Holding The Line In Texas Blogging Adventures Of A Proud Conservative Texan

* NEW HTLIT Blog Contributor - RogerThat
(We will have a new blog format coming soon. We will have multiple contributers and an all new format in the coming weeks and months leading up to the 2012 elections and beyond. A great big THANK YOU goes out to RogerThat!)

--Written by: RogerThat
About RogerThat!

On July 7, 2011, Texas executed Humberto Leal Garcia, a Mexican national* who brutally tortured and murdered a 16-year-old girl. Garcia was properly tried and convicted under the laws of Texas, and sat on death row for over 16 years while multiple lawyers tried to get his death sentence overturned.

In a very unusual move, Obama administration lawyers intervened in Leal Garcia’s case to ask the United States Supreme Court to delay the execution. They argued that Texas had violated Garcia’s rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations  because he was not informed of his right to seek legal assistance from the Mexican consulate. The Convention requires that the member countries give foreign nationals access to diplomatic advisers from their own countries if they are arrested in the United States.

The Obama lawyers asked the Court to grant a stay in order to allow Congress to have more time to consider legislation being put forth by Senator Patrick Leahy which would make the Convention binding law in the United States. Unsurprisingly, the motion was supported by the usual suspects: the United Nations, the Justice Department, the State Department, the Mexican Government, other foreign governments, and, somewhat strangely, advisors from Ex-President George W. Bush’s administration.

In a 5-4 opinion along the typical ideological lines, Justice Alito rebuffed the President, stating:

“We are doubtful that it is ever appropriate to stay a lower court judgment in light of unenacted legislation. Our  task is to rule on what the law is, not what it might eventually be… We have no authority to stay an execution in light of an “appeal of the President,” presenting free-ranging assertions of foreign  policy consequences,  when those assertions come unaccompanied by a persuasive legal claim.”

The dissenting Justices took the position that it would be acceptable to defer to the President and his constitutional authority over foreign relations and grant a stay. Justice Breyer’s dissent stated:

“The Court has long  recognized the President’s special constitutionally based authority in matters of foreign relations.  And it has ordinarily given his views significant weight in such matters.  It should do so here.”

In other words, the liberal wing of the Court felt that a stay should be granted simply because the President asked for it.

The Obama Request was Illogical on its Face

These actions by the Obama administration were illogical for three reasons:

First, the purpose of the Convention’s provision was to ensure that foreign nationals receive proper due process (i.e., proper legal representation) during their prosecution. During his almost seventeen years on death row, Garcia had assistance from more than 10 different lawyers and had four different appeals reach the Supreme Court. To say that there is even an argument that he received inadequate due process is beyond the realm of believability. (A complete and very extensive judicial history of Garcia’s case is documented by Texas Attorney General Abbott here). One federal district court judge called his case “one of the most procedurally convoluted and complex habeas corpus proceedings” he has ever witnessed.

Second, the Supreme Court addressed this exact same issue three years ago in another practically identical case (which I will discuss in Part 2). In that case, the Supreme Court held that the Vienna Convention was not a self-executing treaty, and that in order for the Convention to be binding upon the states, Congress must enact legislation to implement its provisions. In other words, the Court had already addressed this exact same situation and had told Congress what it had to do to make the Convention binding law in the United States. The Supreme Court pointed out that, “It has now been ..three years since our decision… If a statute …had genuinely been a priority for the  political branches, it would have been enacted by now.” It made no legal sense to ask the Supreme Court to take a different position on a situation that it had previously addressed.

Third, Garcia was obviously guilty of the charges against him. Indeed, none of the objections to his execution even challenged his guilt. His final words verified his guilt. "I have hurt a lot of people. ... I take full blame for everything. I am sorry for what I did," he said in the death chamber.  "One more thing," he said as the drugs began taking effect, "Viva Mexico!, Viva Mexico!"

So, since Garcia’s guilt was not in question, and given that he had received more than adequate due process, and considering that the Congress had failed to act on implementing the Convention, what explains the administration’s actions?

