President Trump Showed he Is a Decisive Leader in Firing FBI Director James Comey

President Trump sent a message when he sent 60 cruise missiles to Syria. President Trump sent the same message yesterday when he fired FBI Director James Comey. President is a strong, decisive leader. He will take action when he thinks it is needed. No dithering No appeasement No apologies Bold, decisive action His version of President Reagan and the air traffic controllers And the Democrats? A reflexive call for “Special Prosecutor!” The Democrats and media are hyperventilating over the firing of Comey, just as they hyperventilated many times in the election, Trump’s first 100 days, and in future. Maybe, one of these times, they might connect with the American public. But after months of lambasting Comey, they are now trying to make him a martyr. You have to read George Orwell’s 1984 to understand the gyrations. Steve Carrell went onto his show and announced that President Trump had fired James Comey. The audience cheered – not the reaction the anti-trump Colbert expected. The Democrats and media are proclaiming a constitutional crisis. Senator Blumenthal (D. Ct.) joined Representatives Maxine Waters, Al Green, Jared Huffman, John Yarmuth, Mark Pocan, Hakeen Jeffries, Tulsi Gabbard, Keith Ellison, Joaquin Castro, and Jamie Raskin in using the “impeachment” word. And for James Comey? He should have been fired months ago. Incompetence Grandstanding He has a history of mistakes at the FBI. The San Bernardino and Orlando Pulse Nightclub occurred on his watch as the FBI flubbed the investigations. He followed up the San Bernardino tragedy by demanding Apple provide the tools to unlock the shooter’s IPhone5S four digit pin number. He wanted the ability to break into any IPhone, using San Bernardino as the lever to do so. Apple stood by its customers. An outside supplier ultimately sold a solution to the Justice Department. He appointed his good pal, Pat Fitzgerald (two peas in a pod) as special prosecutor in the Valerie Plame investigation. Valerie was a CIA analyst, whose CIA identity was ostensibly disclosed eventhough she was not undercover. The question was who leaked it to Robert Novak, the columnist? The media and Democrats went ballistic, hoping to nail the Bush Administration, especially Karl Rove, for illegally disclosing her identity. They were even dreaming at the prospect of an indictment of the Vice President. Fitzgerald quickly identified the source, Richard Armitage, an assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell, and an opponent of the war. Fitzgerald though did not stop at that point; instead, he continued the investigation. He indicted Scooter Libby, the national security advisor to Vice President Chaney on five counts of providing false statements to an FBI agent. He mishandled the Clinton email scandal. He has been quiet about the leaks of the President’s telephone calls and of General Michael Flynn. Rod Rosenstein, the career prosecutor, confirmed three weeks ago by the Senate as Deputy Attorney General, wrote a letter recommending the termination. He represented the view of the career FBI agents and United States Attorneys who were shocked and chagrined by Comey’s July and October unprofessional behavior. The FBI investigates and U.S. Attorneys prosecute. They have separate and distinct roles. Comey both investigated and made the decision to not prosecute. Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein wrote: “[T]he FBI Director is never empowered to supplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the Justice Department.” Comey’s press statement on July 5 was “a textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.” He usurped the powers of the Attorney General. Attorney General Lynch may have been compromised because of the tarmac meeting with President Clinton, but she had not recused herself. If she couldn’t make the decision, then the Deputy Attorney general, Sally Yates, could have done so. The FBI Director took it upon himself to make the decision to not prosecute. Not only did he violate Justice department protocol in doing so, but he also rewrote the statute to include an intent requirement. Her conduct of gross negligence violated the statute. He further failed to understand a rule of the FBI. The Director of the FBI, unlike a prosecutor, does not revel in the limelight. As Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein wrote: “It is not the function of the director to make such an announcement. … Compounding the error, the director ignored another longstanding principle: We do not press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation.” James Comey acquired a reputation both as a shrew political operative and as untouchable in his job. The Democrats wanted Comey fired because he cost Secretary Clinton the election. Now he is a martyr, the victim of a conspiracy, a cover up. Nixon, Nixonian, Watergate, Saturday Night Massacre are flooding the airways. To understand how the Democrats and media could turn in an instance, please read George Orwell’s 1984. Senator Ron Wyden echoed Watergate: “Follow the Money.” By all means follow the money to the Clinton Foundation and President Clinton in Secretary Clinton signing off on a Russian company acquiring 20% of the United States uranium supply. Follow the money on Secretary Clinton’s Russian reset. James Comey became FBI Director on September 13, 2013 after prostrating himself before President Obama. Comey wanted the position. He then owed President Obama. The debt was paid in the October news conference when he exonerated Secretary Clinton. We are witnessing the next 3½ years as the Democrats and media combine to trash President Trump every conceivable second for any conceivable reason. Right or wrong, he will always be wrong and his motives questioned in their eyes. They won’t let the facts get in the way of sliming President Trump. It didn’t work during the campaign. It won’t work now. They still don’t understand President Trump. He may be unconventional, but he is decisive.

