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     Sifo |
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| Sifo |
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| Chauly |
This is a slight different perspective on Obama's trajectory: The Tracinski Letter November 22, 2013 FEATURE ARTICLE President Palpatine Obama Dissolves the Old Republic by Robert Tracinski Yesterday, President Obama announced his plan for executive amnesty for illegal immigrants. Of course he has no authority to do it. Don't ask me. Ask him: "we've got three branches of government. Congress passes the law. The executive branch's job is to enforce and implement those laws." This is basic Schoolhouse Rock kind of stuff. I would quote from Obama's speech last night about how he justifies the reversal, but what's the point? It's all lip-flapping. He's not trying to convince anybody because he's not asking for anybody's permission. He's not asking the new Republican-controlled Congress, which hasn't even convened yet. And he sure isn't listening to the American people, who just voted for the congressional majority whose will he is flouting. I found it revealing that Obama's announcement was not carried live by the big three television networks, but was carried by Spanish-language networks like Univision. That tells you everything you need to know. Obama wanted it to be broadcast loud and clear to a special-interest demographic that he believes will rally to his side--but he wants the general public to know as little about it as possible. That's what makes this an unusually cynical moment. We have a president who has just declared his indifference to the Constitution and to the consent of the governed. You know that moment in every dystopian science fiction movie when the conniving villain--Chancellor Palpatine or the like--has been trying to subvert the system and finally takes that one extra step over the line from scheming politician to dictator? I'm beginning to think we just had that moment. The point of last night's speech is that the law is now irrelevant, Congress is irrelevant, voters are irrelevant, and the president can do whatever he wants. What makes this feel like a turning point is not so much what President Palpatine--excuse me, President Obama--actually did, but rather the acquiescence of the press. This can be seen in the flurry of articles debating the merits of Obama's reform of the immigration system, as if that were the issue, as if there were absolutely nothing irregular about the way those changes have been decreed. The ironic thing is that the media and Hollywood types have always convinced themselves, as George Lucas did, that their villains were metaphors for George W. Bush or a cautionary tale about the evils of the right. But here we are, the Old Republic is being dissolved, and it's their hero who is doing it. They find themselves on the side of the Empire. (Or the Alliance. Yes, I'm looking at you, Joss Whedon.) There is no greater demonstration of the imperial character of the new regime than the nature of the great "favor" Obama has done for his target audience, the Hispanic voters. Immigration is an important issue for them because it is their friends, neighbors, and relatives who are most likely to be targeted for deportation. But what has Obama actually done for these "undocumented" immigrants? He has granted them permission to stay and work in America--at his sole pleasure. That's the crucial point. Because he is acting in defiance of existing law, illegal immigrants who seek refuge under Obama's plan will actually gain zero legal protection. Their immunity from deportation rests entirely on the will of the executive, not on the law of the land. So it ends whenever the chief executive says it does. I'll quote from Obama's speech for one thing: his description of how this faux-amnesty program works: "If you've been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you're willing to pay your fair share of taxes--you'll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily, without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law." That last part is a blatant, cruel lie. Those who are foolish enough to register under this program will not "get right with the law." They will get right with the current administration, for this particular moment. But if the political winds shift--or in two years when a new president is sworn in--all bets are off. Who would volunteer to identify themselves to the government under those terms? What Obama is doing is creating a class of people--possibly millions of them--who are dependent solely on the favor of the emperor. As Eduardo Alvarez put it on Twitter: "A hostage class is born." This is the real essence of Obama's play for the Hispanic vote: they have to keep him or one of his gang in the White House, or cousin Felipe gets trundled back across the border. This fits the broader pattern of Obama's administration. By a combination of design and incompetence, he has built a system in which every part of his agenda has been accomplished primarily by executive order and can only be sustained based on the will of the executive. Even with his signature legislative achievement, ObamaCare, consider how much of the actual law has been changed from how it was written, altered by executive waivers and fanciful reinterpretations. This is what the Halbig case is about. The law as written specifically banned subsidies outside the state exchanges, but ObamaCare needs those subsidies to mask how the law increases the cost of health insurance. So the president ordered the IRS to reinterpret the law to allow them. Without this kind of executive rewrite, ObamaCare collapses. Aye, there's the rub. As Stephen Miller asks: "What's Obama's historical legacy if everything he does can be undone via executive order?" Look at the bind he has put his party in. If their entire agenda is enacted by executive fiat, then everything depends on an unbroken string of victories in presidential campaigns. One lesson from all those science fiction dystopias is that the dictator's power grab always breeds discontent and rebellion. In two years, a lot of Democrats could be looking around at the wreckage of their agenda and cursing the day they embraced the temporary illusion of unilateral executive power. Copyright © 2014 by Tracinski Publishing Company PO Box 6997, Charlottesville, VA 22906 | ||
