Something important is being talked around in the discourse around Trump shipping people off to El Salvador. These people are only accused, not convicted. And in the U.S. legal system, the State isn’t empowered to do anything to you until…
High Crimes And Misdemeanors: Everything He Does Is Illegal, So Is He Really President?
At what point, as you shut down all the legally-mandated parts of a State and replace them with illegal actions, does that State cease to be and a new one has arisen? It’s a political science version of the Ship…
No Appeal: When The Supreme Court Goes Bad
“The peace, the prosperity, and the very existence of the Union are vested in the hands of the justices of the Supreme Court.” -Alexis de Tocqueville Which was probably a mistake, but an understandable one. When the Constitution was written,…
Free Your Mind: ICE Claims To Be The Brain Police
The State should be an expression of the will of the people, never a source of it. To put that in words that have caused a recent kerfuffle in Congress: The government should have no role at all in the…
No Confidence: The Vote Of Last Resort
Confidence can be useful, but “no confidence” is necessary. When it comes to voting, that is. In the U.S., voters are only given the option of choosing yes or no on some question or choosing one option from a list.…
Weak Sauce: Due Process Is No Guarantee
So, the administration and Supreme Court seem to be of the opinion that it’s OK for the State to grab [people] off the street and [do stuff] to them without a court being involved. Or even being able to intervene.…
No Sign: The Militia Movement Is Missing Their Moment Again
This has been an ongoing annoyance for me, for pretty much as long as I’ve been paying attention to U.S. politics. The U.S. militia movement is never around when they might actually be useful. Seriously, this is an active political…
Legal Bribery: Big Law Pays Protection
This particular story is getting some press, but no one’s mentioning the bribery aspect. And it’s definitely bribery. Even under the Supreme Court’s corrupt “it’s only bribery if you explicitly say so in advance” standard this is bribery. And abuse…
Taking the 4th: Privacy And The Subcontracting State
The 4th Amendment to the U.S. constitution says: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable…
Hitting Escape: Like Marriages, Sometimes Countries Need To End
Situations change, people change, governments change; and now the United States is not the country they taught you that it was back in grade school civics. And it needs to just end. To be honest, the U.S. has never actually…