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February 2017

Legal Insurrection readers may recall my previous review of Don Surber's Trump the Press. Surber, a recovering journalist with over 30 years of experience, consolidated his many blog posts on the woefully inaccurate punditry concerning Donald Trump’s campaign for his first book. The second, Trump the Establishment, features his analysis of the presidential campaign that led to Trump's stunning defeat of Hillary Clinton.

The Republicans in the House have suggested to overhaul the tax code with a "border-adjustment" proposal, but it has caused a massive split with companies before anyone has even drafted legislation. I brought up this proposal when President Donald Trump explained that he would make Mexico pay for a border wall by placing a 20% tax on imports because it mirrors the House GOP's plan. I also mentioned how these plans will screw the consumer and businesses have started speaking out against it:
Some retailers and other big importers doubt the dollar would rise that much. They warn of tax bills that would exceed profits, forcing them to pass costs to consumers. Some are in the early stages of working on an alternative plan they can present to lawmakers, says a person familiar with those plans.

Since he announced his intention to run for Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Keith Ellison has received support from top Democrats, like Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi, and the left-wing Bernie-base of the party. Yet from the start Ellison has been dogged with revelations about his past support for Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, his claim that American Jews do Israel's bidding, and his association with fringe anti-Israel groups:

Obama's transgender bathroom mandate has created strange bedfellows. Some feminists have apparently figured out that if men can simply claim to be women, it takes power away from women. Imagine that. Kara Dansky of the Women's Liberation Front or (WoLF), appeared on Tucker Carlson's show Tuesday night to address the issue. Here's an overview of the segment from the FOX News Insider:
Christians & Feminists Team Up to Fight Transgender Bathroom Mandate The Obama administration told public schools last year they had to allow anyone who identified as transgender to use the bathroom of their choice. If schools refused to enforce the rule, they would be denied federal funding.

There was a fair bit of drama in the Senate last night. Senate Democrats are hosting yet another sleepover to protest the upcoming confirmation vote on Senator Sessions' appointment as Attorney General, knowing full well they don't have the votes to stop his confirmation. They pulled the same stunt prior to the confirmation vote for Betsy DeVos, the new Education Secretary. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) began reading a letter written by Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The letter was written in protest of Sen. Sessions nomination as a federal judge in 1986, and according to Senate Republicans, spoke ill of the soon-to-be AG.

I just found a golden nugget. In reviewing the videos in our YouTube account dating back to the early days of Legal Insurrection, I noticed that there were some videos that never were published because at the time YouTube had a time limit on video length. But the videos still were in the account, just waiting to be activated, now that YouTube doesn't have those limits (at least not for our account type).

Kemberlee Kaye blogged about the petition to stop the inevitable Donald Trump animatronic figure from speaking. Terry Lee Ebert Mendozza, the Trump-supporter who is a founding member of The Trumpettes USA, and who I featured in a post for Inauguration week, she lives in Florida and resents the pressuring of the Walt Disney World into silencing the President's speech (albeit in robotic form).

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral argument on the government's Emergency Motion for a Stay pending appeal from the District Court Temporary Restraining Order halting Trump’s Immigration Executive Order now is fully briefed. My view on the TRO is here, Absurd Fed Ct TRO halts enforcement of entire Executive Order on visas, refugees. Yesterday the government filed its Reply to the Opposition filed by the State of Washington late Sunday night.

As if we needed more proof that we do not fully own our homes or property! Virginia faced three bills to regulate Airbnb type rentals, but only one made it to the Senate floor. Yes, the Virginian government wants to regulate how YOU rent out YOUR property to someone because it's totally their business. The bill from Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R-james City County) made it to the floor:
“The shared economy presents a 21st century challenge to the General Assembly,” Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City County, said . “Who would’ve thought it would be like this five years ago?”