Monday Night Update

Trump's latest move is so crazy it just might work. And that's what worries the left. Also, birthright citizenship revisited.

• Never a dull moment in the second season (or is it a sequel?) of The Trump Show. The left is going bonkers again (how can you tell?) about Trump’s takeover of law enforcement in Washington DC. I am sure the MSNBC line is that this is just the beginning of a Trump military coup against every urban area in the U.S., which is probably why Trump said he might take the same step in other crime-ridden cities—he knows it will drive the media and the left nuts. How long until Trump starts rounding up liberals and sending them to camps? You think “Alligator Alcatraz” is a one-off? Surely, MSNBC will tell us, it is merely the demonstration project for such camps in every state. We can repurpose the materials from those Biden windmills to construct them. Only hope is for the an underground high-speed rail to get up an running. Oh, wait. . .

The real reason the left fears Trump’s exertion of vigorous executive power to secure the safety and happiness of our citizens—the first duty of government, remember—is that it might work. Look no further than Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, who essentially declared martial law to round up the criminal gangs that had effectively taken over much of the country. His roundups surely wouldn’t meet any of our standards of due process, and yet he has astronomical approval ratings from the people of El Salvador. Liberals will never get this lesson: when they fail consistently at the primary task of government, which is securing the safety of the citizens, then they will not just accept, but cheer on the drastic measures necessary to restore safety to the citizenry.

Chaser—the clueless Washington Post, chapter 12,186:

• Our podcast pal and occasional contributor here John Yoo writes in to say:

I am used to getting attacked for my belief on birthright citizenship from Claremont philosophers like Steve and Lucretia (my Straussian decoder ring always needs a recharge after a session debating them), but now I get it from the economists. In the latest episode of LawTalk, Richard Epstein and I devote the whole hour to a careful discussion of the birthright citizenship question. I argue that a faithful originalist should find that the Fourteenth Amendment overruled Dred Scott and guaranteed citizenship to all those born on US territory; Richard Epstein argues that the qualifier that those born in the US and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means that the parents must be in the US legally. Listen and decide!

I’ll just have to add that John’s decoder ring is a fake, as it clearly doesn’t work at all, and it was easy to fool him into thinking his McDonald’s Happy Meal toy was an authentic Strauss Decoder Ring, when everyone knows that real Straussian Rings of Power are invisible when worn, and rather than make the wearer invisible as in a certain famous fantasy novel, they make you glow with classical wisdom.

In any case, though, John is right that this episode does go into granular detail about some of the legal antecedents of the issue in ways that we haven’t done on our Three Whisky Happy Hour podcast, in part because none of us can channel Richard Epstein. Which is probably a good thing.

So listen here, or at the embedded link above:

P.S. If John goes missing for a while, I think we know why:

McDonald’s, the fast-food company known for its famed “Golden Arches,” is tapping back to its history with its latest promotion, inviting fans to a whimsical world featuring a colorful cast of legendary, timeless, and cherished characters being celebrated with an all-new McDonaldland Meal, starting Aug. 12.

Available for a limited time, the meal consists of the company’s signature fries, a choice of a Quarter Pounder With Cheese or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, and a limited-edition Mt. McDonaldland Shake. The volcano-looking shake, which has a surprise flavor, is inspired by what McDonald’s calls “the vibrant blue ‘lava’ and pink clouds of Mt. McDonaldland.”

The company says visitors to McDonaldland will also be able to collect six exclusive collectible tins featuring postcards, stickers, and more, each inspired by the different characters: Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Birdie, Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, and the Fry Friends.

• Speaking of immigration, some interesting longitudinal public opinion data from Gallup:

• Well this is certainly a relief (and also an excuse):