PrairiePundit

 Daily Caller: Historian Victor Davis Hanson told Fox News host Tucker Carlson Tuesday that the United States no longer had the rule of law and was in a “revolutionary period.” “I hesitate to say this, we’re not in a society ruled by law,” Hanson, a senior fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” referring to attacks on pro-life groups which he argued have largely gone unpunished. “We’re in a revolutionary period like 18th century France or 1920s Russia where the law is fluid and it’s whatever the power to be says it is.” (RELATED: VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The Subordinate Citizen) Multiple crisis pregnancy centers, churches and pro-life groups have been attacked since the leak of a Supreme Court opinion indicating the court is likely to overturn Roe v. Wade. Republicans have criticized the Biden administration over alleged inaction with regards to the attacks and the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ...

  Washington Examiner: Even as a federal appeals court was ruling that the executive branch may not take the place of an independent judiciary, President Joe Biden was trying to rig the game the other way. He is playing a dangerous anti-democracy game that must be stopped. On May 18, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case of Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission . George Jarkesy was accused by the SEC of securities fraud, an SEC administrative law judge, not a real judge but a bureaucrat, found him guilty, and the SEC commissioners affirmed the decision. Jarkesy was never allowed to present his defense in an actual court of law. The 5th Circuit ruled that this arrangement violated Jarkesy’s right to trial by jury, among other constitutional deficiencies in the system. And the 5th Circuit is right. In a speech seven years ago this month, former SEC Chairman Christopher Cox cogently and comprehensively explained why the agency's administrative law system i...

Daniel Greenfield: The establishment of late, the left and some of its allies on the right, has been lecturing us ceaselessly on that magnificent thing that they call, "The rule of law". The rule of law might be more accurately deemed the rule of lawyers and the rule of judges. Every halfway civilized country lives under the rule of law. Especially the uncivilized ones. China and Iran both suffer under the absolute rule of law. As does the UK. On Friday, British free-speech activist and Islam critic Tommy Robinson was acting as a responsible citizen journalist -- reporting live on camera from outside a Leeds courtroom where several Muslims were being tried for child rape -- when he was set upon by several police officers. In the space of the next few hours, a judge tried, convicted, and sentenced him to 13 months in jail -- and also issued a gag order, demanding a total news blackout on the case in the British news media. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon...

Washington Post: The danger of the liberal Trump outrage machine The overreaction to Jeff Sessions's “Anglo-American heritage” comment plays right into the president's hands. This is more evidence of the failure of the education system to teach what made America great, to begin with.  The English legal system had a lot to do with it. How was little England able to turn massive India into one of its colonies?  It was not by force of arms.  The English started with a small base where they imposed the rule of law.  Indians noticed that deals could be enforced and flocked to the base to do commerce.  It spread pretty quickly because people wanted to be able to hold others to their word in business transactions.  That was also one of the reasons that people flocked to America.  That liberals do not understand the importance of Anglo-American heritage shows just how multiculturalism has made them ignorant of factors beyond "...

Monica Crowley: In all of the discussions about the political weaponization of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI, alleged corruption at the highest echelons of those agencies and serial abuse of the secret FISA process surrounding the 2016 election, one name has been conspicuously absent: President Barack Obama. High-ranking officials and other major players in those agencies — which Obama oversaw — are increasingly embroiled in the growing scandal: James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Andrew McCabe, Andrew Weissmann, Sally Yates, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr. Given the tight control Obama exercised over every part of his administration and agenda, the idea that any of these appointees and loyalists freelanced their activities without at least his tacit approval or that of his White House strains credulity. These kinds of abuses of power were nothing new, given the Obama team’s long history of this type of misconduct on everything from the Benghazi terror attack to the p...

NY Times: Trump’s Idea of Law and Order Leaves Leeway on the Law President Trump has signaled that taking the law into one’s own hands is permissible, within the executive branch or in local police departments, or even against a heckler at one of his rallies. If this is about criticism of his decision to pardon Arpaio, if Obama had been doing his job, Arpaio would have had no need to round up illegal aliens in his area.  Obama was so determined to ignore the nation's immigration law that his DOJ whipped up a political prosecution of Arpaio based on a wrongheaded decision by a left wing judge.  To those who want to see the immigration laws enforced it look like an injustice that was set right by the pardon. And speaking of hecklers, when is the Times going to speak out against Antifa and its violent hecklers' veto of speech it disagrees with?  Or does the Times make leeway for liberal fascism?

