If we can keep the lunatic focused on the millions of mythical fraudulent votes that went for Hillary and the mythical media lies about inauguration crowd size, it is possible he will be too distracted to start a trade war leading to a depression.
I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and….
And as a side bonus, it will settle the question of just how many voted illegally for Hillary. This is a good thing, regardless of the final tally. He’ll be proven right, or wrong, but either way, the question gets answered.
But that won’t be enough to distract him. He’s got plenty lined up, starting with more today.
“President Trump on Wednesday will order the construction of a Mexican border wall — the first in a series of actions this week to crack down on immigrants and bolster national security, including slashing the number of refugees who can resettle in the United States and blocking Syrians and others from “terror prone” nations from entering, at least temporarily.
The orders are among an array of national security directives Mr. Trump is considering issuing in the coming days, according to people who have seen the orders. They include reviewing whether to resume the once-secret “black site” detention program and the use of enhanced interrogation techniques; keeping open the prison at Guantánamo Bay; and designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.”
————————–
“U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to bring federal intervention to bear in Chicago to quell the “carnage” of gun violence plaguing America’s third-largest city unless local officials can curb the murder rate on their own.
Trump appeared to be seizing on a story published by the Chicago Tribune on Monday reporting at least 228 people shot in the city so far this year, up 5.5 percent from the same period last January, with at least 42 homicides to date, an increase of 23.5 percent.
A Chicago Police Department spokesman, Frank Giancamilli, disputed the Tribune’s numbers, saying there were 182 shootings in the city from Jan. 1 to Jan. 23, “which is exactly flat from last year.” He said homicides have numbered 38 year to date, compared with 33 for this time in 2016.
Still, the Tribune said its latest figures put the city on track to exceed last January’s 50 homicides, the most for that month in at least 16 years. Chicago’s homicide toll for 2016 as a whole reached 762 killings, the most in 20 years.”
Concerning yesterday’s debate on trade: Economics, like trigonometry, is not intuitive. Everyone needs a basic understanding of economic principles in order to rationally evaluate the likely effects of public policy proposals. This book will give you that basic understanding.
It will inspire some to read much more extensively. However, everyone who reads and understands Free to Choose will be much less likely to fall prey to the demagoguery of politicians and much more likely to spot the unintended consequences of proposed legislation.
AJ, No, as I indicated it is a wonderful thing. I also support major investigations into Obama’s birthplace, Cruz’ father’s involvement with Oswald and Fiorina’s face. Anything that distracts Trump from starting a trade war is a great thing.
AJ @8:02 Where exactly in the Constitution is the President given the power and/or the responsibility to fight street crime in Chicago?
However, if this unconstitutional venture can distract him, I say let him engage in a Twitter War with Rahm Emanuel rather than a trade war with other nations.
While Trump detractors (and much of the mainstream media) are diddling in Twitter hysteria, Trump has been busy signing executive orders, meeting with CEOs and Union leaders, and otherwise sweeping away impediments to business and economic growth. And today, he’s all set to sign orders to begin cleaning up the immigration problem. It’s a good morning in America….well, unless you’re a DC lobbyist. :–)
Some American globalists have been prognosticating in somber tones about how Trump has handed leadership in world trade over to China. But China doesn’t seem so sanguine.
Trump TPP move seen as win for China, but Beijing isn’t celebrating
BEIJING — President Trump’s decision Monday to cancel a Pacific rim trade deal was seen here as a sign of a U.S. retreat from Asia and a boon for China, which hadn’t been included in the partnership.
The Chinese government — a longtime critic of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — opted not to gloat, however, instead signaling a cautious approach Tuesday to the new U.S. administration and concern for what comes next. While the U.S. withdrawal from the treaty could boost China’s role in the Pacific, Beijing is more preoccupied by what else the Trump administration may have planned for the region.
As a candidate, Trump made China and trade regular talking points. He vowed, among other things, to scrap the TPP, list China as a currency manipulator and slap an eye-popping 45 percent tariff on imported Chinese goods.
The TPP deal was all but dead by Monday, but the other threats still stand — and that is what is bothering Beijing.
“It could be counted as good news for China that the pressure of TPP is now gone,” said Tu Xinquan, a trade expert at Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics. “However, there is great uncertainty as to whether China stands to benefit.”
I agree with Rickey’s 8:26. The problems in Chicago and elsewhere are calling for solution. But some, O’Rilley for one, think the President should call out the national guard.
It, in my opinion, be a terrible prescient (it may have been done before, I don’t know.) for the President to meddle in local policing. That belongs to mayors and governors. If Chicago is satisfied with chaos, let them kill each other. It’s not a federal affair.
We do not want federals patrolling out streets.
Debra, Asia is very interesting. The prime minister of Australia suggested simply substituting China for the US in the TPP. Abe of Japan opposed this idea. China is being very smart and playing coy, lest the childlike Trump see the folly of his ideas. As it becomes clear that Trump is serious about withdrawing from the TPP and pursuing protectionist policies, China will emerge as the global economic leader along with Germany. One hundred years of US global economic leadership ended last Friday.
This is very much skewed to the right; but scary nonetheless.
We’re in a fight over basic values. It is time that our society acknowledge a sad truth: America is currently fighting its Second Civil War. In fact, with the obvious and enormous exception of attitudes toward slavery, Americans are more divided morally, ideologically, and politically today than they were during the Civil War. For that reason, just as the Great War came to be known as the First World War once there was a Second World War, the Civil War will become known as the First Civil War when more Americans come to regard the current battle as the Second Civil War.
Fascinating. The Russians could not have controlled the election because voting machines are not connected to the Internet. Influences, maybe, but that’s not what people are saying . . . .
It’s called a federal consent decree. It requires filing suit against the city first, but it’s legal and constitutional. Congress granted the Justice Dept. the power to do so in 1994. It has already been used 21 times in L.A., Ferguson, New Orleans, and elsewhere. It’s already been used for prison reform, school systems, other govt. agencies including police depts not doing their jobs.
