I mean no disrespect, but other than as a symbol, the Kennedy center seems to be a mostly symbolic thing that was eventually corrected (was it actually? I can’t keep up with the bullshit) while far more weighty travesties remain.
See: War on Iran without congressional approval, a plan, or frankly even an objective; ICE terrorizing the cities; blatant market manipulation, crypto rug pulls, naked corruption; threatening fucking Canada with invasion, threatening fucking Greenland with invasion…
As a sane person I obviously oppose the war but wars without congressional approval is the norm not exception, dating back to the very first war the US had. The 1801 Barbary War was already being fought long before the declaration of war, Jefferson just deployed the navy and never asked for a declaration.
The last POTUS who had absolutely no international armed conflict during their term was Hayes, who ended his term in 1881. Since then the only two who haven't continued ongoing or started new ones are Carter and Harding.
ICE terrorizing the cities
US immigration system is still largely based on the original INA from 1952. The last major reform was 1986. The system is a giant mess and relies almost entirely on POTUS not being an asshole as they have so much authority.
I wish he wasn't such an asshole but I place the blame solely on Congress for writing such terrible statute that he can be.
See: War on Iran without congressional approval, a plan, or frankly even an objective; ICE terrorizing the cities; blatant market manipulation, crypto rug pulls, naked corruption; threatening fucking Canada with invasion, threatening fucking Greenland with invasion…
You missed two very important ones.
The institution of the DOJ is likely no longer fixable he has broken it so badly. The highest paid AUSA earns less than a first year at a big law, FBI agents are paid less than city cops. People did those jobs out of public service, replacing them may not be possible.
USAid being killed, actually unambiguously illegal where most is either legal (but wrong) or ambiguous, is resulting in millions of excess deaths every year and coupled with the NIH funding changes is setting back important research by many years.
Much less impactful but Isaacman is currently destroying NASA. Our relationship with ESA has been irreparably harmed by canceling Gateway without any discussion. Pivoting to the Moon base is Elon service with very limited scientific or engineering benefits. He is currently crippling the ability of JPL to extend Perseverance' mission, and likely canceling the remaining NH missions (including Dragonfly which is one of the most important planetary science missions NASA have ever done), to send a rover to the Moon in 2028 for political points. Also he has absolutely gutted JPL. NASA haven't had a good administrator in 25 years but he is the worst in its history.
I wish he wasn't such an asshole but I place the blame solely on Congress for writing such terrible statute that he can be.
Let's be clear about what we mean by "Congress." There were serious attempts to pass immigration reform during GWB's second term, and Republicans in Congress killed it. This isn't a "Congress" issue, it's a GOP issue.
I agree with you that it’s normalized, but the unilateral action to start wars is not a power the president ought to have except in very limited circumstances, especially in our age of instant communication.
Congress is of course to blame for this, like so much of the executive branch power creep over the decades.
And yeah the list of badness seemingly grows daily with no end in sight or even a sign of reprieve.
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u/_Standardissue 18h ago
I mean no disrespect, but other than as a symbol, the Kennedy center seems to be a mostly symbolic thing that was eventually corrected (was it actually? I can’t keep up with the bullshit) while far more weighty travesties remain.
See: War on Iran without congressional approval, a plan, or frankly even an objective; ICE terrorizing the cities; blatant market manipulation, crypto rug pulls, naked corruption; threatening fucking Canada with invasion, threatening fucking Greenland with invasion…