Ways the Trump presidency has radically changed how the government works

You are a psychologist, Mriana. You ought to know something about neuroses: anxious, emotional states. Being an American living in the USA is like being a passenger in an airliner going some place. There is nothing you can do about anything. Just relax and enjoy the flight. If there is turbulence and the safety belt signs comes on, just keep watching the movie or go on reading your book. There are just normal passengers - just like you - around you. You are not boxed in by racists, sexists, nationalists, and bigots. America is not going to crash. It will go on flying long after you “leave” the flight. And stay away from wackos who tell you that, together, you guys can make a difference by going to the front of the plane to take down the pilot. He is not a dictator. He is just a guy in the cockpit flying the goddam plane.

I don’t view the U.S. as being like an airplane trip. For one, I don’t have the paralyzing anxiety and fear I had on my one and only plane trip I will ever go on, on a daily basis. I stay on the ground and don’t experience that type of fear and anxiety. For two, you are obviously not black or have a biracial family, so what do you know about racism? I have a biracial family and have experienced racism more than once in my life. Three, you’re obviously not a woman. Racism, sexism, bigots, etc is something you have no idea about and you obviously don’t know what a dictator is. The dictator is a friggin’ racist and he encourages racial violence, among other violence. Lastly, you don’t know a thing about psychology either and your analogy is the worst, because it shows again you don’t have a clue.

I hate flying too, Mriana. Its for birds. Imagine our navy pilots landing on a moving deck of an aircraft carrier at night in fighter jets fully armed with munitions. If every American mother loved her sons, they would demand the scrapping of the US military. Why won’t you fight for this?

You and I don’t share the same life experience. I believe you, even though I have not suffered ill treatment from bad people. Life is not a cake walk for most, that’s for sure.

Sree, more of this

You and I don’t share the same life experience. I believe you, even though I have not suffered ill treatment from bad people. Life is not a cake walk for most, that’s for sure.
less of just about everything else you type

Are you a moderator or a judge, Lausten?

Think of me as an old guy down the street who is watching out for your better interests Sree.

It now takes a 2/3 majority to stop legislation the president wants rather than to pass legislation the president does not.
Well, congress isn't set in stone.
Many positions which normally require Senate confirmation no longer do. The president can just appoint an “acting” person in that position indefinitely, bypassing Senate confirmation altogether.
Which positions?
The president is no longer required to divest in his business interests.
That's tradition, not a law
A federal statute bars executive branch employees, including cabinet officials, from participating in any decision that would affect their financial interests or those of their family and business partners. Shaub noted that the statute does not apply to the president and vice president, as Trump himself has pointed out. "Nevertheless, it has been the consistent policy of the executive branch that a President should conduct himself 'as if' he were bound by this financial conflict of interest law," Shaub wrote.

The president is now allowed to practice nepotism unchecked.


You’ve got a point there. Kushner is a bad choice for advisor in every way imaginable, but nepotism in American politics is nothing new (RFK was appointed attorney general by his brother JFK) and there is a legal gray area involved. https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/21/politics/jared-kushner-white-house-job-justice-department-ruling/index.html

It is now okay for the president and his family to personally benefit financially from his office. (Not that it wasn’t always “kind of” okay anyway, as Hunter Biden’s undeserved job in the Ukraine shows.)
Politicians are people too, in a weird way.
 

It is now okay not only to allow foreign governments to interfere in our elections, not only to encourage it, but to actively seek interference from foreign governments, paying for it with taxpayer dollars.


No. Foreign governments may try to interfere but they rarely succeed. The bullshit about Russia brainwashing Americans on social media to elect Trump falls apart because

  1. “Brainwashing” doesn’t exist.

  2. Clinton was despised by most Americans right from the start.

As for Trump asking a foreign power to investigate a political opponent – that’s bad, but he made the first move and has to deal with it. He won’t be in the White House forever.

The president can now order any person not to comply with Congressional subpoenas without consequence. The president, alone, decides who may and may not testify.
I think that's called executive privilege.
The president can now override Congress’s power of the purse any time he wants and for any reason, arbitrarily deciding to hold up or divert funds however he sees fit based on his own personal agenda.

The president can now override any law he does not like and is no longer required to perform his duties in pursuit of duly enacted Congressional laws. This one first appeared when Congress slapped more sanctions on Russia, I believe in year 1, and the President simply refused to enact them. It has been repeated multiple times, the last time when holding up funds to Ukraine.


The president can refuse to impose sanctions.

