You got your ass handed to you that is what happened. By electing Trump America said no to liberalism. No to feminism. By electing Trump America said it doesn't want a criminal in the White House.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
This is what happened
You got your ass handed to you that is what happened. By electing Trump America said no to liberalism. No to feminism. By electing Trump America said it doesn't want a criminal in the White House.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Sign the petition Pelosi fears
From Senator Rand Paul and The National Right To Work Committee:
Below is a petition I've had prepared for you to your Senators and Congressman, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader.
It's crucial you sign it at once.
You see, President Donald Trump has pledged to support passage of a National Right to Work act –- and promised to sign it into law if you and I can get it to his desk.
Without a doubt, this is our best opportunity EVER to pass a National Right to Work law to end forced unionism in America.
A National Right to Work law would ultimately end forced unionism nationwide by removing the sections of federal labor laws that allow union bosses to force workers to join a union just to get or keep a job.
So please sign your petition and include your most generous contribution to launch the next, crucial phase for ultimate passage of a National Right to Work law immediately.
You see, the union bosses, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and their allies are going to use every trick in the book to kill a National Right to Work bill -- and they will try to do it as quietly as possible.
The union kingpins (and their water-carriers in Congress) can't afford the consequences of having their coercive privileges publicly debated and voted on in Congress!
They don't want the American people to know that:
***Millions of workers are forced to surrender part of every paycheck to keep their jobs.
This cash funds violent "organizing" drives, provides a limousine lifestyle for union bigwigs, and bankrolls radical, Tax-and-Spend politicians like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
***Big Labor's power is deadly to millions of small businesses.
Big Labor politicians and Obama-stacked bureaucracies have been strangling small businesses with confiscatory taxes, destructive laws and straitjacket regulations.
***Forced Unionism exports millions of good jobs overseas.
Productivity-killing work rules, workplace class warfare, slowdowns, "sick-outs" and strikes all have taken their crippling toll, closing the doors of many businesses -- for good.
***Billions of forced-dues dollars bankroll radical Tax-and-Spend politicians like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, resulting in out-of-control spending and skyrocketing taxes.
That's why it's vital you sign your petition to demonstrate to Congress and the national media the strong support for Right to Work.
Of course, Big Labor allies in Congress may choose to obey the union bosses rather than the majority of their constituents.
That's their choice.
But time and again, when politicians defy the public and vote for forced unionism, they've paid the price with the end of their political careers!
So -- by all means -- let's have another vote and see which politicians want to end their careers in the next election.
That's why your signed petition and financial support are so important.
It's all part of the National Right to Work Committee's four-part plan to pass a National Right to Work law:
•Run TV, radio and newspaper ads targeting swing votes in key states and districts;
•Contact directly by mail and email up to 10 million supporters to urge them to demand their Senators and Congressmen vote for the National Right to Work Act;
•Brief personally the hundreds of favorable columnists, radio talk show hosts, editorial writers and bloggers nationwide who can help mobilize public opinion; and
•Crank up massive, paid phone banks in the days before the vote to really make Congress feel the heat.
Of course, this whole effort will be very expensive.
An all-out media and direct-mail blitz to mobilize massive public pressure on Congress will be the key to our success.
So, to pay for the expensive ads, mailings, phone banks and other efforts, it's vital you give a special contribution to the National Right to Work Committee today.
Will you make a generous contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50, $25 or $10 to launch the next, crucial phase for ultimate passage of a National Right to Work law?
The National Right to Work Committee has successfully beat back Big Labor's forced-dues machine for decades.
And now it's critical the Right to Work Committee have your financial support right away to put politicians' feet to the fire to bring the National Right to Work Act up for a vote.
It would be a crime to let politicians who support compulsory unionism off the hook.
Up against the forced-dues-fed, billion-dollar might of Big Labor, all you and I have on our side is truth and public opinion.
Together with the National Right to Work Committee you can make the difference.
Unlike Big Labor, the National Right to Work Committee doesn't have (or want) the power to force anyone to pay dues.
So it has to depend on the generosity of folks like you.
Some folks have already given $250, $500 and even more. For others, a contribution of $25 or $50 has been as much as they could afford.
Whatever you can do, sign your petition and include your most generous contribution.
Please don't make it easy for Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Big Labor to destroy the National Right to Work bill.
Without your contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50, $25 or $10, the National Right to Work Committee won't be able to contact 10 million Americans, place the advertising, or staff phone banks to put Big Labor on the spot.
I believe it's vital we force roll-call votes in this Congress.
It's time to put Big Labor on the defensive. Without your help, the union bosses win by default.
Please act today.
Sincerely,
Rand Paul, M.D.
United States Senator
P.S. Since nearly 80% of Americans oppose Big Labor's forced-unionism powers, a public debate and vote on a National Right to Work law is Big Labor's (and its water-carriers' in Congress) worst nightmare!
Below is a petition I've had prepared for you to your Senators and Congressman, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader.
It's crucial you sign it at once.
You see, President Donald Trump has pledged to support passage of a National Right to Work act –- and promised to sign it into law if you and I can get it to his desk.
Without a doubt, this is our best opportunity EVER to pass a National Right to Work law to end forced unionism in America.
A National Right to Work law would ultimately end forced unionism nationwide by removing the sections of federal labor laws that allow union bosses to force workers to join a union just to get or keep a job.
So please sign your petition and include your most generous contribution to launch the next, crucial phase for ultimate passage of a National Right to Work law immediately.
You see, the union bosses, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and their allies are going to use every trick in the book to kill a National Right to Work bill -- and they will try to do it as quietly as possible.
The union kingpins (and their water-carriers in Congress) can't afford the consequences of having their coercive privileges publicly debated and voted on in Congress!
They don't want the American people to know that:
***Millions of workers are forced to surrender part of every paycheck to keep their jobs.
This cash funds violent "organizing" drives, provides a limousine lifestyle for union bigwigs, and bankrolls radical, Tax-and-Spend politicians like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
***Big Labor's power is deadly to millions of small businesses.
Big Labor politicians and Obama-stacked bureaucracies have been strangling small businesses with confiscatory taxes, destructive laws and straitjacket regulations.
