Thursday, December 25, 2025
Chicago Supreme Court bars Trump from deploying Nat Guard in Chicago
Georgetown Professor martin lederman seems to have persuaded a majority othe U.S. Supre our to leave e
As the Solicitor General acknowledges (App. 18), in ora tech reinstalled Windowsder to obtain the requested stay the Applicants must, at a minimum, demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits. Those merits turn largely on the proper meaning of the phrase “the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States” in 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3)—the statutory precondition the President invoked as the basis for his order “call[ing] into Federal service members and units of the National Guard … in such numbers as he considers necessary to … execute those laws” in Illinois. The parties sharply contest the meaning of the word “unable” in § 12406(3) and whether the proper test was satisfied on the facts of this case. The principal function of this amicus brief, by contrast, is to explain why it is unnecessary for the Court to address those questions because the applicants are not likely to succeed on the merits for an independent reason—namely, that both the President and the Solicitor General have mistakenly assumed that the term “the regular forces” in § 12406(3) refers
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Goodbye to all that: Trump revokes Johnson Affirmative Action Exec. Order
No steps forward, sixty years back. Trump wipes out civil rights movement gains.
Talking Points Memo
September 28, 1965, 30 F.R. 12319
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Under and by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, it is ordered as follows:
PART I----NONDISCRIMINATION IN GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT
Section 101. It is the policy of the Government of the United States to provide equal opportunity in Federal employment for all qualified persons, to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin, and to promote the full realization of equal employment opportunity through a positive, continuing program in each executive department and agency. The policy of equal opportunity applies to every aspect of Federal employment policy and practice.
ENDING ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND
RESTORING MERIT-BASED OPPORTUNITY
As President, I have a solemn duty to ensure that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all Americans.
Yet today, roughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) or “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.
Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system. Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex.
Monday, December 22, 2025
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Jamal Greene- Expand Scotus, reduce partisanship
Saturday, December 20, 2025
Free Abrego Garcia - U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis
Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador at sixteen in 2012. For many years he lived and worked in Maryland He was ultimately granted asylum by an immigration judge based on his credible fear of persecution by a gang. He established that his “life or freedom would be threatened in that country because of [his] race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A).
An extraordinary saga followed, in which he was deported to a jail in El Salvador by the Department of Homeland Security. The facts are recited by United States District Judge Paula Xinis.
ABREGO GARCIA, Petitioner, v. KRISTI NOEM, et al., Respondents. * * * * * *** Civil Action No. 8:25-cv-02780-PX DMD
MEMORANDUM OPINION by Paula Xinis, D.J., District of Maryland
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia (“Abrego Garcia”) petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus to release him from the custody of Respondents, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Kristi Noem, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) Director Todd Lyons, ICE Baltimore Field Office Director Nikita Baker, and Attorney General Pamela Bondi. ECF No. 1.
Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority. For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody.
****
The Court orders Respondents to release Abrego Garcia from ICE custody immediately. Thereafter, he will receive instruction from the United States Pretrial Services Office as to installation on the release conditions previously imposed in his criminal case.17
Dorf> The Vaporware Presidency
Friday, December 19, 2025
Jimmy Lai was convicted for his faith and his pro-democracy work - National Catholic Reporter
Jimmy Lai - Hong Kong philanthropist and media exec
Jimmy Lai was convicted for his faith and his pro-democracy work - NCR
There was no surprise in the unjust verdict delivered by a Chinese court, which found Catholic philanthropist and media executive Jimmy Lai guilty of collusion with foreigners to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. Just a reminder of the evil at work in the world.
Lai's pro-democracy labors really are a threat to the Chinese regime which, like most totalitarian regimes, conflated the nation with itself. Lai did not threaten China: He threatened the tyrants who run the country. His show trial was not designed by the corrupt leaders to deliver justice. It was designed to intimidate others.
The power brokers in Beijing have violated all they promised Hong Kong residents in order to secure the colony's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
The Chinese government is not only afraid of Lai's politics. His Catholic faith rightly worried them. "Of course, Jimmy Lai's persecution is in part political. He is an outspoken proponent of democracy and human rights," said Stephen Schneck, commissioner and former chair, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, in an email interview. "Importantly, though, among those rights is his championing of religious freedom. Moreover, Lai roots his defense of democracy and rights in his faith. It must also be noted that Lai has intentionally been denied the Holy Eucharist during his detention. Clearly, his imprisonment by the Chinese regime reflects a denial of religious freedom."
