#tax districts

[kramlabs]

Texas told the Biden administration to take a hike.

Via Brion McClanahan

But this isn’t “nullification”.

Texas insists that the Biden administration enforce the laws of the United States.

Biden has so far refused and instead retaliated by cutting off natural gas exports from Texas.

In other words, Biden has chosen economic warfare against a State, the very definition of treason in the Constitution, to appease the hard left faction in his political party.

This is the very thing the founding generation feared from the executive branch.

Some background is in order.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas National Guard to construct obstacles—barbed wire fencing and shipping containers--on land adjacent to the Rio Grande River. This is Texas property, not federal land.

The United States Border Patrol used it as a processing center for illegal aliens, and thus it became a focal point for massive numbers of “migrants” crossing into Texas across the Rio Grande River.

Invasion would be a better word.

Texas then told the Border Patrol that they were no longer allowed on State property while Texas law enforcement began arresting and deporting illegal aliens.

The Federal Government sued in federal court and demanded that the razor wire and makeshift border wall come down. Biden’s Justice Department also argued that Texas’ efforts to enforce federal immigration law violated the Constitution.

“Texas cannot run its own immigration system. It’s efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations.”

Here’s the catch. Texas isn’t running its own immigration system. It’s enforcing existing federal law.

Every officer in the United States, from the local governments to the President, takes an oath to uphold constitutional federal law. Biden did so in 2021. That is the primary language of his oath of office.

Biden has not claimed that immigration laws are unconstitutional. He has not claimed that these people are crossing the border legally.

He admits that they are entering Texas illegally, meaning his only job is enforcing the laws on the books, something his administration is clearly refusing to do.

Texas has done it for him.

But this raises several larger Constitutional questions.

The Founders unequivocally considered “invasion” to be one of the important reasons States maintained control of their own militia units.

That would be the modern misnamed “National Guard.”

Biden cannot “nationalize” the Guard in this instance because federal law would not allow it.

The Texas National Guard is already enforcing federal law, meaning that if Biden nationalized the Guard and told them to stand down, he would be in violation of the Constitution.

He would also violate federal law. The Insurrection Act of 1792 allows the President to nationalize the militia (National Guard) in three instances: to suppress insurrection, stop domestic violence, or enforce federal law.

Allowing invasion is not on the list. Nor is breaking the law.

That would be a dereliction of duty, an impeachable offense.

The parallels between Biden’s actions and other stand-offs between the States and the general government are impossible to find.

Texas wants to enforce federal law.

In 1798, Virginia and Kentucky nullified the Alien and Sedition Acts because they violated the Constitution. This wasn’t a case of neglect.

In 1815, several New England States refused to enforce laws in support of the War of 1812. Again, not a case of neglect.

In 1832, South Carolina nullified the federal tariff. Jackson threatened to send in the army to collect the tariff. He wasn’t refusing to enforce a federal law.

In the 1840s and 1850s, several Northern States refused to enforce the fugitive slave laws. The Supreme Court ruled that States did not have to use their own police powers to support federal law.

But in this case, Texas is supporting federal law. The Biden Administration has vacated its Constitutional responsibility.

The Justice Department’s claim that the general government has “exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens” would also be news to the founding generation.

States could determine residency and who could and could not be within their borders. Jefferson made this contention in the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. After 1808, the general government could prohibit “persons” from entering the States, but this power was not denied to the States in Article I, Section 10, meaning the States could also allow or prohibit “persons” from entering their borders.

The “supremacy clause” only applies to laws made in “pursuance of the Constitution.”

Nor does the 14th Amendment cover illegal aliens. Only citizens of the States are entitled to due process and the privileges and immunities of citizens of the other States. Foreign nationals are not citizens of any State or the United States.

This is an open and shut case of dangerous abuse of power by the executive branch. If the Republicans in Congress had any spine, they would immediately impeach Biden for his action against Texas and inaction on immigration enforcement.

In the Philadelphia Convention, James Madison listed “negligence” and betraying “his trust to a foreign power” as the chief causes of impeachment, among others.

