I have long opposed wealth taxes based on both constitutional and practical grounds. When Elizabeth Warren pushed her own wealth tax, I noted that the high starting income or wealth levels would likely be lowered with time if Congress were ever allowed to cross this constitutional Rubicon. The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) is now demanding an amendment to the state constitution to tax the “wealth of the richest 1%” to pay for free public college. Previously, the state passed a constitutional amendment to place a 4 % tax on income above $1 million. This would add a new wealth tax to that earlier “Fair Share Amendment.” Continue reading “Massachusetts Teachers Demand New Wealth Tax”
Author: jonathanturley
The Tenth Circuit handed down a notable opinion this week in Poe v. Drummond, upholding Oklahoma’s law prohibiting gender transition procedures for anyone under eighteen. The opinion by Judge Joel Carson (joined by Judges Harris Hartz and Gregory Phillips) concluded that parental rights do not trump a state’s determination of what are safe treatments for minor patients. Continue reading “Tenth Circuit: Parents Do Not Have Right to Override Ban on Gender Transitioning of Minors”
I previously criticized the California law, called the Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024, as flagrantly unconstitutional. Signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the law would have gutted free speech protections for political parodies. Now, in Kohls v. Bonta, Senior U.S. District Judge John Mendez has rebuked the state for a law that he concluded had to be rejected in its entirety as flawed to its core: “No parts of this statute are severable because the whole statute is preempted. No parts of A.B. 2655 can be salvaged.” Continue reading “Federal Judge Strikes Down California’s Unconstitutional Deepfake Law”
Democrats in Georgia have lost their effort to block two Republican commissioners from sitting on Fulton County’s Board of Elections because of their political views. What is most striking about this effort was not just the raw partisanship but the utter lack of legal authority of Democrats to refuse to recognize the duly selected GOP members. Continue reading “Georgia Judge Rules Against Democrats Blocking Republicans on Board of Elections”
In my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I explore how the American republic can survive in the 21st Century given unprecedented economic, technological, and political changes. The book addresses the increasing calls for a universal basic income (UBI). Various Democratic cities are already implementing UBI systems. Now, a new study finds (as did some prior studies) that UBI systems have not achieved significant improvements and may actually have some negative consequences for recipients. Continue reading “New Study Raises Concerns Over Universal Basic Income Plans”
Democrats are struggling to convince the public that they are outraged that there is gerrymandering afoot in Texas. It is no easy task, particularly after Texas Democrats selected Illinois as their sanctuary state, a state considered the most gerrymandered in the country. Trump received 45 percent of the vote in the state, but Republicans have only 14 percent of the congressional seats. Even the New York Times admitted that gerrymandering has favored Democrats across the nation. However, the winner of the Claude Rains award must be Marc Elias, who has expressed disgust over the notion of gerrymandering despite the fact that his group was denounced by courts for outrageous gerrymandering efforts. Continue reading “Democrats Pledge a Gerrymander War”
Democrat Rep. Delia Ramirez (D., Ill.) is locked into a fierce fight with the White House over controversial remarks at the second annual Panamerican Congress held in Mexico, including declaring, “I’m a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American.” Ramirez does not deny making the remarks but insists that there is a double standard for “my white colleagues [who] identify as Irish-American, Italian-American, or Ukrainian-American to honor their ancestry.” Continue reading “Rep. Ramirez Under Fire After Declaring “I’m a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American.””
Illinois has long been a sanctuary state, but this is getting ridiculous. Yesterday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) pledged to protect dozens of Texas lawmakers fleeing their state to shut down the legislature. It is all an effort to prevent redistricting in the state. However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is pledging to arrest them and expel them from office. Both seem “all in” in this game for Texas Hold’Em. Continue reading “Texas Hold’Em: Gov. Abbott Pledges to Arrest “Derelict Democrats” As Gov. Pritzker Offers Sanctuary”
It is official. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting finally accepted death over balance.
This week, the CPB announced that, with the withdrawal of federal funding, it would cease operations by September 30, 2025: “Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations.” Continue reading “After Years of Refusing Reforms, the CPB Accepts Institutional Death Over Political Dishonor”
In my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I discuss the threat posed by transnational governance, particularly with regard to the European Union. Now, Italy appears to be rediscovering its national identity in a growing fight with the Strasbourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ). The court just blocked Italy from enforcing its own immigration laws to combat the flood of undocumented persons in the country. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called the ruling an attack on national sovereignty.
Continue reading “Italy Rediscovers National Identity in Fight With EU Court”
Below is my column in The Hill on the funeral for my mother, Angela Turley. We delayed the funeral to allow people to come from around the world. This morning, at St. Mary’s of the Lake in Chicago, I will attempt to give the eulogy. (I say “attempt” because I give myself less than even odds in finishing, but my kids are on call if I falter). However, I wanted to share with you part of the story of a coal miner’s daughter named Champ.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Extraordinary Life of A Girl Called Champ”
Below is my column in Fox.com on the release of the last declassified material on the origins of the Russian collusion investigation. After the release, former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper wrote in the New York Times insisted that they never relied on the Steele dossier. The column only reaffirmed the level of dishonesty and duplicity that marked their tenures in office. (The Times still printed this claim despite being demonstrably untrue).
The documents quote Brennan in overruling career analysts and intervening to include the dossier in the intelligence assessment. Moreover, the column echoes the media spin that the investigation was about an attempted Russian interference while dismissing the collusion claim that consumed much of the first term. (Even after leaving office, Brennan continued to push the false collusion claim). Both countries routinely hacked each other’s emails — that is why we have the most recent incriminating evidence on the Clinton campaign’s funding and spreading the false collusion claims. We hacked their emails. We have also regularly tried to influence the elections of other nations. The key to the dossier and the Russian investigation was the allegation of collusion and the central role of the Clinton campaign in creating the narrative that Trump was a Russian asset.
Here is the column:
Democratic members are again claiming that they can demand access to any federal facilities without approval or even notice to a given agency. We saw previously how Rep. LaMonica McIver stormed an ICE facility and allegedly assaulted an officer. She and others claimed that they had the right of entry without the pre-approval of the agency. Now, after another attempted entry at an ICE facility in Baltimore, an array of Democratic members have sued over their denial. The lawsuit is, in my view, fundamentally flawed, but the members appear to be hoping for another obliging judge. Both sides could be adopting Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s position outside of the ICE facility that “This is BS, plain and simple.” Continue reading ““This is BS, Plain and Simple”: Democrats Sue to Gain Unlimited Access to Federal Facilities”
When President James Buchanan declared that the United States Senate is the “world’s greatest deliberative body,” he clearly had not envisioned Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.). In yet another tirade on the floor, Sen. Booker attacked not just President Donald Trump but his Democratic colleagues for voting for a bipartisan bill on law enforcement. Behind the “I am Spartacus” theatrics is a more troubling trend in the United States Senate as it devolves into a more populist, impulsive institution. Continue reading “The World’s Most Dysfunctional Body? Cory Booker Captures the Decline the United States Senate”
We have been discussing the recently declassified material related to the Russian investigation, including disclosures of the role of former CIA director John Brennan at the end of the Obama Administration to reinforce the unfounded allegations of Russian collusion and influence. After an earlier intelligence assessment rejecting the narrative was effectively quashed, Brennan reportedly hand-picked the team to do a second rushed 2016 U.S. intelligence community assessment in the final days. We are now learning more about the person Brennan selected to head that team. Just the News and other outlets are revealing not just the extreme political bias of Susan Miller, but her remarkably poor handle on some key facts. The one unassailable fact that comes out of her postings is her declaration that “[I] am not a Trump fan.”