Even if President Trump accomplishes nothing else, giving us a solid majority on the Supreme Court will be a great accomplishment. With Scalia gone, Alito may well be the author of the court's next 2nd Amendment ruling, if we're lucky. As an appeals court judge, he argued that the 1986 MG ban was unconstitutional.

quote:

Alito outlines possible conservative agenda for U.S. high court

WASHINGTON (Reuters)- Justice Samuel Alito on Thursday laid out a possible agenda for the U.S. Supreme Court if it regains its conservative majority as expected after Donald Trump takes office, citing gun rights and religious freedom as among key issues it will tackle in the coming years.

Alito, one of the court's two most conservative justices along with Clarence Thomas, pointed to freedom of speech and a disruption of the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers caused by federal agencies expanding their authority at the expense of the U.S. Congress as other "constitutional fault lines" that could come before the court. [...]

On freedom of speech, Alito, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush in 2006, referred to college campus culture that conservatives say stifles free speech to avoid offending political sensibilities on matters such as gender, race and religion. [...]

In reference to gun rights, Alito mentioned Justice Stephen Breyer's dissent in the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, in which the court found an individual right to bear arms for self defense. Breyer's dissent, in which he argued that the Constitution's Second Amendment protects militia-related and not self-defense-related gun rights and it does not absolutely bar government action on guns, gave a "roadmap" to those who would seek to undermine the ruling, Alito said.

Alito also assailed federal agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for seeking to expand their power beyond what was allowed under laws passed by Congress.

Yahoo News

quote:

Originally posted by cjevans:

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
On Sunday one of the Deputies at my agency was executed by a tweaker with a contact shot to the head (after first catching a round in the throat).

President Trump called the now widow to pay respects and offer condolences.

No word from the current squarer in the White House. Maybe tomorrow, eh?

... ar crap thumper ... condolences to the widow and for losing the 20 year vet. Hope you catch the dirtbag; or maybe his Kia will fail him and you catch him ...

He was caught within 4 hours about 150 miles south after trying to rob a gas station and a failed purse snatching. He still had the gun and his ID was in the patrol vehicle.

Unfortunately he gave up without a fight.

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:
San Francisco really goes out of its way to show the rest of the nation how special they are.

quote:

The United Educators of San Francisco, the union that represents teachers in the city’s public schools, released a controversial guide Wednesday to teaching public school children about Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in the recent election.
The guide, called the “Lesson Plan on the November 2016 Election,” informs teachers that “a racist and sexist man has become the president of our country by pandering to a huge racist and sexist base,” and suggests they teach children the same.

In fact, the lesson plan urges teachers not to tell students that Hillary Clinton lost the election (original emphasis): “DO NOT: Tell them that we have LOST and that we have to accept this. We do not have to accept ANYTHING except that we must and will fight for justice against an unjust system and against unjust people.”

The guide also recommends that teachers allow students to use profanity when expressing their feelings about the election, because “you would too if you have suffered under the constructs of white supremacy or experienced sexism, or any isms or lack of privilege.”

The Associated Press reports that the union “posted the plan on its website and distributed it via an email newsletter to its more than 6,000 members. The school district has more than 57,000 students.”

The school district refused to condemn the plan, saying that it was optional.

link

quote:

Originally posted by RobLew:

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
That just shows how hard they tried to make her look fit for POTUS, or at least somewhat healthy. I hope the election and all the drugs she was pumped with took a few years off her life.

I hear embracing the Dark Side will do that to you.

Yes, the containment protocols have failed. The EVIL is leaking out...

It is just how one looks after rolling around on a cold linoleum floor, with a handle of Monarch tequila.

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:

quote:

Originally posted by RobLew:

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
That just shows how hard they tried to make her look fit for POTUS, or at least somewhat healthy. I hope the election and all the drugs she was pumped with took a few years off her life.

I hear embracing the Dark Side will do that to you.

