Constitution
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This Is What Happens When An Autocrat Is Not Checked By Congress
Congress’s abdication of its constitutional responsibilities has rarely been as conspicuous as in the recent escalation toward armed conflict with Iran. The War Powers Clause was designed as a deliberate constraint, a structural safeguard meant to prevent unilateral martial adventurism by any president. Yet the latest round of strikes—undertaken without deliberation, authorization, or even meaningful… Continue reading
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Supreme Court, Third Branch Of Government, Not To Be A Loyal Puppet For Autocratic Absurdity
Donald Trump views the Justice Department as his department of personal lawyers. (They are not any president’s lawyers.) He was outraged when he could not control Jeff Sessions, his attorney general, in 2017. Today, Trump filled his diaper to the brim on national television as he berated and trashed the Supreme Court. It was his… Continue reading
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Court Rules Donald Trump Is Not a Tariff Vending Machine
I was wrong. I had predicted that the Supreme Court, while ruling that a president does not have the authority to hijack tariff-making policy through the executive branch, would hand down a 5-4 decision. I had Justice Gorsuch with the conservative minority on the bench. As we know, he joined with the majority, a decision… Continue reading
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Americans Cannot Bend To Threats Of Insurrection Act — Not in Minneapolis, Not Anywhere
It does not take a news junkie to realize that something is dreadfully wrong in our nation. Someone with severe macular degeneration can witness the absurd overreach and absolute lack of humanity after an ICE employee murdered a woman by shooting her in the face multiple times. Following that, numerous law enforcement and military veterans,… Continue reading
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Senate Republicans Did What Is Right (Nation Needs More Congressional Stewardship)
In yet another example of ongoing excessive overreach by the Trump White House, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell comes under attack, the need for pushback is so obvious that even Senate Republicans have drawn a line in the sand. Failing to modulate Donald Trump’s absurd political pressure against the central bank, elected members of the… Continue reading
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America’s Democratic Soul In Words From Federal Judge Sara Ellis
A powerful example of judicial reasoning and leadership was demonstrated today by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis as she issued a sweeping injunction that puts more permanent restrictions on the use of force by immigration agents during “Operation Midway Blitz, She stated top government officials lied in their testimony about threats that protesters posed and… Continue reading
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Profiles In Courage As Americans Stand Up For Constitutional Norms
Yesterday, I wrote feeling quite sad about the upending of a Halloween parade for children in some Chicago neighborhoods. I find that each day there are increasing reasons to be troubled and deeply concerned over the actions of the Donald Trump Administration. Today, however, in my news feed I read a story that lifted my… Continue reading
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National Security Presidential Memorandum Threatening Your Rights To Dissent
“I am completely astounded that England, which is a very tiny bit of Europe, is dominant. One might reply that it is a fact; I must concur; but as it is impossible, I shall continue to hope that what is incomprehensible will not be eternal.” –Duc de Choiseul, Louis XV’s foreign minister in 1767. I… Continue reading
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Witnessing A Betrayal Of American Ideals With Trump’s Military On City Streets
One of my favorite reads, The Glory And The Dream by William Manchester, was first read when in high school. (The two-volume treasured hardcover set is on bookshelves above where I now type this column.) The first 20 pages tells the gripping story of President Herbert Hoover ordering the U.S. Army, led by General Douglas MacArthur, to… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 