#Hatch Act

[follow-up-news]

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro broke the law by publicly endorsing the reelection of President Joe Biden and criticizing former President Donald Trump in several statements he made while on official duty overseas, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Thursday. In a report to the White House, the watchdog agency said Del Toro’s comments about the presidential election came in a BBC interview and when he was responding to questions after a speech in London. While he later reported the remarks, his unwillingness to take responsibility for them is troubling, the special counsel said. The agency said Del Toro’s comments, which were made before Biden dropped out of the presidential race, violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits U.S. officials from engaging in political activity while they are on duty and from “using their official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election.” “The United States and the world need the mature leadership of President Biden,” Del Toro said in response to a question after giving a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in late January. He added, “We cannot afford to have a president who aligns himself with autocratic dictators and rulers whose interpretation of democratic principles is suspicious (at) best.”

[nodynasty4us]

From the December 2, 2023 article:

The independent Office of the Special Counsel said the spokespeople failed to comply with the law, designed to limit the political activity of government employees, when they slammed “MAGA” Republicans for their budget proposal in June.

...

The OSC’s letter, dated Oct. 19 and first reported Friday by NBC News, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Andrew Bates, a deputy press secretary, acted against the law by using “MAGA” on June 14 — a week after the OSC warned Jean-Pierre not to use the acronym. The OSC also issued broad guidance establishing that the use of “MAGA” is considered political activity because it is the campaign slogan of a candidate for office.

Because neither Jean-Pierre nor Bates appears to have used the term since mid-June, however, OSC said in its letter that it was closing its probe.

[circleandsquarecomic]

Circle is a Student of History

[lsmolinari]

Could what you think about politics put your spouse in the clink?

[bobbyo-1967]

Promise Arrives But Disappointment Is Still Lingering

15 September 2024 Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger United States Office of Special Counsel 1730 M Street, N.W. Suite 218 Washington, DC  20036 Dear Special Counsel Dellinger, I appreciate your office announcing the recent Hatch Act decisions in the 5 September 2024 press release. Thank you for your steadfast and valiant efforts to always hold accountable federal employees who engage…

[thoughtlessarse]

In March, after a Justice Department employee wrote an op-ed criticizing the Biden administration over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, her supervisors accused her of violating federal law. Last week, the Office of Special Counsel squarely rejected that allegation, but the investigation sent a chilling message to other federal employees organizing around Israel and Gaza. Emma West Rasmus, a longtime Justice Department employee, wrote an op-ed in early March for The Hill about a recent visit to Palestine with her church. “I decided in November, and am surer than ever in March: Unless the Democratic Party and its leaders call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a lasting end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, I will not vote for Biden or any Democrat,” she wrote. The article, which published on a Friday, initially included a note stating West Rasmus “works at the Department of Justice and is a member of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church.” The following Monday, West Rasmus was accused by senior Justice Department attorneys and ethics officials of violating the Hatch Act, according to records reviewed by The Intercept. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their “official authority” to engage in certain political activity, especially advocating for or against a particular candidate or political party. “When you start your federal government service,” West Rasmus told The Intercept, “on your very first day you learn about the Hatch Act.” In November, the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates Hatch Act violations, put out guidance explaining that federal employees could express their views on Israel and Gaza without running afoul of the law. OSC also clarified that the Hatch Act only limits partisan political speech “while on duty or in the federal workplace.”

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[svalleynow]

Grundy County School Board Member Facing Allegations About Election Laws

The Grundy County School District posted on Facebook a letter from Director of Schools Dr. Clint Durley and Chairman of the School Board Rick Rust concerning allegations of political pressure by a member of the Board of Education. The letter claims that a female board member attended an event in May at Swiss Memorial Elementary School. Allegedly she asked teachers to vote in a certain way in the…

[theweeklyshowwithjonstewart]

Democracy Under Threat

Despite what cable news may have you believe, Fuckface von Clownstick is not the sole threat to our democracy. This week, we’re peeling back the rhetoric and taking a look at where the vulnerabilities in our institutions lie. In conversation with Jane Mayer, chief Washington correspondent for The New Yorker magazine and Noah Bookbinder, President of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Jon explores the roots of our democratic dysfunction. From ever-multiplying dark money to shark tanking ideas for tax transparency, this episode has it all. Plus, hear from producers of the pod and get a taste for what you can expect in episodes to come! Fact Check: Jane Mayer mentions that Jon said the FEC is about as useless as male nipples. It was, in fact, Jordan Klepper who said this.

Jon Stewart on Who Writes Legislation and Passing the PACT Act

Jon Stewart recalls an experience where a bipartisan group of congresspeople agreed on his proposal to support veterans suffering from toxic exposures but asked him to write the legislation! This leads Jon, Jane Mayer, and Noah Bookbinder to dive into the vulnerabilities in our democracy.

[yessoupy]

no, can't use the white house to campaign, first son.

[rocketbirdie]

here comes trouble (make it double!)

[yourangle-yuordevil]

Hey! You got an insta acc? Easier to save posts there and collect them

Nope, sorry! We are only on tumblr at the moment!

The only Instagram account that we have is @ che.cocche, the one where we post the adventure a of our chickens and other animals. Not very Good Omens themed unless you count our pigeons, who we affectionately started to call Aziraphale and Crowley ahah

[muninnhuginn]

You know what's gonna kill me when we get the inevitable Lu Guang flashbacks?

The fact he's always described as "mature" as his post-dive self implies he must be different now than before. It's hard to imagine exactly what his personality was like before, and if it's written well, he shouldn't be completely unrecognisable. But we know he's been changed.

