Recently, after the speech of Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich, various European leaders went public to express their shock and disbelief that they would be accused of rolling back on free speech. For many of us, it was a laughable display of denial, particularly from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In a country that has eviscerated free speech, Starmer told Bret Baier that the UK “guards” free speech and “we don’t believe in censoring speech.” Now, the government is continuing this month with its effort to regulate and criminalize speech. The effort to crack down on “Islamophobia” could create a type of blasphemy standard if it encompasses criticism of the faith or its practices.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has announced that the government will be further cracking down on hate speech with a new working group tasked with defining ‘Islamophobia’. The free speech community is raising the alarm that the effort is likely to further broaden the government controls over speech.
It was announced last week that Rayner’s working group would be chaired by former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve KC, who has himself admitted that defining Islamophobia while safeguarding free speech is ‘extremely difficult.’ Notably, Grieve wrote the foreword to the 2018 All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) report on Islamophobia, which advanced a definition that many critics argue is far too broad.
The APPG included criticism of Islamic beliefs and practices as examples of Islamophobia. It has been condemned for treating criticism of the faith as a type of hate speech.
For years, I have been writing about the decline of free speech in the United Kingdom and the steady stream of arrests, including in my book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.
A man was convicted for sending a tweet while drunk referring to dead soldiers. Another was arrested for an anti-police t-shirt. Another was arrested for calling the Irish boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend a “leprechaun.” Yet another was arrested for singing “Kung Fu Fighting.” A teenager was arrested for protesting outside of a Scientology center with a sign calling the religion a “cult.”Last year, Nicholas Brock, 52, was convicted of a thought crime in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The neo-Nazi was given a four-year sentence for what the court called his “toxic ideology” based on the contents of the home he shared with his mother in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Judge Peter Lodder QC dismissed free speech or free thought concerns with a truly Orwellian statement: “I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.”
Lodder lambasted Brock for holding Nazi and other hateful values:
“[i]t is clear that you are a right-wing extremist, your enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology is demonstrated by the graphic and racist iconography which you have studied and appeared to share with others…”
The fear is that an expanded hate speech law that includes criticism of Islamophobia will operate like a British blasphemy law. In 2008, the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished in England. This new effort could constructively restore such prosecutions as they relate to Islam.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.
OT
Another judge who thinks he is President.
https://www.newslooks.com/judge-blocks-trumps-attempt-to-shut-down-usadf
The Supreme Court really needs to step in and tune up these petty tyrants.
If not the President who has the authority to control these ‘independent’ rogue agencies?
Rumors of tons of money given by these agencies to NGOs only to be funneled back to DC insiders are looking more plausible by the minute.
Every other institution in the country has been marred and defaced by the Left and it looks as if it is time for the masks to be ripped from the ‘nonpartisan’ judges.
SCOTUS needs to act before Articles I and II step in to clean up the filthy mess. They can start by abolishing the lower DC courts as if they were a homeless camp nuisance…and, yes, Congress can do that.
THE POWER TO ADJUDICATE, NOT EXECUTE
The judicial branch is vested NO executive power by the Constitution and can produce no legal basis to usurp or exercise executive power.
The judicial branch has no authority to exercise executive power in any aspect, facet, degree, or amount.
No legislation or adjudication that usurps and exercises executive power is constitutional.
The executive Power, all of the executive Power, is vested in the President, in exclusion of every other individual, branch, or entity.
The court’s decision can only be that the judicial branch, including the Supreme Court, has the power to adjudicate but not exercise executive power.
The Constitution distributes the unassailable, absolute power of the King in distinct and particular areas of governance.
“The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,…” and those judges must be impeached and convicted “during [bad] Behaviour.”
The singular American failure is the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Article 2, Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Article 3, Section 1
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.
USADF and this judge are merely delaying the inevitable.
Have any of these efforts prevailed ?
John,
I think some have thus far, but except for a couple of impeachment resolutions being filed neither the President nor the Congress has brought out the sledgehammers to deal with the robed tyrants. I think they are hoping, as am I, that the Supreme Court settles the issues.
However, these judges have made clear that Ilyan Shapiro was absolutely correct when he wrote in LAWLESS that the law schools and ABA need considerable adjustments or the Constitution and country will be endangered by an army of lawyers and judges such as we see in DC now.
#74 The reason it’s being shut down. Hopefully you’re in a State with honest people.
When track meets become full-contact sports! Saw this on Free Republic:
Poor impulse control.
Tonya Harding please hold my beer.
Somewhat off the subject but intensely connected to the indoctrination of the U.S. universities. The USA universities have taken over 13 Billion dollars from the Arab nations and 25% of that is from Qatar (6 Billion) of which 1 Billion was given last year alone. MMMM any connection to the pro Hamas terrorist demonstrations and the current terrorist climate on US universities?
