The oil-train USSC case; The MAGA explosion over H-1B visas; Re: The insurrection

The "oil-train case" now pending in the USSC (US supreme court) could have a major impact on environmental and health regulations. As usual, the business community wants to gut environmental regulations. This case could wind up doing the job pretty well. A decision will probably come down late next June, or maybe a month or two before then.

The lawsuit, Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, directly challenges the scope of environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Supreme Court's decision could limit how federal agencies evaluate the environmental impacts of projects, thereby reducing the depth and breadth of analysis required for projects like oil trains, pipelines, and other infrastructure developments. The case could limit the federal government’s power to study indirect climate impacts of projects like highways, transmission lines and dams.

The proposed railway in Utah would significantly increase oil production in the Uinta Basin, potentially quadrupling output. This expansion would lead to normally expected increases in environmental and health risks, including air pollution, oil spills, and contributions to climate change.

The outcome of this lawsuit would likely set a precedent for how NEPA is applied to future projects, potentially weakening environmental protections across various sectors, not just oil and gas. The five Republicans on the bench (Gorsuch recused for conflict of interest) are openly hostile to environmental laws and regulations. A win for industry in this case would probably lead to less study and consideration of indirect and cumulative environmental effects of new infrastructure projects. Those regulatory studies are crucial for understanding the full impact of infrastructure projects. 

Detailed analyses under NEPA currently consider the “reasonably foreseeable environmental effects” of proposed projects. That includes (1) direct effects, such as cutting down trees to build a highway or rail line, (2) indirect effects that occur later in time or farther away, such as development spurred by building the highway, and (3) cumulative effects of the action when added to the effects of other past, present and reasonably foreseeable actions, such as building multiple highways in a region.

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TNR writes about the explosion: Steve Bannon Joins War Against Elon Musk as MAGA Implodes -- Donald Trump’s biggest fans are at each other’s throats over immigration, and H-1B visas in particular. Steve Bannon has joined the MAGA war between hard-line immigration opponents and tech executives like Elon Musk, taking the side of xenophobia on his War Room show Friday. “H-1B visas? That’s not what it’s about. It’s about taking American jobs and bringing over essentially what have become indentured servants at lower wages,” the former Trump adviser turned pundit said, referring to the visa program that allows immigrants in specialized fields to work in the United States temporarily.

Each year, about 85,000 H-1B visas are issued by lottery. More foreign workers than that usually apply for the visas so lottery is how they are picked. 20,000 of those visas are for workers with at least a MS degree, some of whom are highly valued, i.e., low wage, workers in high tech. The visas last 3 years and can be extended for another 3 assuming the worker has not gotten into legal trouble. Overstaying the 3 or 6 year limit confers "unlawful presence" status on the worker, in essence making them an illegal immigrant. When a foreign national overstays their authorized period of stay, the visa stamped in their passport by the U.S. Consulate is automatically voided. U.S. immigration law is strict in the application of this provision

Despite those apparent limits, 😕, in FY 2023, 755,020 people were admitted to the U.S. in H-1B status. That is possible because institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities related or affiliated to such institutions, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations are exempt from the cap. H-1B visas are a significant part of both legal and illegal immigration. Hence the MAGA explosion.

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Two legal scholars, Evan A. Davis and David M. Schulte, wrote an opinion arguing that Dems can and should block DJT from taking office. They argue that DJT's 1/6  insurrection bars him from holding office. They argue that Dems can block certification on grounds of "an oath-breaking insurrection" that makes Trump "ineligible to be president." The basis for that simple legal reasoning is the 14th Amendment, which reads in part:

"No person shall ... hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

For what it is worth, i.e., nothing at all, the Colorado Supreme Court had determined that there was "clear and convincing evidence that President Trump engaged in insurrection as those terms are used" in the 14th Amendment, but the U.S. Supreme Court protected DJT arguing that states lack the power to disqualify candidates for federal office. Davis and Schulte cited that as evidence of DJT's disqualification for office.

That legal theory and the factual evidence look rock solid to me. 1/6 really was an insurrection against the Constitution and DJT really was its deeply involved leader. 

However by now I know that I know absolutely nothing about the rule of law when it applies to the elites and especially to DJT 'The Insurrectionist'. At that high and mighty level, the law has become opaque, sacred theology with witches brewing something smelly in the cauldron. 

The Dems doing sacred law stuff

Fire burn

Cauldron bubble

Rule of law is lot of trouble

(spoken in thick Russki accent)

I am crappy at theology. We in the unwashed masses must leave these weighty vaporous law things to sanctified high priests like Joe Biden 'The AWOL' and Merrick Garland 'The Complicit'. As expected based on past history, Dem party leaders reject any effort to block the The Insurrectionist from taking office. Their analysis says he is qualified and good to go.

Dem Party legal scholars at work

Also as expected MAGAlandia is in furious crazy-go-nuts mode over this tiny whisp of old timey law & order reasoning. Hm, on reflection, MAGAlandia is in its usual mode of operation. 

MAGA in standard SNAFU 

operations mode

Dang, doing the research for that insurrection thing was a lot more fun than I expected!