Extreme Commanders

Goodbye 4th Amendment:

Administration Officials Believe Order Lets Immigration Agents Enter Homes Without Warrants

Trump administration lawyers have determined that an 18th-century wartime law the president has invoked to deport suspected members of a Venezuelan gang allows federal agents to enter homes without a warrant, according to people familiar with internal discussions.

The disclosure reflects the Trump administration’s aggressive view of presidential power, including setting aside a key provision of the Fourth Amendment that requires a court order to search someone’s home.

It remains unclear whether the administration will apply the law in this way, but experts say such an interpretation would infringe on basic civil liberties and raise the potential for misuse. Warrantless entries have some precedent in America’s wartime history, but invoking the law in peacetime to pursue immigrants living in the country without legal permission in such a way would be an entirely new application, they added.

“It undermines fundamental protections that are recognized in the Fourth Amendment and in the due process clause,” said Christopher Slobogin, a law professor at Vanderbilt University.

Last week, President Donald Trump quietly signed a proclamation invoking the law, known as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. It grants him the authority to remove from the United States foreign citizens he has designated as “alien enemies” in the cases of war or an invasion.

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Trump’s Latest Executive Order Eliminates the Institute of Museum and Library Services

In a few short months, the Trump administration has dealt a series of blows to the American cultural and museum system, making clear from the outset that dismantling such infrastructure would be a priority on its governmental agenda. There was the reinstatement of the 2020 “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture” memorandum. The cuts to the General Services Administration’s fine arts and preservation units. And most recently, the issuing of a new executive order calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)—the only federal agency specifically tasked with supporting museums—”to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The move is part of a broader, highly publicized effort to reduce the size of the federal government and, in the process, balance the budget.

Established in 1996 under the Museum and Library Services Act, the agency’s mandate has been to enhance learning, innovation and cultural preservation through grants, research and the promotion of best practices across museums and libraries. If the executive order is not revoked, the agency is slated to shut down by next Friday. The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has since raised the alarm, noting that the decision starkly contradicts public opinion, as over 96 percent of Americans support maintaining or expanding museums. According to the organization, the IMLS already operated at a bare minimum, accounting for just 0.0046 percent of the overall federal budget. Meanwhile, museums contribute $50 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

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So saving $311 million at the cost of $50 billion? Brilliant!

The Evil Genius wrote: Thu Mar 20, 2025 11:15 am

Ok glad there are some decent republicans out there than can see Trump is destroying America as an institution of good at home and throughout the world.

I’m not worried about democracy dying, I’m worried about justice dying.

How's that trade war looking now, Donald?

New European Union Plan To Boost Local Arms Production Would Freeze U.S. Out Of Billions

parked in large measure by concerns that the U.S. is aligning itself closer to Russia, receding from its traditional ties with NATO and the stability of U.S. weapons exports, the European Union has created a new initiative to increase defense spending and drastically boost local arms production. The move to ‘buy local’ could effectively freeze the U.S. out of billions of dollars in potential arms sales.

Rankled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposing tariffs and repeatedly saying that Canada should become the 51st state, Ottawa is deep into talks about joining this initiative.

The goals of the new “European Defense Readiness 2030” plan were laid out Wednesday in a white paper issued by the alliance. The initiative calls for increasing defense spending, simplifying regulations and streamlining industrial programs. It seeks the creation of an 800 billion Euro ($872 billion) pool of money to boost European arms production. That includes a suggested 1.5% of GDP increase in defense budgets anticipated to raise 650 billion Euros (about $709 billion) and 150 billion Euros ($163 billion) for the new Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan program “to help countries invest in key defense areas like missile defense, drones, and cyber security,” according to the EU.

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Just a reminder about the potential effects of tariffs on car prices:

Experts warn car prices could increase if tariffs are implemented

With 13 days until new tariffs are expected to be implemented, experts say Americans may see the impact in shopping for a new car.

On April 2, the Trump Administration is expected to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico. The United States imports a decent portion of its automotive parts and metals from both countries.

Kelley Blue Book says the tariffs could raise the U.S. price of the average new car – already approaching $49,000 – by $3,000 or more. The price of some full-size pickup trucks could shoot up by $10,000, the Associated Press reported.

“The tariffs are paid by the people who buy the product, not the people shipping it,” said American Private Wealth president Kashif A. Ahmed. American Private Wealth is a financial planning firm.

So if you’ve been thinking about buying a new car, experts say you might want to sign the papers sooner rather than later if you want a good deal before the impending tariffs kick in.

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Amtrak CEO Gardner leaves as operator pushes back against Musk’s privatisation drive

Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner announced on March 19 that he was stepping down from the national passenger operator with immediate effect.

In a brief statement, he said that he was leaving ‘to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration’. According to the Reuters news agency citing a White House official, he was asked to step down by the Trump administration.

Having previously been an intern at the operator, Gardner joined Amtrak in 2009, rising to Chief Operating & Commercial Officer before being appointed President in 2021, taking on overall leadership of the business.

Widely seen as a keen rail advocate, in his early career, Gardner worked for Guilford Rail System, now Pan Am Railways, and the Buckingham Branch Railroad in Virginia. He then worked on rail and transportation policy for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation before joining Amtrak.

Gardner’s departure comes only a few weeks after US government advisor and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk raised the prospect of Amtrak being privatised. Musk is the co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency body which is advising the Trump administration on ways to dramatically scale back the size and scope of the federal government; since its creation in 1971, Amtrak has been run as a federally chartered corporation.

Musk is reported to have told a Morgan Stanley conference at the start of March that ‘we should privatise anything that can be privatised. Something’s got to have some chance of going bankrupt or there’s not a good feedback loop for improvement.’ According to CNN, he went on to describe Amtrak as ‘a sad situation’ and ‘kind of embarrassing’.

On March 5, Amtrak itself issued a white paper challenging the idea. In its introduction, the document said that ‘proponents of privatisation assert that it would produce better service at a lower cost and reduce or even eliminate the need for public funding. Great Britain’s recent renationalisation of its rail service after three disastrous decades of privatisation, and past unsuccessful efforts to privatise various Amtrak operations, show otherwise.’

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CBSA seizes 108 kg of cocaine that was being smuggled into Canada

A 26-year-old Calgary man has been charged after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) caught him attempting to smuggle 108 kilograms of cocaine into Canada from the U.S.

Arshdeep Singh, 26, was arrested on March 8 after border agents found the drugs during a secondary examination of a transport truck entering Canada at the Coutts port of entry.

Officials say the load has originated from the U.S.

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