Trump’s executive orders

The New Neo Posted on by

The sheer numbers and scope of the executive orders Trump has issued are overwhelming. The Trump team has apparently been preparing this for a long time, a sort of executive order wishlist that they now get to fulfill. I’ve only scratched the surface of what appear so far to be the most important of the orders.

Birthright citizenship I dealt with in some depth in this recent post. It was always understood that there would be legal challenges and that it’s possible those challenges will succeed. I actually think they will succeed, not because the law can’t be changed, but because the proper mechanism for the change of an amendment is another amendment. I happen to think Trump’s position on birthright citizenship makes sense and I would support it; it’s just that an EO can’t do that, IMHO.

So to me it’s no surprise whatsoever that this has happened – the first round in the battle:

A federal judge in Seattle blocked, temporarily, President Donald Trump’s attempt to rescind birthright citizenship — the idea spelled out in the Constitution that every person born in the United States is an American citizen.

Senior U.S. District Judge John Coughenour on Thursday was blistering in his criticism of Trump’s action as he granted a temporary restraining order that blocks Trump’s executive order from taking effect nationwide. …

The executive order will remain blocked for at least 14 days while lawsuits in Washington and elsewhere proceed. Washington will next seek a preliminary injunction from Coughenour, which would continue to block the executive order as cases move along.

I assume the issue will probably go to SCOTUS.

Here are some of Trump’s other EOs, this time having to do with the Middle East:

This is good news:

US President Donald Trump revoked a host of what he called “harmful” executive orders and actions under former President Joe Biden that included the sanctioning of Jews living in the West Bank accused of undermining peace and security.

He also halted funding to Unrwa, the agency which distributes aid in Gaza but which Israel has repeatedly accused of employing staff with close links to terror group Hamas. The UN has admitted that nine of the agency’s staff may been involved in the October 7 attack on Israel.

Caroline Glick has done major work on how awful the sanctions on these “settlers” have been; see this, for example.

And Trump states the glaringly obvious and designates the Houthis as a terrorist group again:

In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump said that the terrorist group “threaten[s] the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.”

“Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform,” the order noted.

The varieties of Trump-hatred

The New Neo Posted on by

Commenter “physicsguy” writes:

I have a good friend from grad school who is a typical democratic liberal, bordering on left, with a mild case of TDS. Generally he is a good guy except his politics blinds him to some obvious facts. I follow his FB page just to see what’s up, and also it’s a great way to monitor the thoughts of the more looney left as many of his friends fall into that category.

Things were quiet after the election, but have burst forth since Monday. On Tuesday there was much anguish about how we’re all going to die and the country will descend into Nazism, and how RFK is going make everyone drink bleach, etc etc. No rational thought at all, just complete mental breakdowns. Today, lot’s of reposts from left social workers and psychologists about how the flurry of executive orders is intentionally designed to keep all these poor people in a state of disequilibrium. …

Just wondering if Neo has seen similar reactions from here lib friends. It really is fascinating to watch.

My answer is yes and no. There’s been a lot of variety in responses, and I’ve come to think of it as the three varieties of Trump-hatred.

The first type probably shouldn’t even be called “hatred”; more like intense dislike and disapproval. These people never vote for Republicans or even consider it, but they’re not especially political animals. They follow politics somewhat but not obsessively, and it doesn’t dominate their lives or even come close. That doesn’t mean they don’t have firm political opinions, but their emotional investment in those opinions isn’t extremely high, and in particular their tolerance of their political wishes being thwarted is also relatively high.

The second group does hate Trump. They talk about him more, and when they do it’s with a bitter biting tone of extreme contempt. He’s stupid, he’s coarse, he’s a misogynist, he’s racist, he’s corrupt, he’s a sexual predator. They think the next four years are going to be awful but they aren’t living in significant fear.

