Why Would a Freshman Congress Member Feel Qualified to Be Speaker?

[Hortensis]

84. 4du, they pledged with NO idea who would replace her.

This isn't choosing a chair for the publicity committee of the local Our Revolution chapter, this is the United States Congress.

A huge battle is underway for the soul and direction of our nation. Our future lives and wellbeing depend, some literally, on the success of House Democrats.

AG’s office: No right to privacy for voter data: The Kansas Attorney General’s office says in legal filings that Kris Kobach shouldn’t be held personally liable for exposing sensitive data about Kansas voters and that those affected have no constitutional right to privacy for their information.

Chinese-style 'digital authoritarianism' grows globally: Governments worldwide are stepping up use of online tools, in many cases inspired by China's model, to suppress dissent and tighten their grip on power, a human rights watchdog study found Thursday. The annual Freedom House study of 65 countries found global internet freedom declined for the eighth consecutive year in 2018, amid a rise in what the group called "digital authoritarianism."

The Freedom on the Net 2018 report found online propaganda and disinformation have increasingly "poisoned" the digital space, while the unbridled collection of personal data is infringing on privacy.

The researchers said online freedom also declined in the United States in part due to the rollback of "net neutrality" rules which ensured that all data be treated equally, without "fast" or "slow" lanes for commercial or other reasons. It said online freedom also faces threats in the US as a result of the reauthorization of a surveillance law and a "hyperpartisan" environment in social media marked by large disinformation efforts.

NY Times: Your Children’s Yellowstone Will Be Radically Different: Over the next few decades of climate change, the country’s first national park will quite likely see increased fire, less forest, expanding grasslands, shallower, warmer waterways, and more invasive plants — all of which may alter how, and how many, animals move through the landscape. Ecosystems are always in flux, but climate change is transforming habitats so quickly that many plants and animals may not be able to adapt well or at all.

Trump Administration Plots Costly Private-Care Expansion for Veterans: The plan sets up a clash with Democrats, who say the administration is thwarting congressional intent and will starve the VA health system to pay for private care.

ACLU: Prisoners Are Getting Paid $1.45 a Day to Fight the California Wildfires

A Courtier for the Imperial Presidency: For almost 20 years, Brett Kavanaugh has been a consistent voice in favor of maximal executive power and privilege.

The Civil Rights Movement Is On The Ballot This November: In the lead-up to this year’s midterm elections, HuffPost Opinion asked writers to examine the many ways that voting ― a fundamental and hard-won civil right ― is imperiled in the United States. ...

Don’t fool yourself for a second by thinking the movement is a closed chapter in history, or that its work is finished. The struggle for civil rights goes on in 2018 ― and just as in 1870 and 1965, it runs straight through the right to vote.