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Articles by Ted Noel
Nidal Hasan: An eye for an eye
There is a biblical principle that a criminal should expect retribution in an “eye for an eye” manner. In short, if you commit murder, expect the death penalty. One key aspect of this is that the authorities should not impose a penalty greater than the offense. This is lex talionis, the law of just retribution. It is not a bloodthirsty rule, as many moderns wrongly understand it.
Hasan Piker: An eye for an eye
There is a biblical principle that a criminal should expect retribution in an “eye for an eye” manner. In short, if you commit murder, expect the death penalty. One key aspect of this is that the authorities should not impose a penalty greater than the offense. This is lex talionis, the law of just retribution. It is not a bloodthirsty rule, as many moderns wrongly understand it.
A Blind Judge
On October 1, Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida declared that Congress cannot constitutionally restrict an alien from voting in our federal elections. It does not matter that 18 U.S.C. § 611 is a federal voter qualification statute. We can disregard that he was nominated in 2023 by Sleepy Joe. Marco Rubio recommended him, and he sailed through the Senate. We’ll leave all the speculations on political motivations for a Democrat nominating a Jew for another time.
Fixing the White House briefing room
This column will be much shorter than most I write. A lot shorter. Just like the tenure of the White House Correspondents’ Association should be. The WHCA controls who gets to be in the White House Briefing Room. The organization is screaming because Trump banned their key lying, socialist, communist reporters/ propagandists and had to get a judge to let them back in. So, we need a simple fix.
Trump Can Issue A ‘National Emergency For Elections Declaration’
Wayne Allyn Root is promoting a “National Emergency for Elections Declaration.” In his post, he argues that if Donald Trump declares a “National Security Emergency,” no court has jurisdiction to overturn it. He suggests that in INS v. Chadha, the Supreme Court (indirectly) ruled that only a two-thirds vote of Congress can do that deed. That would include 67 Senators, and with more than 33 adamant that we need the SAVE America Act, that’s never happening. In short, Trump has the tools.
Congress’s Unconstitutional Spending Spree Must End to Stop Fraud
Every day (if you read real news) we see multiple new cases of documented fraud. Medicare fraud. Election fraud. Small Business Administration fraud. “Green” fraud. And on and on. Elon Musk originally estimated that his “lower bound guess for how much fraud there is nationally is ~20% of the Federal budget, which would mean $1.5 trillion per year. Probably much higher.” That guess is now being proven to be conservative.
Fauci may be charged in spite of his pardon
It appears that Fauci’s right-hand man may have just given the DoJ the jailhouse keys. All they need to do is measure Anthony for his orange jumpsuit. No, I’m not hallucinating. “Let me tell you a little story about a man named…” It is now very clear that Saint Anthony sent money to Wuhan to finance the manufacture of the COVID-19 virus. He used cut-outs at the EcoHealth Alliance and the University of North Carolina.
The Art Of The Deal Is Doomed To Fail In Iran
President Trump is a master deal-maker. Just ask him. And his balance sheet suggests he’s right. But his actions toward Iran have a major problem. There is no deal to be made. Let’s consider the situation. In making a deal, both sides must gain something. Typically, neither side gets everything it wants. If you are selling your house, you put it on the market at a price higher than what you are willing to accept. An offer comes in below that number, and at that point you start negotiation.
Will We Have an Election This Year?
President Trump gives a great stump speech. But when he’s trying to educate America about critical issues like election integrity, he sucks. Sorry, but it’s the truth. That’s why I’m calling this session of the “Make Elections Safe Again” (MESA) seminar to order. Take your seats and pull out your writing tools. While you’re at it, let’s have a Simultaneous Sip in memory of Scott Adams. The President laid down a lot of factual materials. But they were scattered like Jenga blocks.