Members of the third group are the ones physicsguy is describing. In their regular lives, they’re intelligent, thoughtful, and kind. But they believe some or even all of the following: Trump’s tenure means that there will never be another fair election and that the GOP will rig things somehow (method unspecified) to make it the case, Trump will try to run again in 2028, Trump will ban abortion on a national level, Trump will give Ukraine to Russia rather than just make some concessions to Russia, Trump will try to imprison his enemies and opponents with unfair charges, Trump will harm black people and gay people and trans people (perhaps by putting them in concentration camps), Trump will censor speech including the speech of the TDS sufferer, Trump will cause the death of millions including the TDS sufferer. How he will kill those people is left unspecified: will it be a war? A failure to deal properly with an epidemic? Global warming? Starvation? Gulags? Concentration camps and gas chambers? I don’t know, but it’s apparently some or all of the above.

In my circle of friends and acquaintances, groups one and two are rather large and group three is fortunately quite small. But it exists, and I know two people who fall into that category, one more rational than the other. I probably actually know more than two, but I’m not necessarily in close enough touch to know the details of each person’s thoughts on the matter.

It’s very sobering.

RIP Jules Feiffer

The New Neo Posted on by

I hadn’t thought of Feiffer in many years, but as a teenager I was a huge fan. I had several of his books of cartoons, and they were wonderful. He turned his satirical eye and his whimsical pen on the liberals of his day, gently and incisively mocking them, although I assume he was a liberal too.

I especially loved the leotard-clad Dancer, who namelessly and hopefully danced her interpretive dances to Spring, to Love, to whatever. I found this one – not necessarily his best, but at least it’s of the character:

Feiffer had reached the formidable age of 95 when he died. I know next to nothing about his later works, but it sounds like he kept pretty busy:

Meanwhile, back at the Voice, Feiffer still wasn’t drawing a paycheck — and wouldn’t for his first two decades there, even as collections like 1958’s Sick, Sick, Sick and 1965’s The Unexpurgated Memoirs of Bernard Mergendeiler made his style immediately recognizable across the country. Those collections introduced Feiffer to adult readers, but for the younger set he was the magical artist behind 1961’s The Phantom Tollbooth. More than 30 years after illustrating Norton Juster’s cult kids’ book, Feiffer returned to the genre as an author, with books like 1993’s The Man in the Ceiling (eventually adapted into a musical with Tony Award-winning producer Jeffrey Seller) and his 2010 re-teaming with Juster, The Odious Ogre. Recent years saw him return to razor-edged grownup satire in 2014’s Kill My Mother and 2016’s Cousin Joseph. His most recent book was a graphic novel for kids published in Sept. 2024, called Amazing Grapes.

Here’s one that’s still timely; I don’t know when it was published:

RIP.

Just between us girls

The New Neo Posted on by

Megyn Kelley on the subject of Jeff Bezos’ main squeeze, Lauren Sanchez, at Trump’s inauguration:

I couldn’t help but notice, too.

When I was a kid, I used to go to ballet classes in some very seedy Manhattan neighborhoods, and I learned what a real prostitute looked like – that is, streetwalkers.

They were easy to spot, even for a child, because of the way they dressed. Very short tight skirts – before miniskirts were a thing. Lots of makeup and big big big hair. Thigh-high boots. Fishnet stockings. Much cleavage. Standing around on the street.

And then, some years later – I don’t recall exactly when – it occurred to me that I could no longer invariably tell the prostitutes from the non-prostitutes.

Tom Homan means business

The New Neo Posted on by

He does indeed:

What he’s saying there, among other things, is that the policies of “sanctuary cities” will almost inevitably cause more non-violent, low-profile illegal immigrants to be arrested and deported rather than fewer. It’s a reminder to the authorities in those cities that cooperating by allowing ICE to arrest criminal illegal aliens in prisons will be to everyone’s benefit. Will the mayors comply, or not?

