Deleted sections of The Way I See It published April 22

(As you can see, I drew a direct comparison between the people demanding Barabbas be freed, and the Democrats caterwauling to get the illegal alien, El Salvadoran criminal brought back to America--Why? We can only speculate but I think it recalls the crowds preferring Barabbas to Jesus.)

One part of Jesus’ tribulations is the choice given by Pilate to the throngs calling for Jesus’ crucifixion: “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” It is recorded that they called for the release of the robber, the murderer Barabbas.

Relevantly, many on the left are calling for the return, to American soil, of the adjudicated MS-13 gang member, and alleged criminal and human trafficker, Abrego Garcia. Some news coverage even cut away from the recitation of Garcia’s long “rap sheet” and back story, lest their viewers think any less of a wife-beater (her written accusations) whose usefulness is crucial to their anti-Trump narrative.

‘So Far-Fetched’: Alan Dershowitz Reveals Flaw in Democrats' Absurd Legal Attacks Against Trump Tariffs

‘So Far-Fetched’: Alan Dershowitz Reveals Flaw in Democrats' Absurd Legal Attacks Against Trump Tariffs

By Mike Miller 

    

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

In this episode of "Desperation Leads Desperate People to Do Desperate Things"...

As is the case with everything President Donald Trump does or says, Democrats across the fruited plain continue to lose what little minds they have left (after nearly ten years of Trump Derangement Syndrome), over the president's sweeping tariffs initiative — particularly Trump's tit-for-tat tariff war with China. 

In the latest example, a coalition of 12 Democrat-governed states is suing to halt Trump's tariffs, arguing that only Congress has the authority to level tariffs. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, claims the tariffs — many of which have yet to be effectuated — have injected massive uncertainty into the nation's economy.

While the uncertainty may or may not be true (I believe it will be, the longer the tariff war continues), the paramount question here is whether or not Democrat state attorneys general have the authority to sue Trump over his tariff agenda.

Noted Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz not only believes state attorneys general don't have the power; he also says the lawsuits are "such a stretch that they'll be laughed at." During an appearance on Newsmax TV on Thursday, Dershowitz blasted Democratic state attorneys general over their lawsuit, mocking it as “so far-fetched” it borders on laughable.

Dershowitz explained:

In some countries in the world, you don’t need standing. In Israel, for example, anybody can bring a lawsuit challenging the government. But in the United States, we have a constitutional requirement under Article 3 that there [must] be actual cases and controversies.

After explaining that in the U.S., plaintiffs must show a “distinct, particularized interest” in a case, Dershowitz revealed the major flaw in the AG lawsuits:

State attorney generals just have no particularized interest. They’re like anybody else in the United States. Tariffs are very complicated. Judges don’t have any basis for deciding whether they’re good or bad for the economy. That can be decided by legislatures if they decide to take over the issue or by elected executives, but not by appointed judges.

Host Greta Van Susteren asked Dershowitz if a state could successfully sue on behalf of its "devastated agriculture sector," to which he answered, "I don't think so," adding:

I think you’d have to have the farmers bringing the lawsuit, not the attorney general of the state. But even farmers would have a difficult time demonstrating that they were directly impacted in a way that was illegal by the tariffs.

When you have tariffs, some people are helped, some people are hurt. That’s the nature of the economy. There are winners, and there are losers. Trump ran for office promising that he would use tariffs, and he was elected. So I just don’t think there is standing to challenge this by virtually anybody.

But if anybody would have standing, it would be a particular person who may have been subject to the tariff who would otherwise be able to sell his product cheaper than he could sell it now. But this is such a stretch that I think they’re going to be laughed at.

You can watch the video clip here.

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ALSO READ: Winning: China Blinks, Backs Down on Some Tariffs, With Even More to Come

Noted Reagan Economist Says There's a ‘Win-Win Exit Strategy’ for Trump's Tariff Gambit

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Incidentally, while Trump continues to argue that tariff income to the Treasury would reduce the country's reliance on federal income taxes, given that U.S. importers pay tariffs — not foreign countries — and companies ultimately increase prices to consumers to cover their portion of the costs, if tariff income did replace income taxes (which is highly unlike), it would amount to paying inflated costs in place of taxes. 

