After recent rulings White House and Democrats want to open investigation into Supreme Court
It is no secret that the Democrats have had their sights set on the Supreme Court since Donald Trump got to name three appointees. Most of the talk has centered around packing the court, however after a spate of recent Supreme Court rulings which have either gone against the Biden administration or the Democrat’s radical agenda two Democrats and the White House have decided to begin an investigation into the Supreme Court. Here is more:
Two key senators want travel records of Supreme Court justices as part of a broader congressional look at financial disclosure standards for the receipt of gifts, travel and other financial gains by senior government officials.
Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy asked the Justice Department and the U.S. Marshals Service last week for information and documents about the last 10 years of trips for members of the high court.
Whitehouse and Kennedy, in a letter sent Friday, asked the Marshals Service for “all documents” related to those trips, the name of the justice who traveled, where the trips were, and the cost to taxpayers.
The correlation between these recent decisions on a range of subjects–from illegal immigration to warrantless gun seizures–and this investigation is purely speculative on my part, it could be a huge coincidence, but the timing does seem suspicious doesn’t it? It’s almost like the Democrats are sending a warning shot across the bow for future decisions…
I have to be honest, this story caught me unawares but apparently several Democrats had hope to use a pending court case to create a loophole which would allow some illegal immigrants permanent residency. But according to this story the Supreme Court has upheld the law and struck down this attempt, here is more:
On Monday, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an illegal immigrant’s attempt to twist immigration law and create a loophole that would allow thousands of illegal immigrants to become lawful permanent residents. Democratic senators and attorneys general advocated for this loophole
“Petitioner Jose Santos Sanchez entered this country unlawfully from El Salvador. Years later, because of unsafe living conditions in that country, the Government granted him Temporary Protected Status (TPS), entitling him to stay and work in the United States for as long as those conditions persist,”
“Sanchez now wishes to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the United States. The question here is whether the conferral of TPS enables him to obtain LPR status despite his unlawful entry. We hold that it does not,”
U.S. immigration law, “applied according to its plain terms,” “prevents Sanchez from becoming an LPR. There is no dispute that Sanchez ‘entered the United States in the late 1990s unlawfully, without inspection.’”
U.S. law “generally requires a lawful admission before a person can obtain LPR status. Sanchez was not lawfully admitted, and his TPS does not alter that fact. He therefore cannot become a permanent resident of this country.”
The best part of this decision is that the liberals cannot blame the xenophobic, racist, nativist Justices which were appointed by Donald Trump because this was a unanimous decision and the opinion, quoted in part above, was written by none other than Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee.
The thing about people who use a crisis to usurp power which the do not have is that very rarely in history does that person end up giving the power back willingly. It has been evident throughout the last year that some State Governors have really become addicted to their new-found emergency powers (especially because they apparently feel as if they are exempt from the restrictions) so it should come as no surprise that California Governor Gavin Newsom has had second thoughts and will not be giving up his emergency COVID powers after June 15th as expected and promised. Here is more:
During a vaccine lottery event Friday, Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom reneged on his promise to lift the state’s emergency declaration after June 15, allowing him to retain the powers to mandate sweeping COVID restrictions.
“The one thing I am certain of is: There’s uncertainty in the future,” said Newsom. “The emergency remains in effect after June 15.”
When asked for his justification for backtracking on his pledge to Californians, the governor responded, “Because we’re still in a state of emergency. This disease is still in effect. It is not taking the summer off.”
He implied that he may need to use the emergency powers again. “Some modifications may need to be in order on the basis of changing conditions,” he remarked.
That does not sound like somebody who has any intention on ever giving that emergency power back willingly and that explains why there is a recall effort in place which is gaining steam in the State. Of course part of his thinking for keeping the state of emergency in place could be that they can not vote him out of office if he does not allow them to vote…
Sunday, June 6th open thread: ‘The Longest Day’
“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 the opening scenes of “Saving Private Ryan” set to Iron Maiden’s song “The Longest Day.”
Judge overturns California’s ‘assault weapons’ ban
Sometimes you have to argue on the terms set by others, so for the sake of this post we are going to pretend there is such a thing as an “assault weapon” and that it is not simply a made up term to describe black weapons the liberals think are scary looking. (I would argue we have been winning this battle in recent years, which is why the liberals have rebranded them as “weapons of war” or as “military-style” weapons)
Now we may be on the verge of winning some major battles and not simple a war of terms. California has had an “assault weapons” ban in place since the late 1980’s but that could be changing soon because a Federal Judge has just ruled this ban is unconstitutional, here is more:
A federal judge overturned California’s longtime ban on assault weapons on Friday in a ruling that likened the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife.
Assault weapons have been banned in California since 1989, according to the ruling. The law has been updated several times since it was originally passed.
According to the ruling by US District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego, the assault weapons ban violates the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms and deprives Californians from owning assault-style weapons commonly allowed in other states. Benitez issued a permanent injunction Friday so the law cannot be enforced.
“Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment,” Benitez said in the ruling. “Firearms deemed as ‘assault weapons’ are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.”
He also used the ruling to criticize the media’s portrayal of these weapons:
In his ruling, the judge also criticized the news media, writing, “One is to be forgiven if one is persuaded by news media and others that the nation is awash with murderous AR-15 assault rifles. The facts, however, do not support this hyperbole, and facts matter.”
According to the article the Judge issued a permanent injunction halting the ban, however it is unclear how “permanent” the injunction will be as California has vowed to appeal this ruling. Still, it is a step in the right direction and we have to hope that when this makes it to the Supreme Court the unpredictable court will hand down the proper decision.