“Former US President Barack Obama, in his waning hours, quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Congress had been blocking.
The Trump administration announced it is freezing the move.
The State Department is reviewing the last-minute decision by former Secretary of State John Kerry to send $221 million dollars to the Palestinians.”
“Days into Donald Trump’s administration, heads are finally beginning to roll at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Two notoriously corrupt employees in Puerto Rico were fired this week, indicating that more may be on the way.
One is the hospital’s CEO, DeWayne Hamlin, who offered an employee $305,000 to quit after she played a role in exposing his drug arrest.
“Mr. DeWayne Hamlin was removed from federal service effective January 20, 2017”–inauguration day–the VA said.
Under former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald, the agency ignored years of evidence about shoddy work ethic, theft and whistleblower retaliation. The VA finally began a months-long investigative proceeding last year, after an outside agency, the Office of Special Counsel, prodded VA leadership.”
———
“The other person fired recently is a woman who took part in an armed robbery, then kept her job while she was in jail, and continued to work in the hospital’s security office while wearing an ankle bracelet.
After TheDCNF broke the story, administrators told Congress it wasn’t true and Elizabeth Rivera Rivera had been fired, before backtracking and claiming that it was impossible to fire employees for off-duty crimes.
Outside lawyers ridiculed this explanation, and spokesmen at the time would not say why she wasn’t simply fired for missing work because she was in jail.
She was suddenly fired Tuesday for misconduct, including being absent without leave and failing to disclose other arrests on her job application, which her background check apparently did not catch.”
“Late in the 2016 election cycle, billionaire political activist George Soros made a series of unexpected yet creative moves with his money that paid high dividends. While continuing to donate to high-profile races like those for president and the Senate, he also poured millions of dollars into smaller races for district attorney in places like Illinois, Georgia, Texas and Colorado.
From Soros’ perspective, the effort would probably be deemed a success, as 10 of the 12 candidates he backed won their races.
Yet one of the races that eluded Soros as a “win” was the district attorney’s race in Jefferson County, Colo., often considered one of the most important swing counties in the purple state.”
————-
“For Pete Weir, the incumbent district attorney and lifelong Republican who outlasted the $1.3 million aimed against him, a long and bipartisan track record in criminal justice certainly helped. But the race likely became a referendum on Soros and his tactics the minute the billionaire cut the first check to his independent expenditure committee.
Colorado political analyst Eric Sondermann says once the donations to Weir’s challenger became known, “the magnitude of Soros’ engagement was exposed and became an issue, perhaps the issue, in the contest.”
Weir got a bipartisan boost when former Gov. Bill Ritter, a lifelong Democrat and a former prosecutor, penned an op-ed slamming the Soros machine. The editorial was published just as mail-in ballots were being delivered to voters’ homes. Two more Democrat prosecutors later vouched for Weir, authoring another op-ed in the paper of record, titled, “George Soros’ unwelcome intrusion into a Colorado district attorney race.””
I could see the constitutional mandate to provide for the common defense being some cover for interference in exceptional cases in city security—particularly involving violence caused by illegal immigrant gangs. But I would not send troops into Chicago at this time. Unfortunately, it’s not my call and the President hasn’t yet called to consult me on the matter. :–)
Kim @9:14 Much of the cultural problems we are having now are caused by the misconduct of the Supreme Court. That body needs to be put on a very short leash. Give them 10 year staggered terms and boot them all.
As pointed out by Debra, common defense should apply.
And like it or not, Congress gave this power to the president, using the DoJ as the vehicle to do so. While some states rights people may argue it’s validity, the courts have upheld it as lawful, and are involved in it’s implementation.
Has it been abused? At times. But sometimes, like with Ferguson PD where they were using poor people as a revenue generator for the city and unfairly targeting certain races, it’s the right thing to do.
Chicago has proven time and again, under the leadership of Emanuel, Obama, and Holder, that it is incapable of fulfilling it’s obligation to protect it’s citizenry, the most basic of a govt’s jobs under our federal and state constitutions. The means are there to do this, legally and constitutionally, and they need to. The same should happen in Baltimore and a few other cities as well.
Debra, the misconduct of the President is very much at issue, too: executive orders are as much a misuse of the executive branch as making laws from the bench are a misuse of the judiciary.
I would have liked to see Trump look at Obama’s executive orders, overturn them, and then tell the Congress that if they wish to send him a bill outlawing executive orders (except, perhaps, in certain designated situations), he will sign it. Currently the Congress is allowing the other branches to get away with doing their jobs, and a dictator could get away with an awful lot.
AJ @ 1:15 You have just articulated the Ruth Bader Ginsburg view of the Constitution which ignores original intent and allows for unlimited federal activity.
But Ricky it’s not unlimited. It’s only allowed under certain circumstances, and under supervision of the courts.
And as I noted, the local and state officials have had decades to fix this. They have not. When this occurs, then and only then, should the feds step in. That is clearly the case here. It was left to the local and state for decades, and they have not done their job.
Cheryl, it is my understanding that this is exactly what Trump is doing. He has frozen all hiring, contracts and grants for the EPA. This is primarily in response to Obama’s last minute attempts to increase regulations and generally limit the incoming administration from obtaining the stated goals.
“A senior White House adviser to Donald Trump is registered to vote in two different states, a practice that the US president wrongly claimed amounted to electoral fraud on Wednesday as he called for an inquiry.”
“Stephen Bannon registered to vote in New York shortly before the presidential election last year, after the Guardian disclosed that he was registered to vote at a vacant house in Florida where his ex-wife had once lived.
Bannon, whose registration lists a rented apartment in Manhattan as his address, cast his ballot for Trump in New York, according to a source familiar with his arrangements, who was not authorized to speak to the media.”
