https://www.h-gac.com/about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8zlDoquXww
https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-government-and-politics-presidential-299b03156144b12c0298184498f07958
https://www.cnn.com/factsfirst/politics/factcheck_3587fdca-a41a-4d9d-9f51-561dd7eef7c3
https://verifiedvoting.org/election-system/hart-intercivic-verity-touch-writer-duo/
https://stevevladeck.substack.com/p/18-shopping-for-judges
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
- Can you refuse to rent to students in Texas?
- Student Housing Laws College Students Should Know.
- Cure period for absentee and mail-in ballots.
- Voting explainer: In many states, there's a process to fix an error with your ballot.
- Ballot Curing 101.
- Texas SOS: January 2022 Voter Registration Figures.
Constitutional amendment info
- Texas SOS: 2023 Election Results.
- Analyses of Proposed Constitutional Amendments.
- Texas SOS: Constitutional Amendment Data.
Election recap from the Houston Chronicle.
- 2023 Texas Live Election Results: Houston mayor, Texas Prop 4 and more.
- Houston-area voters approve 3 local ballot measures. Here's what they do.
- Blame Whitmire? Blame Sheila? What’s behind Houston’s low voter turnout?
- Running a Harris County election is harder than ever. These election judges still love it.
Recent stories involving the judiciary in Texas
- Texas Supreme Court chief justice calls for higher judicial salaries, business courts.
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht called on state lawmakers Wednesday to increase judicial salaries and create a new court system to handle disputes between businesses.
“I grow concerned that political divisions among us threaten the judicial independence essential to the rule of law,” Hecht, a Republican, said in the Texas Supreme Court courtroom in Austin. “The left and right, and leaders in both the executive and legislative branches, are in agreement: Judges are not independent, and shouldn’t be; they should take sides — my side.”
He urged judges against partisan decisions, saying the pressure to comply with politics “destroys the rule of law essential to justice for all.”
Both the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court for criminal matters in the state, are made up of all Republicans.
- Groups Ask Texas Courts to End Judge Shopping with New Rules.
A coalition of progressive groups is asking the four federal district courts in Texas to adopt rules to prevent the ongoing practice of judge shopping.
In a letter sent Monday night, the National Immigration Law Center and eight other organizations told the chief judges in the four Texas districts that litigants, led by state officials, are exploiting the courts’ case assignment rules to enjoin federal policies nationwide.
“While the undersigned organizations are frequently adverse to the parties who are presently engaged in judge shopping, the practice these organizations seek to curb is one that is almost universally condemned,” the coalition said.
- Why Texas judges have so much power right now.
In April 2021, Texas sued the US government over immigration policy. But they didn’t sue in Texas’s state capital, or in Washington, DC, or in any of the along federal courthouses along Texas’s border with Mexico. They filed the suit in a small Texas city called Victoria, far from any important government officials or immigration centers. And they did it there because they knew that if they did, a judge named Drew Tipton would be assigned to their case.
In the time since Joe Biden has become president, Texas has sued the federal government 31 times. That’s a lot, but what’s more striking is that eight of those lawsuits have been heard by Judge Tipton. The reason that’s weird is that normally, judges are supposed to be assigned to cases randomly. But in Texas, you can choose your judge. It’s called “judge shopping,” and it has made Texas judges some of the most powerful in the country.
It’s also not just the state of Texas getting in on the act. In 2022, a private group called the Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine filed a suit demanding that the FDA take mifepristone, a widely used abortion medication approved in 2000, off the market. And they filed the suit in Amarillo, Texas, where Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk hears 100 percent of the cases. Kacsmaryk had previously been a lawyer for right-wing causes before he was a judge, and he ruled accordingly, ordering that the FDA ban mifepristone throughout the US.
- Bills to create new Texas courts would likely reverse Democratic gains, restore GOP dominance.
Bills being debated in the Texas Legislature would create two new statewide courts, which supporters say would be more efficient and lead to fairer decisions but opponents deride as unnecessary, politically motivated and potentially unconstitutional.
Senate Bill 1045 would create a 15th state appeals court with jurisdiction specifically in cases brought by or against the state of Texas; agencies, departments or boards of the executive branch; or state universities, including any of these entities’ officers. It would have five justices, elected statewide.
Senate Bill 27, with its companion, House Bill 19, would create a new state district court to hear business cases involving transactions larger than $10 million. It would have seven judges appointed by the governor every two years, and appeals would be heard by the new appeals court.
Texas has never had a specialized business court, though 26 states have some form of one. The Legislature last created a new appeals court in 1967, when it added a second court to the Houston area to manage caseloads in the state’s most populous region.
SB 1045 passed the Senate at the end of March, 25-6, and now sits in the House judiciary committee. SB 27 and HB 19 — a priority for House Speaker Dade Phelan — have not yet passed their respective chambers.
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Monday, November 6, 2023
Harris County Toll Road Authority
A local government created by a referendum approver by the voters of Harris County.
- Click here for the Wikipedia entry.
HCTRA came into existence in September 1983 when Harris County voters approved a referendum by a 7-3 margin to release up to $900 million in bonds to create two toll roads - the Hardy Toll Road and the Sam Houston Tollway, to improve the regional mobility and reduce traffic congestion in the Greater Houston area, an area known for rapid population growth.