NY Times: In a Brutal Year in Venezuela, Even Crime Fighters Are Killers The deaths of people arrested in anti-crime raids point to an alarming aspect in the wave of violence gripping the nation. Along with the failures of its command economy is the utter breakdown of the rule of law.  This is not surprising when the government acts more like a kleptocracy.  It steals fro warehouses and oil companies to feed its government greed.  There should be courses in college showing the evils of socialism using Venezuela as an exhibit.

Rush Limbaugh: From the UK Daily Mail: " Governor Andrew Cuomo Takes a Stand Against Trump and Offers People 'Under Attack' to Take Refuge in the Empire State - - Cuomo wrote: 'Whether you are gay or straight, Muslim or Christian, rich or poor, black or white or brown, we respect all people in the state of New York.'" That's BS. Just, what was it, a couple years ago Cuomo invited all pro-life, pro-gun conservatives to leave New York State? Does anybody remember this? He said New York is not open to conservatives. It's not going to be a welcoming place. If I were Trump, I'd call Andrew Cuomo and say, "You want to do this?" But I'd call De Blasio, too. He's going to do the same thing in the city, and I think Rahm Emanuel is doing the same thing in Chicago. I'd call these guys and say, "Fine, you want to do this? You keep it up, and I'm gonna impound every dime of federal money your cities are getting. I'...

Washington Examiner: Senate lawmakers on Wednesday blocked legislation aimed at stopping violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants. The "Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act" would revoke federal grants provided to so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with Homeland Security requests to detain illegal immigrants. The bill is meant to put pressure on those cities to cooperate with the federal government on these issues. The bill is one of the legislative reactions to the death of Kate Steinle, who was killed on a San Francisco pier by an illegal immigrant. After her death, city officials defended their decision not to cooperate with federal authorities on deporting illegal immigrants. While Republicans say those sorts of incidents show the government needs to put more pressure on sanctuary cities to follow federal guidance, Democrats disagree, and they helped scuttle the bill in the Senate. Republicans needed 60 votes to let the bill advance in a 53-44 v...

Rasmussen Reports: Most voters disagree with FBI Director James Comey’s decision not to seek a criminal indictment of Hillary Clinton. The FBI concluded that Clinton potentially exposed top secret information to hostile countries when she used a private e-mail server as secretary of State, but Comey announced yesterday that the FBI has decided not to pursue a criminal indictment in this matter. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey – taken last night - finds that 37% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with the FBI’s decision. But 54% disagree and believe the FBI should have sought a criminal indictment of Clinton. Ten percent (10%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats agree with Comey’s decision not to seek an indictment of their party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans, 63% of voters not affiliated with either major political party and 25% of Democrats disagree wi...

Leon Wolf: Kim Davis Should Have Declared Rowan County a Sanctuary City ... ... Democrats (and moderate Republicans) early rushed to the microphones across the country to condemn Kim Davis and to give us all a condescending civics lecture: “Listen, you crazy right wingers. Local officials can’t just decide they’re not going to comply with federal law because they don’t like the law. LAW OF THE LAND!” It turns out, this principle applies pretty much exclusively to same sex marriage, in the minds of Democrats. When it comes to immigration, Democrats (and moderate Republicans) are perfectly fine with local officials thumbing their nose at Federal law .... ... But we already know Democrat politicians are hypocrites on the rule of law.  They even voted against mandatory sentencing for criminal illegal aliens who return after being deported.

Sean Davis: Kim Davis Uproar Shows That Breaking The Law Is Only Okay When Progressives Do It When it comes to enforcing immigration law, liberals set up sanctuary cities to thwart it, and the Presidency pushes an illegal amnesty program.  Liberals do not care that Obama violates his on health care law and the welfare laws of this country.  The persecution of this woman because of her religious faith is a testament to their hypocrisy.