It would be interesting to follow the money around the world.
You know that the UK government (or any such government) has lost it when they set up “a new working group tasked with defining ‘Islamophobia’”. The effort at trying to make objective the clearly subjective is endless and is, in this global era, ultimately fruitless.
Churchill’s Iron Curtain has moved considerably further west since 1946.
Looks like Aethelred the Unready is back to finish what he first started.
#74. The forces of darkness have descended upon Europe and the UK. It’s clear in opposite world.
The US has become a new form of government– the Bureaucracy. 2 million permanent employees are the government. The elected officials have become ignorant buffoons. The executive branch pretends to run the 2 million employees and congress just rubber stamps funding GLOBALLY until it was bankrupt.
The takeaway for the day comes from John Say– When required to present invoices and contractors 2 billion dollars changed into 137 thousand dollars.
A congress of such intelligence ping pong paddles with phrases or a word written is common. The tik-tok attention span.
Fight, fight, fight…
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts, largesse, from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”
– Attribution Unknown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Fraser_Tytler,_Lord_Woodhouselee#:~:text=The%20following%20quotation%20has%20been,gifts%20from%20the%20public%20treasury.
“DEBATABLE ATTRIBUTION”
– Wiki
The Prentis Cycle, 1946
From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to freedom; from freedom to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to fear; from fear to dependency; and from dependency back to bondage once more.[6]
I recall reading something once, from a Frenchman (?), maybe one of the existentialists, or deconstructionists – about the Nazi Invasion, to the effect, “we pooh-poohed everything patriotic and/or faith-based, and now we are without the desire to resist the Evil at our door. We have nothing to fight for.”
I wish I could remember exactly who it was who said it, and exactly what they said.
Charles DeGaul rally speech perhaps or Pepe LePugh…😝
I can not remember who it was. I have tried searching without luck. Maybe one of the nihilists, or surrealists.
No. It was definitely Pepe Le Pew. And it wasn’t about the Nazi Invasion. He was reflecting on the French laws of 1948 outlawing random and uninvited kissing/ravishing of female cats that looked like skunks.
The Cult of Competency
Address Delivered by Henning W. Prentis, Jr., at the Mid-Year Convocation
[University of Pennsylvania, February 1943]
The cult of competency was forged in the crucible of persecution and tyranny. We have taken it for granted. We have never seen it put to the test it is undergoing today. Now in the midst of world catastrophe, we are coming to realize anew that there is something in life greater than knowledge and bigger than security; something which, with all our organized learning, we have not fully captured in books, that something which in the past has caused men to sacrifice all to attain some part of it. Some call it liberty, some freedom. Maybe its best designation is that it is the dignity of the individual in the sight of God and man. Some define it in terms of faith, and others as human brotherhood. But of one thing I am certain. It is the priceless ingredient of life. Whatever it is, it is of both the heart and mind; not a complex quality to baffle science, but a simple thing to assuage men’s souls. It is the quality of being a man. With that concept Aristotle spurred Athenian youth; and it was that, no doubt, which illuminated Socrates’ mind as he talked the Great Simplicities to his students under a fig tree in far distant days in ancient Greece. Its quest has filled the ages ever since. Its attainment in a fuller sense is the only thing that will make tomorrow worth the living. Its achievement is a ringing challenge to you young men and women of the class of 1943—the latest novitiates of the cult of competency.
https://ergo-sum.net/literature/CultOfCompetency.pdf
Regressive governments have abounded in history and England is a prime example, they are pursuing to fundamentally change meaning of an agreed document signed in 1215. The lack of concern of the average citizen in England is telling, they’ve surrendered their natural rights to ill-educated mini-tyrants whose vision is a utopian garden where your Daddy is the Lordship of Governors’. The citizenry has allowed these new monarchs to crimp or dispose of liberties and pursue retribution for offenders to the point of making laws so farcical they border on insanity.
#74. It’s a very serious culture clash in this day and age. Good grief, the UK is defending shrouded women. It must be truly awful for the UK. it’s a tiny island. No tiny nation should ever take in great masses of refugees except on a temporary basis due to culture supplant. Tragedy and worth noting.
Douglas Murray is a voice crying in the wilderness.
I guess that the Brits have not learned anything in the last 250 years when the American colonies revoked against them in major part over the issue of free speech.
Exactly. History repeating itself. 🤦♀️. And they are too woke to see it OR they do see it but it interferes with their woke agenda. So they say we don’t censor, we just arrest people and convict them for what they say… This leads me back to the first amendment, which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
#74. Free speech and other tidbits like free press, free religion, arms, due process with time limits, quartering soldiers, and some other stuff…
What the founders listed were what England’s oppression was.
