Posts Made By: David Cotterell

Somebody has to reign him in...

News release:

"BREAKING: Seven prominent Republican senators break ranks from MAGA and sign on to a bipartisan bill that will block Donald Trump from imposing his disastrous tariffs without Congressional approval.
This may just save our economy from total ruin...
Senator Chuck Grassley, the Senate's president Pro Tempore, as well as former leader Senator Mitch McConnell have joined with Senators Jerry Moran, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Todd Young, and Susan Collins to support the historic Trade Review Act of 2025.
The legislation would make it so that the president must notify Congress of any plans to impose new or increased tariffs within 28 hours and would force him or her to provide an explanation for them.
Given that Trump's tariffs are based on an entirely arbitrary and economically illiterate formula related to trade deficits, his "explanation" would be an entirely laughable document.
"For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch. Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Sen. Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’ constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy," stated Grassley.
The bill will also require the administration to assess the impact of tariffs on American businesses and consumers, something that the Trump administration has been trying to downplay as the stock market crashes and consumer prices skyrocket.
Best of all, it would ensure that any new tariffs sunset after 60 days unless Congress expressly passes a joint resolution affirming them. Given the manner in which Trump's tariffs are rapidly destroying the global economy, he'd struggle to get support from even MAGA diehards if it came to an actual vote.
On top of that, the bill allows Congress to cancel tariffs before the 60 day window has elapsed if they pass a joint resolution of disapproval, something we are in desperate need of right now.
The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner, Michael Bennet, Peter Welch, Chris Coons, and Richard Blumenthal.
The Trump White House has already stated that it "strongly opposes" the bill, which is exactly how you know that it's good for America."




 Dave

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

LOL!!  

Sorry, Richard, I just can't wade through your cogent, nuanced and well-written position on this. So much to unpack.  

I'll try reading it again after dinner - perhaps I will be able to decipher the points you are trying to make while sipping a glass of Knob Creek.

Dave

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

LOL!!  
Did that one sink in?    

No.  I continue to be flummoxed by the sheer brilliance of your response.

Dave

Originally Posted by James Brown

No way any broligarch could time their transactions as precisely as you suggest.  Hindsight is far more than 20/20 in this case.   My guess is that the day traders lost their asses today.   I do like “broligarch” though!   👍🏼

That graph I posted  is found by just typing DJIA into my browser.  It comes up with the graph updated to the very minute that I pressed 'return'.  Not much of a stretch to think than someone could  just watch that graph in pretty much real time (refresh button) and then give the buy or sell order within a minute or two.  Heck I'd bet there are websites where the graph is 100% live.  Transactions timed to within two minutes of a peak or a valley is entirely possible.  

Dave

Any traders with inside information that Trump was going to walk back his tariffs today — some of them, presumably, Trump family members and cronies — just made a fortune. It all feels like chaos until you look more closely at who is winning.

To assume that there were NO inside people, that NO ONE but DJT himself, that none of his family members knew he would walk back the tariffs this afternoon is to be in fantasyland.

Follow the money.

Dave

Aha!

......in this meme.

Where are the constitutional guardrails?

Dave

"is a citizen of El Salvador who was illegally deported from the United States on March 15, 2025, in what the Trump administration called "an administrative error." He was then imprisoned without trial in the maximum security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), despite never having been charged with or convicted of a crime in either country."

"He had lived and worked in the country legally since 2019, when an immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal" status, a rare alternative to asylum, over the threat to his life from gang violence in El Salvador if deported. At the time of his deportation in 2025, he was living in Maryland with his wife and child, both American citizens, and reporting to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) annually."

"In March 2019, Prince George's County, Maryland, police arrested Abrego Garcia with three other men in a Home Depot parking lot where they were seeking work as day laborers. One of the men claimed Abrego Garcia was a "gang member," but The Atlantic reported that according to court filings, the man offered no proof and police said they did not believe him. Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime in connection to his arrest."

"However, the judge granted him "withholding of removal" status that would prevent his deportation to a specific country due to the threat that gangs would pose to him, finding that (as NPR put it) "he was more likely than not to be harmed if he was returned to El Salvador." The Department of Homeland Security then granted him a work permit, and he has lived and worked legally in Maryland since."