Political Motivations

I operate under a fundamental premise that absolutely everything this administration does is political. The issue was not about Garcia, and it wasn’t even about the law (except perhaps as an attempt to alter it by judicial activism). The actions of the administration are perfectly logical if looked at through the lens of politics and liberal ideology:

I propose that the following political and ideological motivations were in play:

1. The administration believes that the United States should defer to rulings of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the U.N. Human Rights Council. For another example of this principle, just look at how the administration is treating Arizona and its immigration law.
2. Texas stands for everything the administration opposes, and needs to be cut down to size. This attitude is evidenced by the administration’s efforts to impose further controls on Texas through environmental regulations. The Obama administration has serious contempt towards Texas, and will even hold the Texas economy hostage over a lizard.
3. A Rick Perry presidential candidacy is a threat to Obama’s reelection chances, and the administration will jump at every chance to gin up negative talking points against Perry.
4. The administration was pandering to Mexican voters. The Latino vote is critical to Obama’s election chances and political points need to be scored with Mexico after the Fast and Furious debacle.
5. The administration was pandering to its hard left base that is strictly opposed to the death penalty (at least for those who have already been born).
6. The executive branch would be much more powerful if it could leverage its authority over foreign relations and the treaty authority to override the restrictions imposed by the Constitution, and it would erode federalism by gaining more power over the states.

Constitutional Motivations

Aside from being a case study in politics, this situation is perfect for illustrating several constitutional issues about which conservatives should be very concerned:

1. Why would an international convention override a state’s authority to administer its criminal justice system?
2. Is the United States subject to decisions of the International Court of Justice?
3. To what degree should the Supreme Court defer to the President’s constitutional powers to govern foreign affairs?
4. What must the United States do to make an International Convention binding United States law?
5. If the Convention had been a treaty, would it have made a difference on all of the above questions?
6. How might the power of the president to nominate Supreme Court justices impact future Court decisions and change existing constitutional law?

I will explore these issues in later articles.

*Garcia had been residing in the United States since he was two years old.

---

Next: TexMexecution, Part 2 – the Prior Case of Medellin v. Texas

---

About the Author:
Roger S. Burke is employed as attorney at an international company. Constitutional law is his passion, but so far, an uncompensated activity.

Activism, Article, Editorial, Obama, Politics, Texas, RogerThat!, U.S. Constitution, United Nations Editorial, Politics, Rick Perry, Texas Politics, Texas, Constitutional Law, U.S. Constitution

The following is an interesting article. You might ask how long Dr. Hunt can remain at NIH once the White House gets wind of this article.

Dr. Hunt is a social and cultural anthropologist. He has had nearly 30 years experience in planning, conducting, and managing research in the field of youth studies, and drug and alcohol research. Currently Dr. Hunt is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Scientific Analysis and the Principal Investigator on three National Institutes of Health projects. He is also a writer for American Thinker.

An article from American Thinker by Geoffrey P. Hunt

Anatomy of a Failing Presidency

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China .

But, Barack Obama is failing. Failing big. Failing fast. And failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message, and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.

But, there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his tenure and become a lame duck in six months? His poll ratings are in free fall. In generic balloting, the Republicans have now seized a five point advantage. This truly is unbelievable. What's going on?

No narrative. Obama doesn't have a narrative. No, not a narrative about himself. He has a self-narrative, much of it fabricated, cleverly disguised or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align exactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and Reagan.

But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task--all contributory of course. It's that he's not one of us. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content, like a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper. Moreover, he doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong are repugnant and how things work just don't add up. They are not existential. His descriptions of the world we live in don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.

In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of this man,he's dissed just about every one of us  -- financiers, energy producers, banks, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job.

Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012: "For those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not offended, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second term, I could have offended you too."

Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a useful remedy for such a desperate state--staggered terms for both houses of the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable Congress can get voted out this year. With a new Congress, there's always hope of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after that.

Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes howl but the wagon train keeps rolling along.

