Patterico's Pontifications

2/16/2019

Is the Mere Existence of a Law a Sufficient Reason to Use It? Ask the Resistance!

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 11:00 pm



After Alan Dershowitz said that Andrew McCabe’s musing about using the 25th Amendment to the Constitution would be “unconstitutional,” all the Smart People derided Dershowitz:

Ha, ha, get it? Invoking the 25th Amendment can’t be unconstitutional because it’s in the Constitution! It doesn’t matter that McCabe’s proposed invocation of that provision would be bogus! The provision is there! And that’s all you need to know!

But these same Smart People are saying that Trump can’t just declare an emergency! It’s unlawful!

But Congress gave the President the power to declare an emergency. The provision is right there in the law! All of a sudden it matters whether someone is invoking the provision in a way not intended by the drafters?

If I didn’t know better, I might think that the Smart People aren’t being entirely consistent…

149 Responses to “Is the Mere Existence of a Law a Sufficient Reason to Use It? Ask the Resistance!”

  1. Nancy pelosi says if trump can declare a national emergency over a wall democrats can declare national emergencies over gun violence and climate change. if conservatives on court uphold trump then bend over and kiss your bullets and maybe your guns good bye!

    lany (88b896)

  2. “If I didn’t know better, I might think that the Smart People aren’t being entirely consistent”

    OUCH!

    Joe - the non constitutionalist (debac0)

  3. Elizabeth Warren
    @ewarren
    Back when I was a kid, a minimum-wage job could support a family of three. Today, a full-time minimum-wage job in America won’t keep a mama and a baby out of poverty. Our movement is about making real, fundamental change to fix this.
    __ _

    Luke Mertens
    @stork02
    Someone get her a MAGA hat.

    _

    harkin (e15868)

  4. 3. Real fundamental change to fix poverty in America would mean LESS government interference, NOT MORE.

    Gryph (08c844)

  5. 5. POTUS may prevail, but so did Obama. And we have George W. Bush to thank for the existence of the TSA. And the EPA, that bane of so many conservatives’ existence, was a gift from Republican Richard Nixon. Politicians are not our friends.

    Gryph (08c844)

  6. Take it to teh bank, lany! Always trust teh crazy-eyed lady who can’t settle on a denture adhesive what works!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  7. Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump
    The Democrats seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country from the Southern Border, risking thousands of lives in the process. It is my duty to protect the lives and safety of all Americans. We must build a Great Wall, think Merit and end Lottery & Chain. USA!
    __ _

    Jussie Smollett
    @JussieSmollett
    Shut the hel* up you bit** ass nig***. You will continue to run this country further into the ground and risk lives every time you breathe. You’re not the president. Just a dumpster full of hate. FOH. Sick to my stomach that literal sh** currently represents America to the world.

    Guess which of these two people the media were presenting as a hero last week.

    harkin (e15868)

  8. this is a very good post i would like to say

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  9. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a public bill signing on Thursday (2/14), and during her remarks, she wished reporters a “Happy Thanksgiving.” Thursday was Valentine’s Day.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzIDBus8l6M

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  10. rich-ass beer-swilling multimillionaire elizabeth warren lied about being an indian (of all things good lord) and stole away opportunities from real indians

    now she’s lying again Mr. harkin!

    the democrat party with its hitler-inspired green new deal is all about making EVERYTHING more expensive to where you pay more and get less of everything you consume

    they truly hate the poor and the middle class

    did you see what the bimbo in NY did on all those amazon jobs

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  11. Leave it to San Fran Nan to give us a lesson in fake emergencies:

    Nancy Pelosi
    @SpeakerPelosi
    The racist, homophobic attack on
    @JussieSmollett
    is an affront to our humanity. No one should be attacked for who they are or whom they love. I pray that Jussie has a speedy recovery & that justice is served. May we all commit to ending this hate once & for all.

    I think we can all agree w Nancy and pray that justice is served and the hate that caused this event comes to an end.

    harkin (e15868)

  12. Former Obama adviser Jen Psaki said of Jesse Smollett: “No one’s going to cry if Jesse Smollett goes to jail or when he goes to jail.”

    “He might like it,” quipped Jake Tapper.

    Psaki laugh and added, “He might. Who knows?”

    little rape humor there for ya

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  13. ugh that should say Jussie

    that’s a very good prison b name btw

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  14. The Constitution says that a president can be impeached for High Crimes and Misdemeanors.

    Suppose a party different from the president takes control of Congress with a large majority. They impeach him for the High Crime of “eating broccoli.” Which we always know has been a High Crime. And then the Senate removes him for that High Crime.

    Is that Constitutional? Or a bogus sham?

    Bored Lawyer (8ea02a)

  15. the corrupt and incompetent US military did not have a plan ready to implement the second President Trump declared a national emergency they knew was imminent

    no wonder these losers humiliated themselves so badly in afghanistan

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  16. The Fake News Media giveth and the Fake News Media taketh away, Mr. harkin.