Attempting to coerce a State though economic boycotts would satisfy Gouverneur Morris’s definition of “treachery”, what he considered to be an impeachable offense.

In either case, Biden should be easily convicted and booted from power.

That is, if we had a real Constitutional government in the federal city.

That dream died in 1789 in the First Congress.

I discuss all of this on Episode 926 of The Brion McClanahan Show.

You can watch it here.

OR

You can listen to it and download it here.

If you want a real history education, check out McClanahan Academy. I've produced several courses on secession, the Constitution, the War, decentralization, and a host of other cool topics. I think it's the antidote to our current Lincolnian nightmare. Use the coupon code Podcast at checkout and get 25% off every class.

And if you want to get my show ad free, just head over to my Patreon account. For $10 you get no ads and one additional Podcast per month that is based on your questions. It's a win/win.

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[yinyuedijun]

so sorry if this is a stupid question but like... how do u age up characters, not like literally but like in a writing sence (cause ur suo fics were honestly amazing)

this isn't a stupid question at all, it's actually something I struggle a lot with LOL and I'm glad to hear that you liked how I handled it in my suo fics - thank you for reading 🥺!

here are the approaches I take to generally ageing people up:

think about their canon characterization - not just their traits and habits, but also their motivations/values and where their character arc is heading

think about what kind of path they'd be heading toward as an adulthood (in material, mundane terms - university, type of work, relationships, major life events, etc). sometimes the series will give you careers they're heading towards, but wherever that's not the case, I usually like to stick to very realistic career paths because it grounds them into a realistic kind of adult context that we would be able to relate to. if they're getting into some kind of exceptional career (like, for instance, yakuza membership lol, but even if I kept them in delinquent groups like shishitoren or roppo-ichiza), then I usually go out of my way to justify it.

now this is the tricky part - think about how the events of their adulthood would affect their motivations/values, traits, habits, and larger character arc. the motivations/values and character arc pieces are very important, because it basically defines the adult characterization. (that's why so much of the suo fic revolves around his master and the effect of losing him, and what it does to his values and character arc!)

I also like to think about how other, normal adults would perceive this new aged-up version of them - the typical salaryman, the typical convenience store worker, etc. I find it helps recontextualize the character away from the canon setting and toward a more realistic, adult context. this is mostly so I'm not viewing the character through rose coloured glasses as I'm writing them lol (eg, someone who may be charming to us because of our attachment to them in canon might in fact be a neurotic loser to the average well-adjusted adult).

sorry I yapped so much rip - hopefully this helps!!!!

[jacksprostate]

gaining inspiration for writing the narrator by wandering his habitat

[songbirdstew]

Love seeing those lists of everything available at the library, like Kanopy and Hoopla and tools and seed packets and sports equipment and musical instruments and I dunno fuckin cryogenics or whatever,

and thinking, Must be nice to live in a place where libraries have An Actual Budget because libraries are Valued By Their Citizens who are willing to pay Their Fair Share of taxes to support public services

Our library (and all of our city government offices) is in a repurposed shopping mall that was built in the 1970s (*actually I think it was built before this. I think it became City Hall in the '70s.). It's literally falling apart. Internal walls have collapsed inside. It's nowhere near earthquake safe. There's no room to expand to meet the drastically increased population. A few years ago, the library board presented a plan to build a brand new building, with a lot picked out and everything,a whole prospectus with cool building features. But they needed tax-payer approval. So it failed. Because the people in my town hate doing anything that might benefit others.

Must be nice. Must be reeeeeaaaaaaal niiiiiiiiice.

[sugarchains]

Finna get into an argument on education Twitter bc rich ppl are complaining that they have to share the doe budget with lower performance schools

Meanwhile we are lower performance bc we have like mostly first generation immigrant children who don't speak English so they come in and they're usually leaning a whole new version of Spanish AND English, and depending on the year they're learning French too bc of their friends

Most of our kids have jobs. Not legally but they work for/ with their parents

AND they could have a learning disability! Bc charter schools don't take them and richer public schools don't care and do testing and regular private schools don't have to accommodate them, but you know who does!

