YOU COULD WALK the streets of any Irish city and see someone resembling Judge Ann Donnelly (below) [1] and if you're active in Irish social media, you would meet at least one Ann Donnelly online. [2] However, Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York is the real deal when you consider people with impact. She put a stay on one of Donald Trump's Executive Orders concerning a ban on Muslims entering the States. [3]
This judgment should cause some turbulence in the Oval Office, hopefully informing the new occupants of the limitations of executive orders. It's not as simple as telling the doormen of Trump Towers about a new entry policy.
When Trump first mooted his Muslim Ban on the campaign trail, I wondered if he had ever consulted with the Department of Homeland Security. Based on the fiasco that unfolded across all major international airports in the States in the hours following his Muslim Ban, it's obvious he didn't ask for expert opinion from those responsible for keeping US borders in check.
Within a few hours of Trump affixing his signature on his "extreme vetting" Executive Order, some Green Card holders were handcuffed in the arrivals area of American airports and asked about their views on Trump and for details about their social media accounts. A 12 year old Yemeni daughter of an American citizen could not fly with her parents back to their home in the States. The wife and new-born daughter of Yale Professor Kalbasi cannot travel to see him in Massachusetts.
Blowback against Trump's anti-Muslim stance might surprise some insiders close to the President. Large crowds protested with their luggage inside several international airports with some reporters suggesting the total footfall exceeded the number of people who attended the recent inauguration [4] And New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman pledged he "will do everything in my power to help those victimized by President Trump's discriminatory and dangerous executive action".
As I explained on Anchor.fm, Lenin wanted to bring everything crashing down in order to destroy the status quo. Trump's sweeping chaotic approach to government does not follow a typical opposition playbook. It's well past the time to dust off the history books and examine key figures like Lenin and Hitler because many of the tactics emerging under the cover of the White House look ominous to me.
- See Ann Donnelly getting her robes as a federal judge on January 25, 2016.
- Follow @ann_donnelly for ways to improve your business.
- Enda O'Dowd -- "Trump signs executive order on extreme vetting of Muslims" in the Irish Times, January 27, 2016.
- You must watch Bad Lip Reading of Trump's Inauguration on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gneBUA39mnI
