Category Archives: Legal/Political Columns

A collections of my popular ramblings concerning the law, Natural Law, and political issues. Enjoy!

Tonight: Justice! and a Little More Justice!

22 Friday Feb 2019

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Last fall I mentioned a case before the Nine, dealing with excessive fines and the waning Bill of Rights. They must have read that as they voted unanimously to uphold a shred of liberty.

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday that the Excessive Fines Clause in the 8th Amendment applies to state and local governments.

Announced in an opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on her second day back on the bench following a December cancer surgery, the ruling limits states’ abilities to seize property and impose fines deemed excessive on citizens who break the law.

“For good reason, the protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history: Exorbitant tolls undermine other constitutional liberties,” wrote Ginsburg, as the court sided with Tyson Timbs of Marion Indiana, whose $42,000 Land Rover SUV was seized by the state following a guilty plea for selling $385 worth of heroin to an undercover detective.

The larger development may be Ginsburg writing “Anglo-American history.” Easy, sister – don’t go overboard and allude to The Posterity at a time like this.

And, what a great time this week has been. Special people, nationwide, are getting a little justice – Juicy Smallest (whatever), R. (“Rape?”) Kelly, and maybe even Jeff Epstein.

Federal prosecutors, under former Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, broke the law when they concealed a plea agreement from more than 30 underage victims who had been sexually abused by wealthy New York hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

While the decision marks a victory for crime victims, the federal judge, Kenneth A. Marra, stopped short of overturning Epstein’s plea deal, or issuing an order resolving the case. He instead gave federal prosecutors 15 days to confer with Epstein’s victims and their attorneys to come up with a settlement. The victims did not seek money or damages as part of the suit.

It’s not clear whether the victims, now in their late 20s and early 30s, can, as part of the settlement, demand that the government prosecute Epstein. But others are calling on the Justice Department to take a new look at the case in the wake of the judge’s ruling.

“As a legal matter, the non-prosecution agreement entered into by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida does not bind other U.S. Attorneys in other districts. They are free, if they conclude it is appropriate to do so, to bring criminal actions against Mr. Epstein and his co-conspirators,’’ said lawyer David Boies, representing two of Epstein’s victims who claim they were trafficked by Epstein in New York and other areas of the country.

No need to wait on a judicial decision from any District. We’re under a declared State of Emergency. Light Epstein, Acosta, and the other enemies up, Mr. Trump. Let the good times (and heads) roll.

Once You Go ISIS, You Can’t Come Back

20 Wednesday Feb 2019

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Not to Alabama.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that an Alabama woman who joined ISIS but now wants to return home with the 18-month-old son she had with her ISIS husband will not be admitted back into the United States, saying she is not a U.S. citizen.

“Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States,” Pompeo said in a statement. “She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States. We continue to strongly advise all U.S. citizens not to travel to Syria.”

Not to England, even; they’re blocking the brides too.

And, the ISIS brides demonstrate so much of what is wrong today. In a word, they are “faithless.” They leave the “home” country (where they never belonged anyway) for Syria and the enemy camp, willful participants in the madness. Many see nothing wrong watching others blown to pieces. But, when it’s their necks on the block, they jump and try to run. The only commitment they have is to their own selfish, moronic whims. We have enough voters, thank you. Stay. Out.

It should be this easy with all “refugees.”

Fake News, Real Consequences

20 Wednesday Feb 2019

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Maybe $250 Million consequences.

Attorneys representing the Kentucky high school student involved in a confrontation that went viral on social media last month announced Tuesday that they were suing The Washington Post for $250 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Kentucky, accused The Post of practicing “a modern-day form of McCarthyism” by targeting Nicholas Sandmann and “using its vast financial resources to enter the bully pulpit by publishing a series of false and defamatory print and online articles … to smear a young boy who was in its view an acceptable casualty in their war against the president.”

Chief Hobo should lose his war drum too.

Mum’s Not the Word

20 Wednesday Feb 2019

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The national government’s debt, again, hit a record high.

