Has politics infected the actions of our judicial system?

May 27, 2025

Hardly anyone disagrees with the statement that America has some serious problems. One of the most serious of those problems is what is happening in our judicial system. Mis-interpretation of our Constitution and our laws is not new, but is a problem.

A prominent interpretation issue has to do with birthright citizenship. In January, shortly after being sworn into office, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders. One of them sought to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. 

The liberal left, which supports illegal immigration, immediately reacted. They think that according to the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, if an illegal alien woman with child sneaks across the border on a Thursday and gives birth to that child on Friday, that child is automatically a citizen of the United States of America. 

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Upon first reading, and without thoughtful analysis, this would tend to suggest that anyone born in the U.S. is immediately a citizen, no questions asked. But with thoughtful analysis, and/or an understanding of why the 14th Amendment was ultimately passed by Congress, that interpretation falls on its face.

The liberal’s interpretation ignores both the actual language, and the actual purpose of the Amendment. Properly interpreting the Constitution’s language, and the language of laws passed by Congress, is not just relevant, but essential. And, applying the factors that were responsible for that piece of the Constitution, one of its Amendments, or a particular law — the original intent — is critical. 

Just because many years or decades have passed, and thinking may have changed since the enactment of the item in question does not mean that those factors should be or can be ignored.

A useful analysis of this comes from the Heritage Foundation, via Amy Swearer, Senior Legal Fellow, Meese Center, and Hans von Spakovsky, Election Law Reform Initiative Manager and Senior Legal Fellow.

“For the first century following the 14th Amendment’s ratification, few legal scholars would have batted an eye at a directive like Trump’s. If anything, they’d have been more confused as to why the federal government started issuing passports to the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens, tourists, and ‘temporary sojourners’ in the first place.  

“Contrary to popular belief, the 14th Amendment doesn’t say that all people born in the U.S. are citizens. It says that ‘all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof’ are citizens. That second, critical, conditional phrase is conveniently ignored or misinterpreted by advocates of ‘universal’ birthright citizenship. 

“This was intended to constitutionalize the protections of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which provided that ‘all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power’ would be considered citizens.   

“That’s because the sponsors of the 14th Amendment made it clear that ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the U.S. means owing your political allegiance to the U.S., and not to another country. Children born to aliens are citizens of their parents’ native land, and thus owe their allegiance to, and are subject to the jurisdiction of, that native land.”

Another example of problematic judicial action is provided by an article in The Western Journal. This challenges that the idea that a federal district judge in one of the hundreds of districts can routinely issue a ruling that affects the entire country, including the actions of its president and the co-equal administrative branch.

“Trump U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer argued when being questioned by [Supreme Court] Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday that the phenomenon of district court judges issuing nationwide injunctions is relatively new in the nation’s history, becoming prominent in the last four or five administrations.

“Further, they have been meted out in unprecedented numbers against Trump, with 40 in the last four months, he said.

“Sauer directed Kavanaugh to the New Deal under President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a reference point. ‘There were very, very passionate challenges to nationwide policies during the Roosevelt administration, and they were not addressed by issuing universal injunctions,’ the solicitor general highlighted.

“Sauer also addressed the Supreme Court’s past rulings on whether lower courts can issue nationwide injunctions.

“So, when the [Supreme Court] has considered and addressed this, it has consistently said, ‘You have to limit the remedy to the plaintiffs appearing in court,’’ Sauer argued.

“Then [Justice Clarence] Thomas made the most important observation of the day by asking, ‘So, we survived until the 1960s without universal injunctions?’”

“That’s exactly correct. And in fact, those were very limited, very rare, even in the 1960s,” Sauer responded. “It really exploded in 2007.”

So, we are now experiencing a pandemic of improper judicial rulings, it seems. Are these the result of persons appointed to positions of federal judgeships who really do not understand the law and the necessity of judicial neutrality and boundaries? Or, are they more concerned with political goals than with being judicially neutral referees in these cases?

Could the current political divide spell the end of the U.S

May 13, 2025

Douglas Murray is a British author, political commentator, cultural critic, and journalist, and his columns have appeared in a long list of publications, including the New York Post and National Review. 

Back in 2018 he created a video in which he said that “Europe is committing suicide.” He went on to explain that there were two major causes of Europe’s impending downfall.

The first, he said, “is the mass movement of peoples into Europe.” This process had been going on for a long time, “but sped up massively in the migration crisis of 2015, when more than a million migrants poured into Europe from the Middle East, North Africa and East Asia.”

The second major cause, which he said was equally significant, was “that Europe lost faith in itself — its beliefs, its traditions and even its very legitimacy.”

Given the current state of affairs here in the United States, Murray’s comments might also describe the suicidal tendencies we have here.

Our challenges have been going on since before the date that Murray first mentioned about Europe, 2015. And, like the European experience, they have increased markedly in recent years.

Like the European countries, the U.S. has seen a tremendous influx of people from other countries. Millions came across our open borders unvetted during the Biden administration. There were some good people, looking for a better life and escaping oppression. But there were thousands, or perhaps millions, who were drug and child traffickers, murderers, rapists, robbers and terrorists.