“His registration in Florida was moved to Badolato’s home shortly after the publication of the Guardian report in August. Bannon has not cast a ballot in Florida, according to state records. Badolato, who was also registered to vote at the home with his adult sons, declined at the time to answer questions on whether Bannon actually lived at the property, which is required under the registration rules of the Florida division of elections.”
“It is not in itself illegal to be registered to vote in two states. It would be illegal to cast ballots in two different states. Many states have their own laws about who qualifies to register to vote in their elections, typically based on whether a person actually lives in a residence there.”
Executive orders can certainly be misused, but they are a primary way (along with memorandums) of giving guidance to the agencies that the President is responsible for managing. If they overstep the law of the land they can be struck down. In fact, there is already talk of suing in the courts to overturn the “Mexico City” memorandum which Trump signed to defund Planned Parenthood outside of the country.
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed directives to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and crack down on U.S. cities that shield illegal immigrants, proceeding quickly on sweeping and divisive plans to curb immigration and boost national security.
The Republican president is also expected to take steps in the coming days to limit legal immigration, including executive orders restricting refugees and blocking the issuing of visas to people from several Muslim-majority Middle Eastern and North African countries including Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen.
Trump signed two executive orders at the Department of Homeland Security, one ordering construction of a wall along the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) U.S.-Mexico border and the other moving to strip federal grant money from “sanctuary” states and cities, often governed by Democrats, that harbor illegal immigrants.
In cities such as San Francisco local officials, often Democrats, refuse to cooperate with federal authorities on actions against illegal immigrants.
“The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.”
————————–
“As President Donald J. Trump prepares to kick off his new border security plan, various news outlets have begun to criticize the effort by focusing on the border wall. However, members from the union representing the men and women from the U.S. Border Patrol stated that the proposal comes from listening to agents instead of politicians.
Various outlets have continued to question the notion of building a border wall and have focused on the perceived challenges of such an enterprise. Other outlets have criticized the effectiveness of the measure claiming that it does not address the current immigration crisis. The various news organizations have failed to mention the complete control that Mexican drug cartels have over human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and other illicit activities along both sides of the border.
The executive orders that President Trump will be signing provides border security agents with the tools that they have been denied for too long, said Hector Garza, a U.S. Border Patrol agent and the President for the Local 2455 of the National Border Patrol Council. As part of the union’s leadership, Garza is able to speak about issues affecting the men and women that he represents.
Despite the many misconceptions by pundits and individuals who have not been to the border, a wall with the addition of new manpower, surveillance technology and other equipment will be an effective tool in slowing down illegal immigration and drug smuggling, Garza said.”
And this is why a stoppage and revamping of the vetting process is necessary, in order to close these gaps they already know exist. They closed this one, but others exist. Once that’s completed, they can resume admitting thoroughly vetted immigrants.
“deral agents are reinvestigating the backgrounds of dozens of Syrian refugees already in the United States after discovering a lapse in vetting that allowed some who had potentially negative information in their files to enter the country, two U.S. law enforcement officials said.
Agents have not concluded that any of the refugees should have been rejected for entry, but the apparent glitch — which was discovered in late 2015 and corrected last year — prevented U.S. officials who conducted background checks on the refugees from learning about possible “derogatory” information about them, the two officials said. At a minimum, the intelligence would have triggered further investigation that could have led some asylum applications to be rejected.
The refugees whose cases are under review include one who failed a polygraph test when he applied to work at a U.S. military installation overseas and another who may have been in communication with an Islamic State leader, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
The officials cautioned that the investigations, which began last year under the Obama administration, were preliminary, and often the initial red flags turn out to be mistakes or benign. For example, someone could speak to an Islamic State militant without knowing about that affiliation, they said.”
I have no idea how many states have me registered to vote. I’d guess that Illinois and Tennessee might both still have me on their rolls (under my maiden name), because I don’t know how often they purge their rolls, or whether doing the actions to show one is a resident of a different state in any way alerts the previous state that one has moved. I do know that when I lived and voted in Chicago, I could see former housemates’ names at my address, girls who have moved two or three or more years before, so I wouldn’t be shocked if my name was somehow still there almost 14 years later. But nothing about moving, getting one’s car title moved to the new address, getting a new driver’s license, or registering to vote in the new state requires that the citizen contact the previous city of residence and say “Take me off your roll.”
It would be a criminal offense for me to register in Michigan and Kentucky (states in which I do not live) ans then vote there. It is not a criminal offense, or immoral in any way, for me to ignore the fact that under a previous name I have previously been registered to vote in three other states and may possibly still be so registered in one or two of them.
It should also be quite obvious there is no practical way to take advantage of the possibility I may still be registered elsewhere, unless I were receiving absentee ballots.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/11/baltimore-doj-reach-agreement-police-consent-decree/96463712/
In light of the above conversation, a funny quote from this article of January 11, 2017: “During the Obama administration, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division opened 25 civil pattern-or-practice investigations into policing operations across the country, a controversial strategy that is likely to be used much more sparingly by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.”
AJ @ 2:17 Do you believe that the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution has any meaning? If we are going to send federal agents into cities whenever the Tweeter-in-chief decides crime is too high in a city whose mayor he does not like, then Trump like Obama is treating the Constitution as a joke.
Of course, that is exactly what all the NeverTrumpers always thought he would do.
🙂 It seems The Donald may have to get his DOJ in line if he wants to invade Chicago. Also from your link, Linda…
Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s attorney general nominee, has expressed his opposition to the use of such court-enforced agreements to require law enforcement reforms.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that Sessions told him during a meeting last week that he was not prepared to commit to following through on recommendations that the Justice Department is anticipated to release in the coming days in its investigation of the Chicago Police Department.
I still think the real joke is all of us jumping so high when the President tweets…except for the CEOs, they probably should keep their jumping shoes on. And maybe China… :–)
I really don’t understand this “We need sixty votes” in the Senate business.
I remember the days when they used to filibuster until they ran out of steam. Then they voted and passed whatever they wanted.
Let them talk.