Very interesting…
Jonathan: It’s pretty clear. When you don’t want to face up to corruption and lawbreaking by the DJT administration you deflect by going after “blasphemy” in Great Britain. That tactic is now wearing thin. So I guess it’s up to others of us to state the obvious.
We are now in the 6th week of DJT’s second term and we are witnessing corruption not seen since the McKinley era. Sure, corruption has always been with us. It’s built into the capitalist system. But corrupt politicians have tried to cover up their corruption. Nixon tried to do it until the oval office tapes were discovered. Under DJT and Musk the corruption is out in the open. Here are just a few examples:
–Actually, the corruption started at the end of DJT’s first term. In one of his final acts DJT pardoned Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, after he served prison time for serious crimes–like tax evasion, money laundering and witness tampering. And now one of DJT’s first acts was to give Kushner the ambassadorship to France. It’s the favors a “convicted felon” gives to another convicted felon!
–Another of DJT’s first acts this time was to pardon all the 1500 Jan. 6 insurrectionists. These included those convicted of “seditious conspiracy” and other serious crimes. That was a blatant and open abuse of the pardon power.
–the Eric Adams case. In a blatant abuse of prosecutorial discretion DJT’s DOJ filed to dismiss without prejudice the corruption charges against Adams. Why? So DJT could get Adams’s cooperation for his immigration agenda in NY. To keep Adams on message DJT is threatening to recharge Adams if he doesn’t cooperate. That’s a blatant and open abuse of the justice system!
— On 2/4 DJT convened a private WH meeting (WH logs no longer reveal who enterers and leaves) between the PGA and the Saudi run golf tournaments. The Saudis have used DJT’s courses for their tournaments. The PGA cancelled it’s tournaments at DJT’s resorts. The purpose of the meeting was to resolve the differences so DJT can make millions from hosting both tournaments.
–DJT is now openly placing ads inviting billionaires to dine with him at Mar-a-Lago. For a donation of $1 to $5 million wealthy businessmen can now voice their concerns with the President. And this has already paid dividends. DJT has paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act so large US corporations can bribe foreign officials to get business. The “For Sale” sign is out at Mar-a-Lago. It’s all open and blatant. And all of the above is just the tip of the corrupt iceberg.
In her famous book “Eichmann in Jerusalem” Hannah Arendt talked about the “banality of evil”–the idea that evil acts can be perpetuated by otherwise ordinary people who participate in horrific acts without thinking about the consequences. Essentially, making evil appear mundane and commonplace. Arendt was discussing the Nazi regime. But the psychopathology of DJT is an illustration of the same “banality of evil” where DJT’s minions, inside DOGE and outside, are carrying out evil acts without considering the consequences!
Nifty left turn to steal the thread!
Skipped over it, as always.
Oh dear…do hurry back under your rock, you know how you get when you’ve been out in the daylight!
You have posted your screed here without fear of arrest, unlike your counterparts in the UK. That’s all that needs to be said.
Dennis, this is a legal blog whose author is one of the pre-eminent free spech attorney’s and advocates in the country – in the world.
Of course the idiotic efforts of the UK to further end free speech are one of the most important topics that Prof. Turley can address.
The Democrats have gone off the rails. I truly believe they are suffering from mental illness. Who in their right mind wants a big man (claiming to be a female) playing in women’s sports? It is insane. What man thinks this is cool?
So, we are supposed to sit back and pretend like this is normal?
Once again, the hard fought rights of women have been trodden under foot by men.
Take it issue by issue and their agenda is bizarre! One has to ask the question why? They are either insane or this is a direct assault against Western civilization and any form of civility or normalcy. Then, one must to ask why would that be if the second reason were to be found true?
Personally, on this issue I think they’re insane.
E.M.
It is the woke mind virus. That and TDS has damaged their minds so greatly, they cannot see reality. They cannot see sane and normal people reject their version of reality. The question is, how far will they take it? Will they continue to alienate their own base? Would they rather destroy the nation with their woke policies than admit they were wrong? There are more and more traditional Democrats who see the far-leftists as toxic for their own party. Sane, normal, traditional Democrats like Bill Maher, the good professor, my own sister need to give these sick wackos the boot!
“When you don’t want to face up to corruption and lawbreaking by the DJT administration”
What Lawbreaking ?
What Corruption ?
Of the over 100 lawfare lawsuits targeting Trump’s EO’s – just about all the TRO’s are gone, and many of the lawsuits have been dismissed.
Why ? Because Trump’s actions are easily within the power of the president. There is no doubt as an example that the president can audit govenrment spending searching for and eliminating waste and fraud. And Trump has found lots of waste and Fraud.
Lots of illegal transfers of federal funds to democrat politicians.
That would be actual corruption.
It is turning out that even the SCOTUS order directing Trump to pay USAID money for competed services is playing out Trump’s way.
The Barrett Roberts order – required that Judge Ali actually verify the claims before ordering payment – that he could not just order the payment of $2B on the basis of allegations of plantiffs that often were not even USAID contractors. Judge Ali gave the plantiffs until Friday to provide invoiced for services completed to be payed, I am not sure exactly what was presented – most of the plantiffs dropped out or the case as they are not USAID contractors, But last I had checked $137,000 in invoices for completed services were presented.
While I still think the Roberts/Barrett Decision is incorrect – that a court can not issue a TRO on a matter of equity (money), that the case must be resolved at trial. Reqardless, Roberts/Barret did NOT give Judge Ali carte Blanche to continue USAID funding they limited him to ordering payment for completed work on presentation of an invoice – and so far few invoices for complleted work have been presented.
In the DOGE IRS case Judge Kotar-Kelley dropped the TRO against DOGE auditing the IRS finding that there is no evidence of actual dislosure if confidential information, that DOGE employees are bound to the same if not stricter terms of confidentiality than IRS employees that if information was disclosed that remedies existed, That large scale disclosure was highly unlikely, and that the PResident has the authority tio audit IRS spending for waste and Fraud.
Dellinger dropped his case against Trump – in fear that if he continued – Even at the DC circuit that he would create precident that would damage democrats in the future.
I would note that MOST of the lawfare against Trump EO is occuring at the incredibly unfreindly to Trump DC circuit,
And Trump is sometimes losing at the lowest level, but that the ONLY DC case that made it to SCOTUS before being reversed was the Judge Ali case – and even their SCOTUS politely told Judge Ali, that while he could order payments for contracted work already performed – he actually had to document the contracts and invoices before issuing an order. Many on the right thought that a loss, But so far it is proving a big win.
My point is that you rant about illegal and corrupt conduct by Trump, but after the initial hystrionics and improvidently granted TRO’s when even a more cursory examination occurs, Trumps actions are found to be legal.
#74. Thanks for the research, John say.
John Say,
Thank you for pointing out reality and facts that Dennis cannot see.
In Trump’s first term the argument was made that his EO’s were poorly legally crafted – yet in pretty much all instances Trump ultimately prevailed – the claim that Trump and his advisers were legally incompetent proved false.
This time Round Trump’s team is far more prepared.
There is still not accounting for left wing nut judges,
But none of these cases is surviving very long.
Someone noted that Another Judge is blocking Trump’s shutdown of USADF.
Presuming that the appelate courts do not toss the TRO, that case will go to SCOTUS as a direct challenge to Humphrey’s executor.
So once again Trump has rope-a-doped the let into challenging him in the way that he wants
The bad news is that it will take time to shutdown USADF.
But anyone who doubts that is happening is smoking dope.
DOGE is blocked from auditing USADF – that is absurd. That will likely fall first.
I do not beleive there is an active challenge to DOGE audits aside from the USADF case that is still active.
USADF will get audited – we will get lots and lots of revalations about the corrupt spending done by USADF,
and Trump will arrive at SCOTUS with a case where he is demanding to shutdown an agency rife with corruption.
That is the best place to be when arguing that the president is the Cheif executive and is responsible for ALL administration within the executive branch.
The only open question is how long will this case take to die.
USF
Hard for Dennis to see anything except his lower colon and hemorrhoids…craniorecturminversion, worst case Ive ever witnessed. Seems to be compounded by TDS, let’s all hope it’s woefully painful.
“We are now in the 6th week of DJT’s second term and we are witnessing corruption not seen since the McKinley era. ”
Nope, While Biden was the most trasnparently corrupt president in US history – he was far from the most corrupt.
Thus far there is ZERO evidence of actual corruption – either in the prior or current Trump administration.
Disagreement over govenrment policies is not corruption.
You rant about Musk – as you did about Trump diring his first term. You lob vague claims that boil down to
“we can not allow people who are in business, into government” – a standard that even George Washington could not meet.
“Sure, corruption has always been with us. It’s built into the capitalist system.”
Corruption has always been with us – it has absolutely noting to do with capitalism.
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Corruption is inseparable from Government. We have had corruption long before we had free markets and capitalism.
Once again you spray words without thinking.
” But corrupt politicians have tried to cover up their corruption. ”
Correct that is one of the ways that we identify corruption – it is done in the dark.
“Under DJT and Musk the corruption is out in the open. ”
Which is the evidence that it is NOT corruption.
