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Chief Justice Defends Judicial Independence After Trump Attacks ‘Obama Judge’ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/us/politics/trump-chief-justice-roberts-rebuke.html?emc=edit_th_181122&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=875445761122 Nov. 21, 2018 WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defended the independence and integrity of the federal judiciary on Wednesday, rebuking President Trump for calling a judge who had ruled against his administration’s asylum policy “an Obama judge.” Rebuking Trump’s criticism of ‘Obama judge,’ Chief Justice Roberts defends judiciary as ‘independent’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rebuking-trumps-criticism-of-obama-judge-chief-justice-roberts-defends-judiciary-as-independent/2018/11/21/6383c7b2-edb7-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html?utm_term=.242470abbc88&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1 November 21 at 6:21 PM The chief justice of the United States and the president of the United States engaged in an extraordinary war of words Wednesday over the independence of the federal judiciary, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issuing a rare rebuke of President Trump’s criticism of an “Obama judge” who ruled against the administration. Policy and Politics - what do you think?
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Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
See the letter, below. Brett Kavanaugh's Body Language Says It All, According To An Expert Natalie Gontcharova Refinery29September 25, 2018 https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/brett-kavanaugh-apos-body-language-133700859.html Every time Sen. Harris asks him the question, there is at least 10 seconds of silence before he starts talking, while normally his responses would be quicker. He evades the question, asks Harris questions in response, and touches his face "in self-comfort." "It's as though there's a game taking place," says Body language expert Patti Wood, author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma. Smiling out of context because your subconscious mind is taking pleasure in having fooled somebody. "The self-satisfied smile — that smug grin — is on the very edge of 'duping delight.' He's in game mode there, and she, well, she's always in game mode. He's thinking,I'm winning in this game, I'm getting away with not giving you the answer." Taking a sip of water, she adds, is a way of covering his true emotions. "That is a coached move and he is using it to cover his anxiety and the tongue thrust shows his suppressed anger." Here is an informative article about alcohol-induced blackouts. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/brett-kavanaugh-drinking-blackouts.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage People who have them often experience them as simply going to sleep, but actually they stay awake and active and don't remember what or where the next day. Ingesting alcohol very quickly is usually the cause of blackouts. Drinking games in high school and college are designed to get a person (usually a woman) so drunk she won't remember, but not so drunk that she falls asleep. Send your letter to Senators Flake, Collins, Murkowski, Manchin, Donnelly, and Heitkamp Also Paul, Portman, Sasse Find each Senator's website contact page at: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm? Dear Senator Flake, I am thankful that you are one Republican who had the integrity to delay the "plowing through" of an undeserving jurist until a thorough FBI investigation reveals facts that will either support or exculpate the horrible accusations against Judge Kavanaugh. Dear Senator Sasse, I am thankful that at least one Republican had the integrity to delay the "plowing through" of an undeserving jurist until a thorough FBI investigation reveals facts that will either support or exculpate the horrible accusations against Judge Kavanaugh. I say "undeserving jurist" because in addition to his show of anger and self-pitying pathos, Kavanaugh revealed a temperament that disqualifies him for any kind of judgeship: his rabid political bias. To claim that the legitimate accusation of Dr. Ford and others is a "left wing conspiracy," coming from resentment by the Clintons, is unsubstantiated vile bile. How could he be an impartial judge in a case involving Republican vs Democratic interests? This is the main reason to call for his rejection as Supreme Court Justice (or Federal Court judge for that matter). Kavanaugh's angry, macho "show of strength" was really a show of weakness. Nevertheless, his anger and tears could be understandable as coming from someone who believes he was unfairly accused. However, the anger could also indicate someone who feels privileged and too entitled to deserve such shabby accusations, whether