I often wonder if this isn’t an excuse of some sort.
While Trump seems to be using the executive order route quite a bit, it’s because that’s the way to undo the previous administrations order in the quickest manner. Such orders are easily voided this way. So Trump needs to use his pen too.
Chas,
Now that Dems no longer control the Senate, they’re whining about the old 60 votes thing. To end debate on a bill or nominee and put it to a vote required 60 votes. Dems changed it in 2013 when Harry Reid used the “nuclear option” of a simple majority to get Obama’s appointees thru. Now that it’s being used against them, they don’t much like it.
“The nuclear or constitutional option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the U.S. Senate to override a rule or precedent by a simple majority of 51 votes, instead of by a supermajority of 60 votes. The presiding officer of the United States Senate rules that the validity of a Senate rule or precedent is a constitutional question. They immediately put the issue to the full Senate, which decides by majority vote. The procedure thus allows the Senate to decide any issue by majority vote, even though the rules of the Senate specify that ending a filibuster requires the consent of 60 senators (out of 100) for legislation, 67 for amending a Senate rule. The name is an analogy to nuclear weapons being the most extreme option in warfare.
In 1917, a threat to use what is now known as the nuclear option resulted in reform of the Senate’s filibuster rules. An opinion written by Vice President Richard Nixon in 1957 concluded that the U.S. Constitution grants the presiding officer the authority to override Senate rules.[1] The option was used to make further rule changes in 1975.[2] In November 2013, Senate Democrats used the nuclear option to eliminate filibusters on executive branch nominations and federal judicial appointments other than those to the Supreme Court.
Before November 2013, Senate rules required a three-fifths vote of the “duly chosen and sworn” members of the Senate – (usually 60 votes) to end debate on a bill, nomination or other proposal; they also require a two-thirds vote (“present and voting” – 67 or fewer votes) to end debate on a change to the Senate rules. Those rules effectively allowed a minority of the Senate to block a bill or nomination through the technique of the filibuster. This had resulted in a de facto requirement that a nomination have the support of 60 Senators to pass, rather than a majority of 51. A three-fifths vote is still required to end debates on legislation and Supreme Court nominations.
In most proposed variations of the nuclear option, the presiding officer would rule that a simple majority vote is sufficient to end debate. If the ruling is challenged, a majority would be required to overturn it. If the ruling is upheld, it becomes a precedent. This would end what had effectively become a 60-vote requirement for confirmation of an executive or judicial nominee, or the passage of legislation.”
Its not illegal to register to vote in two different places just vote in two different places. Like most university students, Tiffany Trump was registered in Pennsylvania where she attended school and at home in New York. However, its a bit of a “face palm” when Trump mentions it in a tweet about voter fraud and then its discovered his chief of staff also registered in two states.
In other words, its meet the new boss same as the old boss. Instead of draining the swamp, Trump enlarged it by bringing in the fossil fuel executives and the Goldman Sachs alumni team. Instead of waiting for Congress to pass legislation, he spends the day signing executive orders. And the Trump admin uses RNC servers (which have been hacked by Russia).
I see Soros exercised his freedom of speech this election. Money, after all, does equal free speech or at least according to Citizens United. If you oppose money in politics and wish to censor Soros, join the Sanders team. I usually take Soros conspiracy theories with a grain of salt. Substitute the Koch name instead of Soros and its like reading a leftist blog,
Forgot to mention in my “meet the new boss” statement. I’m often amused when those who oppose government overreach suddenly like it when “their guy” is in charge. Taking over a local police department except in cases of emergency or nabe tural disaster (Hurricane Katrina) is ridiculous. Yes, Chicago police are probably corrupt — and so are police in many locations. Its not a reason for a federal takeover except in the most egregious examples. Although violent crime seems to have taken off, 2016 only looks bad in recent comparison. Looking back from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, and 2016 “record” murder rate looks average. We are shocked by the murder rate last year only because crime is at record lows everywhere else. In other words, the “carnage” Trump likes to talk about is very isolated and something from the past. But here comes the heavy hand of the state to rescue and protect us.
I’ve read the criticism of the Women’s March in recent days. And the left actually agrees. For those of us on the “real” left, the march and especially some of the somewhat amusing but vulgar signs was an opportunity for classical liberal feminists to vent and socialize while ignoring who really needs feminism — minority women, the poor, and women in an abusive culture. Many of the women marching can return to their middle class lifestyle self satisfied whereas the native American women will be camping in the Dakotas attempting to stop a pipeline.
And yes please keep Turmp distracted — and away from the nukes.
The multiple registration thing can happen easily enough, as Cheryl mentioned. It’s only a crime if you vote in more than one and Bannon didn’t. But the timing couldn’t have been worse.
The whole “voter fraud” issue is ridiculous. Trump made the whole thing up to try to explain why he lost the popular vote, not that the popular vote even matters. Since Trump lost the popular vote by almost 3 million votes, this distraction is as ridiculous as the Cruz/Lee Harvey Oswald connection. Hillary would have been boring. America voted for ridiculous.
Wandering Views 
If we can keep the lunatic focused on the millions of mythical fraudulent votes that went for Hillary and the mythical media lies about inauguration crowd size, it is possible he will be too distracted to start a trade war leading to a depression.
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Ricky,
And how is investigating voter fraud a bad thing?
And as a side bonus, it will settle the question of just how many voted illegally for Hillary. This is a good thing, regardless of the final tally. He’ll be proven right, or wrong, but either way, the question gets answered.
But that won’t be enough to distract him. He’s got plenty lined up, starting with more today.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-to-order-mexican-border-wall-and-curtail-immigration/ar-AAmcGyu?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U452DHP
“President Trump on Wednesday will order the construction of a Mexican border wall — the first in a series of actions this week to crack down on immigrants and bolster national security, including slashing the number of refugees who can resettle in the United States and blocking Syrians and others from “terror prone” nations from entering, at least temporarily.