“In one of his final acts DJT pardoned Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, after he served prison time for serious crimes–like tax evasion, money laundering and witness tampering.”
False – Kushner was convicted of tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions – clearly the crimes were NOT that serious as he was sentenced to two years. Which he served.
“And now one of DJT’s first acts was to give Kushner the ambassadorship to France.”
So where is the “corruption” – did Kushner pay for the ambassadorship ? Trump relies heacvily on business men – particularly in positions of negotiators in foreign policy. Jared Kushner negotiated the Abraham accords. Trump sent a “Used Car Salesmen” to successfully negotiate hostage releases and to restart the Mideast peace process. Many of Trump’s Ukraine war negotiators are private businessmen.
WHY ? Because Trump is picking people who have a reputation for being able to negotiate favorable deals.
Rather than corruption – that seems like evidence of a wise choice.
Historically ambassadorships are handed out as rewards to wealthy political contributors – that is nothing new – it has been going on since the founding of the country. If that is what Trump was doing – it would be tame in comparison to those of the past.
But that is not what the evidence shows.
“It’s the favors a “convicted felon” gives to another convicted felon!”
Kushner is not a convicted fellon” – a pardon clears a conviction.
John Say,
Another great take down of Dennis! Well done!
“Another of DJT’s first acts this time was to pardon all the 1500 Jan. 6 insurrectionists. These included those convicted of “seditious conspiracy” and other serious crimes. ”
Just a few days ago Democrats in congress met and plotted how to disrupt Trump’s SOTU, They failed – but Rep. Al Green did stop the proceeding for several minutes as he was dug out of chambers by the House sargent of Arms.
18 USC 1512(c) – the same crime that many of your “insurectionsists” were charged with
(c)Whoever corruptly—
(2)otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
So why isn’t Green under arrest and in the DC jail ? Why aren;t democrat members of congress who met prior to the SOTUS to plan the disruption of the proceeding ?
The why is simple and it is the same reason that the J6’rs were pardoned – if 18USC1512(c) applies to political protests then it violates the first amendment.
Neither Rep. Green, nor J6’rs nor the democrats in congress committed a crime.
A conspiracy to committ a political protest – even intentionally trying to disrupt an “official proceeding”,
is an excercise of free speech.
YOU are trying to criminalize politics and free speech.
Turley’s post on the idiocy in the UK is important – and YOUR POST stupidly makes Turley’s point.
You are no different from the Brits – trying to ban speech – even thought that you do not like.
It was proper to have Rep. Green removed from “the proceeding” for disruption.
I could careless about his censure.
It would be just as improper to investigate and convict him of a crime as it was to do so with J6’rs.
But YOU can not grasp that. YOU beleive that we judge conduct by its political objective, not stand alone on its own as conduct.
John, don’t there was a need to pardon for J6 section 1512)c) violations because of the Supreme Court decision in Fischer v US. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB11126
With appologies I am not sure what your point is.
SCOTUS read 18usc1512(c) narrowly – becuase anything else violated the first amendment.
This is often the case when the left accuses the court of misreading the law – the reason that courts are ALWAYS supposed to read laws narrowly is because doing so usually avoids conflict with the constitution.
Regardless or SCOTUS’s ruling – DOJ was agressively prosecuting people for what SCOTUS correctly determined was not a crime. SCOTUS did not specifically say – this is not a crime because if it was it would violate the first amendment.
They eliminated the first amendment problem by correctly reading the law narrowly.
There was a need for pardon’s – because it is OBVIOUS that neither the tresspass, nor 18usc1512 charges ever should have been filed.
That is political corruption on the part of Garland’s DOJ. When the prosecutors are crooked the only legitimate remedy is to toss everything.
In a perfect world – only people who committed violent offenses would have been prosecuted,
But that was not acceptable as doing so destroys the lefts narative that this was an incredibly violent insurrection.
When DOJ prosecutes thousands of innocent people for politics and free speech, the only remedy is to pardon everyone.
The SCOTUS decision was correct – but it was at most a speed bump to a politically corrupt DOJ.
The pardon’s ended this.
If DOJ seeks to prosecute Rep. Green – that would be wrong, though about 1/3000th as wrong as what Garland did.
John, I meant to say “I don’t think there was a need . . .” and not use anonymous.
Get a life Dennis and stay on topic. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
The Adam’s case was a farce. If you do not like Adam’s conduct – vote him out in November.
Regardless, the prosecution ignored SCOTUS’s McDonald decision more than a decade ago – another 9-0 loss by the infamous Jack Smith.
Personally the corrupt conduct was prosecuting him – there is little doubt SDNY would never have touched the case but for Adam’s deviation from party dogma on immigration.