Would that be a good idea? No. 

Why? Because lower-income people would pay the same increases as would higher-income people — in effect becoming the equivalent of a regressive tax. 

Finally, yes — tariffs used as a bargaining chip can be effective. Also, yes: The longer tariff (trade) wars continue, the worse they become. Why? Because long-term trade wars lead to inflation, without exception.

https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2025/04/25/so-far-fetched-alan-dershowitz-reveals-flaw-in-democrats-absurd-legal-attacks-against-trump-tariffs-n2188293?utm_source=rsafternoonbriefingvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

My $.02 on the Judicial Insurrection

My $.02 on the Judicial Insurrection

David Strom  

Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM via AP

Two things can be true. Trump may be exceeding his Constitutional authority in some of his executive orders--that is a matter for serious lawyers and jurists to debate and happens in every presidency--and also that there is an obvious judicial insurrection taking place in which judges declare that any decision they disapprove of is unconstitutional. 

Legal challenges to presidential actions are a normal part of the back-and-forth the Founders built into the checks and balances of the federal government. Judicial review as a principle was established shortly after our government was implemented, and in the main, that has been a good thing. Power corrupts and all that. 

But the current argument that Trump is abusing his power by fighting back against obvious judicial overreach is based on a false premise that judges get to make up the law and the meaning of the Constitution. The assumption seems to be that the Constitution binds the president and Congress, but not the judiciary. 

This has been, implicitly, the liberal take on Constitutional law for as long as I have been alive, and against which conservatives have fought for decades. Call the "living Constitution," or "adapting the Constitution to the modern world," or whatever other sleight of hand phrase you like, but the basic idea is that judges get to make public policy whenever they like. And, generally speaking, this has a ratchet effect that ensures that there is a leftist drift away from the limited government vision the Founders wrote into law in 1787/1791 (when the Bill of Rights went into effect).

Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week.

We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest. 

Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.

When District Judges create out of thin air the right to impose nationwide injunctions against presidential decisions, or start making policies that are clearly outside their remit, they are destroying the Constitutional order and balance of powers outlined therein just as much as a president would be if he started throwing political prisoners in jail. 

A president's power is limited constitutionally, but it is just as true that when a president uses his legitimate power in a way that a court or judge doesn't like, they are not constitutionally authorized to stop him. If, say, a majority of the Supreme Court didn't approve of military action the president took, that doesn't give them the power to declare that he can no longer act as Commander-in-Chief. 

It is inarguable that judges are having a field day, acting as a #resistance against a president they despise. Any one or two presidential orders may exceed, at least arguably, Trump's authority, and a number of them go up to the line and are arguable. Still, the fact is that judges are going out on a limb to bring the president's agenda to a halt. 

In many cases, these judges expect to be overturned, but they know that each injunction ties the president up in courts, slows his reforms, and, in effect, hampers him from exercising his constitutional authority. They simply don't like what he is doing, and want to put as many impediments as possible before him. 

All the rest is handwaving. 

It's notable that a number of these judges have obvious conflicts of interest. With family members receiving federal funds from programs being shut down, or direct connections to NGOs getting hammered, they should be recusing themselves. Instead, they are acting like autocrats in banana republics, defending their own interests. For instance, the judge recently arrested for trying to spirit an illegal alien out the back door from a court in order to help him escape arrest previously worked for Catholic Charities, one of the largest organizations involved in the illegal alien trafficking operations. 

Not only is this wrong, a direct attack on the only elected official who was elected by the entire nation, but it grossly undermines the legitimacy of the courts. If courts are not limited in power by the Constitution and the laws as written, then our system of government is as deeply compromised as it would be by a president, a bureaucrat, or any other corrupt official exceeding his power. 

This is all an attempt to overturn the 2024 election by other means. During Biden's presidency, we had a headless Executive Branch run by bureaucrats run amok; what the judges are trying to create is a headless Executive Branch with rogue judges run amok. 

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/04/25/my-02-on-the-judicial-insurrection-n3802140?utm_source=twdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Don's Tuesday Column

THE WAY I SEE IT by Don Polson       Red Bluff Daily News 4/29/2025

        Life lived wherever it suits us

When our time is split between two homes in two states—Red Bluff and Bend, Oregon plus months of RV camping—we need duplicates, even triplicates, of the essentials. Still, there are things which must accompany us from place to place: meds, laptops, vitamins and supplements, even as things like undies are stocked up everywhere. Enough about that.

This proverbial life of leisure, as the “golden years” are described, is nevertheless prone to certain interruptions. Medical professionals have their tests; those tests often require further analysis and followup tests—nothing most readers don’t already know.

My hematologist became my oncologist after diagnosing chronic lymphocytic leukemia, CLL. which sounds serious but is the least interrupting of the maladies. No malignancies with further monitoring of test results. For having some biological and genetic bad luck, at 74, I’m actually pretty lucky.

My urologist’s treatments requires no explanation. So, while the oncologist said that, for now, “nothing to worry about,” the urologist’s procedures put an end to my ski season (I’m happily chauffeuring Barb up the mountain), and a 5-unit dental bridge recalled me to Red Bluff for a repair. “It’s always something” as the late SNL comedy actress Gilda Radner would say.

***

A reminder: tickets for the upcoming Republican Red, White, and Blue Dinner can be reserved and/or purchased at https://givebutter.com/TehamaGOP . It’s being held at the Red Bluff Community Center this year, on June 7 at 5 PM; more details at the web site.

As part of the “Make California Golden Again” theme, the guest speaker is Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco. He is affiliated with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and is a candidate for governor of California in 2026. The highlight of our local political year, it raises funds for scholarships, and local and state causes.

***

The Chico E-R Editor’s interview with Congressman Doug LaMalfa deserved an accolade for avoiding gotcha questions, the current trend of “attack journalism” seen predominantly on network and cable shows. Such interviewers—who invariably vote for, and contribute to, Democrats—wonder why we on the right question their objectivity. If you missed it, the full interview delved into the issues we in “superior California” care most about, water, farming challenges, etc.

While Editor Mike Wolcott undoubtedly rubs some of us the wrong way with his obsession over cutting any portion of a column that veers too close to national issues and the “T-word,” it has had the effect of leaving the Opinion page free of the national political war among local columnists.

Speaking of which, my Easter column had the last two paragraphs cut when my reference to the freeing of the criminal Barabbas by Pontius Pilate was compared to a current controversy. Readers can go to my blog, Donpolson.blogspot.com and read the deleted section that I am posting today.

***

The not-so-Golden State beat: “AB 1228 One Year Later: How The $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage Has Hurt California; Over 22,000 Fast Food jobs have been lost in CA since April 2024” (by Evan Symon, April 1, Californiaglobe.com). I wrote about this predictable outcome based on other ill-advised policies and laws that had already produced such unemployment in entry-level segments of the economy. No “do-gooder” intervention in the free market goes unpunished by the reality of supply and demand, and the actual value of young unskilled workers.

“You Won’t Believe How Many California Voters Support Giving Illegal Aliens Free Health Care” (by Madeline Leesman, April 22, Townhall.com). Gov. Newsom signed a $2.8 Billion bill to shore up this state’s Medicaid program. It “ran into major financial problems when the Governor expanded it last year to include illegal immigrants” (ABC3340.com).

A poll of voters by UC Berkeley and Politico found: 21 percent support Medicaid for illegal immigrants even if it means cuts elsewhere. 32 percent said to continue the program but prioritize those here legally if budget cuts are needed. That’s a majority for continuing Medicaid for illegal residents.

31 percent took the only sensible response: the state should never have allowed Medicaid for illegal residents, while 17 percent want to partially or fully reverse this health coverage.

“Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin broke an outrageous story about an illegal immigrant being granted early release from his prison sentence for the death of two young Californians, whom he killed several years ago. He was speeding at nearly 100 miles per hour while drunk and high. His victims burned alive in their car.

“The immigrant had entered the U.S. illegally multiple times, a felony. He also committed multiple felonies while in the country illegally, but was shielded by California's sanctuary policies, which make illegal immigrants a special protected class—even those who repeatedly commit crimes against Californians” (Townhall.com, April 24). It’s no surprise that polling shows massive support for deportation of “undocumented migrants.”