Yes, the containment protocols have failed. The EVIL is leaking out...

It is just how one looks after rolling around on a cold linoleum floor, with a handle of Monarch tequila.

Imagine what we would see if her heart could be exposed like her façade has been.

quote:

Originally posted by Keystoner:

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by Keystoner:
That helps but I'm still stuck on the math and the proportionality issue.

The electoral college was designed to give STATES a voice in the election of the president. It forces a candidate to build a coalition to get elected. Without it a regional candidate could get elected and never even visit or campaign in entire sections of the country. A popular candidate from California could be elected just from votes from there plus a few urban areas.

Yes, but the math--California doesn't have more of a proportion of the population than they have a proportion of the electoral votes, right?

Wrong. Because each state has the number of Electors equal to number of Representatives PLUS its 2 Senators. The number of Representatives is, indeed, fairly proportional to its population, but the addition of 2 Senators skews the proportionality, giving smaller states a greater voice than would be found from their population alone. For example, Wyoming has only 1 Representative, but it gets 3 Electors, giving it 3 times the clout from what it would have based only on its population. OTOH, California has 53 Respresentatives and 2 Senators, giving it 55 Electors, which is only 1.04 times its population factor. This principle was deliberately chosen to give smaller states the ability to form a coalition that could fend off the larger states and prevent just a few states from always monopolizing elections.

One of the posts put up a map showing how the population is distributed with the concentration in cities depicted--50% of the country's population is concentrated in about a dozen large cities in fewer states. Those cities have a strong tendency to be very Liberal in political leanings, and without some means of counteracting that, those few cities/states would always decide the Presidential Elections--and it is virtually guaranteed that only Liberals/Progressives would ever be elected. The Conservatives and Moderates in the "flyover" states would never have a chance, and Presidential candidates would only campaign in those few large cities.

The Electoral College was designed to force campaigns to travel to many places in the country, and even in some cases to avoid the big cities and their states entirely because their Electoral votes are a given factor. Donald Trump didn't go to California because it would have been a waste of his time and money--it was foreordained that Hillary Clinton would get those 55 Electoral votes. OTOH, smaller "swing" states like Ohio receive a lot of attention from all Parties because their Electoral votes are in play, and can make a difference.

It has been said--correctly--that the Electoral College is not democratic; it was not intended to be. Election of the President is decided by the states, not the general population, and that is by conscious design.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:

quote:

Originally posted by RobLew:

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
That just shows how hard they tried to make her look fit for POTUS, or at least somewhat healthy. I hope the election and all the drugs she was pumped with took a few years off her life.

I hear embracing the Dark Side will do that to you.

Yes, the containment protocols have failed. The EVIL is leaking out...

It is just how one looks after rolling around on a cold linoleum floor, with a handle of Monarch tequila.

Imagine what we would see if her heart could be exposed like her façade has been.

I dunno man, if she keeps hitting the bottle, all will be exposed. Just a matter of time.

In celebration of Hillary's defeat, Trump's victory, and America's narrow escape from another 4+ years of nonsensical, anti American, bullshit - I'm treating myself to a 1911 Government model to commemorate these historic events (specifically a Colt, in Stainless, and definitely a Series 70 in .45). I've owned many 1911s but this one will be a keeper, and a shooter, all business, classic lines, no frilly doodads, I'll probably even beadblast it matte.

Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe:

quote:

I have great confidence in Trump...We were able to have a very candid talk over a substantial amount of time. We held it in a very warm atmosphere...I am convinced Mr Trump is a leader in whom I can have great confidence.

Source

IMO, it's a good thing that Trump has some establishment types in his group of advisers. He'll want to make deals and move things along. He's smart enough to know that if he tells those egotistical dorks to (rightly) go pound sand, they'll do the stompy feet routine and block his efforts just to make themselves feel important. With some of the establishment in his inner circle, he will have a good line of communication and can build a consensus on a path to getting his agenda done. He's smart enough to know he'll need them over the next few years, and calling them out as the sellouts they are won't accomplish much of anything.

