The Imperial Presidency

[Labster]

I think it’s time that we put aside our differences and unite behind the President. No matter where you’re from, whether it be New Jersey or Texas, Toronto or Nuuk, on the slopes of Mt. McKinley or the shores of the Gulf of America, we are all one nation

And fuck you too, Brent. Again.

The thing about jokes is that they're funny. Claiming Canada is (or should be) part of the USA isn't a joke, it's an insult.

And I am getting tired of being insulted.

Oh, so you think that was a joke.  It's actually not, and it's not really about what I believe either, there's another reason here.

Let me talk a little bit about compliance.  Authoritarian governments like, more than anything else, the appearance of people complying with the will of the leader.  What people actually do is another thing altogether, as in, say, Soviet Russia, where factories and farms would invent ways of meeting the quotas without actually shipping enough quality product -- the corruption is kind of a feature, though.  In systems like these, if you want to survive, you need to act like you're in compliance with what the leader wants, that as a good patriotic citizen you naturally agree with everything your leader says.  As if any other kind of patriotism was possible, right?

I think it's fair to say that a wave of compliance is sweeping the nation right now, with a lot of support from corporations -- many because they get to do what they always wanted, but many more because they can see which way the wind is blowing.  The richest man in the world giving the "Roman" salute to the President is not an aberration.  It's in the context of corporations across the country eliminating diversity and inclusion programs, halting support for environmental initiatives, and rushing to do business deals with the President's family and close friends.  The time will soon come with others in the business community will raise hands again, along with the Proud Boys who Trump says will have a role in the government.

The fact that Trump won the vote by a small margin is honestly irrelevant now.  If everyone with money and power acts like he won by a lot, that becomes the truth.  A timid president does not begin his terms with pardons, pardons of those who rallied on January 6, even a pardon of the guy who ran the Silk Road online black market.  A timid President doesn't just issue an order that all of the government's DEI employees don't have to come into work, effective tomorrow (now today) -- but every other government employee does have to come into work, butts-in-chairs style (as of next month).

The institutional guard rails that limit a President are largely gone now.  Some were eroded slowly during Trump's first term.  Some more were eroded by Biden, who pardoned his own family and staff.  The first damage was done by perhaps Richard Nixon, but honestly Newt Gingrich has the most blame for creating the current partisan rancor and ending the collegiality on Capitol Hill.  The Supreme Court has largely ruled themselves irrelevant by giving the President a legal shield over all actions while in office.  And most of all, the people would rather have a leader that makes them richer than a leader that follows democratic norms. This is not going to be very much like Trump's first term, because that's what we voted for: strong, decisive leadership that makes a decision and implements it without wasting time consulting people.

History is not a story, stuck in the past, where nothing can hurt you.  History is happening now.  The first big immigrant raids are coming, now directed to search through churches and schools.  Birthright citizenship officially ends in 30 days.  The government now only recognizes biological sex, not gender. People here should seriously think about how to comply with the new world order.  Including those whom our leader thinks would be better off as a part of our glorious empire.