Harvard Students Are Overly Stressed by a Fifty Cent Library Fine

Harvard announced it was eliminating standard fines of fifty cents/day for overdue library books. The fines were too stressful for students. Steven Beardsley, Harvard’s associate director for access services administrative operations and special projects, emailed: “We have witnessed first-hand the stress that overdue fines can cause for students.” That must have been very traumatic! Beardsley added: “Eliminating standard overdue fines and standardizing loan periods across Harvard’s libraries should help students focus on their scholarship, rather than worrying about renewing library books every 28 days in order to avoid fines.” The best and brightest, the future leaders of America and the Free World, the pinnacle of American higher education, cannot handle a fifty cent fine. They cannot handle a 28 day return period. They’re freaked out by $.50. Forget the $50,000 tuition and fees. Don’t worry about the parking tickets in Boston and Cambridge. What if they don’t pay a speeding ticket or fail to appear for a DWI? Do they understand what a bench warrant is? Wait until they face their student loans. What if they miss a car payment? Or rent? How about broken relationships? What will happen when their computer crashes? How will they handle a rejection letter from a prospective employer or graduate program? Maybe their helicopter parents can’t fly in to fix the 50 cent fine. Just wait to they have to join the real world and face real deadlines with real demands from real employers in a real job with real performance requirements. Perhaps the real problem is that their generation is not used to hard copy. They’re wizzes on the mouse and the IPhone, but they can’t adjust if it’s not available on Apple. Taking responsibility is a critical stage in growing up. Our generation was told to “suck it up,” “grow up,” “get over it,” and “deal with it.” This generation is told to seek counseling. And they do. 40% of Harvard’s seniors said they used the University Health Service during their 4 years. They reported stress at higher rates than the national average. 20-25% of the undergrads report using the mental health service each year. It can’t be the academics. The median grade at Harvard is an A- with the most common grade a straight A. 90% graduate with honors. The Harvard degree opens the door to graduate and professional schools and the job market. Too many are on psychotropics when they enter Harvard, or the nation’s other top universities. They’re missing out on fundamental life skills. Instead they’ve being encouraged in their self-indulgence. Whiners are coddled. Their sense of entitlement keeps growing.

Yale Republicans Fired up the BBQ Next to Symbolic Non-hunger Hunger Strikers

Yale grad students are on a hunger strike demanding Yale engage them in collective bargaining. Hunger strikes can be effective in creating change, but not this time. Gandhi engaged in 17 fasts/hunger strikes totaling 135 days in South Africa and India. His noble purposes were to promote Indian independence and the plight of the India people. He rode trains around Indi, always in third class, the cramped, non-air conditioned, often standing accommodations. This class became known as Gandhi Class. The “hunger” striking Yale graduate students currently receive free tuition and a stipend of $30,000. If they are single, they receive half of the health insurance premiums if married. They receive 100% if married with a child. They earn Yale degrees. Gandhi suffered for the people, his people. The Yalis are doing it for themselves. Women suffragettes engaged in hunger strikes a century ago in England and the United States in the noble cause of woman suffrage. Several died in the effort. They suffered for women rights. Our Yale “hunger” strikers are engaged in a symbolic hunger strike. They are free to eat when they feel hunger pangs. They’re not suffering. Several imprisoned IRA members engaged in hunger strikes in Belfast prison in 1980 and 1981. Ten died, including Bobby Sands who was elected to Parliament during his fast. They suffered for the Irish people, Catholic and Protestant. Cesar Chavez often engaged in hunger strikes for the farm workers, his people, the under-privileged farm workers. The Yalis are of the privileged class in America. I have trouble picturing them chanting “Solidarity Forever” even if they are members of Local 33 Unite Here International Union. They are not the UAW workers at the Ford Overpass 80 years ago May 26, 1937. The Yale graduate students are not the GM workers staging a sit-in in Flint, Michigan on December 29, 2036. Those strikers risked their lives. Our Yale students are making, at best, a symbolic sacrifice. Yale has not recently been the champion of promoting free speech and open dialogues. It scraped John C. Calhoun because of his slavery past. It refused to support two masters because some students were offended by their statements 1 1/2 year ago. Yale might under different circumstances have shut down the BBQ because it is “offensive” to other students. However, Yale has a three decade record of fighting employee and staff organizing and collective bargaining.

President Trump's First 100 Days: Making America Great Again!

Always remember President Trump’s major campaign pledge to the American people: “Make America Great Again.” He wants to restore America’s economic, military, and foreign policy greatness. He started with appointing strong, successful cabinet officials. The media tells us President Trump has been an abject failure in his first 100 days. CNN surveyed its correspondents. Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm led off the parade. The former liberal Democrat Michigan Governor, who ran Michigan into the ground in 8 years, and then promptly fled Michigan for Berkeley immediately after her term ended, rated the President a solid “F.” She said President Trump’s “honeymoon is the worst we’ve seen in modern times” and “Divorce … can’t come quick enough.” Van Jones, the leftish commentator, graded President Trump a solid “F-“. President Trump has succeeded, if nothing else, not only by surviving but also persevering despite a relentless venomous attack by the media. They couldn’t destroy him in the general election. They won’t do it now. From their perspective, he either fails, as with not repealing ObamaCare, or by not doing anything. The Wall is not built. Tax reform will be dead in the water. His travel ban and sanctuary city orders were stopped by federal judges. Thus he is an empty suit or blowhard by their measurement. President Trump faced an incredible handicap in his first 100 days. He is trying to clean up the 8year mess left by President Obama, the Obama Administration, and Obama’s “independent” agencies. He can’t overturn 8 years in 100 days. If President Trump does nothing, he will still be better than President Obama, as would have a President Romney. If President Trump does nothing, he will still be better than Secretary Hillary Clinton. The true legacy of FDR’s first 100 days was changing the atmosphere in DC and America during the depths of the Great Depression. President Trump is changing the current atmosphere in America. He is restoring the spirit of American Exceptionalism, not-withstanding the media, the academic left, and Hollywood. Remember, “Make America Great Again.” Washington is a deep swamp; it will not drain in 100 days. President Trump has actually accomplished more than his predecessors since FDR in the first hundred days. What has he done? Judge Neal Gorsuch, a strong conservative, was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 90 days. The judicial filibuster on Supreme Court justices was abrogated, thanks to Senator Harry Reid. The Keystone Pipeline was approved. The Dakota Access Pipeline was approved. He ended the War on Coal and the War on Guns. President Trump recognizes the American economy and life style is based on cheap energy. He restored our historic relationship with Israel. He scuttled the Trans-Pacific Partnership. President Trump got Canada and Mexico to agree to reopen NAFTA. He imposed a 20% tariff on Canadian lumber. President Trump knows where his base is. President Obama governed partially through executive orders. President Trump has already rescinded several of the Obama executive orders, with more to come. He rescinded the Obama Executive Order barring off-shore drilling in the Arctic (115 million acres) and Atlantic (3.8 million acres). That will not start the drilling, but it unfreezes the process. President Obama in his final months pursuant to the Antiquities Act of 1906 designated two national monuments, the 1,351,849 acres Bear Eyes National Monument in Utah and the 296,937 acres Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada. The Bears Eyes National Monument was especially controversial, being opposed by Utah’s political leaders. President Trump directed Secretary of the Interior to review the status of all national monuments over 10,000 acres in size created since January 1, 1996. No President has ever rescinded a national monument, and no case law exists on the issue. If President Trump rescinds or reduces one of these monuments, a monumental legal battle will ensue. President Trump early initiated a freeze on federal employment. Both the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency are seeking to cut thousands of jobs in their agencies. The President also seeks a 1/3 drop in the EPA’s budget. He’s directed the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to revisit the “waters of the United States) (WOTUS) rule, and the EPA to redo the Clean Power Plan, especially carbon dioxide emissions levels. He’s addressing the VA debacle. The fate of the Paris Accords is still in the air. The mpg requirements for the auto industry are also under review. He ordered to eliminate two existing regulations for every new one they issue. He reasserted a strong American foreign policy. The cruise missiles in Syria and moab (the Mother of All Bombs) in Afghanistan told the world America is back. His foreign policy is based on strength rather than apology and appeasement. He is reasserting American leadership in the world. President Trump does not lead from behind. He is reviving the Reagan program of rebuilding the American military. He unleased Governor Nikki Haley on the United Nations, much to the consternation of the State Department curia. President Trump, allegedly the “Russian candidate” and the ”good friend of Vladimir Putin” has chilled relations with Russia while warming up to China. He is releasing the yoke on American business. The FTC is in the process of rescinding the “Net Neutrality” Rule. He continues to fight the export of American jobs to Mexico and overseas. He is restriction the H1B Program to stop the discrimination against American jobs. The Wall is not built, but illegal immigration is down about 70% along the Southern border. ICE is back to both deporting illegals committing crimes, despite the opposition of sanctuary cities and states. The 100 Day benchmark, which goes back to FDR’s classic 100 Days, is deceiving, FDR measured by legislative days, not calendar days. The Republican Congress with President Trump’s signature has reversed to date over a dozen Obama Administration regulations pursuant to the Administrative Review Act, with more to come. President Trump showed in his business career that he gets things done. President Trump still has many days to go. Making America Great, Again

