Travel Ban II Overturn: When Legal Reasoning Is Lost

Justice, Law, Reason, Religion, The Courts, The West

Alan Dershowitz doesn’t grasp the extent to which traditional western legal reasoning has broken down, or is being dismantled, in American courts. Likewise, conservatives rabbit on about liberal judges. Replace them and respect for the Constitution will be restored.

But there’s much more to the fact that, “A federal district judge in Hawaii has just issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) blocking the key provisions of the President’s revised Executive order that pauses the refugee program and admittance of foreign nationals from 6 terrorist hotbeds (Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen) until thorough vetting can be put in place.” (Via ACLJ. RELATED: “ACLJ Goes to Court, Files 2 More Briefs Defending Revised National Security Executive Order.”)

You have a court that is seeking to establish a precedent, whereby taking “statements made during a political campaign” are used to “strike down a faithfully constitutional executive order,” as Dershowitz put it. (“Dershowitz: Why the Supreme Court will uphold Trump’s travel ban.”)

To CNN, Dershowitz said this:

… here you have a judge who is finding statements made during a campaign, if you can take the statements into account, Trump loses if the statements are devastating. But if the court rules that you can’t take those statements in account and you have to look only at the text of the order, then Trump wins because the court is dead wrong when it says it’s unconstitutional if it includes six countries all of which are 90 percent Muslim. That’s perfectly constitutional because that’s what Obama did. So, what the court rules if Obama does it, it’s constitutional, but if Trump does it, it’s unconstitutional because of what Trump said during the campaign. That is a fascinating constitutional issue.

WRONG. This legal brain storm is not fascinating; it’s frightening, because absent from it are certain fundamental givens of Western legal reasoning.

As Hawaii’s Trump travel ban ruling (full text) stands, the American Bill of Rights belongs to THE WORLD, and was written to enrich the American immigration-law industry and its clients the world-over.

Lie Down With The Enemy, Get Up Without The Presidency

Donald Trump, Politics, Republicans

Donald Trump is making a HUGE mistake that could cost him the midterms and/or make him a one-term president. He thinks he can defang the snakes he has gathered around him in the administration. President Trump has hired individuals who do not articulate the principles he ran on and jump at every opportunity to stick it to him.

“Hiring different perspectives in business could well be a strength. But it’s not a strength when it comes to politics and policy. In politics, you want a team that shares a political philosophy.”

The main mamba is Paul Ryan, much loved and admired by MSNBC (see: “An Ode To Paul Ryan By MSNBC’s Left-Liberal Lawrence O’Donnell”), CNN and most liberal media. The GOP news media love Ryan, too, but are scared to come out as fans lest Trump Nation retaliate.

Like Pavlov’s dog, Ryan, the Damien look alike (I’m only ever referencing the old, excellent, 1970s-19802 Omen/Damien movies; there is no other, as far as I’m concerned) can’t but appear to please the CNN interviewer while making the president look bad. (See: “Ryan: I’ve seen no evidence wiretap occurred.”)

Poor Damien, purr CNN’s empaneled women. The lovely, wonkish young Ryan [despised by Trump Nation] would rather legislate than have to defend The Donald.

Damien: Omen II (1978)

UPDATED (3/15): Things That Haven’t #MAGA, So Far

Business, Donald Trump, Foreign Policy, Political Philosophy, Politics, Republicans, Russia, UN

Foreign Policy:

We’re peace-keeping on Syria. Policing the world doesn’t make America or the world great again. I thought President Trump promised we wouldn’t be enabling the UN’s ineptitude any longer.

President Trump has hired individuals who do not articulate the principles he ran on. Gov. Nikki Haley, for one. When the rest open their mouths to speak, too many sound nothing like what was promised. The generals scare me. America First? Where? In Yemen? Hiring different perspectives in business could well be a strength. But it’s not a strength when it comes to politics and policy. In politics you want a team that shares a political philosophy.

It’s a mistake to allow Russia mania to ramp-up without decisively and repeatedly articulating the need to get along with powers which share mutual, non-neocon interests.

UPDATE (3/15): The swamp is still swampy.

Support Steve King. America Is A Western Civilization

America, Britain, History, Nationhood, Political Correctness, The West

It was not the monarchy of Buganda or tsarists Russia that inspired and sired America’s Founding Fathers, to create the freest, most prosperous country on earth. It was England, home of the Magna Carta, John Locke and the British Enlightenment. The American Founders were equipped with a particular faith, Christianity, and a specific set of ideas concerning the nature of human beings, their natural rights, in particular, their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and, yes, PRIVATE PROPERTY. These ideas were unique to Western Europe.

For suggesting as much, Steve King is being labeled and maligned (which Trump Nation should not tolerate). Via Time:

Geert Wilders “understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

In an interview Monday on CNN, King said he stood by his remarks. King said, “I meant exactly what I said,” and noted that he delivers the same message to countries in Europe.

“We need to get our birth rates up or Europe will be entirely transformed within a half a century or a little more,” King said.

Paul Ryan: