{"id":22526,"date":"2016-06-24T02:27:40","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T09:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=22526"},"modified":"2016-06-24T02:27:40","modified_gmt":"2016-06-24T09:27:40","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-23062016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/06\/24\/squatchs-open-thread-23062016\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch’s Open Thread 23\/06\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been a relatively quiet day.  I overdid things yesterday as far as my knee goes and so spent the night in some pain courtesy of swelling.  Now things are good after staying with my leg elevated much of today.  And thanks to Lona for the nap!  It came in handy today.  My second ESL student made me an Iranian dish for dinner yesterday — an excellent stew-like dinner of lamb, leeks, spinach, onion, red beans and dried lemons served over saffron rice.  I had some last night and the remainder tonight.  It was soooooooo good!  Tomorrow I will see little Simon while I work with Lucia, his mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Alternet<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — The Court’s 4-4 ruling<\/font><\/a>, which will elevate the issue of immigration reform and the need to fill a high court vacancy on the presidential campaign trail, came as a simple nine-word sentence: “The [lower-court] judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.”<\/p>\n

With that split, the controlling law is a November 2015 decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, and ruled against the administration. That ruling was from a judge who showed<\/font><\/a> hostility to the White House's executive orders and the Justice Department's defense, according to legal scholars.  …<\/p>\n

The case centered on the program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA. After years of lobbying from pro-immigrant activists, President Obama created the program by executive order in November 2014.<\/p>\n

Texas and 25 other states, all led by Republican governors, immediately challenged the program—even though the percentage of undocumented immigrants affected was the same as under executive orders issued by former Republican presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n

This isn't the first decision, nor the last, to be rendered as what I will call a non decision.  It is past time that the Senate undertake confirmation hearings for Judge Merrick Garland to bring SCOTUS to full strength and thereby avoid split decisions.  Of course that is no guarantee that the court would rule in favour of the government.  At least this decision does not set a precedent.<\/span><\/p>\n

CBC<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — Britain entered uncharted waters Friday after the country voted to leave the European Union, according to a projection by all main U.K. broadcasters. The decision shatters the stability of the project in continental unity forged after the Second World War in hopes of making future conflicts impossible.<\/p>\n

The decision raises the likelihood of years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with what will become a 27-nation bloc. In essence the vote marks the start — rather than the end — of a process that could take decades to unwind.<\/p>\n

Results released early Friday show the Leave side prevailed 52 per cent to 48 per cent in Thursday's vote as tallied by British broadcasters, with a Remain win a mathematical impossibility.<\/p>\n

The vote had a turnout of 72 per cent of the more than 46 million registered voters.<\/p>\n

The vote is in and Britons have elected to leave the EU under article 50.  It won't be a quick exit.  Markets have already reacted with a decline in stocks and the value of the pound.  The effects will be felt to varying degrees globally.  There may also be ramifications for NATO and consequences for dealing with Russia.  I guess it is a wait and see for now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rawstory<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — Rep. Alan Grayson (D-WI) ripped House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) for dismissing Democrats’ sit-in protest as “a publicity stunt.”<\/p>\n

“To people who don’t know how to legislate, any effort looks like a publicity stunt,” Grayson said in a brief interview with TMZ.<\/font><\/a> “That doesn’t make it so.”<\/p>\n

Grayson was part of the group of Democratic legislators who sat on the House floor while calling for a vote on a measure that would expand background checks on gun sales, as well as a proposal to bar anyone on the federal “no fly” list from being able to buy a firearm.<\/p>\n

Ryan responded<\/font><\/a> by calling the protest “nothing more than a publicity stunt<\/strong><\/span>” and adding, “This is not about a solution to a problem. This is about trying to get attention." <\/p>\n

Note: Rep Alan Grayson is (D-FL) not Wisconsin.  I sent a correction in to the publisher.<\/span><\/p>\n

I'll say it again, compare the Dem sit-in against the Republican government shutdown.  Shame on Lyin' Ryan for calling the sit-in a publicity stunt when his own party shut down the government for their own petty reasons, reasons not rooted in the public good.<\/span><\/p>\n

My Universe<\/strong> —<\/span><\/p>\n