Craig recently complained about Obama's Executive Orders, saying something on his blog that other conservatives have said in variety of ways, some not as gracious as Craig's (which is not saying a lot)...
I’m certainly not singling out Biden, I don’t remember this sort of rule by EO being a big issue before P-BO, and Trump was certainly guilty of it as well. This notion that “the other guys did it”, just doesn’t seem presidential or healthy.
1. "Trump was guilty of it as well..."
This is the sort of downplaying/attack that we see from the conservatives who want to pretend they don't support Trump, while downplaying his flaws and treating him as just another less than perfect politician.
The reality is that, for those who view EOs as "bad," Trump was much worse than Obama was. IF you want to say that Obama's average of 35 EOs a year are an abuse of executive power, THEN you HAVE to say that Trump was nearly twice (35/55ths) as bad with his 55 EOs a year.
*More on Trump's EOs later...
2. The reality is that, since 1900 (and before, at a lower rate), EOs have been regularly used.
McKinley averaged 40/year (more than Obama)
Teddy Roosevelt: 145/year
Taft: 181/year
Wilson: 225/year
....
Franklin Roosevelt: 307 (the peak)
...
Kennedy: 75
...
Nixon: 62
Ford: 69
Carter: 80
Reagan: 48 (more than Obama)
Bush I: 42 (more than Obama)
Clinton: 46
Bush II: 36 (more than Obama)
Obama: 35
Trump: 55 (more than Obama)
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-orders
I point this out because, in their defense of Trump's abuse/misuse of EOs, I've seen many conservatives suggesting that Obama began the "abuse" of EOs. The reality is that he's on the average end of EOs.
* More on Obama's EOs later...
3. EOs have been used for a variety of reasons over the years. Mostly with less flashy/departmental clarification sorts of orders. In theory, they were often used to answer questions and make the workflow easier.
4. Perhaps the most famous EO was Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (!)
* More on Lincoln's EO...
5. I am generally opposed to using EOs as a way of governing and working around Congress. If a policy needs to be implemented, then Congress should implement it. Generally.
But, as we can see from Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, EOs have sometimes been used to create policy that is absolutely required by reason and morality and justice. There's no telling how long enslaved people would have had to wait for freedom if they were waiting for Congress.
And so, while Congress SHOULD act in a just and reasonable manner and tackle vital issues promptly - and that IS the preferred route for policy - the reality is that sometimes Congress is "broke." They are not acting as they should, not taking action on policies as they should. Slavery is an obvious case that proves the point.
In cases when Congress is negligent, I support the president using EOs.
6. I am absolutely not an expert on Obama's (or Trump's) EOs.
However, we know that McConnell and the GOP Congress promised to be an obstructionist Congress. They deliberately tried to block Obama policies that he was promoting. They said out loud that this was their intent. In that context, Obama issued 35 EOs a year. Some were sort of typical, administrative style EOs and some were ways to work around a Congress that wouldn't take action on an urgent need.
In this link, we see that Obama used EOs (again, at a typical/average rate) at times to create policies to help oppressed/marginalized/at risk groups. He used EOs to help immigrants, to fight climate change, to raise minimum wage for federal gov't employees, to help LGBTQ people...
Obama "abused" (so say conservatives) the EO to help oppressed groups.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/211303-obamas-key-executive-actions
7. Trump, on the other hand, used EOs to have a way of saying, "Look! I did something! I've done so much! More than any others! I accomplished things that no one else could!" Because he could not get anything of much significance accomplished in a Congress controlled by his own party (hell, he couldn't even get infrastructure policies passed!). Just watching Trump with his EOs and you could see it was a power trip for him (this is an opinion based on observation, not a provable fact, but it's a reasonable opinion). Trump LIKED the power of EOs.
But looking at his EOs, a lot of them were relatively meaningless. Minor policy adaptations with no significant impact. And a lot of them were to fan the flames of his supporters ardor for him (signing protections for federal monuments and establishing the anti-history, rightwing propaganda "1776 Commission," for instance... or his attack on diversity training or... well, he did this a lot.)
https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-executive-orders-ineffective-20190327-story.html
And, in contrast to Obama's EOs, Trump used EOs to cause harm to or limit liberty of immigrants, LGBTQ folk, etc... and to help industries and corporations. To "build the wall" or increase detention of immigrants, for instance.
https://cmsny.org/trumps-executive-orders-immigration-refugees/
Or to limit regulations to benefit businesses and polluters at the cost of the poor and the environment.
https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/votervital/what-is-the-trump-administrations-track-record-on-the-environment/
To promote fossil fuels and remove protections for the environment and human health.
https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/executive-orders-in-depth/
Just a short overview and not exhaustive. I see some of Trump's EOs that may been actually helpful, at least at a small scale, but more often than not, they seem to be used for tossing red meat to his ultra-right wing fan base, to give benefits to corporations, to cause harm to immigrants, LGBTQ folk and other marginalized, historically oppressed groups.