    In both instances, of both the verpy foopter boys you mentioned. The Fifth Avenue Fathead and the Streeterville Storyteller.

    nk (dbc370)

  17. Charlie pierce deserves the Billy Madison treatment, but its smolletts template.

    Narciso (488997)

  18. did you see what the bimbo in NY did on all those amazon jobs

    Nobody cares if NYNY becomes a little more mercantilist or if Mrs. Bezos becomes a little more the richest divorcee in the world, or not, happyfeet.

    nk (dbc370)

  19. The one good thing that might come out of this mess is the Congress will rethink and rewrite the National Emergency Act and reassert its legislative authority under the Constitution.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  20. yeah nobody cares about ny that’s for sure but the people what got their futures upended by miss thang are genuinely hurt by this

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  21. Trump’s decree could be shot down by his own words: “I didn’t need to do it.”
    And there’s more than enough reason to suggest that his declaration is illegal and likely unconstitutional. It’ll depend how much deference this commander-in-chief is given. Eminent domain issues could very well trip him up.

    Paul Montagu (0eb929)

  22. Seton Motley
    @SetonMotley
    You and your media clown show don’t get to spend two weeks exploiting an obvious lie to abuse Trump supporters.

    And then dictate terms when your lying and/or stupidity is exposed.

    Quote Tweet
    S.E. Cupp
    @secupp
    The giddiness among Trumpsters over the Smollett news is gross. This story is awful. He allegedly abused police resources, exploited raw divisions in this country, and made it harder for every victim of a hate crime to report. This is sad no matter your politics.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  23. A wise man once wrote (I know because I read it): “Women are always trying to convince themselves of their own importance.” I wish people would stop aiding and abetting Chiquita Bananas in her endeavor. She is one of 435 Representatives, elected by 110,138 people (out of app. 731,000), in Bronx and Queens of all places. A poot in a bubblebath. A noisy poot, a noisome poot, but still a poot.

    nk (dbc370)

  24. 23… if Congress wants to change the statute, they can. They’ve given presidents the authority and Trump is on solid ground.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  25. Alexandria Overbite-Chompers for teh win!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  26. Dis ain’t no Wall, though, Haiku. It’s a bait and switch, very clumsily pulled.

    nk (dbc370)

  27. We have an emergency, this is an invasion. It is undeniable we have a major immigration problem and a political party that needs a permanent underclass for that party to remain viable.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  28. Trump’s decree could be shot down by his own words: “I didn’t need to do it.”

    Indeed.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  29. The Detroit Pistons could’ve won the 1988 NBA Championship Series.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  30. he’s clearly talking about politics – the context there is the election coming up

    he’s saying he coulda gone along with the corrupt chamber of commerce and their dirty rentboy Mhitt Rhomney and not declared an emergency, but he decided to step up and get the job done for the reason laid out in the declaration

    he’s certainly on much firmer ground here national security emergency-wise than George W. was when he ordered our sleazy military to go lose their joke wars on Iraq and Afghanistan or when buttboy obama sent our prancing tatters into Syria

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  31. Trump’s decree could be shot down by his own words: “I didn’t need to do it.”

    Yes, he said it was possible to wait out Congress and fund this incrementally over many years. But it was the President’s, ah, judgement that the situation was not one that could stand such a delay.

    What’s so hard to understand about this?

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  32. ‘Trump’s decree could be shot down by his own words: “I didn’t need to do it.”’
    Paul Montagu (0eb929) — 2/17/2019 @ 8:23 am

    But Rosenstein “needed” to invoke the special counsel statute at the prodding of McCabe, for the totally legit reason that the 25th amendment proved problematic.

    How does this get squared in consistency world?

    Munroe (9cd03b)

  33. If the GOP was smart — a big if — they would use this issue to attempt to restore the legislative veto, struck down in the 80’s in INS v Chadha.

    Back when the giant regulatory regime was created in the Nixon and Ford administrations, Congress reserved the power to veto regulations with a simple majority vote of one, or sometimes both houses of Congress. It also did this in the emergency powers law.

    The, an immigration regulation was vetoed and this harmed someone who had banked on it, so they sued and won. The Court struck down all legislative vetoes, moving an incredible amount of power from the legislature to the executive bureaucracy (aka the Deep State).

    Now, to undo an executive action, whether an emergency declaration or a regulation, Congress has to pass a resolution, get the president to sign it, or override his veto. Doesn’t happen a lot.

    It would take a constitutional amendment (or a big change of heart at the court) to undo this. THe GOP would have loved to in the past, but the Dems would’t consider it.

    Maybe they would now. It’s worth a shot.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  34. R.I.P:   W.E.B. Griffin, author of historical military fiction.

    https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/Obituary/article/79294-w-e-b-griffin-dies-at-89.html

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  35. c’mon honey waddle faster we’re just gonna go across the border and then you can have the baby and we’ll all get tons of welfare!

    *BONK*

    oh crap it’s a wall

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  36. No, this is Trump desperately trying to retain his fractional base. He ran with wall, because it rhymes with small, like the minds of his personality cult supporters.

    Trump barely won the electoral college by 80,000 votes spread out over certain counties in three states, and lost the popular vote by 3,000,000. And that was against the worst candidate the Democrats could have nominated.

