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submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

Summary

Donald Trump signed an executive order expanding presidential control over independent agencies, including the FTC, FCC, and SEC.

The order enforces the “unitary executive theory,” which argues the president has sole authority over the executive branch. It grants Trump’s budget chief, Russell Vought, oversight of these agencies’ performance and budgets.

The move is expected to face legal challenges, as past presidents have largely respected agency independence.

Trump defended the order, stating, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

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[-] AtariDump@lemmy.world 43 points 2 days ago
[-] Noite_Etion@lemmy.world 105 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

America, when are you going to stop this? You finally have a chance to exercise the second amendment, to defend your freedom and to show the world you aren't the bad guys; And you do nothing...

Trump/Musk are literally following the steps laid out by Hitler and they aren't even hiding it.

[-] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 113 points 3 days ago

I see this sentiment a lot. "Why aren't Americans doing anything? Why aren't leftist militias rising up to take back the capital? Etc. Etc. Etc."

First of all, asking "why aren't Americans doing anything" is a highly unaware question. We are doing things, but they aren't going to give any airtime to the protests, marches, boycotts, and legal efforts taking place, because the media is now firmly on the side of those with power, not the common people.

Second of all, it's pretty heartless of you to just casually ask us to "exercise the second amendment", because when you ask that, you're asking for at least some of us to die. Put yourselves in our shoes, and be honest - if you were in our position, would it be so easy and casual to just pick up a gun and join a violent revolution? Would you be willing to risk death in that situation? Personally, I'm not a soldier, I've never had an interest in guns, I'd be less than useless in that capacity. So I'm looking at other things we can do before escalating to that.

I get that everyone's scared because the nation with the most powerful military on earth is falling into fascism. That's terrifying to most Americans as well, and I think a lot of us are still frozen with that fear. I understand and agree that this problem is on Americans to fix. But I hope the rest of the world will be willing to help when we call on them, instead of just sitting idly by wondering when that magical second amendment is gonna kick in.

[-] RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works 38 points 3 days ago

Yeah the people making 2A arguments are seemingly asking people to murder people on their behalf with zero regards to how that plays out. Not surprisingly most gun owners are in fact not looking to murder people.

[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 27 points 3 days ago

Also, even if they were, who do they have access to murder? It's almost begging people to take their frustrations out on their neighbors, which will only make things so much worse.

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[-] coaxil@lemm.ee 24 points 3 days ago

I think the second amendment is pointed out so readily, because most of the world has watched America and their guns and ridiculous gun problems, and that is usually what is pointed at in some kind of gotcha defence. Second, we do see the protests and legal efforts, and honestly looking in, seems like that's pissing into the wind.

As for myself committing violence in an situation similar to America's? Can't honestly answer one way or the other until I am in the situation myself, but don't think it would be a hard no, I'm not opposed to violence in the correct situation, and boy you guys are, if not there already, very very close to that correct situation.

[-] samus12345@lemm.ee 9 points 2 days ago

There's also the fact that people with consumer grade weapons aren't going to be doing shit against the military, which is what would be brought out against them. If I knew there was even a good chance that I could do something leading to my death that would do a damn bit of good, I'd do it. But there isn't.

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[-] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 29 points 3 days ago

America, when are you going to stop this? You finally have a chance to exercise the second amendment, to defend your freedom and to show the world you aren’t the bad guys; And you do nothing…

Most of the people who are so in favor of the 2nd amendment are actively supporting this.

And people ask why we aren't doing anything about it as if people can just pick up a gun willy nilly and go join a violent revolution as easily as joining your local church group. What are people supposed to do? Walk up to the Capitol with an AK-47 and start firing while shouting "DOWN WITH TRUMP?". That's a great way to end up dead, in a psych ward, or in ADX-Florence. Trying to organize armed resistance of any size that matters in an era where everybody is carrying around a tracking device in their pockets is a great way to have the whole group rounded up and sent to Gitmo on treason charges.

This isn't the movies.

[-] DarthKaren@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago

On top of this. It isn't just Dump. It's the entire GOP. Plus the douche crew and his nazi youth that have been ransacking shit that they don't understand. Yeah, going in armedmay get you 1 person. It won't do any good. You're cutting a small scale off of a large shit snake.

The best we can do is arm ourselves (and I fucking hate that I have to resort to this option) and prep for when shit goes south. I suspect that will be mid terms. We'll see armed yokels "guarding" vote drop off locations and polling locations. If there is any sign of a dem win anywhere, all hell will break loose with diaperdon claiming fraud. He'll probably pull some shit like his attempted coup and we'll see the polling station yokels going nuts.