And he used them a lot, by comparison to all other recent presidents.
And no, Obama did not bring in a new era of using EOs at a rate wildly higher than ever.
40 comments:
You're such a hack.
Fantastic, fact filled post, Dan.
The Roosevelt GOP was fighting unregulated big business on behalf of the people. Where the word, progressive politics comes from, btw.
The Roosevelt DEM was instituting a political revolution on behalf of Main Street and white Working people. Also massively progressive.
Nixon signed several EOs improving environmental regulations and oversight (paving the way for establishing the EPA).
The Democratic Party is following in their footsteps.
Today's GOP just thrills to brutality.
You lie once again, given that's what you do.
"This is the sort of downplaying/attack that we see from the conservatives who want to pretend they don't support Trump, while downplaying his flaws and treating him as just another less than perfect politician."
It was no more than a statement of fact, not a "downplaying" of any kind. The overall point was negative toward the concept of executive orders. In the meantime, no one downplays flaws of politicians or their policies as you do with regard to your favored politicians and their policies. Conversely, no one lies about politicians to whom one is opposed as you do. The fact is that Trump is just another less than perfect politician. You simply choose to regard him...without basis or factual evidence to support it...that he's worse than those you prefer.
"The reality" is that ALL presidents going back to the first, employed some form of executive order, proclamation and memorandum. The issue is the EO, proclamation or memorandum themselves, and which were above and beyond presidential authority.
"But, as we can see from Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, EOs have sometimes been used to create policy that is absolutely required by reason and morality and justice."
As we know by reading your blathering regarding what constitutes "reason, morality and/or justice", that's a rather subjective standard. That in and of itself is not necessarily a problem given that all law is based on some degree of subjective opinion. But as we've seen in your own comments over the years, deceit and distortion play a role as well...as is true of your favored politicians and policies.
"In cases when Congress is negligent, I support the president using EOs."
But again, "negligence" is in the eye of the beholder. What a low intellect person like you would define as "negligence", rational and intelligent people would rightly regard as prudence. We all want what we want when we want it. That doesn't mean we're entitled to it without deliberation, which can be a rather painstaking process. But that process is meant to result in policy that does the most good with the least pain. Obama's and Biden's, by and large, haven't been good examples of that.
"7. Trump, on the other hand, used EOs to have a way of saying, "Look! I did something! I've done so much! More than any others! I accomplished things that no one else could!""
An incredibly childish and false bit of revisionism. That is, except for that last bit, which is actually a fact to a large extent.
"Just watching Trump with his EOs and you could see it was a power trip for him (this is an opinion based on observation, not a provable fact, but it's a reasonable opinion). Trump LIKED the power of EOs."
Your hypocrisy knows no limit. Barely Obumble was equally, if not more so, on a power trip throughout his two terms. He was quick to remind the GOP that he won, they didn't and that he had a phone and a pen to do what he wanted without regard to congressional approval. And by your own admission, Trump dealt with opposition from both sides of the aisle and thus could more justly rationalize his use of EOs to get things done. However, which EO was actually legislative rather than clarifying existing legislation? Which were actions outside his authority? I'm sure there must be one or two...but pick the which you believe is the worst and we'll talk.
"And, in contrast to Obama's EOs, Trump used EOs to cause harm to or limit liberty of immigrants, LGBTQ folk, etc... and to help industries and corporations. To "build the wall" or increase detention of immigrants, for instance."
This is just a lie, and it ignores those things Trump did that were extensions of or based upon what Obama did prior.
So here, you're "downplaying" the benefits and need for Trump's EOs simply because you're a hateful partisan hack. Citing those that feel the same way does not bolster your position or mitigate your unChristian hatred for a president who was more pro-American and thereby beneficial to more Americans than your cherished empty suit, Obama, or your beloved incompetent Biden.
Dan said that Lincoln's freeing of the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation was a good example of why it's necessary for a president to use executive power when Congress isn't acting appropriately/fast enough about urgent matters.