President Trump's Problems with the Ninth Circuit: An Alternative Theory; He Angered the Brethren by insulting Judge Curiel

President Trump’s Problem With Ninth Circuit Judges: An Alternative Theory President Trump is getting skewered by federal district judges in Seattle, Hawaii, and now San Francisco as well as the Ninth circuit. The ultra-liberal Ninth Circuit is judicially trashing the Trump Administration. The judges either did not read or consider the law, the statutes, or precedence. Judge Robart in Seattle and Judge Orrick in San Francisco looked outside the record to consider campaign statements by candidate Trump in striking down the immigration and sanctuary cities orders. That is not judicially appropriate! The district judges know their anti-trump decisions will almost automatically be affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit appellate judges know the Supreme Court cannot hear all their bad decisions. Even if reversed, the preliminary injunctions will stay in effect for years. Just blame it on the liberal justices. Let me suggest that another reason is also behind their anti-Trump animus. It goes back to law school at the University of San Francisco in the late 1960”s. The Jesuit USF was considered a “local” law school in the vernacular of the times unlike the prestigious national law schools. We were taught the law rather than policy. We learned about the Courthouse and not White Shoes. We also knew that our future was not in the Wall Street firms. Heller Ehrman, Brobeck, and Thelan, now all defunct, would not interview us. That was fine; we learnt the law. Several were destined to become incredible trial lawyers. Thus, we were also taught the realities of practicing law. One was that when you tried a case outside your jurisdiction, be sure to retain local counsel to sit at counsel’s table. Else you will be home towned. The second lesson was that judges were a “fraternity,” now a “fraternity and sorority.” They stick together. Even if initially appointed to the bench, California judges must stand for reelection. Except for the state Supreme Court justices, the elections are contested. The lesson was “Don’t run against a sitting judge, unless you expect to win.” Otherwise the judges will consistently rule against you. The problem President Trump faces with the federal judges on the West Coast is that he “took” one of them out during the election. Federal District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, sitting in San Diego, issued rulings against the Trump defense in the Trump University litigation. Donald Trump was unhappy with these rulings. Judge Curiel is a second generation American of Mexican descent. He was born, raised, and educated in Indiana – a Hoosier. Candidate Trump said of Judge Curiel at a May campaign rally in San Diego: “This [case] should have been dismissed on summary judgment easily. Everybody says it, but I gave a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump. He is a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel …. “We are in front of a hostile judge. The judge was appointed by Barack Obama …. “So what happens is the judge, who happens to be, we believe Mexican, which is great ….” Candidate Trump continued in this vein in the upcoming days. He asserted Judge Curiel had an “absolute conflict” because of his Mexican heritage: “Let me just tell you. I have had horrific rulings. I’ve been treated very unfairly by this judge. Now, this judge is of Mexican heritage. I’m building a wall, OK? I’m building a wall.” He alluded to Judge Curiel being in La Raza. Donald Trump was roundly criticized for his comments about Judge Curiel. Must people have forgotten these statements from 11 months. I believe Judge Curiel’s brethren in the Ninth Circuit have not. It's not a conspiracy of the judges - just the ethos and mores of the Bench.

