Posts Made By: James Brown

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

I think the immunity decision, besides being a bad one as well one as being solely brought forth before the court due to Trump's actions of which he escaped prosecution because of it, is an unnecessary one because no DOJ would prosecute an ex-president for the actions/examples that have been cited by conservative causes such as a president ordering the assassination of a terrorist abroad (ex Bin Laden).  

The immunity decision does, however, offer the protection from prosecution for presidents engaging in acts of malfeasance such as those by Trump or Nixon, with the latter likely not resigning under the umbrella of privileged communications while in office.

Originally Posted by James Lacey

He's so busy trying to pick a fight or insult that he always misses the point. Jim certainly doesn't need anyone to come to his defense, but Rich's comprehension was so bad that it had to be commented on.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

Hi Jim,

A sane and rational person would understand your points/concerns but the self-described "The Tormentor" is not one of them.

That said, I'm wondering you make of the parade of DAs in New York resigning in protest over Trump's DOJ's efforts to force them to drop the corruption case against the mayor of New York city in wake of his cooperation with Trump to go onto Fox and Friends to champion Trump's stance on illegal immigration?

I understand the head who resigned is a staunch conservative/republican and a dedicated member of the federalist society.

https://www.newsweek.com/prosecutor-resigns-warns-trumps-doj-it-was-never-going-me-2031456

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

The department of education has been systematically defunded by Republicans in the states for years with much of it redirected to private schools and, in particular in the red states to religious schools, and all at the expense of public schools. It's no wonder why public schools are failing. 

This is the typical republican playbook at work, defund a program or agency until it performs badly or fails outright and then point to it and say, "ya see it doesn't work and we were right all along."

Originally Posted by James Brown

I think Rod, that if you read Richard’s reply again you’ll see that he was admitting that you were right and he was wrong regarding the statutory founding of the Department of Education.   As close as he ever gets to such an admission anyways.  

Basically Congress passed a statute and Carter implemented with his orders.   Maybe the agency has morphed and grown into something different than contemplated in the 70s.   That would be typical.  

The reason I am bringing this up is that the EO creating DOGE did not create it from scratch.   On the contrary, the EO creating DOGE renamed an existing agency division, one that presumably has never been questioned before.   I doubt that renaming is unconstitutional, but it is a good question when renaming involves a big change in scope.  We all know that agencies like Education and the EPA have changed in scope over the years.   Sometimes broadened scope has been found constitutional, sometimes not.   I think the original statute is the guidepost for the constitutional limits.   Recent example is the EPA losing the right to regulate carbon dioxide emissions because that was beyond the scope of the clean air act.

Originally Posted by Jim Moscheck

Last night's game between the USA vs. Canada was one of the best hockey games I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of hockey over the years. Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin got the game winner, had an assist on the empty net goal, was playing on the fourth line, and was the games second star of the game. Maybe the Canadian fans shouldn't have booed the US national anthem? 

The start of the game looked like a scene from the movie Slapshot. Where's Reggie Dunlop and the Hanson brothers when you need them? LOL.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

The department of digital services does(or did)this:The United States Digital Service (USDS) works to improve government services by using technology and design. USDS partners with federal agencies to create digital services that are user-friendly and reliable.
How USDS works
Collaborates with agencies
USDS works with agencies across the federal government to address critical needs.
Uses interdisciplinary teams
USDS brings together teams of engineers, designers, data scientists, and more.
Prioritizes human-centered design
USDS focuses on iterative improvements to create seamless digital services.
Modernizes procurement
USDS works to modernize procurement processes and practices for the digital era.
Examples of USDS work
Veterans Affairs
USDS helped the VA improve its technology presence for veterans, increasing satisfaction and trust.
Infant formula shortage
USDS partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services to create data systems and predict needs for infant formula.

None of the above is consistent with the activities of DOGE. So, it seems they simply took the closest in appearance department and utilized it as a cover for justification of what it is really doing.
 
Will that withstand the scrutiny of constitutionality? My guess is that it will given the propensity of the conservative majority to ignore the merits of a case(except when it wants to further their own rationale for arriving at a decision) and so will grant Donald Trump (and Elon Musk) even more power to do what they're doing.

Speaking of Elon, have you wondered how it can be that while the musketeers are finding supposed cases of fraud and waste and abuse in virtually every department, they somehow can't find it in the billions of dollars in contracts that Musk and Starlink have with the US government? Every dollar of those contacts is perfectly allocated and spent? And that's just one "tidbit" of a merit of a case that the cons on SCOTUS will ignore...

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/02/trump-asks-court-to-allow-firing-of-watchdog-agency-official/

Notice how the case presented on behalf of the Trump government is chock full of issues of merit while the appellate court decision is a procedural matter.

Hmm, I wonder how the conservatives of the court will do with those...

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/02/trump-asks-court-to-allow-firing-of-watchdog-agency-official/

Notice how the case presented on behalf of the Trump government is chock full of issues of merit while the appellate court decision is a procedural matter.

Hmm, I wonder how the conservatives of the court will do with those...

Originally Posted by David Cotterell

Trump is fellating Putin at this point.