The president can exact revenge any time he likes on any person who upsets him, even if there is no good cause, including arbitrary revocation of security clearances and firings.
That is correct. It's not a recent development.
The president’s personal properties may be used interchangeably with government properties, funneling taxpayer dollars into the personal property as the taxpayers foot the bill for Secret Service to stay in luxury accommodations at Mar-A-Lago and Trump Tower.
Yes, that sucks. Secret service left Trump tower but it's unfortunate they were there in the first place. Trump isn't the first rich president to have done this, of course.
1. “Brainwashing” doesn’t exist.
Da Nile is not just a river in Africa. It's not brainwashing, it's misinformation. Have you ever got one of those calls from people who say they can fix your computer if you let them connect? People believe those. Have you argued with a person who believes the earth is flat? Those people vote. Do you not know anyone who believes Hillary was involved in killing people? I know several, across ages, incomes and education demographics.
Taxes is the lifeblood of government. Remove its power to collect taxes and the corruption will be snuffed out in the federal government. The smaller the government, the more power goes back to the citizen who pays the taxes. It is easier to deal with the county commissioner, who lives on the same block, than with the President of the United States residing in an alternate universe.
What you advocate for is a thing of fiction. Take away money from the federal government and who protects us from invasion? Gun lovers just love to pretend that they're going to use their little pea shooters to defend the country against attack. I once saw a video from a military helicopter where the pilot and copilot were watching a group of people and discussing it. It was night, but they were plain as day. Then they saw an RPG, so they opened fire. But they had the range set wrong, so they weren't even close. The people in the video didn't even react. The helicopter was so far away they didn't hear the gun firing at them. So they set the range and fired again. One of the guys took refuge behind the vehicle. Did you know that an engine block offers absolutely zero protection from whatever gun military helicopters fire? They shot straight through the engine to kill the guy on the other side. And those guys had an RPG to protect them. They never even saw a target to fire it at. Guns as defense against foreign invasion is an infantile delusion.

And the idea that you would live down the street from the one guy who had power over you, that’s not realistic. You take away the federal government and suddenly all your leaders live a block away? How small is your county that your county commissioner necessarily lives on your block? Your mayor, maybe. And exactly how easy do you think it is to get in to slap your state governor around a bit if you don’t like his policies? Sure, he’s likely more accessible than the president on paper, but realistically, for a single individual, it’s just as impossible to see him.

And then someone had the grand idea, “If you don’t like the laws here simply move there!” Brilliant! There’s a government for everyone which perfectly matches their every desire! If you want to smoke weed just move somewhere it’s legal and all your problems go away! That particular argument irritates me to no end. How many people in this country have the actual ability to safely move their families from one state to another, do you think? What percentage are capable of uprooting their families and moving to another state with no fear of eventual starvation or homelessness? A recent study showed that 57% of Americans don’t have enough cash to cover an unexpected bill for $500. If they don’t like their government they can just quit their jobs and move their family to a different state where they do like the government. On under $500. It would take 3 times that minimum to get housing most places, assuming deposit plus 2 months rent is required. Then there’s deposit for gas, water and electricity. And moving expenses. Then they have to find a decent job immediately.

And besides the fact that it’s an incredibly naive proposition that most people can just do that, it’s also very totalitarian. It’s my way or you can leave. That is the opposite of rights. It is entitled garbage often spouted by those who hold power over others as an argument for why they shouldn’t lose their power to control others. If you don’t like the way I run things and are arguing for change, rather than get rid of me and change the way I demand things work you can just go somewhere else and then we’ll both be happy. It is a total non-solution, simplistic nonsense with no basis in reality. And it is something we HAVE tried before in this country. Look up “Trail of Tears” to see how well that went.

All you’re doing is moving the bar. You’re changing who the “top dog” is. You’re not actually changing the system. The United States is a country, not a group of 50 countries. State rights have to be very limited so that the country can work on a unified set of laws. And the federal government has a long history of forcing states to comply with civil rights laws, which I suspect is the sticking point for many who advocate for state rights (not you, necessarily. I am making no assumption or accusation against you). You don’t get more rights by getting rid of the federal government, you get fewer rights. You get inconsistent rights. You get more control over the poor who can’t afford to simply pick up and move. That entire portion I quoted above is complete fantasy.

@thatoneguy

If you want to pretend that nothing has changed, that nothing is different, to respond with “That’s bad, but…” excuses then I can’t stop you and I’m sure I’m not going to change your mind. The country is different than it was 3 years ago, and it’s not for the better. The right is making moves to ensure they have and keep power. It is not the way the government was intended to run. Some of the things the right is doing are in blatant opposition to the Constitution and the very oaths they take. And if it were Obama doing all of this you wouldn’t be following “That’s bad” with “but…”

Da Nile is not just a river in Africa. It’s not brainwashing, it’s misinformation. Have you ever got one of those calls from people who say they can fix your computer if you let them connect? People believe those. Have you argued with a person who believes the earth is flat? Those people vote. Do you not know anyone who believes Hillary was involved in killing people? I know several, across ages, incomes and education demographics.
In this case brainwashing and misinformation are basically the same thing. The claim is the Russians manipulated Americans to vote for Trump who otherwise would not have. This is nonsense and can be easily proven wrong as all the conspiracy theories about her were already circulating for years before 2016. Also, Hillary's lack of charisma was extremely notable and was widely discussed by left-leaning media right from the start.