Birthright taxpayers
There are times when the obvious hits you between the eyes with such force that you just can’t take two aspirin and wait for dawn. Trump v. Barbara did just that. There are supposedly about a million Chinese “birthright citizens” who can now vote in US elections. That also means that they are US taxpayers. Hmmm… Time for a little thought experiment. These US citizens in China are subject to the Internal Revenue Code. That means that they must file Income Tax Returns annually, just like the rest of us.
Resurrecting The American Dream
I read with pleasure Mike Tsichlis’ piece on the American Dream. It was a wonderful walk through history, written with a flowing pen and a musician’s ear. It almost reached the flowering heights of the Declaration of Independence or the powerful prose of The Federalist. But the historical reality is that none of the huddled masses thought in that language.
Speech And Debate
Another gunman has come close to shooting the President. This particular criminal traveled from California to D.C. by train, so his bags received only minimal scrutiny. His stopover in Chicago saw him violate Illinois gun laws. He stayed for a day in the hotel where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was scheduled, a dinner President Trump intended to attend. Again, he violated gun laws, this time D.C.’s. The hotel did not inspect his gun cases, and the venue had rather porous security.
There Is No Need For Congress To Declare War Because We’re Already At War
The usual suspects, plus Thomas Massie and Rand Paul, seem apoplectic about Donald Trump giving the order to obliterate a sworn enemy of the US. They all seem to land either on the 1973 War Powers Resolution or Congress’s power under Article I, Section 8 to “Declare War.” Somehow, they insist the President must be on the wrong side of the Constitution. At the same time, they all seem to be unaware of history.
There’s Only One Greenhouse Gas-And It Isn’t CO2
The EPA has just rescinded its 2009 “Endangerment Finding” that carbon dioxide is causing global warming. Spoiler alert: The finding was a lie and had no science to support it. The usual suspects screaming about “children will die” and “the world is going to cook/melt/flood/name your disaster” are simply ignorant or lying. If you want to know more about them, visit BlueSky. The fundamental concept of a “greenhouse gas” is that it behaves like a mirror.
Expelling Shari-Adherent Muslims is Not Unconstitutional
George Mason University Law Professor Ilya Somin has posted a missive declaring that the “Preserving a Sharia-free America Act” is “manifestly unconstitutional.” We all need a deep breath after that last sentence. It was a mouthful. And Professor Somin is dead wrong. As Justice Jackson noted in 1949, “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.” His key point in Terminiello v. Chicago was that the Supreme Court had gone too far in removing restraints on rioters who attacked policemen.
About Pretti’s Gun: An Inconvenient Truth (For The Left)
No, I’m not a lawyer, but my legal analyses have been sufficient for the University of Wyoming School of Law Firearms Research Center to include me as a presenter (at 14:13ff) on Constitutional Law in their 2024 Symposium on “The National Firearms Act after Bruen.” My legal comments are also posted on their website. Having completed my brag session, it’s time for me to help you become smarter than the average bear. The Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms.
Our Government Is Fraud On Steroids, But This One Clever Tactic Can Change It
Minneapolis was just the canary in the coal mine. Nick Shirley hit the news with hundreds of millions that vanished into entities with good-sounding names, only to line the pockets of terrorists based in Somalia. Along the way, Democrat politicians got a bit of baksheesh.
Another leftist judge
Margot Cleveland notes that District Judge Katherine Mendez just enjoined ICE from doing a few things in Minnesota: District court's order re ICE in Minnesota is a big nothing-burger since ICE is not confronting "peaceful and unobstructive protest activities." And highly doubtful d is happening either. pic.twitter.com/puUxDfVUgq — Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) January 17, 2026 Horror of horrors, we have another lawless leftist judge. Time to impeach! Right. It’s time to read, not react.
What did the judge actually forbid ICE to do?
Margot Cleveland notes that District Judge Katherine Mendez just enjoined ICE from doing a few things in Minnesota. Horror of horrors, we have another lawless leftist judge. Time to impeach! Right. It’s time to read, not react. A leftist judge ordered ICE to not do something. No surprise there. But the actual order is, shall we say, far less than it appears. The judge recites several accounts of people supposedly being abused by ICE agents. A common thread runs through the stories.
