michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 15/10/2026Sadly our immigration laws simply may not care. Many provisions are 'status' without any required mental state (eg knowingly) depending only on what facts the government can establish as civil infractions with a lower burden of proof, relaxed evidentiary standards, fewer civil rights protections. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 14/10/2026Sotomayor is awesome. That is all. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 13/10/2026So now that he has a new helipad we are back to inaudible shouting of questions over the blaring noise of rotors. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Mostly I lament that we could have a kick butt space exploration program / commercial industry 10 years earlier but instead minted the world's first trillionaire on the backs of NASA engineers. Just to save a few bucks. 011 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Way back in 1993 for $60m a ~2 year project with industry and NASA collaboration proved reusable rockets would work. Most of today's space industry is built off NASA's work. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonne...google.comRedirect Notice 0190 0
Reposted by @michaelepley.bsky.socialRex Huppke @rexhuppke.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I don't mean to make waves or anything, but as a journalist, I am definitely opposed to the president talking about arresting journalists. 60073151804 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 20/08/2026These cocktails will be a triumph of speculative mixology, wherein the astronomical capital expenditure is distilled into a potable tribute, eagerly quaffed by fawning courtiers who mistake the bitter dregs of deferred liability for the vintage of divine favor. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 13/08/2026This standing order itself is hugely problematic. If the president is assassinated, the powers of the office flow to the vice president. By it's very nature, the order has no legal effect: but its existence creates massive uncertainty precisely where command and control certainty is critical. 010 0
Reposted by @michaelepley.bsky.socialThor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Elon attacks the best human being on the planet 48979173 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 26/07/2026Agree that this is all very unclear, but not with some of the results. But isn't there precedent that revealing passcodes is essentially forced speech implicating (presumably stronger 'no law') 1st amendment vs merely 4th amendment seizure law (scope, reasonableness, applicability). 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 26/07/2026Incomprehensible indeed! Why are the members of range greetings? 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Yet the phrase "commander in chief" has somehow implicitly overrode these explicit powers. Usually under some unproven assertion by courts and the president himself that only the president could possibly act when needed - and that decision is his alone. 020 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 22/07/2026On the subject of accountability. The Supreme Court has made it clear that the only mechanism to hold the President accountable is impeachment. Why is that also not a sufficient remedy for leaders of independent agencies and departments under the federal executive branch? 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Or could be about operating under international law in holding leaders accountable under that system. Individual countries can sometimes struggle under their own laws to hold leaders to account. We need a robust international law system with some real teeth. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 21/07/2026When we finally do rewrite the constitution, how about a new branch: 'Tribunus Plebis' with automatic and unconditional standing and investigative powers over the other branches. Funding augmented via any awarded punitive awards. 020 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 14/07/2026The power seems to be one the courts have read as an implicit aspect of national sovereignty. Despite creating a government ex nihilo and the 9th/10th amendments suggesting there are very limited inherent powers. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 12/07/2026More evidence that China is the real winner in the Trump 2.0 era. Even as Trump props up the AI sector to the detriment of all else. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Clearly we need more checks and balances. The Supreme Court has basically told us the only check against the president is impeachment. Which has a very high bar & has never happened in our history: effectively rendering this sole remedy meaningless. No wonder he thinks himself a king. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Harmonizing domestic virtues of a national birthday party with a thunderous, Machiavellian display of aerial hegemony requires a theatrical level of doublethink; the administration seems quite unable to distinguish between inspiring its own citizenry and rehearsing the annexation of the neighbors. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Because Republicans have spent 40 years intentionally, methodically shifting the Overton window. So they get what they want no matter who is in power, merely by having to tolerate the fringe. 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 27/06/2026And the administration’s attempt to brand a massive military flyover for the 4th of July as a 'wholesome family holiday' is remarkably ambitious; nothing says 'peace and unity' quite like the deafening roar of tactical bombers reminding the populace exactly who holds the leash. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Or a corollary: the founders didn't intend to enshrine their particular cultural eccentricities but create high aspirational goals and serve a larger purpose. So why would we look to their social quirks of tradition to constrain those goals? 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 19/06/2026A fair description of the fundamental flaw of the history and tradition test "Better to start with the text and purpose of the Amendment and apply that to the facts of particular gun regulations, than the reverse!". 