I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
KingMidget's Ramblings
Pull up a chair. Let's talk.
Birthright Citizenship
Posted by on April 1, 2026
Section 1 of 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.
Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Trump’s efforts to restrict what seems to be a pretty clear statement that any individual born in the United States is a citizen, regardless of the status of that individual’s parents. Trump’s order would limit birthright citizenship to individuals born in this country whose parents are neither a citizen or a lawful resident resident.
For the record, I don’t necessarily have a problem with what Trump wanted to do. The problem, however, is in what the 14th Amendment says and any logical, non-politicized reading of the amendment says his order is unconstitutional. If he wants to do this, there is only one way to make it happen. Amend the Constitution. Using an Executive Order to try to change the meaning of the 14th Amendment is one of the best examples of how Trump is trying to do things that are illegal and unconstitutional.
Let me try to walk through this in as logical a fashion as I can.
As the oral arguments were progressing, all sorts of people were tweeting about them. Crowing that Trump’s attorney was destroying the arguments against his executive order and that the conservative justices (primarily Thomas and Alito) were owning the argument.
Meanwhile, when you read other sources, like the New York Times, you got a different perspective. As I read the various sources and did my own research, it became abundantly clear that the proponents of the executive order have no real argument to make.
Thirty years after the 14th Amendment was enacted, the Supreme Court took up the case of a Chinese man who had been born in the United States 20-30 years before (Wong Kim Ark). His parents were not citizens and professed allegiance to the Chinese government and eventually returned to China. Their son remained in this country, occasionally going to China to visit his family. Upon one of his returns to America, he was denied entry under the Chinese Exclusion Act. He sued, claiming that he was a citizen and could not be denied entry.
The Supreme Court agreed, finding that nothing in the 14th Amendment or in the history of its enactment suggested that the drafters aimed to limit its scope to freed slaves. Instead, the court concluded that there was no limit in the 14th amendment based on race or color. That it applied to “All persons” as it states.
No Supreme Court decision has overturned that case. No subsequent Supreme Court decision has led to a different result. If precedent means anything to the current Supreme Court, there is only one direction for them to go. In addition, I’d argue that a court operating 30 years after the amendment was passed might know a little more about the time and context in which the amendment was enacted than a court reviewing it another 130 years later.
Some of the arguments I saw this morning about why Trump’s order should be upheld include:
- Reside versus domicile. The amendment states that somebody born here is a citizen in the State in which he or she resides. Some argue that what the drafters really meant was domicile. This matters because domicile requires a more permanent, legal presence, and arguably individuals here illegally cannot establish domicile. The problem with this argument is that the concept of domicile existed at the time the 14th Amendment was enacted and the framers did not use that word. They chose reside instead. And that choice has meaning. A fundamental rule of statutory interpretation is that you assume the drafters of a bill (or an amendment) knew what they were doing and when they choose one word over another, they meant to. So, the drafters of the 14th Amendment did not intend that domicile had to be established to support a claim of citizenship.
- What does “subject to the jurisdiction of” mean? Those who support Trump’s order claim that this means that the individual in question must pledge allegiance to the United States in order for them to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. But that is not true. Back when the 14th Amendment was enacted, allegiance was a reference to the territory of the country, or in instances where Kings still ruled, their kingdom. Allegiance was a reference to the King’s lands, not to people swearing allegiance to a government. In the Wong Kim Ark case, the court clearly understood this:
“Every citizen or subject of another country, while domiciled here, is within the allegiance and the protection, and consequently subject to the jurisdiction, of the United States.”
That is not a statement that requires allegiance to the government, instead it represents a statement of what the government owes to residents or citizens within its boundaries.
- Does it only cover freed slaves? I’ve already discussed this in the context of the Wong Kim Ark decision, but there was also discussion during the enactment of the 14th Amendment regarding who it was intended to cover. As described in the linked piece, Jacob Howard stated that the 14th Amendment was intended to state what was the then current law of the land — that every person born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction was, in fact, a citizen. Another Senator went even further and specifically stated that there was nothing in the Amendment that precluded the children of immigrants from attaining citizenship. An interesting thing about this is that one source I found that supported Trump’s order claimed that Jacob Howard was generally viewed as the father of the 14th Amendment. So …
- The proponents of Trump’s order point to another Supreme Court decision that concluded that Native Americans were not citizens (something that was changed via federal legislation in the 1920s). The problem with this argument is that, particularly back when these decisions were issued is that most Native Americans lived on reservations and those reservations were viewed as sovereign nations (they still are in a lot of respects). It makes sense then that babies born to Native Americans on reservation land were not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and could not be viewed as citizens of the United States.
- Another situation in which birthright citizenship has been denied to individuals born here are the children of foreign diplomats here in their diplomatic capacity. Why would that be an exception? Because diplomats and their families who accompany them here are afforded diplomatic immunity and other protections which effectively takes them out of the jurisdiction of the United States, even while living here.