Shortly after the referendum, the Commissioners Court created the Toll Road Authority to administer the construction and operation of the new road system. Then-County Judge Jon Lindsay is generally credited with shepherding the referendum from its infancy to its passage, along with the implementation of the plan for the roadway. HCTRA was a part of Harris County's Public Infrastructure Department and is subdivided into a Services and an Operations Division.
While for many years, the Hardy Toll Road never had the traffic that the HCTRA envisioned it would need to turn a profit, the Sam Houston Tollway has more than made up for the lost revenue. The high profit margins on the Sam Houston Tollway allowed the authority to construct its third and fourth toll roads, the Westpark Tollway and Fort Bend Toll Road, both of which opened in 2004. Both of these toll roads have termini in Fort Bend County and are run in conjunction with the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority. HCTRA also operates managed lanes that run along the median of I-10/Katy Freeway between SH 6 and I-610 that opened in April 2009.[2] The most recent project of HCTRA is the Tomball Tollway, which was completed in phases between 2015 and 2019.
On March 1, 2020, operations of the Lynchburg Ferry and the Washburn Tunnel were transferred from Harris County Precinct 2 to the Harris County Toll Road Authority.[3] There are no plans for HCTRA to implement tolls either the Lynchburg Ferry or the Washburn Tunnel. Nevertheless, HCTRA's involvement will include plans to improve the operations of both facilities, as well as much-needed repairs and upgrades.
Links - 11/6/23
- TEXAS DISTRICT & COUNTY ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION.
- U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS: Lawyers.
- Wikipedia: Attorney at law.
- Wikipedia: Attorneys in the United States.
- Wikipedia: Retainer agreement.
- Wikipedia: Law of the United States.
- Wikipedia: Docket (court).
- Texas Penal Code.
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
- Mapping Police Violence.
- 2022 POLICE VIOLENCE REPORT.
- Texas Local Government Code.
- U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS: Lawyers.
- Wikipedia: Attorney at law.
- Wikipedia: Attorneys in the United States.
- Wikipedia: Retainer agreement.
- Wikipedia: Law of the United States.
- Wikipedia: Docket (court).
- Texas Penal Code.
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
- Mapping Police Violence.
- 2022 POLICE VIOLENCE REPORT.
- Texas Local Government Code.
Sunday, November 5, 2023
A quick look at some of what's on the ballot Tuesday
. . . as well as the last two weeks.
- Click here for the info.
- About Houston City Government.
- Ballotpedia: Mayor-council government.
Houston Mayor
Houston City Controller
Houston City Council
- at large
- single member districts
Harris County Hospital District, Proposition A.
Should the county use $2.5B to rebuild the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital?
Harris County's Proposition A is a $2.5 billion bond proposal to build a new Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital and make other upgrades throughout the county's public health care system.
City of Houston, Proposition A.
Should 3 City Council members be able to place an item on the agenda?
Proposition A would allow any three council members to place an item on the council's weekly agenda, a power currently reserved for the mayor. Its supporters say it would empower council members to pursue policy items not supported by the mayor. Mayor Sylvester Turner has argued it would force votes on unvetted proposals, disrupting the city's regular order of business.
City of Houston, Proposition B.
Should Houston have more proportional representation on regional councils?
Proposition B would force Houston to pull out of regional groups that do not apportion votes according to population. It targets the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a 37-member body that distributes federal and state funding. City officials of late have expressed frustration with H-GAC; the city gets just two votes on the body, despite making up 30% of its population. H-GAC has skirted Houston with some key funding decisions in recent years, including mitigation money granted by the federal government after Hurricane Harvey. There does not appear to be organized opposition to the referendum, though Mayor Sylvester Turner and other city officials have suggested withdrawing from H-GAC would require other steps.
__________
For results from 2019:
- Harris Votes: 2019 General Election Results.
- Wikipedia: 2019 Houston mayoral election.
- Ballotpedia: City elections in Houston, Texas (2019).
The Populist Movement
- Britannica:
. . . in U.S. history, politically oriented coalition of agrarian reformers in the Midwest and South that advocated a wide range of economic and political legislation in the late 19th century. Throughout the 1880s, local political action groups known as Farmers’ Alliances sprang up among Midwesterners and Southerners, who were discontented because of crop failures, falling prices, and poor marketing and credit facilities. Although it won some significant regional victories, the alliances generally proved politically ineffective on a national scale. Thus, in 1892 their leaders organized the Populist, or People’s, Party, and the Farmers’ Alliances melted away.
- People's Party (United States):
The People's Party, also known as the Populist Party or simply the Populists, was a left-wing agrarian populist political party in the United States in the late 19th century. The Populist Party emerged in the early 1890s as an important force in the Southern and Western United States, but collapsed after it nominated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 United States presidential election. A rump faction of the party continued to operate into the first decade of the 20th century, but never matched the popularity of the party in the early 1890s.
- National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry.
. . . a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture. The Grange, founded after the Civil War in 1867, is the oldest American agricultural advocacy group with a national scope. The Grange actively lobbied state legislatures and Congress for political goals, such as the Granger Laws to lower rates charged by railroads, and rural free mail delivery by the Post Office.
- Farmer's Alliance:
- The Gilded Age:
In United States history, the Gilded Age is a term coined by Mark Twain and used by some historians to refer roughly to the period from 1877 to 1900, which occurred between the Reconstruction Era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Western United States. As American wages grew much higher than those in Europe, especially for skilled workers, and industrialization demanded an increasing unskilled labor force, the period saw an influx of millions of European immigrants.
- Third Party System.
The Third Party System was a period in the history of political parties in the United States from the 1850s until the 1890s, which featured profound developments in issues of American nationalism, modernization, and race. This period, the later part of which is often termed the Gilded Age, is defined by its contrast with the eras of the Second Party System and the Fourth Party System.
The Third Party System was a period in the history of political parties in the United States from the 1850s until the 1890s, which featured profound developments in issues of American nationalism, modernization, and race. This period, the later part of which is often termed the Gilded Age, is defined by its contrast with the eras of the Second Party System and the Fourth Party System.
Left Wing Populism and Right Wing Populism
What is left and right wing?
- Left–right political spectrum.
- Left-wing politics.
- Left-wing populism.
- ECPS: Left-Wing Populism.
- Right-wing politics.
- Right-wing populism.
- ECPS: Right-Wing Populism.
What is Populism?
Definitions:
- Britannica:
. . . political program or movement that champions, or claims to champion, the common person, usually by favorable contrast with a real or perceived elite or establishment. Populism usually combines elements of the left and the right, opposing large business and financial interests but also frequently being hostile to established liberal, socialist, and labor parties.
- ECPS: Populism.
. . . refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of “the people” and often juxtapose this group against “the elite”. The term developed in the 19th century and has been applied to various politicians, parties, and movements since that time, although has rarely been chosen as a self-description. Within political science and other social sciences, several different definitions of populism have been employed, with some scholars proposing that the term be rejected altogether.
A common framework for interpreting populism is known as the ideational approach: this defines populism as an ideology which presents “the people” as a morally good force and contrasts them against “the elite”, who are portrayed as corrupt and self-serving. Populists differ in how “the people” are defined, but it can be based along class, ethnic, or national lines. In other words, as Jan-Werner Müller stated in an article that the populist decides who the real people are; and whoever does not want to be unified on the populist’s terms is completely and utterly excluded — even if they happen to have a British or an American passport.
- Explainer: Populism - Left and Right, Progressive and Regressive.
It is difficult to definitively characterize populism, but one helpful definition describes it as “reflecting a deep suspicion of the prevailing establishment, which is believed to conspire against the people instead of working in their interests.” Populists believe that the people, however defined, are the “true repositories of the soul of the nation.” Donald Trump’s frequent references to his supporters as “real” Americans are a classic populist rhetorical move.
The concept of populism has a distinctly pejorative connotation. It is a label that politicians apply to their opponents, but rarely claim for themselves (as Mudde and Kaltwasser aver). The fundamental claim of populism is that there is a singular “people” who are in opposition to “the elite.” The populist claims to be the representative of “the people.” In this way, a populist movement would describe itself as authentically democratic—in contrast with the “politics as usual” that only supports the interest of “the elite.”
Populists can be from the right or left of the political divide; left-wing populists (also known as social populists) combine left-wing politics with populist themes and rhetoric while right-wing populists (also known as national populists) do the same on the right side of the political spectrum.
- Wikipedia:
. . . a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group with "the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed in the late 19th century and has been applied to various politicians, parties and movements since that time, often as a pejorative. Within political science and other social sciences, several different definitions of populism have been employed, with some scholars proposing that the term be rejected altogether.
A common framework for interpreting populism is known as the ideational approach: this defines populism as an ideology that presents "the people" as a morally good force and contrasts them against "the elite", who are portrayed as corrupt and self-serving. Populists differ in how "the people" are defined, but it can be based along class, ethnic, or national lines. Populists typically present "the elite" as comprising the political, economic, cultural, and media establishment, depicted as a homogeneous entity and accused of placing their own interests, and often the interests of other groups—such as large corporations, foreign countries, or immigrants—above the interests of "the people". Populist parties and social movements are often led by charismatic or dominant figures who present themselves as "the voice of the people". According to the ideational approach, populism is often combined with other ideologies, such as nationalism, liberalism, or socialism. Thus, populists can be found at different locations along the left–right political spectrum, and there exist both left-wing populism and right-wing populism.
- History Channel: Populism in the United States: A Timeline.
Saturday, November 4, 2023
Federal Lighthouse Policy.
Tough to be a successful commercial republic if your ships keep running aground.
Apparently the Lighthouse Service is the oldest federal executive agency in the US.
From the National Archives: Records of the U.S. Lighthouse Service.
The first lighthouse in the 13 colonies was built in Massachusetts in 1716. When the United States federal government was established, this lighthouse and eleven others in operation were placed under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Treasury.
- 1789 - 1852: United States Lighthouse Establishment
In 1789, the United States Lighthouse Establishment (USLHE) was created and operated under the Department of the Treasury. All U.S. lighthouse ownership was transferred to the government which became the general lighthouse authority (GLA). In 1792, the Cape Henry Lighthouse was the first lighthouse built by the USLHE. In 1822, French physicist, Augustin Fresnel designed the Fresnel lens. In 1841 the Fresnel lens was first used in the United States and installed on the Navesink Lighthouse. In 1852 the Lighthouse Board was created.
- 1852 - 1910: United States Lighthouse Board.
The United States Lighthouse Board was the second agency of the U.S. federal government, under the Department of Treasury, responsible for the construction and maintenance of all lighthouses and navigation aids in the United States, between 1852 and 1910. The new agency was created following complaints of the shipping industry of the previous administration of lighthouses under the Treasury's Lighthouse Establishment, which had had jurisdiction since 1791, and since 1820, been under the control of Stephen Pleasonton.