| Fb1 |
Chauly, thanks for posting that up. I agree totally in spirit, but think Mr. Tracinski is late to the party in several respects: That's what makes this an unusually cynical moment. We have a president who has just declared his indifference to the Constitution and to the consent of the governed. The pResident didn't just declare this - he made this declaration years ago. I'm sure Mr. Tracinski knows this, and was simply trying to make a point. I agree with his point, but to be clear: The pResident has been at war from us since the beginning. In fact, if you study up on his past (as much of it as we're allowed to know about, anyway), he's been at war with America for much of, if not most of, his life. Not hard to understand, considering his radical upbringing. The point of last night's speech is that the law is now irrelevant, Congress is irrelevant, voters are irrelevant, and the president can do whatever he wants. Again, this is old news for anyone who's been paying attention. And, to repeat: I agree with Mr. Tracinski's overall point. What makes this feel like a turning point is not so much what President Palpatine--excuse me, President Obama--actually did, but rather the acquiescence of the press. The media is EVERYTHING. So said Andrew Breitbart, and I believe he was executed for flying too close to the sun. The media has been outright OWNED by someone, or someones, for decades, but the breathtaking bias displayed during the pREsident's tenure has taken this corruption to a whole new level. The pResident - or, rather, whoever OWNS the pResident - controls the media. And with this control comes control of the narrative. And with this control comes control of the people. No, not all of them, but enough of them. We are at war with folks who are trying to murder our Constitutional Republic. That "transformation" that the pResident boasted about is taking place right before our eyes, and sadly, many folks don't even see it (and many folks are actually applauding the transformation - some of these folks used to post on this thread; they've either changed their minds about the direction our pResident is leading us, or, more likely, they lack the courage to come to his defense, knowing that the Emperor has no clothes). Sorry for the mini-rant. I'm glad Mr. Tracinski has had this epiphany; most of us had the same epiphany many years ago. Take care, amigo. Ferris | ||
| Chauly |
Actually, he's been on the front lines for many years as the Editor of the Intellectual Activist (an Objectivist magazine loosely affiliated with The Ayn Rand Institute), and it evolved into the Tracinski Letter. I like his emphasis on Individual Rights (the Smallest Minority) versus a two-party argument, although he tends to come down on the Tea-party side we it comes down to deciding... | ||
| Reindog |
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| Reindog |
Greetings from San Francisco in the belly of the beast. Yes, the media is everything. I spoke with a co-worker immediately after the pResident's end run and it was obvious that the media had succeeded in its job of imperial coronation. The co-worker had absorbed the media's talking points that other Presidents had done the same thing which is categorically untrue. He got bonus points for never having heard of Jonathon Gruber. I have received the same response from other friends, one of them being a so-called Libertarian. Sometimes I feel like a am living in "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and everyone has fallen asleep around me where I stand alone. Welcome to Kalifornia. Sad... and scary. | ||
| Sifo |
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| Reindog |
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| Reindog |
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| Sifo |
And Hagel is tossed under the bus... Never BO's fault! | ||
| Reindog |
Where is the Patriot who will release this pResident's academic transcripts? Why are the citizens of The United States of America denied this information? The New York Times is certain to come to his defense as they did with Daniel Ellsburg. Where is the Patriot?? | ||
| Zane |
I'd like to see some hacking group like Anonymous reach in and grab up Obama's academic transcripts and financial aide records. They could publish it on Wikileaks or some place. Wouldn't that be fun? | ||
| Court |
I've got a pretty good idea of what we'd see and, based on that guess, I don't blame him . . . .I'd have it sealed also. The funny thing is . . . . I teased, at a Columbia Alumni Board meeting one night, about getting my transcripts sealed. I found it interesting that, even with a couple pretty heavy hitters from the Provost's Office, that no one had a clue as to how anyone could even get that done. I'd love to see the reason cited. But . . until the time comes that it get's released . . the knowing smiles of those who DO know . . are telling. They don't want it released either. | ||
| Oldog |
We would all like to see this clown removed from office, But Trey Gowdy's comment on Foxnews a few days back is telling, "Have you ever met Joe Biden?" it only works, If we get a "two-fer" Pretty sure that the name on the apps is Barry Soetro (sp?) from Kenya or possibly Hawaii Have a great day all. | ||
| Pellis |
it only works, If we get a "two-fer" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_preside ntial_line_of_succession United States Presidential line of Succession # Office Current Officer 1 Vice President of the United States Joe Biden (D) 2 Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) 3 President pro tempore of the Senate Patrick Leahy (D) 4 Secretary of State John Kerry (D) 5 Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew (D) 6 Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (R) 7 Attorney General Eric Holder (D) We'll need more than a 2-fer. May God have mercy on us. | ||
| Ducbsa |
