The Constitutional Crisis to Come

Donald Trump has set out on a course to radically reshape our government and our democracy.  In doing so, he is and will be violating many laws, both those passed by Congress and those in the Constitution.  

With a compliant Congress, more than 100 suits have been filed in Federal court to stop what Trump is doing.  Many judges have issued temporary retraining orders advising Trump to stop his actions.   It is unknown to what extent Trump is respecting those orders.  In at least two instances, the court has found that Trump has not followed the orders and has restated very clearly that he must do so.

The normal process in civil cases like these is that the lower court order would not be stayed while the matter is being appealed.  And appeal Trump certainly will, as he has recently said that if he is acting to save the country, he is not breaking any law—even if, in fact, he is acting contrary to the law.

The first two cases have now been appealed to the Supreme Court; one concerns Trump's wanting to fire the head of the Office of General Council, an independent watchdog agency with a term set by Congress and not serving at the President's pleasure.  The other concerns Trump's freezing $2 billion in foreign aid payments.

One would hope in these and other power-grabbing cases, both Justices Roberts and Barrett, and perhaps Gorsuch, would join the 3 liberal judges in declaring that Trump had broken the law and acted illegally.

The question then is, "What will Trump do?"  In the first case, he would have no choice but to abide by the Court's ruling because he has no way of forcing the person out of office.  But in the second and other cases, although he has said that he will abide by the Court's ruling, his other recent statement noted above and those of Vice President Vance raise a question regarding that.  

What happens if he doesn't abide by the Court's ruling?  The possible scenarios are not pretty.  If the Executive branch does not submit to the Judicial branch of government as foreseen in the Constitution's checks and balances, we would indeed be in a crisis.  It could come down to the same question as in other dictatorships—the military.  Does the military support the President or does it support our democracy and Constitution?

One can only hope that Trump is not so full of himself that when push comes to shove, he will relent and not foment a civil war.

Proof that Trump Has Deceived His Middle and Working Class Supporters

In his flurry of executive orders since taking office, Trump has not taken one action that will help the middle class or the working class.  ALL of his orders are designed to either benefit big business and the rich, who have great influence with Trump, or to throw red meat to the Right’s culture warriors.

The orders concerning immigration and borders will not help.  Trump says that getting rid of illegal immigrants will help the middle and working class, but it will not.  It will not make this country safer (because the data shows that illegal immigrants are not the source of the crime problem).  It will not make more jobs available, because illegal immigrants take jobs that no other American wants.  What these orders will do is result in an increase in prices of both the food we eat and many other products because illegal immigrants are vital to these areas of commerce.

The orders concerning international trade, business, and the economy will have no beneficial impact on the middle class and working class.  He has ordered federal agencies to review their policies so as to reduce consumer prices, but they have no control over prices.  Their regulations may provide some justification for prices being what they are, but removing regulations will not only harm the public but will not guarantee any price reductions.  Instead, corporations will see any decrease in regulation as an opportunity to increase profits.  As for increasing tariffs, there is general agreement that the tariffs and the trade wars that will accompany such action will result in an increase in prices consumers pay for a wide variety of products.

The orders concerning climate, energy, and the environment will not help.  Trump argues that increasing production of fossil fuels will decrease gas prices at the pump.  While that is a possibility, it will have no impact for at least several years.  And it will do so at a cost of greatly increasing the physical forces that are leading to climate disorder and an increase in the intensity of natural disasters.

The orders concerning diversity, transgender rights, and civil rights will not help.  In fact, they will hurt the middle class and the working class.  A large proportion of the American middle class (41%) and working class (45%) are not White—there is substantial overlap.  Repealing or prohibiting all efforts regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion will harm those people.  So while these orders may well help Trump’s middle class White supporters, it will harm his non-White supporters.

Orders regarding Federal workers and government structure will not help.  Trump officials have told workers at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to "halt any supervision or examination activity and all stakeholder engagement" and the offices have been closed for the coming week;  this is not good for consumers, i.e. the middle and working class.  Trump officials claim that the hiring freeze on the IRS will help the middle class and small businesses by reducing the number of audits, making it sound like the IRS was on a mission to audit the middle class, which is not true.  In general, if Trump is successful in drastically cutting the federal work force and cutting Federal funds going to the states, it is bound to have a negative impact on the middle class and working class because some will find themselves out of work and many will be impacted by a reduction in government services which they use.