New Jersey Attorney General Platkin announces landmark rules on discrimination
New Rules Are Nation’s Most Comprehensive Disparate Impact Liability Regulations
The rules make clear the legal standard for disparate impact liability under the
State Law Against Discrimination [LAD], Disparate impact discrimination occurs when a seemingly neutral practice or policy of a covered entity unlawfully results in a disproportionately negative effect based on a protected characteristic even when there is no intent to discriminate.
Office of the Attorney General
– Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General
Division on Civil Rights
– Yolanda N. Melville, Director
TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) announced today that DCR has adopted landmark new rules that codify the prohibition against disparate impact discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), the oldest and strongest state civil rights law in the country.
The rules announced today, which address disparate impact discrimination in employment, housing, places of public accommodation, financial lending, and contracting, are the most comprehensive state-level disparate impact regulations in the country. The rules cement critical state-law civil rights protections just as the Trump Administration has moved to reverse key protections against disparate impact discrimination at the federal level.
The rules make clear the legal standard for disparate impact liability under the LAD, as well as the burdens of proof in disparate impact discrimination claims. Disparate impact discrimination occurs when a seemingly neutral practice or policy of a covered entity unlawfully results in a disproportionately negative effect based on a protected characteristic, even where there is no intent to discriminate.
“The landmark rules we are adopting today further solidify our state’s nation-leading civil rights protections. As the Trump Administration continues its unlawful attempts to dismantle disparate impact protections at the federal level, it’s more important than ever that states take action to protect the civil rights of their residents – and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Attorney General Platkin. “These landmark rules, which are the most comprehensive disparate impact rules in the country, make clear that the Law Against Discrimination prohibits discrimination in all of its forms, and they confirm New Jersey’s commitment to upholding the LAD’s protections and continuing our state’s longstanding leadership on civil rights.”
“The LAD safeguards against not only intentional acts of discrimination but also practices and policies that disproportionately affect members of protected groups,” said Yolanda N. Melville, Director of the Division on Civil Rights. “The comprehensive rules announced today provides increased clarity on disparate impact liability and helps improve the way we enforce civil rights in New Jersey.”
Disparate impact discrimination liability is a powerful tool to remedy practices and policies that harm members of historically marginalized communities. These rules will provide New Jerseyans with a better understanding of the LAD’s protections and provide regulated entities – such as housing providers, employers, and places of public accommodation – with a better understanding of their legal obligations.
The rules adopted today confirm that New Jersey’s civil rights laws continue to prohibit disparate impact discrimination – notwithstanding the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attempts to dismantle disparate impact standards at the federal level. Not only are those federal attempts to roll back disparate impact liability standards inconsistent with existing federal law, but they cannot and do not change the standards applicable under state law—standards that today’s landmark rules now codify in New Jersey.
The newly adopted rules codify existing case law and provide examples to clarify the types of practices and policies that could violate the LAD by having a disparate impact on members of a protected class. The LAD prohibits disparate impact discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics in employment, housing, places of public accommodation, financial lending, and contracting.
“The landmark rules we are adopting today further solidify our state’s nation-leading civil rights protections. As the Trump Administration continues its unlawful attempts to dismantle disparate impact protections at the federal level, it’s more important than ever that states take action to protect the civil rights of their residents – and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Attorney General Platkin. “These landmark rules, which are the most comprehensive disparate impact rules in the country, make clear that the Law Against Discrimination prohibits discrimination in all of its forms, and they confirm New Jersey’s commitment to upholding the LAD’s protections and continuing our state’s longstanding leadership on civil rights.”
“The LAD safeguards against not only intentional acts of discrimination but also practices and policies that disproportionately affect members of protected groups,” said Yolanda N. Melville, Director of the Division on Civil Rights. “The comprehensive rules announced today provides increased clarity on disparate impact liability and helps improve the way we enforce civil rights in New Jersey.”
Disparate impact discrimination liability is a powerful tool to remedy practices and policies that harm members of historically marginalized communities. These rules will provide New Jerseyans with a better understanding of the LAD’s protections and provide regulated entities – such as housing providers, employers, and places of public accommodation – with a better understanding of their legal obligations.
The rules adopted today confirm that New Jersey’s civil rights laws continue to prohibit disparate impact discrimination – notwithstanding the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attempts to dismantle disparate impact standards at the federal level. Not only are those federal attempts to roll back disparate impact liability standards inconsistent with existing federal law, but they cannot and do not change the standards applicable under state law—standards that today’s landmark rules now codify in New Jersey.