    He will not have that advantage in 2020. He’s bleeding Independents, Libertarians and Switch Voters like a hemophiliac with hemorrhagic fever. He cannot win without them, because his base is too small. It’s so small, it couldn’t even get him elected dog catcher in a small town.

    What we’re talking about here is a gross abuse of executive power, and it will come back to haunt Republicans for decades.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  37. the torrent of violent diseased poverty pouring over the border will haunt america for a lot longer than decades that’s for sure

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  38. thank you President Trump

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  39. “I was being told by some combination of Andy McCabe and Lisa Page, that, in a conversation with the deputy attorney general, he had stated that he — this was what was related to me — that he had at least two members of the president’s Cabinet who were ready to support, I guess you would call it, an action under the 25th Amendment,” Baker told the committees.

    my money’s on swishy ladyboy turd-general jimmi mattis and his trusty little dog rex

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  40. Trump blew it when he signed the first omnibust…
    He let congress kick his azz.

    mg (8cbc69)

  41. “Yes, he said it was possible to wait out Congress and fund this incrementally over many years. But it was the President’s, ah, judgement that the situation was not one that could stand such a delay.

    What’s so hard to understand about this?”

    No he didn’t say this.

    “I could do the wall over a longer period of time, I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster. And I don’t have to do it for the election; I’ve already done a lot of wall for the election 2020. And the only reason we’re up here talking about this is because of the election, because they want to try and win an election which it looks like they’re not going to be able to do.

    And this is one of the ways they think they can possibly win is by obstruction and a lot of other nonsense. And I think that I just want to get it done faster, that’s all.”

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  42. Every Trump fan is also a Trump Whisperer. Ready to share what he really meant.

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  43. yeah cause for sure the most likely meaning of what he said is that he actually thinks the border’s just fine how it is with all the splicky-sploo flowing across

    yup that’s totes occam

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  44. McCabe lies under oath and no Stone like invasion of his home?
    How can anyone trust the department of b.s. justice? How embarrassing to work for these hacks.

    mg (8cbc69)

  45. This is how one ignores statutes like the ina and the secure the wall act in favor of feeling which is squids want.

    Narciso (73bb9b)

  46. “This is how one ignores statutes like the ina and the secure the wall act in favor of feeling which is squids want.”

    Insulting and incoherent as usual.

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  47. And every detractor ignores the 800 lb. gorilla that has been in the room for quite some time. The Democrat Party has a vested interest in removing as many barriers against illegal immigration as they can. They lie and cheat to promote and grow a permanent, anti-American underclass for their own political purposes.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  48. 48… that is a personal attack of the sort that is discouraged here.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  49. These affected states could always elect state and local government that lowers their own tax rates, but that fact is seldom mentioned…

    https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/washington/no-relief-in-sight-for-taxpayers-denied-deductions-for-state/article_14c4b72e-00d7-5e1c-8630-19cda8b8bb38.html

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  50. instead of sneering disdainfully at your comment-brother that he is incoherent, perhaps you could ask a question what would help him do clarity on it

    just a suggest for you

    have a blessed day now

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  51. No he didn’t say this.

    You believe him at odd times.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  52. I read Insta myself, prior to hitting these rounds on many days. I’ll swear off posting of any external links for # days, but I want the Col. to drop the insta or one-off Insta posts for the same # of days.

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  53. Paul at #23– one could simply recycle an old Tom Tancredo threat…”how about we build the wall on the other side of your house?”

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  54. And every detractor ignores the 800 lb. gorilla that has been in the room for quite some time. The Republican Party has a vested interest in placing as many barriers against immigration as they can. They lie and cheat to promote and grow a permanent, anti-American underclass for their own political purposes.

    FTFY

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  55. So much for justice being blind,

    Narciso (73bb9b)

  56. How does this get squared in consistency world?

    It’s simple. McCabe and Rosenstein understood that the Constitution puts limits on what they can do. That they can’t try to remove a President just because he is to all appearances a person heavily compromised by Russia.

    Trump does not. He could have vetoed the budget bill. He could have insisted on building his wall starting Jan 21,2016. He could have actually tried to convince the American public that The Wall is not what it really is, a waste of money, a diversion of resources, and a non-solution to a problem that is largely of Trump’s own making.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  57. The people who really want illegal immigration aren’t the democrats at all, it’s the industry people who can hire them to work longer hours in more dangerous situations for less money, if they can get away with it. You’ll notice we aren’t talking about any kind of employer crackdown. At all.