Marshal responded: "As we know by reading your blathering regarding what constitutes "reason, morality and/or justice", that's a rather subjective standard."
Yes, I'm saying that Good Reason (subjective though it may be) says that the freeing of slaves with the EP was a very good thing. Are you disagreeing?
Don't say anything else unless you answer this.
If you're agreeing, then why are you making an issue of my point?
Marshal is not racist. He just doesn't think slavery should have ended until every white man voted to end it.
Marshal tried to comment without answering the question I required of him.
Marshal, it's a simple question: Do you disagree with the notion of freeing slaves in the rebel states?
That you can't answer such an astoundingly easy question to answer DOES raise questions. You and Craig and other conservatives I know regularly play around and refuse to answer such questions directly... it makes you appear to have sympathy for the slavers/traitors in the south.
You need to answer that if you want to comment here.
And if you DO agree that it was good for Lincoln to try to free slaves (which the EP eventually led to), then why make an issue of the good (if flawed/incomplete) nature of the EP?
Also, Marshal said that the EP did not free the slaves. The EP freed the slaves in the south, in the traitorous rebel states. Just fact check.
Or are you saying that the traitor states were no longer part of the Union and thus, didn't apply to them?
And here's another line of question for you to answer Marshal - related, but clarifying questions:
Can you unequivocally call the Confederate states (the traitors who went to war to defend enslaving people, killing thousands upon thousands of their fellow citizens to defend that evil) wrong in what they were doing? Wrong for defending slavery? Wrong for using slavery? Wrong for killing to defend slavery? Wrong to honor their rebel traitor leaders after the war?
Can you condemn slavery - the literal owning of another human being - as always a great evil?
I ask because I fairly regularly meet conservatives who can't/won't condemn the south or even slavery. That, or they won't answer the question, which suggests that they do want to defend slavery and or the traitors, but don't want to admit it out loud.
I owe Marshal and the other, more pseudo-Trumpians that hover around you, Dan, apology. I’ve been critical of the Trump presidency these last four years, and am still exhausted from the experience.
But to be fair, President Trump wasn’t that bad, other than when he incited an insurrection against the government, mismanaged a pandemic that killed nearly half a million Americans, separated children from their families, lost those children in the bureaucracy, tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church, tried to block all Muslims from entering the country, got impeached, got impeached again, had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history, pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden, fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia, bragged about firing the FBI director on TV, took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community, diverted military funding to build his wall, caused the longest government shutdown in US history, called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate,” lied nearly 30,000 times, banned transgender people from serving in the military, ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions, vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers, refused to release his tax returns, increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion, had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history, called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers, coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist, refused to concede the 2020 election, hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House, walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl, called neo-Nazis “very fine people,” suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID, abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey...
... pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans, incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords, withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal, withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances, insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter, pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op, failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies, called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries, called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation,” claimed that he single handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere, forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader, believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe, suggested the US should buy Greenland, colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges, repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people,” claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases, violated the emoluments clause, thought that Nambia was a country, told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public, called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution, nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet, nominated a corrupt head of the EPA, nominated a corrupt head of HHS, nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department, nominated a corrupt head of the USDA, praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies, refused to allow the presidential transition to begin, insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death, spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president, falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote, called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,” falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year, considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions, mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID, locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones, used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus,” hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser, pardoned several of his shady associates, gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressman who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories, got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!), had a Secretary of State who called him a moron, forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history, botched the COVID vaccine rollout, tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him, charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties, constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate, claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear, called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas"...
... used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise, opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling, got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers, claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US, ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings, blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining, redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle, got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters,” threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution, botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them, pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to “find” him votes, thought that the Virgin islands had a President, drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane, allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing, rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos, pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID, rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers, held blatant campaign rallies at the White House, tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man, refused to attend his successors’ inauguration, nominated the worst Education Secretary in history, threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted, attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t), allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues, struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble, called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ,” threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders, went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic, claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,” seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution, demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director, praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles, completely gutted the Voice of America, placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service, claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower, suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country, suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public, overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported, reduced the number of refugees the US accepts, insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames, gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address, named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties, eliminated the White House office of pandemic response, used soldiers as campaign props, fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him, demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade, hired a shit ton of white nationalists, politicized the civil service, did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government, falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts, claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won, insulted reporters of color, insulted women reporters, insulted women reporters of color, suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs...
... attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him, summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election, spent countless hours every day watching Fox News, refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas, hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer, tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him, acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney, attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a women who accused him of sexual assault, held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present, didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media, stopped holding press briefings for months at a time, “ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power, led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform, claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers, tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course, suggested that the government nuke hurricanes, suggested that wind turbines cause cancer, said that he had a special aptitude for science, fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure, blurted out classified information to Russian officials, tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida, fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban, hired Stephen Miller, openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them, interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel, abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war, tried to get Russia back into the G7, held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden, seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive, lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated, falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t, shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies, still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan, still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure Weeks,” forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID, told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,” fucked up the Census, withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic, did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,” allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act...
seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win, constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump, claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened, said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake, claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him, claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President, created a commission to whitewash American history, retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain, claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there, hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims, had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others, bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties, apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House, stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians, falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police, said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about, tried to rescind protection from DREAMers, gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic, tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax, said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states, deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented, claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln, touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile or may not exist at all, retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile, forced through security clearances for his family, suggested that police officers should rough up suspects, suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs, tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender, suggested the US not accept COVID patients from a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher, nominated a climate change sceptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy, retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden had played a song called “Fuck tha Police” at a campaign event, hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags, accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address, claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were “spending too much time” on Russia, mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, obsessed over low-flow toilets, ordered the rerelease of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release...
... called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek), hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech, took advice from the MyPillow guy, claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists, said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure, never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign, falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent, announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest, insulted the leader of Canada, insulted the leader of France, insulted the leader of Britain, insulted the leader of Germany, insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!), falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues, blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually, continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders, said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked, left a NATO summit early in a huff, stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of 5 knows not to do that, called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary, refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise, and a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment.
But other than that. . .
Marshal complained, saying I had no reason to ask these sorts of questions. I ask to find out. That is a reason.
He's spent many dozens of words that won't be accepted by refusing to answer something that would only take a few words.
What is this problem so many conservatives have with answering questions directly?
I mean, if someone asked me a question with an obvious answer (do you want to see Cuomo held accountable for any misdeeds? for instance), while the answer IS obviously and obvious Yes, I don't mind answering it. Because, why not?
And yes, Feodor... other than ALL of that, Trump is a peach of a spoiled billionaire bully con man.
You can't just say, "Slavery, as practiced in the south in the US - and really, ANY slavery ever - is a great moral evil..."?
And you want to comment here without clarifying that very jarring bit of not-inconsequential moral judgment?
Not going to happen.
Answer the questions or move on.
A former Trump State Department political appointee appeared in Washington, DC, federal court Friday after being charged for pushing against police in the Capitol building during the January 6 insurrection.
Federico Klein, who lives in the DC area and who goes by Freddie, is the first known Trump administration political appointee to be arrested for taking part in the siege. Federal authorities noted Klein, who is also a former Trump campaign aide, held a top secret-level security clearance at the time of the riot and resigned from the State Department at the end of the administration.
Investigators found several images of Klein in the riot allegedly using a police riot shield to wedge open an entrance for rioters and fighting against a police line for several minutes, according to his arrest affidavit. Klein wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat then changed into a "United States Marine Corps" hat during the riot, investigators say.
Marshall, I'm asking you these questions because I do not know the answers to them. That is why I'm asking. Are you unclear on the concept of questions? If you want to comment here, you'll need to answer these questions that I've asked. All of them. They're important questions. Telling me you've already answered them is not answering me. Telling me I know the answer is not answering them. Now answer the questions or move on.
If I had to guess the answer on some of the questions... based on what I know about you and your fetishistic way of interpreting the Bible and things you have said in the past, I would guess that you would say that slavery is not always a great evil. That indeed, sometimes the owning of slaves is a moral thing. As when God commanded Israel to enslave certain people. Because of your sometimes literal approach to the Bible, you probably think that given those words in that kind of passage, slavery must be sometimes okay, moral... and thus, not always evil. But you tell me.
I ask because I don't know the answer for sure. The same for the other questions.
Marshal responded in such a way as to NOT answer the questions I've asked of him and, at the same time, at least imply that he doesn't think slavery - the OWNING of humans for slave labor - is always evil.
And there you go.
