#Vice President Harrison

[deadpresidents]

I'm not 100% sure whether the Constitution allows it, but Kamala should consider hitting Trump with a steel chair like this is a WWE match and just taking the oath of office. It's worth a try at least.

[originalleftist]

Harrison Ford has never endorsed a candidate for President/Vice President before.

But today, he endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

"These two people believe in the rule of law. They believe in science. They believe that when you govern, you do so for all Americans"

THANK YOU HARRISON FORD!

[theonion]

Arriving for a campaign strategy session with the vice president and staring in disbelief at her frail, hunched-over form, top Democratic Party officials reportedly began panicking Monday after they discovered Kamala Harris had aged 40 years in a single night. “What the hell happened to her? She was only 59 yesterday,” the visibly distraught DNC chair Jaime Harrison said after the party’s new presumptive nominee began to ask him who he was and then trailed off, her cloudy eyes glossing over beneath a wisp of stark-white hair and her skin now wrinkled and liver-spotted. “She’s been rambling about all kinds of nonsense, and she keeps calling everyone “buster.” No, Madam Vice President, I’m not your stepson, and I’m not here to take you back to California.

Full Story

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lauren Gambino at The Guardian:

With the full support of the California delegation, Kamala Harris has earned enough delegates to become the Democratic party nominee. Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi made the motion to endorse Harris for president at a virtual meeting of California’s DNC delegation on Monday evening, a spokesperson confirmed. Pelosi, who represents San Francisco in Congress, announced that with the endorsement of California’s delegation, Harris – a native Californian – had earned enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president. Earlier on Monday, top Democrats rallied to support Harris in their bid to defeat Republican Donald Trump. Harris was headed to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday as her campaign for the White House kicks into high gear. The event in Milwaukee will be her first full-fledged campaign event since announcing her candidacy. Joe Biden’s departure freed his delegates to vote for whomever they choose at next month’s convention. And Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, was working to quickly secure support from a majority.

[...] According to an Associated Press tally, Harris had 2,214 delegates, well beyond the simple majority needed to clinch the nomination on the first ballot. The survey is unofficial, the AP said, as Democratic delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice when the party formally chooses its candidate. [...] Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison vowed that the party would deliver a presidential nominee by 7 August. A virtual nominating process before the national convention in Chicago, beginning on 19 August, is still needed. [...] The DNC had said earlier that a virtual vote would take place between 1 August and 5 August, in order to have the nomination process completed by 7 August, the date by which Ohio law had required a nominee to be in place to make the state’s ballot.

In just over a day since taking the reins of succeeding Joe Biden on the 2024 Democratic Presidential ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris has accumulated enough delegates to become the apparent Democratic nominee.

The nomination of Harris must still be formalized in a roll call vote to make it official. #Harris2024 #Harris47 #YesWeKam #Momala #MadamePresident

[jamjarjiminy]

Pulp Announcement Thoughts and Predictions!

Hello hello hello, everyone! I've gotten sufficiently insane enough about the announcement (and by that, I mean I've rewatched it like 500 times) I thought I'd come by to drop my thoughts and what I think's gonna happen.

First and foremost, the 'hard times' Benjamin and the nation's facing is the Panic of 1837. It was a huuuggeee economic crisis the nation faced after Andrew Jackson fucked up the banks. And of course, Jackson's Vice President and now incumbent president Martin Van Buren had to deal with it.

Van Buren's intervention unfortunately did not work and he ended up being a low level 1 termer no one cares about or remembers. He soon lost reelection to William Henry Harrison.

I think it's pretty obvious at this point, but Benjamin's shiny new opportunity is that of the Vice Presidency. Under who you ask? Chester Thomas! Yeah, pretty obvious and lines up with what we already know.

So in this timeline, Chester Thomas becomes the 9th President instead of William Henry Harrison. We're just gonna assume that the Thomas-Park ticket ran as Whigs, mainly because that's what Harrison was and I don't see any reason Thomas and Benjamin would run as anything else.

So, what did William Henry Harrison do as President? Urm.. nothing. No, like literally nothing. He died a month into office.

And in all honesty, it'd be really funny if the same thing happened to Thomas and Benjamin had to take over suddenly.

So, those are my thoughts so far? What do you guys think? I cannot wait for January!

[mariacallous]

DOGE job cuts bring pain to Trump heartland

PARKERSBURG, West Virginia, March 7 (Reuters) - Jennifer Piggott proudly hung a red-and-blue Trump campaign flag outside her one-story home during the November election race. Now, after she was abruptly fired from her civil service job, her days of supporting the president are over.

Piggott is among more than 125 people dismissed in February from the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service in Parkersburg, West Virginia, unsettling a community that voted overwhelmingly for Republican President Donald Trump.

"Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives," Piggott, 47, told Reuters in an interview, saying she would not have supported Trump if she knew then what she knows now.

"As much as I think that President Trump is doing wonderful things for the country in some regards, I don't understand this at all," she said.

Piggott worked at BFS for five years and had recently been promoted. That promotion made her a target as the Trump administration began firing thousands of probationary federal workers - a group that includes new hires but also existing workers moving from one internal position to another.

The renunciation of allegiance to Trump by Piggott, a church-going conservative and three-time Trump voter, comes as political analysts are parsing early signs of a possible backlash in Republican strongholds where the government-slashing efforts of the president and his cost-cutting czar Elon Musk are beginning to be felt.

A White House spokesman told Reuters that Trump had been given a popular mandate to overhaul the federal government to combat waste, fraud, and abuse. Trump edged out his opponent, Democratic former Vice President Kamala Harris, by 1.5 percentage points in the November contest.