Regular public school, please shut the fuck up if you're not teaching a class with 4 languages and at least 2 disabilities at once. You can't call yourself a student advocate if you're only advocating for the "good" kids from "good" families I should be allowed to fight them ok

[choerrys]

in better news i got paid for may finally and it was higher than i expected again 😁

[pirefyrelight]

Ive been riding my bike to work for the past week or so and I've noticed a few things. One, of the two major roads that have bike lanes, both of them are shit and I have simply found an alternative route that uses sidestreets with less traffic, and two, random children on parking garage rooftops wildly overestimate my abilities.

To go into more detail on that second point:

The last stretch going to my work is a just steep enough decline that I've never noticed before when walking or driving, but am able to sail down into a pleasant breeze for about 3 blocks (baring stoplights and pedestrians). The downside, or rather the going up side of this, is that after a long day of work I might as well be climing everest biking home those first few blocks.

And of course, another thing I've noticed, is that no matter which way you're going there's a headwind.

So picture me, last week. 9 hour shift. No sitting down since I got on my bike that morning. Hot as balls but in that way it *could* theoretically be worse? In black pants and t-shirt as is dress code and I haven't gotten into the habit of bring shorts to change into yet. At the start of the summer I haven't been on a bike in at least 5 years, probably closer to 10, I am so incredibly out of shape.

So this goddamn child, this hooligan hanging out on the top of a three story parking garage, sees me battling for my goddam life, going uphill into a headwind and sweating so bad he can probably smell it from up there, calls "do a wheelie" like sir the only wheelie that's imminent from me is being blown back down the hill in such a way the front tires get caught first. The only trick doable from me right now is getting to the top without falling over.

[evenstarfalls]

need to kill the people who keep voting against a new elementary school

[syn-odics]

2 filing websites 6 TFA text codes 2 password changes 5 student information system logins 7 attempts at resizing the scan of my W2 1 trip in the car to look extremely sus pulling into a school parking lot and immediately getting on my laptop 4 tax q&a forums 3 completely random tax guides desperately ctrlF searched and 6.5 hours spent but ive DONE IT ive FILED MY TAXES

[kramlabs]

[homestuck--edits]

hey!! i feel bad coming in and requesting so much stuff, so if you dont want to do it, its fine! could i possibly get a talksprite of my oc aontwi with a damara base? she is a limeblood if that helps! thank you so much for all your hard work!

her :))

-mod davesprite

[roseband]

...

[yourheartinyourmouth]

work insisted everyone come in at 8 am, an HOUR early, for a meeting today. i said “fuck that, i’m not working a 9-hour day” and opted to take a FMLA day. i get a text from husband at 8:15: “well this was a massive waste of time”.

Yep.

[2boldlyqueer]

This is so funny but i used to live in the town next to sean patrick maloney and one day his horse got lose and started eating petunias in peoples yards and we had to corral his horse back to him. Also his goat got out once and fell into the mayors pool and the mayor had to save his goat. Even if i still lived in NY i wouldnt vote for him bc the man was rude to us Small Town people AND clearly needs a better fence 😤

Lmfao I can totally see it

However the other choice was a raging antisemite who campaigned hard against bail reform, so he would've been the lesser of two evils.

[freetoflythecrimsonsky]

“Smaller government will save tax payers money”

My guy, i am totally willing to pay taxes in exchange for preventing companies from charging me for the privilege of being poisoned by my food

[wausaupilot]

Your letters: Say NO to new TID district, writer says to Rib Mountain official

Writer encourages village of Rib Mountain official to stand with residents and vote NO on TID 2 district.

Dear editor, ~Open letter to Gaylene Rhoden, administrator for the village of Rib Mountain I am writing to strongly encourage you to vote NO at the upcoming Joint Review Board meeting scheduled for Oct. 2. You were in attendance at the Sept. 17 Village Board meeting and heard first hand the opposition from the residents of Rib Mountain.  As I am sure you are aware, in the tax incremental…