When are these people outraged at cancel culture going to give Colin Kaepernick his job back?
The GOP is going after Christians.
New proposals by the G.O.P.-controlled Georgia Legislature have targeted Sunday voting, part of a raft of measures that could reduce the impact of Black voters in the state.
So, Marshal keeps commenting here, calling me a liar. He says that I know what his answer is (and I just factually don't... it's why I ask) and then HE calls ME a liar for saying that I honestly don't know what his answers are to these various questions. Ironic that he'd make a false claim in an effort to call me a liar, but that's all he's doing, post after post, like a spoiled bully.
Pretty much all his idol dies, too.
"deleting anything you don't like for whatever reason serves you at the moment"
Marshal, you're an asshole hypocrite.
3/8/21
"The Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by former President Trump to nullify his electoral loss in Wisconsin, rejecting the former president's final pending appeal over the results of the 2020 election.
In an unsigned order without noted dissent, the justices declined to take up Trump’s lawsuit alleging Wisconsin election officials violated the Constitution by expanding absentee voting amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
The justices’ move brought an end to Trump’s scattershot and ineffective legal campaign to overturn President Biden’s victory and added to the abysmal post-election court record of Trump and his allies, which included more than 60 losses."
Marshal (who won't allow Feodor to comment on his blog but attacks me for limiting him - hypocrite), still won't answer the question but insists (in spite of reality) that I "know" his answer (I don't) said in a now deleted comment (he has to answer the questions I've asked him before commenting further)...
"a) if you answer that I in any way favor slavery, you expose yourself as the liar you are having no justification for such a suggestion.
b) if you answer that I oppose slavery, you indict yourself for daring to ask the question in the first place."
But I DON'T KNOW if you do or don't think that slavery is acceptable in some circumstances. I THINK you have said that God was not wrong for commanding Israel to enslave some people... that it was a moral GOOD in that case(s). If so, you DO support/allow the morality of slavery at times.
The reason I don't know is because people like you and Craig... much of modern conservatism... seems to speak out of both sides of their mouths on the topic and SEEM to suggest that slavery is sometimes not an overt evil... but they won't clarify, lacking the moral and intellectual rectitude to take a stand.
But here's the thing Marshal: YOU hold the power to clarify your position. DO YOU affirm that slavery is always evil/wrong/horrible? YOU tell me, because I don't know. I SUSPECT that you do not affirm this... but you tell me.
As you can see, I have justification to at least wonder whether or not you can condemn slavery in all circumstances.
If I say I SUSPECT you don't universally condemn slavery, I indict myself for asking the question seeking clarity? ??? How so?
Do you understand how adult conversations work?
Marshal fails the reading for comprehension test... of his own writing.😂😂😂 He writes of you, Dan, “... deleting anything you don't like for whatever reason serves you at the moment...”
Which you and I point out is what HE does. But he whiffs on sense and he thinks your are comparing him to me?😂😂😂
What a dumb ass. We’re comparing his behavior *toward me with his own whining about what you do.
This isn’t going to work, Dan, never has. Marshal doesn’t have the capacity to get himself, much less something that actually makes sense.
Marshal said (in a now deleted comment)... "And you do so in furtherance of your lie that you don't know where I stand on slavery. There's no way you could not know because unlike you, I'm unequivocal, unambiguous and very direct in answering questions."
Says the man who utterly REFUSES to answer these questions directly.
Marshal... "These slavery related questions...aside from being off topic (purposely)...will not be answered by me here, because there's no justification in asking them in the first place."
I can allow off topic questions on my blog and I do it all the time. I have often responded to your off topic questions and the fact is: IF you want to comment here, you WILL answer these questions.
Beyond that, it's a tangentially related question. The topic is EOs and I cited Lincoln's EP as a good EO. I asked you, then, if you agreed that it was a good order. From there, you derailed your chance to comment here by repeatedly refusing to answer this and other related questions.
"No justification in asking them..."? Of course there is: I DON'T KNOW your answers.
You DO recognize that you have a history of defending Israel enslaving others, "taking wives" from the defeated enemy... that is a defense of slavery in at least some circumstances.
you HAVE defended that, right?
That IS slavery, isn't it?
Two more questions to answer before you can comment here.
Craig asked some questions on Marshal's post. Just answering them here (although I posted them on Marshal's, as well)...
Craig... "Isn't it possible to acknowledge that Biden won the election, but that
a) election security is an issue that should be improved, and
b) that there are enough questions (at least with the appearance of legitimacy) that should be thoroughly investigated?"