The orders on health care will not help.  On the contrary, they will definitely harm the middle class and working class.  By repealing President Biden’s orders making it easier to enroll in Medicaid, be covered by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and lower prescription drug costs, Trump is harming millions of middle class and working class Americans.

The orders on foreign policy, national security and America First will not help.  And they are a slap in the face to all the Muslim-Americans who voted for Trump after being assured by Trump envoys that he was sensitive to Palestinian needs.  He has deceived them.

Bottom line, Trump has, not surprisingly given his history, let his middle and working class supporters down in every way but the culture wars.  He has done nothing to improve their financial situation and instead his actions are likely to increase prices again, which is a major policy reversal of the promise he made which was the reason why many people voted for him.

The middle and working class people who voted for Trump, together with the Muslim-Americans he deceived, should take to the streets and protest Trump's deceit and mendacity.  He used these people to win, and now has dumped them as irrelevant to his aims.

Misuse of the Pardon Power

The Constitutional provision that grants the President the right to pardon individuals or commute their sentences includes no guidelines or limits upon its use.  Historically, however, the pardon has been used mostly to show mercy (e.g. someone has already served many years for committing a crime and is now very ill) or to serve justice (e.g. someone was convicted for a crime and new evidence indicates that he either was not guilty or had an unfair trial).

Recently, both President Biden and President Trump have used the pardon power in ways that go beyond these rationale and should not be allowed.  Biden used it to pardon his son, who had been convicted of a felony.  There was no claim that his son wasn't guilty, just that this was a political prosecution.  The pardon power should not be used to free family members or friends.  The possibility of misuse is too great.

Trump pardoned nearly all of the 1500 people who were convicted of crimes in connection with the January 6 storming of the capital.  His pardon included both those convicted of non-violent crimes and those convicted of violent crimes, such as attacking a police officer.  These are all people who acted at Trump's behest and support him.  A president should not be able to pardon people who  he is connected with or who help him.  He did this previously with Roger Stone.

There have been other misuses in the not-so-distant past—pardons that have had nothing to do with mercy or serving justice;  Biden and Trump are not alone in their misuse of this power.  But both are guilty of perhaps the most egregious examples of misuse.

Congress should act to provide guidelines for the use of the pardon power.

“YMCA” and Trump

At the Trump rally on Sunday before his inauguration, the Village People were on stage with him, singing their iconic song, “YMCA,” which has become a standard at Trump rallies and which Trump does a little dance movement to.

How ironic that this gay anthem has become so connected with Trump.  In response to other comments regarding this, the head of the Village People, who wrote the song, said that it was never intended to refer to gays.  He said that the line about hanging out with the boys was an expression that Blacks used; it has nothing to do with gay cruising and sex at YMCAs throughout the country.

How ridiculous and mendacious.  First, it is well-known among gays that YMCAs in many cities across the country were and are hot spots for gay cruising and sex.  So the song title and lyrics definitely are consistent with the meaning that made the song a gay anthem in the late 70s and 80s.

Second, supporting its gay context is the look of the Village People.  You have a collection of macho stereotypes, most associated with gay fantasy.  There is the leatherman/biker, the cowboy, the construction worker, the policeman, and the sailor.  The only one not known to me as a gay fantasy is the Native American.  Not only are they gay fantasy characters but when they pose for photos, all buff muscles, they hit another gay fantasy.

Then there is the name of the group, the Village People.  The village is an area of New York City that was the center of gay social life in the second half of the 20th century.  It was the site of the Stonewall riots, which were the start of the gay liberation movement.  Gay bars were concentrated there and at night the sidewalks were filled with gays. The village was NYC’s answer to the Castro in San Francisco.

Put it all together, and the claim that “YMCA” had nothing to do with gays is ludicrous.  That neither Trump, nor anyone around him, nor his supporters were aware of this connection says much about their disconnect with aspects of our culture beyond their own; they are clueless.  Even if the song at its conception had nothing to do with gay life, the knowledge that it had become a gay anthem would make the song anathema to most of the MAGA world.

