My father, Col Richard L Alley, passed away eight years ago today, at the age of 88. I clearly recall the one thing he said about his own father, who passed away in the front yard at the age of 80: “I just want to live longer than he did.”
And so it was.
My mother and father met in Sacramento when Dad was training at Mather Air Field. He ended up flying missions for the 8th AF in B-17s, made his missions in one piece and returned to the states, where he became an instructor in B-25s.
Here Dad is being trained to fly.
Dad’s father, Verto, served in World War I.
Verto and Kathleen married soon after. This photo got Verto through WW I.
My father, left, with his brother Jim in Kansas City, Missouri, 1925. All three brothers served in World War II. Dad chose the Air Force, Uncle Jim served in the army and Uncle Bill in the navy.
I miss my father every day and honor his service. Col Richard L. Alley, USAF, 1920 to 2009, WWII and Vietnam.
The same folded flag above is in a polished cherry walnut case no more than four feet from me as I write, with three of the brass casings fired at his salute.
Above, 9th DCA judges Richard Clifton, William Canby, Michelle Friedland.
The Ninth District Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco has just affirmed the ruling of Judge James Robart in the state of Washington regarding President Trump’s immigrant/refugee travel stay. That means the Trump travel stay has been held as unconstitutional and overturned.
The president responded with a tweet, promising to challenge the ruling.
“SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” Trump said.
The case will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court.
The three judges who heard the government’s appeal of the order were Democratic appointees William Canby and Michelle Friedland and GOP appointee Richard Clifton.
On one hand I am surprised it took the 9th quite some time to craft its opinion. On the other hand, the opinion is completely in keeping with the Leftist nature of the court itself.
As you recall, it was lower-court Judge James Robart in the state of Washington who temporarily halted the stay after stating that Washington and Minnesota were likely to win their case and had shown that the ban would restrict travel by their residents, damage their public universities and reduce their tax base.
The unanimous decision means that the case either goes to the Supreme Court or back to Robart’s court.
Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative Christian organization that filed an appeals court brief in support of Trump’s ban, said:
This decision is disappointing and clearly puts our nation in grave danger. The fact is that President Trump clearly has the constitutional and statutory authority to issue this order. It is clear: radical Islamic terrorists are at war with America. President Trump’s order is a proper and constitutional way to protect America.
Jessica Levinson, law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said:
It’s really important that the opinion is unanimous because judges that were appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents came to the same legal conclusion. This is probably going to the Supreme Court, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere good for Donald Trump — even if the Supreme Court rules along party lines and is deadlocked, because the lower court’s decision would stand.
A portion of the Ninth’s opinion read:
To rule on the Government’s motion, we must consider several factors, including whether the Government has shown that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal, the degree of hardship caused by a stay or its denial, and the public interest in granting or denying a stay.
We assess those factors in light of the limited evidence put forward by both parties at this very preliminary stage and are mindful that our analysis of the hardships and public interest in this case involves particularly sensitive and weighty concerns on both sides.
Nevertheless we hold that the Government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury, and we therefore deny its emergency motion for a stay.
I submit that a great deal on insight can be gleaned by listening to the tone and tenor of the three Ninth Circuit judges as illustrated here, making one wonder: were the arguments of the government cogent or had they not considered their audience?
It is no surprise that Demorats and Leftists nation-wide are thrilled to no end by the decision and will use it as a rallying cry to continue to obstruct President Trump and his administration on every level.
Apparently 8 USC 1182 makes little difference to federal courts as I wrote in my post here.
Known as the McCarran-Walter Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 allows for the:
Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by the President, whenever the President finds that the entry of aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The President may, by proclamation, and for such a period as he shall deem necessary, may suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants or impose any restrictions on the entry of aliens he may deem to be appropriate.
Who last utilized this act? That would be Demorat President Jimmy Carter in 1979, 38 years ago, in order to specifically keep Iranians out of the United States. It would seem to me that application by Carter, according to the Ninth Circuit, focuses on a specific country and a specific religion. Not illegal then? Why not?
Carter did more. He made all Iranian students who were already in the United States, check in with the government. Seven thousand were found in violation of their visas, and a total of 15,000 Iranians were forced to leave the USA in 1979. Not illegal then? Why not?
I should care to point out that the McCarran-Walter Act also requires that an “applicant for immigration must be of good moral character and in agreement with the principles of our Constitution.”
Doing what I call the “logical extension,” would it not be reasonable to conclude that since the Koran forbids Muslims to swear allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, technically, all Muslims should be refused immigration to country? Just asking.
The argument provided by Judge Robart in his Washington opinion stated that refugees had essentially committed no acts of violence or terror in the US. Other than being a naked lie issued from an individual who is educated but apparently has learned little and lives in a bubble, I should also care to point out a sampling of such attacks in the US:
Somali refugee Abdul Razak Ali Artan went on a jihadi stabbing rampage at Ohio State.