"The personal financial situation of every American is top of mind for the president, which is why he's working to cut regulations, reshore jobs, lower taxes, and make government more efficient," Harrison Fields added.

The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency did not respond to requests for comment.

Spokespeople for Riley Moore, who represents Parkersburg in the House of Representatives, and Senator Jim Justice did not respond to requests for comment. Senator Shelley Moore Capito told Reuters that while she understands the concerns some have about the DOGE cuts, she supports the Trump administration's efforts to "right-size" government.

Trump spoke at length about eliminating unnecessary programs during his address to Congress on Tuesday but made no mention of the mass government firings that have roiled the country. So far 100,000 workers have been fired or taken a buyout.

Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Americans' attitudes toward Trump are so far essentially unchanged since he began firing federal workers in February. As of March 4, his approval rating was holding steady at 44%.

West Virginia is also strong Trump country. He won the state in November with 70% of the vote, among his biggest victories.

Still, the economic impact of the mass dismissals across America may not be felt immediately.

A handful of Republican voters who lost their federal jobs joined Democrats for a rally of more than 100 people protesting the cuts near the two BFS office buildings in Parkersburg last week, cheering on a local union leader as he criticized Trump and Musk while standing next to a large "Fat Cat" balloon.

Support for Trump's shrinking of government can, however, be heard in places around Parkersburg - a middle-aged couple singing DOGE's praises over breakfast at a local diner; a hotel patron saying remote workers deserved to be fired; a young bartender lamenting federal workers' relatively high pay.

In interviews with three dozen workers, business owners and politicians in Parkersburg, which sits at the convergence of two rivers including the mighty Ohio, nearly all said Trump's focus on cutting government spending was a worthy goal. But most said they knew BFS employees to be hard-working and didn't see them as the right target if the aim was to eliminate waste.

Scot Heckert, a Republican who represents parts of Parkersburg in the West Virginia state legislature, said he was worried that layoffs at BFS, which employs about 2,200 workers in Parkersburg, would "devastate" the local economy because the workers earned higher-than-average salaries, and because of the looming prospect of another round of cuts.

He said his daughter-in-law was among those fired and that he was seeking more information on why so many jobs were eliminated in a seemingly indiscriminate manner before he would commit to backing Trump in the future.

"People voted for Donald Trump to make a change," he added. "It's an unfortunate thing in our community that is plagued with many things as it is."

BUSINESS IMPACT

To the residents of Parkersburg, West Virginia's fourth-largest city with 29,000 people and the seat of Wood County, the cuts driven by Musk's DOGE feel like the latest in a series of economic blows.

Parkersburg has lost a third of its population over the past five decades, mirroring a hollowing out of manufacturing across the state. The glass producer Corning sold its Parkersburg factory in the 1990s, and in 2005 a major shovel plant buffeted by Chinese competition closed.

BFS, which manages the federal government's accounting and payment systems, is a provider of stable, solid-paying jobs in Wood County, where the median household income is two-thirds the national average and 14% of the population lives below the poverty line.

The community is now bracing for another round of layoffs, with all government agencies ordered to make plans to cut career staff by March 13. That could mean hundreds more cut at BFS.

Business owners in Parkersburg said they were worried that more job losses would ripple through the economy in the form of depressed spending on everything from clothing to rent.

The owners of the Blennerhassett Hotel, a fixture of downtown Parkersburg for more than 130 years with its turreted brick facade, have already told staff that seasonal hiring will be kept to a minimum for the usually busy summer months.

"It's a major economic disaster for our community," said co-owner Wayne Waldeck, likening the potential scale of the expected job cuts to another factory leaving town.

Parkersburg Brewing, a local bar and eatery, is also worried about a hit to demand. Roughly one-sixth of the brewery's 65 members, who pay an annual fee for a larger pour and other perks, work at BFS, manager Samantha Gibbs said.

"They have the extra money to come spend at places like this and give back to the community, and now a percentage of that is lost," she said. "That's going to affect us tremendously."

West Virginia ranks third among the contiguous 48 states in the percentage of its total workforce — 3.7% — in federal jobs, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. That's about double the national average. Only Virginia and Maryland, the two states closest to Washington, are higher at 4.6% and 5.9%.

John Deskins, an economics professor at West Virginia University, said he is worried about potential job losses at other large federal facilities in the state.

"We stand to suffer a disproportionate share when those jobs disappear, when that income disappears," he added.

VETERANS CAUGHT IN LAYOFFS

Roger Conley is a Trump supporter who left the Republican Party last year because he thought it was too liberal. In a Facebook post before BFS workers were cut, Conley said DOGE was acting like any successful business in boosting efficiency and wondered why anyone would question its moves to lower costs.

Then his son lost his job at BFS, according to union members.

In a February 20 Facebook post, Conley said while he still backed Trump, he questioned the need to fire so many people so quickly and whether Musk was the right person to lead the effort.

When reached by phone, Conley declined to comment. His son did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this story.

Meanwhile Piggott, who like other fired probationary employees received no severance, faces an uncertain future. She said she and her husband, a disabled military veteran, have been discussing ways to make ends meet including selling their home.

She teared up when talking about how many veterans, who make up about 30% of the federal workforce, had lost their jobs at BFS and other agencies.

One veteran caught up in the BFS layoffs was Chauncy James, who was promoted twice during his 18 months at BFS, the second time to building maintenance.

James, 42, said he too worries about making his mortgage payment and feeding his five children. At last week's rally he marched with a sign criticizing Musk and said he regretted voting for Trump.