    Nic (896fdf)

  58. We aren’t amused at the travesty in Chicago, were angry about how resources were wasted whole classes of people were impugned just the serve the narrative,

    Narciso (73bb9b)

  59. rosenstein’s a corrupt piece of harvardfilth what wanted to wear a wire so the dirty bimbo-trash at the fbi could frame the president on a process crime like how they did on general flynn

    this is the kind of corrupt filth running the justice department

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  60. You’ll notice we aren’t talking about any kind of employer crackdown.

    ok

    our sleazy useless military and the rest of the corrupt us government refuse to secure the border

    so it falls on employers to dissuade the head lice hordes from coming over here pooping out their anchor babbies and gorging themselves on food stamps and free medical care

    this are not good logics much less wise policy

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  61. Case in point meg Whitman could not challenge the validity of the documents provided to her
    Then there are the sanctuary cities, and other artifacts of illegality

    Narciso (73bb9b)

  62. @63 They wouldn’t come and we wouldn’t be spending money on the wall if there weren’t jobs for them here. If there was less draw, we could save money on barriers and ICE and border patrol. Instead we will build the stupid wall (and continue pouring money into endless border security needs) and people will still have motivation to get here illegally however they can.

    Nic (896fdf)

  63. “The people who really want illegal immigration aren’t the democrats at all”

    ➜ Sanctuary cities

    ➜ Drivers licenses for illegal aliens

    ➜ In-state tuition for illegal aliens

    ➜ Voter ID based only on drivers licenses

    ➜ Opposition to English only

    Which party supports those?

    harkin (b5e7fd)

  64. “Then there are the sanctuary cities, and other artifacts of illegality”

    Sanctuary cities aren’t illegal. State and local polices agencies aren’t obligated to assist in immigration enforcement (a federal responsibility). Another lie by “small government conservatives”.

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  65. Which party supports those?

    Which party opposes any sane attempt at reforming immigration? It’s not the Democrats.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  66. Hide the wives and daughters
    Anthony is back in town.

    mg (8cbc69)

  67. @66 There is a difference between dealing with them once they are here and luring them in the first place.

    The people I know who are most for licenses and Sanctuary cities are actually in law enforcement, because they have to deal with the reality that these people are here and they then have a consistently used identy for a person and can use it to find them and because it’s easier to get people to testify if someone knows you aren’t going to just hand them over to ICE for doing so.

    Personally, I don’t care one way or the other about in-state tuition and the US has never been English only, ask your immigrant ancestors.

    Why aren’t we going after the employers at all?

    Nic (896fdf)

  68. Reforming immigration means amnesty like 1986, we aren’t going for that football again?

    Narciso (73bb9b)

  69. Paul Ryan was for open borders his entire career, he buys into the booooosh doctrine. No borders from Tierra-del feugo to the north pole. Republicans will never win the house in my lifetime.

    mg (8cbc69)

  70. Next time there’s a hoax by a participant in a hip hop entertainment enterprise, I want this guy in charge of local PD (is this the type of stuff nk is alluding to with his disdain of the 20 and out NYPD?): http://uproxx.com/hiphop/50-cent-death-threat/?fbclid=IwAR2w1-ndba2563R_vQFT9_e0oEHo8nD3ioD47oHH3Q6uKImIh9tvdFBUXrM

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  71. All they have to do stop insulting the people and maybe their ethnic cotravelers will vote on pocketbook instead.

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  72. Well how does it work in California again, you had the most blanc mange candidates imaginable, New York heck I forget who they ran last year, for gov. In Florida which everybody is always slamming there is more discernment

    Narciso (73bb9b)

  73. “Why aren’t we going after the employers at all?”

    Case in point: Recently, another one of Trump’s “best people”, Heather Nauert, withdrew as Trump’s pick as ambassador to the UN. The reason was that she employed an immigrant nanny who wasn’t authorized to work. A crime has been committed, nobody is disputing the allegation. Why hasn’t she been charged?

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  74. 61, I dont think any wipipo caught undeserved static for wearing a Cincinnati Reds or Kansas City chiefs hat out of a rush to judgement, though we are wrapping up our annual Auto Show (that and the August Air and Water Show are the only times you see MAGA ambling about anyway)…I wonder if attendance took a hit.

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  75. the dirty nanny should be deported and when she tries to scurry back like a louse-infested rat she needs to bonk her head on a wall and fall down on the ground

    ay caramba mi cabeza i ranned into a wall now i have to go back to my village 🙁

    employers have nothing to do with it

    this is obvious to anyone who is willing to do the analysis

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  76. What emergency; isn’t Mexico paying for it?

    “I will never lie to you…” – Donald J. Trump, 8-18-16

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  77. If you go hard on employers,you will turn legal and us citizen hispanics into an untouchable group for employment (are those really your papees?) same as black males (if I hire you, will I catch all kinds of lawsuits or worse for firing you)

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  78. Kishnevi,

    of course they oppose reforming immigration. They don’t want borders at all. Just one world, socialist government with cradle to the grave entitlements and a chain resting ever lightly on your neck.

    NJRob (4d595c)

  79. @80. Diapers, spankings, nannies; ‘Naughty Nauert,’ Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  80. What happened to the great elixir of remittance and/or border adjustment taxes?

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  81. If you like your strawberries you can keep your strawberries

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  82. douchebag paul ryan took his border adjustment tax ball and went home cause playing with you guys is no fun no more

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  83. @82 Are you seriously telling me that in a world where random people on the internet could find every address I’ve live at since the mid 90s with a single search that a proper employment ID system can’t be created and used by actual professionals?

