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Author Topic:   The Right Side of the News
Percy
Member
Posts: 22394
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1036 of 5796 (848513)
02-08-2019 9:32 AM


Customs Agents Will Shoot to Kill
The town of Nogales, Arizona, mentioned in my previous post is also a border crossing point. A truck heading south refused to stop, and so the customs officer shot into the truck. This is inexcusable. Likely the men in the truck were up to no good, but it's not impossible the brakes failed* or they were drunk or confused or distracted.
What's wrong with calling their Mexican counterparts not 300 feet away?
--Percy
PS: Coincidentally, my daughter's car's brakes failed just last week when a hydraulic line failed, but she was able to stop with her emergency brake, so happy ending. That was the final straw for the old car, she is now the happy owner of a brand new Honda Civic Si, though unfortunately she doesn't know how to drive a stick and has to wait for someone to teach her before she can drive it.

Replies to this message:
 Message 1037 by Coragyps, posted 02-08-2019 11:11 AM Percy has replied

  
Coragyps
Member (Idle past 735 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


(1)
Message 1037 of 5796 (848516)
02-08-2019 11:11 AM
Reply to: Message 1036 by Percy
02-08-2019 9:32 AM


Re: Customs Agents Will Shoot to Kill
Tell your daughter to have someone show her the basics of The Clutch, and then learn to drive like we old farts did: by killing the engine a couple of hundred times over the first week.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1036 by Percy, posted 02-08-2019 9:32 AM Percy has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1038 by Percy, posted 02-08-2019 3:26 PM Coragyps has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22394
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1038 of 5796 (848538)
02-08-2019 3:26 PM
Reply to: Message 1037 by Coragyps
02-08-2019 11:11 AM


Re: Customs Agents Will Shoot to Kill
I was in a hurry and forgot to link to the article (Man in pickup truck shot at Nogales port of entry while trying to flee into Mexico) and mention that the driver may have been killed (reports vary). Obviously (at least to me) border guards should not be shooting at people, and certainly not into vehicles whose passengers might be completely innocent of any crime, and certainly not with a hundred other vehicles around full of innocent people.
The border guards reported that the truck tried to run an officer over. Not so long ago that would have been good enough for me, but as video has become ubiquitous so have the police been caught lying. There was a shooting, a man was possibly killed, the police are frequently caught covering for their own, so I'll believe the border guards' account when I see the video. There's likely tons of surveillance video at the border.
I'll let you know how my daughter does with The Clutch.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
 Message 1039 by dwise1, posted 02-08-2019 3:52 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
dwise1
Member
Posts: 5930
Joined: 05-02-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


Message 1039 of 5796 (848539)
02-08-2019 3:52 PM
Reply to: Message 1038 by Percy
02-08-2019 3:26 PM


Re: Customs Agents Will Shoot to Kill
I'll let you know how my daughter does with The Clutch.
When I taught my son, I explained it to him as I drove us to the mall parking lot. Then I had him slowly let the clutch out a number of times so that he would get the feel of that point where it's just starting to engage, so that he could recognize that point just from that feeling. Then I had him let it out more while adding gas and start us moving from a dead stop. He had it down in 10 minutes, but we practiced for another 5 minutes or so.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1038 by Percy, posted 02-08-2019 3:26 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22394
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1040 of 5796 (848569)
02-10-2019 9:34 AM


