It's an auspicious day, dear readers. Joe Biden has taken his last ride on Marine One. JD Vance has taken the oath as Vice President of the United States, and Donald Trump has taken the oath - again - as President of the United States.
It is no exaggeration to state that it's a new day in America. Donald Trump's inauguration speech was powerful and forthright; behind him, to Trump's left (hah), Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sat there, stone-faced, listening to the president detailing how he was going to defenestrate their entire term in office. It's probably not a great view from the ashbin of history, but never has an administration deserved such opprobrium before this one.
Now there's a new sheriff in town, and he's got big plans. Here, from his speech, are a few highlights.
First, the President announced an end to birthright citizenship. There's a catch; it's not at all clear this can be done by the Executive, and there are certain to be legal challenges. I guess that it will go to the Supreme Court.
Officials told reporters in a press call that Trump will sign an order clarifying language in the 14th Amendment and stating that the federal government "will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States."
The 14th Amendment states, "All persons born 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."
Some legal experts have said that such a move is a constitutional change and cannot be made by executive order. The move will almost certainly face a challenge in court from civil rights groups and immigration activists.
I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on television, but I'm pretty familiar with the Constitution, and I'm inclined to agree that the 14th Amendment was misinterpreted to allow birthright citizenship. No other modern nation has such an idiotic policy, and if there's any justice in the world, this will be the beginning of the process that ends it - even if it goes to the Supreme Court.
President Trump (oh, I love writing that) is also planning to declare a national emergency on energy.
President-elect Donald Trump is set to declare a national energy emergency on Day 1 of his return to power, part of his administration's plan to ramp up domestic energy production. The order will focus on unlocking Alaska's resources as well as ending what a Trump White House official called "the electric vehicle mandate."
Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday at noon EST, wants to increase domestic oil and gas production in order to bring down prices for U.S. consumers, the official said. Energy prices influence every part of the economy, ranging from the prices that consumers pay at the pump to the cost of items that require fossil fuels for production, the official noted.
I think I can speak for a lot of Alaskans when I say we're looking forward to seeing a lot of new North Slope jobs opening up, not to mention offshore drilling projects - all the resources that the Biden administration tried to lock away for keeps.
President Trump went on to proclaim that it is now American policy that there are only two genders, male and female, and boys and men won't be on girls' and women's sports teams in our schools anymore. He plans another emergency declaration on immigration and border control, citing the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and we can expect to see the new border czar, Tom "The Hammer" Homan, start enforcing our immigration laws forthwith.
See Related: Welcome Back, Mr. President
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Some of the usual suspects from the left were predictably odious.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called out the hypocrisy of politicians attending inaugural festivities for President-elect Trump after having previously decried the Republican figure as a "threat to democracy."
"People are more upset at performers/artists attending Trump’s inaugural events but not upset at all the politicians who told them he was a ‘threat to democracy’ going to these events are not serious," the progressive congresswoman declared in a post on X.
That's all right. She can be odious, obnoxious, ignorant, and pea-witted, as usual. Her side lost, and every statement she makes does her party damage. Keep talking, Ilhan! Keep talking!
It was a great event, and it was a great day. Things are, as of this morning, very different. The world we woke up in this morning is different than the world we went to sleep in last night, and the change is for the better. Here in the Susitna Valley, it's a dreary, wet, drippy, abnormally warm Alaska morning, but the mood is that of a bright, sunny, warm June day, at least here at our household. Things are looking up!
As for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, now that they are gone, I feel obliged to say something good about them. So, I will merely say this:
They're gone. Good.
If you missed President Trump's speech, you can watch it here.