My answers:
a. Yes. BUT ONLY if you acknowledge that the experts have noted that this was the most secure election and that there was NO SERIOUS evidence of any widespread voter fraud.
AND if you note that Trump was making dangerously and stupidly false claims by saying he won and that the election was stolen.
That is, the experts all say that election fraud simply is not a serious problem in the US generally speaking. There is no widespread voter fraud and that is especially true this year.
Can you agree to that?
The problem with saying, "Welllll, there ARE some cases of fraud and we SHOULD try to improve that!" ...saying that this year, when you have a corrupt president promoting false and dangerous claims about the election is it gives some credence to an utterly corrupt liar.
Beyond that, to say, Well, in every election, there are .0001 to .000001 instances of voting irregularities... and most of those are honest mistakes that get caught... BUT WE MUST make voting harder to deal with these extremely rare instances of irregularities" and those steps that make voting harder result in fewer people voting, I'd say that's not worth the cost, when the "problem" is no serious real world problem.
Agreed?
b. There are NOT "enough questions" about THIS year's election to suggest it should be more thoroughly investigated than it has been already. Trump and his gang of deviant idiots could NOT PROVE ANY serious voting irregularities. They were kicked out of court NOT because it wasn't investigated enough, but because the claims were literally legally frivolous. It was a waste of the courts' and the peoples' time and money in obeisance to a corrupt jackass.
Agreed?
That is, do you agree with ALL the serious experts that this year's election was the most secure and that there is NO serious concerns raised this year in particular, and generally, in other years?
Do you recognize that there is no data to support the claim that this year's election was more problematic than other years?
Good Lord.
From Craig's blog....
Craig... "4. You do realize that you have no grounds to impose your subjective moral code on others, regardless of how “reasonable” you claim it is, don’t you?"
To which, I replied...
You ARE familiar with the notion of a free republic where the people create rules based on reason and finding some common ground using reason, aren't you? That is, we pass laws because we can agree it is reasonable not to allow women to be grabbed by the crotch... because we agree it's reasonable not to pollute our water or air... Because we recognize is reasonable that we don't want to live in one place, we can move to another place. In our free nation and others, we've imposed rules - and enjoyed liberties -based on reason for hundreds of years.
Right?
Because, of course we have grounds to make such decisions together.
Why can Craig not show up here? What does he lack? At the very least, he cannot bear to be dealt with by you in the same manner with which he deals with you. That is low character. And I do think he wont come by here because I am here, as well. That is cowardice.
1. Republican Governors and Secretaries of State in Georgia and Arizona, as well as the Governors of Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and, in fact all governors and Secretaries of State have stated clearly that this past election was the most secure in the history of voting.
Because the Russian interference was deep and painful and embarrassing. But it raised awareness on the part of all states. No one wanted to be hacked.
If we were to focus, then on fraud, then we have to go back further - and examine those elections where margins were quite slim: where fraud may have significantly changed the landscape. Where were the margins so slim as to actually ignore the popular vote seems to be the most logical priority concerns.
2000. Florida. Bush won by a margin of 537 votes when the U.S. Supreme Court, in Bush v. Gore, stopped a recount that had been initiated upon a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court.
Hmmmm. If fraud changed that one - a win by only 537 and stopping the state from doing its job... then Bush would not have been around for 2004.
2016. Russian hacking. In fact, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper in early January 2017 testified before a Senate committee that Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign went beyond hacking, and included disinformation and the dissemination of fake news, often promoted on social media. Facebook revealed that during the 2016 United States presidential election, Russian company funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian businessman with ties to Vladimir Putin, had purchased advertisements on the website for US$100,000, 25% of which were geographically targeted. A redacted version of the Mueller Report was released to the public... concluded that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election did occur "in sweeping and systematic fashion" and "violated U.S. criminal law.
There were four states with a margin of victory under 1%:
Michigan, 0.23%
New Hampshire, 0.37%
Pennsylvania, 0.72%
Wisconsin, 0.77%
And then there was:
Florida, 1.20%
Minnesota, 1.52
If Craig believes that US elections have fraud, he should realize that they always have. If he believes that sometimes fraud my have flipped an election, reason directs us to 2000 and 2016.
By popular vote, no Republican has won since 1986.
Craig should sound the alarm on chasing the American people by way of the Electoral College and GOP fraud.