Coequal Branches? It’s Time for Trump to Stick It to the Judiciary

Coequal Branches? It’s Time for Trump to Stick It to the Judiciary

By Chase Jennings  

    

Pool via AP

Where do we go when the judges that make up the judicial branch are the ones subverting the law? The branches of our government, as they currently stand, are not coequal. The judiciary has gone off the rails, and it’s time for President Trump to teach them a lesson. In this instance, a constitutional crisis is exactly what I voted for. 

I’m not talking about packing the court or lawlessness across the country, I’m talking about an out-of-control activist judiciary that is working in tandem to completely subvert the authority of the executive branch regarding each individual part of President Trump’s agenda, undermining the clear authority of a duly elected president. If we allow this to happen, we will have wasted our golden age of opportunity. 

Biden and his terrible administration allowed millions upon millions of illegal aliens to enter the United States, without so much as a peep from the judicial branch. The same judicial branch that, when he ignored their order on student loan forgiveness, did nothing about it. Businesses across the country have closed because state AGs and judges refused to uphold the law—allowing criminals to walk free. Frankly, judicial accountability is past due. 

We are allowing one person who went to law school and was appointed by President Obama, Biden, or Clinton to completely subvert President Trump‘s effort on immigration, DEI, and the overall MAGA Trump agenda. 

ABC News has reported that a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship to vote. How is that controversial? The judge was appointed by President Clinton. We can’t do this for four years or even one month as far as I’m concerned. ABC states: 

“In a 120-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked the Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and ordering that election officials “assess” the citizenship of anyone who receives public assistance before allowing them to register. She also barred the Election Assistance Commission from withholding federal funding from states that did not comply with the order.”

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RELATED: New: Federal Judge Blocks Part of Trump's EO Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Here We Go Again: Federal Judge Blocks Yet Another Key Trump Illegal Immigration Policy

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I like the way Scott Jennings outlined what’s going on. In a X post, Jennings said, “The objective is clear: nullify the election results and stall Trump until 2028. This is the REAL constitutional crisis.” 

Stall is the right way to put it. These activist judges are trying to run out the clock. The judges are hoping they’re dealing with the same old GOP that will sit back and take it. The GOP would uphold “constitutional norms.” Well, I say it’s time for President Trump to stick it to the judicial branch. They don’t unilaterally run this country. The truth is, we are starting to see a pattern—and for MAGA, we won’t walk away with any real change if we allow this to happen. 

The Associated Press is reporting today that the courts have also gone after Trump’s effort to end DEI in public schools:

“A federal judge on Thursday blocked Trump administration directives that threatened to cut federal funding for public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, which accused the Republican administration of giving “unconstitutionally vague” guidance and violating teachers’ First Amendment rights.

A second judge on Thursday postponed the effective date of some U.S. Education Department anti-DEI guidance …”

Most of the decisions coming from these radical judges have to do with immigration. The Trump administration has worked to pull federal dollars from “sanctuary cities,” which ironically, are led by local officials who are ignoring the law in order to protect criminal aliens. Fox News’s National Correspondent, Bill Melugin put it this way: 

Just last night, federal judge William Orrick (Obama appointee) in California blocked the Trump administration from terminating federal funds for sanctuary jurisdictions. He wrote, in part:

“The Cities and Counties have also demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm. The threat to withhold funding causes them irreparable injury in the form of budgetary uncertainty, deprivation of constitutional rights, and undermining trust between the Cities and Counties and the communities they serve.”

Again, if we allow these radical, democrat appointed judges to stall or thwart President Trump’s agenda, we will not accomplish much in the next four years. Trump must follow President Andrew Jackson’s lead: “The judge has made his decision, let him enforce it.”

https://redstate.com/chase-jennings/2025/04/25/coequal-branches-its-time-for-trump-to-stick-it-to-the-judiciary-n2188284?utm_source=rsmorningbriefingvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Two Thug-Loving Judges Arrested—and Then It Gets Even Better!

Two Thug-Loving Judges Arrested—and Then It Gets Even Better!

Kevin Downey Jr.  