I have yet to see any argument in support of Trump’s order that holds water. Regardless of whether you think we should have unlimited birthright citizenship, there is a correct way to go about this. Trump’s order is not that way. The only way to do it is to amend the Constitution. Trump hasn’t done that. Nor has he even tried.
With all of this said, am I confident that the Supreme Court will rule against Trump on this? Absolutely not. Anybody who is comfortable making a prediction like that simply hasn’t been paying attention. I am hopeful, however, that Gorsuch and Barrett, at a minimum will join the liberal three and form a majority. Kavanaugh may join them. And once it is clear that a majority is in favor of ruling against Trump, Roberts will likely join also so he can right the decision.
If a majority of this court rules, instead, in favor of Trump’s order, it will be an absolute travesty.
Untitled
Posted by on March 30, 2026
I have no idea what to title this post.
If you don’t want to be depressed by the state of things in this country, you can always skip this post.
I grow ever more concerned that we have reached a point of no return. That as a society, a culture, and a system of government, we have completely lost the plot and there will be no return to a more rational, semi-united society, culture, or government.
There is a foundational split in this country that is greater than at any time since the Civil War. I don’t see how or when it will improve because we are so divided and have so many tools available to us now that help drive the wedge ever deeper.
Christian Nationalism
The rise of radical Christian Nationalism to the highest positions of power — an effort that has lurked below the surface for decades and has finally reached its zenith with the most un-Christian of Presidents. Christian Nationalists have no interest in tolerance, forgiveness, or loving their neighbor. Their “faith” is one built on a misguided interpretation of Jesus’s teachings that focus on wealth, power, and intolerance. That they have acquired the power they now have under President Trump should worry everybody.
The problem is that far too many people don’t recognize the danger Christian Nationalism poses. Alternatively, it is just another of the many problems we face and who has the energy to focus on all of these problems. So, for the most part, people just ignore what is happening. I can’t fault them for that.
But I have never been more worried about where our government is headed than I am now and it is primarily based on the fact that our government is currently overwhelmed by Christian Nationalists and radical right figures who want to destroy much of what most of us consider to be the American way.
Politicalization and Weaponization of Everything
Every administration politicizes things. Both the left and the right politicizes things, but never in my adult life has every aspect of our society been politicized, and every federal agency been politicized and weaponized to so openly pursue a partisan agenda.
Trump has gone to war against universities, law firms, entertainment, professional sports leagues, anybody and everybody who dares to question or challenge him and his policies, and he doesn’t hesitate to use the vast power available to him to do so. The idea of the Department of Justice as being an independent body is long gone. But it’s not just the DOJ. If you spend much time on social media these days, you’ll see in the posts and tweets of numerous other federal agencies that they don’t hesitate to push pro-Trump, anti-Democratic messages on a daily basis. They don’t even try to hide it. They don’t even try to appear neutral or like they’re acting on behalf of all Americans. They make clear that they are there only to serve President Trump and whatever his daily whim is.
As I said to a conservative friend a few days ago — a friend who cannot stand Trump and MAGA — before this second Trump term, conservatives and right-wingers blasted Democrats for politicizing and weaponizing DOJ and the Federal Government. They regularly attached the “deep state.” Now, as Trump takes whatever Democrats might have done and ratchets it up 100 times, or 1,000 times, you here barely a peep from those same conservatives and right-wingers. Oh sure, there are a few like Rand Paul and others who have objected. But they don’t constitute a drop in the bucket of the entire GOP apparatus.
The entire federal government has been co-opted by Trump and his allies, laser focused on only one thing. Kissing Trump’s ass. So, he gets a new East Wing that is ghastly. Gets his name on the Kennedy Center. Gets his signature on U.S. currency. Gets coins for the 250th anniversary of our founding to have his likeness on them. Gets a FIFA Peace Prize. All of this is in some ways meaningless, but it places clearly in front of the American people that the President is operating a cult of personality out of the Oval Office, and nobody with the power to do so seems to want to put a stop to it.
What’s worse is how they are willing to engage in daily dishonesty, illegal activity, and norm-busting conduct to prove their loyalty to him. I never thought I’d see so many people destroy themselves for somebody like Trump. But that’s where we’re at.
Corruption
As you read this, the Trump family and their allies are making billions of dollars because he is President. They don’t even try to hide it. Hunter Biden famously used his connection to his father to enrich himself to the tune of a few million dollars. But when Trump’s family procures billions of dollars due to their connection to Trump, nobody bats an eye.
Meanwhile, they are making a big deal about fraud in Democratic states (without really producing any evidence that fraud has occurred), while ignoring the potential for fraud in red states, and also ignoring that Trump keeps pardoning wealthy people who were convicted of … fraud. Or drug dealers who were responsible for massive amounts of drugs coming into this country.