Homan doesn’t mince words. He’s no diplomat; that’s for sure. And his plain talk is a reminder of how seldom we hear it these days, and how much the Overton Window has moved in the last decade or two on the subject of illegal aliens, a term I purposely use because it’s the old-fashioned legal phrase. “Undocumented”? He’s not having it. For much of the US, probably the majority of its citizens, his unvarnished speech is a relief. To others, it’s a horror – describing exactly the sort of thing they feared about the possibility of a Trump victory.

A bit more about those preemptive pardons Biden issued

The New Neo Posted on by

At the end of Trump’s first term, the left worried that Trump would issue preemptive pardons for his own family:

And then, guess what? Trump never did it. And then the new administration went after both Trump and his family’s assets, as well as his associates, with lawfare. What’s more, Trump never went after Hillary for her emails, and he could have done so.

And now? Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons for his family.

Those pardons accomplish at least three things. First and foremost, they protect the Biden family from federal prosecution for their corruption. Secondly, they’re a big FU to Trump and the right and to everyone who isn’t firmly in the Biden camp. But the third thing they accomplish is more subtle, and is intended strictly for the left. They allow the left to claim that Trump would have used lawfare on all these innocent people but for the pardons.

The way Joe tried to frame the situation – and the way people with TDS see it – is that the pardons were necessary because Trump, the “convicted felon” who somehow illegitimately once again occupies the White House, would have unfairly persecuted Biden and company if Joe hadn’t finessed Trump with the pardons that took away that power.

Here’s Jonathan Turley on the Biden family pardons:

The pardoning of James Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John Owens and Francis Biden brought an inescapable clarity to the corruption of what is known in Washington as Biden Inc.

I have written about the Biden family’s corruption for decades. Influence-peddling has always been the favorite form of corruption in Washington, but this city has never seen the likes of the Biden family. Millions of dollars were secured from foreign sources and distributed to various Biden family members.

Biden repeatedly lied about the influence peddling. …

Once he was forced out of the presidential race, Biden was freed up to sign a pardon for any and all crimes committed over a ten-year period by his son. He insisted that he really hadn’t been lying. He claimed that no ordinary person would have been tried for his son’s crimes — a manifestly untrue statement. He also emphasized that he had to take this step as a father of a son who was a hopeless addict and has now been clean for years.

However, the latest family pardon shatters even that rationalization. These Bidens are not even charged with any crimes, but Biden wanted to give them cover from any possible prosecution for anything. It was the ultimate sign of contempt for the intelligence of the American public and the integrity of his office.

Biden has long exercised situational ethics and, with his powers coming to an end, the situation demanded that he cash out before his credit ended. In granting these pardons, Biden was seeking to protect not just his family but also himself. …

Biden sealed his legacy with a finality that escapes most presidents. While his diminished mental capacity will remain an issue for historians, his longstanding lack of ethics was conclusively established with these pardons. It was Biden’s final act of corruption.

Let’s hope so.

Dictator on Day One

The New Neo Posted on by

During the campaign, the Democrats were fond of saying that Trump was going to be a dictator and that he’d said so. But what he really said was that he’d be “a dictator on day one” – planning to issue executive orders:

“We love this guy,” Trump said of Hannity. “He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’”

Well, yesterday was the long-awaited day one, and he signed about 200 orders. The list is at the link, and although there aren’t 200 there, one of the links is to another list that consists of Biden’s previous executive orders that Trump was reversing. They are so many there that I got tired of counting them. Among them are the orders about drilling.

One of the most noteworthy orders Trump issued yesterday was to shut down the CBP One app:

The Trump administration has canceled the CBP One cell phone app parole program used by Biden to allow more than 900,000 migrants to enter the US. Existing appointments have been cancelled.