"They are pretty much just coming here, chopping heads off, without really doing their homework," James said. "He got elected president and he's doing a lot of things that people never even imagined that he was going to do to us."

[kl1ntzee]

drops the rest of the iahb characters hcs here + info abt my oc..(optional to read)

SUNNY CHHIM  ;

Born on March 3rd, Cambodian-British. Female – Straight Ally. ENTJ–A. Main color - yellow + orange.

Sunny would be a very supportive girl with good leadership skills, in my opinion!!! She'd be the student body president because why shouldnt she girlboss???????

She's very social in her class and loves gtting to know people. Just smth that she hates is when people are not cooperative. IMO, when the class gets out of hand she'd be a drill sargeant fr. live laugh love sunny

She loves spending quality time with her family, especially her younger sister. She would also be interested in tennis!!! ^^ She would probably also love scrapbooking idk :3 THATS JS MY HC THO

SILLY HEADCANONS ;

- She has a tad of an accent, but also mixes with the british accent if that makes sense lmao..???

- She has a pet fish because i love fishes therefore she likes fishes now 😭😭

- She started doing tennis when she was like 6

- Extremely strategic

- Always has a plan for anything

- A SWEETHEART <33

- her fashion is GORGEOUS.

BEN THOMAS ;   ( i was strunggling between these then i thought why shouldnt i just make him named both )

Born on February 3rd, French–British. Male – Straight Ally. (...slow slow bicurious flag starts to appear) INTJ – T. Main color - green.

He may look cold, but he's somewhat nice to be around the more you know him. He has an interest with board games. He enjoys critical thinking. His favorite would be chess. ngl, at his school he'd be the vice president

IDK WHY, BUT I FEEL LIKE HE WOULD BE CHRONICALLY ONLINE. Like, doomscrolling through Twitter or smth and i feel like HE WOULD GET INTO TWITTER ARGUMENTS

giant ego, but hey what type of rich blond british kid doesnt have that?/HEAVY J

If he's comfortable enough, he would stick around with you.

SILLY HEADCANONS ›

- when he was a toddler, his special interests were dinasours

- HE WATCHES THOSE HOUSE SELLING SHOWS AND JUDGE THE HOUSES LMFAO

- sometimes he would hand off things he doesnt use anymore off to charity

- germaphobe frfr

- he hates being pressured

- “I'm asking nicely, give me what I want.”/Lyric

MATTHEW HARRISON ;

Born on November 19th, British with Indian ancestry. Male — Straight ally. ESTP–A. Main color – Red.

He would be a very social person, friendly but somewhat like a teaseful type of mean, if that makes sense..?? He's really kind tho, would give a helping hand.

He's sporty, apart of the school’s baseball team. Really likes the outdoors. ON THE OTHER HAND HE COOKS MAD GOOD, LIKE GODDAMN.

HES LIKE SUNNY IN TERMS OF BEING SOCIAL IN CLASS

HE WATCHES THOSE STUPID SURVIVAL TIPS VIDEOS LMAO

him and jonathan get mistaken a lot because of their hair and tan-ish skin help 💔

at home he would like play games on his computer or smth or he would go biking around the neighbourhood

SILLY HEADCANONS ›

- bug enthusiast

- his skin is rough as HELL

- lowkey smart

- everytime he stretches his body cracks

- HE GETS ROAD RAGE 💔💔

- he hates being alone , therefore loves bonding with the group

- OLD SOFT ROCK MUSIC ON TOP

- he's in the cooking club

- plays boardgames with ben but somehow always lost

help dropping my iahb oc here dont mind it 😭😭

———

NOELLE LEVINE ;

Born on August 24th, Vietnamese ( Born in England). Female – Lesbian. ENTP – T. Main color › Magenta

She's stubborn as hell lmao. Randomly starts playful arguments with the group. She's the secretary, and shes like rlly aggressive with her friends

She's really friendly and excited to meet new people. Shes also rlly straight forward and blunt.

She randomly has moodswings lmao. SHES RLLY CLOSE WITH SUNNY, and they go practice tennis together.

Other than that, she's also Jonathan's dance partner in competitions and they argue a ton but somehow theyre still friends

SILLY FACTS ›

- She collects stickers :3

- HATES BUGS

- she loves goth girls

- she says her thoughts without hesitation and the others would stare her down

- she likes cheese......idk what to tell u 😭

- dreams of being a lawyer

- in the debate club

ty.. for reading... 🔥🔥🔥

[thebreakfastgenie]

A United States president has left office before completing his term nine times. Four deaths from natural causes, four assassinations, and one resignation.

John Tyler assumed the presidency after William Henry Harrison died shortly after inauguration, but was not re-elected four years later, so he was only elected to the vice presidency.

Millard Fillmore assumed the presidency after Zachary Taylor died, but was not re-elected so he was only elected to the vice presidency.

Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, but was not re-elected so he was only elected to the vice presidency.

Chester Arthur assumed the presidency after James Garfield was assassinated, but was not re-elected so he was only elected to the vice presidency.

Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency after William McKinley was assassinated and was later elected to another term.

Calvin Coolidge assumed the presidency after Warren G. Harding died and was later elected to another term.

Harry Truman assumed the presidency after Franklin D. Roosevelt died and was later elected to another term.

Lyndon Johnson assumed the presidency after John F. Kennedy was assassinated and was later elected to another term.

Gerald Ford assumed the presidency after Richard Nixon resigned and was not re-elected. Ford was also never elected vice president, he was appointed to the position after Nixon's previous vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned.