Washington (AFP) – More massive than the US economy, the national debt hit a new record of $22 trillion under President Donald Trump but Republicans who traditionally rail against debt and deficits have remained mum.

The sum of borrowing to cover chronic deficits as well as growing interest payments, this mountain of debt already stood at $19.95 trillion when Trump entered the White House, reaching the equivalent of US GDP for the first time since World War II.

The Republicans have not been silent. They’ve been Yea-ing along the whole time.

At First Glance

18 Monday Feb 2019

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This new poll looks good.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thirty-five percent of Americans name the government, poor leadership or politicians as the greatest problem facing the U.S. This is the highest percentage Gallup has recorded for this concern, edging out the previous high of 33% during the 2013 federal government shutdown.

But, dig a little deeper and it starts to look like that declining IQ in action.

The current percentage of Americans naming government as the most important problem is nearly twice as high as the 18% recorded in November. That increase likely reflects public frustration with the government shutdown that occurred from late December through most of January. Gallup observed a similar double-digit spike spanning the 2013 government shutdown, from 16% in September 2013 to 33% in October 2013.

Americans have different things in mind when they name the government as the most important problem. An analysis of the verbatim responses to the question from the latest survey finds that 11% of Americans specifically cite “Donald Trump” as the most important problem, while 5% name “the Democrats” or “liberals” and 1% “Congress.” About half of those who say the government is the most important problem — 18% of U.S. adults — blame both parties or cite “gridlock,” “lack of cooperation” or the shutdown more generally. The latter figure has grown from 6% in December and 12% in January.

If the government’s the problem, then why not celebrate it closing (even temporarily)?

Bottom Line
Federal government shutdowns have clear, negative effects on Americans’ views on a variety of measures, including their general satisfaction with the direction of the country. But shutdowns aside, Americans’ views of the government itself as a problem — rather than the means of solving problems — have increased over the past two decades. On one end of Gallup’s 2001-2019 trend is the record low of 1% naming the government as the greatest problem, recorded one month after 9/11. On the other end is the latest 35%, as the longest shutdown on record left bad feelings on both sides of the political aisle.

At the moment, Democrats and Republicans are aligned in this view, though likely for different reasons. For Democrats, the shutdown was a stalemate over a border wall they overwhelmingly reject — from a president of whom few in the party approve. For Republicans — who show an even greater recent increase in mentions of government as the top U.S. problem — the ramifications of losing control of the House of Representatives and the party’s inability to pass legislation it favors may be dawning on the party’s rank and file.

The people seem to sense some sort of odd issue emanating from the Democrats and Republicans. But they keep identifying as Democrats and Republicans. Einstein had a saying about this pattern of action. Also, there’s more cooperation at work than most people understand; the uniparty keeps the government going and the government keeps causing trouble. And, if one still believes that the United States Empire is in any manner democratic, then where does the ultimate blame lie? Maybe with the … people themselves?

A little good news from the other findings in this particular poll: the second biggest problem the wise citizens see is with immigration. However, given their track record with accurately assessing their own chosen number one issue, Lord only knows what they’re thinking about number two. My guess is that, whatever that is, it is also indicative of the general mental decline.

Related:

Vox Day on confusing the Nation with the State:

A Real State of the Union

16 Saturday Feb 2019

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From a real Western leader: Viktor Orban’s State of Hungary, 2019:

As I see it, after ten years of collective effort, Hungarians once again have confidence in their future. Confidence in the future is a great treasure, which must not be squandered. This is why we must speak clearly about what our nation can expect from the future. What will it have to contend with, what tests of strength should it expect, how well is it prepared to compete in the world? Are the Hungarian people, the Hungarian state, the Hungarian nation, capable of survival and endurance, capable of emerging victorious from these tests of strength? This question is a serious one – indeed a deeply serious one – and it therefore demands an honest answer. My answer is that over the course of around ten years our nation got back on its feet. Its descent into the valley became an ascent of the mountain. It has regained the right to determine its own fate; and for this reason alone it stands ready to fight the battles awaiting it, and has the chance to win. In short, my reply is this: we shall win; we shall win again and again!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For us victory is not when our party wins: for us victory is when our country wins. I am one of those who share the deep conviction that every Hungarian child will have a better life than his or her parents – and I believe that the great majority can take advantage of this opportunity. We are the community that has always wanted the life of every Hungarian to count, and for everyone to have their place in the Hungarian future. Our community stands on national foundations. We are not engaged politics in order to follow fashionable ideas, but to sustain the Hungarian nation and its continued life in the future.