- 1910 - 1939: United States Lighthouse Service.
The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of the United States Lighthouse Board until 1939 when it was merged into the United States Coast Guard. It was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all lighthouses and lightvessels in the United States.
Judicial Limits on Bureaucratic Power
- Judicial Controls Over the Bureaucracy.
Mistrust towards the state is a perennial issue in politics. Liberal thinkers such as John Locke in his Second Treatise of Government (1690) searched for a compromise between the protective function of the state and the risks its power involved for individual rights and freedoms. In the face of this ambivalence towards the state, a reasoned acceptance of subjecting oneself to state power gave rise to the theories of the social contract. To preclude the arbitrary exercise of power, conditions were set that regulated, fixed boundaries, and legitimized it. The law provided the social technology initially for limited government and gradually for a reasoned and reasonable foundation of legitimate authority.
- Controlling the Federal Bureaucracy.
- Federal agency powers in the crosshairs at the US Supreme Court.
Friday, November 3, 2023
Google vs The World
- Justice Department Sues Google for Monopolizing Digital Advertising Technologies.
- Google’s search engine dominance is at the center of the biggest US antitrust trial in decades.- Warren Opens Investigation into Secretive Google Efforts to Secure Exclusive Access to Millions of Servicemember and Veteran Tissue Samples.
- Timeline on Monopoly Lawsuit Regarding Search and Search Advertising Market.
Trump team files emergency motion asking appeals court to put Judge’s gag order on hold
As we discuss the judiciary, here's some back and forth regarding procedural issues in one of the cases involving Donald Trump.
The Rise and Fall of Somali Pirates
Congress is granted the power to pass laws about piracy in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
For more:
Clause 10 Maritime Crimes
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
- ArtI.S8.C10.1 Historical Background on Maritime Crimes
- ArtI.S8.C10.2 Definition of Maritime Crimes and Offenses
- ArtI.S8.C10.3 Extraterritorial Reach
For more:
Clause 10 Maritime Crimes
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
- ArtI.S8.C10.1 Historical Background on Maritime Crimes
- ArtI.S8.C10.2 Definition of Maritime Crimes and Offenses
- ArtI.S8.C10.3 Extraterritorial Reach
From the New York Times: Sam Bankman-Fried Is Found Guilty of 7 Counts of Fraud and Conspiracy
A look at federal criminal law.
- Click here for the article.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the tousle-haired mogul who founded the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was convicted on Thursday of seven charges of fraud and conspiracy after a monthlong trial that laid bare the rampant hubris and risk-taking across the crypto industry.
Together the counts carry a maximum sentence of 110 years. Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, is expected to appeal. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on March 28.
___________
For more:
- SEC Charges Samuel Bankman-Fried with Defrauding Investors in Crypto Asset Trading Platform FTX.
- FTX Founder Indicted for Fraud, Money Laundering, and Campaign Finance Offenses.
- Prosecutors Drop Campaign Finance Charge Against Sam Bankman-Fried.
- The Case Against Sam Bankman-Fried.
- Current laws sufficient to charge Sam Bankman-Fried for alleged fraud: DOJ.
___________
Here is a rundown of the specific laws he violated.
- coming soon.
Thursday, November 2, 2023
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325
https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/crime-enter-illegally.html
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/883/billtext/pdf/SB00011I.pdf
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=883&Bill=SB11
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigration-prosecutions
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texas-considers-new-border-laws-targeting-illegal-entry-human-smuggling/
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
From Radley Balko: The states of indigent defense
For our look at criminal justice.
- Part One.
__________
- What is indigent defense?
In the United States, a public defender is a lawyer appointed by the courts and provided by the state or federal governments to represent and advise those who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Public defenders are full-time attorneys employed by the state or federal governments. The public defender program is one of several types of criminal legal aid in the United States.
Prior to the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, legal aid was accessible only to those who had the ability to pay. During that time, people who were not able to pay for an attorney usually did not have access to one. The Sixth Amendment changed this concept that only those who had money had the right to an attorney.
- Texas Indigent Defense Commission.
The Texas Legislature created the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense in 2001 to remedy persistent deficiencies in Texas indigent defense:
- Access to counsel
- Quality of counsel
- Data collection
In 2011, the Task Force became the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. TIDC is tasked with funding, overseeing, and improving public defense in each of Texas's 254 counties. TIDC is led by 13 Commission Members and 18 staff.
- DOJ: Indigent Defense.
Despite the right to counsel guaranteed in the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, in many places economically disadvantaged defendants still are not represented or are underrepresented. Indigent defendants are often forced to wait in jail for long periods of time before ever meeting with an attorney. Heavy caseloads, insufficient resources, and inadequate oversight make it difficult for many attorneys representing indigent clients to completely fulfill their legal and ethical obligations.
The defense of indigent juveniles poses its own unique problems for the proper and fair functioning of the justice system. Youth defendants are often encouraged (to their disadvantage) to waive the right to counsel. Many courts accept these waivers with little challenge.
- TAC: Indigent Defense.
Indigent defense expenditures are one of the major uncontrollable cost drivers in county budgets. The state should fully fund this unfunded mandate.
- Texas counties are responsible for the costs of appointed counsel for indigent defendants.
- Counties are authorized to deliver indigent defense services through a system that best meets local needs.
- Providing court appointed counsel for indigent defendants is a major uncontrollable expense in county budgets.
