Month: May 2018

The Pekes and the Pollicles, everyone knows

Are proud and implacable passionate foes

 

Judge T. S. Eliis III’s grandfather was probably named after the author of that verse, T. S. Elliot.  Pekes and Pollicles, as everyone knows, are Republicans and Democrats.  As a judge, Ellis is neither.

But like all judges, he’s familiar with Article VI of the Constitution, which states, “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby. . .”

Judge Ellis also knows that the Constitution trumps the law, and that Section 1 of Article II vests the sole and exclusive power of the Executive in the Office of the President.

He’s ordered Mueller to produce, within two weeks, the “scope memo” which is the source of Mueller’s authority.   Unless I misread my man, Judge Ellis will then order Mueller to cease and desist his investigation, since the scope of authority purportedly granted him is unconstitutionally broad.

Judge Ellis’ order will remain in effect until overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  This Court has a higher percentage of Democrat-appointed Judges than the “nutty 9th”, so Mueller will have a fair audience.  Then, of course, it goes to the Supremes, where Mr. Mueller can expect to be schooled in the law.

Trump doesn’t need to fire these Grand Inquisitors.  Let Judge Ellis deal with them.

 

If you answered yes, please go this link.  It will make you think again.

It takes a certain amount of intelligence to pass the bar examination, so you rarely meet a lawyer who is a complete moron.  Based on my experience, an IQ of 100 is the bare minimum required.

This, of course, is half of humanity.  But don’t tell that to the priest on the bench, decked out in his black robe, who will decide your case.  He would take it as an affront.

You don’t need any math skills to understand politics.  All you need to know is how to  count.  You need to be able to add and subtract, to multiply and divide.

There are magic numbers on politics.  I learned all this as a freshman state senator in Alaska.  There, the magic numbers were eleven and fourteen.  Eleven was a majority, and fourteen was a 2/3 supermajority.

For a President, the most important magic number is 34.  If he can retain the support of 34 Senators, he cannot be removed from office, and can serve out his term.

The magic numbers contained in the Constitution were the product of a lot of thought, by men like Madison and Mason.  They wanted Congress to be able to rein in a rogue President.  But they didn’t want it to be easy.

I was an intern with the City Attorney of Ketchikan when Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox.   At the daily morning coffee of the Ketchikan Bar Association in the Fireside Lounge, the mood was somber.   We were in the midst of a constitutional crisis.

I was a third year law student at the time, so I didn’t say anything to my elders.  But I didn’t know what the hell they were talking about.  What provision of the Constitution was under attack?

After I became an honest to God lawyer I figured out what all the fuss was about.  Nixon had told the Department of Justice to do what he wanted them to do.  But the Attorney General of the United States was the highest ranking member of the legal priesthood, and therefor knew the law better than the President.  He had legal training and experience, after all.  How could the President tell him what to do?

For those who are not members of the priesthood, the answer is clear, and is contained in the first sentence of Section 1 of Article II of the Constitution.