"The U.S. government later acknowledged to the court that the government had been aware of the immigration judge's order preventing his removal to El Salvador, stating in a court filing that "[a]lthough ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error."

"In the April 4 hearing before Judge Xinis, Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni frequently refused to answer the judge's questions, and stated that the justice department had failed to give him the information he needed to respond to the Judge's inquiries. Reuveni admitted the deportation was a mistake, saying "the facts are conceded, plaintiff Abrego Garcia should not have been removed," and when questioned on why the government was not able to return Abrego Garcia to the United States, Reuveni stated that he'd asked the same question to government officials and had not received an answer. The following day, the Department of Justice placed Reuveni on administrative leave along with his supervisor August "Auggie" Flentje."

"Judge Xinis issued a 22-page opinion reaffirming her previous ruling. The opinion stated the deportation "shocks the conscience" and was "wholly lawless." She also said that while there were previous assertions that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, the government has presented "no evidence" Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 and had essentially abandoned that argument in her court"

"The appellate court stated that: "[The Government] has no legal authority to snatch a person who is lawfully present in the United States off the street and remove him from the country without due process ..." "

"On April 10, the Supreme Court released an unsigned order with no public dissents. In reciting the facts of the case the court stated: "The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal." After reviewing the case, the Supreme Court ruled that the District Court "properly requires the Government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador".

I could go on referring to the wikipedia article but the facts are clear.  He isn't/wasn't a gang member, he was in the USA legally, he has never committed a crime.  The US government admitted its error on more than one occasion.

Facts, indeed.

Dave

Originally Posted by James Brown

For what it is worth:

(A)  I think the District Court does not have authority to dictate immigration policy.   

(B)  I do think the District Court has full authority to mandate that the Executive Branch take all reasonable steps possible to correct their mistakes.  Here Abrego Garcia was clearly deported in violation of a previous Court order, apparently by mistake.

The administration is at least in part casting this as an (A)-type foreign policy/immigration issue.  That is disingenuous, in my opinion.  I think this is a (B)-type issue where the administration screwed up and violated a previous "do not deport to El Salvador" order.   So I think the District Court has full authority to force the Executive to take all reasonable steps to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return, followed by proper procedures with due process if they intend to deport him to anywhere.  That said, sometimes the government's mistakes can not be fully remedied.   Ask anyone who was incarcerated or executed for a crime they did not commit.

Here the battle lines are going to be, "what reasonable steps can/have the administration taken to get Abrego Garcia back."  The answer to this question is certainly not "nothing."  So, this is not over yet, not by a long shot.

James, I cannot argue with your knowledge of the meaning or lack of clarity of meaning in the various rulings about his return.     

I would assume that you cannot condone the removal of a legal resident for no good reason in the first place. 

I certainly agree this case should not be over but I fear it is over because that "Cool Dictator" of El Salvador ain't never gonna let Garcia out of the prison now and will probably order his murder inside the prison in due course.  

Because despots will never, ever, ever say, "oops, my bad. Sorry."  And there are two despots involved here.

Dave

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

What kind of credible person recites Wikipedia as if it is factual?

The DOJ and immigration courts in the USA have adjudicated this MS13 Gang member just that, an MS13 gang member. 

He's not a citizen of the USA and never has been.  He's been here illegally since 2011 and the DOJ shipped his ass to El Salvador after he had 2 hearings in front of immigration courts.  

You are free to spout any bullshit out of your fat leftist bleeding heart Pilehole you like about whether You think he's a citizen.  

Pam Bondi, our current AG, the immigration courts, and the US Homeland Security Dep't, as well as Marco Rubio, our Sec'y of State have all said this guy is here illegally.

I'll take them and their authority over your Wikipedia and leftist fake news outlets as to whether or not he's a citizen, which he obviously is not.

If you have any proof such as photos of his naturalization or citizenry, put it forth.  Otherwise, I'll just say that you're so full of shit it's coming out your ears.

Citation needed.  Proof he is or was a gang member.  
Dave