The orders are among an array of national security directives Mr. Trump is considering issuing in the coming days, according to people who have seen the orders. They include reviewing whether to resume the once-secret “black site” detention program and the use of enhanced interrogation techniques; keeping open the prison at Guantánamo Bay; and designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.”
————————–
And this one? Loooong overdue.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-says-he-will-send-in-the-feds-if-chicago-doesnt-end-carnage/ar-AAmcJco?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U452DHP
“U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to bring federal intervention to bear in Chicago to quell the “carnage” of gun violence plaguing America’s third-largest city unless local officials can curb the murder rate on their own.
Trump appeared to be seizing on a story published by the Chicago Tribune on Monday reporting at least 228 people shot in the city so far this year, up 5.5 percent from the same period last January, with at least 42 homicides to date, an increase of 23.5 percent.
A Chicago Police Department spokesman, Frank Giancamilli, disputed the Tribune’s numbers, saying there were 182 shootings in the city from Jan. 1 to Jan. 23, “which is exactly flat from last year.” He said homicides have numbered 38 year to date, compared with 33 for this time in 2016.
Still, the Tribune said its latest figures put the city on track to exceed last January’s 50 homicides, the most for that month in at least 16 years. Chicago’s homicide toll for 2016 as a whole reached 762 killings, the most in 20 years.”
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Concerning yesterday’s debate on trade: Economics, like trigonometry, is not intuitive. Everyone needs a basic understanding of economic principles in order to rationally evaluate the likely effects of public policy proposals. This book will give you that basic understanding.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_to_Choose
It will inspire some to read much more extensively. However, everyone who reads and understands Free to Choose will be much less likely to fall prey to the demagoguery of politicians and much more likely to spot the unintended consequences of proposed legislation.
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AJ, No, as I indicated it is a wonderful thing. I also support major investigations into Obama’s birthplace, Cruz’ father’s involvement with Oswald and Fiorina’s face. Anything that distracts Trump from starting a trade war is a great thing.
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AJ @8:02 Where exactly in the Constitution is the President given the power and/or the responsibility to fight street crime in Chicago?
However, if this unconstitutional venture can distract him, I say let him engage in a Twitter War with Rahm Emanuel rather than a trade war with other nations.
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While Trump detractors (and much of the mainstream media) are diddling in Twitter hysteria, Trump has been busy signing executive orders, meeting with CEOs and Union leaders, and otherwise sweeping away impediments to business and economic growth. And today, he’s all set to sign orders to begin cleaning up the immigration problem. It’s a good morning in America….well, unless you’re a DC lobbyist. :–)
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Some American globalists have been prognosticating in somber tones about how Trump has handed leadership in world trade over to China. But China doesn’t seem so sanguine.
I agree with Rickey’s 8:26. The problems in Chicago and elsewhere are calling for solution. But some, O’Rilley for one, think the President should call out the national guard.
It, in my opinion, be a terrible prescient (it may have been done before, I don’t know.) for the President to meddle in local policing. That belongs to mayors and governors. If Chicago is satisfied with chaos, let them kill each other. It’s not a federal affair.
We do not want federals patrolling out streets.
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Debra, Asia is very interesting. The prime minister of Australia suggested simply substituting China for the US in the TPP. Abe of Japan opposed this idea. China is being very smart and playing coy, lest the childlike Trump see the folly of his ideas. As it becomes clear that Trump is serious about withdrawing from the TPP and pursuing protectionist policies, China will emerge as the global economic leader along with Germany. One hundred years of US global economic leadership ended last Friday.
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This is very much skewed to the right; but scary nonetheless.
We’re in a fight over basic values. It is time that our society acknowledge a sad truth: America is currently fighting its Second Civil War. In fact, with the obvious and enormous exception of attitudes toward slavery, Americans are more divided morally, ideologically, and politically today than they were during the Civil War. For that reason, just as the Great War came to be known as the First World War once there was a Second World War, the Civil War will become known as the First Civil War when more Americans come to regard the current battle as the Second Civil War.
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/444160/american-culture-new-civil-war?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=ericka
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Fascinating. The Russians could not have controlled the election because voting machines are not connected to the Internet. Influences, maybe, but that’s not what people are saying . . . .
http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/24/democrats-and-republicans-unite-to-rescind-last-minute-obama-order-seeking-federal-election-takeover/
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Ricky,
It’s called a federal consent decree. It requires filing suit against the city first, but it’s legal and constitutional. Congress granted the Justice Dept. the power to do so in 1994. It has already been used 21 times in L.A., Ferguson, New Orleans, and elsewhere. It’s already been used for prison reform, school systems, other govt. agencies including police depts not doing their jobs.
Obama used this tool frequently.
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And in case you’re wondering, yes, there is adequate evidence that rights have been violated by the Chicago PD, and a decree is warranted.
From about a week ago…..
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Trump’s been busy. And more good news….
https://worldisraelnews.com/state-department-freezes-obamas-221m-gift-palestinians/
“Former US President Barack Obama, in his waning hours, quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Congress had been blocking.
The Trump administration announced it is freezing the move.
The State Department is reviewing the last-minute decision by former Secretary of State John Kerry to send $221 million dollars to the Palestinians.”
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And more good news.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/24/days-into-trump-admin-corrupt-employees-are-already-being-fired-at-the-va/
“Days into Donald Trump’s administration, heads are finally beginning to roll at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Two notoriously corrupt employees in Puerto Rico were fired this week, indicating that more may be on the way.
One is the hospital’s CEO, DeWayne Hamlin, who offered an employee $305,000 to quit after she played a role in exposing his drug arrest.
“Mr. DeWayne Hamlin was removed from federal service effective January 20, 2017”–inauguration day–the VA said.
Under former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald, the agency ignored years of evidence about shoddy work ethic, theft and whistleblower retaliation. The VA finally began a months-long investigative proceeding last year, after an outside agency, the Office of Special Counsel, prodded VA leadership.”
