I just ordered a wall sculpture featuring three bare trees. I hesitate to take it out of the box because I know the rest of the family will hoot and boo.
Happy December! Many important events in my life happened in December. The bad news is, the rest of the months are pretty lean.
The SoN has hitting Eric Young pretty heavy over a civil court case that has not been heard, much less adjudicated. I find it rather amazing considering the track record of some of the people associated with that blog. So let’s see, if some one sues you that speaks to your character?
I would lay off the pointing finger if I was the SoN. Several are pointing back at that nest of comrades.
I agree, Moon- this is a beautiful time of the year. I love trees (yes- I’m a tree hugger- big surprise!), but I love seeing the branch systems without leaves and being able to see the sky on my treed property. Particularly the night sky.
Oh I do too! I can'[t see much of the sky at night when leaves are on the trees, even though I have taken down 2.5 trees in the past year. Well, one fell, to be truthful.
I have a pin oak that still hasn’t lost its leaves. I am wondering if it will keep them until spring. All that wind and this tree still has brown leaves.
And it’s time to start thinking about New Years resolutions!
The season when both the trees and Kim Kardashian have gone bare.
I would laugh but I don’t want Kim Kardashian messing up my image of bare trees. Bare trees and dead trees rule!
Rep.Rob Whitman is having a telephone town hall meeting. This guy is just too much. I hope he seriously doesn’t think he coming up with answers to problems. I was underwhelmed with his answer to some guy about minimum wage. Basically he said he doesn’t want to raise the rate because people shouldn’t be stuck at minimum wage jobs. [slapping head]
His explanation about funding for childhood cancers was even scarier. Congress really should stay out of explaining cancer. He talks more and says less than any congressman I have ever had.
The mouth is moving but no one is home.
I was thankful that I could fill up with $2.43 gas during the holiday weekend.
Low energy prices are going to make this a very Merry Month.
Obama has already won the immigration fight
Among the many ways Republican members of Congress are contemplating to punish President Obama for his executive actions on immigration is a proposal of elegant simplicity: They would refuse to invite him to the Capitol to give his State of the Union address.
Yes, that should do the job. And if this doesn’t force Obama to back down from his executive orders, Republican lawmakers can escalate by unfriending him on Facebook and unfollowing him on Twitter. If even this fails, they can take the extreme step of having their Christmas cards from the Obamas returned to sender. Surely, the president then would have no choice but to relent.
The State of the Union dis-invitation, in other words, would be precisely as effective as all the other ideas Republicans are contemplating, which is to say entirely ineffective. There will be more spluttering and stomping and shouting about Obama’s illegal and unconstitutional activities, but pay no attention. In the immigration stare-down, Republicans have already blinked. Unwilling to squander their new majority and public support by risking a government shutdown, they are quickly falling in line behind symbolic protests.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-the-gops-symbolic-fight-against-immigration-action/2014/12/02/a0a5d816-7a5b-11e4-9a27-6fdbc612bff8_story.html?tid=HP_opinion?tid=HP_opinion
Obama kicked the republicans’ butts on immigration reform
Yes, The Executive sure knows how to ignore the law.
From the Washington Post Editorial Board: “Republicans’ failure to address immigration also does not justify Mr. Obama’s massive unilateral act. Unlike Mr. Bush in 1990, whose much more modest order was in step with legislation recently and subsequently enacted by Congress, Mr. Obama’s move flies in the face of congressional intent — no matter how indefensible that intent looks.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/president-obamas-unilateral-action-on-immigration-has-no-precedent/2014/12/03/3fd78650-79a3-11e4-9a27-6fdbc612bff8_story.html
It’s always easier to win when you cheat.
But as for your main point that not inviting The Executive to the State of The Union is somehow a feeble response, two points:
1) It is appropriate given the contempt The Executive has shown for Congress. He can submit a State of the Union in writing. Plenty of Presidents have done it in the past. Congress doesn’t need to give The Executive a photo op.
2) It is not the only response that is in the works. Congress is looking into measure to defund The Executive’s immigration actions. In addition, a number of states are going to court over The Executive’s decision.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20141203/us–immigration-texas-0e6478e753.html
Of course the problem is that it is unclear if The Executive will abide by any action to defund is immigration action or even a court decision. But one can always hope.
Why doesn’t congress just pass an immigration bill that would negate any executive action? Like the bi-partisan one waiting on Boehner’s desk? All these other GOP actions are just more efforts to cater to their extremist minority.
