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The USA Politics Thread

#14981 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

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Posted 19 March 2025 - 05:56 PM

View PostCause, on 19 March 2025 - 05:09 PM, said:

The DOJ says the judge who is trying to determine if the goverment defied his ruling is 'beating a dead horse' asking for details to determine if his order was violated and if so how flagrant it was.

Constitutional crisis or some sever contempt of court punishments seems likely soon.


Quote

Legal scholars say that the nation has reached a tipping point and that the right question is not whether there is a [constitutional] crisis, but rather how much damage it will cause.

"If anyone is being detained or removed based on the administration's assertion that it can do so without judicial review or due process," said Jamal Greene, a law professor at Columbia, "the president is asserting dictatorial power and 'constitutional crisis' doesn't capture the gravity of the situation."

[...] Aziz Huq, a law professor at the University of Chicago, said that assessing whether a given development is a constitutional crisis is "generally unhelpful."

"I think it's more useful to say that this is moving us into a completely different kind of constitutional order, one that's no longer characterized by laws that bind officials and that can be enforced," Professor Huq said. "The law, in other words, becomes a tool to harm enemies, but not to bind those who govern. That is a quite different constitutional order from the one that we've had for a long time."

https://www.nytimes....mpeachment.html


No sign yet of mass defections in federal law enforcement or any sort of partial coup on the part of law enforcement or the military to at least for the executive to comply with judicial orders. Would a partial coup (basically, the military telling Trump that they will intervene to stop him from defying court orders) extending over the course of Trump's presidency really be feasible? Probably not. Would Trump be willing to risk civil war if he could only command illegal loyalty from a small percentage of the military? How far can he push into illegality before the military would consider intervening?

Given the unpopularity of DOGE and inflationary tariffs, the Republicans would probably do very badly in free and fair midterm elections. Trump will probably try to intervene in blatantly illegal ways. Will anyone in military command try to draw the line there?

Then again, thinking the military would be willing to step in, even if those willing to do so would have a major advantage over Trump's absolute loyalists, is probably wishful thinking. As is a general strike in the United States.
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#14982 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

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Posted 20 March 2025 - 03:46 PM

In case any of you missed this:

Quote

French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found

France's research minister said the scientist was traveling to Houston for a conference when his phone was searched

[...] "This measure was apparently taken by the American authorities because the researcher's phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration's research policy," the minister added.

[... The researcher] was reportedly also informed of an FBI investigation, but told that "charges were dropped" before being expelled.

[...] On the same day that the researcher was denied entry to the US, [France's research minister] Baptiste [not the researcher who was denied entry] published a letter calling on American researchers to relocate to France. "Many well-known researchers are already questioning their future in the United States," he wrote. "We would naturally wish to welcome a certain number of them."

French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found - The Guardian


Still not sure what % of people are actually getting their phones or other electronic devices searched and how it varies by (international) airport or border crossing.

More horrible details on the Canadian who was detained and deported:

Quote

"It felt like we had all been kidnapped, thrown into some sort of sick psychological experiment meant to strip us of every ounce of strength and dignity," she wrote in a new Medium article called "You're Not a Criminal, But You're Going to Jail: My ICE Detention Story as a Canadian Citizen."

Canadian Actress Recounts Her Terrifying Experience in Ice Custody - The Daily Beast

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 20 March 2025 - 03:47 PM

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#14983 User is offline   Lady Bliss 

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Posted 20 March 2025 - 05:32 PM

I need to understand how they can legally search our cell phones? Does that mean I could be detained after going to Cancun for example? Not meaning I’m planning to!
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#14984 User is online   Cause 

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Posted 20 March 2025 - 05:36 PM

They have no legal right to force you, but they have a legal right to refuse you entry to America if you’re not a citizen. If you refuse to do-operate with the search they can use that to justify denying you entry but you would be allowed to leave with your unsearched phone.
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#14985 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 21 March 2025 - 03:31 PM

The frog is not even boiling slowly at this point...
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#14986 User is offline   Abyss 

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Posted 22 March 2025 - 06:08 PM

It gets worse, he's actively bullying private law firms peripherally associated w the prosecution efforts against him, threatening to revoke contracts and licenses if they don't abandon DEI efforts and also bow and genuflect when he enters the room. It's just sick to watch this. American democracy is dying.
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#14987 User is offline   Macros 

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Posted 22 March 2025 - 11:06 PM

It died quite a while ago, this is the post death twitches and farts.
I await the soiling itself
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#14988 User is offline   Abyss 

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Posted 23 March 2025 - 03:24 PM

View PostAbyss, on 22 March 2025 - 06:08 PM, said:

It gets worse, he's actively bullying private law firms peripherally associated w the prosecution efforts against him, threatening to revoke contracts and licenses if they don't abandon DEI efforts and also bow and genuflect when he enters the room. It's just sick to watch this. American democracy is dying.