The Ultimate Problem With The American Government’s Spending Addiction
Whenever we explore the causes of a bad event, it’s useful to turn our time machines backwards until we reach the original action that started the chain of events. We can then trace forward step by step until the point where the final problem becomes inevitable. This is called “critical incident analysis,” and is beautifully illustrated by the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 into the Everglades on December 29, 1972. The proximate cause of 101 fatalities was the plane’s impact with terrain.
Two Tons Versus Two Hundred Pounds
Original Article Posted By: Hazymac, 1/13/2026 8:14:57 PM Politically, we have a firestorm brewing. In Minneapolis, an ICE agent shot and killed a protester. In Portland, ICE shot two more, this time in a felony traffic stop.
Two Tons Versus Two Hundred Pounds
Politically, we have a firestorm brewing. In Minneapolis, an ICE agent shot and killed a protester. In Portland, ICE shot two more, this time in a felony traffic stop. As I write this, Law Dork reports protests in DC demanding “STOP ICE TERROR NOW.” On the opposite side, we have DHS Secretary Noem calling the actions of the protesters in Minneapolis “domestic terrorism,” and VP Vance clearly outlining the facts indicating that the shooting was, in police parlance, “a good shoot” in self-defense.
Shutting Down the 'Fourth Branch'
Original Article Posted By: Hazymac, 12/12/2025 9:15:09 AM During the oral argument over Trump v. Slaughter at the Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan got seriously exercised. "You're asking us to destroy the structure of government!" Trump's solicitor general, John Sauer, wisely declined to respond. She went on. "Where else have we so fundamentally altered the structure of government?" Indeed. The 1934 Humphrey's Executor case did exactly that as the New Deal got into high gear during FDR's reign.
Shutting Down the ‘Fourth Branch’
by Ted Noel, American Thinker: During the oral argument over Trump v. Slaughter at the Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan got seriously exercised. “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government!” Trump’s solicitor general, John Sauer, wisely declined to respond. She went on. “Where else have we so fundamentally altered the structure of government?” Indeed. The 1934 Humphrey’s Executor case did exactly that as the New Deal got into high gear during FDR’s reign.
Shutting Down the 'Fourth Branch'
During the oral argument over Trump v. Slaughter at the Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan got seriously exercised. “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government!” Trump’s solicitor general, John Sauer, wisely declined to respond. She went on. “Where else have we so fundamentally altered the structure of government?” Indeed. The 1934 Humphrey’s Executor case did exactly that as the New Deal got into high gear during FDR’s reign.
Democrat Rule, by Any Means Necessary
Original Article Posted By: Hazymac, 12/6/2025 7:49:52 AM I used to believe that Democrats had limits. Recent events have forced me to accept a different reality. Democrats really have no limits. They happily accepted USAID money laundered through foreign agents. They yelled, but weren't all that unhappy when USAID was eliminated. It was just one pathway to taxpayer money.
Democrat Rule, by Any Means Necessary
I used to believe that Democrats had limits. Recent events have forced me to accept a different reality. Democrats really have no limits. They happily accepted USAID money laundered through foreign agents. They yelled, but weren’t all that unhappy when USAID was eliminated. It was just one pathway to taxpayer money. They had Somali agents in Minnesota diverting billions (with a B) to terrorist organizations, most likely with a bit of backsheesh diverted to support local Democrat operations.
It Was The Best Of Filibusters, It Was The Worst Of Filibusters
I hate the filibuster. But I love the filibuster. It depends on the day and whether I need to call a tradesman to the house. Or simply a day to be “Papa Fix.” Who knows? The filibuster is the spoiled child’s tirade against his mother, who sent him to clean up his room. Or it’s a sesquipedalian effort to prevent the majority from running roughshod over minority rights. It all depends on your vantage point.
