all along that this judge has already defaulted him as a penalty -- the nuclear remedy for discovery abuse, almost never seen.
3/
We all know the Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
What many don't know is the Constitution's *other* militia clauses that give the 2A context: 1/
Yes, "militia" is discussed OUTSIDE the 2A. Constitution Article 1 Section 8 gives Congress power over national defense, including the army, navy – and militia. If we want to understand what the 2A means by "well-regulated militia," that's where we have to start.
2/
First, note that the Framers didn't trust standing armies; they knew Caesar had led his troops across the Rubicon to crush the Republic, + foresaw that a too-strong standing army could topple their nascent democracy in a military coup (as we've seen countless times elsewhere). 3/
I hope everyone understands this, but in case they don't:
The Senate gives votes to land, not people. Wyoming has 2 senators per 290,000 people; California has 2 senators per 20 million people. It's the ultimate "gerrymander." 1/
The antidemocratic Senate —> an antidemocratic Electoral College —> undemocratic Presidential elections.
President + Senate choose SCOTUS justices.
Therefore, in our supposedly "democratic" republic, the Executive, Supreme Court, and half the Legislature are undemocratic.
2/
Making it worse, the Constitution allows itself to be amended in any way EXCEPT changing how the Senate is elected.
The Framers didn't trust us to change the two seats per state Senate formula.