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[-] NotLemming@lemm.ee 23 points 2 days ago

I'm rewatching handmaid's tale in absolute despair and I'm not even american. You people need to fight, not only for yourselves and your country but for the rest of us who are living in America's shadow. You set yourself up as the land of the free - you can't fall. There's too much riding on you. We'll all follow, if America goes. If Hitler was American...

And when you get rid of these assholes, don't allow the same shitty systemic injustices. You need to institute a libertarian socialist society and start being a true leader for the rest of the world, no more robbing poor countries.

[-] Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

See, the thing is, America's been propped up by toothpicks and Santa Claus-esque belief for most of our lifetimes. There were clearly no guardrails, no real systems in place, and no people with the willpower or actual dedication to the country to hold it against any level of dedicated attack. Hell, many of its people are so broken and systematically idiotic that they welcomed the attack as long as the got to guffaw and clap like seals at the people brought down to their god awful level.

It had to fall. It likely won't rise again in any healthy, phoenix sort of way, but if it manages to do so, maybe it won't only have the untested veneer of strength. But for now, it's a corpse. Europe needs to save itself and not add their bodies to the cemetery, because what took down America is actively coming for the world.

[-] NotLemming@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago

Do you think the realities of global heating have caused a kind of mass delusion?

[-] Fredthefishlord 6 points 2 days ago

No country has guard rails when you ignore the law dude

[-] WarlordSdocy@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

The guard rail should have been prosecuting Trump before he ran again. Or you can have enforcement come from outside the government by having strong unions that can shut down the economy if the government starts breaking the law and doing bad things. There are guard rails that can be put in place to help but the US has very few that are still left trying to hold back the illegal actions.

[-] FunnyUsername@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

every day i am so upset to have been forced to vote for biden because he wasn't trump, only for him and his administration to sit around for 4 years and let trump get away with all of his crimes, only for all of this. i honestly don't see any reason to vote for a Democratic status-quo candidate again, even if satan himself is running against him. I'll vote when progressives are on the ticket.

[-] NotLemming@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

I really believe it was dangerous to martyr trump by putting him in jail... His followers were so nutty that they would maybe have broken the system completely, as they tried to do last time.

I mean, right now the facade of america being a functioning democracy is kind of intact, if you don't look too close. If a lot of crazies with guns stormed the court, the jail to rescue or protect trump... If the police or jailers released him... I mean, then what? Military coup? He tried it last time, people died and he's blatantly supported and protected those people. There's also that old adage about giving him enough rope to hang himself. There has to be a line that even brainwashed cult members won't cross and he seems to be looking for it.

I really hope that someone over there who's smarter and better informed than I am has some kind of plan and this will all be worth it in the end.

[-] FunnyUsername@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

so jail his followers, then. this type of justification from fear is the reason we are where we are.

[-] NotLemming@lemm.ee 1 points 11 hours ago

This kind of justification isn't the end, but if a group are able to destroy the country then ideology is kind of moot... To be pragmatic this is like 4D chess and the end result has to be a working democracy. I used to say 'oh just let it burn down, its shit anyway' but this means peoples lives lost and spiralling chaos which can't really be predicted. I'd guess the chance of anything better emerging is very slim.

The best result now is that enough people realise what's happening and know that they MUST be politically active, must make a popular movement for peace, justice, truth, decency... All of the old values which seem out of fashion. There are more people who believe in those things but where tf are they? They're saying 'politics are gross' I don't want to be around that.

Ummm... THOSE people ought to be the ones doing politics! They ought to be the politicians.

[-] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

If Congress wasn't filled with feckless lickspittles, they could just not fund the executive branch. But they are, so they will

If Congress wasn’t filled with feckless lickspittles

If that was the case, trump would've already been convicted of impeachment and been disqualified.

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[-] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 34 points 3 days ago

I hate they way he coops that quote that was meant for luigi.

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[-] snekerpimp@lemmy.world 54 points 3 days ago

Legal challenges? They are ignoring the courts. How will that change anything?

When do we start exercising our second amendment on this tyrannical dictator?

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[-] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 47 points 3 days ago
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[-] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 43 points 3 days ago

I don't even have the words to express my feelings properly to this bullshit.