Four presidents were elected vice president but not president and one was never elected to either.

[eatmystardustloser]

Funny but not really funny things that could happen during a second Trump term

Having ruined the only fact anybody really knows about Grover "only president to serve two non-consecutive terms" Clevland, Trump ruins the only thing anyone knows about William Henry Harrison and dies less than 32 days into his presidency. Becomes the second to President to just quit. JD Vance becomes third Vice president to shoot someone Pandemic Two

[afteriwake]

coffee shop prompts: "I will not drink whatever you just ordered for me. That would be considered torture under the Geneva Convention." Khanolly

So I decided to turn one of my Sherlock AUs into a Treklock one, which means we'll see a few other trek characters pop up maybe, but generally I wanted John Harrison & Sherlock Holmes to be cousins who work together. I just had a lot of fun with this, though it's got romantic!Sherlolly and platonic!Khanolly.

Family Resemblance (A "Serenity Coffee & Tea Shoppe" Story) - John Harrison has been a regular at Serenity Coffee & Tea Shoppe for months now, but no one realized the similarity between John and Sherlock until now. Since they're cousins, it's to be expected.

READ @ AO3 | SERIES PAGE

"I will not drink whatever you just ordered for me. That would be considered torture under the Geneva Convention." Molly looked down at the order she was preparing but couldn’t help the smile that came at the familiar voice at the counter. Every day, Jim Kirk tried to get his coworker to try something different, and every day, John Harrison ended up getting an extra large black coffee with two tablespoons of milk and three sugars.

“I tried, Mary,” Jim said to her best friend and favorite employee (not that she was biased, but she did have her favorites) Mary Morstan. At Serenity, it wasn’t uncommon to have regulars who came for the service, and Jim always seemed to be flirty with all the women who worked there. John just stood to the side.

“I know you did, sweetheart,” she said. “Some people are killjoys.’

“I am not a killjoy,” John said from where he had sat at the counter with a newspaper. Molly got his coffee done as soon as she finished the order she’d been working on. John wasn’t overtly friendly with many people, but he gave a good tip.

“Here you go, John. Your usual,” she said with a smile, setting it on the counter.

“Does Lestrade have any sandwiches with turkey and Havarti today?” John asked, folding the newspaper halfway to look at her.

“He’s in the back, so if he doesn’t, I can ask him to make one. Cranberry sauce too?”

“Yes, please,” John said with a nod. It was a leftover special made when the yanks were celebrating Thanksgiving, but she had to admit, the combination of turkey, Havarti and cranberry sauce was a hit with the customers. She had no doubt Greg would whip one up for John.

“Mary, you’re my salvation,” as she handed him his very complicated coffee.

“One day my boyfriend is going to be here and you’ll flirt with me and I’ll watch you get punched,” Mary said with a chuckle. “Just because you’re American doesn’t mean it will work as an excuse.”

“You’ve got a boyfriend now?” John asked, the paper still covering his face.

“His name is John. John Watson.”

The whole paper came down in an instant. “Is Sherlock here too?”

“He is,” Molly asked, with a frown. “Why do you ask?”

“Sherlock is my cousin. I work for the same company he’s a vice-president of. I mean, I’m the Assistant CFO, but that’s just because my cousin Mycroft is the Head CFO. Good to know he has some taste.” John picked up his coffee. “You didn’t notice the resemblance? We both take after my uncle.”

“You know, now that you mention it…” Mary said. “I’d say you were almost twins. Except he dresses like a professor and has those crazy curls and you dress more like a business professional.”

“Sherlock only works there because Sigur won’t give the vice president position to John,” Jim said, taking a sip of his coffee as the bell alerting a new customer opening the door sounded.

“If my father did, John is vastly more qualified than I am,” Sherlock said as he came in. “James. John.”

“Sherlock,” John said with a nod of his head. “It seems you’ve found my secret hidey-hole.”

“I never knew you came here. Stamford told me about the place,” he said.

“Jim found it on a date with Carol,” John said. “I like the ambiance and the food.”

Sherlock pursed his lips for a moment. “Think we can convince Mycroft to use this coffee shop’s services on the corporate account?”

“I suppose we could. He’s stolen my coffees and not complained, and the prices are fair for the excellent sandwiches,” John said. “Tag-team effort?” Sherlock nodded. “We can do that Monday, then. I’m scheduled through to Friday.”

“Works for me,” he said as Lestrade came out with John’s sandwich, doing a double take as he saw Sherlock and John nearby each other. “We’re cousins.”

“Small world,” Lestrade said. “Cinnamon and pecan muffin, Sherlock?”

“Thank you. And a blueberry one for John as well.”

“This John?”

“My John,” Mary interjected. Lestrade nodded and went back to the kitchen, and Mary moved her finger, pointing between Jim, John and Sherlock. “So all four of you work for the same company?”

“Holmes & Co. Development,” Sherlock and Jim nearly said in unison as John had some of his sandwich.

“Fascinating,” Molly said.

“Honestly, I’ve been trying to talk my father into firing me and hiring my cousin in my position,” Sherlock said, sitting down next to Jim at the counter. “I’d much rather be a professor than a vice president.”

“When he dies, you inherit half the company’s stock,” John said as soon as he had swallowed his sandwich bite. “You can give it to me then and I can run the company at least as well as he is. Mycroft can stay on as CFO and Jim can have my position.”

“So you’re actually Jim’s boss?” Molly asked, looking absolutely fascinated by the whole family saga, just as Mary did.