National Review: John Kerry: Obama Might Not Follow Law if Congress Blocks Iran Deal This is more evidence of a lawless presidency.  It also cause one to pause about the process that was used to come up with this agreement.

Guardian: With relatives and friends returning to Tehran in search of opportunities ahead of the expected lifting of economic sanctions, Haj Hossein holds court at his Grand Bazaar shop and doles out business advice. He warns his cousins, nephews and old acquaintances returning from abroad about corrupt judges and scheming entrepreneurs. “I tell them not to believe and not to trust anyone,” stresses the 70-year-old merchant, who primarily sells rugs but trades anything that comes his way. “They think they are still in Europe or America, but this is a different country, with very different rules.” Decades of economic isolation have made Iran’s business scene difficult to navigate for outsiders accustomed to playing by globally accepted principles. Attempts to shift state-owned property to private hands have led to the creation of a complex conglomerates with shadowy ownership structures. The corrupt legal system also favors the well-connected, giving rise to an environment of distrus...

Breitbart: TEXAS GOV AND AG: FEDS CONTINUE BLATANT DISREGARD FOR THE LAW IN EXECUTIVE AMNESTY LAWSUIT This administration has been blatantly ignoring a court order to stop the amnesty program.  The DOJ should have its pleading struck in this case.

Washington Times: Democrats to Obama: Go ahead and ignore the court, 43 percent say: poll These people would do away with the rule of laws they don't like, which seems to be this administration's policy in many ways.

LA Times: Mexico's vigilante movement has a strong U.S. connection It is unusual that a vigilante movement would be based on their experience with the rule of law in the US.  It is an export of the US culture that allows people to work without having to pay the mob.

Washington Times: ... John McCain of Arizona and Ted Cruz of Texas, have joined to support a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Affordable Care Act and accusing the president of repeatedly ignoring the law he signed for political reasons. The lawmakers have signed onto a legal brief in support of a lawsuit filed by Sen. Ron Johnson , the Wisconsin Republican who is asking a federal court to overturn Obamacare’s special treatment for members of Congress and their staffs. “The unlawful executive action at issue in this case is not an isolated incident,” the brief states. “Rather, it is part of an ongoing campaign by the executive branch to rewrite the Affordable Care Act on a wholesale basis.” The brief contends that, if left unchecked, the administration’s campaign “threatens to subvert the most basic precept of our system of government.” “The president of the United States is constitutionally obligated to take care that the law be faithfully executed; he does not have the powe...

David Freddoso: During the original debate over Obamacare, we saw some of the perils behind amateur attempts to read and decipher complicated legislation. A cottage industry of genuine misunderstandings arose – although those who tried to read those thousands of pages deserve credit for trying when most members of Congress never did. But some of Obamacare's provisions are very simple and can confuse no one – for example, its deadlines. The requirement that businesses with more than 49 full-time employees provide them with insurance (or else pay fines) was to take effect on Jan. 1. The White House decreed last summer (without legal authority) that it would be delayed a year. Now, President Obama has decreed (again, without legal authority) that for businesses with 50 to 99 employees, it will be delayed a second year, until 2016. An overwhelming majority of large employers provide insurance to their workers, and an even bigger number of businesses are too small (fewer than 50 emplo...

National Review Online Editorial: Under this president, even if you like the law of the land, you can’t keep it. His administration, no stranger to ignoring or refusing to enforce pages of the Federal Register , is now rewriting another key part of the Affordable Care Act to escape the political fallout from the insurance cancellations that are an integral part of its design. Using its preferred legislative tool, lawless executive decree, the administration has decided not to enforce some of Obamacare’s costly mandates in 2014, allowing insurance companies, in theory, to renew plans that don’t meet them. Insurers may cancel many of the plans anyway on grounds it is too complicated and expensive to go back now, and state insurance regulators may not want to backtrack, either. Washington State has already suggested it will ignore the “fix” and follow the ACA’s regulations. Surely this is the reaction the White House is hoping for, so it can give lip service to addressing cancellation...