By the President of the Senate.
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As our national civics lesson continues to unfold on its march toward our 59th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2021 & 45’s 2nd term, I write today not of his unmasking exercise but of distraction, evolution & Trump’s battle for a return to the Constitution.
As a 3L in the FSU College of Law, I almost single-handedly produced an “African Americans and the Law in Florida” conference.
It was a futile attempt to give our Black Law Students Association a substantive event annually revolving around our chosen profession.
The following year, our BLSA chapter could not have been less interested in sustaining it and reverted to the same ole, same ole.
Fluff.
My subsequent failure on the Florida Bar examination is worthy of a novel. Not from a bitch and moan perspective, although incredible institutional mistakes were made that crippled my legal career.
No, at every step of the way *I* made THE critical mistakes.
Freely.
And because prudence rules my world, I reasoned out why my decisions were the prudent decisions.
Precedents, you might say, personally stacked one upon another since my early teens were weighted and given outsized importance that – unbeknownst to me – worked against my stated professional goals.
Can you see how this relates to my earlier critique of the United States Supreme Court and their reliance upon precedents of their own creation?
Perhaps not. Perhaps its merely personal to me.
Whatever the case, *I* see it.
For me, and because I see it this way, "evolution" -- especially if one isn't careful -- can easily morph merely into a form of distraction.
A loss of focus.
This all came back to me as I watched a video Thomas Wictor highlighted.
The relevant part of this video for this thread runs from the 2:25 mark to 5:00.
https://t.co/gjQovqhrRW
Wictor appears to presume in the video the emotion we see from Miller links back to his appointment as Acting Secretary of Defense on November 9, 2020.
But would that after-election appointment generate such emotion from a combat veteran?
I think not.
No, I think that tremendous emotion goes back to the beginning of the Trump Administration.
Why?
I’ll try to explain that tomorrow.
No, I see it as part of his effort to return power to “we the people” b/c Trump is – like Thomas and Alito – an Originalist.
He knows the logic of our Constitution is inescapable. There is a very clear hierarchy that has, through distractions & evolution, been hidden.
The President, as Chief Executive, is President of *all* the people.
That much we all know.
The President of the Senate, however, a position constitutionally-mandated to be whomever is Vice President of the nation, is Senator to *all* the sovereign states.
Every citizen has two sovereigns, remember?
So, he’s not Senator of all the people . . . no, his duty is to the sovereign states.
Senate Rule 1 could not begin more clearly when it starts out “In the absence of the Vice President . . . .”
Clearly, the VP does not occupy a ceremonial position.
He occupies an incredibly important CONSTITUTIONAL & quite powerful position.
https://t.co/BlKJFojtBb
He, and he alone when presiding as President of the Senate, is CONSTITUTIONALLY authorized as presiding officer to maintain order and decorum, recognize members to speak, and interpret the Senate's rules, practices, and precedents.
Prior to the distracted evolution we increasingly endured as the 20th Century progressed chronologically, the Vice President *regularly* presided over the Senate.
More from Trump
Inside: Stop saying "it's not censorship if it's not the government"; Trump's swamp gators find corporate refuge; and more!
Archived at: https://t.co/7JMcAbaULj
#Pluralistic
1/
Monday night, I'll be helping William Gibson launch the paperback edition of his novel AGENCY at a Strand Bookstore videoconference. Come say hi!
https://t.co/k3fvBdqOK0
2/
Stop saying "it's not censorship if it's not the government": I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.
https://t.co/7I0MpCTez5
3/
If you think "It's not censorship unless the government does it," I want to change your mind.
— Cory Doctorow #BLM (@doctorow) January 24, 2021
It's absolutely true that the First Amendment only prohibits government action to suppress speech based on its content, but the First Amendment is not the last word on censorship.
1/ pic.twitter.com/ycbLLDhtrd
Trump's swamp gators find corporate refuge: The Swamped project.
https://t.co/MUJyIOr2iw
4/
Have you seen the stories about how Trump administration officials and staffers for Ted Cruz are finding that no one in the private sector will hire them because they are forever tainted by their former bosses' disgraceful behavior?
— Cory Doctorow #BLM (@doctorow) January 24, 2021
They're bullshit.https://t.co/XvYDPpR9yd
1/ pic.twitter.com/VxisK4d8jV
#15yrsago A-Hole bill would make a secret technology into the law of the land https://t.co/57bJaM1Byr
#15yrsago Hollywood’s MP loses the election — hit the road, Sam! https://t.co/12ssYpV46B
#15yrsago How William Gibson discovered science fiction https://t.co/MYR0go37nW
5/
Reporter's both-sides question:
"What was your role in what happened at the Capitol?
Proper question:
"Are you going to take responsibility for your role in inciting insurrection?"
Disgraced President Trump claims his speech was analyzed and people thought it was totally appropriate and MSNBC cuts away pic.twitter.com/sg5yIxWWBc
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) January 12, 2021
The press enabled the storming of the Capitol because they never held GOP accountable for pushing #TheBigLie that election was stolen
I have been yelling about this for months. Starting here where @TerryMoran got it right
But after press returned to form
ABC News on Trump's speech:
— Texan (@Texan_21C) November 4, 2020
"This isn't law... It's theater. Let's be blunt. It's the theater of authoritarianism"
"It's an attempt to end the election illegitimately to remain in power"#ABCNews #TerryMoran #Authoritarianism pic.twitter.com/t0pfZaReOz
Not long after Nov 4th press started both-sidesing again. Question Republicans were asked over & over was:
"Do u think Biden won?"
This enabled the coup
The proper question at minimum:
"Why are u enabling this charade? Why are u spreading
Media should shove a mic in every Republicans face & demand to know why they are going along with this charade!
— Texan (@Texan_21C) November 11, 2020
These, \u201cdo you think Biden won the election\u201d questions are weak bothsidesism that allowed a conman to become president
After repeatedly yelling that press wasn't demanding answers of GOP for spreading #TheBigLie I hoped this political violence on Dec 10th would finally get press to demand answers. But no. They continued to both-sides
Maybe political violence most likely inspired by Trump saying Dems are stealing the election will cause press to actually hold GOP accountable? Probably nothttps://t.co/1VZXCwuPc6
— Texan (@Texan_21C) December 11, 2020
I noted how impotent the American press was acting by treating #TheBigLie as credible. The press is supposed to hold people in power accountable, but beside @TerryMoran on election night, they by and large
Reminder that there was political violence 2 days ago bc the GOP is conning their supporters & actively engaging in a coup
— Texan (@Texan_21C) December 11, 2020
I am trying to come up with an analogy that fully captures how much American press is behaving as if it's impotent, during Americas 1st coup attempt!
Yes.. https://t.co/wntoQdyMZs
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