“We were actually university roommates at Yale,” Jim said. “When I decided I needed a drastic change, John offered me the position as his right hand man, so to speak.”

“This is really interesting” Mary said. “All these months you two have been coming in and it took Sherlock becoming a regular for all of this to come out.”

“Family business is family business, but now that family is getting involved in your affairs, it can be a bit more open,” John said.

“Molly, may I speak with you? Privately?” Sherlock said after Mary handed him his usual order.

“Of course!” she said with a wide smile. Sherlock took his coffee and led her to the chairs by the bookcase with the books anyone was able to borrow. John glanced in their direction, a small smile on his face.

“He likes her, doesn’t he?” Jim said, noticing the smile.

“Indeed. And she likes him,” John said. “Good for them.”

“I thought you liked her,” Jim said in a hushed voice.

“I am...aroace, I believe is the term. I have no need for sexual or romantic relationships, nor do I desire them. Have you ever seen me talk to anyone for a date?” John asked, picking up his coffee and taking a sip.

���I just thought you were a snob and super picky,” Jim said, getting a snorted laugh from Mary. “I learn something new every day.”

“You’re lucky we’re friends,” John murmured, his lips hovering over the lip of his coffee cup. Molly reached over to give Sherlock a quick kiss on the cheek and John’s expression softened. “I am a disappointment to both my father and my uncle for not continuing the family line. Mycroft is in the same boat. Perhaps Sherlock will garner some favor after all, though I know he would rather be back in Oxford.”

“Yeah, well, you do good work,” Jim said. “That’s something to take pride in.”

John nodded and then studied his friend. “You know, you do good work, too. Perhaps a promotion is in order. You deserve to be my equal, not my subordinate.”

“That sounds like it could be an interesting proposal,” Jim said before checking his watch. “We’ve got to get going. You have a meeting with Mycroft at 10:30.”

“Could I get the sandwich to go, and get another coffee for myself and Jim in a tray?” John asked Mary.

“Of course,” she said. John watched her start to prepare Jim’s coffee and he started to get his things together. There was much to think about now, but not all of it was bad. At least Sherlock was amenable to some things he thought his cousin had never considered before. That put him in a good mood for now.

[deadpresidents]

"At 30 minutes past midnight this morning of Palm-Sunday the 4th of April 1841, died William Henry Harrison, precisely one calendar month as President of the United States after his inauguration. The first impression of this event, here where it occurred is of the frailty of all human enjoyments, and the awful vicissitudes woven into the lot of mortal man. He had reached but one short month since the pinnacle of honour and power in his own country. He lies a lifeless corpse in the Palace provided by his Country for his abode. He was amiable and benevolent. Sympathy for his sufferings and his fate, is the prevailing sentiment of his fellow-citizens. The bereavement and distress of his family, is felt intensely, albeit they are strangers here, and known to scarcely any one. His wife had not yet even left his residence at North Bend, Ohio, to join him here. An express was sent for her two or three days since, but the tidings of death must meet her before she can reach this city.

The influence of this event upon the condition and history of the Country, can scarcely be foreseen. It makes the Vice-President of the United States, John Tyler, acting President of the Union, for four years, less one month. Tyler is a political sectarian of the Slave-driving, Virginian Jeffersonian school. Principled against all improvement. With all the interests and passions, and vices of Slavery rooted in his moral and political constitution -- with talents not above mediocrity, and a spirit incapable of expansion to the dimensions of the station upon which he has been cast by the hand of Providence unseen through the apparent agency of chance. I trust in humble hope of the good, which it always brings forth out of evil. In upwards of half a century, this is the first instance of a Vice-President's being called to act as President of the United States, and brings to the test that provision of the Constitution which places in the Executive Chair a man never thought of for it by any body. This day was in every sense gloomy."

-- Former President John Quincy Adams, who spent almost his entire post-Presidential life serving in the U.S. House of Representatives after leaving the White House, on the death of President William Henry Harrison and succession of John Tyler, in an entry to JQA's personal diary, April 4, 1841.

Since President Harrison was the first President to die in office and Tyler the first Vice President to succeed to office, it was not entirely clear whether that meant Tyler was merely "acting President" or had fully assumed the Presidency. Adams was one of many leaders who believed that Tyler's role was meant to be that of a caretaker, but Tyler claimed all the powers and trappings of an incumbent President, setting the "Tyler Precedent", which established Presidential succession for everyone who followed.

[April 4, 1841 diary entry by John Quincy Adams, courtesy the Adams Family Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.]

[militantinremission]

Putting Byron Donalds' comments in perspective

I have listened to Rep. Byron Donalds' comments regarding 'Jim Crow' & I don't get all the furor surrounding them. I heard the Man speak about MARRIAGE RATES being higher during the Jim Crow Era than it is Today. He also said that the rise in Black Marriages in recent Years, is a good thing for Our Children & the prospect of building Generational Wealth. I'm not a Republican, but I acknowledge that Black American Culture has traditionally been Socially Liberal & Morally Conservative. Black Americans were predominantly Republican during The Jim Crow Era, but I don't know if it means that Blackfolk were 'Conservative'. If We're being honest, Most of Our Family weren't allowed to Vote. I assume Rep Donalds means 'Family Values' were more conservative, & he would B correct. Black Households w/ both parents tend to B more conservative than Single Parent Households.