We have race riots in the streets, multiple wars in progress, a budget to pass, environmental issues, immigration issues and on and on and what does congress hold a hearing on today? NFL TV blackouts! These people are a joke.
So, even the WaPo Editorial Board believes that the unilateral actions by POTUS on immigration were unprecedented.
What Obama has done is proven that the GOP does not want to tackle any issue, has no vision on the immigration issue and is all talk and no action. An issue that this country is facing and no meaningful action from Congress for over a decade. Lip Service does not even start to describe it.
It would have mighty helpful if this POTUS and his GOP predecessor had engaged in an honest and efficient securing of the border and enforcement of the immigration laws already on the books——as is called for by their job description. Instead we’ve wound up with a Border Patrol that has become the Welcome Wagon instead of frontier guards, and an ICE which has become a confused, bumbling mess and is fast losing cooperation with local law enforcement all over the country.
There are more border patrols than ever. Secure our border is a cry for something that cant be done. Might as well shout it. I can’t think of what else he could do along the border.
There are also more deportations under this administration. There are priorities about who gets deported. That is only common sense.
@Wolve
and how many times has Congress voted to build a fence and then subsequently refused to fund the building of a fence – oh my gosh a new fence will raise taxes 0.00001% we certainly cannot afford that.
Another failure of Congress. Would you pay $1 a year for a fence – I would. But the Norquist pledge ‘makes’ them say no. Time for Congress to grow a set and do their job. Amazing how people like Norquist and Rush can have such a strangle hold on Republican Politicians.
Standing ovation, Pat!
@Wolve
Now you’re just being silly. Obama has deported more than any president in history and illegal entries on the southern border are way down.
Republicans are just being controlled by their lunatic fringe.
I love the argument that because Congress has not chosen to act on immigration somehow makes The Executive’s actions legal.
In 2005 Congress failed to privatize Social Security and has failed to act on it since. So you’ll be completely fine with the legality of a future president directing that the Social Security administration not penalize people who divert their social security payments into private investments? (Note: I want you to explain how that is not legal given The Executive’s precident, not if you think it’s a good idea or not.)
Lastly, I also love the argument that somehow The Executive’s actions are voided if Congress passes a bill. How does this newly created power work? Can Congress pass any immigration bill to void The Executive’s actions? Would the “Deport them all tomorrow Act” override The Executives action? Does The Executive have to sign the bill into law?
If so, isn’t it a little silly to say that the only way Congress can maintain it’s right to make law is if it passes laws that The Executive agrees with? Otherwise, The Executive gets to make law on his own except when 2/3rds of Congress disagrees. (Assuming The Executive still accepts the validity of veto overrides.)
I’m really curious how this new power works. Can someone explain it to me? I used to understand how a bill became a law, but my copy of the Constitution doesn’t have the new “Congress failed to act” clause.
Again-Obama’s executive action doesn’t make law, it prioritizes spending and enforcement, which is well within the presdential responsibilities.
If the House would vote on the bipartisan bill on Boehner’s desk, the president would sign it and the ex. Order becomes moot.
The Executive himself disagrees with you. “I just took action to change the law”
Also, prioritizing spending has never been the job of the President. Congress has the sole power of the purse both for authorization and appropriation. At least they did until The Executive decided he had that power.
One other funny little detail. These “Executive Orders” you speak of. They don’t exist. The Executive hasn’t bothered to put his decisions in writing. I guess it’s easier to make your own laws when you don’t even write them down.
But here’s an easy one to prove me wrong. Post a link with the text of The Executive’s orders. He’s a what Executive Orders look like:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/executive-orders
Notice anything recent that’s missing? But I’ll take any link with the text of these orders that you speak of.
The IRS makes a lot of anti-tax schemes semi-legal by declining to enforce the tax rules as written. When a particular abuse rises to the top it gets attention. In McPhees language that would be tax amnesty since past abusers are never forced to retroactively pay.
Tax loopholes are to republicans what illegal immigration is to democrats.
We would have an unbearable police state if we were all held to the exact letter of every law, especially since most legislation is written with a lot of ambiguity that relies on administrative decision-making to convert them into workable regulations.
@Ed Myers
Through your IRS example, I’m glad you see The Executive’s immigration actions as “semi-legal” You are half way there. Not just drop the “semi”
The difference between individual prosecutorial discretion and what The Executive did is that prosecutorial discretion is selective. The IRS does not publish a list of what tax regulations they are not going to enforce each year. Yes, they can’t audit everybody, but anyone could get audited. So less than 100% enforcement still ensures a decent compliance rate.