- Since passage of the Fair Defense Act, indigent defense costs have increased 228% from $91.4 million in 2001 to $299.9 million in 2019.
- In FY 2019, the state funded only about $28.5 million of the total statewide indigent defense costs, while counties contributed approximately $271.4 million (about 90% of the total costs).
- Additional state funding in the next legislative session would assist counties and their taxpayers in offsetting the costs of this significant unfunded mandate.
- Brazoria County: Indigent Defense.
Catching up with drones
- Drone Law: Controversial Texas Drone Law Re-Instated, in a Blow for Journalists.
- National Press Photographers Association v McGraw.
- US 5th Circuit.
- CHAPTER 423. USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.
- the world's smallest camera.
- the world's smallest drone.
- 7 Ways Drones are Revolutionizing Law Enforcement.
- Pilot Institute.
- Drone Laws in Texas (2023).
- TFC: Texas Drone Regulations.
- NPPA.
- Texas State Law Library: Drone Laws.
- Do cities have the legal right to enact drone ordinances?
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Monday, October 30, 2023
Is the "deep state" the same as the "bureaucracy?"
- Wikipedia: Deep State.
A deep state is a type of governance made up of potentially secret and unauthorized networks of power operating independently of a state's political leadership in pursuit of their own agenda and goals. In popular usage, the term carries overwhelmingly negative connotations.[2] The range of possible uses of the term is similar to that for the shadow government conspiracy theory. The expression state within a state is an older and similar concept. Historically, it designated a well-defined organization that seeks to function independently, whereas the deep state refers more to a hidden organization seeking to manipulate the public state.
Potential sources for deep state organization include rogue elements among organs of state, such as the armed forces, or public authorities such as intelligence agencies, police, secret police, administrative agencies, and government bureaucracy.
Plans for an emergency government that takes over in the event of a disaster,
- see continuity of government
- An unelected bureaucracy or branch of the security services –
- A state within a state or deep state – Deep state in the United States.
- A 'shadow government', a conspiracy theory of a secret government.
__________
- Deconstructing the Deep State.
- The “Deep State” Myth and the Real Executive Branch Bureaucracy.
- Bureaucratic Resistance and the Deep State Myth.
- The Real Deep State.
Sunday, October 29, 2023
The Limits of Acceptable Discourse: The Overton Window
- From Wikipedia: The Overton Window.
Overton described a spectrum from "more free" to "less free" with regard to government intervention, oriented vertically on an axis, to avoid comparison with the left/right political spectrum. As the spectrum moves or expands, an idea at a given location may become more or less politically acceptable. After Overton's death, his Mackinac Center for Public Policy colleague Joseph Lehman further developed the idea and named it after Overton.
Political commentator Joshua Treviño has postulated that the six degrees of acceptance of public ideas are roughly:
- Radical
- Acceptable
- Sensible
- Popular
- Policy
The Overton window is an approach to identifying the ideas that define the spectrum of acceptability of governmental policies. It says politicians can act only within the acceptable range. Shifting the Overton window involves proponents of policies outside the window persuading the public to expand the window. Proponents of current policies, or similar ones within the window, seek to convince people that policies outside it should be deemed unacceptable. According to Lehman, who coined the term, "The most common misconception is that lawmakers themselves are in the business of shifting the Overton window. That is absolutely false. Lawmakers are actually in the business of detecting where the window is, and then moving to be in accordance with it."
According to Lehman, the concept is just a description of how ideas work, not advocacy of extreme policy proposals. In an interview with The New York Times, he said, "It just explains how ideas come in and out of fashion, the same way that gravity explains why something falls to the earth. I can use gravity to drop an anvil on your head, but that would be wrong. I could also use gravity to throw you a life preserver; that would be good."
Normalize
How to sway Public Opinion: Political Campaigns, Propaganda, and Public Relations
- Political Campaign:
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referendums are decided. In modern politics, the most high-profile political campaigns are focused on general elections and candidates for head of state or head of government, often a president or prime minister.
- Propaganda:
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented. Propaganda can be found in a wide variety of different contexts.
- Public Relations:
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Public relations and publicity differ in that PR is controlled internally, whereas publicity is not controlled and contributed by external parties. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. The exposure is mostly media-based, and this differentiates it from advertising as a form of marketing communications. Public relations aims to create or obtain coverage for clients for free, also known as earned media, rather than paying for marketing or advertising also known as paid media. But in the early 21st century, advertising is also a part of broader PR activities.
What is the source of the judiciary's power?
Assuming it has any tangible power.
- Legislature: Power of the Purse.
- Executive: Power of the Sword.
- Judiciary: ?
Federalist 78
- Avalon Project:
Whoever attentively considers the different departments of power must perceive, that, in a government in which they are separated from each other, the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them. The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.
- Wikipedia:
Federalist No. 78 was published May 28, 1788, and first appeared in a newspaper on June 14 of the same year. It was written to explicate and justify the structure of the judiciary under the proposed Constitution of the United States; it is the first of six essays by Hamilton on this issue. In particular, it addresses concerns by the Anti-Federalists over the scope and power of the federal judiciary, which would have comprised unelected, politically insulated judges that would be appointed for life.
Worcester v Georgia:
- Oyez:
Facts of the case: In September 1831, Samuel A. Worcester and others, all non-Native Americans, were indicted in the supreme court for the county of Gwinnett in the state of Georgia for "residing within the limits of the Cherokee nation without a license" and "without having taken the oath to support and defend the constitution and laws of the state of Georgia."