In 2016, an Iraqi refugee Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan was accused of planning to bomb a local mall in Texas.
Two Iraqi refugees were convicted for having aided Al-Qaeda in Iraq in killing American servicemen. These so-called “refugees,” lied on their applications, and as proof that the screening process is ineffective, were allowed entry without issue.
SEC. 306. RESTRICTION ON ISSUANCE OF VISAS TO NONIMMIGRANTS FROM COUNTRIES THAT ARE STATE SPONSORS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.
(a) IN GENERAL- No nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.1101(a)(15)) shall be issued to any alien from a country that is a state sponsor of international terrorism unless the Secretary of State determines, in consultation with the Attorney General and the heads of other appropriate United States agencies, that such alien does not pose a threat to the safety or national security of the United States. In making a determination under this subsection, the Secretary of State shall apply standards developed by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the heads of other appropriate United States agencies, that are applicable to the nationals of such states.
This once more profoundly illustrates the critical need to confirm the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch as a SCOTUS associate justice because, likely, this case and others will end there.
A final note: any 4-to-4 tie in the Supreme Court now does nothing more than uphold the decision of the applicable appeals court.
The US Constitution is not a proverbial suicide pact. We have the right to determine just who enters the country, as becoming a citizen is a privilege and not a right.
It is too early to fear. It is time, however, to continue to redouble our conservative efforts.
You can be assured the Demorats, Leftists and anarchists will.
THE LATEST: SENATE CONFIRMS SESSIONS AS ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Senate has confirmed Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general in the Trump administration.
The 52-47 vote broke largely along party lines and capped weeks of divisive battles over Sessions, an early supporter of Donald Trump and one of the Senate’s most conservative Republicans.
No surprise there. It’s fairly well known that Senator Jeff Sessions will actually enforce the law and abide by the rule of law, as opposed to the two prior racist occupants who could only see cases through the lenses of race and sex.
Democrats laced into Sessions over his ties to Trump and his record on civil rights and immigration. Republicans lauded his four decades in public service and his commitment to fairness and the rule of law.
The nomination drew wide attention after an imbroglio in which Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren earned a rare rebuke for quoting Coretta Scott King, widow of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., criticizing Sessions in 1986.
In reference to that incident, please see my very prior post. Then watch this — completely skewering the notion that Sessions is some kind of racist — as the niece of Martin Luther King Jr, Dr Alveda King, remarks:
Senator Sessions had to endure this kind of questioning from one of the largest and most officious bozos in the senate, Al Franken.
As my college professors used to say, “compare and contrast” the above interrogation by Franken to the interview by Senator Ted Cruz, below.
The proper thing has been done, the Department of Justice will be clean again, and actual investigations into corruption and various violations of the law — by anyone — may be instigated. My confidence level in the DOJ has increased geometrically. I would suspect that the IRS, the State Department, other governmental entities, national organizations, cities, counties and states — as well as persons — are on official notice.
The rule of law has returned to the Justice Department.
Excerpted From The Hill: The American Civil Liberties Union vowed to sue Jeff Sessions if he violates the Constitution immediately after he was confirmed by the Senate as attorney general.
“If he violates the Constitution, we’ll sue,” the ACLU tweeted on Wednesday night.
I might be forced to conclude: the honeymoon is over before it started.
Warren barred from speaking on Senate floor for rest of Sessions debate
by Samuel Chamberlain
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was prohibited Tuesday night from speaking on the Senate floor for the rest of the debate over Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination to be attorney general.
The drama began when Warren, quoting a 30-year-old letter by civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, referred to the Alabama Republican as a “disgrace.” King’s letter was written in 1986, when Sessions was nominated to the federal bench but was never confirmed.
King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., also wrote that when acting as a federal prosecutor, Sessions used his power to “chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens.”
Warren’s reference drew the ire of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said that Warren had “impugned the motives of our colleague from Alabama.”
The truth? Senator Jeff Sessions has sponsored and supported legislation attacking racism. That matters not to Warren.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. advised Warren that she was out of order under Rule XIX of the Senate, which states that “no Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”
After a few parliamentary moves, McConnell called for a vote to affirm Daines’ ruling that Warren was out of order. The GOP-controlled Senate backed him up, 49-43, before defeating a Democratic effort to restore Warren’s speaking privileges, 50-43.
“She was warned, she was given an explanation,” McConnell said of Warren. “Nevertheless, she persisted.”
Senator Fauxcahontas said:
“To put Senator Sessions in charge of the Department of Justice is an insult to African-Americans.”
With no proof of his alleged “racism.” An accusation is as good as a nod to a blind horse.