***Forced Unionism exports millions of good jobs overseas.
Productivity-killing work rules, workplace class warfare, slowdowns, "sick-outs" and strikes all have taken their crippling toll, closing the doors of many businesses -- for good.
***Billions of forced-dues dollars bankroll radical Tax-and-Spend politicians like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, resulting in out-of-control spending and skyrocketing taxes.
That's why it's vital you sign your petition to demonstrate to Congress and the national media the strong support for Right to Work.
Of course, Big Labor allies in Congress may choose to obey the union bosses rather than the majority of their constituents.
That's their choice.
But time and again, when politicians defy the public and vote for forced unionism, they've paid the price with the end of their political careers!
So -- by all means -- let's have another vote and see which politicians want to end their careers in the next election.
That's why your signed petition and financial support are so important.
It's all part of the National Right to Work Committee's four-part plan to pass a National Right to Work law:
•Run TV, radio and newspaper ads targeting swing votes in key states and districts;
•Contact directly by mail and email up to 10 million supporters to urge them to demand their Senators and Congressmen vote for the National Right to Work Act;
•Brief personally the hundreds of favorable columnists, radio talk show hosts, editorial writers and bloggers nationwide who can help mobilize public opinion; and
•Crank up massive, paid phone banks in the days before the vote to really make Congress feel the heat.
Of course, this whole effort will be very expensive.
An all-out media and direct-mail blitz to mobilize massive public pressure on Congress will be the key to our success.
So, to pay for the expensive ads, mailings, phone banks and other efforts, it's vital you give a special contribution to the National Right to Work Committee today.
Will you make a generous contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50, $25 or $10 to launch the next, crucial phase for ultimate passage of a National Right to Work law?
The National Right to Work Committee has successfully beat back Big Labor's forced-dues machine for decades.
And now it's critical the Right to Work Committee have your financial support right away to put politicians' feet to the fire to bring the National Right to Work Act up for a vote.
It would be a crime to let politicians who support compulsory unionism off the hook.
Up against the forced-dues-fed, billion-dollar might of Big Labor, all you and I have on our side is truth and public opinion.
Together with the National Right to Work Committee you can make the difference.
Unlike Big Labor, the National Right to Work Committee doesn't have (or want) the power to force anyone to pay dues.
So it has to depend on the generosity of folks like you.
Some folks have already given $250, $500 and even more. For others, a contribution of $25 or $50 has been as much as they could afford.
Whatever you can do, sign your petition and include your most generous contribution.
Please don't make it easy for Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Big Labor to destroy the National Right to Work bill.
Without your contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50, $25 or $10, the National Right to Work Committee won't be able to contact 10 million Americans, place the advertising, or staff phone banks to put Big Labor on the spot.
I believe it's vital we force roll-call votes in this Congress.
It's time to put Big Labor on the defensive. Without your help, the union bosses win by default.
Please act today.
Sincerely,
Rand Paul, M.D.
United States Senator
P.S. Since nearly 80% of Americans oppose Big Labor's forced-unionism powers, a public debate and vote on a National Right to Work law is Big Labor's (and its water-carriers' in Congress) worst nightmare!
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
George Soros and the Reichstag Fire in Charlottesville
The driver of the Charlottesville vehicle, which killed Heather Heyer and injured 19 others, was Alex James Fields. He was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and a member of Antifa funded by George Soros. He was only 20 years of age and lived in Maumee, Ohio. George Soros used him to further his movement to destroy the United States. All Americans, Left and Right, need to understand exactly what this evil man is doing to this Country. He is using two political parties to divide the US; ultimately starting a civil war that will crush the United States of America.
Driver of Charlottesville vehicle was Alex James Fields, democrat, Hillary supporter, ANTIFA member#MAGA #FraudNewsCNN #FakeNewsMedia
5:30 PM - Aug 12, 2017
180 180 Replies 842 842 Retweets 602 602 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
The mainstream media insists that Fields is a neo-Nazi, producing photos of him standing with Vanguard America and carrying a shield bearing the group’s insignia. What they don’t mention is that Fields is a known left-wing operative.
A further discovery made by the ACLU is that the police officers at the protest were ordered to stand down just before the attack by Fields.
ACLU confirms that police were given stand-down order. This invited the violence the city used to shut down a court-permitted protest. https://twitter.com/ACLUVA/status/896386562484731904 …
4:55 PM - Aug 12, 2017
995 995 Replies 9,394 9,394 Retweets 8,583 8,583 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Again we are witnessing a shocking takedown of America by the Far Left funded by George Soros, as his goal is to destroy Western civilization. After the driver of the car, Alex James Fields, was identified by the authorities, someone put his social media accounts on lockdown, trying to hide his connections fo Hillary Clinton.
12 Aug
Whitehouse Plumber @rharrisonfries
Driver of Charlottesville vehicle was Alex James Fields, democrat, Hillary supporter, ANTIFA member#MAGA #FraudNewsCNN #FakeNewsMedia pic.twitter.com/VMN1tKzAyb
Joe Middleroad @JoeMiddleroad
Who scrubbed all of his facebook-twitter and why? He was arrested...he did not remove the content. REEKS of a setup/false flag #infowars
9:05 AM - Aug 13, 2017
9 9 Replies 72 72 Retweets 90 90 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
As George Soros is funding Antifa, many allegedly agree that he is involved in funding the Charlottesville terrorism attack. I am using the word “terrorism,” as in my opinion what Fields did was a “terrorist attack.” George Soros, in my opinion, is nothing more than a terrorist.
Follow
DONNA WARREN πΊπΈ @DonnaWR8
DON'T TAKE THE BAIT!π£
Organized by Soros funded RACE ☠️ BAITERS who want CHAOS & HATE!
3️⃣DEAD including 2️⃣LEOS#MAGA #Chalottesville
6:46 PM - Aug 12, 2017
79 79 Replies 1,131 1,131 Retweets 990 990 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Let us never forget that Obama actually invited the Ferguson Black Lives Matter group to the White House after the terrorism in Ferguson. He did not hold their feet to the fire, he simply kissed them in such a blatant slap in the face to the American people; therefore, encouraging these types of terrorist style attacks.