Article, Common Sense, Foreign Relations, Obama, Politics Common Sense, Politics, Responsibilty, Texas, Taxes, Texas Politics

WOW... What a week! A resounding 2010 Election win for conservatives... We swept the House of the pests, picked up 60+ seats, a feat unheard of since the 1938 elections. We narrowed the Senate Majority to a mere handful, gained 350+ state Assembly seats and won 19 more state Gubernatorial positions with an (R) behind their names. I have to say I was very impressed and encouraged by what I witnessed this past November 2, 2010! Congratulations America on choosing the right direction to set our country rolling in!

You may have noticed that I took a week off from the blogasphere (or not), I used that week to do a little redesign of the blog and I finally took care of the technical issues that I was having. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for following HTLIT!

After the election, some observations

First, let's take a look at what we have learned from this important day in our history. We have learned that the vast majority of Americans have awakened from the fog that is our current economic and political climate and we have spoken loudly! Can you hear us now? GOOD! We learned that Americans wholeheartedly rejected the failed ideas of a Socialist / Marxist style of governing. We also learned that there are a few out there who will just never get it (Yes California & Nevada, I mean you. I'll get to you shortly). Most of all though, we learned that our votes can, and do, make a difference. Many that I know, voted for the first time; and for the first time, they learned what it was like to use their real voice in our society. However, we are not finished! In the next 2 years we may see political gridlock that has never been witnessed in our recent history; we must not waiver, and we must understand the battle ahead! We, as people, have a mountain to climb; And it will be rough... Some patience will be required. After all, this is not a fight for the weak of heart!

I am going to start with the issue that is California. Pelosi, Waxman, Boxer... Again? SIGH...  It seems that these foolish, pot smoking, Frisbee throwing, Hacky Sack kicking (I hate that game), freeloaders will never pull their heads out of their ever-loving asses long enough to join the rest of the country. I think that the clouds of smoke from their "medical" marijuana have finally killed their last collective brain cells. Time and time again they use their vote to back the same progressive, liberals and their failed policies and agendas. I think it is time that America cut ties with these fools. They are like a son or daughter that is off at college partying the nights away and failing classes too long on their daddy's dime. They put forth no effort for real change, their agendas fail, and then they request the American tax payers bail them out on a regular basis; all the while criticizing successful states, such as my beloved Texas! I say, NO MORE, college is over, it is time to set them free, let them float off into the sunset, form their own failed government, and be done with them once and for all. It's only fair to the rest of us.

Then we have Nevada, REALLY? Harry Reid again, REALLY! I mean come on. I think the pot smoke filled winds swept in from California are finally causing damage there as well. So what to do, you ask? I, for one, don't think that they are as far gone as California is (God I hope not, yes Libs God, not G. Soros). They are more like the 16 year old high school kid that is experimenting. They are not lost yet... but they are in serious need of some rehab, (someone call and get the number from Lindsay, oh wait, never mind). NEVADA... wake the hell up!... Look at yourselves in the damned mirror! You have the highest rate of unemployment, 14% + (Yes higher than California), and an economy that is amongst the worst in the country and yet you still back Ole' Dingy Harry? SIGH.... What can I say, high school kids do stupid stuff and feel the affects later!... we can only try to assist them and hope they somehow see the light come 2012. So keep nudging them in the right direction America, and we will see, come 2 years from now at graduation time, if they are to follow in the footsteps of big brother Cali, or make the decision to right the ship!

So What Happens Now?

This one is going to be a bit tricky. After all, we do still have PeBO at the helm wielding a great big veto pen... and you have to know that he will use is to put a stop to the dismantling of his wonderful policies. Though the battle is won, the war is far from over. The GOP and the American people still have a very tough fight ahead. I am going to attempt to lay out a couple of scenarios for the next 2 years and beyond using the health care bill as an example. There are many other issues to consider, but this is definitely THE hot button topic for most. OK Libs, get out your crayons and recycled paper and get ready to scribble some notes, (or draw pictures - whichever suits you best), 'cause its go time...