I find House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries & Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair, Jaime Harrison disingenuous w/ their comments implying Rep. Donalds' said that Black America was BETTER OFF under Jim Crow. I didn't hear him say that in his comments. I understand the politics behind their statements; Rep. Donalds is among Donald Trump's considerations for Vice President. His comments can legitimately B seen as an effort to gain favor w/ Trump, in regard to attracting Black Voters. That said, Hakeem Jeffries should spend more time on his Brooklyn Constituents & less time on political muckraking. For The Record, i'm NOT a Fan of Byron Donalds. I disagree w/ him more than I agree. That said, I can understand what he was trying to say. If Democrats were saying: Rep. Donalds is implying that as the Black Marriage Rate rises, We can expect more of them to turn to the GOP- They would have a legitimate argument.

As bad as Hakeem Jeffries & Jaime Harrison were in twisting The Narrative, Joy Reid & Abby Phillips took it further. Both acknowledged that Rep. Donalds didn't say Blackfolk were 'better off' during Jim Crow, but both used their platform to create nonsensical scenarios. Joy Reid accused Byron Donalds of implying that Jim Crow was a 'Golden Era' for Black Americans, & she questioned Black Men of the Jim Crow Era's ability to protect their Families. She cited a 1943 Florida Case (Willie Howard) where a lynch mob forced a Man to watch his son drown at gun point. I found her scenario Off Topic, Callous, & COMPLETELY in Bad Taste; especially coming from someone who doesn't have a Family History of experiencing Jim Crow. Abby Phillips implied Rep. Donalds was referring to a Nostalgic Period when Black America voted Conservatively. I could go along w/ Abby's narrative more, if she allowed Rep Donalds to fully explain his position. Both she & Joy Reid spoke over him & didn't really give him a chance to make his argument.

What bothers me the most about this Whole Thing, is how simple minded Democrats & their Shills think the Black American Collective are. They purposely twisted Byron Donalds' comments w/ the intent of gaslighting Us into rejecting a 'Black Republican' & his obvious Agenda. Rep. Donalds has made some pretty outlandish & Simp Worthy comments, so he doesn't really need their help. On top of that, Black Americans posess Reading Comprehension; We know how to draw Our own conclusions & don't require spoon feeding by Democrats & their Shills. The ongoing effort by Dems to tell Blackfolk How to Think Politically is beyond insulting. Black America is NOT a Monolith; among Us are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Progressives, Conservatives, Socialists, & Non Party Affiliates. We have multiple ideologies, but We can ALL 'Agree to Disagree', & coalesce around Core Issues that are important to Us as a Collective.

The 'All Lives Matter' conversation about American Marriage Rates & Family Structure over the decades is very true, but Rep. Donalds was speaking to Blackfolk in Philly about the Black American Dynamic. Abby Phillips & Joy Reid's insertion of Everyone Else comes across like a diversion away from yet another Black Specific Issue. The focus on the horrors of Jim Crow only, & not on the fact that Black Marriage Rates actually were higher before 1968, is pure politics. The effect of LBJ's 'Great Society' on Black Families can B debated, but NO ONE can deny that Democratic Policies over the last 50Yrs have done more harm to Us than good. Once thriving Black Communities are being gentrified on a Nationwide scale. Black Home Ownership is back down to 1968 levels. Blackfolk are politically mature enough to listen to All Sides of an Argument & draw Our Own conclusion.

We don't have to agree w/ Byron Donalds' Politics to acknowledge the fact that the Black Marriage Rate fell dramatically after 1968. His fatal error, was obviously referring to the Jim Crow Era BY NAME; as a Timeline for comparison of Black Marriage Percentages. In retrospect, I think that he would just give the Years in question.

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

The NY Times

By Mattathias Schwartz

Feb. 10, 2025

A federal judge on Monday said the White House has defied his order to release billions of dollars in federal grants, marking the first time a judge has expressly declared that the Trump White House was disobeying a judicial mandate.

The ruling by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island federal court ordered Trump administration officials to comply with what he called “the plain text” of an edict he issued on Jan. 29.

That order, he wrote, was “clear and unambiguous, and there are no impediments to the Defendants’ compliance with” it. 

Judge McConnell’s ruling marked a step toward what could quickly evolve into a high-stakes showdown between the executive and judicial branches, a day after a social media post by Vice President JD Vance claimed that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” elevating the chance that the White House could provoke a constitutional crisis.

“It’s very rare for a president not to comply with an order,” said Victoria Nourse, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who served during the Obama and Biden administrations. “This is part of a pattern where President Trump appears to be asserting authority that he doesn’t have.”

But for some of President Trump’s allies, it is the judges ruling against Mr. Trump who are out of bounds.

“Activist judges must stop illegally meddling with the President’s Article II powers,” wrote Mike Davis, who heads the Article III Project, a conservative advocacy group.

Already, more than 40 lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration challenging Mr. Trump’s brazen moves, which have included revoking birthright citizenship and giving Elon Musk’s teams access to sensitive Treasury Department payment systems. Judges have already ruled that many of these executive actions may violate existing statutes.

Judge McConnell previously ordered the White House to unfreeze federal funds locked up by a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget that demanded that billions of dollars in federal grants be held back until they were determined to comply with President Trump’s priorities, including with ideological litmus tests.

On Friday, 22 Democratic attorneys general went to Judge McConnell to accuse the White House of failing to comply with his earlier order. The Justice Department responded in a filing on Sunday that money for clean energy projects and transportation infrastructure, allocated to states by the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill, was exempt from the initial order because it had been paused under a different memo than the one that prompted the lawsuit.

Judge McConnell’s ruling on Monday explicitly rejected that argument. 

The judge granted the attorneys generals’ request for a “motion for enforcement” — essentially a nudge. It did not find that the Trump administration was in contempt of court or specify any penalties for failing to comply.