View PostMacros, on 22 March 2025 - 11:06 PM, said:

It died quite a while ago, this is the post death twitches and farts.
I await the soiling itself


So much for the land of the free and the home of the brave. Some little part of me wants to believe that in four years we'll see another upsurge but honestly, everything there looks so broken, and nothing i'm hearing from friends who live there suggests otherwise. Early days of a dark, even ugly four years, so fair enough, but even so....
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#14989 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

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Posted 23 March 2025 - 04:22 PM

View PostAbyss, on 23 March 2025 - 03:24 PM, said:

So much for the land of the free and the home of the brave. Some little part of me wants to believe that in four years we'll see another upsurge but honestly, everything there looks so broken, and nothing i'm hearing from friends who live there suggests otherwise. Early days of a dark, even ugly four years, so fair enough, but even so....


Got my hopes up a little when I saw the title and author of this Op-Ed in the NYT (that's pronounced "Night" these days):

Quote

It's Trump vs. the Courts, and It Won't End Well for Trump

By J. Michael Luttig

Judge Luttig was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit


Here's why he say it won't end well for Trump if he defies the courts:

Quote

If Mr. Trump continues to attempt to usurp the authority of the courts, the battle will be joined, and it will be up to the Supreme Court, Congress and the American people to step forward and say: Enough. As the Declaration of Independence said, referring to King George III of Britain, "A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."

Mr. Trump appears to have forgotten that Americans fought the Revolutionary War to secure their independence from the British monarchy and establish a government of laws, not of men, so that Americans would never again be subject to the whims of a tyrannical king. As Thomas Paine wrote in "Common Sense" in 1776, "in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other."

https://www.nytimes....eportation.html


Oh ffs. The courts have no enforcement power that isn't under Trump's control. 2/3rds of the Senate voting to convict him? Nope.

Most Americans don't remember much about Revolutionary War history; leftists don't really care about it much, since the "founding fathers" are so sullied by slavery etc., and those who at least pretend to care are overwhelmingly MAGA, "Make America mad king George's Again".

And how exactly does he expect the American people to "step up" before the 2026 elections? Mass protests? That will somehow magically force Trump to back off or step down?

His evidence for this is wishful thinking and willful ignorance. The polling data I've seen suggests most Americans don't care that much about Trump playing dictator. They're more likely to care about inflation and losing their jobs. (Though that would give fired government workers---and people who lose their jobs because of the declining US economy---something to do with their time... just as pandemic lockdowns made the George Floyd protests more convenient.)

One comment on the article pointed out that Trump might try to use protests or rioting as an excuse to declare martial law and postpone the 2026 elections. Or he could use it as an excuse to illegally meddle in them, or a cover for fixing them.

Without military intervention against Trump (perhaps after he tries to order the military to stop mass protests?) or a general strike (which doesn't seem plausible at all in the United States) I don't see anything ultimately stopping him.
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#14990 User is offline   Abyss 

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Posted 23 March 2025 - 05:54 PM

Trump is stacking the justice dept w his followers, firing people who disagree w him, and outright bullying private firms who might represent people who stand against him. He's demanding impeachment of judges who decide against him. Ignoring orders that run contrary to deportation programs. Yeah, the courts are doing great.
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#14991 User is offline   Mentalist 

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Posted 24 March 2025 - 12:50 AM

Look, if Trump needs an excuse to postpone the election, he'll start a "de-cartelization" Special Military Operation in Northern Mexico.

Unless the courts AND all teh lawyers stand up to him, he's gonna get his way. And given the brilliant performance of Schumer and the Senate bunch so far, I'm not holding my breath.
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View PostJump Around, on 23 October 2011 - 11:04 AM, said:

And I want to state that Ment has out-weaseled me by far in this game.
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#14992 User is online   Cause 

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Posted 24 March 2025 - 09:36 PM

At this point I don't think there is anybody left who doesn't know this but 'every accusation is a confession'. Dems should make it a bumper sticker or something.

Accidentally adding a journalist to what is essentially your whatsapp text chat to plan the bombings of Yemen is incompetent sure. However its also the behavior for which they wanted to lynch Hillary Clinton over.

Are they conducting government business using the Signal app because they are too lazy to do it properly or do they do it to prevent their from being official logs of their conversations. Everything they say and do at there level is supposed to be recorded.

I suspect Signal encryption is pretty good but honestly not my area of expertise so I dont really know if someone could listen in or not but I think thats despite the point.

Edited to add:

https://www.newsweek...rnalist-2049883

Hegseth denies it. His facial expressions and energy in the interview look really bad to me. I don’t even know how to interpret it. A smirk, a pained grin, disdain and then he gets weirdly manic saying Russia Russia Russia.

This post has been edited by Cause: 24 March 2025 - 11:58 PM

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#14993 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 10:41 AM

Quote

Rogan Takes Stand Against Canada as Trump's Trade War Rages

Podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, is boycotting [Canada] in support of [Trump ... he] claimed that he would "rather go to Russia." [...] In addition to supporting the acquisition of Canada, Rogan has called for the U.S. to seize Mexico as well. "I say we let Mexico in, too,"

https://www.thedaily...war-plans-leak/


Not clear from this if there's a difference in his mind between "seizing" them and "letting them in".