Conclusion: No. In an opinion delivered by Chief Justice John Marshall, the Court held that the Georgia act, under which Worcester was prosecuted, violated the Constitution, treaties, and laws of the United States. Noting that the "treaties and laws of the United States contemplate the Indian territory as completely separated from that of the states; and provide that all intercourse with them shall be carried on exclusively by the government of the union," Chief Justice Marshall argued, "The Cherokee nation, then, is a distinct community occupying its own territory in which the laws of Georgia can have no force.
- Wikipedia:
. . . a landmark case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Native Americans from being present on Native American lands without a license from the state was unconstitutional. The opinion is most famous for its dicta, which laid out the relationship between tribes and the state and federal governments. It is considered to have built the foundations of the doctrine of tribal sovereignty in the United States.
. . . In a popular quotation that is believed to be apocryphal, President Andrew Jackson reportedly responded: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" This quotation first appeared twenty years after Jackson had died, in newspaper publisher Horace Greeley's 1865 history of the U.S. Civil War, The American Conflict. It was, however, reported in the press in March 1832 that Jackson was unlikely to aid in carrying out the court's decision if his assistance were to be requested. In an April 1832 letter to John Coffee, Jackson wrote that "the decision of the Supreme Court has fell still born, and they find that they cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate."[6][9] In a letter in March 1832, Virginia politician David Campbell reported a private conversation in which Jackson had "sportively" suggested calling on the Massachusetts state militia to enforce the order if the Supreme Court requested he intervene, because Jackson believed Northern partisans had brought about the court's ruling.
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
It is distinguished from informal and collegial organizations.
- complexity
- division of labor
- permanence
- professional management
- hierarchical coordination and control
- strict chain of command, and legal authority.
- complexity
- division of labor
- permanence
- professional management
- hierarchical coordination and control
- strict chain of command, and legal authority.
Civil Service, Public Administration, Public Sector
- Civil Service.
. . . a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil servant, also known as a public servant or public employee, is a person employed in the public sector by a government department or agency for public sector undertakings. Civil servants work for central and state governments, and answer to the government, not a political party.
- Public Administration.
. . . the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establishment (nonprofit governance), and also a subfield of political science taught in public policy schools that studies this implementation and prepares people, especially civil servants in administrative positions for working in the public sector, voluntary sector, some industries in the private sector dealing with government relations, regulatory affairs, legislative assistance, corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social, governance (ESG), public procurement (PP), public-private partnerships (P3), and business-to-government marketing/sales (B2G) as well as those working at think tanks, non-profit organizations, consulting firms, trade associations, or in other positions that uses similar skills found in public administration.
- Public Sector.
. . . the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infrastructure, public transit, public education, along with health care and those working for the government itself, such as elected officials. The public sector might provide services that a non-payer cannot be excluded from (such as street lighting), services which benefit all of society rather than just the individual who uses the service.[1] Public enterprises, or state-owned enterprises, are self-financing commercial enterprises that are under public ownership which provide various private goods and services for sale and usually operate on a commercial basis.
Friday, October 27, 2023
From Wikipedia: Gag rule (United States)
A restriction on congressional speech in the mid 19th Century.
- Click here for the entry.
In United States history, the gag rule was a series of rules that forbade the raising, consideration, or discussion of slavery in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1836 to 1844.
This procedure became unworkable in 1835, when, at the instigation of the new American Anti-Slavery Society, petitions arrived in Congress in quantities never before seen. Over the gag rule period, well over 1,000 petitions, with 130,000 signatures, poured into the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate praying for the abolition or the restriction of that allegedly beneficial "peculiar institution", as it was called in the South. There was a special focus on slavery in the District of Columbia, where policy was a federal, rather than state, matter. The petitions also asked Congress to use its Constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce to end the interstate slave trade, The petitions were usually presented by former president John Quincy Adams, who as a member of the House of Representatives from strongly anti-slavery Massachusetts, identified himself particularly with the struggle against any Congressional abridgement of the right of citizens to petition the government.
The pro-slavery forces controlled Congress. The faction responded with a series of gag rules that, much to the disgust of Northerners, automatically "tabled" all such petitions, prohibiting them from being printed, read, discussed, or voted on. "The effect of these petitions was to create much irritation and ill feeling between different parts of the Union."
From Politico: ACLU: Trump’s gag order in federal case is unconstitutional
Interesting.
- What is a gag order?
- What are the constitutional arguments for and against them?
- How have they been applied in this case?
- Click here for the article.
For four years during former President Donald Trump’s presidency, the American Civil Liberties Union was one of his biggest courtroom adversaries. Now, the group is taking his side in a high-profile fight over what Trump can say as a criminal defendant.
“The obvious and unprecedented public interest in this prosecution, as well as the widespread political speech that it has generated and will continue to generate, only underscores the need to apply the most stringent First Amendment standard to a restraint on Defendant’s speech rights,” ACLU attorneys wrote in a friend-of-the-court brief.
The group urged Chutkan to reevaluate her order, calling it both vague and overbroad, with aspects of its meaning “unknown and perhaps unknowable.” One particular uncertainty the ACLU seized on was the meaning of Chutkan’s prohibition on statements that “target” Smith, his prosecutors, court personnel, defense attorneys or witnesses.
“Reading the order, Defendant cannot possibly know what he is permitted to say, and what he is not,” the group wrote.