Follow
Feisty☀️Floridian @peddoc63
Obama didn't disavow BLM after they destroyed Ferguson & Baltimore.
Quite the contrary.
He invited them to White House! #Charolettesville
5:18 AM - Aug 13, 2017
390 390 Replies 3,877 3,877 Retweets 5,181 5,181 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
A citizen journalist actually made her way through the crowd in Charlottesville to bravely capture the event on video. She proved the mainstream media lied, as usual, spreading fake news from their ivory towers.
Follow
Joni Turner @joniturnerlaw
This shows everything!! Car ram and BLM being chanted! This show girl being killed! This is a BLM march https://www.pscp.tv/w/bF5MPzFwempNQllaZW5PRWR8MXlOR2FtUllZQWdHah1B1L-XlZ0_ouojn5QSZwzXjj-17pFFW_gWjB9VrDoa …
6:10 PM - Aug 12, 2017
Faith J. Goldy Ωπ¨π¦ @FaithGoldy
#Charlottesville DOUBLE STANDARD: antifa allowed to march!!! — Charlottesville, VA, United States
pscp.tv
137 137 Replies 856 856 Retweets 679 679 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
http://uconservative.com/2017/08/14/charlottesville-killer-hillary-supporter-funded-soros/
The man accused of being a neo-Nazi and murdering a woman by deliberately driving into her during protests in Charlottesville is in reality a supporter of Hillary Clinton and member of Antifa in receipt of funding by George Soros, according to reports.
James Fields, 20, of Maumee, Ohio, allegedly killed Heather Heyer, aged 32, and injured 19 others when he rammed his car into a group of protesters on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Mainstream media is claiming Fields is a neo-Nazi and has conveniently produced photographs showing Fields standing with Vanguard America and carrying a shield bearing the group’s insignia.
But the mainstream media is actively suppressing information that proves Fields is actually a left-wing operative at the heart of a false flag designed to spark civil war, introduce martial law, and take away the rights of conservative groups to assemble peacefully.
Police were ordered to stand down just before the incident, as confirmed by ACLU. “This invited the violence the city used to shut down a court-permitted protest,” said Robert Barnes, a high-profile constitutional lawyer.
Immediately after the car was driven into the crowd and James Field was identified as the driver and arrested, his social media accounts were put on lockdown and scrubbed of political content. His affiliation to Clinton and the dangerous far-left is being actively suppressed.
There is only one winner in Charlottesville. His name is George Soros and he funds Antifa.
The UniteTheRight rally was planned months in advance, proper permits were sought and granted, and the peaceful protest was going to plan. Then, due to political pressure from the left, the city of Charlottesville rescinded the permit a few days before the rally.
This was a clear violation of the 1st Amendment.
So UniteTheRight went to federal court and won. A federal judge ordered that the rally must go on and the rally-goers Constitutional rights be protected.
But the left wasn’t finished. The Democrat mayor and police department ordered the rally an “unlawful assembly,” and threatened to arrest everybody – once again, violating 1st and 9th amendment rights.
Then things got bloody. George Soros’s Antifa stepped up to the plate, unleashing chaos and hate as per their job description.
Many are wondering if a civil war is starting within America’s borders. I, too, feel this could be the beginning of an ongoing civil war. Since the Far Left began attacking the Right and that includes a sitting President, it has felt as though their goal was to divide and conquer the United States of America. You have to wonder why they would do this? Why would they disrespect our voting system and strive to destroy their own country?
My belief is the Far left no longer considers the US a country at all, for they have surrendered their own rights to the New World Order, which is funded by George Soros. The goal of this elite globalist club is to destroy all borders and countries uniting together as one One World Order. This is only my opinion.
Source
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Court Blocks Federal Prosecution of California Pot Growers
A U.S. District Court this week blocked federal prosecutors from moving forward with their conspiracy case against a pair of Northern California cultivators because the duo was determined to be in compliance with Golden State medical marijuana laws.
Humboldt County growers Anthony Pisarski and Sonny Moore had already pleaded guilty to federal allegations (conspiracy to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute) but sought an evidentiary hearing based on legislation, first enacted in 2014, that prohibits the U.S. Department of Justice from cracking down on cannabis suspects who are otherwise following their state laws. The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment is a budget rider, co-authored by SoCal U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, that prevents enforcement and prosecution in medical marijuana states by stripping funding for such endeavors.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg on Tuesday stayed the prosecution, so the case is closed unless the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment expires and fails to be re-enacted and federal prosecutors want to resume their case. The defendants' Beverly Hills attorney, Ronald Richards, says: "This is the first time in my 23-year career I've had a case stopped because of an appropriations rider.
"What the court did in this case may be used as a blueprint for other cases," he says. "It opens the door for people not to get scared."
The judge cited United States v. McIntosh, a United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision last year that affirmed a medical marijuana defense for defendants facing federal prosecution in medical states. But experts say that United States v. Pisarski, et al. could help establish such a defense even further.
"It's significant that a federal court ruled that people targeted by feds and in compliance with California's medical marijuana laws ruled in the defendants' favor," says Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML. "This is the first case I'm aware of where McIntosh was cited and used to full effect."
Pisarski and Moore owned a property raided by feds in July 2012. Authorities said they found 327 marijuana plants, $416,125 in cash, and guns. But during the evidentiary process, the duo argued they were abiding by California laws and that federal prosecutors had no right to continue spending cash on their prosecution under Rohrabacher-Farr.
They argued that the weed was being sold to legit collectives. Judge Seeborg agreed, writing: "Their conduct strictly complied with all relevant conditions imposed by California law on the use, distribution, possession and cultivation of medical marijuana."
Tamar Todd, director of the Drug Policy Alliance's office of of legal affairs, said the ruling could have ripple effects throughout the West.
"This shows that you can prevail — defendants in federal court could have their prosecutions halted," she says. "It's enjoining the prosecution from being able to spend any more money on this case. It's very encouraging. It gives a lot of teeth to Rohrabacher-Farr."