The Senate backed its majority leader. By a party line vote of 49-43, it found Warren in violation of Senate rules. She is now barred from speaking on the subject of the Sessions nomination.
That is called “harnessing power,” Republicans, and actually learning how to wield it — something with which you are entirely unfamiliar.
What you won’t hear or see on other forms of media is this: Marco Rubio’s address with regard to Elizabeth Warren.
“Elections have consequences,” said Barack Hussein Obama. And with that he and other Demorats proceeded to rub the noses of DC Republicans into the political shite. You should expect no less in return, Demorats.
That said, some people suggest the GOP has made a martyr out of Fauxcahontas.
I say: she has been made to revisit her political vulnerability.
After continued obstruction by the Demorats, to include a pointless 24-hour “talkathon” in the Senate staged by Demorats, Betsy DeVos has been confirmed as President Trump’s Secretary of Education.
This is a massive thumb in the eye of the Leftist NEA organization whose primary concern is the continuity of union power, union money and control, at the expense of children having the best education.
Vice President Mike Pence saved Betsy DeVos’ nomination to be education secretary on Tuesday, by using his constitutional power to cast a tiebreaking vote in the Senate after two Republicans jumped ship and voted with Democrats against her confirmation.
Two centrist Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, followed through on their plans to vote against DeVos, citing opposition from teachers and parents who fear DeVos’ school choice advocacy will hurt public schools.
“School choice advocacy.” You get that? You understand that these two allegedly somewhat-conservative women — they have an (R) following their names — side with labor unions at the expense of children?
I’ve said this for some time to John McCain, I now say it to Collins and Murkowski: be honest. Just exchange your (R) for a (D) and be done with it.
With Collins and Murkowsky rolling over to the Demorat side, the Senate gridlocked.
That created a 50-50 tie in the Senate, forced Pence to break the tie and confirm her in a 51-50 vote. It was the first time ever a vice president has broken a tie for a Cabinet slot.
Pence’s role took mere minutes. He was ushered into the Senate president’s chair and announced the roll call was split evenly before casting his vote in favor of DeVos.
It was a squeaker. Here’s how close it was:
The dramatic vote followed an all-night Senate floor session by Democrats who argued against DeVos, and it ended several days of speculation over whether she would lose support from any other Republicans. One more defection would have given Democrats a 49-51 vote against her, and forced Trump to find another nominee.
Why is Betsy DeVos so reviled?
“Her support for public charter schools some people don’t like,” said Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. “But 2.7 million children attend them and their 6,800 schools are the most effective public school reform in 30 years.”
Demorats and public school unions don’t want parents to have school choice, as evidenced in hearings.
Betsy DeVos’ Confirmation Signals Dark Times for Democrats
by Alex Altman and Haley Sweetland Edwards
The confirmation of DeVos, an outspoken supporter of school voucher programs, was a bitter blow for Democrats after a campaign driven by progressive advocacy groups, marked by millions of phone calls, emails and tweets and capped by a marathon parade of overnight speeches on the Senate floor.
But the rebellion was probably doomed from the beginning. Despite the tide of grassroots energy, the Democrats did not have the votes. And the outcome may become a familiar one during the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, as the minority party faces heightened pressure to block Trump’s agenda while confronting the limits of its power within the Capitol.
Translated: the shoe is on the other foot and the Demorats don’t care for the resulting political toe fungus. They fear that, instead of the Triumvirate of Ownership under George Bush when the GOP held the White House, Senate and House and nothing was done because the GOP wanted to be loved and feared wielding the power they possessed, President Trump will in fact utilize every bit of power in his hands. Just like the Demorats have always done.
Any reduction in power, cash or perceived authority cannot be tolerated according to Demorats and Leftists, This is a loss for both.
My father, Col Richard L Alley, passed away eight years ago today, at the age of 88. I clearly recall the one thing he said about his own father, who passed away in the front yard at the age of 80: “I just want to live longer than he did.”
My mother and father met in Sacramento when Dad was training at Mather Air Field. He ended up flying missions for the 8th AF in B-17s, made his missions in one piece and returned to the states, where he became an instructor in B-25s.
Here Dad is being trained to fly.
Dad’s father, Verto, served in World War I.
Verto and Kathleen married soon after. This photo got Verto through WW I.
My father, left, with his brother Jim in Kansas City, Missouri, 1925. All three brothers served in World War II. Dad chose the Air Force, Uncle Jim served in the army and Uncle Bill in the navy.
I miss my father every day and honor his service. Col Richard L. Alley, USAF, 1920 to 2009, WWII and Vietnam.
After continued obstruction by the Demorats, to include a pointless 24-hour “talkathon” in the Senate staged by Demorats, Betsy DeVos has been confirmed as President Trump’s Secretary of Education.