Then there was one that restricted birthright citizenship. I’ve written in favor of doing this, and explained Trump’s point of view in this post from 2018. It’s longish, but here’s the most important part:

In fact, the US is the only highly-developed first-world country that (a) gives birthright citizenship, and (b) shares a border with a relatively undeveloped and crime-ridden country, and is therefore in a position to give relatively easy access to citizens of that country (Mexico, in the case of the US, as well as impoverished and crime-ridden Central America). Canada does not share that situation. All other countries in the world who do have a situation even remotely like ours forbid birthright citizenship of illegal immigrants. And most of the countries of the world that allow birthright citizenship are not what you’d call magnets for immigration or birth tourism. Au contraire. …

I have yet to locate exactly what those lines of a Trump executive order on this would be, but I assume that no one—not even Trump—is proposing an end to birthright citizenship. He is proposing placing some limits on it. I assume that the children of legal immigrants would still automatically become citizens, the children of tourists would not, and the children of illegal immigrants would not.

That’s very close to what Trump has done, over six years later. Trump recognizes that the courts will probably be ruling on this.

Then there are things such as withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, once again.

And the very long-awaited J6 pardons and commutations. There are 14 communtations – almost certainly for the more serious offenders – and “full, complete, unconditional pardons” for the rest. It amounts to about 1500 individuals. And there’s also this:

I further direct the Attorney General to pursue dismissal with prejudice to the government of all pending indictments against individuals for their conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Good.

There’s plenty more, too. Trump’s energy is incredible. Yesterday, in addition to the speeches and the rally-signings and the balls, he gave a one-hour press conference. What a contrast with President #46.

Hamstring pull

The New Neo Posted on by

You’d think I was a basketball player or something.

I’m not. But yesterday, while I was doing nothing more strenuous than walking fast – which I often do – I felt a pop! in the middle of the back of my left thigh, and could hardly walk for a moment. The only unusual thing that had happened at that moment is that someone had slightly startled me. And I mean very slightly.

Why would I pull my hamstring because of that? I wasn’t even aware of my gait changing. Did I pull up short a bit?

I don’t know, but I’m highly annoyed with myself. A hamstring pull makes everything more difficult: walking, standing, sitting, bending, getting dressed, putting shoes on. It’s far from the worst thing in the world, but it’s painful. The proper approach is to apply a cold pack, elevate, and wrap it with an ace bandage (or some sort of special tape I don’t have), according to several websites.

Anyone got any other ideas? Those same websites say that standing is bad for a pulled hamstring, sitting is bad for a pulled hamstring, walking is bad for a pulled hamstring, stretching is bad for a pulled hamstring. What’s left, lying in bed? No, that’s not good for it, either.

I’m not complaining. Well, actually I am, but I think you know what I mean. I know so many people with so many very serious ailments that I’m trying not to complain much.

So, forget everything I just said. But let me know if you have any good remedies.

Trump’s Inauguration speech

The New Neo Posted on by

Here’s the transcript.

Some excerpts:

The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. …

During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first. Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end. And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud and prosperous and free.

That’s the hope that his election has engendered in a great many of us. Of course, those who think he’s practically a demon aren’t bying it.

More:

But first, we must be honest about the challenges we face.

What follows is a several-paragraphs-long description of some of the awful things that have happened during the preceding four years. And then:

Our recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom. From this moment on, America’s decline is over.

Let’s hope so. He has his work cut out for him.

This part gives me pause, though:

Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

It’s true that Trump has faced incredible tests and challenges. But no, not more than any president in history. Just to take one simple example, there’s Lincoln, who faced a Civil War, as bad a press as Trump dealt with, and then a successful assassination.

Trump added:

Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.

Many many people agree. The improbable nature of the last-minute turn of the head that saved Trump from being assassinated with cameras running lends itself quite naturally to the idea that the deity saved him. But I think that, although that idea is not incompatible with humility, it could also lead to hubris.

Much of the rest of the speech was about the executive orders he plans to sign. I’m going to deal with those in another post.

I like this part:

Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback. But as you see today, here I am. The American people have spoken. I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do. In America, the impossible is what we do best.

It did seem impossible. But here he is. And here we are, at another crossroads.