Unheralded

TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — So You Want Our Country To Be Secure?

The president of these United States, in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, wined and dined Japanese Prime Minister Abe at his own “Winter White House” in Florida. It’s bad enough he personally profits from his wholly owned country club with these state visits, but now he has also compromised the security of the country.

While having dinner, the 45th president of the United States was notified of a North Korean ICBM launch. He viewed the video and spoke on his cellphone about the incident in an unsecured environment in front of representatives of a foreign country … notwithstanding that the country is an ally.

Other dinner guests in the terrace restaurant also personally observed what took place as smartphone flashlights provided illumination to view documents. Hmm … I wonder how secure the cameras were.

Like previous presidents under similar circumstances, 45 should have left the room, taken his experienced advisers with him and listened and spoken in a secure environment.

I sound like a broken record, I know, but again, our president has to recognize he’s not running his companies (Ivanka is ). He is acting as the leader of the free world and president of these United States. He wants to make this country secure, perhaps he might want to consider what security is and get people in positions of authority in his administration to guide him.

This begs another and more serious question. Retired General Michael Flynn, whom he named as his national security adviser (a post that needs no congressional confirmation), has been proven to have been in conversations with the Russians both before and after the election. Beyond treason, a basic problem is that the man lied to the American people as well as Vice President Pence about discussing the sanctions President Obama had imposed on Russia.

One need not be a rocket scientist to understand that when he relies upon a liar for advice on national security, that man must be fired and then carefully investigated to see if any criminal laws have been violated. This has nothing to do with partisan politics, it has to do with honesty and decency. (Update: Flynn resigned late Monday.)

In his conversations on his immigrant ban with the prime minister of Canada, 45 stated that its focus is on hardened criminals. No one would question that desire to rid our country of criminals — but his statement is completely false. ICE, the agency in charge of deportation — without notifying any politicians in Congress or the various states — raided communities and regardless of criminal status, removed undocumented people. A mother who’d been in this country 15 years, who had no criminal record other than falsifying something so she could work (and who reported to ICE every month as they requested), was thrown out of this country.

Is there a price to be paid for falsehoods? The immigrant example shows clearly that Trump was not truthful when he said that no families would be separated. If the woman were a hardened criminal, she should have gone — but she was not.

Think about the Somalian family trekking through the woods in winter, in cold and snow, escaping from America! To go to Canada! Canada is as serious about its security as this country is, yet it accepted these folks.

We have a two-year vetting process in place for immigrants, and yet the administration talks about needing “extreme vetting.” What the hell does that mean? If you can’t find problems in two years, then you won’t find them at all. This is his Trojan horse to block the entry of people escaping war, murder and violence in their own countries.

He keeps saying, “You better believe it,” and “Everyone agrees with me.” To 45, “everyone” must be limited to his inner circle. It certainly can’t be a reference to the American people.

The president does not agree with district and circuit court decisions. But instead of disagreeing with the decisions, he attacks the whole judicial system. He obviously knows nothing about the separation of powers and separate but equal branches of government.

The 45th president has no problem telling the legislative branch (an equal branch) what to do and even less doing the same with the judicial branch. The president obviously confuses the presidency with a kingdom or a dictatorship.

If you think I exaggerate, look at whom he has named as his senior policy adviser! Stephen Miller was an adviser to Sen. Jeff Sessions — now attorney general — and press secretary to Minnesota’s answer to Sarah Palin, former Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Senior policy adviser Miller, addressing “Face the Nation” and John Dickerson on Sunday, stated the unthinkable: “The end result of this is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see, as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial, and will not be questioned.”

By now, you will have noted that I have addressed Trump in most cases as “the president” or “45,” with no name-calling for humor or effect. The insidious attack by this goose-stepping Miller, however, is a different story. You should have at least the IQ of a rock if you are a policy adviser, plus the knowledge of a 3-year-old as it relates to the courts.

The fact my father was one of those bad old federal judges just fuels my anger at this uninformed Nazi wannabe. The power of anyone, especially this president, can and will be questioned in the courts. When in doubt, the final answer lies in the Supreme Court. And Miller’s put-down of the media will get him nowhere fast, which is exactly where he belongs.

I, for one, applaud the media for keeping us all informed, whether or not we agree with the particular story or issue. The media — print, TV and digital — all need to keep the pressure on to expose lies as they are told and keep the emphasis on truth, no matter whom it hurts.

The day that the judiciary must fear the executive branch is the day when we should all be terrified. But there is one thing that I will never fear: The judiciary will always be there to adjudicate for all of us.

North Dakota still has its issues. Once again, our full-time supermajority represents itself, not the people … and most of us know that.

In one of the Forum’s rePorts, the blogger says that the officials in District 44 — my district in Fargo — ought to stop talking and start organizing. Since they are all Democrats in a state with a supermajority, he should face reality, as they do. They want to fight for issues they believe in. We should hope that someday our other elected officials will see the light and join them, not oppose them.

The same writer also thinks it is funny that District 44 was the only place in Fargo where his beloved Republicans lost. That may be true now … but if I was a betting man, I’d wager that it will be very uncomfortable to be a Republican incumbent in two years, particularly in Fargo. Amen.





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