The same thing works for immigration. You seem to think that because it is impractical to deport every illegal immigrant, we should announce that we won’t deport any. Actual prosecutorial discretion is what we used to do before The Executive. We generally deported the worst of the worst, but you deport a few softer cases to send the message that anybody who is hear illegally could be deported.
Also, how does issuing work permits fit into prosecutorial discretion anyway?
The R’s talk like doing nothing was working so effectively.
Were they working anyway? Yes.
Were they still coming here? Yes.
Were employers punished for hiring them? Rarely.
Were they going to leave or self deport? No.
Were/Are they being taken advantage of? Yes.
Has Congress done anything substantial in the last 15 years to address the influx – No. And the little that they have done – they have not funded.
Furby, congress has responsibility for appropriation and authorization of funds as you say, but within an agency there has always been the ability to prioritize.
Again, the key point is that GOP extremists are preventing passage of an existing immigration bill with wide bipartisan support.
For a majority of the country, the key point is that The Executive is acting illegally. GOP extremists blocking an immigration bill with wide bipartisan support has nothing to do with The Executive violating the Constitution. “The President shall take care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” You don’t get to add a footnote that says “except when the GOP are being jerks”
Middleman — Members of the liberal lunatic fringe tend to believe any old bulls**t from this administration and its media pimps. Does nothing register with them? Not even an admission by their own side that the DHS deportation stats were padded by including those who were caught right at the border and turned back into Mexico immediately, often multiple times per perp? Not even the complaints from the Border Patrol that “Welcome Wagon” duties in Texas had drawn so many agents away from other border areas that the smugglers and crossers were having much easier runs? Have they not seen the complaints that ICE has been forced to release illegal immigrant criminal elements into the population? Do they not know that the “Welcome Wagon” relief was greatly aided by seasonal weather in Mexico and by Mexican government efforts, curiously at US midterm election time, to stop the northbound immigrant railroad traffic? I mean, really, all the liberal lunatic fringe has is a repeat of the blah blah from the administration?
Over the past 40 years or so, we have had wave after wave of illegal immigration, finally bringing the nation to a point of great antagonism and even Balkanization. I say the fault lies with both political parties in pursuit of their own selfish interests. It is about time the legal residents of this country were given a truly secure border system, an efficient legal immigration apparatus, and a guest worker system targeted to actual labor needs. Do we get it? No. All we get is political games and lies from both sides.
Silly, is it? Well, I should reply with something about someone else being so full of s**t that their eyes have turned brown; but then I’d probably have to pay royalties to Moonhowler.
I like royalties. Actually, ” Does nothing register with them? Not even an admission by their own side that the DHS deportation stats were padded by including those who were caught right at the border and turned back into Mexico immediately, often multiple times per perp?” Isnt that what we want? People to be turned back at the border?
I don’t think this country has any more immigrants than it ever has had. Look at the different waves of immigrants.
We have no idea how many illegal immigrants we have in the country right now, either border crossers or visa overstays. Not even the Census Bureau has a truly accurate number. Back in the day not long ago, somebody simply tossed out the number 11 million, and that has become the go-to number for the media and the blogs and the pundits ever since. In reality, we are only guessers. Having actually worked a porous border in an effort to trap incoming terrorists, I have to laugh at anyone who claims that they can estimate the flow of illegal crossers. How do you count people you never see and who exist outside the normal legal and governance mechanisms? Guesses. All of it.
High time we straightened this thing out like honest Americans, from true border security to legal immigration systems to guest worker programs. And stop allowing either political party to play games for future ethnic votes and/or cheap labor. If we can do that so we do not have future waves of illegal immigrants to deal with, maybe we can come to some equitable agreement on those already here. So long as we are not asked to fix this current internal problem only to find another problem of the same type and magnitude down the road again.
@Wolve
Wolve – you are making sense. I agree with you. Congress has not done its job – now what? Congress has no plans on doing its job. Congress would prefer to create a crisis so that they can go to the 11th (or 12th) hour – and send the markets and employers into a tizzy.
@Wolve
I agree with Pat- you ARE making sense, Wolve- and reinforcing my point. Congress has not done their job. Elections have consequences, and Obama was elected twice while running on immigration reform so he’s doing his best to do what he can without congress. The better plan is for congress to do their job, such as pass the bipartisan Senate bill that that contains reforms that the majority of Americans support.
