Tag: First Amendment

My Dear Brother Johnson, Thou Shalt Not Lie about the “No Kings” Protests Tomorrow

You, (and I) claim to follow Jesus as our Lord. We should, therefore, live according to his teachings. We should speak the truth in love. We should love our neighbors and seek their wellbeing. If we are mistaken in thoughts or deeds, we should be open to correction, especially from our spiritual siblings.

You have made many assertions about the upcoming protests and I believe your affirmations are dead wrong. You say these peaceful protesters “hate America”. You have called them “terrorists”. You are called by God to be a peacemaker, yet you have stoked the flames of anger. You have not offered  a shred of evidence for your accusations. Of course, I cannot know what is in the heart of every protester (neither can you). Nevertheless, the act of peacefully criticizing one’s political leaders does not mean hatred for your country. Quite the contrary! You and I should be able to agree that the Biblical prophets, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself loved their neighbors and their enemies even as they denounced the sins of political leaders of their days. Criticism that is “constructive” must be accurate and provided to bring about repentance and growth. This kind of constructive criticism is genuine patriotism, not the “cheap patriotism” that is adulation and bowing down to a president. Peaceful protest is an appropriate application of the First Amendment.

I respectfully submit for your consideration some of your actions that I consider to be immoral and likely illegal.

  • I (and most of the protesters) think you are practicing hypocrisy. You say you cannot swear in Adelita Grijalva who was elected to her seat in a special election in Arizona because the House of Representatives is not “in session”. Nevertheless, earlier this year you swore in two Republicans who were elected in special elections in Florida when the House was not in session. There is no nice way to say this: you are a hypocrite. It seems that the real reason for not swearing her in is that you don’t want Grijalva’s vote to force the Epstein files to be made public. The names and identities of the sex traffickers and pedophiles should be made known to the public. Which side are you on?
  • According to our Constitution, the judiciary, the legislative, and the executive branches are co-equal and are to be checks and balances on each other. But you have allowed the president to roll over congressional responsibilities. Here are two examples.
  • You have allowed the president to overturn funding that had already been approved by Congress (USAID, New York’s transportation projects) without even raising a whimper.
  • According to our Constitution, wars are declared by Congress. Nevertheless, Trump is carrying out war actions against Venezuela, and he has not even met with Congress’ “Gang of Eight” to let them know or to get their approval.
  •  You label protesters as “terrorists”. The first “no kings” protests earlier this year were overwhelmingly peaceful. What evidence do you have that show that these protesters are terrorists? Would you admit that some of their criticisms are valid?
  • You sent the House of Representatives home for vacations a week early and you have kept them “on break” for additional weeks (even though the Senate is “in session”). It sure seems you have no interest in finding a mutually agreed upon solution to the government shutdown. You have demanded that Democrats approve the Continuing Resolution so that you can have  “more time” to negotiate the ACA extensions past the end of the year “sunset”. You have known for months that you needed 60 senators to approve the resolution. Why should citizens believe that you would use a time extension and act in good faith?

Speaker Johnson, as the Scriptures say, “Thou shalt not lie” and “Repent and find forgiveness.”

Is Trump’s Deployment of the National Guard Illegal? Read His Own Words

We are in the midst of a heated, although necessary, national debate regarding the freedom of speech and assembly in our country. Five days ago, thousands of Americans protested the ICE raids in Los Angeles, California and neighboring cities. Although largely peaceful, there were some acts of violence, and arrests were made. The LAPD, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and California Governor Gavin Newsom all affirmed that the situation was under control. Nevertheless, President Trump called up and deployed 2000 members of the National Guard to Los Angeles. On Sunday, Governor Newsom requested the president to withdraw this deployment because the presence of federal troops was counterproductive and increased the unrest. The president refused to do so. In fact, yesterday he deployed an additional 2000 National Guardsmen plus 700 Marines. Our national debate involves the legality of the right to assemble and to express dissent plus the calling up of the National Guard (and Marines).

The First Amendment to the Constitution is quite clear regarding the freedoms of speech and assembly. It affirms “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Of course, if a gathering of people turns violent, the police are responsible for restoring order.

During his first term in office, Trump faced similar circumstances in which people protested the killing of George Floyd. In an ABC News town hall on September 15, 2020, President Trump was asked how he would restore law and order to our nation. Trump’s answer was quite clear. “Look, we have laws. We have to go by the laws. We can’t move in the National Guard. I can call insurrection but there’s no reason to ever do that, even in the Portland (Oregon) case. We can’t call in the National Guard unless we’re requested by a governor.” (Trump’s political and military advisors had told him not to break the law, especially in light of the need to first obtain a governor’s request for deployment. In addition, the National Guard, by law, cannot make arrests.)

In the current debate, according to his own words, Trump is breaking the law.

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Update as of June 13 according to th New York Times:

A federal judge issued an order late Thursday blocking President Trump from deploying members of the California National Guard in Los Angeles, and ordered the administration to return control of the forces to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The administration quickly filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which temporarily stopped the ruling from taking effect while it considers the case.

The restraining order from District Judge Charles R. Breyer, which would have taken effect Friday at noon Pacific time, delivered a sharp rebuke to President Trump’s effort to deploy thousands of troops on the streets of an American city, a move that has contributed to nearly a week of political rancor and protests across the country.

“His actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Judge Breyer wrote of Mr. Trump’s orders.