But Leticia James can prosecute Adam;s if she wishes and Kathy Hoschul can dismiss him.
Neither occured – for the same reason that the SDNY case was dropped – because it was lawfare not a legitimate prosecution.
The claim that there was a immigration Quid Pro Quo for the pardon does not pass the laugh test.
Adam’s stood up about the problems of illegal immigration before Trump officially announced he was running again.
As to your LIV/PGA nonsense.
Again I would refer you to the McDonald case.
Lets presume that EVERYTHING you say is correct. Its not, but it does not matter.
Lets say that Trump brokered a deal from which he personally profited and he did so inside a government building that is his legal residence.
That is very nearly exactly the fact pattern that SCOTUS decided with McDonald. – thought he facts in McDonald were worse.
People broker deals they benefit from all the time.
Absent a credible claim that Trump abused govenrment power – even in the stupid way you framed this – there is no crime.
Trump as a person who is currently president can broker whatever deals he wishes in the WH or anywhere else.
All that he can not do is USE govenrment power to personally profit.
Biden USED govenrment power – he threatened to withold US aide to Ukraine if they did not fire Shokin.
Did Trump threaten LIV or the PGA ? Did he offr tham Govenrment funds ?
Without an actual abuse of govenrment power – you do not have corruption .
You have the president brokering a deal.
the Foreign corrupt practices act should have been tanked long ago.
It is another of these stupid efforts of the US govenrment to claim global jurisdiction.
A business in Somalia is obligated to follow the laws in Somalia, and if it does not the Somali govenrment can prosecute.
It is NOT for the US government to try to decide what US businesses or businessmen can or can not do in Somalia.
@Dennis
You think you sound smart, but you aren’t, and no, you don’t sound like you are. Like many of your compatriots, if you had an original thought, your head would likely explode. You might want to reconsider whether or not your talent for regurgitation is actually a skill.
I know it’s tough to stand out in a hive where everyone else is a drone, too, and where (i.e. leftist circles where you can be cancelled for being a millimeter toward ‘wrong think’, and again, i.e., going a fraction off the script of your controllers) intimating toward that fact is punishable by law. Thank your lucky stars the Constitution won in November. You certainly have the freedom to continue to insist on being one of those drones, but at least you don’t have to be to simply survive as in some of the places we discuss here. Even the likes of Bill Maher get this.
Additionally your feelings or opinions about our laws do not change the reality of them. Sorry. Thus far, the current admin has done quite literally nothing outside of the scope of their powers, and if they do, we have courts to re calibrate things. Your petty chicken little nonsense is falling on not deaf ears, but totally indifferent ones. We tolerate you because we live in a free country and you have every right to be dipsh*t if you so choose to be. We do not have to follow you into your idiocy.
What evil acts is Trump or his administration carrying out ?
What evil acts is DOGE carrying out ?
In what way is auditing government spending evil ?
In what way is reducing waste and Fraud evil ?
Trump is not sending unnescesary government employees to the gas chambers – he is sending them home
where like the rest of us – many of whom have lost work in Bidens recession, they can look for more productive work where they actually contribute.
Trump is not sending illegal immigrants to gas chambers either – he is sending them back to where they came from.
You constantly shill this delusion that not getting what you want is somehow evil.
The actual evil is YOUR willingness to use FORCE to get what you want.
That is the Banality of evil. Ordinary Germans will willing to use force against their neighbors – right up to the point of murdering them, in order to get what they wanted.
Trump is not taking by force from anyone something that is theirs by right.
But YOU seek to do that all the time.
You require all of us to PAY for your wishes.
I find it hilarious how closely the Brit free speech hypocrisy parallels that of moron google ceo pichai wrt James Damore. Protecting diversity by purging dissent is the mark of tyranny. People with such a poor grasp of American values should never be naturalized.
Yes, we should cease support to Europe until they have values that are compatible with our Bill of Rights. We have 65k troops at 38 bases in Europe. What do we really need for strategic purposes? Iceland, Rammstein, and one or two others? Move the resources to our borders.
Meanwhile, we need to have values compatible with our own Bill of Rights. Civil asset forfeiture, government censorship, a dying fourth ammendment, immunity for government employees, endless spying on US persons…all marks of tyranny.
Am I antisemitic for hating Israel’s meddling in American politics and especially for its undue influence in US foreign policy? Thanks, Israel, for the Iraq fiasco, oh and thanks for the USS Liberty.
@OldFish…
Yeah… but Starmer on ‘we don’t censor and allow free speech…’ falls flat.
Here in the US, the 1A doesn’t protect all speech. There are limits. However you have to be inciting a riot to really cross that line.
In the UK, even standing in silence is enough to get you arrested.
