Fun times, right? Things are coming fast and furiously with Trump. I am not sure what I think, but if nothing else, he is shaking things up. And frankly, our federal government needs to be shaken up a bit. D.C. has all become too entrenched and needs to be "woke".
Just to review the last few hours, the acting AG Sally Yates made a public statement that she would refuse to defend Trump's immigration executive order, yet did not explain why. And within the hour, she was replaced by the US Attorney of Eastern District of Virginia Dana Boerte.
I quickly "googled" Boerte and this was what was posted by Wikipedia:
But it wasn't a completely wasted day. I do see hope. As I was walking to the subway this morning, I overheard a conversation between a father and his grade-school age son - "...and that is what they call an "executive order...". That's all I heard. And if I had not been walking in the opposite direction, I would have loved to have continued eavesdrop on the rest. At least one child is learning something.
I am sure that more will happen in the next 24 hours that will cause yet another Hollywood star to go insane, so just keep breathing slowly and don't hyperventilate. All that CO2 is bad for the environment.
Comment-away!
Just to review the last few hours, the acting AG Sally Yates made a public statement that she would refuse to defend Trump's immigration executive order, yet did not explain why. And within the hour, she was replaced by the US Attorney of Eastern District of Virginia Dana Boerte.
I quickly "googled" Boerte and this was what was posted by Wikipedia:
Dana J. BoenteYeah. Within the 5 minutes I tried to get a screenshot, it was gone.
Attorney
Dana James Boente is the newest sock puppet for the Trump administration Wikipedia
Born: February 7, 1954 (age 62 years), Illinois
Education: Saint Louis University
But it wasn't a completely wasted day. I do see hope. As I was walking to the subway this morning, I overheard a conversation between a father and his grade-school age son - "...and that is what they call an "executive order...". That's all I heard. And if I had not been walking in the opposite direction, I would have loved to have continued eavesdrop on the rest. At least one child is learning something.
I am sure that more will happen in the next 24 hours that will cause yet another Hollywood star to go insane, so just keep breathing slowly and don't hyperventilate. All that CO2 is bad for the environment.
Comment-away!
Yates replacement Dana Boente once said “No one is above the law. Not a high public official, not even the highest public official in the state."
ReplyDeleteDoes this include the president of the US?
http://wtvr.com/2015/01/06/federal-attorney-on-mcdonnell-sentence-no-one-is-above-law/
The resignation of an Obama holdover who was only keeping the seat warm for Sessions is utterly meaningless.
ReplyDeleteThe report that a couple of Trump appointees and at least one high ranking Republican politician were surprised by the visa proclamation indicate trouble down the road.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/30/acting-ag-tells-justice-department-staff-not-to-defend-trumps-refugee-order.html
Yates' abrupt decision deepened the chaos surrounding Trump's order. The Associated Press reported that at least three top national security officials -- Defense Secretary James Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, who is awaiting confirmation to lead the State Department -- have told associates they were not aware of details of directive until around the time Trump signed it. Leading intelligence officials were also left largely in the dark, according to U.S. officials.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said that despite White House assurances that congressional leaders were consulted, he learned about the order in the media.
Bev and Anthony, This isn't troubling in the least. In fact, think about it reversed...
ReplyDeleteObama signs some executive order doing something liberal. The Bush holdover refuses to defend it when it gets challenged. Obama fires them. He gives a speech which says something like, "Elections have consequences and we will no longer allow the forces of the status quo to stand in the way of progress."
The media would be falling over themselves to talk about how great this was and the drones on the left would be lapping it up.
This is nothing new.
As for "Ed", it looks like a progressive came and pooped on our doorstep. I'll clean it up in a minute. As you might expect, his point is utter horsesh*t.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI agree the holdover getting fired is nothing. I think the problem is Trump supposedly didn't bother to consult with his appointees about policies they would play a role in implementing.
For this one visa issue the mainstream doesn't care about, sloppiness isn't a big deal. Down the line on a different issue, that could be a very big deal.
Andrew, leave it. It serves as a reminder.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Andrew, let the pooper stick around. You never know, with a little well-reasoned civility, we may be able to civilize him.
ReplyDeleteSince Ed is clearly depositing the latest leftist talking point, I'll take it apart so everyone knows it when they see John McCain and Lindsey Loha...Graham repeating it.
ReplyDelete1. The idea of being "above the law" is a smear in this case. The idea of being "above the law" is mentioned in criminal contexts. There is nothing criminal here and no application. If something is wrong with the Executive Order, it gets stayed and everyone moves on. No big deal.
In fact, using this idea, Obama was "above the law" in almost all of his actions as so many of his Executive Orders and appointments were shot down by the courts. Arrest the bastard! LOL!
If you want real "above the law," that would be Hillary. And after the left's willingness to overlook her email crap, no one on the left has the credibility left to attack someone for being above the law. Sorry Ed, no one wants to hear this from your side.
2. There is zero reason for a US Attorney to refuse to defend this order. That's purely a political decision. And a US Attorney who won't do their job is rightly terminated.
Here's the thing: the order isn't illegal. The left seems to think that it's illegal because it "discriminates." What their drones don't get though is that discrimination is only illegal on certain bases and there's nothing here that qualifies.
And even a few seconds of thought will confirm that. If you can't single out country of origin when setting immigration policy, then the whole system would collapse. We treat many countries differently depending on their "issues" and we always have. It's not wrong.
The only way this executive order could be "illegal" is if it exceeds the authority the President has compared to what Congress gave him. BUT, the Congress and Courts have long given the President vast discretion to handle the immigration system. What's more, Congress apparently already gave Obama the power to do each of the parts of this. So no sale.