    Nic (896fdf)

  84. Wasnt there a poster circa 2016-17 whose main claim to fame was saying that E-Verify has no real teeth as far as effectuating the termination and deportation of an employee caught using false documentation?

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  85. that *might* coulda been Mr. EPWJ

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  86. @78. $100K/month buys a lot of soda; why wasn’t Snowman charged?!

    “Have A Coke And A Smile” – ad slogan, 1979

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  87. It doesn’t matter that McCabe’s proposed invocation of that provision would be bogus!

    Of course, theer’;s the problem of determining what is bogus. This is maybe alot like the impeachment clause.

    The people who drafted the 25th amebndment, I can say without checking – I am not sure where to check – understood iot could be invoked for bigus reasons. That’s why they put in a lot of checks and balances dealing with acase where a preident disputed it. (and it’s written pretty well)

    The first thing they dealt with was with a president disabled like Woodrow Wilson – actually woodrow Wilson might have disputed it too. But we can have aun conscious president.

    Then theer is this:

    https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment25.html

    Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

    Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

    So you need BOTH a majority of the Cabinet the president appointed and didn’t fire AND the Vice President, and then you might need a two-thrirds vote of both houses.

    As iut turned out the 25th amendment was invoked for a totally unrelated reason: to name a Vice President, and as a result of that Gerald R. Ford became president in 1974.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  88. When will you people understand that illegal immigrants are like Nazi concentration camps? They’re only in places where the people want them.

    E-Verify is a fraud. Its purpose is not to prevent the employment of illegals. Its purpose is to give cover to employers who want to employ illegals. Which is a lot. Of employers. Who want to employ illegals.

    nk (dbc370)

  89. The largest employers of undocumented workers know what they’re doing. You can’t wake up someone who’s pretending to be asleep.

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  90. Yes, whatever once had teeth, they were false teeth, meant for show.

    And no, ULB, I won’t give anything up. And they can take my car keys when they can pry them out of my cold, dead, retired fingers. These future things will happen to me at some point in Teh Future…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  91. better grow your own strawberries because the crimalein picked berries are too much money offering no flavor.

    mg (8cbc69)

  92. Col. – Do you garden?

    mg (8cbc69)

  93. @93. By dawn’s early light, a Home Depot parking lot can be a regular Buchenwald.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  94. So does Lowes’ color scheme remind them too much of a Customs facility?

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  95. Also, if we expect Howard Schultz to ride herd on his former cos’ management to reverse the Starbuck’s new bathroom policies, should we not expect Ken Langone and Arthur Blank to have their former company’s break up the open air illicit labor markets at their front doors?

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  96. Time Has Come Today Teh Chambered Brothers

    Time has come today
    Teh Left can’t have their way
    Can’t put it off another day
    I don’t care what Schumer say
    He’s an old brokedick anyway
    Time has come today
    (Hey)

    Oh
    The rules must change today (Hey)
    Pelosi’s gone cray-cray (Hey)
    Try riding on teh subway (Hey)
    Teh flag has flown away (Hey)
    Teh chickens come home to roost (Hey)
    Dat damn Jussie faked a noose (Hey)
    Teh Wolf got loose (Hey)
    Teh Wolf got loose (Hey)

    Now the time has come (Time)
    There’s no place to run (Time)
    We might get burned up by the sun (Time)
    Dat don’t sound like fun (Time)
    I got old and put aside (Time)
    Those damn kids eatin’ packets o’ Tide (Time)
    And my prose has been infantilicized
    TIME HAS COME TODAY!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  97. 97… not yet, mg, but I will have time on my hands and a love of tomatoes, so who knows…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  98. amazon made 11.2 billion dollars and paid no federal income tax. average americans see their income tax refund shrink or they now owe money because paul ryan cut income tax withholding to fool them into thinking the corporate tax cuts were big cuts for them too! this is why democratic socialism is america’s future people don’t like amazon not paying income taxes at their cost of not being able to taking state and local tax deductions.

    lany (bb5670)

  99. 71. Nic (896fdf) — 2/17/2019 @ 12:02 pm

    Why aren’t we going after the employers at all?

    I think because they don’t want to wreck (or at least damage) the economy.

    Congress periodically passes laws that they would never ever stand for the consequences of enforcing them. Another one is recording when a person leaves the United States. This could create many difficulties for Europeans (and international conferences and trade) because the penalties for overstaying a visa are way too high.

    68. Davethulhu (e458f4) — 2/17/2019 @ 11:55 am

    Sanctuary cities aren’t illegal. State and local polices agencies aren’t obligated to assist in immigration enforcement (a federal responsibility). Another lie by “small government conservatives”.

    Not only are sanctuary cities not illegal, most of what ICE is doing (internal ebnforcement) is unconstitutional, although most people don’t realize that.

    What gives Congress any power to deport people? I see only a power to regulate foreign commerce and national defense and naturalization. Nothing about immigration.

    If you read the constitution carefully.

    http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution/full-text

    Article I Section 8 gives Congress power over naturalization but not immigration. A textualist approach would not read this into it. The same clause gives Congress power over bankruptcy. That does not give Congress the right to write a commercial code.