____
Regarding imposing subjective moral code, let's agree that full sex education and provision of contraception and full healthcare are the only policies that are going to dramatically drop abortion. Outlawing isn't.
Craig is not here, because he cannot face facts, studies, reason, or you or me.
I remember when the gang of unreason used to defend the wall.
"A last-minute rush to build lasted through Donald J. Trump’s last day in office. The effort left odd, partially completed sections of a barrier."
They call fraud for things that high level Republican officials defend... but cannot see jokes standing, in fragments, in front of them.
Trump was never going to finish a wall. He had zero intention of finishing anything at all.
He spun lies to do to Marshal and Craig and Glenn and Stan what he did to them: make them liable to swallow all kinds of lies. And in that, Trump was using prepared ground. Their brutalizing faith which they call Christianity but is only worshipping a book has them swallowing lies for most of their adult lives.
(Notice how recently Stan completely equalizes and mixes the living Christ with a book that didn't exist as a book for three centuries after Jesus' resurrextion. Upon what do they build their church? A 17th century interpretation of a 4th century book.
Craig should sound the alarm!
"President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia authorized extensive efforts to hurt the candidacy of Joseph R. Biden Jr. during the election last year, including by mounting covert operations to influence people close to President Donald J. Trump, according to a declassified intelligence report released on Tuesday.
The report did not name those people but seemed to refer to the work of Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, who relentlessly pushed accusations of corruption about Mr. Biden and his family involving Ukraine.
“Russian state and proxy actors who all serve the Kremlin’s interests worked to affect U.S. public perceptions,” the report said.
The declassified report represented the most comprehensive intelligence assessment of foreign efforts to influence the 2020 vote. Besides Russia, Iran and other countries also sought to sway the election, the report said. China considered its own efforts but ultimately concluded that they would fail and most likely backfire, intelligence officials concluded.
A companion report by the Justice and Homeland Security Departments also rejected false accusations promoted by Mr. Trump’s allies in the weeks after the vote that Venezuela or other countries had defrauded the election.
The reports, compiled by career officials, amounted to a repudiation of Mr. Trump, his allies and some of his top administration officials. They reaffirmed the intelligence agencies’ conclusions about Russia’s interference in 2016 on behalf of Mr. Trump and said that the Kremlin favored his re-election. And they categorically dismissed allegations of foreign-fed voter fraud, cast doubt on Republican accusations of Chinese intervention on behalf of Democrats and undermined claims that Mr. Trump and his allies had spread about the Biden family’s work in Ukraine.
The report also found that neither Russia nor other countries tried to change ballots themselves. Efforts by Russian hackers to gain access to state and local networks were unrelated to efforts by Moscow to influence the presidential vote."
Stan wants to know what’s become of American evangelicalism. How does he not know? A smart President told him: clinging to guns and religion. And rage.
“Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God," read the tagline in an Instagram account that appears to belong to the alleged shooter. "This pretty much sums up my life. It's a pretty good life."
“[Aaron Long] was very innocent seeming and wouldn't even cuss," the classmate told The Daily Beast. "He was sort of nerdy and didn't seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. He was big into religion.”
Not that this is surprising to anyone who's paying attention, but Russia and the GOP share a common goal - destabilizing trust in US elections. And no, NOT according to the "lame stream media..." as they will protest, but according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/politics/trump-russia-elections/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/16/politics/read-odni-foreign-threats-2020/index.html
Which side will they be remembered to be on, these modern "conservatives" and GOP types? A few may be remembered as standing strongly against the racism (see next post) or anti-American attacks on the media and our voting system... but sadly, more will be remembered as either wildly in support of Trump (the Marshals and Glenns of the world) or as meekly supporting/defending Trump with their silence in the face of such news (the Craigs and Stans of the world).
But it's not too late. They can still begin to change. I do believe it's possible.
Whether their sickness will be cured, god knows.
We are called to help the oppressed and marginalized.
Jesus was kind to just one Roman.
Craig’s fraud:
“One day after authorities removed multiple boxes of evidence while executing a search warrant on a former GOP state legislator's home, he has been taken into custody.
"Frank Artiles, the Republican political operative suspected of secretly arranging a sham candidate to run in a key 2020 state senate race, surrendered to a Miami-Dade County jail on Thursday to face felony campaign finance charges," the Miami Herald reported Thursday. "Artiles, himself a former state senator, was seen arriving at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, along with his lawyer."
Yeah, the party that endlessly whines about voter fraud is the main party actually involved in actual voter fraud. Projecting much?
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