Know Your Second Amendment

Given the recent horrific events in Thousand Oaks and Squirrel Hill, it's incumbent upon each of us to understand the Second Amendment.

To do that as fully and cl;early as possible, read The Second Amendment - a Biography , by  Michael Waldman.  For a more concise explanation, consider the points below, that reflect the history behind, and language used in, America in the late 18th Century.

One catalyst for the Revolutionary War was the attempt by George III to deny colonists the right to own or use firearms.  At that time, such weapons were allowed only if they were put to the service of the British military.  That's the history; now the language.

Note the phrasing, sentence structure, and punctuation of the Amendment.  Those components work together, but not to say or imply Go ahead and get the biggest, loudest, deadliest weapon you can find; then get more.  Rather, the right to keep and bear arms is corollary to and contingent upon the need for a well-regulated militia.

We're more than 230 years past the adoption of the U. S. Constitution.  In those two-plus centuries, we've developed more than one form of a well-regulated militia - the National Guard, various Reserves, and so on.  That being the case, we don't need high-capacity magazines,  bump-stocks or AR-15s.

The midterm election just concluded demonstrates that people have a voice for change.  That being the case, find out how your Representative, either returning or newly-elected, feels about gun control.  Here's one place to start your research.

Know Your Constitution

Wednesday's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General was unconstitutional.

Article 2 Section 2 of the United States Constitution says that the President can consult with what we've come to know as a Cabinet, and can, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint public ministers ... and all other officers ... of the United States.

Matthew Whitaker has never been voted upon, let alone confirmed by, the Senate for any position in any part of the Federal government.  Had he, for instance, been confirmed in the Treasury, Defense, Interior, or Homeland Security departments, he's have been eligible, under Article 2 Section 2, to serve as Acting AG without undergoing another hearing.  But none of that pertains.

What does hold water is this.  One can legitimately conclude that Donald Trump appointed Matthew Whitaker in order to provide a sharper weapon against Robert Mueller ...

Wahoo - Sort Of

November 6 and 7 were memorable.

First, Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives, by what looks like a reasonably comfortable margin.

Then, Donald Trump demonstrated that he's lost a lot of what was left of his connection to reality by claiming victory in the midterms, and by humiliating Republicans who lost their bids for re-election.

Finally, also on the 7th and within minutes of his press-conference / meltdown, Trump significantly substantiated the idea of his having colluded with Russia or other entities to influence the election in 2016 by firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and appointing Matthew Whitaker, a Trump loyalist, as Acting AG and therefore head honcho of the Mueller investigation.

Shades of Watergate ...

2 Days to Go

Every one of my former students, from countries as diverse as Angola, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Japan, Korea, Morocco, Palestine, Trinidad, and Turkey, who became naturalized citizens, vote religiously.  I fully expect them to do so in two more days.

Just in case any of us "native-borns" don't know where to go to vote, take a look at this tool from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.