When it comes to trying to get Donald Trump out of office before his term expires the Democrats have many arrows in their quivers–to use a Pelosism— and one of the more longshot arrows was the emoluments clause in the Constitution.
The case was thrown out back in February by the DC Court of Appeals due to lack of standing and the Democrats appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Today we got word that the appeal effort failed when the Supreme Court denied the appeal.
Looks like it is back to the drawing board…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, October 11th open thread: ‘Show of Strength’
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
Here is Echo and the Bunnymen performing “Show of Strength” live in 1981, enjoy:
Video: Joe Biden removes mask to cough at an event
Joe Biden, who trashes Donald Trump for not wearing a mask and who favors a nationwide mask mandate, was caught on video removing his mask to cough at a recent event. Here it is:
First of all, why is the mask not over his nose in the first place? Does the man not understand the concept of the mask? But then, as if that were not bad enough, he removes the mask at the very time when it is most needed and proceeds to spread his germs all over the podium. We know all of these politicians are wearing the mask for political reasons, but if you are going to do it at least do it correctly.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
The IRS, which was no stranger to scandal during the Obama administration, is once again being investigated, this time for using people’s location data without a warrant. The leadership might have changed but that is about all. Here is more:
The body tasked with oversight of the IRS announced in a letter that it will investigate the agency’s use of location data harvested from ordinary apps installed on peoples’ phones, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Motherboard.
The move comes after Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren demanded a formal investigation into how the IRS used the location data to track Americans without a warrant.
“We are going to conduct a review of this matter, and we are in the process of contacting the CI [Criminal Investigation] division about this review,” the letter, signed by J. Russell George, the Inspector General, and addressed to the Senators, reads.
In June, officials from the IRS Criminal Investigation unit told Wyden’s office that it had purchased location data from a contractor called Venntel, and that the IRS had tried to use it to identify individual criminal suspects. Venntel obtains location data from innocuous looking apps such as games, weather, or e-commerce apps, and then sells access to the data to government clients.
Americans are all-too willing to grant permissions to all of these apps, and it does not apply to just game apps, without bothering to question why these apps need the information they ask for and this is the danger.
The IRS is a rogue agency, it is not just the victim of a few rogue agents, and I do not think it is surprising that the IRS would illegally get people’s cellphone app location without a warrant. In fact I would be surprised if this is the only government agency involved in such criminal activity.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Democrats have been threatening to pack the courts if Donald Trump got a third Supreme Court pick. Long before Ruth Bader Ginsburg died the Democrats were threatening drastic action in order to “even” out the court. Now that Donald Trump has that third nominee the calls to pack the Supreme Court have intensified.
But that is not the only option the Democrats are pondering, in addition to this the Democrats have introduced a term limits bill and now there is also talk being floated in Democratic circles of “jurisdiction stripping.” According to this story, what this means is that Democrats want to limit which types of legislation will be reviewable by the court system–lower courts and the Supreme Court. Here is more:
Facing the prospect of a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Hold it, stop everything. This new pick would give the Supreme Court a 5-4 majority. In case the liberals have not noticed, John Roberts is a liberal. Anyway back to the story:
In recent weeks professors at top-tier law schools have published articles advocating for jurisdiction stripping or other reforms that would chip away at the court’s power rather than simply alter its ideological makeup.
Some liberal proponents believe jurisdiction stripping could help Democrats shield bold future legislation from damaging court battles. In theory a Democratic Congress could pass a health-care plan or a Green New Deal with a provision stipulating that the legislation lies outside the bounds of Supreme Court review.
Under variations of the jurisdiction-stripping proposal, Democratic lawmakers could also limit the ability of lower courts to review legislation
So you pass a bill with an amendment to the legislation which says the legislation cannot be challenged in court and there is nothing that can be done about it? What happened to the separation of powers? They really are getting desperate but this idea takes the cake, they are losing their minds.
Joe Biden’s latest racist gaffe
Joe Biden’s recent history on the campaign trail shows us several examples of his racism. Not all that long ago he said that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids” and then he chastised Charlamagne tha god by telling him if he didn’t know who he was voting for “you ain’t black.”
Not to be outdone by himself, good ole Uncle Joe recently said he was able to hide in his basement because a black woman was allowed to stock the shelves in the grocery store. Here it is:
I am not really sure what exactly Joe Biden meant by that comment, does he think that only black women stock shelves? Is stocking shelves women’s work? Is this the type of work only minorities perform? Is he saying during the lock down the Democratic governors were willing to expose black people to the virus to keep their lifestyle as unaffected as possible? Why does he assume gender and color based on a person’s job?
I do not know the answer to those questions but I do know I agree with Charlamagne tha god when he said Joe Biden’s Senate record “reflects very racist legislation.” I guess that is just who Joe is…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
New York City looks to reimpose COVID-19 lock down orders
After letting his subjects have a little perceived freedom over the Summer Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to reimpose the draconian COVID-19 lock down orders which ground New York City to a halt for most of the year. Here is more:
New York City’s mayor said Sunday that he has asked the state for permission to close schools and reinstate restrictions on nonessential businesses in several neighborhoods because of a resurgence of the coronavirus.
The action, if approved, would mark a disheartening retreat for a city that enjoyed a summer with less spread of the virus than most other parts of the country, and had only recently celebrated the return of students citywide to in-person learning in classrooms.
Shutdowns would happen starting Wednesday in nine zip codes in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
About 100 public schools and 200 private schools would have to close. Indoor dining, which just resumed a few days ago, would be suspended. Gyms would also close.
These governors, and in this case this mayor, are not willingly going to give back this power to shut down businesses and schools, this power to steal a person’s job and livelihood, this power to restrict people’s movements and right to worship without a fight. They have grown addicted to this power and it is going to take people to stand up and say enough is enough or this is going to continue.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, October 4th open thread: ‘The Queen is Dead’
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
This week’s musical selection is The Smiths performing “The Queen is Dead” from 1986:
She said : “Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing”
I said : “That’s nothing – you should hear me play piano”
Some states have used the COVID-19 pandemic to impose draconian measures under the guise of keeping the people safe. We have seen state governors issue regulations in various degrees of authoritarian nature with some of the toughest being from wanna be tyrant Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan.
Her measures are so strict that you might remember her husband had a “do you know who I am?” moment when he tried to use his status to flout the rules his wife put in place in the state.
While most states are trying to get back to a state of normalcy there are a few Governors out there who are not willing to give up the power they usurped and Gretchen Whitmer is one such Governor. She has continued to hold her subjects hostage but that is about to change.
Today the Michigan Supreme Court struck down the law Governor Whitmer was using to justify her abuse of power, and ruled her regulations were in violation of the state constitution, here is more:
The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday struck down a 1945 law that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has been using to keep the state locked down since April.
Whitmer has repeatedly extended a “state of emergency” for the past several months and pointed to a World War II-era law to do so, most recently lengthening it until October 27.
The Court concluded the Emergency Powers of Governor Act:
…is in violation of the Constitution of our state because it purports to delegate to the executive branch the legislative powers of state government–including its plenary police powers–and to allow the exercise of such powers indefinitely. As a consequence, the EPGA cannot continue to provide a basis for the Governor to exercise emergency powers.
This was met thusly by the Michigan House Speaker:
The Supreme Court ruled today in agreement with the legislature that the 1945 law is unconstitutional,” Chatfield wrote.
“The governor had no right to extend the state of emergency over the Legislature’s objection. Our Constitution matters, and this was a big win for our democratic process.”
As Fred Wszolek, spokesman for Unlock Michigan, said “Michigan is now unlocked.”
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
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