#Checks and balances

[dinosaurwithablog]

Truth....

Trump is not the cause of our divided nation. He is the symptom of a rigged system that was already dividing us. It’s not enough to defeat him. We must reform the system that got us here in the first place, to ensure that no future politician will ever again imitate Trump’s authoritarian demagoguery.

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

[aunti-christ-ine]

🎯

[deadpresidents]

"I do not believe it is the function or indeed it is desirable for a President to express his approval or disapproval of any Supreme Court decision. His job, for which he takes an oath, is to execute the laws.

If he, in advance of such execution, says "I don't like it but I will do it," and in the other cases "I do like it, I will do it," he is constantly laying the whole law enforcement processes of the Federal Government open to the suspicion that he is doing his duty one time well and the other time not well."

-- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, White House Press Conference, January 21, 1959.

[democratthatlovesguns]

Mad at Chuck Schumer? DON'T BE.

ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT DIVISION WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS EXACTLY WHAT PUTIN PAYS THOUSANDS OF INTERNET TROLLS TO DO - IT'S A MASSIVE PART OF HIS WAR EFFORT.

REMEMBER BERNICRATS? PUTIN PROMOTED THE FUCK OUT OF THAT.

If you're mad at Chuck Schumer, you are falling for exactly what Trump and Putin have orchestrated.

But unlike Trump and Putin, Schumer believes regular people (not politicians) can see right through the bullshit ...

What would a democratic-led government shutdown give Trump and Putin?

Trump is not held accountable for the economy - Immediately, Trump and his surrogates and Faux News would be running around talking about how the government shutdown is the ONLY cause of the economy going to shit.

Trump can call the "economic collapse" a national emergency - he gets the power to spend government money how ever he wants; including paying $100 Billion to Elon (aka DOGE) for consulting fees, to make up for the fortune he's lost.

Trump could use the same "national emergency" argument to shutter every federal government agency that he dislikes.

All aid to Ukraine would seize immediately - Putin would use the opportunity given to him by republicans (not just Trump) to ramp up the destruction of civilian property and the murder of tens of thousands of women and children republicans were all very happy to send back to Ukraine to die.

All aid to any other country would stop - Trump gets what he really wanted, to have the power to reallocate all the money the government has to spend. Court orders, the checks from the judiciary, matter less than nothing to republicans, as we have clearly seen.

Trump and all republicans PRAYED for Schumer and democrats to force a government shutdown. Schumer wasn't stupid enough to fall for their bullshit, be like Schumer.

[victusinveritas]

To be clear fuck Mike Pence but also it's terrifying when he's the sane one in any situation.

[tomorrowusa]

« Musk is cleverly using words to deflect political accountability, both from Trump and from Congress. The government still works the way it always has. Tech bros do not fund or defund the government, and do not create or abolish government departments or agencies. Only Congress does.

The real crisis is still what it was before: not Elon Musk or DOGE, but a Congress that remains in thrall to Trump and will not provide the normal checks and balances that our government needs. »

— Nicole Gelinas at the New York Times.

Get in touch with your US senators and representatives and tell them to do their jobs. Democracy is not something which can be outsources – especially to multi-billionaires with conflicts of interest.

[alwaysbewoke]

the fix is in!!

[my-midlife-crisis]

[metalheadsagainstfascism]

Trump thinks that the judges aren't allowed to question his rulings, so let's explain checks and balances as simply as possible for him.

Okay, imagine the government is like a big team with three players: the President, Congress, and the courts. Each player has their own job, but they need to make sure the others aren't doing anything bad or unfair. This is called "checks and balances."

The President, who is in charge of the country, can't just do whatever they want. The courts, which are like a group of judges, help by making sure the President follows the rules. If the President tries to do something that isn't fair or breaks the law, the courts can say, "Hey, that's not allowed!"

For example, if the President says, "Everyone has to do this!" but it hurts people’s rights, the courts can look at it and decide, "No, that’s not right." They can stop the President from doing it.

The courts have something special called "judicial review." This means they can look at the President’s actions and see if they follow the rules. If not, they can cancel them.

So, the courts make sure the President doesn't go too far, keeping everything fair and balanced for everyone. It's like a referee making sure no one cheats in a game!

-fae

[black-fist-order]

With Deportations, Trump Steps Closer to Showdown With Judicial Branch - The New York Times

[skrunkle11]

Get a load of this guy.

[palatinewolfsblog]

When your lawmakers are above the law

you aren't governed

you are ruled (and fooled).

U.N. Owen.

[democratthatlovesguns]

Want to know what victim blaming looks like in a red state?

Very similar to how rape victims are treated in red states ... The republican party is ready to blame the people of Ukraine for the russian assholes that continue to occupy their country. I'd say it will be a couple of days before Speaker Putin's Johnson Up His Ass will be singing the same hero's hymn that Trump and Vance are singing about Putin right now.

Just as young girls in red states are "asking for it" by wearing short shorts or wearing too much makeup or having the audacity to walk alone at night without a companion, the republicans believe Ukraine was "asking to be invaded" by being too friendly to their neighbors on the west.

That is TRULY how fucking stupid the republicans are. No surprises there though, these are the same people that heard Trump say "love the uneducated" and they got up and threw their panties on stage for him.