More Hitler - Trump Analogy

I wrote a post on October 7, 2024 noting an analogy between the state of Germany and Germans in the 1920s that facilitated Hitler's rise to power as well as Hitler's propaganda tactics and that of the United States and Trump.

There is another unfortunate analogy that must be pointed out.  Hitler became all-powerful with the craven support of corporate titans and the conservative political establishment. Neither of these groups could stand Hitler, but they knew he was the new game in town and they played to his ego, thinking that sooner or later, he would fail and they would seize power.  Of course. that eventuality didn't happen until Germany was reduced to rubble and conquered.

In the case of Trump, we are seeing much similar behavior, but thankfully there are some who are not craven.  First the similarities.  Both politicians and billionaire corporate titans who spoke very poorly of Trump at one point, changed their tune when they realized that he had captured the soul of the Republican base and was a man who would brook no disagreement.

In general, when primary battles are all over, everyone supports the nominee.  That's as it should be.  But here there was a difference.  In the Republican primary (both 2016 and 2020), those trying to defeat Trump didn't just disagree on policy, they vilified the man in the harshest of terms.  Yet once he got the nomination and had obviously captured the party, they all fell in line, one after the other, and kissed his ring.  The fact that they had defined him in such negative, dangerous, and unfit terms was now irrelevant.

Then there were those, such as George W. Bush, who refused, even when implored by his daughter, to come out against Trump.  He didn't support him or say good things about him, but in this situation, remaining silent was the equivalent of endorsing him.  It's like Niemöller in Germany who didn't speak out against the Nazis and when they came to get him, it was too late.  (See my post, "Hitler-Trump Analogy.")

But thankfully there were a brave few who refused to forsake their principles—Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Mitt Romney—as well as those behind the Lincoln Project, who tried to convince fellow Republicans to not support Trump.  It was to no avail, but their actions are a bright light during this sordid period of the Republican Party.

Unless Trump starts a nuclear war, he will not leave the United States in a heap of rubble.  But he can devastate our institutions and severely damage the country.  

One thing is certain: he will not Make America Great Again.  That has been a great marketing tool, but as is often the case with marketing, it bears little relation to reality.  (See my post, "The 2020 Election Is about the Survival of American Democracy, of our Historic Values.")

One Man, One Vote Is Now an Illusion

The New York Times and many other news outlets have just reported that Elon Musk spent over $250 million supporting Donald Trump's campaign for president.  The combined campaigns raised nearly $4.7 billion dollars.  The amount of money is obscene.

This is a natural and inevitable outgrowth of the 2010 Citizen's United decision by the Supreme Court, which found that corporations and other organizations were citizens and so entitled under the free speech amendment to support political candidates, and that the amount of money they spent in support of a candidate, as long as such spending was not coordinated with the campaign, could not be limited.

This decision has been criticized on various levels, mostly as a blow to democracy because of the increased influence on campaigns by corporations and wealthy donors.  And that is true.  But from a legal standpoint, what's wrong with that? This question has not, to my knowledge, been addressed.

What wrong is that it makes the Supreme Court rule of "one man, one vote" meaningless, an illusion.  What is this rule?  It holds that in drawing congressional districts, all citizens in a state should have roughly equal representation.  

Why is that of crucial importance?  Because ours is a representative democracy and in the House of Representatives, as opposed to the Senate, each person's vote should have an equal value.  Each person should have an equal voice as to the direction of our country.

But what if each person's voice is not in an important sense his own?  What if huge amounts of money are spent to influence his vote, if he is bombarded with advertising to make him vote for one candidate or the other?  The outcome of the election is still based on those votes, but how people vote is greatly influenced by the advertising and emotions that are put in play.

And this is not the marketplace of ideas envisioned by the 1st Amendment.  This is biased marketing that appeals to the emotions, not the mind. Even if "alternative facts" were not part of that advertising, it still would be an appeal to emotion rather than rational thought.

A democracy based on emotion rather than rational thought is a democracy in form only.  A democracy depends on reasoned debate, both by the elected representatives and by the public.  Because reasoned debate is a search for the truth.  Whereas emotional debate doesn't get past the emotions; it is not about the search for truth.  And a democracy based on emotion is likely to attract a demagogue as leader and be in danger of slipping into an autocratic state.  Witness the ascendence of Donald Trump.