Here's a Croc of a Story: Nile Crocs Eat White Hunter in Zimbabwe

Scott van Zyl disappeared last week on a hunting safari in Zimbabwe. The South African hunter was accompanied by a Zimbabwe tracker and a pack of dogs. They left their pickup track and went in opposite directions. The dogs returned hours later without van Zyl. The tracker tracked van Zyl’s tracks to the bank of the Limpopo River. He found a backpack and several large, well-fed Nile crocodiles. The 44 year old van Zyl operated a hunting safari company, SS Pro Safaris, specializing in exotic trophy kills. He marketed the company to wealthy trophy hunters. $9,000 would get you a safari to hunt seven species. His web site mentioned lions, leopards, rhinos, antelopes, buffalos, wildebeests, and zebras. It also alluded to elephants and giraffes. The company’s slogan is/was “Stop whining; Go hunting.” Nile crocodiles are a perfect killing machine. They harken back to the age of the dinosaurs with little evolution. They eat anything they can catch, hundreds of humans a year, 4 in Zimbabwe in March alone. Van Zyl forgot the maxim: “Don’t go near the water.” Zimbabwe investigators got permission to shoot the well-fed crocodiles. Van Zyl’s remains and DNA were found in the bellies of two of the crocs, a veritable croc corpus delicti. We have the making of a National Geographic or Discovery Channel Special: “Hungry Crocs Eat Hunter: The Predator Becomes the Prey.” Alas, at least three crocodiles were killed in the CSI search for van Zyl. Alas, no live coverage exists of the fabled, crocodile roll of van Zyl as they ripped his body apart. No problem; they can simulate it! The pain on van Zyl’s face as he realized he was the victim of poetic justice would have been a priceless photo, worthy of an award. The hungry crocs would be the stars of the special. Today’s graphics allow a celebratory army of antelopes, buffalo, elephants, giraffes, leopards, lions, rhinos, wildebeest, and zebras, cheering on the crocs in the demise of the trophy hunter. They could give points on the quality and style of the kill: a perfect 10 points for a quick roll with little splash.

Ann Coulter, the University of California Berkeley, and Free Speech

Ann Coulter, the University of California Berkeley, and Free Speech Ann Coulter is a lawyer and polemicist. Some will call her a provocateur. She is quite outspoken in her conservative views. She arouses strong feelings. Ann does not believe in safe spaces and trigger warnings. She accepted an invitation from the Berkeley Young Republicans and the Young American’s Foundation to deliver a speech at the University of California Berkeley on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Milos Yiannopoulous, another outspoken conservative, spoke at Berkeley last February. Riots occurred outside his speech, fueled by Antifa (Anti-fascists), a group of bullies, goons, and thugs in the greater Berkeley area. The University incurred about $100,000 in damages. Berkeley’s Mayor Jessie Arreguin apparently told the police to stand down in the Antifa riots. The results were a small version of the Baltimore riots when the police were ordered to stand down. University officials quickly cancelled Ann Coulter’s appearance for “safety reasons.” They claimed to have “legitimate concerns and credible evidence that it will jeopardize the safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors.” They said they feared for her safety. She said she was coming anyway. They then reconsidered and said she could come on December 2 during midday at a science hall far from the central campus. December 2 is perhaps just coincidentally during “dead days” when students are studying for exams. Attendance would probably be low. Sproul Hall is usually the foci of demonstrations and protests at Berkeley. If the threat of violence from Antifa and their fellow travelers is legitimate, then it wouldn’t matter when or where she appeared. The risk exists on either November 27 or December 2, day or night. The Berkeley administrators joined others continuing to be cowed by the alt-left demonstrators and protestors. They are inherently biased against the outspoken conservatives, and hence eager to downplay the free speech rights of the conservative speakers by banning them. The muzzling of conservatives on campus is escalating as alt-left militants threaten violence. Heather MacDonald at Claremont-McKenna, Charles Murray at Middlebury, Ben Shapiro at UCLA, and the list goes on. The supine administrators make no action to bring criminal charges or disciplinary actions, including expulsion, against the academic nihilists, academic Neanderthals, and snowflakes, thereby emboldening their behavior. Berkeley, the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, had no problem with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the vicious anti-Semitic, former President of Iran, from speaking on campus. Sadly, the only recourse may be what happened last week at Auburn. The Auburn administrators cancelled a speech by Richard Spencer, a White nationalist. He got a court order against the university, requiring them to allow his presentation. The judge said that there was no evidence that Spencer advocates violence. Ann Coulter may be strident, but she also does not advocate violence. I say sadly, but it may be the only recourse. A lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 is always a possibility against a public university. Remedies include attorneys’ fees and costs of suit. It would be best if the offending college officials were individually named as defendants, and then subject to rigorous discovery, including depositions. College officials might act differently when they realize they could be subject to personal liability. University regents and trustees will not turn a blind eye to large judgments because of violations of the free speech rights of speakers.