The newly adopted rules codify existing case law and provide examples to clarify the types of practices and policies that could violate the LAD by having a disparate impact on members of a protected class. The LAD prohibits disparate impact discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics in employment, housing, places of public accommodation, financial lending, and contracting.
When in the course of human events...
The collapse of law into tyranny is an old story...Rome, Othello, Stalin, Mao come immediately to mind. We are accustomed to deferring to the President as the directly elected vox populi. But when in the course of human events....
Whereas the late [former] King James the Second by the Assistance of diverse evill Councellors Judges and Ministers imployed by him did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the Protestant Religion and the Lawes and Liberties of this Kingdome.... By Assumeing and Exerciseing a Power of Dispensing with and Suspending of Lawes and the Execution of Lawes without Consent of Parlyament.
- The Glorious Revolution (1688): curtailed the monarch's absolute power.
- The Bill of Rights (1689): asserted the rights and legislative supremacy of Parliament over the Crown, making the Monarch dependent on Parliament for revenue and unable to suspend laws.
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
"Congress cannot act on, and courts cannot examine, the President’s actions on subjects within his “conclusive and preclusive” constitutional authority. It follows that an Act of Congress—either a specific one targeted at the President or a generally applicable one—may not criminalize the President’s actions within his exclusive constitutional power."
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE KAGAN and JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting.
Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law. Relying on little more than its own misguided wisdom about the need for “bold and unhesitating action” by the President, ante, at 3, 13, the Court gives former President Trump all the immunity he asked for and more. Because our Constitution does not shield a former President from answering for criminal and treasonous acts, I dissent.
“The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts,” said Smith, according to a copy of portions of that statement. He maintained that this team found evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power. Smith also said his team found “powerful evidence” in the classified documents case and alleged that the president “repeatedly tried to obstruct justice.”
President for Life - The Atlantic
Donald Trump is trying to amass the powers of a king.
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Booker, Kim joint statement on Alina Habba
NEWARK, NJ – Today, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) issued the following statement regarding Alina Habba’s resignation as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey:
“Today’s resignation of Alina Habba from her role as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey brings to a close a troubling chapter and confirms what we have warned from the start. Habba’s installation through an irregular and unlawful process undermined the credibility of the office and eroded the public’s trust in the state’s chief federal prosecutor. The courts’ rulings only confirmed our longstanding concerns—that this appointment was driven by political loyalty, not qualifications or respect for the rule of law.
“In light of this leadership vacuum, the administration must now act swiftly and responsibly. We hope that they will work with us to put forward a qualified nominee––one with deep prosecutorial experience, unquestioned integrity, and a genuine commitment to delivering impartial justice––and to give the Senate a full, fair opportunity to consider that nominee. New Jersey deserves no less, and we will not compromise on the safety of our communities.”
Monday, December 1, 2025
Conservative JuristJ. Michael Luttig - a Jeremiad
The Absence and The Imperative of Virtue in Our TimesAn American Jeremiad for Thanksgiving 2025
In these times of moral inversion in America that are trying men’s souls, we are being told by our political class and taught by their example that the timeless virtues and their opposite vices that have defined humanity throughout all of civilization no longer exist, that these virtues and these vices are indistinguishable one from the other. We are even being told and taught by our political leaders that the virtues are actually vices and the vices virtues. We must never believe what we are being told. |
- Now more than ever before, this is our responsibility to mankind: To once again celebrate the virtuous and condemn the unvirtuous.
- For to strive to be virtuous is to be human, whereas to strive to be unvirtuous is to be inhuman.
- Virtuous as distinguished from unvirtuous
- Righteous as distinguished from unrighteous
- Godly as distinguished from godless
- Moral as distinguished from immoral
- Good as distinguished from evil
- Right as distinguished from wrong
- Wise as distinguished from ignorant
- Temperate as distinguished from excessive
- Honorable as distinguished from dishonorable
- Principled as distinguished from unprincipled
- Noble as distinguished from ignoble
- Brave as distinguished from fearful
- Courageous as distinguished from cowardly
- Heroic as distinguished from unheroic
- Truthful as distinguished from untruthful
If there were ever a dream conservative lawyer resume - former 4th Circuit Judge, Boeing General Counsel J. Michael Luttig has it. A former Circuit Judge, White House Associate Counsel, law Clerk to Antonin Scalia and Earl Warren, Luttig is sounding the alamrm.
Luttig has elaborated his thoughts in an article in The Atlantic, December 2025
Donald Trump is trying to amass the powers of a king.