I assumed O's academic records are sealed for standard privacy rules. I can see that true believers at Columbia and Harvard have them in "double secret probation" to avoid leaks. After his Choom Gang high school days and at Occidental, I find it hard to believe that he all of a sudden acquired good study habits and did well after that. Also, similar to his literary agent's press kit saying he was a Kenyan for 12+ years, you may wonder if he pretended to be a Kenyan when applying to Columbia and Harvard. Claiming to be a Cherokee worked for Elizabeth Warren. | ||
| Court |
In his own words he pretty much smoked dope and seldom went to class. I'm not sure there's all that much security. I got 4 copies of my Columbia transcripts with about 4 clicks of a mouse. | ||
| Aesquire |
http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/explaining-aw ay-obama/?singlepage=true The only mystery about the last six years is how much lasting damage has been done to the American experiment, at home and abroad. Our federal agencies are now an alphabet soup of incompetence and corruption. How does the IRS ever quite recover? Will the Secret Service always be seen as veritable Keystone Cops? Is the GSA now a reckless party-time organization? Is the EPA institutionalized as a rogue appendage of the radical green movement with a director who dabbles in online pseudonyms? Do we accept that the Justice Department dispenses injustice or that the VA can be a lethal institution for our patriots? Is NASA now a Muslim outreach megaphone as we hire Russia, the loser of the space race, to rocket us into orbit? Will anyone again ever believe a U.S. red line, step-over line, or deadline? Will Iran ever accept that it should not have a bomb or fear the consequences of trying to get one? Is Iraq (omnis effusus labor) a sort of rescued Eurydice that was abruptly lost on the trek up from the Underworld? Will Afghanistan become Saigon, 1975? How could Putin ever again be worried about offending a U.S. president, or could China or North Korea? Are we now always to be allies of Islamist Turkey and indifferent to its enemies like our once-allied Kurds, Cypriots, Greeks, and Israelis? Will the economy ever again grow as it should? Will disability, food stamp, and welfare recipients jump back into the workforce should we frack on federal lands, build the Keystone pipeline or quit berating private enterprise? Every statistic that Obama has produced on Obamacare enrollment, deportation, unemployment and GDP growth is in some ways a lie. Almost everything he has said about granting amnesty was untrue, from his own contradictions to the congressionally sanctioned small amnesties of prior presidents. Almost every time Obama steps to the lectern we expect two things: he will lecture us on our moral failings and what he will say will be abjectly untrue. I hope we can all recover, but it would require an honest autopsy of a failed presidency. So far, progressives assume that the media and Obama’s whining, blame-gaming and finger pointing can somehow return him back to a 50% approval rate and perhaps even a face-saving legacy. The result is that progressives, the media, and the Obama cohort have promulgated an entire series of excuses for what is a failed tenure like few any in the last century. ....... We have reached a point in the presidency where with each news conference Obama is saying to the American people something like “I just lied to you. No one cares that I did. And because no one cares, I am going to lie to you all the more as I feel like it given your own gullibility.” We have had storytellers and fabulists in the White House before, but rarely a president who is energized to distort the truth by the very contempt that he holds the people in. | ||
| Ducbsa |
"I'm not sure there's all that much security. " Well, that's an assumption for me; I checked what it would take for me to get a transcript and it is pretty minimal. | ||
| Reindog |
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| Reindog |
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| Reindog |
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| Sifo |
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| Sifo |
So if an employer is looking at two candidates for a position and one will cost him $3,000 less per year to hire, which one is he likely to lean toward hiring? How do you feel knowing that BO has just given this incentive to employers to hire illegal aliens over US citizens? Who exactly is BO supposed to be representing anyway? Firms have $3,000 incentive for hiring illegals under Obama amnesty | ||
| Reepicheep |
Here is the next one emerging. This was an old Hillary tactic, and she was given a pass on it, so why wouldn't it become part of the Democratic playbook? http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/treasury-2500-do cuments-potentially-show-irs-sharing-taxpayer-data -with-white-house/article/2556640 I'm not the least bit surprised. Of *course* the IRS is weaponized. Big government, big power, and big money will always be the spark to the fuel. You can't change it, you can only starve it. | ||
| Reindog |
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| Bob_thompson |
"You can't change it, you can only starve it." Bill, I'm inclined to agree with you on that toward almost everything that goes on in Congress and with this rotten administration but I am holding out with at least some hope that at least some things will change with the more conservative regime taking control in both houses in January. It will still be real hard to see any kind of constructive change when the two chief law enforcement persons in the nation refuse to do just that and would rather change the existing laws if they could. Starve THEM b*******! and shut THEM down. Being a perpetual optimist I hoping for the best. We'll see soon. Bob Good one Tom, (Reindog) (Message edited by Bob_thompson on November 26, 2014) | ||
| Reindog |
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| Reindog |
The other broken stereotype is that a Black person can not be Conservative. These wonderful people will be a beacon for the next generation to break the chains of Democratic Party slavery.  |
