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Our second livestream on our Political Questions Substack was a lively tour through frivolous lawsuits against the McRib, to wondering what is happening in Iran. Could it really be the end of the line for the mullahocracy? If so we agree the likely deciding factor is Trump. Who also, you may have heard, knocked over Venezuela last weekend. Finally, what to make of events in Minneapolis. Well, a lot, as you might imagine.
John Yoo
'Lucretia'
Steve Hayward
Discussion (6)
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Since the switch to Substack, first Steve and now John sound like you have ill-fitted dentures. Am I the only one who notices this difference in sound quality?---it's most noticeable YouTube.
More important, am I totally off base in thinking that Trump is really rolling the dice and risking 2+ years of impeachment proceedings by taking his eye off the domestic MAGA agenda and getting everyone and everything distracted by his choice of a Venezuelan adventure NOW?
Getting the drug boats was working and while the military was VERY impressive, now that pro-Maduro militia in Caracas are targeting Americans and Trump supporters, Venezuela is becoming a potential killer tar baby.
I could be wrong...
PS---If I may: Gov. Walz actually intimated it was possible he would call out the MN National Guard to battle with ICE and CBP. It is irresponsible (to this non-lawyer) for Trump and Bondi and Hegseth to NOT draw the Fort Sumpter parallel....when the state is threatening to take arms vs the Feds, now THAT's an insurrection--- and dwarfs the embarassing riot of 1/6/21.
CONTRIBUTOR
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Very heroic of John to insist on recording despite his cavity filling, but next time could you wait until the Novocaine wears off?
Was legitimately surprised when ingredient #5 of Lucretia's ice cream wasn't bourbon.
With respect to the obvious questions on the naturalization form I'd rather keep them there then allow anyone to say "you never asked!". And yeah, they serve a useful purpose. Being a jerk isn't something we can legally punish. Lying on a form is something that we can. I 100% agree with Lucretia that we ought to have "Communism" as a reason to disallow naturalization.
Though I will say that the 'overthrow the Constitution' clause would apply more in the Cold War era, when there was reason to believe international communists were operating off of orders from Moscow.
Also,
MORE CLEAN AIR ACT CONTENT!!
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On the Maduro / Venezuela matter, I am not smart enough to understand the nuances of different strains of conservatism and what the defining philosophy of "MAGA" is. But maybe a substantial number of "MAGA" people are not really concerned with the details and long-term implications of foreign policy, yet are happy to see America doing stuff and succeeding, as we generally have throughout our history. Not retreating, apologizing for our existence, acting as though whatever we did was wrong and that the world would be better off without the U.S.A. as carried out by the Biden and Obama administrations, and to some extent the Clinton and even a bit of the W. Bush administrations.
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On the issue of Mamdani and denaturalization of a U.S. citizen in general and him specifically, I checked and Mamdani's citizenship was granted when he was either 17 years old, or shortly after his 18th birthday. Wikipedia doesn't give an exact date when citizenship was granted, only the year.
The only conduct that Mamdani can be held responsible for when it comes to losing that citizenship is conduct before he became a citizen, or lying on the N-400 questionnaire form. The one question that he might be held accountable for is, “Do you support the Constitution and form of government of the United States?”
Regardless of what he may have said after citizenship was granted, if there's no evidence that he did not before citizenship was granted, then his views today are irrelevant when it comes to any denaturalization proceedings. And he was a minor during that time anyway. Even if he did something like post on social media his contempt for the U.S. constitutional order, he could still claim that from the time he filled out that form and the time citizenship was granted, he did.
On the other hand, going after his parents, who are also naturalized citizens, might be easier because they were well into adulthood when granted citizenship and it means it's easier to find dirt on them.
But at most, it would only embarrass Mamdani.
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After hearing Lucretia make “international law” sound sexy, imagine what she could do with the words “the warmth of collectivism”
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