true or not. The way he kept evading answers and referring to his "merit badges" (I busted my butt getting good grades) reveals an "I'm too good to be criticized" attitude. Possibly, Kavanaugh sincerely does not remember "the event" (or events). But his sincerity is questionable after he tried to falsify the meaning of common terms associated with him in the yearbook, such as "Renata Alumnius" and "Ralph champion." If he lies about little things, he's probably lying about the important things as well. Please do not elevate Bret Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Doing so will degrade the Court's stature, which is its only power. Sincerely, Bruce Joffe Kavanaugh's vote on Supreme Court would give Trump's convicted associates a Get Out Of Jail Free card. On next month's SCOTUS docket is Gamble vs US (No. 17-646). This is what the rush to confirm Kavanaugh is all about. At stake is the "separate sovereigns" exemption to double jeopardy. If Kavanaugh and the other 4 conservative Justices vote to overrule, people given a presidential pardon for federal crimes would not be tried for that crime at the state level. Separate sovereigns doctrine. Under this doctrine, the prohibition on double jeopardy does not prevent dual prosecution when the prosecutions are each by separate sovereigns. Thus, a criminal defendant can be prosecuted by a state court and then by a federal court (or the other way around). A key reason why Kavanaugh is being rammed through: separate sovereigns doctrine to be reviewed by SCOTUS in October. Would remove state's ability to prosecute crimes after a presidential pardon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamble_v._United_States Gamble v. United States (Docket no 17-646) is a pending United States Supreme Court case about the separate sovereignty exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which allows both federal and state prosecution of the same crime as the governments are "separate sovereigns". Terance Martez Gamble was prosecuted under both state and then federal laws for possessing a gun while being a felon; his petition arguing that doing so was double jeopardy was denied due to the exception. In June 2018, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Supreme Court to weigh double jeopardy issue that could impede state cases after presidential pardon By Debra Cassens Weiss Posted June 29, 2018, http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_to_weigh_double_jeopardy_issue_that_could_affect_state_cases/ The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider whether to overturn a long-standing rule that allows federal and state prosecutions for the same offense. The cert petition filed on behalf of Terance Gamble urges the Supreme Court to overrule the so-called “separate sovereigns exception” and “restore the original meaning of the double jeopardy clause.” NBC News and CNN have coverage, while the SCOTUSblog case page is here. If the Supreme Court overturns the precedent, it could make it more difficult for a state to try someone who is pardoned by the president after federal trial proceedings have begun, according to CNN Supreme Court analyst Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas law professor. Gamble was pulled over for a broken taillight in November 2015, more than seven years after his conviction for second-degree robbery. Police smelled marijuana, conducted a search and found marijuana and a handgun. Gamble was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm under Alabama law and served a one-year sentence. During the Alabama prosecution, Gamble was also charged under federal law for being a felon in possession of a firearm, based on the same incident. He entered a conditional guilty plea that reserved his right to raise the double jeopardy issue on appeal, and received a four-year sentence. He will be released nearly three years after he would have been released from state prison. “The separate-sovereigns exception turns federalism on its head,” Gamble’s cert petition asserts. “Gamble’s is a case in point. Far from enhancing his freedoms and securing his liberty, the constitutional division of sovereign power has cost him three years of his life.” The separate-sovereigns exception to the double jeopardy clause has its origins in an 1847 decision, according to the cert petition. The doctrine “fully crystallized” in a pair of 1959 decisions that were decided before the Supreme Court applied the double jeopardy clause to the states through the 14th Amendment. As a result, the “doctrinal underpinnings” of the separate-sovereigns exceptions have eroded, the cert petition argues. Why a Kavanaugh confirmation could limit the NY AG’s power The window to prosecute Trump or his associates may be shrinking. By JEFF COLTIN September 27, 2018 https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/ethics/brett-kavanaugh-could-limit-attorney-general-tish-james-power.html