Source
Humboldt County growers Anthony Pisarski and Sonny Moore had already pleaded guilty to federal allegations (conspiracy to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute) but sought an evidentiary hearing based on legislation, first enacted in 2014, that prohibits the U.S. Department of Justice from cracking down on cannabis suspects who are otherwise following their state laws. The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment is a budget rider, co-authored by SoCal U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, that prevents enforcement and prosecution in medical marijuana states by stripping funding for such endeavors.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg on Tuesday stayed the prosecution, so the case is closed unless the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment expires and fails to be re-enacted and federal prosecutors want to resume their case. The defendants' Beverly Hills attorney, Ronald Richards, says: "This is the first time in my 23-year career I've had a case stopped because of an appropriations rider.
"What the court did in this case may be used as a blueprint for other cases," he says. "It opens the door for people not to get scared."
The judge cited United States v. McIntosh, a United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision last year that affirmed a medical marijuana defense for defendants facing federal prosecution in medical states. But experts say that United States v. Pisarski, et al. could help establish such a defense even further.
"It's significant that a federal court ruled that people targeted by feds and in compliance with California's medical marijuana laws ruled in the defendants' favor," says Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML. "This is the first case I'm aware of where McIntosh was cited and used to full effect."
Pisarski and Moore owned a property raided by feds in July 2012. Authorities said they found 327 marijuana plants, $416,125 in cash, and guns. But during the evidentiary process, the duo argued they were abiding by California laws and that federal prosecutors had no right to continue spending cash on their prosecution under Rohrabacher-Farr.
They argued that the weed was being sold to legit collectives. Judge Seeborg agreed, writing: "Their conduct strictly complied with all relevant conditions imposed by California law on the use, distribution, possession and cultivation of medical marijuana."
Tamar Todd, director of the Drug Policy Alliance's office of of legal affairs, said the ruling could have ripple effects throughout the West.
"This shows that you can prevail — defendants in federal court could have their prosecutions halted," she says. "It's enjoining the prosecution from being able to spend any more money on this case. It's very encouraging. It gives a lot of teeth to Rohrabacher-Farr."
Source
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Poll: Americans’ Support For Marijuana Law Reform At All Time High
A record percentage of American voters support reforming the nation’s marijuana laws, according to polling data released by Quinnipiac University.
Sixty-one percent of voters believe that “the use of marijuana should be made legal in the United States” — the highest percentage ever reported by the poll. Support for legalization is strongest among those between the ages of 35 to 49 (77 percent), those between the ages of 18 and 34 (71 percent), Democrats (70 percent), and Independents (67 percent). Support is weakest among those age 65 or older (42 percent) and Republicans (37 percent).
With regard to the use of medical cannabis, 94 percent of voters say that adults ought to be able to legally consume it therapeutically. Among those polled, no group expressed less than 90 percent support for the issue.
Finally, 75 percent of voters oppose “the government enforcing federal laws against marijuana in states that have already legalized medical or recreational marijuana.” Super-majorities of every group polled, except for Republicans (59 percent), hold this position.
The Quinnipiac poll possesses a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
Source
This would be great to share with out public officials. Let's contact our Congressional Representative and our Senators. It would also be a good idea to contact the Speaker of the House and the The Senate Majority Leader along with the House Minority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader let them know we are serious about marijuana legalization at the federal level.
Sixty-one percent of voters believe that “the use of marijuana should be made legal in the United States” — the highest percentage ever reported by the poll. Support for legalization is strongest among those between the ages of 35 to 49 (77 percent), those between the ages of 18 and 34 (71 percent), Democrats (70 percent), and Independents (67 percent). Support is weakest among those age 65 or older (42 percent) and Republicans (37 percent).
With regard to the use of medical cannabis, 94 percent of voters say that adults ought to be able to legally consume it therapeutically. Among those polled, no group expressed less than 90 percent support for the issue.
Finally, 75 percent of voters oppose “the government enforcing federal laws against marijuana in states that have already legalized medical or recreational marijuana.” Super-majorities of every group polled, except for Republicans (59 percent), hold this position.
The Quinnipiac poll possesses a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
Source
This would be great to share with out public officials. Let's contact our Congressional Representative and our Senators. It would also be a good idea to contact the Speaker of the House and the The Senate Majority Leader along with the House Minority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader let them know we are serious about marijuana legalization at the federal level.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
'Leave Medical Marijuana States Alone': Leahy Warns Trump Administration
Sen. Patrick Leahy is leading an effort in the U.S. Senate to prevent the Trump Administration from cracking down on states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana.
Leahy says he strongly believes that the issue of medical marijuana is a state concern and he doesn't want the federal government to take any action to block states from administering their laws.
Currently, 29 states including Vermont have approved the use of medical marijuana.
Leahy says it's a waste of time and money for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to threaten states over this issue.
“If a state has a law that allows medical marijuana we've got enough important things to do not to have Jeff Sessions or anybody else go in and try to change that," said Leahy.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations committee has voted to support an amendment, sponsored by Leahy, that prohibits the use of federal funds to interfere with the operations of state approved medical marijuana programs.
"That ensures the Justice Department actually focuses on real things,” said Leahy. “They don't have enough people to go after medical marijuana patients who are following their state laws."
"If a state has a law that allows medical marijuana we've got enough important things to do not to have Jeff Sessions or anybody else go in and try to change that." — Sen. Patrick Leahy
In Vermont, a new law went into effect last month that could double the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the next year.
Currently, there are four licensed facilities — in Burlington, Montpelier, Brandon and Brattleboro.
The new bill adds a fifth dispensary and allows each of these operations to open a satellite facility with state approval. In addition, another dispensary can open when the number of medical marijuana patients reaches seven thousand. Right now there are roughly four thousand Vermonters who participate in this program.
Bennington Sen. Dick Sears is the chairman of the Vermont Senate Judiciary committee and a sponsor of the new law.
"It has tremendous benefit in relieving the symptoms of various illnesses,” said Sears. “The new bill also provides more alternatives for people to buy through increased number of dispensaries."
"It has tremendous benefit in relieving the symptoms of various illnesses." — Bennington Sen. Dick Sears
Sears is hoping that the new law will result in the opening of a facility in the southwestern part of Vermont.