If she was extremely popular and then Americans suddenly rejected her, a misinformation campaign would be more believable. Russian “misinformation” was not even necessary; it would’ve been a drop in an ocean of homegrown misinformation.

 

thatoneguy, the popular vote went to Hillary, but with Russia’s help, the dotard bought off the Electoral College. In other words, the dotard stole the election. He’s an illegit president.

If you want to pretend that nothing has changed, that nothing is different, to respond with “That’s bad, but…” excuses then I can’t stop you and I’m sure I’m not going to change your mind. The country is different than it was 3 years ago, and it’s not for the better.
Yeah it's different but that isn't the point. The point is that the government has not radically changed.
The right is making moves to ensure they have and keep power.
Haha, I forgot that until now political parties always made sure power was equally shared.
It is not the way the government was intended to run. Some of the things the right is doing are in blatant opposition to the Constitution and the very oaths they take.
Which things?
And if it were Obama doing all of this you wouldn’t be following “That’s bad” with “but…”
I wouldn't have worried because I know it won't last forever.

I found this interesting and it relates to what I said about the dotard stealing the election. Russia may have helped, but on the other hand it’s been said many times that the GOP themselves rigs the elections in their favour with voter suppression and throwing people off voter rolls. Not only that, provisional ballots allegedly don’t get count at all in red states. Yes, the dotard has radically changed politics, but the GOP has been rigging elections for a long time.

In this case brainwashing and misinformation are basically the same thing.
Words matter oneguy. Analytics is an actual thing.
Which things?
I can see this is going to be exhausting if I commit to it, so I will give you this one response. It's not like it's going to change anything you think anyway. So I'm going to give you one, simple response. Not since the Civil War has the country ever been this divided, this partisan and this tribal. That seems like a pretty big change.

Did anyone notice what Trump said in his recent speech in India with the Prime minister of that country standing beside him, loudly touting the arms deal between the U.S. and India? This shows what a rank amateur Donald Trump is. Doesn’t he know or care that Pakistan and India are mortal enemies. Doesn’t he understand that some in the Pakistani government will be inflamed over such a statement and it only feeds an already virulent anti-American strain of extremism in Pakistan? Doesn’t he know that Pakistan and Afghanistan have very close cultural, religious and historical ties that connect both countries? Doesn’t he understand that anti western extremism in that part of the world would most likely be directed at American soldiers stationed there?

If he had talked to anyone in the State Department, he would’ve been told these things, but this blowhard always shoots from the hip and has no use for informed advice. The issue is not whether the U.S. and India should or shouldn’t engage in an arms deal that provides lethal weaponry to the Indian military. It’s not that the arms deal would remain a secret but keeping it quiet would at least help to blunt any inflammatory impact on Pakistani public opinion. The problem is the brazen public announcement coming from the mouth of the American president that makes it problematic and potentially dangerous. Why would any American president thoughtlessly increase the risk to Americans in neighboring Afghanistan by making such a provocative statement. He could have easily talked about the arms deal in private with the Prime Minister and any other president most likely would have, but hearing all that cheering from such a large crowd, he couldn’t help himself. What an absolute fool we have as president.

OneGuy, you are in serious denial. You really don’t know which leading White House executive staff, now have the title of Assistant Director (so that T rump does not need to get congressional approval for them)? There are a lot. And the list keeps growing. He wants people that are loyal to him above all. Their professional adequacy otherwise is of little import to him.

And as far as the Russians, they are the world class purveyors of propaganda. They don’t need to influence broad swaths of the American public (although it seems that they have, at least in terms of making a large portion of Americans, like OneGuy, think that they are having no effect on our public social contentions and elections). They only need to promote confusion, conflict, and a targeted influence in key locations. Just enough, for example, to get the slight winning edge for the electoral college in a few states. They have bots, operatives, targeted analytics, money, and the wherewithal to do it. They are continuing to try to do it.

There are 9 particular bills sitting in Moscow Mitch’s cemetery for all bills from the House. 4 of them have bipartisan support, but will never see a vote because of Moscow Mitch. These bills are to help protect us from foreign interference in our elections. But the traitorous Mitch colludes with Russia, by default.

 

After more than 3 years of T rump, with his inexorable and successful moves to establish autocratic powers, how can you say, with any credibility that “the government has not radically changed.”?

We have a dictator. A man who is above the law, is our chief executive. He is unaccountable to what used to be our vaunted checks and balances. This is in part, because of complacency and denial by T rump apologists.