On the bright side his podcast has dropped from #1 in Spotify's rankings of US podcasts down to #3.
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#14994 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 11:36 AM

View PostAzath Vitr (D, on 25 March 2025 - 10:41 AM, said:

Quote

Rogan Takes Stand Against Canada as Trump's Trade War Rages

Podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, is boycotting [Canada] in support of [Trump ... he] claimed that he would "rather go to Russia." [...] In addition to supporting the acquisition of Canada, Rogan has called for the U.S. to seize Mexico as well. "I say we let Mexico in, too,"

https://www.thedaily...war-plans-leak/


Not clear from this if there's a difference in his mind between "seizing" them and "letting them in".

On the bright side his podcast has dropped from #1 in Spotify's rankings of US podcasts down to #3.


This man is deeply unwell. I mean let's not pretend he was ever some bastion of decency, his claims to fame were as a shitty standup comedian, the host of a "reality" tv show where they scared people...but to have fallen all the way off his rocker like this is insane. Like I know the pivot to more Trumpian ideologies and anti-vaxx BS has clearly made him a tonne of money so that's what's likely behind this...after dropping out of the top spot to MeidasTouch (who are deeply critical of the Trump Admin), and whoever else is ahead of him, I would put god money on him realizing that if he goes ALL the way in on the grift that he can make as much quick money as possible before he becomes irrelevant.


But yeah, he's a garbage human. The "Just Asking Questions" fallacy writ as a human being. Disgusting.


But these men would not be able to do this and get away with it if America didn't allow them to.
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#14995 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 11:40 AM

View PostCause, on 24 March 2025 - 09:36 PM, said:

At this point I don't think there is anybody left who doesn't know this but 'every accusation is a confession'. Dems should make it a bumper sticker or something.

Accidentally adding a journalist to what is essentially your whatsapp text chat to plan the bombings of Yemen is incompetent sure. However its also the behavior for which they wanted to lynch Hillary Clinton over.

Are they conducting government business using the Signal app because they are too lazy to do it properly or do they do it to prevent their from being official logs of their conversations. Everything they say and do at there level is supposed to be recorded.

I suspect Signal encryption is pretty good but honestly not my area of expertise so I dont really know if someone could listen in or not but I think thats despite the point.

Edited to add:

https://www.newsweek...rnalist-2049883

Hegseth denies it. His facial expressions and energy in the interview look really bad to me. I don’t even know how to interpret it. A smirk, a pained grin, disdain and then he gets weirdly manic saying Russia Russia Russia.


Hegseth denying it while the rest of them go "Yeah, that was us, WHOOPSIE" just makes him look even worse. I saw the wife of a serviceman who is currently over in the Middle East not far from Yemen on social media and she was fucking RAGING....cause this kind of shit could have put her husband or other soldiers like him in very deep shit.


It SHOULD be the bring down of the administration....at BEST the people on it should be fired....FFS if these were lesser military personel this would be a goddamn military tribunal...

I want the democrats and the media to bring this up to EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN WHO EVER TRIES TO BRING UP THE "TROOPS" AGAIN. Ever. Rub their lack of gusto on this in their faces every chance....The usual suspects like Cruz are already defending this....these same ass people spent YEARS screeching to everyone who would listen about Hillarys emails....this is SOOOOOO much worse...and not only crickets, but DEFENSES....
"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

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#14996 User is offline   amphibian 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 12:13 PM

The point has always been to enlarge their power - to rule, to abuse, and to avoid accountability.

The Senate Democrats who are voting for any Trump appointee do not understand that this isn't a government that they understand. It's a kleptocracy atop a steadily dying bureaucracy. Everything, every position should be met with uniform No votes even if it means a loss.
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#14997 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 12:20 PM

No notes.

Attached File  goodgrief.png (418.66K)
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"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

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#14998 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 01:20 PM

This whole story is hilarious and deeply concerning in equal measure.
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#14999 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 01:40 PM

Some actual texts from the group chat (I'm not going to try to find matching emojis but you can see them in the image, spoilered for size):

Fist emoji American flag emoji Fire emoji
Prayer emoji Prayer emoji Gigantic bicep flex emoji American flag emoji American flag emoji

It's like cartoon Christo-fascism...

Spoiler

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#15000 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 25 March 2025 - 01:49 PM

The most unserious group of govt admin ever...

The US should be thankful to Goldberg that he didn't include the CIA members and some of the more discerning stuff on the texts AND he waited till after the attack occurred to release it in the media so nothing would be compromised.

Compared to the idiots in that chat, the guy is a saint. But of course the talking point is that Goldberg is at fault for not letting them know he should not have been in the chat.


Do you know what would happen if I sent a sensitive email accidentally to a random vendor and then tried to blame them for being emailed the info? Jeezus...
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