A Shutdown Could Restore America To True Constitutional Governance
by Ted Noel, American Thinker: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” US Constitution, Article II, §1, Clause 1. The Constitution starts with a Preamble, or statement of purpose. Article I describes the Legislative branch, Article II the Presidency, and Article III the Judiciary. Those are the only branches of our federal government. Articles IV-VII are largely devoted to various processes.
A Shutdown Could Restore America To True Constitutional Governance
“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” US Constitution, Article II, §1, Clause 1. The Constitution starts with a Preamble, or statement of purpose. Article I describes the Legislative branch, Article II the Presidency, and Article III the Judiciary. Those are the only branches of our federal government. Articles IV-VII are largely devoted to various processes.
Evil Is Real And Has Embedded Itself In The American Left
by Ted Noel, American Thinker: With the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the word “evil” is being tossed around. It seems to be little more than a verbal equivalent to “fascist,” “racist,” and a handful of other words that are used without a second thought for what they actually mean. We are appropriately repulsed by the act, so we call it evil. But few of us truly understand that these “horrific” acts have a fundamental connection to the realm we cannot see.
Evil Is Real And Has Embedded Itself In The American Left
With the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the word “evil” is being tossed around. It seems to be little more than a verbal equivalent to “fascist,” “racist,” and a handful of other words that are used without a second thought for what they actually mean. We are appropriately repulsed by the act, so we call it evil. But few of us truly understand that these “horrific” acts have a fundamental connection to the realm we cannot see.
Birthright Citizen: The Little Conjunction That Explains Everything
I have been getting just enough email about “birthright citizenship” to suggest that there are some key misunderstandings about the concept and the implications of the Fourteenth Amendment to make one more exploration of the idea worthwhile. So as your resident “splainer,” I’ll try to ‘splain it for you. The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868. It was the final product of a process that Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull began in 1866.
Perp Walks and Jump Suits
Original Article Posted By: DW626, 7/27/2025 6:53:13 AM We're mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore! That's just the way it is. America is fed up. Every election cycle, Republican candidates tell us that, in my wife's expression, they will "Do wonders and poop cucumbers." And as soon as the polls close, all those promises go away.
Perp Walks and Jump Suits
We’re mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore! That’s just the way it is. America is fed up. Every election cycle, Republican candidates tell us that, in my wife’s expression, they will “Do wonders and poop cucumbers.” And as soon as the polls close, all those promises go away. The latest examples of this are the “Republican” senators who demanded that some foreign aid money be left on the table in Donald Trump’s tiny $9.4 billion rescission package.
The Moving Autopen Writes, and Having Writ, Moves On
Original Article Posted By: Hazymac, 7/17/2025 8:25:34 AM The only question remaining is, has the moving finger irrevocably moved on? The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
The Moving Autopen Writes, and Having Writ, Moves On
The only question remaining is, has the moving finger irrevocably moved on? The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
The Census Was Never Intended Just To Be A Body Count, But It Can Be Fixed
Article I, § 2, Clause 3 Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers…of persons… The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.
President Trump’s Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Sites Did Not And Will Not Start A War
A chorus of nattering nabobs of negativity is keening about Donald Trump pulling us into war. Supposedly, the weekend bombing of Iranian nuclear sites will start World War III. Or if that doesn’t happen, he must be impeached for doing the same “illegal” thing that Obama and Clinton did. I have to ask, “In what universe are they living?” I can understand their complaint if they are firmly in the grip of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Israel can take out Fordow without bunker busters
The Iranian government put its key nuclear facility about 300 feet below ground at Fordow. A quick look at the area with Google Earth shows that it’s a mountainous area, and all that rock over the enrichment facility would seem to be pretty good protection. But just like a police officer wearing body armor, the appearance of invulnerability is deceiving. The United States put NORAD’s facility about 2,000 feet below the top of Cheyenne Mountain for the same reason.
