"The Left is blocking Wall funding AGAIN. We can't give up now…So I'm 5x matching all gifts today to Save The Wall!" That's @SteveScalise, minority whip, fundraising just now in a text.
SUGGESTED RESPONSE: Here's $0. Why didn't you get this done when you were in the majority?— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 19, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
This isn't a baker not selling me a cake. If Twitter said "We think you're too conservative. We don't want you," that would the baker not selling me a cake. Thiis is the baker pretending to sell me a cake but actually it's a hollow shell filled with nothing. https://t.co/ccoyIk8p02
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 19, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
"But Twitter is free." Not really. I'm giving them access to my data, which they are (trying to) monetize. That's 'consideration' (as lawyers say) in the New Economy! And-if they shadowban-they've obtained it on questionable pretenses, no? https://t.co/mVvPHPt4NY
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 18, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
SHADOWBAN THIS: Isn't shadowbanning a form of fraud? If a baker were to sell you a cupcake and it's filled with sawdust, you could sue him. If Twitter were to say you can post and then deceive you into thinking others can read your post, what's that? https://t.co/KNJvDZfc6F
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 18, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
Did GM ever give Lordstown a winning car to produce? '69 Caprice, Vega, Monza, Buick Skyhawk, Cobalt, Cruze? What a depressing list. Even if they'd done a great job screwing them together.
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 18, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
BFD: Does @Twitter admit it shadowbans now? Their email doesn't quite do it, but in conjunction with Davis' statement that the tweet was still visible to him, seems close to proof. What's the excuse for shadowbanning? If you're going to ban, ban. This is Lives-of-Othersy. https://t.co/eKBOaxl5Nt
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 18, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
Oy, he's another annoying Phish person. https://t.co/ZobxWjnu2L
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 18, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
KEEPING UP with THE SCHLAPPS https://t.co/RvLNoAWIn0
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 18, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
"Trump has latched onto all kinds of ideas ….But the auto industry asked for almost none of them." https://t.co/rtj4rvEknO The idea that public policy should reflect what industry sectors ("stakeholders") ask for seems a core fallacy of DC lobbyng/media culture–aka corporatism
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 17, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
"DHS Releases 84.5K Border Crossers, Illegals into U.S. in Two Months." Adds up to half a million a year just for "catch & release" alone. https://t.co/frids1CWW2 via @BreitbartNews
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 17, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
*Unlimited* guest workers? Who needs open borders?
Trump/Jared going to go for that? https://t.co/LpygFmSjVq
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 17, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
The H-2B guest worker lobby? Isn't one of those groups the one that hired Matt Schlapp, head of CPAC (and husband of @RealDonaldTrump's Director of Strategic Communications)?
See "Seasonal Employment Alliance" here: https://t.co/o4h6OA83ex https://t.co/Ywii0PMqXJ
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 16, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
Also: Fighting and losing isn't the same as actively betraying, in the belief that the base is *so* happy with all the fighting-and-losing on the wall that they'll swallow a big immigration increase.
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 16, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
.@HenryOlsenEPPC: "For the mass of [Trump] fans, all he must do is fight"–not win. Convenient for him if true. But does he need the "mass" of his fans, or *all* of them–and then some, to make up for suburban erosion? https://t.co/FljslzOKuw
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 16, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
IS THIS TAKE TAKEN? If the system were as rigged as people say, would Felicity Huffman et al have had to cheat? The meritocracy was about to weed out their kids, or at least deliver some downward mobility.
Take termperature: Hot? Luke? Cold? Ice Cold?
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 16, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
“Bannon recalls Kushner furiously shouting at him at the White House in 2017 after he confronted Kushner about holding secret talks with senators on immigration reform. 'He goes from a little boy to, like, this fucking devil,' ” https://t.co/Ebc41ppCMa Might be spin. Might not.
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
I'm saying he fought not-very-competently, he prioritized other issues (eg Ryan's tax bill, Obamacare repeal), he appointed people who didn't want to fight (or actively opposed his agenda), took the base for granted and failed for two years. https://t.co/d83M7ZUHlW
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
"With increasing competition for fewer hourly workers, Costco is not the only one raising pay. Amazon, Target, and Walmart have all raised minimum wages in the U.S. over the last year." https://t.co/MkQDjyx5OV Tight labor market=bosses no longer in the saddle.
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
Means-testing entitlements is not crazy. Also not necessarily non-"progressive." https://t.co/AvGmfY4rNI
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
That's the debate isn't it? My view: we elect Presidents in part to persuade Congress to pass laws. GOP had both houses. There were many things GOP & Dems wanted. A pol's job is to make it happen. The wall wasn't even a heavy lift for a skilled pol. Asylum tightening also doable. https://t.co/1szvF6cVt6
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
"Workers at the lower end of the pay scale finally are getting the most benefit from rising wages" Can't have that. Somebody do something! … https://t.co/EyeLWLih45
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
V-useful rant/thread running through Trump's immigration failures–counterpart to Coulter's by-the-numbers indictment Wed. https://t.co/aeG7KWMiDu
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
Taranto is Boot's Javert. He seems to have him dead to rights. https://t.co/Df3qY7uXSR
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
So there's ZER0 miles of "new" wall or fence. But how many miles of hop-over "vehicle barrier" have been replaced by tall wall/fence–a huge improvement? The answer seems to be about 20 miles. Not impressive. There are 280 miles of "vehicle" fence. https://t.co/xSrlRDIRpB
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey
"[Toomey, Lee, and Rubio] all voted against Trump despite their collective desire for more barriers on the border." If all these Senate Republicans support more wall, why didn't they do something about it in the budget? https://t.co/opOMR9648b
— Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) March 15, 2019
from Twitter https://twitter.com/kausmickey