Over the last few decades the U.S., like Europe, has seen a gradual abandonment of its once strong history and culture.

We have seen persons in many areas forsake their solemn duties, favoring ideals that are not American ideals, and are dangerous to our future. 

Attorneys general and district attorneys refuse to prosecute many types of crimes. Mayors and municipal council members open their doors to illegal aliens, and protect them from being properly deported.

Many of the people we call educators put their professional integrity on the shelf and fail to present their students with a proper background of their country. They have done an equally bad job of teaching crucial basic concepts, like fundamental math, reading and writing. 

And many parents have likewise failed to teach their children about becoming a good American, respecting the law, the rights of others, and basic human behavior.

News organizations and journalists often see no problem with presenting “news” according to their political ideals, rather than abiding by journalistic principles.

Some medical professionals support and assist people in becoming the opposite gender, even children. And some in public education assist children in doing that, and hide that from their parents.

Members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, have recently been heard using what we used to call “cuss words” in their comments on the floor of the chambers. This sort of language, which is profane, is nearly always considered inappropriate, especially for formal settings like public appearances, media appearances, and public activities. 

And the frequency of violence in protests from groups with an ax to grind is shocking. What they are unable to achieve through persuasion with their ideas they try to achieve through force and violence.

Many of these activities are illegal, and all are certainly subversive to the established principles, values and culture of our country.

Politically, we have lost much ground. Many of us remember when Republicans and Democrats got along with each other, despite having different ideas about how to keep the country great, and even to improve it.

The current political discourse reflects the wide gulf in philosophy. One side wants to restore things while the other wants to change everything. The two sides talk to each other in sharp, cutting terms, rarely finding agreement on anything.

Roger Kimball, editor of The New Criterion, sees efforts to restore the previous state of things. He said that following the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally last year there has been talk of restoration of the values and environment of the past. And that has picked up speed since Trump’s election and inauguration.

In a speech at Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom shortly after Trump took office in January, Kimball said, “We always hear about the ‘peaceful transfer of power’ when a new president takes office.

“The usual procedure is for the old crowd to vacate their positions while the new crowd slides in to take their places. The institutions remain inviolate. Nothing essential changes.”

But, he noted, Trump was not elected to preserve the upside-down status quo, but to make badly needed changes. Given the existing political divide as this process gets under way, there is fairly broad satisfaction on Trump’s side, but great fear and resistance on the other.

Whether the suicide that Murray talked about occurring in Europe will be the ultimate conclusion for America remains to be seen. Those who understand and appreciate the original unique design, individual freedom and other benefits of the American system are working hard to see that the shining city on the hill survives this attempted revolution.

There is much discussion of Trump’s first 100 days in office

May 6, 2025

There’s lots of talk about all the things President Donald Trump has and hasn’t done in his first 100 days in office. As expected, his supporters are satisfied with some things, and his critics are shouting about him not completing his rather long and strenuous list of hopes and dreams.

A lot of people are upset over Trump’s heavy focus of tariffs. In case you are not aware of the current tariff situation, here’s a look at what other countries are doing to the United States with tariffs on our goods, taken from the chart that Trump was seen holding in the Oval Office recently.

China - 67%; European Union - 39%; Taiwan - 64%; Japan - 46%; India - 52%; South Korea - 50%; Switzerland - 61%.

The highest two are Vietnam at 90%, and Cambodia at 97%. And there are a few at reasonable levels, such as the United Kingdom, Singapore and Brazil, all at just 10%.

On the other side of this situation is that the highest the U.S. charges is less than 50%, with the highest two at 49% for Cambodia and 46% for Vietnam. Everyone else is below 40%. That doesn’t include the current fight with China that might be higher if things don’t even out through negotiations.

Trump wants low tariffs, or no tariffs, so that trade with other nations is fair for all parties, in terms of cost of goods.

This process will take time — more than the 100 days Trump has been working on it. And, yes, there will be some discomfort.

Richard Porter, writing in Newsmax magazine, describes it this way: “Trump’s tariff policy is pragmatic and populist while theoretically inconsistent. It’s of a piece with his broader attempt to rebalance the terms under which the United States deals with other nations, moving away from the post-war, subsidy-for-friends model toward an everyone-pulls-their-own-weight model — a model in which alliances are premised on shared interests instead of subsidies.”

Perhaps the most noteworthy thing he has accomplished in his early days is to address the influx of some 12 million illegals who casually walked in during the Biden administration, and who it dispersed all across the country, criminals and all.

This critical need did not require Congressional action to reform the immigration policy of the country, as former President Joe Biden and his partners in this travesty kept telling us. All it took was someone willing to fix it.

As of now, daily border encounters are down by 93%; encounters with gotaways – the top threat to public safety – are down by 95%; and migrant crossings are down by 99.99%.

In March of this year, we had less than 7,200 border encounters, the lowest monthly number in recorded history.

The energy picture is also improving, and we are moving to recover the conditions achieved during Trump’s first term. He is moving us away from ideas that sound good, but are not good, such as the New Green Deal, and an electric vehicle mandate. 

