From the Daily Beast : “President Joe Biden signed 50 new bills into law in a Christmas Eve signing spree as he wraps his last month in office. Among the new laws includes legislation to fight child abuse at residential treatment facilities, fight hazing on college campuses, and a measure that finally designates the bald eagle as the national bird. Many of the bills signed by the outgoing Democratic president on Tuesday were bipartisan efforts—including the bill finally acknowledging the bald eagle. Although the iconic bird of prey is featured prominently on symbols, including the government’s official seal adopted in 1782, the U.S. did not have an official national bird. The efforts to make the bald eagle official were spearheaded by Preston Cook, the co-chair of the National Eagle Center in Minnesota, who first discovered that the country did not have a national bird, according to a Washington Post profile.”
Gee, thank God for President Biden! This might just be the little extra he needs to avoid being named the Worst President Ever in the upcoming Ethics Alarms resolution of its long inquiry into the question.
“Biden” also engaged in some hyper-partisanship when he vetoed the JUDGES Act, bipartisan legislation to create additional district court judgeships. The Senate passed the bill unanimously in August, and a bipartisan House majority finally did so as well in November. It would have created desperately needed 66 new district court seats over the next decade, based upon the recommendations of the Judicial Conference. The bill was endorsed by the Federal Bar Association and the Federal Judges Association. The White House issued a statement that translated means nothing more rational than “we don’t want new judges appointed by Donald Trump, so there.“
“S. 4199 would create new judgeships in States where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies. Those efforts to hold open vacancies suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now,” the veto message stated in part. So nobody denies that the U.S. needs new judges, but Biden’s dark masters want the new positions to be created for the right motives. This is a slap at the Republican states that tried to slow down Biden’s waves of DEI appointments over the last six months.
But back to the phony national bird issue: if everyone knew the bald eagle was the de facto national bird since it was obviously the national symbol, being on the seal, on money, on flagpoles and ubiquitous for a couple of centuries, why does the species have to be the official national bird via Congress, the President, and brand new law? So many matters of real importance to try to accomplish before the end of the year: one would think that all is well.
Ethics Alarms 
Well, maybe if it is officially the national bird we can punish illegal aliens who kill and eat them.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/nebraska-sheriff-stunned-migrants-allegedly-kill-bald-eagle-dinner-feds-pass-charging-them
Wow! I thought it was a crime – with a substantial fine – to even possess one of the animal’s feather. Am I wrong on that?
https://www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act
It is illegal. How do you fine people who have nothing?
So the law does not apply to the poor? However, there is a 1 year in federal prison penalty as well. However, the Feds didn’t prosecute because they said the people didn’t know any better. The same reason they didn’t prosecute Hillary Clinton, but did prosecute any number of military enlisted personnel.
It’s great to know that ignorance of the law now absolves me of responsibility for keeping it.
”I didn’t know any better” doesn’t absolve anyone that breaks the law. Assuming anyone is actually following the laws anymore which they aren’t. I was not being sarcastic. That’s a legitimate question. How does someone who has no money and no future plans to have money and someone who isn’t supposed to be here in the first place pay a $20,000 fine? How is that enforced? I don’t know.
For starters, I would hope that the two men that killed the eagle, both of whom apparently are in the U.S. illegally, have moved to the top of Tom Homan’s “pay-a-visit” list.
Low-hanging fruit and all…
I’m thinking the blue footed booby would be a good national bird.
“I’m thinking the blue footed booby would be a good national bird.” (bold mine)
Slow lob to a self-anointed sophomoric, but better’n the Great Tit…?
PWS
“Better a little caution than a great egret.”
Wait—they allow puns on your planet????
“Consuetudo est optima legum interpres!” -Custom is the best interpretator of the law are the words of Canon 27 of the Catholic Canon law, which is derived from anceint Roman aw Law,.
When a custom is adapted by the people that is not contrary to natural law or leislated law then after a period of time it becomes the law. In our case, the Churchs law , that time period is 30 years.
If this approach to law is used analpggistlicly for there is no need for this silliness.
analpggistlicly?
I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking it, too. It has something to do with my butt…
“by analogy” spell check is not my friend
These 50 bills appear to have actually been passed by Congress, not executive orders. As gratuitous as they may be, Trump could not actually sign them away in day one (at least without actually becoming a dictator, which usually takes more than mere hours after a peaceful democratic transfer of power).
These Bills do appear to be pretty vacuous. Everyone knows the Eagle was selected over Ben Franklin’s preference for the North American Turkey. Joe Biden’s legacy of making it ‘official’ seems as lame as his ‘historic’ appointments. The anti hazing bill just requires mandatory reporting of statistics (very government sounding). The Federal government can’t actually legislate much, because states have most police powers regarding assault, and anything ‘hazing’-related that doesn’t rise to criminal assault is probably protected peaceful assembly. One law that sounds promising, protecting kids from abuse, is so vague the Daily Beast didn’t (or couldn’t) summarize what it actually did!
Wow, THAT was stupid and careless of me! I was so focused on executive orders that I ignored the words I posted myself. Fortunately, my snark about the EOs isn’t essential to the main point: thanks, Rich. Fixed.