———
“The other person fired recently is a woman who took part in an armed robbery, then kept her job while she was in jail, and continued to work in the hospital’s security office while wearing an ankle bracelet.
After TheDCNF broke the story, administrators told Congress it wasn’t true and Elizabeth Rivera Rivera had been fired, before backtracking and claiming that it was impossible to fire employees for off-duty crimes.
Outside lawyers ridiculed this explanation, and spokesmen at the time would not say why she wasn’t simply fired for missing work because she was in jail.
She was suddenly fired Tuesday for misconduct, including being absent without leave and failing to disclose other arrests on her job application, which her background check apparently did not catch.”
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AJ, I understand Obama and other Democrats intervened in local matters frequently.
My question was: Where exactly in the Constitution is the President given the power or the responsibility to fight street crime in Chicago.
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Further proof of Soros’ meddling in US elections.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/george-soros-found-justice-was-not-for-sale-in-jefferson-county-colorado/article/2612768
“Late in the 2016 election cycle, billionaire political activist George Soros made a series of unexpected yet creative moves with his money that paid high dividends. While continuing to donate to high-profile races like those for president and the Senate, he also poured millions of dollars into smaller races for district attorney in places like Illinois, Georgia, Texas and Colorado.
From Soros’ perspective, the effort would probably be deemed a success, as 10 of the 12 candidates he backed won their races.
Yet one of the races that eluded Soros as a “win” was the district attorney’s race in Jefferson County, Colo., often considered one of the most important swing counties in the purple state.”
————-
“For Pete Weir, the incumbent district attorney and lifelong Republican who outlasted the $1.3 million aimed against him, a long and bipartisan track record in criminal justice certainly helped. But the race likely became a referendum on Soros and his tactics the minute the billionaire cut the first check to his independent expenditure committee.
Colorado political analyst Eric Sondermann says once the donations to Weir’s challenger became known, “the magnitude of Soros’ engagement was exposed and became an issue, perhaps the issue, in the contest.”
Weir got a bipartisan boost when former Gov. Bill Ritter, a lifelong Democrat and a former prosecutor, penned an op-ed slamming the Soros machine. The editorial was published just as mail-in ballots were being delivered to voters’ homes. Two more Democrat prosecutors later vouched for Weir, authoring another op-ed in the paper of record, titled, “George Soros’ unwelcome intrusion into a Colorado district attorney race.””
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I could see the constitutional mandate to provide for the common defense being some cover for interference in exceptional cases in city security—particularly involving violence caused by illegal immigrant gangs. But I would not send troops into Chicago at this time. Unfortunately, it’s not my call and the President hasn’t yet called to consult me on the matter. :–)
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The problem is:
There is no penalty for crime.
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Kim @9:14 Much of the cultural problems we are having now are caused by the misconduct of the Supreme Court. That body needs to be put on a very short leash. Give them 10 year staggered terms and boot them all.
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Ricky,
As pointed out by Debra, common defense should apply.
And like it or not, Congress gave this power to the president, using the DoJ as the vehicle to do so. While some states rights people may argue it’s validity, the courts have upheld it as lawful, and are involved in it’s implementation.
Has it been abused? At times. But sometimes, like with Ferguson PD where they were using poor people as a revenue generator for the city and unfairly targeting certain races, it’s the right thing to do.
Chicago has proven time and again, under the leadership of Emanuel, Obama, and Holder, that it is incapable of fulfilling it’s obligation to protect it’s citizenry, the most basic of a govt’s jobs under our federal and state constitutions. The means are there to do this, legally and constitutionally, and they need to. The same should happen in Baltimore and a few other cities as well.
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Debra, the misconduct of the President is very much at issue, too: executive orders are as much a misuse of the executive branch as making laws from the bench are a misuse of the judiciary.
I would have liked to see Trump look at Obama’s executive orders, overturn them, and then tell the Congress that if they wish to send him a bill outlawing executive orders (except, perhaps, in certain designated situations), he will sign it. Currently the Congress is allowing the other branches to get away with doing their jobs, and a dictator could get away with an awful lot.
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AJ @ 1:15 You have just articulated the Ruth Bader Ginsburg view of the Constitution which ignores original intent and allows for unlimited federal activity.
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But Ricky it’s not unlimited. It’s only allowed under certain circumstances, and under supervision of the courts.
And as I noted, the local and state officials have had decades to fix this. They have not. When this occurs, then and only then, should the feds step in. That is clearly the case here. It was left to the local and state for decades, and they have not done their job.
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Cheryl, it is my understanding that this is exactly what Trump is doing. He has frozen all hiring, contracts and grants for the EPA. This is primarily in response to Obama’s last minute attempts to increase regulations and generally limit the incoming administration from obtaining the stated goals.
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Talk about face palms………..
This might even be a double.
🙂
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/steve-bannon-registered-to-vote-in-two-states-despite-trumps-cries-of-voter-fraud/ar-AAmeM2p?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U452DHP
“A senior White House adviser to Donald Trump is registered to vote in two different states, a practice that the US president wrongly claimed amounted to electoral fraud on Wednesday as he called for an inquiry.”
“Stephen Bannon registered to vote in New York shortly before the presidential election last year, after the Guardian disclosed that he was registered to vote at a vacant house in Florida where his ex-wife had once lived.
Bannon, whose registration lists a rented apartment in Manhattan as his address, cast his ballot for Trump in New York, according to a source familiar with his arrangements, who was not authorized to speak to the media.”
“His registration in Florida was moved to Badolato’s home shortly after the publication of the Guardian report in August. Bannon has not cast a ballot in Florida, according to state records. Badolato, who was also registered to vote at the home with his adult sons, declined at the time to answer questions on whether Bannon actually lived at the property, which is required under the registration rules of the Florida division of elections.”
“It is not in itself illegal to be registered to vote in two states. It would be illegal to cast ballots in two different states. Many states have their own laws about who qualifies to register to vote in their elections, typically based on whether a person actually lives in a residence there.”