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 16/06/2026I wonder how much chained CPI changes -- that allowed for greater product substitutions -- affected our ability to accurately measure inflation for a given standard of living. Seems clear people are downgrading to stay afloat. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Chaos that probably comes with real costs - extra staff, last minute cancelled or replanned events, reduced traffic to venues, disrupted routes/flights - that will never be compensated for. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Been waiting for an excuse to revisit the ad coelum doctrine under the new SCOTUS history and tradition test! 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 29/05/2026"they get 24/7 medical access" as if we are somehow mercifully bestowing a privileged benefit on them for which they should be grateful. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 29/05/2026"Categorically false" means a statement is completely, absolutely, and unconditionally untrue in every possible way. It emphasizes that there is no element of truth, nuance, or exception to the claim being made. 110 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 19/05/2026Not only that, but the claim is that it is an estimate of the value of future claims. So someone ran some kind of NPV for an ensemble of varying types and probabilities of claimants and claims. And then conveniently arrived at this exact number? I'd like to see that excel spreadsheet. 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 18/05/2026And 28 USC 2414 does not seem to apply -- once the suit was filed, or withdrawn, it is no longer 'imminent'... By definition it is a past event. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 18/05/2026The AG letter states the arrangement is a consequence of a 'Settlement Letter'; the funding authority is claimed to be the judgement fund; Blanche described it as a settlement. Sure looks like a settlement, a factual inquiry that should still fall under the jurisdiction of Judge Williams. 200 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Pro tip: Courts can (and have the duty to) block settlements as against the public interest. This seems like the model example. 100 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 14/04/2026What? No "thank you for your attention to this matter"? 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 14/04/2026A deal was cut wrt Gonzales. But both should have resigned immediately and of their own accord, period. 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 13/04/2026What about "Weak on Nuclear Weapons"?!? Surely that is up there on the all time greats list. 050 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 11/04/2026Judges approve and can reject settlements as against the public interest. 030 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 29/03/2026There are also alternatives to hard term limits. Just make it harder for incumbents to win -- a bias to offset inherent incumbent advantages. Say increase the vote threshold by 5 or 10% every time an individual is elected. Want a third term? You need to win 70% of the vote share. 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 25/03/2026They "fixed" that. Felons can vote now, but only rich, well connected felons that can manage to jump through the unnecessary hoops. 020 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Why even bother with having law if the merits don't ultimately matter and it's just all political choice? 1110 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 22/03/2026Expect ICE to assert: broad search powers based on a claim that all TSA checkpoints are the functional equivalent of the border, even for domestic travelers; profiling under Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, no search warrant is needed per 8 USC 1357; & administrative arrest warrants per recent DHS memos. 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 22/03/2026Our foreign policy was obsessed about the threat of a client state of the USSR off our coast. This keeps up and we'll have a client state of China off our coast. 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 21/03/2026We need to impeach Trump just to prove ours is actually a viable government structure. 110 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 21/03/2026Official acts are only "When the President acts pursuant to “constitutional and statutory authority”. 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 19/03/2026Pretty sure humans created the matrix and willingly entered. They intended to advance into the future as synthetic consciousness; the architect tried even but just found it unstable. The whole human battery was just the AI squeezing some system efficiencies out. The rest, just a cover story. 100 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 14/03/2026Counterpoint: Who says "War Ships" and not "warships"? And also has no idea what 100% means. And this strategy just helps China. 180 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 14/03/2026Pretty sure 'less is more' is an idea foreign to him. 010 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 13/03/2026Awesome stuff. That cover letter has the same vibe of "what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard... I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul" -- just more professional. 0530 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 12/03/2026We had an opportunity to back a global minimum tax that would have brought in revenue without damaging trade and competitiveness. Would have meant believing in the liberal international order to implement and funding research and education to maintain competitiveness, so.... 000 0
michaelepley.bsky.social @michaelepley.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Theft. Insider trading and market manipulation should be called theft. The money that was gained by some was lost by others. And it's not just day traders that are affected. Maybe its you -- your retirement or insurance funds. 010 0