‘Birthright citizenship’ issue comes to fore after ruling

Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a case about “birthright citizenship” wasn’t a confirmation of a once-fringe theory about the meaning of the 14th Amendment, but it raised concerns that things might be headed that way.

According to The New York Times, on a 6-3 vote along ideological lines, the court ended the use of nationwide injunctions by federal judges, thus potentially clearing the way for enforcement of a executive order by President Donald Trump that would deny citizenship – and thereby voting rights – to the children or illegal migrants even if born in the U.S. or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

But some conservative legal theorists hold that the intention of the amendment was to grant citizenship to newly-freed Black slaves. However, that’s not the way it’s been interpreted since its passage in 1868.

The court did not rule on the issue of “birthright citizenship,” but did block a lower federal court’s decision that would have stopped enforcement of the president’s executive order.

Trump’s Iran strikes upheld in Senate

By a 53-37 vote the U.S. Senate defeated a resolution stating that President Donald Trump must seek Congressional appeal before more attacks against Iran.

The Associated Press is reporting that all Republicans except for one (Rand Paul of Kentucky) voted against the resolution and all Democrat except one (John Fetterman of Pennyslvania) voted in favor.

The resolution, even if passed, was not considered likely to prevent additional air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“We must not shackle our president in the middle of a crisis when lives are on the line,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn).\

“We shouldn’t send our sons and daughters into war unless there’s a political consensus that this is a good idea, this is a national interest,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), who wrote the resolution.

Stock markets soared on Friday

Wall Street had a bullish day on Friday, hitting a record high. According to United Press International, the Standard and Poor’s 500 rose to 6,173. The Nasdaq Composite soared to 20,273.

The Dow Jones Average climbed to 43,819.27.

The increases, which ranged from a half-percent to a full percent, were larger until the news emerged that the U.S. had “terminated” its trade talks with Canada, and that tariffs against that country would be announced within seven days.

Weather: Warm and cloudy for days

A weekend of daytime highs in the mid-80s with partly cloudy skies will give way to cooling temperatures in the new week for our West Orange County cities. Saturday and Sunday are forecast to have highs of 85 with overnight lows of 62. Monday and Tuesday will cool a bit to 81 (62).

Great Thoughts

“One is never so happy or so unhappy as one imagines.”
–La Rouchefouchauld, writer

“I think ideology is rapidly becoming anachronistic, irrelevant and obsolete.”
– David Brinkley, TV journalist

“The shabby proposition that there is a crisis of authority in America, and the even shabbier proposition that the iron hand is what the country needs.”
– From “An American Melodrama.”