-G
I was pretty much next door to Google when Pichai said exactly the same thing as Starmer. Damore attended a seminar and was asked to comment on it by management. You can read his comment: it was reasoned and not incendiary. It sat quietly on the internal board until some activists started a fire over it. Pichai claimed that in order to protect free speech at Google Damore was fired.
It seems like pretty much the same thing as Starmer saying the UK has free speech and that arresting people for off-narrative speech is protecting that free speech value.
It is totally hypocritical and despicable. Deserves no respect and no quarter. Such idiots should be nowhere near the levers of power.
OldFish, Israel certainly is not above criticism, but let’s look at the broader picture. Israel is the reason Sadaam never got nukes, which he would have immediately used on Iran started a nuclear war.
More generally, Israel is fighting on the front lines of a war that affects us: the industrialized west against global jihad and the darkness it brings, which would be equivalent to the darkness of a world-dominating Nazi regime. They are taking casualties to protect us, because Israel is the hurdle the jihadists must clear before turning their full fury on America. They even have names to confirm this, calling Israel the little satan and America the great satan.
I think that is overstating it. Israel took out an Iraqi reactor in ’81, good move. Iraq was a regional problem, offering $20k bounties to families of suicide bombers who attacked Israel. It also may have been planning on using some currency other than US dollars to trade oil. The US (public) was tricked into overthrowing Saddam by Israel and its advocates, the neocons, in the US. It was not a grand strategic win for the US.
“The US (public) was tricked into overthrowing Saddam by Israel”
Old Fish, I have no problem with people criticizing Israel, but your criticism is not factual. Some prominent Americans who supported Israel were in favor of Bush’s war, but not Israel, though in any country, one has supporters and detractors.
Ariel Sharon, Israel’s Prime Minister, advocated against the war directly to American officials. He feared that the more significant threat, Iran, would gain power and destabilize the area. That belief was supported by the intelligence agencies, Mossad in particular, the defense minister and others.
Israel doesn’t have the amount of influence on Washington as too many believe. It is a power that bends to Washington’s interests. You can see that in how Israel fought Hamas, which they could have devastated in a week or two but for Biden. You can also see that in prior wars where, the US dictated end-of-war policy always to Israel’s disadvantage. Oil dominated American foreign policy, not Israel.
However, your statement is not uncommon because of the voices of prominent pro-Israeli Americans who supported the American war in Iraq. You proved the mistake in your response. To be complete, I was against that war while supporting American interests. Bush quickly won the war and should have immediately gotten out. His management was horrible, and he didn’t appropriately manage the problems while there.
OMFK
Iraq was never even close to having nukes, or bio weapons.
And the only Chemical weapons it had – ti got fromt he US decades ago.
Was Sadam a bad man – absolutely, but the Iraq war was not justified.
Did Israel push us towards it – certainly – but the Bushies went their willingly.
As did Democrats.
Nor am I so sure the Israel argument holds up.
Israel was threatened By Iraq.
They were also threatened by Iran.
It was in Israels interests to have them fighting each other
it was not in israel’s interests to have the US take out one and not the other.
But regardless of Israel’s interests – American presidents are supposed to act in the US interests.
In Iraq, in Israel, in Ukraine.
Many of our allies are bad guys.
What we expect is US presidents to act on US interests
RIGHT: “Israel was threatened By Iraq.They were also threatened by Iran. It was in Israels interests to have them fighting each other”
WRONG: “the Iraq war … Did Israel push us towards it – certainly ”
“Ariel Sharon, Israel’s Prime Minister, advocated against the war directly to American officials. He feared that the more significant threat, Iran, would gain power and destabilize the area. That belief was supported by the intelligence agencies, Mossad in particular, the defense minister and others.”
https://jonathanturley.org/2025/03/09/british-blasphemy-uk-government-moves-toward-new-definition-of-islamophobia-for-speech-regulation/comment-page-2/#comment-2498084
” oh and thanks for the USS Liberty.”
Old Fish, the discussion of the USS Liberty is not straightforward because so much is hidden even from those who were on the ship and wrote books on the subject. Too many Americans died to make anyone satisfied, but there are too many unanswered questions. John Loftus wrote the Secret War Against the Jews, which answers many questions on that subject and others, though one can never be sure.
Some of the questions raised were:
What was the ship doing in that area? Were they reporting Israeli troop movements into Egypt?
Why was the ship initially strafed? What purpose did it serve? Was it to move some of the sailors to safety?
Why was the attack almost entirely on the Liberty’s communication system where the deaths occurred?
Why didn’t the expert air force that Israel had simply sunk the ship, killing most on board?
After the destruction of the communication system, why was the Liberty not further damaged, permitting it to wire for help so the rest of the crew could be saved?