There is only one way to reverse the impact of Citizen's United.  Adopting Federal financing of elections wouldn't work because the Court's holding would prohibit legislation that sought to limit donations that were not coordinated with a campaign.  The only possibility left would be a constitutional amendment that would reverse the Supreme Court's decision.  And that is a process that is unlikely to succeed, certainly in our current polarized state. 

So until the Court once again has a liberal majority, or at least a neutral conservative majority, which could be persuaded to overrule Citizen's United, we are stuck with elections that are a contest of mega-donors and often appeal to the darkest forces within us.

Mankind - A Greek Tragedy

The political events of this past year and the results of the election this week gave me pause to reflect on man.

How do I reflect on man? I am a man of faith, faith in the universe, god, Buddha.  What does that mean?  I have faith that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  There is a cosmic force/reason for everything – whether the law of nature, the "laws" of man as he has developed, or some unknown cosmic force – although to ask “why” is usually a fruitless endeavor.  

But that does not mean that the universe/god controls how man acts or what he experiences; there is no master puppeteer that controls people's lives.  Man is a free agent operating within a world context controlled by cosmic forces.  It is man – meaning mankind – who brings about through its actions the things that mankind experiences (other than pure forces of nature).  

Armed with my faith, I see myself and the world around me through the eyes of my heart – we are all born with the god/Buddha-essence inside us – full of positive energy and joy, the neutrality of my senses, free of worries and concerns, full of faith and strength.  And so I am able to see things as they are.

My reflection is that the results of the election are the result of man’s flawed development.  Interestingly, similar things are happening in many parts of the world. Dictators/autocrats are being voted into power.  Man seems to  be devolving, not evolving.  Gone are the days when philosophies, such as the Enlightenment, guided nations and statesmen.

At the same time, man’s hubris has led to his taking little notice of increasing climate disorder. Or better put, he has taken note of the disasters, but either he doesn’t connect it with man’s impact on climate or he does but isn’t willing to do what is necessary to change the impact of man.

When I look at all of these things together, it seems like man is on a path of self-destruction.  That is why I titled this post, "Mankind - A Greek Tragedy."  His hubris will lead to his destruction.  I have written before that man is an experiment gone awry.  And I must add, as I’ve also noted before, that the Earth would be much better off if man were eliminated.  Then nature would be able to restore itself and nature would once more be resplendent, free of any impact of man.

This is beyond sad because man had the potential, as the most evolved mammal on Earth, to use his brain for the betterment of all mankind in all spheres - material as well as spiritual – as well as the animals and plants we share this Earth with.  But while man has made many advances in the sciences and technology, he has made a mess rather consistently over the millennia in his personal life and in the exercise of power.

All one can do in the face of this dynamic is build a world for oneself, a bubble, within which you act towards yourself and those around you with caring, kindness, and respect.  The world may be heading toward perdition, but while you must interact with that world, you can do so on your own terms and thus retain your peace and happiness.

Peace.

A Vote for Kamala Harris is a Vote for You and America

Why should you vote for Kamila Harris?  Let me count the ways.

If you're a man, vote for Kamila Harris because she possesses true human strength.  She is not a weak person and stands up for what she believes in ... and she does believe in things.  

Trump on the other hand is a weak person.  He sounds strong when he rages. but that is just a façade.  It is a mask for his insecurity, his need to be flattered, his need to be worshiped.  And he believes in nothing other than himself.

If you're a woman, vote for Kamila Harris because she stands up for the right of women to control their bodies rather than have the government tell you what you can or cannot do when it comes to the most important decision in your life – whether to bring a child into this world.  

Trump on the other hand wants to control your body, both through government rules - he was directly responsible for taking away your constitutional right - and through his own lecherous acts.  When he says that he will protect women, "whether you like it or not," it shows that he has no concern for women or what they think.

If you're a white middle-class worker, vote for Kamila Harris because central to her plan as President is strengthening the middle class by reversing the downward trend you have suffered the past few decades at the hand of big business.  She knows that the strength of America depends on the strength of the American worker.  And she will support workers through appointments, regulations, and laws to that end.