However, the judge was straightforward in his finding that an initial temporary restraining order that he issued Jan. 29 was not being followed.

“These pauses in funding violate the plain text of the T.R.O.,” Judge McConnell wrote. That earlier ruling ordered the administration not to “pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate” money that had already been allocated by Congress to the states to pay for Medicaid, school lunches, low-income housing subsidies and other essential services.

It was still not clear how the White House would respond. Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, suggested the president would ultimately prevail in court.

“Each executive order will hold up in court because every action of the Trump-Vance administration is completely lawful,” he said. “Any legal challenge against it is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people.”

But Judge McConnell made clear that White House officials were obligated to comply regardless of how they thought the case might conclude. In his ruling on Monday, the judge quoted an opinion from a previous case noting that “persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect.” 

The showdown is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump’s opponents to get congressionally approved funding flowing again. Another order requiring that the disputed funds be released was issued last Monday by Judge Loren AliKhan of the District of Columbia. That case was filed by a coalition of nonprofits represented by Democracy Forward. 

Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward’s chief executive, said that if there were to be a standoff between the executive and judicial branches, she hoped that the legislative branch would step in. 

“That is really a call to action for Congress,” she said. “The judicial branch is not going to be able to stop this unlawful and extreme use of executive power on its own.”

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Natasha Korecki at NBC News:

David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 shooting at his high school in Parkland, Florida, who turned into a national anti-violence activist, has launched a bid to serve in leadership of the Democratic National Committee.  Hogg, 24, announced on Monday he is running to become a vice chair of the DNC, arguing he would focus on winning back young voters who have drifted from the Democratic Party to Republicans. That shift came profoundly, and abruptly, in November, when young voters who predominantly favored President Joe Biden just four years earlier backed Donald Trump in larger numbers than any Republican presidential candidate since 2008, according to NBC News exit polling.

“Moving forward, we must have a renewed focus on our youth outreach in all states and territories to rebuild our coalition after the massive shift to the right among young voters this election,” Hogg said in a statement. Beyond reaching out to young voters, Hogg is urging the party to take a deeper look within itself to assess the setbacks that befell Democrats on Nov. 5. He was critical of some of Kamala Harris' team, among others, saying they took on an almost blasé attitude after the vice president lost, despite warning repeatedly of dangers that Trump would bring to democracy if reelected.

"You raised an absurd amount of money. This was our race to lose, and we lost it. And it's time to really peel back the curtain and say, 'Okay, what did we do wrong?' Instead of just protecting the consultants that brought us into this place in the first place," Hogg said in an interview. Hogg said he is aggressively tackling the race to become DNC vice chair, having already emailed every one of the 448 active members of the DNC who would cast a ballot in the election and rapidly booking follow-up conversations. Hogg expressed outrage over what he described was a lack of awareness by the party in the months before the election. Hogg said that at a brunch during the August Democratic National Convention in Chicago, he asked why the party wasn't doing more to reach out to young men. "I got messages from different consultants saying, 'Here you go, saying this stupid stuff again.' As if they know what young people are thinking, when it's emblematic of the broader problem at hand for the Democratic Party, where we would rather choose to live in a consultant-curated fictional reality," Hogg said.

[...] Hogg's announcement is the latest in recent activity around new DNC leadership, since current DNC Chair Jaime Harrison announced he was stepping down. The party itself is reeling after losing the White House to Trump despite outspending him and boasting of superior organizational strength in the weeks leading up to the election.

David Hogg, who was brought into the spotlight in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL, will launch a bid for the DNC Vice-Chair.

[ericdeggans]

Best TV of 2024: The Director's Cut - My full list of the best TV I saw over this year

Now that we’ve had a few days to show off the picks from all of NPR’s critics for Best Film and TV of 2024, I figured I could use my little corner of Tumblr to dish on my longer list of best TV shows from the past year.

I’ve been in this game since 1997, and for a long time the networks and studios which made TV assumed their audiences were less sophisticated and less demanding than filmgoers. They gave them simpler plots, which mostly revolved around people talking in rooms, with storylines that spelled out every emotional beat in excruciating detail.

No more. The best TV these days is indistinguishable from film – other than its length – with visual stylings and grand displays cribbed directly from the most influential figures in cinema.

Here's th list, starting with...

Shogun (FX) – It’s tough to describe how big a swing this show was for FX, which sunk many millions of dollars into an epic miniseries centered on feudal-era Japan with dialogue largely in Japanese and a story de-centered from the white, British sailor once used as a window into the culture in previous versions. Its story on the price of duty, the pain of loss, the courage required to resist dysfunctional leadership and sometimes unappreciated value of unfamiliar cultures spoke perfectly to the current moment.

LINK: Talking Shogun on Pop Culture Happy Hour

Shrinking (Apple TV+) – I’m a sucker for comedies that lean into the complexities of life, featuring characters who have been around tackling the issues which arise when you live long enough to learn how much you don’t know. This show manages all that and more, unlocking an ace supporting cast – including greats like Jessica Williams, Harrison Ford, Michael Urie, Ted McGinley (!!) and  Christa Miller.

Disclaimer (Apple TV+) -- Yeah, lots of people found this series manipulative and implausible. But I think director/writer Alfonso Cuaron delivered a series which took advantage of streaming’s breadth to deliver a story which evolves over episodes, leaving you rooting for different characters as the narrative unfolds, delivering a gut punch twist at the end.

Click here: Disclaimer is a thriller built for the streaming age.