As far as the 'investigation' of the Hag of Benghazi, that should go forward. But in the right way. What was done to date was a sham from the start. A lot of smoke, but they kept the flame hidden. More was turned up by WikiLeaks than the FBI. And a Grand Jury was never convened, meaning it was never intended to be an actual investigation. A lot of stuff was mentioned in the press, but it wasn't a serious investigation. They should convene a grand jury, get warrants, and do the investigation quietly. Without people talking to the press about it daily. Go where the evidence leads. They should also look into the Klin-ton Foundation as well.

I'd also like to see a real investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative groups.

To calm the fears of the protesters and other butt hurt folks regarding the recent election we should let them know there will be a "redo". In four years!

Trump top adviser Bannon got his political start in Blacksburg,VA.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/ed...3d-2ad02bad3915.html



BLACKSBURG — Steve Bannon, now in the national spotlight as a Donald Trump administration appointee, got early political experience winning a campaign for Virginia Tech’s Student Government Association president in 1975.

Bannon, recently appointed as Trump’s chief strategist, got his bachelor’s degree in urban affairs in 1976 from Tech, where he also served as the SGA president in his senior year.

He’s been a lightning rod for controversy since working on Trump’s campaign and managing the controversial Breitbart.com, which he’s called “the platform for the alt-right.” His appointment was largely met with criticism from both conservative and liberal groups.

What was he like when he was at Tech?

Some of those interviewed for this article who voted for Bannon at Tech said they liked him.

“He was very approachable and very engaging,” said Mark Krivoruchka, a classmate who worked on Bannon’s campaign. “He was popular.”

“He was very articulate and good looking,” said Mike McLaughlin, one of Bannon’s opponents for the student body presidency. “I remember he had very attractive young ladies around him all the time.”

Bannon, who was born in Norfolk, won the SGA election with 2,676 votes compared to 1,080 and 688 for the second and third place finishers, according to a 1975 Roanoke Times article about the race.

“SGA Candidates usually deal in Platitudes, Promises and Slogans,” read a campaign flier for Bannon’s candidacy, now archived in Tech’s Newman Library’s Special Collections department. “We believe the concerns of our campus are too serious to be dealt with so evasively.”

The campaign became somewhat divisive and contentious on campus, some of his classmates said.

“It just wasn’t fun,” said Marshall DeBerry, who finished third in the election and hasn’t interacted with Bannon since . “It was very negative stuff.

“Upon reflection, Trump’s campaign seemed somewhat similar to the student body presidential campaign I faced in 1975.”

According to Bannon’s campaign flier, he was focused on improving student life policies, the library and making more housing available for Tech students.

Darell Nevin, Bannon’s former roommate at Blacksburg’s Stonegate Apartments, said he remembered Bannon running as the anti-establishment candidate in what he recalls as a competitive election.

“Things now are colored by the past,” Nevin said.

He hasn’t spoken to Bannon in decades, he said.

DeBerry said he didn’t remember many specifics from the campaign. Most of what he recalled was what he described as misdirection from Bannon, specifically during a debate at Squires Student Center broadcast by campus radio station WUVT. DeBerry, a recently retired federal employee, said many students in the audience heckled him during the debate and cheered when Bannon spoke.

McLaughlin, who finished second in the race, remembers a simple explanation for the atmosphere at the debate.

“There was free beer,” McLaughlin said. “That’s why most people came.”

McLaughlin and fellow classmate Krivoruchka, neither of whom have maintained a relationship with Bannon, didn’t remember much controversy.

Krivoruchka said that in the wake of the Watergate scandal and resignation of President Richard Nixon, it was a chaotic time that lent itself to rigorous debate.

“All students were highly idealistic, like they are today,” Krivoruchka said. “They all want to save the world and he [Bannon] wanted that, too.”