Option 1. Repeal the bill completely

This option is, by and large, the most popular option for most Americans, but there are huge obstacles to overcome in order to have a full repeal of Obamacare. Ideal, yes. But possible by 2012? Not a chance. With their new majority come January, House Republicans will be able to draft and pass legislation that would repeal Obamacare. But once that legislation moves to the Senate, even if Republicans gain enough support to have the repeal pass by a simple majority, they won't have the votes to withstand a filibuster or to override PeBO. Remember, PeBO still holds the veto pen, (I know this makes you giddy with joy Dems, but keep reading).

Should the Republicans pursue this option? Absolutely! Why you ask? By getting a full repeal to the desk of Obama, and having the veto signed, Republicans accomplish more than we may realize. Even if they cannot get the president to sign anything into law, forcing votes and vetoes, Republicans would send an important message to the voters; That message being: If the American people really want repeal, they will need to vote for a Republican president in 2012. Though this option is least likely to succeed, the fallout of the veto will damage the liberal Democrats in future elections.

Option 2. De-fund Obamacare and all the programs that it created

This option is definitely on the table for our new found majority in the House. Basically this is how it works... Legislation, such as Obamacare, "authorizes" spending, but the funds to be spent must be separately "appropriated." What does this mean? Well, Congress has to enact specific appropriation, or spending, to fund the bill and its associated programs. Without additional appropriations, implementation of the health care bill would essentially be crippled. With a Republican majority now in Congress, they should not only withhold needed appropriations, but also bar the use of whatever funds are appropriated for health care implementation, effectively leaving the bill dead in the water.

This cannot happen soon enough for me. If we can accomplish this we can basically sit back and wait for 2012, install a conservative President, regain control of the Senate and proceed with full repeal of Obamacare as set forth in option 1. I know Dems, you hate that option... But the American people have spoken (... and I think you just broke a crayon)!

Some Final thoughts

After listening to the chatter from friends, family, the blogasphere, and talk radio over this past week, I have come to realize the scope of excitement regarding our victory, as well as the impatience and anxiety that are abound. I know that people want change to be swift, as do I; But I feel somewhat compelled to plea for patience from my fellow Americans. Justice will come, though the progression may be slower than we like. We now must trust in the decision that we have made, stay the course and be vigilant. As is said often in sport, never take your eyes off of the prize. That prize my friends is our FREEDOM as Americans!

We have a long road to the 2012 elections, and I for one, can't wait. Use this next 2 years to make informed decisions about those that you may back. Understand them on a personal level as well as you can. Listen to their every word and make sure those words ring true to you and your beliefs. You will not agree with their every viewpoint, but you must understand them for the content of their character. Choose wisely my friends! And to the newly elected House and Senate members, WE THE PEOPLE ARE WATCHING! We are asleep no more. Execute the will of we the people, do not compromise the vision, and do what is right by America. We voted you in... If betrayed, we can and will vote you out!

Once again, with great pride, Thanks For Your Ear!
HTLIT

Editorial, Politics, Super Tuesday, Vote Editorial, Politics, Vote 2010, Texas Politics

I am a proud man! Yes!!!! I watched America Whole Heartedly REJECT Socialism on election night... And I have to say I AM PROUD BEYOND BELIEF! Thank you to my fellow countrymen for realizing where these people were taking us, yet we are not done! Though the road is still winding, we are on the path to straighting it once again, WE THE PEOPLE have spoken, for now! We are are far from finished, we have laid the first tracks, but have much work ahead. And I, for one am not done... We all can take a deep breath and a small rest from the anxiety... But WE ARE NOT FINISHED! Our time is now! We are, perhaps, the MOST IMPORTANT generation in our great nation's history! Keep the faith! And most of all be vigilant!

Socialism must NOT succeed!

With Great Pride I say, Thanks For Your Ear!
HTLIT

Article, Common Sense, Inspirational, Politics, Texas Common Sense, Editorial, Texas Politics, Politics

UPDATE: For those still not convinced:

A few friends of mine were debating Bill White vs. Rick Perry for the gubernatorial race here in the state of Texas today and one of my friends made a really good point. She said:

People in Houston think Bill White is known all over the state, because he was... mayor. How many people know the name of the mayor of Dallas or San Antonio or Ft. Worth? Not many, I would venture to guess. Texans will not vote for a big spender like Bill White and the polls reflect that sentiment.