An Armed Invasion
Courts have enjoined Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Tren de Aragua bad guys. Venezuela opened its prisons and let those really awful excuses for humans out to wreak havoc in the United States. Trump identified a “predatory incursion” that one judge was sufficiently sapient to see. But the others are oh so offended that these “American fathers” are being sent back to their home countries.
Why Does the Left Worship Power?
We left my last essay with a conundrum. “What was my Irish Setter supposed to do when he caught the UPS truck?” Or in political terms, “What do the Democrats want to do with the power they are so ardently seeking to seize?” Even so great a thinker as historian Victor Davis Hanson admits to being a bit puzzled by this.
For the Left, Power Isn’t a Tool, It’s the Goal
When I was about nine years old, my Irish Setter loved to chase the UPS delivery truck. We could never figure out why he wanted to chase it. And we joked about what he would do if he caught it. Then it happened. He caught the truck. Or maybe the truck caught him. Either way, the result wasn’t pretty, and we were left with a major mess to clean up. For years, that old question had me baffled as I watched the Democrat party lurch farther and farther left.
Out-of-Control Courts
by Ted Noel, American Thinker: I know. You’re tired of pundits opining on the unconstitutionality of various courts declaring that Trump can’t fire people or that he must send USAID money, keep sex deniers in the military, and so on. In those cases, the judges often get outside their lanes, accepting cases that Congress assigned to other courts or not to the courts at all. For example, Congress explicitly ordered that immigration cases have to go through immigration courts.
Out-of-Control Courts
I know. You’re tired of pundits opining on the unconstitutionality of various courts declaring that Trump can’t fire people or that he must send USAID money, keep sex deniers in the military, and so on. In those cases, the judges often get outside their lanes, accepting cases that Congress assigned to other courts or not to the courts at all. For example, Congress explicitly ordered that immigration cases have to go through immigration courts.
Make IRS Sauce The Same For Both Citizen Goose and Politician Gander
Original Article Posted By: DW626, 4/2/2025 9:42:42 AM An old saw says that whatever is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. Of course, in D.C., that has never been true. If you are in the seat of power, you are untouchable. This explains the revulsion that middle earth (flyover country) has for Mordor on the Hudson. "Why can they get away with things we would go to jail for?" One of those things is getting rich in a job that shouldn't generate that kind of wealth.
Make IRS Sauce The Same For Both Citizen Goose and Politician Gander
An old saw says that whatever is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. Of course, in D.C., that has never been true. If you are in the seat of power, you are untouchable. This explains the revulsion that middle earth (flyover country) has for Mordor on the Hudson. “Why can they get away with things we would go to jail for?” One of those things is getting rich in a job that shouldn’t generate that kind fo wealth.
The Supreme Court Must Recognize That The Executive’s Great Powers Also Mean Smaller Powers
Western law is derived in large measure from Jewish legal principles. The rabbis expound on Rabbi Yishmael’s 13 Principles (Middot) of interpretation, even expanding to some by Rabbi Akiva. Perhaps the most important of all is kal vachomer, “light and heavy.” This principle says that if something is forbidden in a minor situation, it is also forbidden in a more weighty (important, stringent, etc.) situation. The reverse also applies.
The Real Coup: How the Swamp Stole Executive Power from the President
My regular readers know that I see a number of left-wing legal writings from day to day. One of the more sane (from time to time) pundits is Ilya Somin of George Mason University. In his latest piece, he bemoans the “Perils of the Unitary Executive Theory.” He begins by saying, The originalist case for a unitary executive falls apart in an era when many of the powers wielded by the executive branch were not originally supposed to be federal powers in the first place.
Trump’s Broad Constitutional Powers
My regular readers know that I see a number of left-wing legal writings from day to day. One of the more sane (from time to time) pundits is Ilya Somin of George Mason University. In his latest piece, he bemoans the “Perils of the Unitary Executive Theory.” He begins by saying, The originalist case for a unitary executive falls apart in an era when many of the powers wielded by the executive branch were not originally supposed to be federal powers in the first place.
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