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[-] grte@lemmy.ca 35 points 3 days ago
[-] Quik@infosec.pub 2 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

As a German, this is precisely what comes to mind

[-] Glide@lemmy.ca 31 points 3 days ago

Trump defended the order, stating, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

Okay, Adolf.

[-] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 32 points 3 days ago

Napoleon, actually. So, a different dictator, but still a dictator.

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[-] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago

What is the legal argument against this? The article was paywalled, but the summay only says that past presidents have respected agency independence. That sounds like just a gentlemans agreement. Nothing legally binding. So do the challenges have a leg to stand on?

[-] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 22 points 3 days ago

Musk's and his actions are illegal, or were illegal mostly before the Supreme Court decided there's some sleezy presidential immunity. The problem is they are so firm and quick at changing the rules of the game that no institution can catch up and, most importantly, generally afraid they would be directly attacked by these fuckers. Some commenters preciously said that it's stupid that most of people who could've challenged or straight up dismissed his executive orders are pussies for resigning or being complicit, but, in their defence, all of their personal data was leaked by Muskrat and he and Trump have a pardoned terrorist cell to carbomb them or whatever. And it's snowballing from department to department, and every new one looks at those who already kneed to the maggot.

All these famous checks and balances were DDOSed and frightened into submission. i don't think they were exceptionally and inherently fragile. it's just the rightwing strategists just got the right guy, the right coverage and the right plan to make it all as easy as break-and-enter with absent homeowners.

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[-] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 16 points 3 days ago

Think of it like a whole bunch of people standing around a $100 bill left on the ground. Everybody's standing around waiting for the legitimate owner to come by and pick it up. Trump doesn't give a shit about that. He's gonna walk by, shove everyone aside, and grab it. When everyone else tries to stop him and say the money isn't his, he's just going to look at you and say "Who's is it, and why haven't they picked it up yet?" And while everybody else is standing around trying to figure out the answer to that, Trump is walking away with the money and saying "Finders keepers, asshole. It's mine now". Even if the original owner shows up later and tries to lay claim to the money, he'd have to prove that that specific $100 bill was his to begin with or the judge is just going to say that it's Trump's money now.

Think that, except with the power of the US government instead of a c-note. And Trump is hoping that the courts will use the same logic: since nobody else tried to claim the power before, and there's nothing explicitly granting those powers to someone else, Trump is hoping that the courts will just let him keep those powers in a twisted form of finders-keepers. And given this court system, he very well might win.

This is the truth of it. Picking up $100 bill off the ground in public that isn't yours isn't actually illegal. And what trump is doing is attempting to stretch the powers of his office. This isn't anything new really. Just how he is doing it, how much and how fast is new.

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[-] BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 3 days ago

I don't think there is a good one. It sounds like this is another one of those things where the rules were mostly relying on the idea that the people wouldn't elect someone who was expected to try to do something like this.

[-] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 12 points 3 days ago

There are laws against it but the Supreme Court gave the president total immunity so all those laws are now void

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[-] MuskyMelon@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago

Where are the American "patriots" who would defend democracy and protect the country against tyranny with their 2A rights to their dying breath?

That's right. Fucking crickets from that bunch.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago

The ammosexuals voted for this shit. They only stroke their guns over the idea of helping put down any uppity {DEI}s that are nearby. All their talk about guns this, guns that, is and always has been a threat meant for others.

They don't give a fuck about democracy and want to be the vanguard of tyranny.

[-] index@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago

Remember about this in the next terms when the new president will not revert this order.

[-] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 days ago

You're basically saying both parties are the same. Clearly you want us to stay home and are a Vance supporter. I assume you don't organize locally, so you should go do that instead of impotently criticizing your allies in the DNC. /s

[-] index@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago

You’re basically saying both parties are the same.

Yes, remember about this the next term

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[-] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 23 points 3 days ago

Laws are more like suggestions.

[-] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago

FCC huh? There goes TV that's against him

[-] TimLovesTech@badatbeing.social 17 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

They had already started with that under the guise of DEI hiring nonsense at the stations. Comcast was already being threatened that its DEI hiring practices were cause for the FCC to pull their license somehow. He broadcast (pun intended) his plan to have state run media and to diminish or ban the rest during his campaign, just nobody pays attention.

Edit s/pin/pun

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[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 14 points 3 days ago

It's terrifying to think that there's still nearly 4 years left of this.

[-] Hemuphone@lemmy.world 24 points 3 days ago

Oh don't worry. It won't end in 4 years.

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this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2025
554 points (100.0% liked)

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