    And if you have some doubt, there’s the Tenth amendment:

    The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

    And if you still have some doubts about what I am saying, the power to admit people is specifically delegated to the states:

    Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 (emphasis mine)

    SECTION. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

    While that indicates some power of Congress, it is undoubtedly derivative of the power to regulate foreign commerce, and perhaps of the power to arrange relationships with other countries.

    But certainly nothing about internal enforcement.

    Remember in the 1850s the Know Nothing party proposed no legislation about immigration – only naturalization. Why?

    The current jurisprudence goes back I think to an 1876 case: Henderson vs Mayor of the City of New York, and it hangs by a thread, if it is based on anything at all. In fact that case is all about regulation of commerce.

    Immigration is not an enumerated power of Congress. It can control the borders, it can deal with national defense, and with foreign commerce, but it anot deport people. It can on;y naturalize oir not, and any naturalized person muts be admitted to every state. What we call “premanent residence’ may be considered a form of naturalization.

    You may argue that no Supreme Court would rule that way.

    But Trump has appointed strict constuctionists to the Supreme Court, and they combine witgh unprincipled liberals.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  100. 78. Davethulhu (e458f4) — 2/17/2019 @ 12:12 pm

    Case in point: Recently, another one of Trump’s “best people”, Heather Nauert, withdrew as Trump’s pick as ambassador to the UN. The reason was that she employed an immigrant nanny who wasn’t authorized to work. A crime has been committed, nobody is disputing the allegation.

    The reason that hapepned is that she didn’t pay taxes, so she didn’t discover taht the nanny didn’t have a Social Security number until later.

    Why hasn’t she been charged?

    Because nobody is. And, contrary to what Joe Biden once said, it’s probably more usual not to pay taxes than to pay them. A household is not a business.

    She paid the taxes belatedly.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  101. 61, It was obvious from the get-go that the Chicago attack on Jussie Smollett was a hoax, because hanging anoose or around anyone, or any symbolism involving nooses, is not something white racists have ever done. It is only used in hoaxes.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  102. @103. In 2010 GE generated $14 billion in profits and paid no federal taxes; their tax return was an estimated 57,000 pages- a request made by… Paul Ryan (R) WI. Defense contractor GE brings good things to life… but then, Amazon offers same-day-delivery.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  103. @106. Denying Chicago coppers full access to his phone was a bit of a red flag; Spartacus could be wearing red face from tweeting too Sioux-nnn.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  104. CNN Jake Tapper fake news thought dirty jussie would help redeem them after they got busted doing that hoax with the nasty lying native american man

    CNN Jake Tapper fake news doesn’t always think these things through

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  105. 71 “There is a difference between dealing with them once they are here and luring them in the first place.”

    Nonsense, if you subsidize certain behavior you encourage same behavior to continue, therefore even more to deal with.

    harkin (b5e7fd)

  106. Trump’s organizations employed undocumented foreigners for decades, only firing them en masse a couple of weeks ago. Isn’t that interesting timing.

    He’s a sham leader hawking a sham wall for a sham emergency.

    JRH (fe281f)

  107. He’s a great entertainer though, I’ll give him that.

    JRH (fe281f)

  108. Oh I don’t know. Self declared “smart people” are consistently stupid. Nothing new here.

    Skeptical Voter (9d65cd)

  109. Kitteh’s Dangler’s Back in Town”

    Dangler’s back in town (here he comes, now)
    Dangler’s back in town (oh, oh, all right)
    Dangler’s back in town (here he comes, now)
    Dangler’s back in town (oh, oh, all right)
    Dangler’s back in town (here he comes, now)
    Oh, Dangler’s back in town (oh, oh, all right)
    Dangler’s back in town (here he comes, now)
    Dangler’s back in town (oh, oh, all right)

    Now, Huma knows Dangler’s been untrue
    She also knows that he’s one sick dude
    But she’s so soft, he’s so mean
    When he sits in front of a screen
    She just sits back and sighs
    Ooh, ooh, ooh, what can I do?
    Ooh, ooh, ooh, what can I do?
    Ooh, ooh, ooh, what can I do?
    Ooh, ooh, ooh, what can I do?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  110. Insulting and incoherent as usual.

    Too close to the ilne of personally insulting. Try to watch that please.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  111. “Too close to the ilne of personally insulting. Try to watch that please.”

    Apologies to you and narciso

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  112. Because nobody is. And, contrary to what Joe Biden once said, it’s probably more usual not to pay taxes than to pay them. A household is not a business.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75) — 2/17/2019 @ 1:29 pm

    None of my friends have servants, so I disagree that it’s usual to forget to have your servants pay taxes. The main disconnect between the Trumps, the Romneys, the Bidens, the Clintons and the nation at large is that they are a ruling class, and we are a ruled class.

    Lots of millionares see illegal immigration as a great thing. A dependent, desperate group of people who won’t call the cops or quit their jobs that readily, who work for cheap, and hey, you usually don’t have to pay taxes because it’s a handshake arrangement.

    The people who clean their own toilets are more likely to compete against illegals for work, so they recognize illegal immigration as a problem.