Imagine a first timeline where Lu Guang just follows along with Cheng Xiaoshi, no attempts to reign him in whatsover. Cheng Xiaoshi having the opportunity to come up with more of his complicated tricks but channelling it into lower stakes stuff like pranks and Lu Guang actually enabling him in that and having fun with it. Imagine tragedy striking when Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi are both allowing themselves to be genuinely happy, no facades.

We know that Cheng Xiaoshi used to put on a brave face in light of his parents' disappearances and what that meant for how he was treated and what he was missing out on. But we also know that Qiao Ling and Lu Guang together have been able to lift that into something more genuine. Imagine a world where Cheng Xiaoshi was able to do the same for Lu Guang. Where they both mutually brought that light into the other's life.

It's still true to some extent in the current worldline, but it's complicated by Lu Guang's own actions. Lu Guang can never be fully honest with Cheng Xiaoshi without (in his mind) losing him forever. But he has to stick by his side in order to have any chance in his hopeless quest. And so, he must distance himself in other ways, protect Cheng Xiaoshi, enforce the rules. Swallow the guilt. It leads to a more lopsided relationship, one where one side is always hiding something from the other and refuses to open up themselves. A relationship that in the original timeline must have been more equal, as partners.

There's something that's been lost here, and it's not just the original Cheng Xiaoshi.

[falconfate]

Inspired both by the recent solar eclipse and this post by @otiksimr, an art piece I’ve never been prouder of, my WoF oc Sunkiller!

Born under a total solar eclipse (ask me about my temperature-based nightwing hatching headcanons. and also my headcanons about how sunlight affects nightwings.) and blessed with the ability of perfect knowledge of the past, or at least the past where dragons exist. This of course makes her an invaluable resource to historians everywhere, which she is absolutely sick of, and so has gotten very adept at the hermit lifestyle. For pity’s sake, you solve ONE cold case murder as a hatchling, and suddenly EVERYBODY wants your attention…

(if tui has declared anything canon about nightwings and solar eclipses, like she has for blood moons, which are lunar eclipses, i haven’t seen it)

[fromtheseventhhell]

why does this fandom act like dany never suffered again after she gains her dragons? i saw an improperly tagged post on my for you page here and in the tags people are genuinely saying that after dany births her dragons, she never experiences sexual violence or oppression again unlike sansa who has to use her "ladies charms" to survive. i couldn't believe my eyes as i read tag after tag explaining why dany is a girlboss who never experiences anything bad after agot. what is wrong with tha fandom?

It's cause! A subsection of Stansas have adopted the show's (misogynistic) logic that suffering = deserves a good ending, so they want to play the suffering Olympics so Sansa ends up looking the most deserving of a happy ending. They're constantly downplaying other female characters and their trauma to fit their logic. Dany has dragons -> which offers her protection -> which means she hasn't suffered as much as Sansa. Arya has a sword -> which means she can fight back -> which means she hasn't suffered the same way Sansa has. Cersei has power -> which means she has control over her circumstances -> which means she hasn't been victimized the same way Sansa has. And so on and so forth. It's nothing but thinly veiled misogyny based on fundamentally misinterpreting the books cause the story being told doesn't make their favorite look special enough for them. Even a cursory glance at the books would prove these takes incorrect but something tells me they haven't taken the time to actually read them.

[arcane-vagabond]

I'm thinking of scrapping We Abide as a fic in order to write it as an actual story. Comments, questions, concerns?

[ruthlesslistener]

wl/pk have the kingsoul, what might lurien/pk have?

Nothing quite as tangible as a charm linking their souls together; 'just' a bond forged between a god and his chosen, and the many years they have working together! The main reason for this is because the nature of how PK interacts with WL and how PK interacts with Lurien is very very different, and thus results in different evidence of their bond between the two

The link between a god and their chosen is something special, and cannot really ever be replicated with another Higher Being. Another Higher Being will always be competition, no matter how close the two are; a god and their chosen, however, is more of a bond where the mortal becomes an extension of their deity, and represents their ideals/what they represent in the nuance of living flesh. This manifests in vastly different ways between people and gods, ofc, but in the case of Lurien and PK- where Lurien retains his personhood to the fullest and PK interacts with him as a peer and a lover- this is closer to being 'drift compatible' (as I understand it- I've never watched Pacific Rim) than anything else. Lurien can reach out to PK and draw strength from his endless reserves of Soul/touch his mind without fear because he is mentally strong enough and wise enough that he can merge minds with a god without losing himself, and PK can enter Lurien's mind, share his soul, and commune with him without fear of obliterating his individuality or turning him into a pile of goo as a result. It's based on genuine inherent compatibility, but they've also worked on this bond over centuries and have the skills to show for it. There's an inherent power imbalance between them, but they've found a way to equalize it as best they can, and that's what they have to show for it

PK and WL, however, are two Higher Beings, and their nature is inherently based on seeing the other as competition despite the fact that they occupy two different niches entirely and have no desire to try to lord their power over the other. The nature of their bond, as a result, is not so much finding equal footing as it is determining a mutually agreeable pact where each sacrifices a part of themselves in order to better fit the other's needs. In this case, I interpreted it as PK yielding to WL by very literally giving her half of his soul; he took the more submissive role by carving away a part of himself to give to her, and made his palace a place where she could comfortably establish herself and do what she wished to make it better suit her needs despite it being in the very heart of his territory. In return, WL decorated her territory with effigies of him, and carved herself down to match his state of mimicking the bugs around him, even if she had no real need nor desire to mingle so closely with the mortals as he did. Their bond with each other is impossibly close, but it was one that was made by mutually deciding to whittle each other down to better fit against the other than one based on inherent compatibility, and they have the Kingsoul as physical evidence of this pact