Wesley Smith wrote a short news item on “The Corner” in National Review Online, and linking a longer article in First Things, in which he mentions that in New Zealand and India, a few rivers have now been granted formal rights, allowing them, through their lawyers, to sue on behalf of themselves. They were legally […]
Archives
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The Next Step Toward the Brave New World
02 Apr 2017
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Ted Poe, R-NC, and a House member of the Freedom Caucus, has quit the group, uttering these words among others: “saying no is easy, governing is hard.” This was in reference to the Caucus’s opposition to the American Health Care Act, which was pulled by Paul Ryan before a vote. Poe says he wants to […]
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Once again a Federal district court judge has issued a nationwide Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) prohibiting enforcement of the president’s new executive (EO) order temporarily suspending entry into the United States of non-citizens living outside the United States for a period of 90-120 days, with waivers possible for defined exceptions. The EO identified six nations […]
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Update on the American Health Care Act
10 Mar 2017
I want to provide a brief update on the American Health Care Act bill in the House. I also want to add a bit more analysis. Currently the bill has been passed out of two House committees. Democrats are trying to slow it down but aren’t likely to be successful. But if it makes it […]
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The Deep State: How Deep Is It?
10 Mar 2017
“The Deep State”–what is it? Is it real? Is it fiction? If it is real, is it dangerous? To what extent is it harmful? This is a fascinating subject, perhaps partly because we all love a conspiracy theory, true or not. I will suggest that this one has a basis in reality. But I also […]
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Democracy: Is It Over-hyped? Or Overdone?
09 Mar 2017
I noticed a poll taken the other day in connection with Fox News (unfortunately I did not catch the purveyor of that poll, perhaps Fox itself). Whether the methodology was right or not, I don’t know but it found that 50% of people polled opposed the elimination of the Obamacare insurance mandate, while 48% supported […]
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A New Beginning or Obamacare Lite?
08 Mar 2017
The House of Representatives has now publicly rolled out its “Repeal and Replace” bill for the elimination of Obamacare and a new health care law. President Trump seems to like it, while Democrats, predictably, hate it, though I cannot see how they have had time to read it, and some Republicans, such as Rand Paul, […]
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What is Going On in the Surveillance World?
07 Mar 2017
What a morass we have now with regard to the allegations, refutations, and counter-allegations concerning the possibility of intelligence community “wiretapping” of Donald Trump or his associates before the election and after it. At this point, we have an allegation by President Trump that Obama wiretapped the Trump Tower. Now before people go off on […]
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Executive Order in the Court
04 Feb 2017
A Federal judge in Washington State today issued an injunction preventing the enforcement of President Trump’s Executive Order (EO)halting immigration and entry programs from seven nations for 90 and 120 days respectively. I have already written about my own response to the EO as a policy matter and also said something about a Christian response […]
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Executive Orders and “Extreme Vetting”
29 Jan 2017
President Trump issued a very broad executive order yesterday, banning immigration for up to 120 days, and including so-called “Green Card” holders, holders of permanent visas. This order was effective immediately and almost immediately protests erupted. Moreover, several Federal judges have issued temporary injunctions against the order’s application to certain individuals. Political types on roughly […]