US Government funneled millions of dollars to Wuhan clinic at the center of COVID controversy
So much has happened in regards to COVID-19 over the last year or so that you might not remember–and honestly, I did not–that last year all hell broke out with the Democrats when Donald Trump canceled a $3.7 grant to a non-profit organization named EcoHealth Alliance because of its connection with a certain lab in Wuhan. The Democrats went to the old standby line of attacks about our xenophobic, nativist, racist President but now we are finding out that one grant was just small potatoes when it comes to the Federal government funneling money to the lab in Wuhan at the center of the controversy. Here is more:
The Pentagon gave $39 million to a charity that funded controversial coronavirus research at a Chinese lab accused of being the source for Covid-19, federal data reveals.
The news comes as the charity’s chief, British-born scientist Dr. Peter Daszak, was exposed in an alleged conflict of interest and back-room campaign to discredit lab leak theories.
The charity, EcoHealth Alliance (EHA), has come under intense scrutiny after it emerged that it had been using federal grants to fund research into coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.
The U.S. nonprofit, set up to research new diseases, has also partly funded deeply controversial ‘gain of function’ experiments, where dangerous viruses are made more infectious to study their effect on human cells.
Federal grant data assembled by independent researchers shows that the charity has received more than $123 million from the government – from 2017 to 2020 – and that one of its biggest funders is the Department of Defense, funneling almost $39 million to the organization since 2013.
Just to be clear that $39 million represents only the money sent to EcoHealth (ironic name by the way) from the Pentagon, the United States as a whole sent $123 million. It certainly looks as if the United States government was funding biological warfare research and then outsourced the work to China thinking that was somehow a good idea, and then China released the results of our own research on the world. And to think the Democrats must have known this when they opposed the cancelation of grant money to EcoHealth by Donald Trump…
Joe Biden to cancel oil and gas leases in ANWR
Gas prices might be skyrocketing since Joe Biden became President but apparently his policies, such as canceling the Keystone Pipeline, have not risen the prices high enough for him because he is now preparing to cancel oil and gas leases in ANWR. Here is more:
President Joe Biden’s administration will reportedly cancel several oil and gas leases granted in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in the last weeks of the Trump administration
The decision was reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday, and would mark an attempt to reverse one of President Donald Trump’s historic achievements: the opening of ANWR’s coastal plain in his tax cut legislation in December 2017.
The Post reported that “Interior would halt the leases on the grounds that Trump officials rushed the Jan. 6 auction and did not follow proper procedures.” But environmental groups have also lobbied to reverse Trump’s decision on ANWR.
With gas prices rising we are already seeing the price of goods and services rise along with them as the costs are passed on to us and it is only going to get worse over the next three years as the left pushes its radical global warming agenda. This is just the beginning and I thought good ole Uncle Joe and the Democrats cared about the little people…
Sunday, May 30th open thread: ‘Toxicity’
“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 System of a Down performing “Toxicity” live in 2005:
When last we left Doctor Fauci here at America’s Watchtower it was April 6th and he was should have been catching heat because it was just learned that while he was part of a group that was funding gain-of-function research on the COVID virus in Wuhan he bypassed proper Federal oversight.
Now today we are learning the stunning revelation that Doctor Fauci actually said this research (making a SARS-like virus more contagious) was so important it was worth the risk of causing a pandemic. Here is more:
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director and medical advisor to Joe Biden, defended controversial “gain-of-function” research in 2012, and said the research was worth the risk of a pandemic.
“In an unlikely but conceivable turn of events, what if that scientist becomes infected with the virus, which leads to an outbreak and ultimately triggers a pandemic?” Fauci wrote in an article in the American Society for Microbiology in October 2012—which was first reported by The Australian. “Scientists working in this field might say — as indeed I have said — that the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks.”
This news coupled with the fact that we know Doctor Fauci bypassed proper oversight leads me to take this to the next level. Perhaps he not only saw a pandemic as a risk worth taking but also an opportunity too good to pass up. Kind of like the Tuskegee Study…
Hunter Biden was paid $1,000,000 a year for sitting on the Board of Directors of Burisma despite having no experience in the energy field for the obvious reason of his father’s position as Vice President. Of course both Hunter and his father deny this was the reason, and also claim there was no wrong-doing–such as influence peddling–by either of them.
So it is either the greatest of ironies or the largest of coincidences that just two months after Joe Biden left office Burisma cut Hunter Biden’s salary in more than half. Here is more:
The Ukrainian energy company that was paying President Biden’s son Hunter $1 million a year cut his monthly compensation in half two months after his father ceased to be vice president.
From May 2014, Burisma Holdings Ltd. was paying Hunter $83,333 a month to sit on its board, invoices on his abandoned laptop show.
But in an email on March 19, 2017, Burisma executive Vadym Pozharskyi asked Hunter to sign a new director’s agreement and informed him “the only thing that was amended is the compensation rate.”
“We are very much interested in working closely together, and the remuneration is still the highest in the company and higher than the standard director’s monthly fees. I am sure you will find it both fair and reasonable.”
After the email, the amount listed on Hunter’s monthly Burisma invoices was reduced to $41,500, effective from May 2017.
Still a hefty salary and higher than any other Board member–probably as a reward for influence peddled–but oddly just happens to coincide with the fact that Hunter no longer had anybody influential in the White House he could talk to for Burisma. But move along, nothing to see here…
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