Democratic New York attorney general nominee Letitia James – who is widely expected to win election in November – ran on the promise to be a legal backstop against President Donald Trump. She argued that if Trump were to pardon himself or associates convicted of federal crimes, that she, as attorney general, could then charge them again in New York under state law, “safeguard(ing) against President Trump’s attacks on the rule of law in our country.” But, if the U.S. Senate confirms President Trump’s nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, that might be impossible. The Supreme Court will hear a case in the upcoming term that could bar New York from prosecuting crimes that already have been tried at the federal level. This issue was raised most recently by Natasha Bertrand, a staff writer at The Atlantic, and it’s previously been written about by Fordham University Law Professor Jed Shugerman in Slate, among others. The case is Gamble v. United States, and the issue at hand, as SCOTUSblog writes, is “whether the Supreme Court should overrule the ‘separate sovereigns’ exception to the double jeopardy clause.” The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids double jeopardy – keeping individuals from being prosecuted more than once for the same crime. But a Supreme Court ruling more than a century ago provided an exception known as “separate sovereigns” that allows state and federal courts to prosecute for the same crime, since the systems are sovereign and different. The case being heard by the court, Gamble, arose from an Alabama man who was tried in both state and federal court for the same instance of being caught with an illegal handgun. The case seems far away from the White House, but it’s possible that the Court’s ruling could be broad – reaching even to Trump. But even if the Supreme Court overturns the separate sovereigns exception precedent, the circumstances in which that would determine New York’s ability to prosecute Trump or his associates for potential crimes uncovered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not arise. First, Trump would have to issue a pardon to individuals who have been convicted or pleaded guilty in cases arising from the investigation, such as Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his former lawyer Michael Cohen. If Trump issued pardons, New York law as it stands wouldn’t let the attorney general prosecute right away. There may be a federal exception to double jeopardy, but it’s illegal in New York, too. So the state would need to pass a law to change that, letting state prosecutors take up crimes that have already been tried federally. There’s no chance the Republican-controlled state Senate would do such a thing. But Democrats may win a state Senate majority in November and consider the legislation. The Assembly’s Democratic majority signalled support of such a move to City & State in August, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Barbara Underwood and James are all in favor. Brett Kavanaugh and Gamble vs. U.S., No. 17-646 Russell Grand II Community Friday September 28, 2018 https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/28/1799636/-Brett-Kavanaugh-and-Gamble-vs-U-S-No-17-646 I believe there is one main reason that the GOP desperately needs to get Kavanaugh confirmed as soon as they can: the upcoming SCOTUS case Gamble vs. U.S., No. 17-646. www.scotusblog.com/... With Gamble vs. U.S., No. 17-646, the results of this case will have the power to change the lives of Donald Trump and every Republican scumbag in Congress (and beyond), as well as America as we know it. Gamble vs. U.S. deals with the “separate sovereigns” exception to the double jeopardy clause and, if overruled, will allow a sitting president to pardon both federal and state-level crimes. Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Shock as Trump backs Putin on election meddling at summit July 15, 2018 / 6:10 PM https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-summit/shock-as-trump-backs-putin-on-election-meddling-at-summit-idUSKBN1K601D?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Social "I don’t see any reason why it would be Russia," Trump said. "President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today." Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, a Trump nominee approved by Congress, said in a statement: “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.” Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, a frequent Trump critic, said: “I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression. This is shameful.” Former CIA chief John Brennan went further, suggesting Trump should be removed from office: “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanors.’ It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???” Policy and Politics - what do you think?