Trump’s lawyers opposed the gag and have appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Chutkan has temporarily lifted the gag order while she mulls a request to keep it on ice during that appeal.
Trump has also run into trouble in connection with a separate gag order issued by a judge in New York overseeing a civil case involving Trump’s business empire. After Trump used his social media platform to attack the judge’s law clerk, the New York judge ordered Trump not to make comments about court staff. Last week, Trump was fined $5,000 for violating that order, and he racked up another $10,000 fine Wednesday.
From the Houston Chronicle: Texas Medical Center's multibillion-dollar research campus opens, ushering in a new era
The Texas Governor and the city of Houston continue to work together the economic interests of the local area by enhancing the Texas Medical Center.
- Click here for the article.
The first piece in a long-anticipated multibillion-dollar biomedical research campus opened Thursday in the Texas Medical Center, setting the stage for what could become a game-changing life sciences hub generating $5.4 billion in annual economic impact and tens of thousands jobs in Houston.
“When you looked at the incredible business and economic platform the state of Texas has, there was one glaring deficiency, and that is to have a massive hub for life sciences,” Gov. Greg Abbott said at the event.
Economic development officials think Helix Park will help to fill that gap, becoming a launch pad for a more mature life science industry in Texas.
The project is also the first time TMC, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas A&M University Health Science Center and UTHealth Houston have collaborated to build and finance a shared space to house their researchers under one roof.
“We've never really had a place where all of us felt like it was ours,” Bill McKeon, president of TMC, said in an interview. Shared laboratory spaces, plus a plethora of communal areas and coworking/office spaces, are meant to encourage researchers to mingle and collaborate.
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Is there a constitutional right to be annoying?
We discussed this in a class today.
The answer might be yes.
- Asserting a Constitutional Right to Annoy.
- Coates v. City of Cincinnati.
- New York's Highest Court Upholds the Right to Be Annoying.
A key phrase IMO: "intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm"
Annoyance is included in this broader list of behaviors. Does it belong?
The answer might be yes.
- Asserting a Constitutional Right to Annoy.
- Coates v. City of Cincinnati.
- New York's Highest Court Upholds the Right to Be Annoying.
A key phrase IMO: "intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm"
Annoyance is included in this broader list of behaviors. Does it belong?
From the Texas Tribune: Texas House passes three immigration bills after contentious night of debate
The bills in questions are:
HB 4: Relating to prohibitions on the illegal entry into or illegal presence in this state by a person who is an alien, the enforcement of those prohibitions, and authorizing under certain circumstances the removal of persons who violate certain of those prohibitions; creating criminal offenses.
HB 6: Relating to making an appropriation for the construction, operation, and maintenance of border barrier infrastructure.
SB 4: Relating to the punishment for certain criminal conduct involving the smuggling of persons or the operation of a stash house; increasing criminal penalties.
- Click here for the article.
The Texas House in the early morning hours Thursday approved three bills aimed at beefing up border security, one that would appropriate more than $1 billion for additional border barriers, one that would allow police officers to send back migrants to who cross the border illegally and another that would increase penalties for human smugglers.
After that motion passed, House Speaker Dade Phelan called a break as members posed parliamentary inquiries about the motion and the House stood at ease for hours. When they returned, Phelan called for the dozens of pending amendments to be heard.
From the ACLU: How Officials in Georgia are Suppressing Political Protest as ‘Domestic Terrorism’
Political commentary from an influential advocacy group.
Again note the strategic use of terminology.
- Click here for the article.
Over the past few months, 42 activists have been charged with “domestic terrorism” under Georgia state law. Their acts of “terrorism”? Alleged property damage and trespassing while protesting. These prosecutions exemplify a highly problematic trend of both the federal and state government: using domestic terrorism powers to punish dissent.
Georgia police have responded with overwhelming and disproportionate force. Police killed one protester in January. They have arrested dozens more, including a legal observer associated with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Lawyers Guild. And prosecutors have levied severe charges under Georgia’s rarely-used domestic terrorism statute.
Until 2017, Georgia’s domestic terrorism statute criminalized acts intended to or reasonably likely to kill or injure at least 10 people. In the wake of the massacre of nine Black parishioners by a white supremacist gunman in Charleston, South Carolina, the Georgia legislature amended the statute to vastly expand its reach. The new law broadened the state’s definition of “domestic terrorism” to include certain property crimes committed with the intent to “alter, change, or coerce the policy of the government” by “intimidation or coercion.”
Congressional Maps in Georgia and North Carolina . . .
The one in Georgia has been overturned by a federal district judge.
- NYT: Georgia’s Voting Maps Are Struck Down.
Republicans in Georgia violated a landmark civil rights law in drawing voting maps that diluted the power of Black voters, a federal judge in Atlanta ruled on Thursday, ordering that new maps must be drawn in time for the 2024 elections.
- Politico: North Carolina’s new GOP gerrymander could flip four House seats.
Republicans have pushed through an aggressive gerrymander of North Carolina’s congressional map that will help them flip several seats in Congress. Those looming GOP pickups will bolster the party’s chances of defending their narrow House majority next year by erasing or even surpassing Republican losses elsewhere in the South, where courts have begun tossing out congressional lines for diluting the power of Black voters.
- Democracy Docket: Federal Judge Orders New Congressional and Legislative Maps in Georgia.