The US isn’t as meek and mild as some would like to think. It is devious and deceptive as a superpower, which is part of being a superpower and protecting itself.
A “phobia” suggests “fear.” The better term is “Islamocontempt” or “Islamodisdain,” both of which a neologisms, but which better express the sentiment of rejection.
Perhaps “Islamomisia” is the right word
True , anon
Got this fun story from Free Republic. Seems like some expressions are more free than others in Britain. Battle between Park Fairies and Dog Walkers!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14468085/The-battle-Hampstead-Heath-Distraught-dogwalkers-launch-campaign-notorious-cruising-beauty-spot-furious-gay-activists-insist-anonymous-open-air-sex-cultural-right-lead-sodomites-march-defend-it.html
Congo is 95% Christian, yet the tiny Muslim population is killing them in jihad. They just beheaded 70 Christians within the last few days. Is that a one-off? Doesn’t seem like it when it is consistent with the behavior of groups like Hamas and ISIS in the Middle East, rape gangs in England, and vehicle terror attacks in Germany and America, to name a few. So why is the UK so solicitous of the one religion that causes the most death and destruction, that they get legal protection from criticism – which they misname Islamophobia.
OMFK
The Congo is not a good example for the religious based violence basis. They appear to be quite ignorant and mired in poverty. I recall reading a few years back of the Conglese hunting down and killing albinos as they believed that they were evil demonic spirits. It is the deepest and darkest part of Africa…Livingston I presume?
True but the recent beheadings are jihad-based, and target specifically at Christians. They’re not a one-off either.
I suspect the ‘tiny minority’ of head-choppers, on ‘jihad’, in the Congo no more represent historic ‘Islam’ than Bibi’s Israel, and ‘genocide Joe’, represent historic Judaism or Christian faiths.
They’re all about the same to me, old man .. . relative to ‘human’ evolution.
I will also say London is no Mecca, and PM Starmer is no Aytollah.
*it appears Trump has learned his lessons and thinks he, too, is on a mission from God!
Diogenes makes an interesting observation below, which I will rephrase: Eastern Europe, having lived through communism, has become an island of freedom between two forms of tyranny, one to the east and one to the west. So shouldn’t America be in an alliance with Eastern Europe instead of NATO, to preserve liberty where it still exists and is being defended?
I bet there is going to be a deficit in people willing to join the British military and fight and die for Britain.
I’ve read the UK’s total armed forces are around 70k. And that only 5-10k troops could be forward deployed/maintained as a fighting force at any time.
*I expect 5-10k British troops on the front line in Ukraine would last a couple of weeks. .. maybe.
My bet is, the 5,000 – 10,000 Brits would give a good account of themselves, and fight bravely. The problem isn’t their skill, it’s their numbers. If there is a large number of forces involved, then 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers aren’t going to make much difference. They will be depleted quickly by artillery and air attacks. It’s their replacements who will be lacking, because what would they be fighting for? A country (England) that isn’t theirs anymore? In defense of another country (Ukraine) that isn’t theirs? Yeah, fat chance.
Generally western armies do not go to war without Western navies and airforces.
I do not thiink Turkey is going to let the British Navy into the Black Sea. Though it would be interesting to see if they could survive where Russians could not and if they had any impact.
Russiasability to maintain the land bridge and the Kerch Bridge would be in serious trouble if any navy operated in the black sea.
Russia would with near certainty lose Crimea quickly.
That is presuming British ships could get into the Black sea and that they managed better than the russian ships are brushing off Drone attacks.
‘
Within Ukraine – we have seen what is almost a WWI style trench war of attrition.
Neither side has managed anything even vauguely approxmating air superiority.
I can not see British troops in Ukreaine without british air forces protecting them.
Again that would chenge everything. Ukraines failed efforts to split Russian forces primarily failed because without massive numeroical advantage OR air superiority – evne nmodern western equipement does not allow the numeroically weaker side to successfully attack.
Air Superiority changes that.
Overall I do not think that they UK could tip the balance. But I could be wrong.
While this is a bloody war of attrition, Any change that transforms this from a trench war slugfest to a war of movement alters things dramatically in Ukraines favor. Russias numerical advantages and its abundance of antique equipment only work so long as this is a war of attrition.
If it Turns to a war of movement – the technologically supoerior side wins.
There is no western power does not operate on the principle to avoid wars of attrition and win wars of movement.
Does anyone doubt that just sending a bunch of Seal Teams in would disrupt the War in Ukraine ?
The Britiish SAS and SBS are comparable and maybe superior to the seals.
Thank you professor for pointing out how far the UK has fallen and the ever more need for our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Speaking of free speech:
TRUMP/MUSK ADMINISTRATION EATS 💩