[poorrichardjr]

An open letter to Congress

(I know only a small handful of people will ever read this, but I think more than a few Americans feel this way)

America has been a constitutional democratic republic for almost 250 years now, the age at which most such experiments fail. Part of the reason we have lasted this long has been because of the belief that our constitution would steer us in the right direction. One of the founding elements held within was the belief that no branch of government should have too much power. Checks and balances were put in place to keep tyranny or progressivism in check.

I have heard all my life that Republicans were the people who "loved" the constitution and the country the most. However, right now, all I see are a group of wealthy individuals lining up to kowtow to a man they have proclaimed the new messiah. They seem more than happy with installing a king and forgetting that their job is to represent the people and protect the constitution's checks and balances. More than a few congressmen are decrying longstanding practice of vetting executive appointees and the Senate's role of advise and consent.

These people are being as hypocritical as they can be. They would never let a democratic president pick whomever they wished despite not having qualifications for a position. No man should be in a position of power if they have no experience or knowledge of the duties of that job. I don't care how smart or how much they seem to love the new president. An unqualified applicant is still unqualified and therefore unfit for the role at which they aspire. You don't hire a welder to be a brain surgeon even if he is a great guy or smart as a tack. The person lacks a fundamental understanding of the task at hand. In the same vein you do not let a fox guard the henhouse. Sure, the fox is cute and playful, but if you want any chickens at all, you don't put someone in charge who is likely to violate the trust you put in them.

This is where Congress becomes involved. We already know that far too many congressmen are going to violate their oaths to the constitution and just do whatever the president tells them to. They are not taking their duties seriously. These people do not care about the country or the constitution. They are only there to get head pats and go on television to defend anything they are told to do. These people are simply loyal henchmen who have given up their own choices simply because they are afraid that the man in power is going to say something bad about them.

The rest of you, and I hope that is a majority, though that looks like an over estimation at times, need to hold fast to the principals of the constitution. We do not elect kings. A president, no matter how much you like them, isn't entitled to appoint any unqualified individual he wants to help him run things. Let me just point out a few of the biggest problems I see in the people he has so far chosen to help run things.

Tulsi Gabbard has been credibly accused of being too close to Vladimir Putin and Victor Orban. If you wouldn't trust Hunter Biden to run a foreign office because you believed he had ties that were too close to China and Ukraine, you cannot let someone like Gabbard into the position for which she has been nominated. Will she really be working for the American people or will she let slip important national security information to our global enemies because she just likes them?

Pete Hegseth has never been a high ranking member of the military and has serious problems of self control. His drinking problems and womanizing are just warning signs that the man doesn't have the experience or character to tell the people with the most powerful weapons in the world what to do on a daily basis.

Robert Kennedy Jr is supposed to lead a government office where science is relied on heavily, but he doesn't believe in many facts based on scientifically proven evidence. Linda McMahon has no educational experience, though she is going to be in charge of the department of education. I could go on and on about how almost every single pick for the cabinet is either unqualified or has massive conflicts of interest where their judgement in running that office would make a rational man question their every decision. And I am not even going to start with the DOGE run by Elon and Vivek simply because they cannot be vetted or affirmed by Congress, though their suggestions should be suspected almost immediately.

Almost none of these people should be in the positions they have been nominated for. Their only qualifications are that they are wealthy and are willing to do what Donald Trump wants. Those are not true qualifications, and you would not hire someone to run your own businesses if they were this unqualified.

So, the American people look to you to do your job. Do what is best for the country. Not your party. Not you personally. And not anything the president asks simply because he is president. You have a duty to uphold, and we are all waiting to see whether you will take those responsibilities seriously or whether or not you are going to be the cowards and cravens we all believe you to be. The people of this nation who worked so hard to help create and defend it are watching and judging your next moves. Will you be a Clay or Webster or will you be a McCarthy?

[sweetfirebird]

A court just ruled that Trump's tariffs were illegal. (Because imposing tariffs is a congressional power unless there is an emergency. A real one. Not a Stephen Miller-imaginary emergency.) So Trump is gonna lose it on Truth Social or Twitter and he is going to direct more MAGA to hate and go after judges for ... *checks notes* following the Constitution of this country. Like they are supposed to.

This trade court btw has three judges on it and two of these judges are considered conservative and were appointed by Republican presidents.

And the suit itself came from American businesses and there are several other similar suits lined up behind it. One of those is sponsored by the Koch brothers-- who are also conservatives. Like not remotely liberal. So so conservative, those guys.

Nonetheless, Trump (and Miller, who is not an attorney) are going to start in with their "activist" judges shit again and indirectly encourage hate for the judges merely doing their jobs.

Also tomorrow or Friday, Trump is gonna do something stupid/outlandish/insanely cruel to try to distract from this slap in the face. Because he follows the same patterns every time. It’s why the rest of the world is mocking him now for always doing the same things.

And for anyone who wants to argue that tariffs can good, these were not and are not planned out. Tariffs should be a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. And anyway, they are still a congressional power. Go read the Constitution, it's free to read online!

And thirdly, there is no emergency. There is not invasion of gang members and even if there had been, didn't Noem and Rubio and Trump say the borders were 99% closed? Sounds like the invasion would be over then.