There is evidence that these pardons come about after donations are made to Trump-connected PACs. Meanwhile, every day there are new allegations of fraud in blue states on Fox, on social media, coming from members of the Administration … and they have yet to produce any evidence of the fraud. Trust us, they seem to be saying. We found something big! Just wait a couple of weeks.
Once this administration finally out the door, and the truth comes out, I expect it will go down as the most corrupt administration in the history of this country. But nobody did anything about it while it happened because …
Toothless, Dysfunctional Congress
There should be a special place in hell for Mike Johnson and what he has done to the House of Representatives. The Senate isn’t much better. But Johnson? Sheesh.
Some of the dysfunction predates the current Congress. A lot of it has been going on for years. As the Speaker and Senate Majority Leader have gathered more power to themselves, the committee system has been destroyed. Regular order doesn’t exist anymore. And when members of Congress can no longer rely on committees and negotiations to do their work, they just add their voices to the social media hordes who vent their spleens and create ever more rage, while doing nothing about it where they could actually have a real influence.
Unfortunately, I don’t see these things improving once Trump is gone. He has opened a Pandora’s box that may never be closed again. There are no norms anymore. No standards of civilized behavior. Everything is allowed. Everything is okay. When he lies every day. When his Press Secretary lies every day. When Mike Johnson lies every day. When they simply don’t care enough to be honest with the American people, and nobody holds them accountable — well, why shouldn’t other politicians and leaders do the same thing.
Equally unfortunately, I think it’s only going to get worse. Why?
We have completely lost our way. Primarily because of technology and what it has done to us as human beings. Through the growth of the internet, social media, and smart phones, we no longer listen to each other. There are so many platforms and outlets out there that spread disinformation or cater to only one side, we can all just hide in our silos and not venture out.
If the last 5-10 years has taught me anything it is that Americans (generally speaking) are not adventurous in their thinking and reading. They want information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs. And with the internet and social media, they get that every day.
I have a “fake account” on Twitter that gives me a different feed than my regular account. It is almost entirely politics and includes a lot more material from Republicans than my regular account. What I see there is just how many Republican elected officials are willing to lie to pursue their agenda. It is just relentless. Every single day. They mischaracterize legislation proposed by Democrats, they mischaracterize policy positions taken by both sides, they don’t care about the truth. Only their agenda and the preferred narrative. (And yes, Democrats and their allies do this as well, but I’m just going to say that it doesn’t rise to the same level and frequency as I see from the Republican Party.)
Social media is being used by our political leaders to keep hammering that wedge further into our country. This is one of the things Trump’s Pandora Box has allowed — the busting of norms and the use of social media to govern, but not to govern for all, but to govern for me and destroy thee. Facts don’t matter. Truth is irrelevant. Winning matters. That’s it.
Guess what? It’s only going to get worse. Why?
Artificial Intelligence and Generative Artificial Intelligence. They are incredibly power tools that anybody can use to spread even more lies and propaganda, to further destroy the other side. And I don’t see any path forward that the use of GenAI will be constrained by humans.
Think about it this way. Anthropic is a GenAI company that the Department of Defense wanted to contract with. But DOD had two conditions. Anthropic had to agree to DOD using its tool to conduct mass surveillance on the American people and to kill in military actions without any human review. Anthropic refused to agree to those conditions. Good for them. The only problem is that other GenAI purveyors were more than happy to agree to those conditions.
The problem with restraining GenAI is that the cat is already out of the bag, the barn door has already been left open for far too long … what other metaphors can I include here … there will always be GenAI companies willing to sink to the depths and no amount of government regulation will stop it.
So … we have a society and political system that is, from my perspective, completely broken. We have tools available to us that far too many have decided to use to spread lies and propaganda, to stoke their bases with rage and anger (typically by focusing on stupid issues instead of the things that are really important). Because of the immediacy of all of these tools, we no longer think. We just react and typically with anger and misunderstanding.
And we have no idea how to get all of this back in the bottle.
I just don’t see how this is going to get better.
What am I missing?
Notes From a Vacation
Posted by on March 25, 2026
We spent the last six days in San Diego, visiting our son and his girlfriend. First note is this … the horror of long waits at security is a complete myth. Not just at the airports we flew in and out of, but almost everywhere around the country. There are really only 2-3 airports that are having problems that are not per usual. Other than those though, the Trump administration and their media allies are feeding us a load of crap to gin up yet more outrage and anger.
We stayed in Mission Beach, a half a block from the beach. An area we stayed in almost six years ago. Back then, one night we were eating dinner at a restaurant right on the beach. As we sat there, the sun was setting and an image presented itself. Of the fading moments of the sunset’s end and a lamp lit along the walkway between the restaurant and the beach. I quickly took a picture of it, not sure what it would look like. That photo became one of my most popular photos.