Congress Has Given Away the Store
In Limited government requires a limited president George F. Will argues that Congress gave away too much power to the presidency with Section 232 of the Trade and Expansion Act of 1962, and brings to our attention that this law is being challenged in the U.S. Court of International Trade by U.S. steel importers. In other words, they're challenging President Trump's ability to unilaterally impose Tariffs based upon whatever he decides to be in the interests of national security. Some juicy excerpts, which in the end turns out to be much of it:
quote:
Soon, in a federal court that few Americans know exists, there will come a ruling on a constitutional principle that today barely exists but that could, if the judicial branch will resuscitate it, begin to rectify the imbalance between the legislative and executive branches. It is the “nondelegation doctrine,” which expresses John Locke’s justly famous but largely ignored admonition that institutions such as the U.S. Congress are vested with the power “to make laws, and not to make legislators” but “have no power to transfer their authority of making laws, and place it in other hands.”
...
The U.S. Court of International Trade, which sits in New York, is mulling the argument, made on behalf of U.S. steel importers and foreign steel producers, that the discretion that presidents enjoy under Section 232 is so vast that it amounts to unconstrained lawmaking. Hence, it is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power.
...
A “proper” law is not only necessary but also consistent with, among other things, the separation of powers. Larry Alexander of the University of San Diego School of Law and Saikrishna Prakash of the University of Virginia School of Law have argued that a law cannot properly give to the president discretion to “make rules for the governance of society,” which is legislating.
...
Not since the Supreme Court’s accommodation of ” actually, capitulation to ” the New Deal has the court held (in the 1935 Schechter v. U.S. case) that although Congress may permit an executive agency or other entity to make subordinate rules within prescribed limits, it must stipulate policies and standards. In another 1935 case, the court voided a congressional grant of vast discretion to the president because, in the granting statute, Congress did not declare or even indicate any policy or standard to guide or limit the president.
If the Court of International Trade revives the nondelegation doctrine, this might reach the Supreme Court, which upheld Section 232 in a 1976 case that did not turn on the constitutional questions now presented. The court might flinch from the task of defining “excessive” delegation that makes a law not “proper.” However, that task ” judging ” is the court’s raison d’tre.
The Constitution’s first words after the Preamble are: “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress.” All . James Madison was, as wise people usually are, an accomplished worrier who rarely worried about the wrong things. It turns out, however, that he did when, in Federalist 48, he worried about Congress “drawing all power into its impetuous vortex.” For generations, Congress has been a centrifugal machine, spinning off powers. Limited government requires a limited president, which requires limits on what Congress can give away.
In other words, not only is the legislative branch constitutionally not the lackey of the executive branch, they do not constitutionally even have the power to delegate any of their legislative prerogatives to others, including to the president.
An imperial presidency can be a good thing or at least not a menace when there is a good president, but in the hands of a mendacious and malevolent man it imperils us all. If the law is successfully challenged then I will miss the imperial presidency, it worked out okay in the hands of Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama, but the examples of Nixon and now Trump are telling us that we must let it go.
--Percy

  
AnswersInGenitals
Member (Idle past 151 days)
Posts: 673
Joined: 07-20-2006


(1)
Message 1041 of 5796 (848577)
02-10-2019 6:25 PM
Reply to: Message 1030 by Percy
02-07-2019 8:44 AM


Re: If Democrats are Honorable, Republicans will Gain a Governorship in Virginia
I don’t understand why you think this parade will end with Kirk Cox, Speaker of the House of Delegate. This being Virginia, they may well have the state dog catcher appointed as governor. Unless he’s accused of beastiality.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1030 by Percy, posted 02-07-2019 8:44 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
PaulK
Member
Posts: 17822
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.2


Message 1042 of 5796 (848672)
02-13-2019 3:03 AM


Something rotten in the State of Georgia?
The Root reports new evidence of election fraud.
The number of voters making a selection for the lieutenant governor was unusually low. And especially low in precincts where Blacks are a majority. And it’s not just that voters simply chose to vote for Governor and skip the other positions - votes for lower positions did not show the same drop-off.
The number of votes missing (even allowing for the expected drop off) seems to be just about enough to swing the election for this post (likely enough to make it a close call). On top of all the other issues, that is very worrying.
Edited by PaulK, : No reason given.

Replies to this message:
 Message 1045 by PaulK, posted 02-19-2019 12:19 PM PaulK has replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22394
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 1043 of 5796 (848675)
02-13-2019 10:19 AM


Objectivity and Balance
Illustrating that the mainstream media can be objective and balanced, the Washington Post just gave Four Pinocchios for Kamala Harris’s claim about Trump’s tax law. Apparently she took the news that tax refund amounts are down 8% this year and implied that that meant people had ended up paying more in taxes. She also implied the problem would get worse over time. The details for why her mistake was so egregious are in the article, so four Pinocchios:
The important point is that it isn't just people on the right making Pinocchio level misstatements of fact that the left acknowledges. It's just that the right has had a monopoly on this type of behavior over the past couple years because they controlled all of Congress and the presidency. Now that Democrats control the House and are starting to declare that they're running for president they should start receiving more Pinocchios.
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Typo. punctuation, grammar.

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22394
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1044 of 5796 (848832)
02-16-2019 9:21 AM


Patrolling the Rio Grand
Here's how you conduct border security when there's already a barrier in the form of river:
Source: Disappearing Rio Grande
Presumably there's also a border patrol road alongside the river.
--Percy

  
PaulK
Member
Posts: 17822
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.2


(2)
Message 1045 of 5796 (848954)
02-19-2019 12:19 PM
Reply to: Message 1042 by PaulK
02-13-2019 3:03 AM


...And North Carolina
As reported by Wonkette
Isn’t it odd that whenever we see actual evidence of electoral fraud it’s always the Republicans ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1042 by PaulK, posted 02-13-2019 3:03 AM PaulK has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1046 by JonF, posted 02-19-2019 3:43 PM PaulK has not replied
 Message 1053 by PaulK, posted 02-22-2019 12:55 AM PaulK has not replied

  
JonF
Member (Idle past 168 days)
Posts: 6174
Joined: 06-23-2003


Message 1046 of 5796 (848964)
02-19-2019 3:43 PM
Reply to: Message 1045 by PaulK
02-19-2019 12:19 PM


Re: ...And North Carolina
And it's almost always a type that voter ID wouldn't prevent..