"Right now my constituents will have to travel to Brattleboro or Brandon to find the product to buy it legally, so many are still using the black market," said Sears.
While Gov. Phil Scott has some concerns about the legalization of recreational marijuana, as a state senator he voted for the original medical marijuana legislation and he signed the new bill into law this Spring.
"I think that it's regulated and it's been beneficial for Vermont," said Scott.
The full U.S. Senate is expected to consider this issue after its August recess.
Source
Leahy says he strongly believes that the issue of medical marijuana is a state concern and he doesn't want the federal government to take any action to block states from administering their laws.
Currently, 29 states including Vermont have approved the use of medical marijuana.
Leahy says it's a waste of time and money for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to threaten states over this issue.
“If a state has a law that allows medical marijuana we've got enough important things to do not to have Jeff Sessions or anybody else go in and try to change that," said Leahy.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations committee has voted to support an amendment, sponsored by Leahy, that prohibits the use of federal funds to interfere with the operations of state approved medical marijuana programs.
"That ensures the Justice Department actually focuses on real things,” said Leahy. “They don't have enough people to go after medical marijuana patients who are following their state laws."
"If a state has a law that allows medical marijuana we've got enough important things to do not to have Jeff Sessions or anybody else go in and try to change that." — Sen. Patrick Leahy
In Vermont, a new law went into effect last month that could double the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the next year.
Currently, there are four licensed facilities — in Burlington, Montpelier, Brandon and Brattleboro.
The new bill adds a fifth dispensary and allows each of these operations to open a satellite facility with state approval. In addition, another dispensary can open when the number of medical marijuana patients reaches seven thousand. Right now there are roughly four thousand Vermonters who participate in this program.
Bennington Sen. Dick Sears is the chairman of the Vermont Senate Judiciary committee and a sponsor of the new law.
"It has tremendous benefit in relieving the symptoms of various illnesses,” said Sears. “The new bill also provides more alternatives for people to buy through increased number of dispensaries."
"It has tremendous benefit in relieving the symptoms of various illnesses." — Bennington Sen. Dick Sears
Sears is hoping that the new law will result in the opening of a facility in the southwestern part of Vermont.
"Right now my constituents will have to travel to Brattleboro or Brandon to find the product to buy it legally, so many are still using the black market," said Sears.
While Gov. Phil Scott has some concerns about the legalization of recreational marijuana, as a state senator he voted for the original medical marijuana legislation and he signed the new bill into law this Spring.
"I think that it's regulated and it's been beneficial for Vermont," said Scott.
The full U.S. Senate is expected to consider this issue after its August recess.
Source
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Justice Department Marijuana Task Force fails to come up with new recommendations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The betting was that law-and-order Attorney General Jeff Sessions would come out against the legalized marijuana industry with guns blazing. But the task force Sessions assembled to find the best legal strategy is giving him no ammunition, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
The Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, a group of prosecutors and federal law enforcement officials, has come up with no new policy recommendations to advance the attorney general’s aggressively anti-marijuana views. The group’s report largely reiterates the current Justice Department policy on marijuana.
It encourages officials to keep studying whether to change or rescind the Obama administration’s more hands-off approach to enforcement — a stance that has allowed the nation’s experiment with legal pot to flourish. The report was not slated to be released publicly, but portions were obtained by the AP.
Sessions, who has assailed marijuana as comparable to heroin and blamed it for spikes in violence, has been promising to reconsider existing pot policy since he took office six months ago. His statements have sparked both support and worry across the political spectrum as a growing number of states have worked to legalize the drug.
Threats of a federal crackdown have united liberals, who object to the human costs of a war on pot, and some conservatives, who see it as a states’ rights issue. Some advocates and members of Congress had feared the task force’s recommendations would give Sessions the green light to begin dismantling what has become a sophisticated, multimillion-dollar pot industry that helps fund schools, educational programs and law enforcement.
But the tepid nature of the recommendations signals just how difficult it would be to change course on pot.
Some in law enforcement support a tougher approach, but a bipartisan group of senators in March urged Sessions to uphold existing marijuana policy. Others in Congress are seeking ways to protect and promote pot businesses.
The vague recommendations may be intentional, reflecting an understanding that shutting down the entire industry is neither palatable nor possible, said John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies marijuana law and was interviewed by members of the task force.
“If they come out with a more progressive, liberal policy, the attorney general is just going to reject it. They need to convince the attorney general that the recommendations are the best they can do without embarrassing the entire department by implementing a policy that fails,” he said.
The task force suggestions are not final, and Sessions is in no way bound by them. The government still has plenty of ways it can punish weed-tolerant states, including raiding pot businesses and suing states where the drug is legal, a rare but quick path to compliance. The only one who could override a drastic move by Sessions is President Donald Trump, whose personal views on marijuana remain mostly unknown.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
Rather than urging federal agents to shut down dispensaries and make mass arrests, the task force puts forth a more familiar approach.
Its report says officials should continue to oppose rules that block the Justice Department from interfering with medical marijuana programs in states where it is allowed. Sessions wrote to members of Congress in May asking them — unsuccessfully so far — to undo those protections. The Obama administration also unsuccessfully opposed those rules.
The report suggests teaming the Justice Department with Treasury officials to offer guidance to financial institutions, telling them to implement robust anti-money laundering programs and report suspicious transactions involving businesses in states where pot is legal. That is already required by federal law.
And it tells officials to develop “centralized guidance, tools and data related to marijuana enforcement,” two years after the Government Accountability Office told the Justice Department it needs to better document how it’s tracking the effect of marijuana legalization in the states.
Most critically, and without offering direction, it says officials “should evaluate whether to maintain, revise or rescind” a set of Obama-era memos that allowed states to legalize marijuana on the condition that officials act to keep it from migrating to places where it is still outlawed and out of the hands of criminal cartels and children. Any changes to the policy could impact the way pot-legal states operate.
The recommendations are not surprising because “there’s as much evidence that Sessions intends to maintain the system and help improve upon it as there is that he intends to roll it back,” said Mason Tvert, who ran Colorado’s legalization campaign. He pointed to Sessions’ comment during his Senate confirmation hearing that while he opposed legalization, he understood the scarcity of federal resources and “echoed” the position of his Democratic predecessors.