With five days there, I was wondering if I would get a similar shot again. Well …
It isn’t quite the same, but it’s close. In the original picture, there weren’t any clouds, so the sunset was just the kind where there is the darkening blue up top, and a line of orange and pink at the horizon. And through the magic of WordPress, I found it in the archives.
The problem with the original is that I took it with my iPhone, so I can’t blow it up very big and still have a good quality picture. The new one is with my SLR camera, so I can. It’s just not as good though. There is something ethereal about the first. Something that invites a story, or at least deep thought.
Anyway …
We went to the Carlsbad Flower Field. There is an area that has a lot of different flowers on display. Snapdragons and orchids and all sorts of other things. And then as you make your way through that, you come to the prize. 55 acres of ranunculus. According to their brochure, that translates to 10 million plants, and 110 million blooms. It is one of those spaces that photographs simply do not do justice to. But I’ll try…
The highlight of the trip occurred after our trip to the Flower Field. We went to the apartment my son and his girlfriend share for them to make us dinner. She has a pit bull mix that is not the calm, docile type. When we got there my son had the dog outside because it is better for her to meet people outside instead of in the apartment, given her territorial nature. So, we met the dog and went inside. As we stood there, the dog nuzzled my knee in what I took to be a friendly gesture. So, I started to pet her on the head and then to scratch her behind the ears, and all of a sudden she was a frenzy of teeth and barks. I felt her teeth on my elbow and all I could think was to not allow her to latch on. I spun around so my back was to her, while my son’s girlfriend pulled her away and put her outside. I have always been leery around pit bulls because of their reputation. Fortunately, the damage was no worse than a 3-4 inch scratch along my elbow and another, smaller mark a couple of inches above the scratch. And it has all healed nicely without any evidence of tetanus or rabies.
The next day we headed to the San Diego Zoo, considered to be one of the best zoos in the country. I’m not a huge fan of zoos. I recognize that they do good things for keeping endangered species alive and that many of the animals they have cannot survive in the wild. But I still feel a sense of loss for these animals in their cages and confined areas that don’t come close to what their life in the wild would be like.
I love flamingoes. How they stand and twist their necks. How they walk. Their legs. Everything about them.
Another reason I don’t like zoos is because people are idiots. The primate on the left (the name of which I have forgotten) was, from my perspective, annoyed. It kept making itself bigger and poundings front paws on the rocks and staring at people. And people were egging it on so it would keep doing it. I felt like throwing one of them in the enclosure and seeing if they still thought it was fun. I did not.
The day was a hot one, which was made worse by the fact that the missus had a couple of broken toes and I pushed her in a wheelchair much of the way. My son took some turns. I likely lost ten pounds of water weight from all the sweating I did. About halfway through the day, we came across a little nook in the park where there was a waterfall that you could walk behind. It was the absolute coolest place in the entire park. I stayed there for a few minutes and cooled down and took a few pictures.
The next day we went into Old Town. It’s an area of San Diego that dates back to its founding. It is filled with shops and Mexican restaurants (mostly). We had lunch with my son and his girlfriend, and the odd thing is … I’ve never had a Mexican meal there I’ve been particularly fond of. This visit was no different.
Sunday morning we had breakfast with the last couple whose marriage I officiated. They are really good people and it’s always nice to see them and spend time there. While they live in Sacramento, too, they were in San Diego to see the Savanah Bananas.
And then, finally, on Monday we returned home. Here’s a Zen moment for you from the beach near our rental.
A Song For Today
Posted by on March 10, 2026
This is one of those songs that intrigues me. There are so many layers to this song, I desperately want to know how a musician puts something like this together. An intro, complete with a weeping violin. A middle that seems like a party and leads into a portion during which the pace of the song just gets faster and faster until you feel like everything is going to explode. Only it doesn’t. Everything settles down again. A few more lines of lyrics and then it all ends with one final swipe of the bow across the violin.
Here’s a live version that, to be honest, doesn’t have the same feeling as what I just described. Probably because of the poor quality of the video. Some of it is there, but there is a depth and layering in the studio version that just blows my mind. I want to know who creates this magic. Who puts all of these pieces together and produces such a wonderful piece of music? I would love to sit down with a musician, or musicians, as they figure this all out.
I saw Ryan Bingham last September in a new Sacramento venue that holds a couple thousand people. It was an incredible show and this song was one of the highlights. Every person was up and singing and dancing and enjoying the hell out of themselves. Here is the studio version. I’ve probably listened to this 40-50 times in the last week because I want to hear everything in it. Figure it out. What is the magic here. How were these pieces put together to create this.
KingMidget's Ramblings 