How POTUS is becoming more and more like a dictator

[josephpalazzo]

Watch out for the next president, whoever that may be.

Warning: might make you sick...


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-obamas-power-plays-set-the-stage-for-trump/2015/12/10/81ace982-9e85-11e5-8728-1af6af208198_story.html

[gentle_dissident]

The idea that we left the dark ages was a careful media campaign.

[stromboli]

I'm more worried about Ted Cruz than Trump.

[Baruch]

Nothing new ... George Washington ran a temporary military junta while the illegal Constitutional Convention was going on in 1787.  Ratification was post facto legalization of an act of insurrection, opposed by Patrick Henry et al.  In 1783, before the Articles of Confederation George Washington was approached by people who wanted him to be king, and others who wanted him to declare a military dictatorship ... because Congress hadn't been able to pay the troops.  Washington could have pulled a Yeltsin against the legislature 200 years before Yeltsin.  During the Revolution, Washington authorized an act of terror against Portsmouth England (burning the naval docks ... which could have gotten out of hand, collateral damage you know) ... fortunately for England, the incendiary terrorist who proposed the operation, was caught before he could do any damage.  Between the end of the French-Indian War, which Lt Washington was partly responsible for starting, and for which he came up roses in spite of being defeated and having to surrender ... but before the Revolution, Washington engaged in land speculation in the Ohio Valley ... over Indian land he didn't own.  Everything you think you know about American History ... is spin doctoring, right back to that cherry tree ;-)

President Truman thru to President Nixon had the ability to suspend all law (in the event of nuclear war).  Not that it would have stopped any President from doing it for other reasons, given a supine Congress.  Supposedly presidential powers were restricted from 1974 until 2001 .. but I think it was just a Potemkin village, for the same reason.  Since 2001 the President again has unlimited powers ... partly because we are in permanent war against the rest of the human race.  This is why Obama like Bush Jr can rule by decree (ukase is what they called it in Imperial Russia).

For several decades, after Watergate, the Washington Post was the organ of Rev Moon.  Now the pseudo-capitalist from Amazon runs it ... did you know that Amazon has never made a profit ... and that the CIA is now using their services for classified server farming?  Guess they get part of their money thru the Black Ops.  The NYT and the WP are Establishment organs aka Deep State.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Nothing new ... George Washington ran a temporary military junta while the illegal Constitutional Convention was going on in 1787.  Ratification was post facto legalization of an act of insurrection, opposed by Patrick Henry et al.  In 1783, before the Articles of Confederation George Washington was approached by people who wanted him to be king, and others who wanted him to declare a military dictatorship ... because Congress hadn't been able to pay the troops.  Washington could have pulled a Yeltsin against the legislature 200 years before Yeltsin.  During the Revolution, Washington authorized an act of terror against Portsmouth England (burning the naval docks ... which could have gotten out of hand, collateral damage you know) ... fortunately for England, the incendiary terrorist who proposed the operation, was caught before he could do any damage.  Between the end of the French-Indian War, which Lt Washington was partly responsible for starting, and for which he came up roses in spite of being defeated and having to surrender ... but before the Revolution, Washington engaged in land speculation in the Ohio Valley ... over Indian land he didn't own.  Everything you think you know about American History ... is spin doctoring, right back to that cherry tree ;-)

President Truman thru to President Nixon had the ability to suspend all law (in the event of nuclear war).  Not that it would have stopped any President from doing it for other reasons, given a supine Congress.  Supposedly presidential powers were restricted from 1974 until 2001 .. but I think it was just a Potemkin village, for the same reason.  Since 2001 the President again has unlimited powers ... partly because we are in permanent war against the rest of the human race.  This is why Obama like Bush Jr can rule by decree (ukase is what they called it in Imperial Russia).

For several decades, after Watergate, the Washington Post was the organ of Rev Moon.  Now the pseudo-capitalist from Amazon runs it ... did you know that Amazon has never made a profit ... and that the CIA is now using their services for classified server farming?  Guess they get part of their money thru the Black Ops.  The NYT and the WP are Establishment organs aka Deep State.