But in July, he sent letters to Colorado and Washington that stirred concern, asking how they would address reports they were not adequately regulating the drug.
It remains unclear how much weight Sessions might give the recommendations. He said he has been relying on them to enact policy in other areas. Apart from pot, the task force is studying a list of criminal justice issues. The overall report’s executive summary says its work continues and its recommendations “do not comprehensively address every effort that the Department is planning or currently undertaking to reduce violent crime.”
Source
The Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, a group of prosecutors and federal law enforcement officials, has come up with no new policy recommendations to advance the attorney general’s aggressively anti-marijuana views. The group’s report largely reiterates the current Justice Department policy on marijuana.
It encourages officials to keep studying whether to change or rescind the Obama administration’s more hands-off approach to enforcement — a stance that has allowed the nation’s experiment with legal pot to flourish. The report was not slated to be released publicly, but portions were obtained by the AP.
Sessions, who has assailed marijuana as comparable to heroin and blamed it for spikes in violence, has been promising to reconsider existing pot policy since he took office six months ago. His statements have sparked both support and worry across the political spectrum as a growing number of states have worked to legalize the drug.
Threats of a federal crackdown have united liberals, who object to the human costs of a war on pot, and some conservatives, who see it as a states’ rights issue. Some advocates and members of Congress had feared the task force’s recommendations would give Sessions the green light to begin dismantling what has become a sophisticated, multimillion-dollar pot industry that helps fund schools, educational programs and law enforcement.
But the tepid nature of the recommendations signals just how difficult it would be to change course on pot.
Some in law enforcement support a tougher approach, but a bipartisan group of senators in March urged Sessions to uphold existing marijuana policy. Others in Congress are seeking ways to protect and promote pot businesses.
The vague recommendations may be intentional, reflecting an understanding that shutting down the entire industry is neither palatable nor possible, said John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies marijuana law and was interviewed by members of the task force.
“If they come out with a more progressive, liberal policy, the attorney general is just going to reject it. They need to convince the attorney general that the recommendations are the best they can do without embarrassing the entire department by implementing a policy that fails,” he said.
The task force suggestions are not final, and Sessions is in no way bound by them. The government still has plenty of ways it can punish weed-tolerant states, including raiding pot businesses and suing states where the drug is legal, a rare but quick path to compliance. The only one who could override a drastic move by Sessions is President Donald Trump, whose personal views on marijuana remain mostly unknown.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
Rather than urging federal agents to shut down dispensaries and make mass arrests, the task force puts forth a more familiar approach.
Its report says officials should continue to oppose rules that block the Justice Department from interfering with medical marijuana programs in states where it is allowed. Sessions wrote to members of Congress in May asking them — unsuccessfully so far — to undo those protections. The Obama administration also unsuccessfully opposed those rules.
The report suggests teaming the Justice Department with Treasury officials to offer guidance to financial institutions, telling them to implement robust anti-money laundering programs and report suspicious transactions involving businesses in states where pot is legal. That is already required by federal law.
And it tells officials to develop “centralized guidance, tools and data related to marijuana enforcement,” two years after the Government Accountability Office told the Justice Department it needs to better document how it’s tracking the effect of marijuana legalization in the states.
Most critically, and without offering direction, it says officials “should evaluate whether to maintain, revise or rescind” a set of Obama-era memos that allowed states to legalize marijuana on the condition that officials act to keep it from migrating to places where it is still outlawed and out of the hands of criminal cartels and children. Any changes to the policy could impact the way pot-legal states operate.
The recommendations are not surprising because “there’s as much evidence that Sessions intends to maintain the system and help improve upon it as there is that he intends to roll it back,” said Mason Tvert, who ran Colorado’s legalization campaign. He pointed to Sessions’ comment during his Senate confirmation hearing that while he opposed legalization, he understood the scarcity of federal resources and “echoed” the position of his Democratic predecessors.
But in July, he sent letters to Colorado and Washington that stirred concern, asking how they would address reports they were not adequately regulating the drug.
It remains unclear how much weight Sessions might give the recommendations. He said he has been relying on them to enact policy in other areas. Apart from pot, the task force is studying a list of criminal justice issues. The overall report’s executive summary says its work continues and its recommendations “do not comprehensively address every effort that the Department is planning or currently undertaking to reduce violent crime.”
Source
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Congress Is Heading for a Confrontation With Sessions Over Marijuana
Congress is heading for a confrontation with Attorney General Jeff Sessions over pot.
Sessions is seeking to crack down on marijuana use while lawmakers from both parties are pushing legislation that would do the opposite.
Measures have been attached to must-pass bills in the Senate that would allow Veterans Affairs doctors to counsel patients on the use of medical marijuana, and to continue blocking the Justice Department from pursuing cases against people who use medical marijuana in states that have legalized it.
Some lawmakers are pushing to go even further. Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, this week unveiled legislation that would legalize marijuana at the federal level. In the House, Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida proposed legislation that would change the federal classification of marijuana to allow research and a range of medical uses.
Booker said the law needs to be changed because minorities and the poor are disproportionately arrested for what amounts to a minor offense.
“It disturbs me right now that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not moving as the states are -- moving as public opinion is -- but actually saying that we should be doubling down and enforcing federal marijuana laws even in states that have made marijuana legal,” he said in a video posted Tuesday on Facebook.
Eight states have fully legalized marijuana for adult use and 21 more have legalized it for medical use only. Federal law continues to ban the use and sale of cannabis. During the Obama administration, the Justice Department didn’t actively prosecute marijuana offenders, an approach Sessions has said needs to change.
Read more: Trump Casts Cloud Over Cannabis, But Money Keeps Pouring In
“I’m not sure we’re going to be a better, healthier nation," he said in February, "if we have marijuana being sold at every corner grocery store.” He later added, “My best view is that we don’t need to be legalizing marijuana.”
In April, Sessions put out a memo to U.S. attorneys about his crime-reduction efforts and said one of his subcommittees will "undertake a review of existing policies in the areas of charging, sentencing, and marijuana to ensure consistency with the department’s overall strategy on reducing violent crime and with administration goals and priorities."