She left one thing out though… People outside of Houston don’t KNOW Bill White is a big spender, nor do they know all of the other wonderful things he did here in Houston as our Mayor. So, here you go…

Former Mayor of Houston, Bill White, is BAD for Texas. He handcuffed Houston’s police departments and decimated our fire department. He will not close our borders and he will ruin our state economically. He says he will not raise taxes, he will, just as he did for the city of Houston. White turned Houston into the biggest "sanctuary city" east of Los Angeles by refusing to let the Houston Police or ICE ask criminals or suspects if they were in this country legally. So now we have the largest illegal alien population in the country outside of LA. White left the city's financial cabinet bare. When Bill White was elected Mayor, Houston enjoyed a balanced budget; when he left, Houston had an estimated $7-10 Billion shortfall in our budget. In the aftermath of Hurricane Rita a few years ago, White profited an estimated $1 Million by supplying contracts to companies that he was a major investor in.

They say that Texas will go as Houston goes; if that happens we are screwed. If Bill White is elected Governor of Texas, Many of the jobs, prosperity and overall growth that we have enjoyed here, under the Governance of Rick Perry, and while the rest of the nation is struggling, will be lost under White’s hand. Shelia Jackson Lee and Gene Green are both Liberal Democratic congressmen here in Houston, and their districts are Houston proper; both support Obama and his agenda and both support Bill White. We are working to defeat Green and Lee and we’ve already gotten rid of White in Houston even if only due to term limits.

For the people of Texas that are outside of the city of Houston, you may also be interested in knowing that White is a strong supporter of President Obama and his programs. White also was the single most successful fundraiser for the Obama campaign during the 2008 election season in the state of Texas. He will not only back Obama policies, he will do his best to impose them on Texas. He supports the Cap-n-Trade Bill as well as Obamacare. He will also support immigration reform as seen proper by the Obama administration. And He will not close our borders!

Time.com reported that White won landslide victories in the last two elections for Mayor of Houston. Do NOT be fooled… he is a straight running progressive/liberal! White does not represent the Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, or Tea Party members of Houston and the surrounding suburbs. You see, the people of the suburbs have no vote! Because most Conservatives, like me, live outside of the city of Houston in the surrounding suburbs and are not able to vote on Houston elections, there is a MUCH smaller Conservative base within the City of Houston. That is the reason that Houston has not had a Conservative voice as Mayor for as long as I can remember, and I have lived here for the better part of 41 years.

White is counting on Houston and his hometown of San Antonio to pull him through this election. He often bills himself as a conservative businessman, and that is likely how he will present himself in Dallas and West / East Texas. White served in the Clinton Administration and was formerly chairman of the Texas Democratic Party and has a strong Democratic political base throughout Texas.

Though Governor Rick Perry may not represent all that you want in a leader for our great state of Texas, Bill White is a far cry from being a suitable replacement. If for no other reasons, the list below tells me that Perry is the man for Texas Governor!

The condition of Texas under Governor Rick Perry:

1. Number 1 in job creation – more than 850,000 in the past 5 years, greater than ALL other states combined!
2. More fortune 500 & 1000 companies than ALL other states combined!
3. More growth of population in the major cities, (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin), than ALL other states!
4. The lowest tax rate for both personal income and business income than 46 of the 50 states!
5. Rick Perry supports neither Obama nor this Administration’s agenda!

I don’t know about you, but that is a pretty impressive resume for our Governor of the state of Texas! Plain and simple, Perry is not perfect... no one is But he has done some great things for our state. I thought this was important for those outside of Houston to know. I cannot tell you how to vote. But I felt people need know the REAL Bill White!

Texas depends on us! Remember November and vote to save our great state!

Once again, Thanks for you ear!
HTLIT

Editorial, Politics, Texas Politics, Taxes, Bill White, Rick Perry, Texas, Texas Politics