    The GOP has cynically preyed on this issue, noting the democrats want open borders, so hey, no matter how lame the GOP is on the issue, it’s a binary choice so we have to vote GOP. And they have had years to do something, but they never do. They tell us to call our congressman, or get out the vote, but they don’t actually fix the problem. Trump had two years and did nothing. His ’emergency’ is articulated in terms of elections, but it won’t actually solve illegal immigration because he doesn’t wish to do so. He wishes to keep the aggrieved conservative motivated to vote, so he wants the crisis to remain a crisis. He has fixed nothing he promised to fix. Nothing. Obamacare, deficits, immigration, North Korea, ISIS, Russia… all of it’s the same or even worse, but we are supposed to line up and vote for him because it’s a binary choice and if we don’t show up we’re just as bad as democrats.

    It’s a bad joke. And it’s a beautiful day where I hope everyone just ignores the Washington Post and Pajamas Media and the endless BS. Very few pundits are us. Most of them sold out, and those who didn’t are constantly getting flack to sell out.

    Dustin (6d7686)

  113. @104 Then it’s just hypocrisy (or cynical political manipulation) at that point. If we need undocumented labor for a prosperous economy, then we shouldn’t be trying to get rid of it through either the supply or demand side.

    @110 Not really. Nobody is coming to the US because they might get a driver’s license or in-state tuition. They have those in their own country. People are coming to the US because they can get a better job.

    Nic (896fdf)

  114. there’s so many fun conversations we can have after we build that darn wall

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  115. “average americans see their income tax refund shrink or they now owe money because paul ryan cut income tax withholding to fool them into thinking the corporate tax cuts were big cuts for them too! this is why democratic socialism is america’s future…..”

    Kamala Harris just got four pinnochios from the WaPo for posting this sort of gibberish.

    Analysts were quick to point out that the amount of a person’s tax refund does not, in fact, show what they’re paying in taxes. The Independent Journal Review’s Madison Dibble wrote that Harris “might just not understand how tax refunds work,” explaining, “the reports that Harris referenced actually mean that Americans kept more of their money instead of having the government hold onto it.”

    The Washington Post’s editor and chief writer of its fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, tore Harris’ tweet apart completely, saying, “Boy, talk about a non sequitur that turns out to be nonsensical and misleading,” and pointing out that “the size of a refund tells you nothing about a person’s tax bill.”

    After breaking down the case for his readers, Kessler awarded Harris with “Four Pinocchios” for her comments, which is a ruling reserved for claims the paper deems to be “whoppers” on its rating scale.

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/2019/02/13/wapos-chief-fact-checker-calls-out-kamala-harris-over-her-attempt-to-slam-trump-tax-cuts/amp

    harkin (b5e7fd)

  116. 118 – Illegal Immigrants Cost the State of California $30.29 Billion Annually

    Illegal immigrants and their children cost the State of California a net $30.29 billion per year. This equates to $7,352 per illegal alien, or roughly 17.7 percent of California’s state budget.

    https://nationaleconomicseditorial.com/2017/02/21/costs-illegal-immigration-california/

    harkin (b5e7fd)

  117. This is why this issue will come to ahead as in Roman times, you had the Social wars (which were about servants in etruscan territory) a generation later there was the Spartacus rebellion and the caroline conspiracy

    Narciso (c1e842)

  118. “The main disconnect between the Trumps, the Romneys, the Bidens, the Clintons, the Bush Dynasty and the nation at large is that they are a ruling class, and we are a ruled class.”

    FIFY

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  119. That’s probably true, but the last three didnt even give lipservice to the idea of an American polity, and ultimately that is why they are against trump. We saw how Ryan sabotaged the Goodlatte bill with curbelo, neither prevailed but that was the point.

    Narciso (c1e842)

  120. Bruno Ganz RIP

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QHUDEX8iQo

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  121. Re Griffin he wrote a very picaresque and bawdy tale called the hunting party, which parallels his early army experience
    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/02/another_skeleton_crawls_out_of_ilhan_omars_closet.html?fbclid=IwAR14gtess9uDQRbHGqASEVNx4wrnHaVECZiuwM4cDn6MQKX7ZZl7nWck3L0

    Narciso (c1e842)

  122. Every time I get upset with Trump and start thinking maybe Hillary would have been better, the idea emerges again:

    Supreme Court 6-3 liberal.

    And in that moment I realize: unless Trump starts a losing thermonuclear war, it’s all good.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  123. @121. $7,352/illegal- and many of those workin’ the fields pickin’ fruit payin’ taxes?!- sounds like a bargain; it costs California taxpyers $75,000-$81,000 a year to incarcerate an inmate in prison in California- 75% of that for security and prisoner healthcare. 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  124. He would definitely kick the white mouse, Kevin.

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  125. Agreed, DCSCA, but the mutually beneficial math (to liberals and to fiscal conservatives) can kick yer arse later on, as with the mentally ill being mainstreamed and previously incarcerated felons being early released.