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Debra @1:10 and AJ @1:15, Debra, Is AJ on the short leash with Bader Ginsburg?
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Ha, he sure is Ricky…just as soon as he’s confirmed on the SCOTUS. :–)
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Executive orders can certainly be misused, but they are a primary way (along with memorandums) of giving guidance to the agencies that the President is responsible for managing. If they overstep the law of the land they can be struck down. In fact, there is already talk of suing in the courts to overturn the “Mexico City” memorandum which Trump signed to defund Planned Parenthood outside of the country.
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And here’s some more.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-idUSKBN1591HP?il=0
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed directives to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and crack down on U.S. cities that shield illegal immigrants, proceeding quickly on sweeping and divisive plans to curb immigration and boost national security.
The Republican president is also expected to take steps in the coming days to limit legal immigration, including executive orders restricting refugees and blocking the issuing of visas to people from several Muslim-majority Middle Eastern and North African countries including Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen.
Trump signed two executive orders at the Department of Homeland Security, one ordering construction of a wall along the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) U.S.-Mexico border and the other moving to strip federal grant money from “sanctuary” states and cities, often governed by Democrats, that harbor illegal immigrants.
In cities such as San Francisco local officials, often Democrats, refuse to cooperate with federal authorities on actions against illegal immigrants.
“The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.”
————————–
The Border Patrol union likes it…..
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/01/25/border-patrol-union-trumps-border-plan-gives-us-tools-need/
“As President Donald J. Trump prepares to kick off his new border security plan, various news outlets have begun to criticize the effort by focusing on the border wall. However, members from the union representing the men and women from the U.S. Border Patrol stated that the proposal comes from listening to agents instead of politicians.
Various outlets have continued to question the notion of building a border wall and have focused on the perceived challenges of such an enterprise. Other outlets have criticized the effectiveness of the measure claiming that it does not address the current immigration crisis. The various news organizations have failed to mention the complete control that Mexican drug cartels have over human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and other illicit activities along both sides of the border.
The executive orders that President Trump will be signing provides border security agents with the tools that they have been denied for too long, said Hector Garza, a U.S. Border Patrol agent and the President for the Local 2455 of the National Border Patrol Council. As part of the union’s leadership, Garza is able to speak about issues affecting the men and women that he represents.
Despite the many misconceptions by pundits and individuals who have not been to the border, a wall with the addition of new manpower, surveillance technology and other equipment will be an effective tool in slowing down illegal immigration and drug smuggling, Garza said.”
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And this is why a stoppage and revamping of the vetting process is necessary, in order to close these gaps they already know exist. They closed this one, but others exist. Once that’s completed, they can resume admitting thoroughly vetted immigrants.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-syria-refugees-vetting-gap-20170125-story.html
“deral agents are reinvestigating the backgrounds of dozens of Syrian refugees already in the United States after discovering a lapse in vetting that allowed some who had potentially negative information in their files to enter the country, two U.S. law enforcement officials said.
Agents have not concluded that any of the refugees should have been rejected for entry, but the apparent glitch — which was discovered in late 2015 and corrected last year — prevented U.S. officials who conducted background checks on the refugees from learning about possible “derogatory” information about them, the two officials said. At a minimum, the intelligence would have triggered further investigation that could have led some asylum applications to be rejected.
The refugees whose cases are under review include one who failed a polygraph test when he applied to work at a U.S. military installation overseas and another who may have been in communication with an Islamic State leader, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
The officials cautioned that the investigations, which began last year under the Obama administration, were preliminary, and often the initial red flags turn out to be mistakes or benign. For example, someone could speak to an Islamic State militant without knowing about that affiliation, they said.”
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I have no idea how many states have me registered to vote. I’d guess that Illinois and Tennessee might both still have me on their rolls (under my maiden name), because I don’t know how often they purge their rolls, or whether doing the actions to show one is a resident of a different state in any way alerts the previous state that one has moved. I do know that when I lived and voted in Chicago, I could see former housemates’ names at my address, girls who have moved two or three or more years before, so I wouldn’t be shocked if my name was somehow still there almost 14 years later. But nothing about moving, getting one’s car title moved to the new address, getting a new driver’s license, or registering to vote in the new state requires that the citizen contact the previous city of residence and say “Take me off your roll.”
It would be a criminal offense for me to register in Michigan and Kentucky (states in which I do not live) ans then vote there. It is not a criminal offense, or immoral in any way, for me to ignore the fact that under a previous name I have previously been registered to vote in three other states and may possibly still be so registered in one or two of them.
It should also be quite obvious there is no practical way to take advantage of the possibility I may still be registered elsewhere, unless I were receiving absentee ballots.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/11/baltimore-doj-reach-agreement-police-consent-decree/96463712/
In light of the above conversation, a funny quote from this article of January 11, 2017: “During the Obama administration, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division opened 25 civil pattern-or-practice investigations into policing operations across the country, a controversial strategy that is likely to be used much more sparingly by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.”
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AJ @ 2:17 Do you believe that the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution has any meaning? If we are going to send federal agents into cities whenever the Tweeter-in-chief decides crime is too high in a city whose mayor he does not like, then Trump like Obama is treating the Constitution as a joke.
Of course, that is exactly what all the NeverTrumpers always thought he would do.
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🙂 It seems The Donald may have to get his DOJ in line if he wants to invade Chicago. Also from your link, Linda…
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I still think the real joke is all of us jumping so high when the President tweets…except for the CEOs, they probably should keep their jumping shoes on. And maybe China… :–)
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I really don’t understand this “We need sixty votes” in the Senate business.
I remember the days when they used to filibuster until they ran out of steam. Then they voted and passed whatever they wanted.
Let them talk.
I often wonder if this isn’t an excuse of some sort.
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I’m not sure how this four years is going to turn out, but it sure hasn’t been boring so far.