I just sent this letter to the editor, and emailed it via on-line form to these critical Senators: Collins, Donnelly, Manchin, Heitkamp, McCaskill, Murkowski. I hope you do so as well. https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm? Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Since all of us – conservatives and liberals, true-believers and agnostics - live on this Earth and enjoy or suffer whatever weather conditions the changing climate is bringing on, isn't this an ample issue to unite with the resolve to fix the problem? How does denial of the problem help to solve it? Here is a useful bibliography of the foundational data supporting scientific knowledge that human-caused greenhouse gas pollution is causing catastrophic climate change. Science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is not second or third-hand reporting from partisan propagandists. This is the scientific analysis from the world's foremost international body of scientists. Fifth Assessment Report https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/ Synthesis Report https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ The Physical Science Basis http://www.climatechange2013.org/report/ The U.S. government’s latest assessment of the state of our climate https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/executive-summary/ Human activity likely contributed to at least 92% of the change in Earth’s average temperature observed since 1951. Here is an easy-to-read summary https://blog.ucsusa.org/brenda-ekwurzel/epa-head-pruitt-on-climate-change-dead-wrong-three-fundamental-scientific-facts-he-needs-to-know Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) FACs https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/global-warming-faq.html#bf-toc How do we know that humans are the major cause of global warming? https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/global-warming-faq.html#bf-toc-3 more detail at https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/human-contribution-to-gw-faq.html#.WzGJ1iBlDFg UCS Reports From https://www.ucsusa.org/search/reports?f[0]=im_field_channel%3A187#.WzGDeiBlDFh Scientists Agree: Global Warming is Happening and Humans are the Primary Cause https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/scientists-agree-global-warming-happening-humans-primary-cause#.WyuzeadKiUm) also see: https://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/global-warming/science-and-impacts/climate-attribution-science#.WzGDqiBlDFg Underwater: Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for US Coastal Real Estate (2018) https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/global-warming-impacts/sea-level-rise-chronic-floods-and-us-coastal-real-estate-implications#.WzGDFyBlDFg Tracing Who’s Responsible for Temperature Increase and Sea Level Rise (2017) A new study quantifies the impacts of emissions traced to major fossil fuel producers on our changing climate. https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/fight-misinformation/climate-responsibility#.WzGD-SBlDFg The Climate Accountability Scorecard: Ranking Major Fossil Fuel Companies on Climate Deception, Disclosure, and Action (2016) https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/fight-misinformation/climate-accountability-scorecard-ranking-major-fossil-fuel-companies#.WzGEZCBlDFg The Climate Deception Dossiers (2015) https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/fight-misinformation/climate-deception-dossiers-fossil-fuel-industry-memos#.WzGE3CBlDFg Science or Spin?: Assessing the Accuracy of Cable News Coverage of Climate Science (2014) Accuracy varies significantly across major cable news outlets https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/solutions/fight-misinformation/cable-news-coverage-climate-change-science.html#.WzGFdiBlDFg Got Science? Not at News Corporation (2012) Representations of climate science on Fox News Channel and in the Wall Street Journal opinion pages are overwhelmingly misleading https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/solutions/fight-misinformation/news-corporation-climate-science-coverage.html#.WzGFtyBlDFg Fox News – 93% misleading Wall Street Journal – 81% misleading Increasing Public Understanding of Climate Risks and Choices (2012) Learning from social science research and practice. https://www.ucsusa.org/increasing-public-understanding-climate-risks-and-choices#.WzGGTCBlDFg Climate Science Underscores Urgent Need to Reduce Heat-trapping Emissions (2009) https://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/latest-climate-science.html#.WzGFKiBlDFg OK, so even if the 97% of scientists who have collected and analyzed data for decades are wrong; suppose that the climate is not actually changing, and it is not changing due to human increase of greenhouse gas. Suppose this were true and nevertheless, we all made the investments and commitment to non-polluting energy sources like solar, wind, tides. How bad would that be? BUT, suppose the deniers who refuse to deal with the problem are wrong, and not enough is done to fix Earth's climate. How bad could THAT be? Finally, suppose the USA remains in climate change denial while China, Denmark, Netherlands and other countries develop advanced non-polluting energy production. What countries will become the industrial leaders of the 21st century? US or them? Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