    

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

After watching militant Marxist judges throw roadblock after roadblock into Trump's agenda, finally a beacon of hope. Oops, make tha two, and then some!

FACT-O-RAMA! This week, apparatchik federal judges have blocked Trump's attempts to cut funding to schools that promote DEI, establish election integrity, and stop giving federal dollars to sanctuary cities.

On Thursday, federal agents arrested former Judge Jose "Joel" Cano and his wife Nancy for harboring an illegal immigrant and alleged gang-banger Cristhian Ortega-Lopez.  

Ortega-Lopez was hired as a handyman and was soon invited by the Cano couple to move into their guesthouse.

Ortega-Lopez was arrested in February, and Judge Cano resigned shortly thereafter. He was quickly banned from serving as a judge in New Mexico for the rest of his life.

After weeks of investigation, the Canos were apprehended by the feds on Thursday. They are accused of harboring an illegal immigrant and tampering with evidence. 

One picture found by investigators shows Ortega-Lopez opening Christmas gifts with the Cano family. Another shows Ortega-Lopez posing with a gun believed to be owned by the Canos' daughter, April. Ortega-Lopez has since been charged with being an illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm. Investigators seized four guns believed to be owned by April Cano.

Finally, a Democrat judge in cuffs. In the words of the immortal pitchman Billy Mays, "But wait, there's more.

On Friday, Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was granted the silver bracelets of justice for helping an illegal immigrant dodge agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The dishonorable Judge Dugan is accused of misdirecting ICE agents as they searched the Wisconsin courthouse where she works, looking for a wanted illegal immigrant, Eduardo Flores Ruiz.

According to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Dugan heard that ICE was outside her courtroom, waiting to arrest Ruiz. She left the courtroom to bellow at the agents before sneaking Ruiz out through a side entrance. ICE agents arrested him outside.

FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted about the arrest of Dugan:

Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week. We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest. Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public. We will have more to share soon. Excellent work @FBIMilwaukee.

Dugan was booked and released.

Leftist judges have made it obvious they are working together to stop or stall Trump's every attempt to make America great again. Watching two of them get perp-walked, while rib-ticklingly epigrammatic, is hopefully the beginning of the end of their Marxist codswallop.

And because it's the beginning of the weekend, let's keep the fun going with an update on two of the most filthy communists ever to plague New York state, former Governor Andrew Cuomo and AG Letitia "Dirty Tish" James.

Cuomo is finally being investigated for his role in the deaths of 15,000 elderly people during the COVID pandemic, or more accurately, lying to Congress about his role. 

Former Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who served as chair of the now-defunct House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, had referred Cuomo to the Biden-era DOJ for investigation. However, the swamp did what the swamp does best: defend its own. No charges were ever brought.

Kentucky Rep. James Comer sent a criminal referral to Bondi this week.

To quote Toyota, "Oh what a feeling!"

And if that isn't enough karma to kick off your weekend, the quotidian updates on New York's attorney general are absolutely baronial.

As PJ Media's Athena Horne reported Friday, Dirty Tish seems to be headed for trouble. She hired lawyer Abbe David Lowell, who vainly defended former first-crack-huffing son Hunter Biden.

CALLBACK-O-RAMA! Hunter was delightfully convicted on gun and tax evasion charges.

At last count, James is accused of signing ten mortgage documents with fraudulent lies in all of them.

     RELATED:  Rumble in the Urban Jungle: Crazy Eddie vs. Dirty Tish, Round One — DING!

What have we learned?

It appears the new Trump administration is fighting back against some of the filthy communist pigdogs who never thought they'd see the business end of the DOJ.

One judge has been removed permanently from the bench. Another was busted today for bootlessly attempting to help an illegal immigrant dodge ICE agents, a crime that border czar Tom Homan assured us would result in criminal prosecutions. Andrew Cuomo and Letitia James are facing federal criminal investigations. Pinch me!

I suspect Dr. Fauci may spend this weekend questioning the validity of a pardon signed by an autopen. I will break out the Blanton's when I see Fauci's mugshot!

https://pjmedia.com/kevindowneyjr/2025/04/25/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-karma-two-thug-loving-judges-arrested-and-then-it-gets-even-funnier-n4939238