As for your comment regarding me being full of s**t, I’ll have you know I’m actually quite regular. I think my not being full of pent-up xenophobic rage helps in that regard.
And you don’t get to ignore the fact that the failure of congress to do it’s job and the president’s executive order is unrelated. Pass a bill!!
I’m not ignoring it. I freely acknowledge that Congress never passed a bill that would satisfy The Executive, so he used that as an excuse for his illegal actions. (What you are incorrectly calling Executive Orders. How’s that search for the actual text of them coming along by the way?)
The difference is that you seem to believe that justifies The Executive’s illegal and unconstitutional actions. Lots of Presidents have had hostile Congresses. (And many a LOT more hostile than this Congress.) And they’ve either figured out how to work with them or we waited until there was a clear mandate for one side of the issue. But The Executive doesn’t accept the limits put on him by the Constitution.
It’s amazing that anybody defends The Executive overriding properly passed law with unwritten orders.
You know he’s also directed the IRS to allow child tax credits to the people included in his actions. I guess we’ve clearly established his successors can tinker with the tax code unilaterally too.
But again, you’ll be completely cool with Rand Paul someday imposing his vision of a tax code unilaterally, right?
I meant RELATED!! Freudian slip! Arrrgh!!
@Furby McPhee
Actually, Furby, I don’t, as you say above, “believe that justifies The Executive’s illegal and unconstitutional actions.” As I think I’ve made clear, I don’t think Obama’s action on immigration IS illegal or unconstitutional, according to what he’s actually proposing and what other presidents have done, so it doesn’t need justification in that regard.
What justifies his action is stopping the break-up of families and getting these folks paying taxes, which address what are supposedly two conservative issues- family values and fair taxes.
It is hardly “xenophobic” to want this country to get its full act together so that we can live without all this angst. Or to want those who are legal residents to not have to compete for jobs with illegal immigrants hired in violation of our own laws or given a leg up with the H-B1 visa system. Nor do I think you can blame Americans for being angry at seeing illegal immigrants who are in this country without permission marching through our streets demanding their “rights.” Or our politicians pandering to those same people.
Obama is just as much to blame as anyone else. A common complaint about him is that he avoids personal engagement of the kind absolutely needed for working out differences and making progress through compromise. In plain language, the guy either doesn’t know how to “schmooze” or refuses to do so. That applies to foreign as well as domestic affairs. There should have been a huge effort on both sides to work out an immigration solution acceptable to all before the issue got to be so antagonistic again. Now, having failed to engage, Obama starts strutting like some sort of potentate, blaming others for faults he himself personifies.
And neither side in the political leadership seems to realize that the best possible first step which would serve to stem much of the voter anger is to secure that border and stop the flow. You have a water leak in the basement, the first thing you do is turn off the main before starting to clean up the mess on the floor. You are dreaming if you don’t believe that media images of the Border Patrol playing Welcome Wagon in Texas didn’t have a big effect on the outcome of the 2014 midterms. And polls re today’s Senate runoff in Louisiana reportedly showed over 40% of Louisiana voters citing illegal immigration and talk of Presidential “amnesty” as their top concern, far beyond the XL pipeline and even ObamaCare at about 15% and 28% respectively.
Personally, I am getting sick to hell of the leadership of both parties in this immigration thing and equally sick of those who try to defend either side. The country as a whole is getting screwed by multiple screwers.
@Ed Myers
“We would have an unbearable police state if we were all held to the exact letter of every law, especially since most legislation is written with a lot of ambiguity that relies on administrative decision-making to convert them into workable regulations.”
Then we need to either change or repeal those laws instead of allowing the executive branch to selectively enforce laws.
@middleman
“And you don’t get to ignore the fact that the failure of congress to do it’s job and the president’s executive order is unrelated. Pass a bill!!”
The Congress is DOING its job. It was DESIGNED to act this way. The failure to pass a bill is part of the system and is perfectly legal. Obama’s actions ARE NOT. They are two separate things. He does not have the authority to bypass Congress. His actions do not make the illegal aliens any more legal. Issuing work permits is NOT legal and NOT “selective enforcement.” And anyone that hires them using those illegal work permits or seeks a job with those work permits are still breaking existing law. The law has not changed.
HEY MOON!
You might like these.
http://www.ilovesciencestore.com/promos/moon-phase-bracelet-with-7-images.html
Check out Bill Golden’s site regarding the local homeless shelters in the woods.
https://bill4dogcatcher.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/homeless-in-prince-william-county-virginia/
Rams 24 Redskins 0. Now I am ready to change the name. How about “Zeroskins”?