A Gilbert & Sullivan Sing-Along (Randy Rainbow) Updated version July 2018 https://youtu.be/k-LTRwZb35A Previous version (words, no video) I am the very model of a Very Stable Genius. I have a mighty button and no problems with my penius. I have time for television, golf, and social media Since my brain is way way better than the best encyclopedia. I like to tweet the lies of racist grievances historical When Russian ties are mentioned I deny them categorical I do not feel the sting of words because I am avenious I am the very model of a Very Stable Genius! I am the very model of a man who is, like, very smart..... Many people see my brain and say it's like a work of art..... My daddy, he did nuclear; he truly knew things myriad..... And when I type ellipsis I use far too many periods..... I am the leading expert on all matters constitutional, executive and legislative and the courts marsupial, I love to grab the labius, suspend the corpus habeas, And if you should impeach me I am still a #stablegenius I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters economical, I understand the 1% must have tax that is nominal, About two-state solutions I am teeming with a lot o' nukes And all the generals crap their pants and wonder if we need a coup. I like to say I’m smart because it makes me feel superior but all my words and phrases seem to come from my posterior I swear I have no problems either physical or medical I am the very model of a modern major genital. My toadies all look up to me, in worship they're obsequious My MAGA hordes adore my mane and praise my bigly prescience They care not that I slander, lie, defame or that I’m odious A genius yes, I am I am a traitor quite felonious. I'm very well acquainted too with matters immigrational My genitals are massive and my hairpiece is sensational My tiny hands are frozen, I will warm them with a grabby feel, And fill my greasy mouth with yet another Mackie's Happy Meal. I have around me sycophants and a modern major general On the pot, at night I tweet with logic that's ephemeral. I get to skate on crimes that others normally find heinious I am the very model of a Very Stable Genious. When I became the President it wasn't what I meant to do. I wanted to enjoy the fame and maybe make a mill or two. I went to all the rallies which felt like a public pillory And tried intimidating the appalling Crooked Hilary! My hands, they gesture swiftly to obscure my digits minuscule. I’ll whine an edict, sign a law, and brag how I was smart in school. Aesthetically, I fancy colors gilded and adorned in golds. In bed I lay while dripping burger sauce into my belly folds. Each evening I tune into my big screen televisions (three!) I curse those louts on CNN and writers of the NYT They cast aspersions on my name and those of all my relatives I block them out with folders full of praise and facts alternative! I am large and I am orange and my hair is all original. I have no time for anyone who is vaguely aboriginal. My enemies are guilty, all, of crimes most dark and heinous. I am the very model of a Very Stable Genious. Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Please add your own doggerel stanzas! Policy and Politics - what do you think? Sometimes they are ridiculous, sometimes self-contradictory. Sometimes they are dishonest, sometimes dangerously provocative. Rants of a cranky angryman, the tweets of the POTUS are not government policy. Policy goes through official government channels. POTUS tweets are denied or dismissed by the White House spokesperson whenever they are challenged or criticized. The media does disservice to the country when it gives POTUS tweets attention and reports them as news. They are word noise, nothing more. Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Dear Senator McCain, "Regular Order" was your call for normal review procedure on bills before the Senate. The lack of regular order - the lack of normal committee hearings, of responsible debate, and of objective analysis by the Congressional Budget Office - was the reason you gave for voting against the attempted removal of Obamacare. Now, you have apparently ignored your own principles and voted for the tax-cut scheme that had no regular order review. Republican Senators, including you, voted for the bill before there was time to read its nearly 500 pages. Indeed, changes were still being made in unreadable longhand while the votes were being recorded. In the last few days, the bill got loaded up with special-interest favors that nobody beside their lobbyist advocates have had time to read. No regular order. Why did you vote for it, Senator McCain? Your vote would have made the difference. Was the reason because you will personally benefit from its provisions that reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans? Yours truly, Bruce Joffe Write your own letter to the Senator, at https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form Policy and Politics - what do you think?
Policy and Politics - what do you think?
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AuthorWith over seven decades of experience - feeling the hopes and disappointments of policies, seeing the idealism and disgust of politics - some of the things Bruce Joffe has learned in life may be wisdom, others may be delusion. ... You decide. Categories - select the topics that interest you
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