Wrong newspaper. Moon established and ran the Washington Times which was and still is a strictly right wing rag, not the Post.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

People solemnly warned that a peace-time draft was the first step toward a fascist dictatorship of the US, in 1940 AD. :yawn:

[Baruch]

People solemnly warned that a peace-time draft was the first step toward a fascist dictatorship of the US, in 1940 AD. :yawn:

Prescient.  The US Army was smaller than say the military of ... Portugal? ... until that draft.  The only prior draft was during the Civil War.

Thinking that Obama is special ... is so Fox News.

[josephpalazzo]

People solemnly warned that a peace-time draft was the first step toward a fascist dictatorship of the US, in 1940 AD. :yawn:

They were taking a stab in the dark, like many people over the years feared that POTUS could turn into a dictator, which was the same fear for the founding fathers, hence a SYSTEM structure that stressed divisions between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary branches of government. But after 230+ years, it's no longer an imaginary fear: the system has eroded to the point that now we can realistically envisioned a POTUS to be a dictator in every sense of the word.

[SGOS]

I've always been a bit puzzled by what powers are not the presidents.  For as long as I can remember, presidents have been passing this or declaring that, when that privilege belonged to congress.  I get the impression that certain responsibilities are assigned to each branch of government, but either it's not all that clearly delineated, or nobody really cares.  Then maybe it's like a Supreme Court that George Bush claimed was passing laws.  From what it sounds like, the Supreme Court has been passing laws for the last 30 years, but I couldn't actually point to a law that was passed by the Supreme Court.

The article, does point to several specific cases where Obama did what he legally could not do.  Did that really happen?  Was it really not legal?  If he did something wrong, why didn't someone stop him?  Or is it a case of Congress bitching about stuff, but not doing anything about it?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

They were taking a stab in the dark, like many people over the years feared that POTUS could turn into a dictator, which was the same fear for the founding fathers, hence a SYSTEM structure that stressed divisions between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary branches of government. But after 230+ years, it's no longer an imaginary fear: the system has eroded to the point that now we can realistically envisioned a POTUS to be a dictator in every sense of the word.

Nonsense.

[josephpalazzo]

I've always been a bit puzzled by what powers are not the presidents.  For as long as I can remember, presidents have been passing this or declaring that, when that privilege belonged to congress.  I get the impression that certain responsibilities are assigned to each branch of government, but either it's not all that clearly delineated, or nobody really cares.  Then maybe it's like a Supreme Court that George Bush claimed was passing laws.  From what it sounds like, the Supreme Court has been passing laws for the last 30 years, but I couldn't actually point to a law that was passed by the Supreme Court.

The article, does point to several specific cases where Obama did what he legally could not do.  Did that really happen?  Was it really not legal?  If he did something wrong, why didn't someone stop him?  Or is it a case of Congress bitching about stuff, but not doing anything about it?

Part of it is gerrymandering - incumbents don't fear losing their election and so can take extreme positions; part is from Citizen United Vs FEC which is allowing humongus amount of money in election campaign and leaves no chance at campaign finance reform - the result as witnessed in the last 20 years is gridlock in Congress, and as the old adage "nature abhors a vacuum", POTUS feels free to enact as many executive orders as he can under the radar, hence by-passing Congress. The net effect is that we are moving towards dictatorship. What happens when a Trump or Cruz gets elected as POTUS is kind of scary.

[pr126]

President Obama's Top 10 Constitutional Violations Of 2013

[SGOS]

President Obama's Top 10 Constitutional Violations Of 2013

The link is rendering a blank page, at least on my computer. 

I was getting tired of politicians passing unconstitutional laws, at least as determined by the court system.  Oddly, before he took office, I had expressed my pleasure at Obama being a constitutional lawyer.  At any rate, I was told he was.  But an actual lawyer responded to me that, he "doubted Obama felt it was his job to uphold the Constitution...  Or should it be!"  Yep, that's what this lawyer said, and he was also a Democrat.  I've been trying to figure out what he meant for the last eight years, and what it is I don't understand about the law.

[Baruch]

The link goes to a Forbes advertisement that you have to click thru to get to the article.

Mostly the list is related to "arbitrary exemption/delay" in the ACA implementation.  Without those exemptions small business and Congress would be up in arms (for real, not the fake anger they have shown so far).  But then the ACA is based on a R-think tank plan.

The rest are typical violations done by both parties ... like using the IRS politically etc.

[SGOS]

Nope, all I get is solid gray, with nothing to point at, click on, or be fooled by.