Sarah Flores, a Justice Department spokeswoman, declined to comment on the matter.
The president has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with Sessions, a former senator from Alabama, for recusing himself from a federal investigation into whether there was collusion between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. The new White House chief of staff, John Kelly, told Sessions in a phone call over the weekend that Trump doesn’t intend to fire him, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
Spending Legislation
The Veterans Administration measure, sponsored by Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, was added to a bill approved by the Appropriations Committee on July 13. The measure preventing funds from being used to crack down on medical marijuana was sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and was approved by the Appropriations Committee on July 27.
The Republican-controlled Congress is already on record supporting medical marijuana. Since 2014, the Justice Department spending bill has included language that blocks funds from being used to enforce federal law relating to medical marijuana in states where the drug is legal.
Gaetz, the Florida lawmaker who introduced his marijuana legislation in April, said at the time that pot shouldn’t be classified by the federal government the same way as heroin or LSD.
“We do not need to continue with a policy that turns thousands of young people into felons every year,” he said in a statement. “Nor do we need to punish the millions of people who are sick and seeking medical help -- from pain, from muscle wasting, from chemotherapy-induced nausea.”
Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado said Sessions told him before being confirmed as attorney general earlier this year that he planned to take a hands-off approach toward states that legalize marijuana. Gardner, whose state is among them, said he’ll hold Sessions to his comments.
“The founders of our country intended states to be laboratories of democracy and Colorado is now deep in the heart of laboratory, along with many other states now," Gardner said in an interview.
Source
Sessions is seeking to crack down on marijuana use while lawmakers from both parties are pushing legislation that would do the opposite.
Measures have been attached to must-pass bills in the Senate that would allow Veterans Affairs doctors to counsel patients on the use of medical marijuana, and to continue blocking the Justice Department from pursuing cases against people who use medical marijuana in states that have legalized it.
Some lawmakers are pushing to go even further. Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, this week unveiled legislation that would legalize marijuana at the federal level. In the House, Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida proposed legislation that would change the federal classification of marijuana to allow research and a range of medical uses.
Booker said the law needs to be changed because minorities and the poor are disproportionately arrested for what amounts to a minor offense.
“It disturbs me right now that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not moving as the states are -- moving as public opinion is -- but actually saying that we should be doubling down and enforcing federal marijuana laws even in states that have made marijuana legal,” he said in a video posted Tuesday on Facebook.
Eight states have fully legalized marijuana for adult use and 21 more have legalized it for medical use only. Federal law continues to ban the use and sale of cannabis. During the Obama administration, the Justice Department didn’t actively prosecute marijuana offenders, an approach Sessions has said needs to change.
Read more: Trump Casts Cloud Over Cannabis, But Money Keeps Pouring In
“I’m not sure we’re going to be a better, healthier nation," he said in February, "if we have marijuana being sold at every corner grocery store.” He later added, “My best view is that we don’t need to be legalizing marijuana.”
In April, Sessions put out a memo to U.S. attorneys about his crime-reduction efforts and said one of his subcommittees will "undertake a review of existing policies in the areas of charging, sentencing, and marijuana to ensure consistency with the department’s overall strategy on reducing violent crime and with administration goals and priorities."
Sarah Flores, a Justice Department spokeswoman, declined to comment on the matter.
The president has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with Sessions, a former senator from Alabama, for recusing himself from a federal investigation into whether there was collusion between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. The new White House chief of staff, John Kelly, told Sessions in a phone call over the weekend that Trump doesn’t intend to fire him, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
Spending Legislation
The Veterans Administration measure, sponsored by Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, was added to a bill approved by the Appropriations Committee on July 13. The measure preventing funds from being used to crack down on medical marijuana was sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and was approved by the Appropriations Committee on July 27.
The Republican-controlled Congress is already on record supporting medical marijuana. Since 2014, the Justice Department spending bill has included language that blocks funds from being used to enforce federal law relating to medical marijuana in states where the drug is legal.
Gaetz, the Florida lawmaker who introduced his marijuana legislation in April, said at the time that pot shouldn’t be classified by the federal government the same way as heroin or LSD.
“We do not need to continue with a policy that turns thousands of young people into felons every year,” he said in a statement. “Nor do we need to punish the millions of people who are sick and seeking medical help -- from pain, from muscle wasting, from chemotherapy-induced nausea.”
Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado said Sessions told him before being confirmed as attorney general earlier this year that he planned to take a hands-off approach toward states that legalize marijuana. Gardner, whose state is among them, said he’ll hold Sessions to his comments.
“The founders of our country intended states to be laboratories of democracy and Colorado is now deep in the heart of laboratory, along with many other states now," Gardner said in an interview.
Source
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Ana Kasperian versus Ann Coulter on marijuana
There are times that Ann Coulter is one clueless bitch and this is one of them. Coulter came off very ignorant and she doubled down on her ignorance. She also came off as very elitist as well. Sometime she needs to shut the fuck up.
Could Trump replace Jeff Sessions in a recess appointment?
President Donald Trump sounds like he’s intent on forcing out his “beleaguered” attorney general, Jeff Sessions, either by firing him or demeaning him until he quits. Firing Sessions might get rid of one of the president’s problems, but it could create a whole host of others.
Most urgently, firing Sessions could sever Trump’s relationship with Republicans in Congress – you know, the same Republicans he needs to approve his nominees (in the Senate) or pass bills he can sign into law (both the Senate and House).
“If Jeff Sessions is fired,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., told reporters, “there will be holy hell to pay.”
The Washington Post’s White House team reports that if Sessions is out soon, Trump is discussing going over indignant Republicans in the Senate and bringing on a new attorney general while the Senate is on break this August.
Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Why didn't A.G. Sessions replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation but got....
6:48 AM - Jul 26, 2017
22,421 22,421 Replies 16,001 16,001 Retweets 63,765 63,765 likes
It could happen. But it could also backfire bigly. And since Republicans control a majority of Congress, when they’re upset at the president, there’s a lot they can do to stop him – including preventing a new attorney general from taking office.