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1045 by PaulK, posted 02-19-2019 12:19 PM PaulK has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1047 by dwise1, posted 02-19-2019 4:42 PM JonF has replied

  
dwise1
Member
Posts: 5930
Joined: 05-02-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 1047 of 5796 (848967)
02-19-2019 4:42 PM
Reply to: Message 1046 by JonF
02-19-2019 3:43 PM


Re: ...And North Carolina
And it's almost always a type that voter ID wouldn't prevent..
For that matter, is there any kind of voter fraud that voter ID would prevent?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1046 by JonF, posted 02-19-2019 3:43 PM JonF has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1048 by JonF, posted 02-19-2019 9:24 PM dwise1 has not replied
 Message 1049 by Percy, posted 02-20-2019 9:46 AM dwise1 has replied

  
JonF
Member (Idle past 168 days)
Posts: 6174
Joined: 06-23-2003


Message 1048 of 5796 (848980)
02-19-2019 9:24 PM
Reply to: Message 1047 by dwise1
02-19-2019 4:42 PM


Re: ...And North Carolina

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1047 by dwise1, posted 02-19-2019 4:42 PM dwise1 has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22394
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1049 of 5796 (848988)
02-20-2019 9:46 AM
Reply to: Message 1047 by dwise1
02-19-2019 4:42 PM


Re: ...And North Carolina
dwise1 writes:
For that matter, is there any kind of voter fraud that voter ID would prevent?
Thinking about this a little, I think only very small amounts of voter fraud could go undetected, not enough to sway any but the closest of elections. Even with no voter ID every voter still has to check in and give their name and sometimes their address. Since those manning the check-in tables are typically locals, it isn't going to be uncommon that Mrs. Rabinowitz manning the R-U table knows that it is not Mr. Abraham Silverstein standing before her. The plot will quickly unravel when the false Mr. Silverstein is arrested and questioned.
Whether the impersonator is first to the polls or not, when the 2nd voter of that name shows up then questions will be raised. If the impersonator is 2nd to show they would not be able to show proper ID and would be arrested. If the real person is 2nd to show they would be able to show proper ID and the police would be alerted. If the system allows tracking of who cast which vote, the false vote could be canceled and the real person could still vote. Surveillance cameras will sometimes be present and would allow some of the perpetrators to be identified and arrested. When only a few people commit voter fraud it's likely to go undetected, but when it's committed in sufficient volume to sway an election then in some way the plot will be uncovered.
In my state of New Hampshire Clinton beat Trump 348,526 to 345,790, a margin of only 2736. Rather than implementing fraud in hundreds of communities across the state it would be much easier to focus attention on the several large (for New Hampshire) cities of Manchester, Nashua, Concord and maybe Derry. But the odds that none of the 2736 fraudulent votes would be caught out would still be exceedingly small. The plot would still be uncovered.
I guess I don't think that voter fraud significant enough to affect an election possible in any but the closest of races. Voter ID makes it even more impossible, but not by enough to be worth it in my opinion. We have voter ID in New Hampshire and since I have a driver's license it isn't a problem for me, but my 95-year old mother hasn't driven in years. When the voter ID law passed we had to go through the inconvenience of visiting the Social Security office to get her a social security card (lost somewhere somehow long ago), then go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get her a special non-driver ID. It was a significant inconvenience and effort for someone that old. In another year or two she will have to renew, which I hope she can do by mail.
So my conclusion is that voter ID only insignificantly reduces the possibility of voter fraud, and it is a significant enough inconvenience to certain segments of the population as to discourage voting.
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Rewrite poorly thought through 2nd para.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1047 by dwise1, posted 02-19-2019 4:42 PM dwise1 has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1050 by xongsmith, posted 02-20-2019 1:11 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 1051 by dwise1, posted 02-20-2019 4:55 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
xongsmith
Member
Posts: 2578
From: massachusetts US
Joined: 01-01-2009
Member Rating: 6.8


(3)
Message 1050 of 5796 (848993)
02-20-2019 1:11 PM
Reply to: Message 1049 by Percy
02-20-2019 9:46 AM


Voter ID
Percy writes:
...it is a significant enough inconvenience to certain segments of the population as to discourage voting.
Indeed.
Voter ID is actually a form of voter suppression. It is similar to closing certain polling sites, leaving the only open sites too far away to get to.

- xongsmith, 5.7d

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1049 by Percy, posted 02-20-2019 9:46 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
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