We came close with “Zedskins”.
Cheers for the Caps. 4 – 1 win over NJ Devils!!!
Go caps!
Moe Davis will be interviewed tonight at 7 by Al Jezerra and at 8 pm by Anderson Cooper. Go Moe!
The Al Jazeera at 7 got moved to tomorrow night.
Moe should be on around 8:10 on CNN with Anderson Cooper.
Think John Wall is “The Man” in Metro Washington sports
now. Talent, drive and heart – this guy plays until
the whistle blows. Go Wizards!
Beautiful scene in Oslo, Norway, today where people were
honoring the two Nobel Peace Prize winners.
THAT’S OUR BOY! SO glad we kicked Cantor to the curb!
Brat proposes amendment today to stop Obama’s amnesty order
WASHINGTON, DC (December 10, 2014) – Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) joined Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) and Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) to offer an amendment today to the omnibus budget bill to cut off funding for President Obama’s attempt at executive amnesty. As of the latest count, 53 of their House colleagues have also signed on as cosponsors.
The proposed amendment will be presented to the House Rules Committee for consideration this afternoon.
“Our amendment is simple and straightforward,” said Brat. “It specifically says DHS cannot use funds to implement the executive amnesty outlined in 10 memos from DHS and two from the president himself. Our amendment says we in Congress refuse to allow an agency of this government to commit an act that the leadership on both sides has said is illegal.
“The president himself said he does not have this power. The Constitution says he does not have this power. And the American people have demanded the rule of law be followed. This amendment will ensure that happens.“
Ah, well that will take care of Republicans getting the White House any time in the near future. Brat sounds like he is being a brat.
There never has been an amnesty program. Obviously many people don’t know the definition of amnesty.
@Moon-howler
Hmmm…. giving illegal aliens a work permit, making them defacto legal, is amnesty. Releasing thousands of illegal immigrants, including criminals…is amnesty. Refusing to deport….is amnesty.
Criminals do not get released. No green card. No right of return. No travel. The rules are rather strict and there are fees to pay for everything. Furthermore, the delayed deportation is temporary.
@Moon-howler
Oh…forgot to mention…..
The President’s actions are illegal. We have THAT going for us too.
Oh My Goodness – there is a thing called a budget, well really a CR Continuing Resolution to fund the Government. And it snuck up on everyone and must pass tonight otherwise there will be a shutdown. If only someone had mentioned it, we would not have to work through the night and burn the midnight oil.
@Pat.Herve
Ohnoes! A shut down!? We’re aaaallllllgonnnnnadiiiiiieeee!
Or not.
Didn’t seem to hurt us last time, so they should get cracking and hash this out instead of playing chicken. Or…shut it down if that is what their principles demand.
You don’t really want the government shut down again. Seriously. That is just irresponsible.
@Moon-howler
Looks like amnesty to me:
Obama’s amnesty allows illegals with U.S.-born children to briefly leave the country, perhaps for a business meeting in Canada, and then be given “advanced parole” by border officials that lets them legally return to the United States.
Once they have legally returned under “advanced parole,” they can be immediately sponsored for a green card and citizenship by their adult child, he said.
That process bypasses U.S. law that requires illegals to leave the country for 10 years before their U.S.-born adult children can sponsor them for citizenship, Lee said.
Obama’s amnesty offers work permits, drivers’ licenses, Medicare and Social Security to five million illegals who have children with citizenship or green cards.
The five million could get citizenship via Obama’s new parole technique.
“The president claims that he is not changing this rule, but that’s exactly what he’s doing,” Lee said.
“So long as you have a business meeting in Toronto. you can get permission to leave and be paroled back into the country on your return … [and] once you do that. … You can get a green card and get citizenship,” Lee said.
The method is illegal, said Lee, because Congress has narrowly defined when the administration can offer “advanced parole” to foreigners, he said.
Parole can only be offered to people “only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
Colonel Morris Davis…aka Moe will be on Lawrence O’Donnell tonight at 10 pm
MSNBC
The curse has been lifted. Moe is no longer banned.
well, we laugh at Greece and other countries – a well run organization like the Girl Scouts or a Gas Station would not be this flip with something so important as a budget. But we sure were able to vote on defunding Obamacare. Any other place – incompetance.
I seem to recall hearing nothing but whining and complaining because the national parks were shut down. Do you think we can suffer through that?