Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 29

US will not enforce Biden wheelchair passenger protection rule

USDOT said in a filing it is writing a new rule and will not enforce the requirements imposing airline liability for mishandled wheelchairs or a requirement for airlines to reimburse passengers using wheelchairs the difference between a fare on a flight taken and the fare the passenger would have paid on a flight if their wheelchair could have fit in the cabin or cargo compartment of a different aircraft.

People whose wheelchairs are damaged have died because replacement chairs are expensive and a temporary chair may not be as supportive as it should be leading to pressure sores which can lead to infection and death far faster than people think.

Power wheelchairs for quad/paraplegics cost more than a vehicle, more than the 30k wheelchair van I had to buy to transport my partner around. And if your insurance says it's too early to replace the chair then you could be fucked if the airline refuses to pay or drags their feet.

The Supreme Court Just Rewrote the Constitution to Give Trump Terrifying New Powers

The emergency docket is being used to overthrow decades of precedent, but it is doing it in an unprecedented manner, both in speed and scope. While eventually, these rulings can become precedent, they are not by themselves considered precedent, having not reasoning or even any analysis by lower courts.

In other words, watch how quickly the Supreme Court changes its tune if a Democrat president wants to stop a Republican congress by withholding foreign aid to Israel.

States sue DOJ over rule requiring citizenship proof for sexual assault services

A coalition of states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over a rule change requiring survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence to immediately prove their citizenship status in order to receive certain federal aid.

White House freezes $26 billion in funds for 16 Democratic-led states

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities.

The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress's top two Democrats, and $8 billion for green-energy projects in 16 Democratic-run states, including California and Illinois.

FBI agent relieved of duty over refusing Comey perp walk, four people familiar say

An FBI agent was relieved of duty for declining to arrange a "perp walk" of the bureau's former director, James Comey, in front of news media cameras after Comey was federally charged last month, four people briefed on the matter said on Friday.

This is even more of a thing because he was given a summons to appear, not a warrant for his arrest.

YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle lawsuit over Trump’s account suspension after Jan. 6 attack

Google’s YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit President Donald Trump brought after the video site suspended his account following the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol following the election that resulted in him leaving the White House for four years.

President Tony Soprano once again paid a bribe by weakling corrupt American business.

Trump was 'on the verge of outright insanity' in deranged speech to military commanders

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell details how military commanders who listened to Donald Trump’s “deranged” speech have to be wondering “just how much more dangerous their jobs are now that they've seen just how lost and sick their Commander-in-Chief is.”

Government agencies are blaming the shutdown on Democrats. Ethics experts say it could be against the law.

Agencies across the federal government are explicitly blaming Democrats for the government shutdown — from banners on top of public websites to suggested out-of-office messages for federal employees — in an unusually overt show of partisan messaging that some ethics experts say may violate federal law.

The deluge of statements bashing Democrats began hours before the shutdown Tuesday with a single red pop-up posted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website. “The radical left are going to shut down the government,” the page read.

The shutdown would “inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands,” the website stated. “The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.”

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling

A video of Chicagoans intervening and stopping man from being abducted/arrested in the middle of a street - even watching this is painful IMO but he does not get arrested in the end.

As a commenter said, the speed with which they fucked off (and the incompetence and lack of training) suggests they didn't have a clue who they grabbed or had a warrant for him.

Trump says US to impose 100% tariff on movies made outside the country (Reuters)

100% of what, is the question. What's the wholesale price of a movie? Movie studios are pretty creative about expenses. Maybe they could make the movie itself worth a dollar, somehow, and charge expenses some other way?

Until there are more details, I don't think it's possible to judge the impact.

From The White House: Democrats’ Unhinged Crusade Against ICE Fuels Bloodshed

The carnage in Dallas, Texas — where a maniac with “ANTI-ICE” ammo gunned down an ICE field office in an attack clearly targeted at ICE personnel — lays bare the deadly consequences of Democrats’ unhinged crusade against our border enforcement.

Democrats have spent years vilifying ICE as “fascists,” “the Gestapo,” and “slave patrols,” inciting a 1,000% surge in assaults on agents and a wave of Radical Left terror. Their words aren’t just reckless — they’re a battle cry for violence.

The above was published on September 26th; the commentary below on October 2nd.

Trump Publishes Enemies List To White House Website, And It’s Just Democrats Speaking The Truth

If you want to read the full list of official White House enemies, go ahead and click through. But it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, even as recently as last week when the DHS did the same thing because people weren’t being deferential enough to the thuggery that makes up ICE’s daily activities.

And, of course, everyone on the list is a member of the Democratic Party, which means this is also partisan bullshit and, sadly, another indictment of the complete cowardice of the GOP, which also includes supposed “libertarians” like Rand Paul who can’t be bothered to vehemently attack egregious government overreach when it’s Republicans wearing the jackboots.

FBI cuts ties with Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti-Defamation League after conservative complaints

It's not hate and terror if it's right-wing hate and terror.

From last August:

K-8 school next door to Portland ICE facility plans immediate move

A K-8 school adjacent to the federal immigration enforcement facility in South Portland is moving, citing negative health and safety impacts of federal officers’ response to protests.

...

Cottonwood announced plans to begin searching for a new property May 9, expecting a yearslong process to decide on a location. But with federal agents frequently deploying tear gas and other munitions against protestors this summer because of President Donald Trump’s expansive deportation efforts, school leaders and parents say the quiet neighborhood south of downtown is no longer safe.