Today, a federal judge struck down the maps finding that “In light of this fact and in conjunction with all of the evidence and testimony in this case, the Court determines that Georgia’s congressional and legislative maps violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and enjoins their use in any future elections.”
To remedy the VRA violations, Georgia must adopt the following districts by Dec. 8:
- One additional majority-Black congressional district in west-metro Atlanta;
- Two additional majority-Black Senate districts in south-metro Atlanta;
- Two additional majority-Black House districts in south-metro Atlanta;
- One additional majority-Black House district in west-metro Atlanta and
- Two additional majority-Black House districts in and around Macon-Bibb.
- National Archives: Comparing Gerrymandered Districts in Georgia and North Carolina.
__________
For background:
- NYT: Supreme Court Rejects Voting Map That Diluted Black Voters’ Power.
- Scotusblog: Allen v. Milligan.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Immunity
Im·mune
/iˈmyo͞on/
adjective
1. totally or partially resistant to a particular infectious disease or pathogen.
"they were naturally immune to hepatitis B"
2. protected or exempt, especially from an obligation or the effects of something.
"they are immune from legal action"
Sometimes the law does not apply.
Definition
- Legal Immunity:
Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. Such legal immunity may be from criminal prosecution, or from civil liability (being subject of lawsuit), or both. The most notable forms of legal immunity are parliamentary immunity and witness immunity.
- Immunity:
Immunity refers to legal protection that exempts a person from liability, punishment, or legal action that would otherwise apply. Immunity can be granted in various contexts, including criminal and civil cases, administrative proceedings, and legislative inquiries. For example, see "immunity from prosecution"
The concept of immunity has its roots in the common law, but it has been codified in various statutes and legal codes. For example, the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause grants immunity to federal officials performing their official duties.
See also: Diplomatic immunity; Qualified Immunity; Sovereign immunity
Types:
Absolute immunity, a type of immunity for government officials that confers total immunity when acting in the course of their duties
Amnesty law, a law that provides immunity for past crimes
Charitable immunity, immunity from liability granted to charities in many countries from the 19th century to the mid-20th century
Diplomatic immunity, agreement between sovereign governments to exclude diplomats from local laws
Immunity from prosecution (international law), exclusion of governments or their officials from prosecution under international law
Judicial immunity, immunity of a judge or magistrate in the course of their official duties
Parliamentary immunity, immunity granted to elected officials during their tenure and in the course of their duties
Qualified immunity, in the United States, immunity of individuals performing tasks as part of the government's actions
Sovereign immunity, the prevention of lawsuits or prosecution against rulers or governments without their given consent
Sovereign immunity in the United States, the legal privilege by which the American federal, state, and tribal governments cannot be sued
Spousal privilege, also called spousal immunity, protects a spouse from testifying against the defendant
State immunity, principle of international law that the government of a state is not amenable before the courts of another state
Witness immunity, immunity granted to a witness in exchange for testimony
________
ArtII.S3.5 Presidential Immunity
ArtII.S3.5.1 Presidential Immunity to Suits and Official Conduct
ArtII.S3.5.2 Presidential Immunity to Suits and Unofficial Conduct
ArtII.S3.5.3 Qualified Immunity Doctrine
/iˈmyo͞on/
adjective
1. totally or partially resistant to a particular infectious disease or pathogen.
"they were naturally immune to hepatitis B"
2. protected or exempt, especially from an obligation or the effects of something.
"they are immune from legal action"
Sometimes the law does not apply.
Definition
- Legal Immunity:
Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. Such legal immunity may be from criminal prosecution, or from civil liability (being subject of lawsuit), or both. The most notable forms of legal immunity are parliamentary immunity and witness immunity.
- Immunity:
Immunity refers to legal protection that exempts a person from liability, punishment, or legal action that would otherwise apply. Immunity can be granted in various contexts, including criminal and civil cases, administrative proceedings, and legislative inquiries. For example, see "immunity from prosecution"
The concept of immunity has its roots in the common law, but it has been codified in various statutes and legal codes. For example, the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause grants immunity to federal officials performing their official duties.
See also: Diplomatic immunity; Qualified Immunity; Sovereign immunity
Types:
Absolute immunity, a type of immunity for government officials that confers total immunity when acting in the course of their duties
Amnesty law, a law that provides immunity for past crimes
Charitable immunity, immunity from liability granted to charities in many countries from the 19th century to the mid-20th century
Diplomatic immunity, agreement between sovereign governments to exclude diplomats from local laws
Immunity from prosecution (international law), exclusion of governments or their officials from prosecution under international law
Judicial immunity, immunity of a judge or magistrate in the course of their official duties
Parliamentary immunity, immunity granted to elected officials during their tenure and in the course of their duties
Qualified immunity, in the United States, immunity of individuals performing tasks as part of the government's actions
Sovereign immunity, the prevention of lawsuits or prosecution against rulers or governments without their given consent
Sovereign immunity in the United States, the legal privilege by which the American federal, state, and tribal governments cannot be sued
Spousal privilege, also called spousal immunity, protects a spouse from testifying against the defendant
State immunity, principle of international law that the government of a state is not amenable before the courts of another state
Witness immunity, immunity granted to a witness in exchange for testimony
________
ArtII.S3.5 Presidential Immunity
ArtII.S3.5.1 Presidential Immunity to Suits and Official Conduct
ArtII.S3.5.2 Presidential Immunity to Suits and Unofficial Conduct
ArtII.S3.5.3 Qualified Immunity Doctrine
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