The Diplomat (Netflix) – Feels like an alternate universe, where government staffers are good at their jobs and working hard to save the world, but Keri Russell is outstanding as a no-nonsense diplomat who stumbles into a sprawling conspiracy in Britain and then must face TV’s most formidable vice president, Alison Janney’s Grace Penn.

Click here: Diplomat is just as savvy in season 2.

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist (Peacock) -- It’s easy to dismiss whatever Kevin Hart does as empty, flashy comedy – okay, that may tell you what I think of his standup specials. But this is a blaxploitation-inspired, Black-culture-filled dramatic thriller masterpiece featuring heavyweights like Sam Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Don Cheadle and Terrance Howard in the story of how America’s biggest Black gangsters came to Atlanta for a landmark Muhammad Ali fight and wound up getting robbed by thieves that had no idea who they were ripping off.

Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in Two Pieces (Apple TV+) – You don’t realize how much you don’t know about one of the most beloved comics in Hollywood, until you watch these two films, which dig into his life using an archive filled with items and footage from Martin’s own vaults – including a list of bits shows he used to do as a kid for Boy Scout troops.

LINK: New Steve Martin doc spotlights a legend with nothing left to prove.

Hot Ones (YouTube) – A magnificently unassuming reinvention of the celebrity TV talk show interview, turning the format on its head by having big names answer often-incisive questions which eating increasingly hot chicken wings (or a veggie version). The show’s not-so-secret weapon is host Sean Evans, whose easygoing style and talent for asking questions these often-interviewed celebrities have rarely heard, creates the show’s signature moments.

Have I Got News for You (CNN) – TV’s third place newschannel is not the place you would expect to see a fresh, funny American translation of a classic British news satire program. But when you put Roy Wood Jr. in the driver’s seat, backed by Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black, great things happen.

Somebody, Somewhere (HBO) – A sweet story about urbane misfits who build a potent found family, anchored by the ace team of Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller.

Doctor Who (Disney+/BBC America) – Hiring Ncuti Gatwa and letting him bring his infectious, sultry wide-eyed energy to TV’s legendary Time Lord was the best idea this franchise has had in a very long time.

Click here: Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa feels sorry for critics of show’s diversity.

True Detective: Night Country (HBO) -- The only thing better than watching Jodie Foster and Kali Reis dig into heroically antiheroic character in this Alaska-set masterpiece was seeing how freaked out anthology creator Nic Pizzolato got in seeing showrunner Issa Lopez revitalize his fading anthology with a potent dose of female and indigenous energy.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime Video) -- Turning a reboot of a failed espionage story into a meditation on starting a new job, falling in love and maintaining a relationship across cultures is a heavy lift. But somehow Donald Glover and Maya Erskine managed it.

The Bear (FX) -- Sure, its third season has a lot of underwhelming moments. But the episode dedicated to Liza Colon-Zayas’ Tinas Marrero is better than most anything else I saw on TV this year.

Hollywood Black (MGM+) -- Dear White People creator/showrunner Justin Simien directs this amazing docuseries tracing the evolution of Black images and performers in Hollywood, based on the landmark book by historian Donald Bogle.

The Day of the Jackal (Peacock) – A smart, compelling way to turn a James Bond-esque thriller about the hunt for the world’s best assassin into a limited series that, despite its slightly outlandish ending, made me believe ginger scarecrow Eddie Redmayne could be a highly trained killer.

The Penguin (HBO) – The best superhero series without a superhero I have seen yet, anchored by Colin Farrell’s transformative performance.

Black Doves (Netflix) -- Keira Knightley is so good she makes you believe in a character who had two children with a man while spying on him over 10 years for a shadowy intelligence agency, whose life threatens to unravel when her lover is assassinated. And that’s not even factoring in Ben Whishaw, another scarecrow-thin British actor playing a hitman and Knightley’s backup.

Honorable mentions

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (ID)

The Boys (Prime Video)

Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime Video)

X-Men ’97 (Disney+)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Photographer (National Geographic)

The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

[mariacallous]

The Kamala Harris campaign is launching its own Twitch channel, where it will be streaming the vice president’s acceptance speech on Thursday.

The Twitch channel is part of the campaign’s broader strategy for engaging young and difficult-to-reach voters online. The account, which is under the handle of “kamalaharris,” joins the campaign’s suite of social and streaming accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube.

“The VP’s address tonight will be one of the biggest moments of the entire campaign thus far—and we’re making sure we’re bringing her live to voters wherever they may be, Twitch included,” Seth Schuster, a Harris spokesperson, told WIRED in a statement. “Our job as the campaign is to break through a historically personalized media landscape, taking the VP and her vision for the future directly to the hardest-to-reach voters and those who will decide this election.”

The Harris-Walz campaign has invested heavily in digital, hiring more than 175 staffers across digital organizing, content creation, and digital advertising and fundraising. In the week after Harris jumped to the top of the Democratic ticket, the rebranded KamalaHQ TikTok account quintupled in followers, and its Harris-focused content received 232 million views and 33 million likes.

There are also 200 creators who have been credentialed to cover the Democratic National Convention this week. It’s the first time independent creators have been allowed access to the DNC, and they’ve been provided with opportunities to interview politicians and party leaders like DNC chair Jaime Harrison.

The Harris campaign isn’t the first to join Twitch. The Joe Biden and Donald Trump campaigns joined Twitch as well in 2020. Trump’s account was suspended following the January 6 attack on the Capitol and was only reinstated this summer. When the Biden channel launched, the Biden team streamed a live feed from the back of a train he was traveling on while playing lo-fi beats reminiscent of 24-hour relaxing music streams.