Let me explain.
Yes, Trump has the authority for a recess appointment
There’s actually a “Recess Clause” in the Constitution (Article II Sec. 2) that reads: “The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
Presidents have used it for everything from relatively obscure labor boards to filling seats on the Supreme Court. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower used that authority to appoint William Brennan to the Supreme Court less than a month before the presidential election. A few years before that, he had appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the court when the Senate was in recess. In both cases, the Senate later confirmed those justices.
But the courts have made it more difficult
Recess appointments can backfire, legally. In 2014, the Supreme Court overturned President Barack Obama’s three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the president overstepped his constitutional authority.
The Senate can make recess appointments nearly impossible.
When it overruled Obama, the Supreme Court also gave the Senate a wide latitude to decide when it considers itself to be in recess and when it’s out. Today, a recess has to last at least 10 days before the president can legally make an appointment.
The court also okayed a loophole the Senate can use to leave town but still block a president from having free rein.
The Senate can go into “pro forma” sessions, which exist almost entirely to prevent a president from making recess appointments. In a pro forma session, the Senate can gavel into Congress – with no legislative business being conducted – and claim it has been in session. “The whole thing takes 20 seconds,” said Cornell Law professor Josh Chafetz. The Senate could theoretically gavel in/gavel out the whole time it’s gone in August.
It’s up to Republicans to decide if they want to hold the line against Trump.
If our hypothetical scenario becomes reality, this is where things get really interesting. You need a majority of the Senate to decide to go into a pro forma session. Republicans have the majority. So if Republicans decide to set up pro forma session when they go out of town in August, they’d basically be sticking it to Trump, saying they don’t trust the president not to do something ill-advised like fire his attorney general after complaining about said attorney general’s recusal from an investigation into Trump’s campaign.
Trump has one other legal avenue.
If Trump is itching to fire Sessions, Congress be damned, he could simply skip an appointment for good and just name an acting attorney general under the 1998 Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The end result is the same: One official out, another one in.
But, Chafetz notes, the president could only appoint people who have already been confirmed by the Senate for another job, and that’s a historically thin list. Plus, there’s legal uncertainty on whether the president can use this tool if he fires someone.
“It says death, resignation or unable to perform the duties of the office,” Chafetz said. “And there’s an argument that ‘firing’ is left out of that deliberately….”
Checks and balances can be a bother.
Follow
Pat Ward ✔ @WardDPatrick
AG Jeff Sessions to @TuckerCarlson on President Trump's criticism of him: "it’s kind of hurtful". Full intv 8pm @FoxNews
12:16 PM - Jul 27, 2017
146 146 Replies 319 319 Retweets 480 480 likes
Source
Most urgently, firing Sessions could sever Trump’s relationship with Republicans in Congress – you know, the same Republicans he needs to approve his nominees (in the Senate) or pass bills he can sign into law (both the Senate and House).
“If Jeff Sessions is fired,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., told reporters, “there will be holy hell to pay.”
The Washington Post’s White House team reports that if Sessions is out soon, Trump is discussing going over indignant Republicans in the Senate and bringing on a new attorney general while the Senate is on break this August.
Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Why didn't A.G. Sessions replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation but got....
6:48 AM - Jul 26, 2017
22,421 22,421 Replies 16,001 16,001 Retweets 63,765 63,765 likes
It could happen. But it could also backfire bigly. And since Republicans control a majority of Congress, when they’re upset at the president, there’s a lot they can do to stop him – including preventing a new attorney general from taking office.
Let me explain.
Yes, Trump has the authority for a recess appointment
There’s actually a “Recess Clause” in the Constitution (Article II Sec. 2) that reads: “The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
Presidents have used it for everything from relatively obscure labor boards to filling seats on the Supreme Court. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower used that authority to appoint William Brennan to the Supreme Court less than a month before the presidential election. A few years before that, he had appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the court when the Senate was in recess. In both cases, the Senate later confirmed those justices.
But the courts have made it more difficult
Recess appointments can backfire, legally. In 2014, the Supreme Court overturned President Barack Obama’s three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the president overstepped his constitutional authority.
The Senate can make recess appointments nearly impossible.
When it overruled Obama, the Supreme Court also gave the Senate a wide latitude to decide when it considers itself to be in recess and when it’s out. Today, a recess has to last at least 10 days before the president can legally make an appointment.
The court also okayed a loophole the Senate can use to leave town but still block a president from having free rein.
The Senate can go into “pro forma” sessions, which exist almost entirely to prevent a president from making recess appointments. In a pro forma session, the Senate can gavel into Congress – with no legislative business being conducted – and claim it has been in session. “The whole thing takes 20 seconds,” said Cornell Law professor Josh Chafetz. The Senate could theoretically gavel in/gavel out the whole time it’s gone in August.
It’s up to Republicans to decide if they want to hold the line against Trump.
If our hypothetical scenario becomes reality, this is where things get really interesting. You need a majority of the Senate to decide to go into a pro forma session. Republicans have the majority. So if Republicans decide to set up pro forma session when they go out of town in August, they’d basically be sticking it to Trump, saying they don’t trust the president not to do something ill-advised like fire his attorney general after complaining about said attorney general’s recusal from an investigation into Trump’s campaign.
Trump has one other legal avenue.
If Trump is itching to fire Sessions, Congress be damned, he could simply skip an appointment for good and just name an acting attorney general under the 1998 Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The end result is the same: One official out, another one in.
But, Chafetz notes, the president could only appoint people who have already been confirmed by the Senate for another job, and that’s a historically thin list. Plus, there’s legal uncertainty on whether the president can use this tool if he fires someone.
“It says death, resignation or unable to perform the duties of the office,” Chafetz said. “And there’s an argument that ‘firing’ is left out of that deliberately….”
Checks and balances can be a bother.
Follow
Pat Ward ✔ @WardDPatrick
AG Jeff Sessions to @TuckerCarlson on President Trump's criticism of him: "it’s kind of hurtful". Full intv 8pm @FoxNews
12:16 PM - Jul 27, 2017
146 146 Replies 319 319 Retweets 480 480 likes
Source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
