DC Tom

I'm not in her district. I'm nothing more than a spectator.

This is a disjointed word salad that says absolutely nothing.

I think you're drunk again. Go to bed.

More than any other fire footage, this shocked me. Imagine the panic that all those medical supplies and equipment being scattered around represents.

Not exactly. Most of the state has distinct rainy and dry seasons (roughly December to March, and April to November, respectively), and a couple of years ago the rainy season was rather rainier than average. This led to abundant new vegetation growth, that is now providing a good amount of fuel in the current dry season. That's compounded by the Santa Ana winds from the mountains, which enhance the fires and make them fast-moving. The recent drought has something to do with it - it killed a lot of trees, which provides more fuel. But in a lot of the pictures you see, the trees are still standing (e.g. here), although scorched. So it's not the trees that are serving as fuel, so much as the brush that's grown since the rain they had about 20 months ago. It's not coincidental that the worst fire right now (the Camp Fire) is practically on top of Oroville Dam, that had the spillway failure from excessive rain in February 2017.

My new favorite conspiracy theory: California wildfires are caused by lasers and intended to clear the land for the bullet train.

For now, but he'll have more flexibility after the election...

I really don't care who thinks he's a hero. He's still "Assmange" to me.

Again: no need to call on him. Don't, and he'll just interrupt everybody.

How DARE they limit children's vegetable consumption!

Want to take this opportunity to point out that he says Whitaker is unqualified for an acting AG position because of failed businesses...but Ocasio-Cortez is qualified despite here failed businesses.

Yep. It's a much more difficult question with the advent of social media. In previous administrations, "the press" for the purposes of White House briefings was defined by the Press Secretary. And generally, any obviously questionable exclusions (e.g. Fox, by the Obama administration) was met with protest from the rest of the press pool - recognize major outlets have together jealously guarded their privilege, despite what differences they might have. Conversely, minor or fringe outlets could be excluded without comment...and even including them might unify the major outlets in protest (I recall Ari Fleischer mentioning such in his memoirs.) . But the important point in all of those historical instances is that "the press" was defined at an institutional level. Even the iconic Helen Thomas, who's position in the press corps late in life was in no small part honorary, still represented Hearst, and not herself as an individual. Whoever defines "the press," it's always been defined institutionally and not individually within the context of the White House Press Corps. Even the stay, in this case, is a distressing move away from that...and like GG says, careful what you wish for. And I wish Thomas was still alive and in the press corps today. She would have knocked Acosta in to next week and kicked his ass on Tuesday for his antics.

How much more evidence do you need? WAKE UP SHEEPLE!!!!

There isn't one. There is, however, freedom of the press. And historically courts interpret First Amendment issues very broadly in favor of the people and against government control. Which is not to say I support Acosta, or this stay. I understand the stay, and am not surprised by it. But I think that "freedom of the press" does not extend to "freedom of one person to demand a pass to be a disruptive jackass at press briefings." It's not "the press" that's having their "freedom of the press" suspended. It's Acosta's presumed individual right to be an *****, which the Constitution does not grant.

He was Sessions' chief of staff, and you think he has no experience?

To simplify it further, in deference to Otto: the Senate confirms NOMINATIONS, not people.

Why do people think "no questions taken" is going to make a difference when Acosta alreadt acts like the rules don't apply to him. Cancel the press briefings, starting immediately.

Especially after I earn enough liberty bells to add Juan de Sepulveda to my Continental Congress. (If anyone gets that reference...God help you.)

He's thriving!

I'm actually kind-of enjoying this exchange. He's digging himself deeper holes than normal..."principal" vs. "minor" Senate confirmations, simultaneous ignorance of multiple points of Constitutional law and statute, bizarre beliefs in the transferability of Senate confirmations, complete willful ignorance of standing precedent, incoherent nonsense about the "line of secession" in government agencies. He's really going above and beyond on this. Not so much throwing ***** against the wall, as much as fire-hosing diarrhea against it.

Yeah, you don't know ***** about warfare. You know about fighting. Those are not the same thing. That you think they are the same thing shows how incredibly ignorant you are.

No, I only talk ***** like that to the liberals that want illegal immigrants "because they do the jobs we won't do!" That's labor exploitation at best. Not infrequently, it falls to the level of human trafficking and slavery. If Democrats actually believed the ***** they claim, they'd be dead set against illegal immigration.

They tried using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, but the computers kept bursting in to flames.