Nevin said the quotes and articles about his former roommate have been “amazing to see.” It’s also been “ugly,” he said.

McLaughlin said Bannon was an outgoing and personable student, as well. He said they worked together in the student senate, where McLaughlin became an Engineering College senator after losing the SGA election.

Over the years, Bannon has maintained a relationship with his alma mater. As recently as 2010 he was a member of the National Campaign Steering Committee, a group designed to raise money for Tech. He was also listed a member of a College of Architecture and Urban Studies advisory committee in 2002.

The university, responding to questions from The Roanoke Times, released this statement from spokeswoman Tracy Vosburgh:

“A number of people have reached out to university officials to make sure we know that Mr. Bannon graduated from Virginia Tech but we have not heard a groundswell of feedback from alumni, students, faculty or staff. On social media, as you have probably noticed, we’ve seen a mix of reactions.”

Former Virginia Tech Board of Visitors rector and Roanoke lawyer John Rocovich said he is delighted to have an influential person in Trump’s administration come from the university. As for criticism of Bannon, Rocovich said he doesn’t “really believe the spin doctors.”

“I think it’s just wonderful for a Virginia Tech to have a graduate so high up in the White House,” Rocovich said.

Bannon’s status as a Tech graduate was one of several reasons cited by Tech’s Faculty Senate during a meeting this week to pass a unanimous resolution affirming the university’s pillars of community, which support things like diversity, the right to open expression and rejecting prejudice.

The resolution was passed “… As a message of support to any who may feel increasingly marginalized.”

McLaughlin, Bannon’s former competitor and peer at Tech, said he got along then with the now-controversial Bannon, so news and reactions involving Bannon in recent weeks are surprising.

“The Steve Bannon I knew at Virginia Tech is not the one I see portrayed in the media,” McLaughlin said.

quote:

Originally posted by Bigboreshooter:
Well, the all out media assault on Trump's inner circle has begun...

http://www.al.com/news/index.s...ml#incart_river_home

Sen. Jeff Sessions could face tough Senate confirmation if a Trump Cabinet pick

CBS News reporting this morning that Sessions is Trump's choice for AG:

also being reported by Washington Post

President-elect Donald Trump has offered the position of attorney general to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and the position of CIA director to Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), according to sources close to the transition.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich has decided to serve Trump only as an outside adviser.

“I want to be free to network across the whole system and look at what we have to do to succeed,” Gingrich said Thursday

Abe’s meeting with Trump came after the Japanese leader placed a congratulatory phone call to him. Abe, who was scheduled to travel through New York on his way to a regional economic summit in Peru, offered to meet with Trump, who quickly agreed.

Trump’s session with Abe raised questions among some in Washington’s foreign policy community because Trump apparently was not briefed by the State Department in advance . A former State Department official said such meetings normally would be preceded by numerous briefings for Trump from key diplomats — which is considered especially important here because the Japanese are concerned about comments Trump made on the campaign trail.

**********************
because obama's state dept has been so impressive and helpful to our country ?


https://www.washingtonpost.com...397e625d0_story.html

All this nonsense about "Transition Team chaos" and yet in reality Trump's team is pumping out their picks faster than most administrations at this point.

The media is desperate for failure. Punks.

The Crimson Tide begins...

I just saw this- it's amazing! Leadership and Pride in America.

quote:

Trump Says Ford Called to Say It's Keeping SUV Plant in Kentucky

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/...ln-plant-in-kentucky

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
I just saw this- it's amazing! Leadership and Pride in America.

quote:

Trump Says Ford Called to Say It's Keeping SUV Plant in Kentucky

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/...ln-plant-in-kentucky

Just got a call from my friend Bill Ford, Chairman of Ford, who advised me that he will be keeping the Lincoln plant in Kentucky -- no Mexico.
-DT

quote:

Trump Says Ford Called to Say It's Keeping SUV Plant in Kentucky

Just think all the good that is going to happen once he actually takes office.