We are returning to using clean coal for energy production, which is good for the Appalachian coal field communities, and drilling in new oil fields; working to ship natural gas to Europe, which badly needs it, and continuing fracking.

Because of the increased production of energy, the price of oil, which at one point under Biden was $120 a barrel, is now down close to $60 a barrel. Trump is no longer draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and will likely begin to refill it.

He has also begun doing away with the foolish policy of diversity, equity and inclusion, which put factors other than the abilities of people in their selection for important things.

While many/most prices are still too high, inflation has subsided. “This is truly remarkable,” economist E.J. Antoni, Ph.D., said. “Average annual inflation rate from ‘09 until ‘21 was 1.8%, then Biden drove it up to 8.6% for a year and a half, then it rose steadily at 3.1% for the rest of his term; but now Trump is averaging a mere 1.0% - remarkable!”

Trump is not perfect, not by a long shot. But neither was Biden or Obama, or any other president.

But his ideas are far more “American” than those of either Biden or Obama, or millions of other people who think that what is happening to Abrego Garcia is really important. Then there are the ones who idolize Luigi Mangione, the accused murderer of Brian Thompson, who was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan.

Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a health insurance company. And Mangione is being celebrated as "so handsome!!!" and "guilty for being hot." He is even being celebrated with a new musical in his honor, as he and others believe Thompson’s murder was justified because of problems with the health insurance industry.

Much of the opposition to Trump is because some just don’t like him. But mostly it is because what he wants to do to help the country and its citizens are things that work directly against the twisted goals of Democrats, progressives and socialists.

Our political division is so great that it challenges our future

April 29, 2025

Why is it so important for some on the left — some, not all — to put so much emphasis on supporting and helping illegal aliens in this country?

A good example is the situation of illegal alien Abrego Garcia, happily referred to by the left as “a Maryland man.”

Information available online about Garcia has been missing in many reports of his recent deportation. Here is some of that.

According to police and court records, Abrego Garcia was arrested in Hyattsville, Maryland, in October 2019. He was identified by the Prince George's County Police Gang Unit as a member of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang.

Garcia was pulled over by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper in 2022 driving an SUV belonging to Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, another illegal alien who in 2020 confessed to human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border. Garcia was observed speeding and unable to stay in his lane.

There were eight individuals in the car with Garcia, who said they were headed for Maryland from Texas for construction work. However, the trooper suspected it was a human trafficking incident, as there was no luggage in the vehicle. The officer only gave Garcia a warning for driving with an expired license.

Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, said that he is a "violent" repeat wife-beater in 2021.She wrote in a complaint, "At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me."

Garcia is said to have admitted to entering the United States illegally in 2012, and was issued a deportation order in 2019. By that time, two judges had believed him likely to be a member of MS-13.

That year, an immigration judge ruled that Garcia was removable to anywhere other than El Salvador because of a threat from a rival gang. It was not a mistake by the Trump administration to deport Garcia, but he should not have been sent to his home of El Salvador. However, since that time the rival gang alluded to is apparently no longer a threat to him, and he has been unharmed since his arrival in El Salvador in March.

However, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said that Garcia was no longer eligible for any form of immigration relief in the United States after MS-13 was declared a terrorist organization.

Contrary to the commonly reported idea, there seems to have been a lot of due process over several years. 

And, referring to Garcia as “a Maryland man,” implying that he is a law-abiding person in the U.S. legally and a loving husband and father, is as dishonest as saying that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are our best friends.

The FBI arrested a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge who reportedly has ties to left-wing activists last week. Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested after she allegedly helped hide a migrant charged with violence from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported that “ICE agents visited the courthouse where Dugan sits on April 18 to arrest a migrant scheduled for a hearing with Dugan that day, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. Dugan reportedly directed the man and his lawyer to walk down a hallway toward another floor where the ICE agents wouldn’t find him.”

Another judge, this one in New Mexico, has been arrested, along with his wife, accused of harboring an illegal immigrant suspected of being a member of the Tren de Aragua street gang in their home.

According to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Judge Joel Cano is facing obstruction charges. “He took one of the TdA members’ cell phones himself, took it, beat it with a hammer, destroyed it, and then walked the pieces to a city dumpster to dispose of it to protect him,” Bondi said, adding that his wife is also facing charges for destroying evidence.

It is relevant to note how many judges have become involved in ruling against the Trump administration’s efforts to rid the country of violent illegal aliens. The cries from the left in defense of the illegals noting a lack of due process and other complaints is loud and shrill.  Those same judges sat quietly in their chambers while millions of foreigners walked illegally into the country during the Biden administration’s tenure. And the left was unmoved by the lack of due process and the abundant crime during those four years.

And then we have members of the U.S. Congress going to El Salvador to lobby and work for the return of Abrego Garcia.

Judges are put in place and trusted to be honest and unbiased in legal matters. Is our country’s sense of honesty and integrity so unimportant that judges now do such illegal, dangerous and un-American things as we are seeing today? 

And why would members of the U.S. Congress go to such extraordinary lengths to defend such a person as Garcia, the El Salvador man, and to demand he be brought back, and allowed to remain in, the U.S.?

At least part of the problem is the dislike for Donald Trump, and people putting that dislike above all else.