And definitely no sale enough to say that a US Attorney has no reasonable basis for defending it.
3. I really don't care. With the childish f*cktard way the left is acting, I don't care what they complain about. They have lost the right to complain about law, hypocrisy or anything else. Actions have consequence and you have lost my tolerance with your actions.
Anthony, That part does bother me, but remember that we are in the very young stages of a new administration. These are the kinds of hiccups you see. Hopefully, they will learn from this and will take greater care in the future, or you will be right about the future.
ReplyDeletetryanmax and Bev, Sorry, didn't mean to suggest I would delete it. I just meant it would take a bit to shoot it down... had to get some caffeine first.
ReplyDeleteI think the point is that Trump is acting like a business executive who doesn't have to consult anyone rather than the executive of a vast/wide/deep bureaucracy where he can't without political fallout. Perhaps he didn't get that memo. Hopefully, he will have a really steep learning curve that will slow down the process just a bit and maybe the rest can dial down the hysteria to maybe 10 or 11...
ReplyDeleteI agree Yates' firing means nothing, except in that lefties have bated breath for Hitler. At this point, their collective egos demand a tyrant. It's a volatile thing.
ReplyDeleteMy advice, sell stock in posterboard and sharpies, buy stock in lighter fluid and bricks.
BTW, I saw an article reminding us that Obama fired Gen. Stanley McChrystal when he said something Obama didn't like about their policy... and the left LOVED it.
ReplyDeleteBev, The left will not tone down the hysteria. They will run out of gas when summer begins, but they won't stop. This is the new left. They are a creature of hate and lies whose goal is to bully everyone into being just like them.
ReplyDeleteAs for Trump, what I think he needs to learn from this is to cast a wider net before he acts. He needs to bring in more people from different cabinet departments who might have valid input before he acts in future.
trynmax, I agree. I think the issue on the left is psychological. They need their boogeyman to be real or else they need to admit that the ideas upon which they have built their world and explained away their failures aren't real. They can't tolerate that, because if they are wrong then (1) they will be responsible for their own problems and (2) they will lose the comforting thought that everyone else is just like them.
ReplyDeleteHating Trump prevents that from happening and they are willing to lie and compartmentalize to do it.
In many ways, it is like dealing with a cult.
Bev, corporations have their internal politics, too. Trump appears to be employing a typical "new manager" strategy: shake things up and see what falls out. Stubborn nay-sayers can quit or get the boot, good-faith challengers hang on and get promoted.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to regard as hypocrites any of the Tea Party wave of Republicans and pundits who cried for "government run like a business" and are critical of Trump now. This is what that looks like.
tryanmax, On this point ==> I'm beginning to regard as hypocrites any of the Tea Party wave of Republicans and pundits who cried for "government run like a business" and are critical of Trump now. This is what that looks like.
ReplyDeleteI'm holding back judgement. I think what we are seeing with Trump is a "new thing." He's running the White House in a way we haven't seen in our lifetimes and we don't know yet if it will succeed or if it needs to be adapted.
At the same time, be careful judging people because of the echo chamber effect. The left and the media are in full hate mode and it's hard for average people to sort through that or ignore it. Hence, you see a lot of people who hear how something is a disaster before they even see the fact. You see people who assume things can't be going well because of all the screaming.
Nevertheless, it seems that Trump's support is 53-43, which is probably as good as it gets in divided America today. So people are cutting through this. They just aren't being heard because the media is all about the attackers.
BTW, Oprah says she's going back on television to try to "heal divided America." If she's legit, then I applaud her and wish her well.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm seeing tons of calls for "unity" and stop being "divided" and every one of these is a call by some leftist to help them destroy Trump and force everyone back into the collective groupthink.
I hope Oprah is different. She has proven to be in the past.
Another BTW, Trump just announced that they will keep Obama's Executive Order granting benefits to partners of gay federal employees. One more "Trump wants to round you up" myth dismissed.
ReplyDeleteBut...the Westminster Dog Show (in NYC this week) has just announced that it will include...cats. I...am...not...kidding.
ReplyDeleteOh, Trump is going to be announcing his SC pick. From what I gleen from Twitter, he may be having the person jump out of cake.
ReplyDeleteThe Dims in our legislature are upset that the GOP won't let them have a pay raise....waahh!
ReplyDeleteIt appears Trump is bringing both Gorusch and Hardiman, his top two picks for SCOTUS, to DC for the announcement. He really is being the reality show president! I can't stop laughing. This is great!
ReplyDeleteCritch - The entire NY state legislature is waaaahhh cause Gov. Coumo (in re-election mode) and the repubs won't approve a raise until the Leg passes ethics regulations. They whine they haven't had a raise since 1997...they already get paid better than most taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteThey should know better after the thrashing the NYC Council took (and continues to take) 'cause they done voted themselves a 20% raise with no imput from anyone...They are all up for reelection too...
Tryanmax - It makes me laugh, but it also makes me really nervouse that it is getting a little to close to resemble "Idiocracy" too.
ReplyDeleteBev, if four years of giving the country what it wants/deserves isn't enough to piss off everybody, surely eight years will be!
ReplyDeleteIn seriousness, Trump is only treating this the same way politics and SCOTUS watchers treat it, albeit with parodic flair. Not to say that a SCOTUS pick isn't important, but the important work is already done in narrowing the field to two. When the work is done, it's time for fun!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I don't see any reason to think Trump would play "You Bet Your Life" with the nuclear arsenal.