Columnist.
Those pushing for legalization of marijuana constantly push the notion that it is no different than alcohol. But extensive medical studies and the experience of nearly every human culture shows that isn't true — legalizing marijuana is a dangerous idea.
You may not have heard of the "Nullification Crisis" that President Andrew Jackson faced in 1832. But there are many unfortunate similarities between it and what is happening today on immigration. From the unjustified obstruction of immigration law by some activist federal judges to the defiance of the federal government on sanctuary policies by governors and city mayors such as Ed Murray of Seattle, there are some interesting parallels — and lessons.
During his trip to the southern border, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it clear that he will carry out the mandate he was given by President Donald Trump: to vigorously enforce our immigration laws, and go after the human smugglers and traffickers who work for the Mexican cartels that have caused many of our border security problems.
One of the smartest steps President Donald Trump has taken to get our illegal immigration problem under control was ending the Obama administration's policy known as "catch and release."
Relentless, harsh and wholly unmerited — such were the attacks against Judge Neil Gorsuch. Yet Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) held firm to his promise to hold a full-Senate vote on the judge's nomination and today we have, once again, a full complement of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lucky Luciano and other gangsters like Los Angeles mobster Simon Scozzari, an illegal alien who was finally deported back to Italy in 1962, would love the sanctuary bill rapidly making its way through the California Legislature.
A recent C-SPAN poll found that 53 percent of respondents couldn't name a single Supreme Court justice. Some might claim this only shows that Americans pay little attention to the High Court. But that same poll, as well as one conducted by The Heritage Foundation, also found that Americans understand quite well the power of the Supreme Court, its effect on their everyday lives, and the importance of the Senate's vote on President Trump's nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch.
Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, the former head of the Democratic National Committee, is at it again, vetoing six bills aimed at preventing voter fraud and illegal voting. What does he have against election integrity? Why does he want to make it easier to commit fraud and harder for election officials to detect or deter it?
The Federalist Society blogsite has an interesting post by James Scanlan on proposed legislation in New Jersey that would require racial and ethnic impact statements for any legislative measure that affects pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, or parole policies. Mr. Scanlan notes that racial-impact-statement laws have already, alas, been enacted in Connecticut, Iowa, and Oregon and that similar legislation has recently been introduced in Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and Wisconsin; and, what's more, frequently the legislation addresses not just post-arrest and conviction policies, but what is made criminal in the first place.
During the marathon hearing on Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court, Democratic senators kept pushing him about his views on precedent. His answers didn't seem to satisfy them — but then that would have been impossible, since their views on precedent are political, not legal.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement on Monday that the Justice Department will bar all sanctuary cities from receiving any grants or other federal funds from the department should be welcome news to Americans — especially those whose families have been victimized by criminal illegal aliens released by sanctuary cities like San Francisco.
What kind of judges fill the ranks of the federal judiciary these days? More often than not, unfortunately, it's the kind who refuse to follow the law and the Constitution, and whose biases and personal views distort their decision-making.
For the past decade, John Fund, J. Christian Adams, and I have been writing about the misbehavior, unethical conduct, and lack of professionalism exhibited by lawyers inside the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, including the Voting Section. The situation apparently has not improved, given the serious accusations of unprofessional conduct made by 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerry Smith in a recent redistricting opinion out of Texas, Perez v. Abbott.
The decisions by Derrick Kahala Watson in Hawaii and Theodore David Chuang in Maryland should shock no one — not because the judges are correct, but because their decisions follow the same pattern as prior decisions in Washington state and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over the first order.
It should come as no surprise that an Obama political appointee (with the cooperation of the media) would try to create a phony scandal out of a routine event. With every new administration, the incoming president asks all U.S. attorneys appointed by the prior administration to resign. After all, they are political appointees, just like cabinet officials and the attorney general, other cabinet members and literally thousands of other jobs within the executive branch.
The secret ballot is a fundamental tenet of American democracy. It was implemented in the United States in the late 1800s to counter widespread instances of bribery and intimidation of voters. Both houses of the Colorado Legislature recently passed a bill that is now sitting on Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk that would allow voters to take "selfies" of their marked ballots.
Normally, the ACLU promotes transparency in government and the ability of the public to access public records. But apparently that changes when transparency might reveal damaging information that hurts their opposition to President Trump's common-sense, revised executive order temporarily suspending entry from six terrorist safe havens in the Middle East and Africa.
The new lawsuit filed by Hawaii against President Donald Trump's revised March 6 immigration executive order is just as unsound as the lawsuits filed by other states against the original order — despite what some courts have said about the original order or may say about the revised order.
After a lonely six-year battle, retired Air Force officer Arnold Davis, a resident of Guam, has finally won his right to register to vote in the U.S. territory and participate in a plebiscite on its future.
Talk about "over the top"! The overblown rhetoric accompanying calls for Attorney General Jeff Sessions' resignation reveals that Thursday's brouhaha is driven by mere political grandstanding, not a real concern over unlawful behavior.