    Interestingly enough, the late Chas Krauthammer and now Mickey Kaus always cite “less Border Patrolmen” as a karnak answer card selling point of a long Wall, this might be a tell of their anti meathead prejudices

    urbanleftbehind (826a08)

  126. One positive benefit to a Wall. It doesn’t take bribes, call out sick, or expect a fully funded pension after it doesn’t retire.

    Kishnevi (1f8073)

  127. Narciso (c1e842) — 2/17/2019 @ 4:37 pm

    I admit to being old fashioned, but isn’t suicide or death while doing something criminal one of the standard reasons to deny life insurance payouts?

    Kishnevi (1f8073)

  128. Why were they the only two reps who voted against.

    Narciso (c1e842)

  129. @121 Unfortunately, the conclusions in the article don’t add up.

    10% of the population of the US is not here illegally.

    People are definitely paying more than $75 a month in the various state taxes (I was paying more than that 20 years ago when I was making just above minimum wage)

    They inflate the number of children because they don’t delineate out the kids born here legally when their parents were legal (visa overstays) so the numbers and costs of kids are inaccurate, they don’t include significant tax revenues, and they don’t look at comparative costs or deeper economic gains.

    There are legit reasons to limit illegal immigration, but people need to be honest with the numbers.

    Nic (896fdf)

  130. They have always snowballed the costs or the size of the cohorts, except when they overestimated Obamacare’s reach by 160% that was the much vaunted cbo.

    Narciso (c1e842)

  131. an 11 year old boy in lakeland floriduh (where else) was arrested at his school for not standing up for the pledge of allegiance because trump is president. the sub teacher told the boy if you don’t like it here why don’t you move back to africa. the boy answered I was brought here. the police handcuffed the child and arrested him in front of his class mates (a teaching lesson for black children?) and taken to jail.

    lany (1b1121)

  132. I thought the article on illegals had some very good backup vie Pew etc.

    Plus, he said this apparently in anticipation to those saying the numbers weren’t honest:

    While I am inclined to accept the higher estimates—and at the very least Dr. Zarandi’s eminently reasonable figure—I will proceed with this article using the number of illegal immigrants estimated by Pew Research and the DHS (11.1 million). This way my conclusions cannot be attacked for using “inflated” statistics.

    harkin (b5e7fd)

  133. @140 He only uses Pew for a couple of stats, the rest are from other articles if you follow the links through. Most of his costs are from kids, very few from adults, and he uses actual undocumented kids + “anchor babies” for his numbers. The “anchor babies” count for somewhere between 5 and 10 times the number of actual undocumented kids (depending on the count he’s using at that moment) and he doesn’t delineate out the number who were born to parents who were legal at the time of the birth of the child but have now overstayed their visa, which may be up to half of those “anchor babies”. So almost all of his “costs” numbers are bad.

    Nic (896fdf)

  134. There’s also the idea that remittances abroad are a cost…

    Kishnevi (86d06e)

  135. @142 (this would not be significant data for the article, just a hmmmm) My g’ma was a greencard holder from Europe (war bride) and we were once stationed in N. Europe. I wonder if they would have counted our birthday money as remittances abroad. 😛

    Nic (896fdf)

  136. That whole article is really an argument for amnesty. Because if they were here legally they would be paying their full tax burden…

    Kishnevi (86d06e)

  137. This is where friedmans admonition you can have mass immigration or the welfare state, but not both comes into play.

    Narciso (c1e842)

  138. Probably depends on how much the immigrants contribute to the welfare state.

    For myself, I’m not overly concerned about what we do with adult border jumpers either way, I’m fine with whatever the majority decides. With people who came as kids (DACA) we’ve already invested tons of money in them. The best way to get ROI from them is to give them some kind of legal pathway that requires education and work so that the can pay pack that investment. Otherwise we are just throwing away the money we already spent on them. /cynical

    Nic (896fdf)

  139. ‘Suppose a party different from the president takes control of Congress with a large majority. They impeach him for the High Crime of “eating broccoli.” ‘

    The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over an impeachment of the President.
    Happened not too long ago, with Chief Justice Rehnquist presiding over Clinton’s.

    In such a case, he should recite what actually constitutes a High Crime and Misdemeanor – he can get it from Ann Coulter’s excellent book on the subject – and toss out the broccoli crime for frivolity, challenging them to come up with something real.

    Of course, since impeachment is a political process and we’ve described a situation where one party firmly controls a majority of the House and then 67 Senators, this would play out in the media. If you alter it so that they have the Chief Justice too, then yes, it could happen, and as it proceeded the people of the United States should commence rebellious actions and second amendment solutions.

    (Ann Coulter’s HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS is a great discussion of what a High Crime and Misteamor actually means, then going through all the Clinton scandals showing how perjury was the dumbest one possible to try to impeach him on.)

    Ingot9455 (74ce6e)

  140. Seems to me that Section 4 of the 25th Amendment is the key. Getting the Veep, a majority of the cabinet, and 2/3 of both houses on board to remove Trump? Good luck with that, snowflakes. Heckfire, these days you can’t got 2/3 of Congress to agree on the time of day.

    Ain’t.Gonna.Happen.

    MarkJ (b08f44)


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