…

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Migration boosts crime – in particular, crimes against women – and spreads the disease of terrorism among us. But we must not get bogged down in our fears. We must see beyond our fears. We must understand that the European peoples have come to a historic crossroads. Those who decide in favour of immigration and migrants – to whatever end they may do so – are in fact creating countries with mixed populations. The historical traditions of these countries are coming to an end, and a new world is unfolding. In immigrant countries a Christian-Muslim world is coming into being, with a continuously shrinking percentage of Christians. There are some who do not mind this, and there are some who dismiss the issue with a wave of the hand, because they believe that this will be a slow process. They are wrong, and they will be surprised. An ethnic group of 10 per cent will first increase to between15 and 20 per cent. Then everything will speed up, and the rest requires no imagination, just simple mathematics. Those of my age will live to see the rapid transformation of what were once great Christian countries. It makes our hearts ache, but we can do little to help. Once on the express train they will reach the final destination. And there is no return ticket. However, we Central Europeans still have our own future. We have our own future which is the continuation of the lives of our parents and grandparents, the preservation of the traditions of a thousand years, the protection of our economy, our families and our Christian culture. Such a future is also possible. To be more precise, such a future is possible for us.

America is far gone. There is hope, still, for Western Europe. Eastern Europe, having defeated Nazism and Communism and having rejected Globalism, needs no hope – they’re going to be fine. The future of the West is in the East. The fun of it too:

 

PrioritieS

14 Thursday Feb 2019

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Democrats and Republicans have theirs. Their priorities and interests (and allegiances) do not align with yours.

A Republican-Democrat spending bill being offered to President Trump spends nearly 40 times as much on foreign aid as it does on a wall to secure the United States-Mexico border.

Though Trump requested about $5.7 billion to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a spending package written by elected Republicans and Democrats funds just $1.3 billion for 55 miles of wall at the border.

Meanwhile, the deal spends nearly 40 times as much American taxpayer money on foreign aid as it does on a border wall. In total, about $50 billion is spent on foreign aid, including: [a whole bunch of stuff we cannot afford and do not need].

Surely the next election will be the cure, right?

Up, Up, and Away … FedGov Debt at $22 Trillion

12 Tuesday Feb 2019

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Another stupendous milestone on the road from incompetence to ruination:

The national debt surpassed $22 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, a milestone that experts warned is further proof the country is on an unsustainable financial path that could jeopardize the economic security of every American.

The Treasury Department reported the debt hit $22.012 trillion, a jump of more than $30 billion in just this month.

The national debt has been rising at a faster rate following the passage of President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax-cut package a little more than a year ago and as the result of congressional efforts to increase spending on domestic and military programs. The nation has added more than $1 trillion in debt in the last 11 months alone.

“Reaching this unfortunate milestone so rapidly is the latest sign that our fiscal situation is not only unsustainable but accelerating,” said Michael A. Peterson, chief executive officer of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan organization working to address the country’s long-term fiscal challenges.

I vaguely recall when both the debt and the annual budget passed the $1 Trillion mark – now a mere year’s deficit. I’m sure this is all Trump’s fault. Nothing the Long Green Mile Deal won’t cure. Strike that. Nothing the Grace Commission can’t conserve our way out of.

Screenshot 2019-02-12 at 6.37.27 PM

Figure dated 2/12/19, PM – surely higher now … hell, was nearly $50,000 higher immediately after I screenshot…