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And just something to keep in mind…..
While Trump seems to be using the executive order route quite a bit, it’s because that’s the way to undo the previous administrations order in the quickest manner. Such orders are easily voided this way. So Trump needs to use his pen too.
Chas,
Now that Dems no longer control the Senate, they’re whining about the old 60 votes thing. To end debate on a bill or nominee and put it to a vote required 60 votes. Dems changed it in 2013 when Harry Reid used the “nuclear option” of a simple majority to get Obama’s appointees thru. Now that it’s being used against them, they don’t much like it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option
“The nuclear or constitutional option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the U.S. Senate to override a rule or precedent by a simple majority of 51 votes, instead of by a supermajority of 60 votes. The presiding officer of the United States Senate rules that the validity of a Senate rule or precedent is a constitutional question. They immediately put the issue to the full Senate, which decides by majority vote. The procedure thus allows the Senate to decide any issue by majority vote, even though the rules of the Senate specify that ending a filibuster requires the consent of 60 senators (out of 100) for legislation, 67 for amending a Senate rule. The name is an analogy to nuclear weapons being the most extreme option in warfare.
In 1917, a threat to use what is now known as the nuclear option resulted in reform of the Senate’s filibuster rules. An opinion written by Vice President Richard Nixon in 1957 concluded that the U.S. Constitution grants the presiding officer the authority to override Senate rules.[1] The option was used to make further rule changes in 1975.[2] In November 2013, Senate Democrats used the nuclear option to eliminate filibusters on executive branch nominations and federal judicial appointments other than those to the Supreme Court.
Before November 2013, Senate rules required a three-fifths vote of the “duly chosen and sworn” members of the Senate – (usually 60 votes) to end debate on a bill, nomination or other proposal; they also require a two-thirds vote (“present and voting” – 67 or fewer votes) to end debate on a change to the Senate rules. Those rules effectively allowed a minority of the Senate to block a bill or nomination through the technique of the filibuster. This had resulted in a de facto requirement that a nomination have the support of 60 Senators to pass, rather than a majority of 51. A three-fifths vote is still required to end debates on legislation and Supreme Court nominations.
In most proposed variations of the nuclear option, the presiding officer would rule that a simple majority vote is sufficient to end debate. If the ruling is challenged, a majority would be required to overturn it. If the ruling is upheld, it becomes a precedent. This would end what had effectively become a 60-vote requirement for confirmation of an executive or judicial nominee, or the passage of legislation.”
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I found this CT article on Paula White to be interesting.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/january-web-only/paula-white-donald-trump-prayer-partner-inauguration.html
It reinforces my belief that the behavior of folks like Jack Graham, Little Falwell and Robert Jeffress this year was completely inexcusable.
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I hate it when Richard Cohen is right, but he is right about poor Sean Spicer AND his boss.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/opinions/sean-spicers-stalinist-apparition/2017/01/23/76fe0704-e197-11e6-a453-19ec4b3d09ba_story.html?client=safari
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Its not illegal to register to vote in two different places just vote in two different places. Like most university students, Tiffany Trump was registered in Pennsylvania where she attended school and at home in New York. However, its a bit of a “face palm” when Trump mentions it in a tweet about voter fraud and then its discovered his chief of staff also registered in two states.
This may be of interest; Trump staff appear to be using their RNC email accounts and private servers despite criticizing Clinton the entire campaign.
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-emails-rnc-reince-priebus-white-house-server-548191
In other words, its meet the new boss same as the old boss. Instead of draining the swamp, Trump enlarged it by bringing in the fossil fuel executives and the Goldman Sachs alumni team. Instead of waiting for Congress to pass legislation, he spends the day signing executive orders. And the Trump admin uses RNC servers (which have been hacked by Russia).
I see Soros exercised his freedom of speech this election. Money, after all, does equal free speech or at least according to Citizens United. If you oppose money in politics and wish to censor Soros, join the Sanders team. I usually take Soros conspiracy theories with a grain of salt. Substitute the Koch name instead of Soros and its like reading a leftist blog,
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Fun video from a Dutch comedy show
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Forgot to mention in my “meet the new boss” statement. I’m often amused when those who oppose government overreach suddenly like it when “their guy” is in charge. Taking over a local police department except in cases of emergency or nabe tural disaster (Hurricane Katrina) is ridiculous. Yes, Chicago police are probably corrupt — and so are police in many locations. Its not a reason for a federal takeover except in the most egregious examples. Although violent crime seems to have taken off, 2016 only looks bad in recent comparison. Looking back from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, and 2016 “record” murder rate looks average. We are shocked by the murder rate last year only because crime is at record lows everywhere else. In other words, the “carnage” Trump likes to talk about is very isolated and something from the past. But here comes the heavy hand of the state to rescue and protect us.
I’ve read the criticism of the Women’s March in recent days. And the left actually agrees. For those of us on the “real” left, the march and especially some of the somewhat amusing but vulgar signs was an opportunity for classical liberal feminists to vent and socialize while ignoring who really needs feminism — minority women, the poor, and women in an abusive culture. Many of the women marching can return to their middle class lifestyle self satisfied whereas the native American women will be camping in the Dakotas attempting to stop a pipeline.
And yes please keep Turmp distracted — and away from the nukes.
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The multiple registration thing can happen easily enough, as Cheryl mentioned. It’s only a crime if you vote in more than one and Bannon didn’t. But the timing couldn’t have been worse.
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The whole “voter fraud” issue is ridiculous. Trump made the whole thing up to try to explain why he lost the popular vote, not that the popular vote even matters. Since Trump lost the popular vote by almost 3 million votes, this distraction is as ridiculous as the Cruz/Lee Harvey Oswald connection. Hillary would have been boring. America voted for ridiculous.
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Speaking of ridiculous, Trump has now dragged my favorite golfer into the mess:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-illegal-coter-fraud-investigation-german-golfer-florida-bernhard-langer-a7546606.html
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