Trump on the other hand has no interest in helping the worker; he want's your vote, but after he gets that, you're nothing to him.  He talks a good game when he rages about the injustice you have faced, but he does not walk the walk.  Trump and the Republicans have never done anything to benefit the worker.  Their interest instead is giving corporations the maximum freedom to do what they want to do.  They are hypocrites when the say they are the party of the people.  They are in truth the party of the rich and big business.

If you're a Black, vote for Kamila Harris, not because she is Black, but because she has worked and will work to strengthen the educational, housing, and economic opportunities for Blacks and all Americans, and she will work to end the discrimination that you still encounter almost every day.  

Trump on the other hand has no interest in improving your lot in life.  He has not fulfilled any of his promises to you.  Trump and the Republicans have never done anything on your behalf.

If you're a Latino/a/x, vote for Kamila Harris because she respects you and other immigrants.  Even illegal immigrants are human beings and deserve to be treated as such.  She will be strong on the border but open up the heart of government to illegals who have been working hard, supporting the American economy, and paying taxes, and provide them with a path to citizenship.  And the opportunity economy she will build will enable you to improve your economic well-being.  

Trump on the other hand clearly despises immigrants, whether illegal or not.  He has done and will do nothing to improve your lot in life.  He is using you to get elected; afterwards you will be nothing to him.

If you're a Muslim, vote for Kamila Harris because she respects your place at the American table.  And she will work to end the war in Gaza and provide Palestinians with the right to govern their own lives.  

Trump on the other hand has shown that he despises and fears Muslims.  And he is an even stronger supporter of Israel than the Democrats.  He gives Netanyahu a blank check to do what he wants to do.  Palestinians will clearly suffer even more under a Trump administration.

If you love America, vote for Kamila Harris because she stands for what is best in America and will make it even stronger than it has been.  

Trump on the other hand is against all the values that have made America great and a guiding light to the rest of the world –  the values stated clearly in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  He will diminish America, both in its internal strength and its standing in the world.

Vote for Kamila Harris and Tim Walz

Workers - Trump Has Deceived You

There are two things going on in the Republican Party that workers need to be wary about. 

The first is that Republicans in the Trump era call themselves the party of the people, the party of the workers.  They, or at least Trump, make impassioned speeches about how workers have been wronged and vow to help them. 

But when they are elected, Trump has not followed through with his promises and has done nothing to help the worker.  That is because he and  his fellow Republicans are hypocrites.  The Republican Party has always been the party of big business and the rich, and that still is where their hearts are. 

Their electoral base now may be to a significant extent white working men, but that is not reflected in their actions.  They are using you to increase their chances of getting elected because without the support of working men, they would lose many more elections. YOU HAVE BEEN USED AND DECEIVED!!

The negative influence of Republicans on workers’ well-being is especially clear in the National Labor Relations Board’s decisions on complaints brought by unions against corporations and in their rule-making.  Whenever there is a Republican majority on the 5-member Board (members are appointed by the President for fixed terms), the Board tends to vote in support of corporations and against unions.

The second is that there may well be individual Republicans who honestly want to support workers at least on occasion.  The problem is that when the Republican leadership in Congress presses for a unified front against Democrats, those individual Republicans typically fall in line rather than risk a breach with the leadership and its support.

Some workers and union leaders feel that Democrats have come to take them for granted and have not fought for them.  It may be that for some time, the focus of Democrats has not been on workers or the middle class, but Democrats have nevertheless continued to push legislation that is friendly to unions - like the PRO act - and that supports workers.  

What Democrats in Congress have little ability to impact are the wages that workers are paid (apart from raising the minimum wage) and the price of goods, including food.  These are the result of dynamics that Congress has no control over.  We do not live in a Communist system where both prices and wages are controlled by the government.

Bottom line, workers shouldn’t trust Republicans and should continue to vote Democratic.  

Is Character No Longer a Practical Requirement for Public Office?

Elections in the United States have always been fraught with much emotion. And in the early days of the country there were plenty of shenanigans on the part of politicians running for office.  

But when it came to higher office, especially the president, people expected candidates to be men of character.  Regardless of the policies that the candidate favored, they were expected to promote themselves and their policies with honesty and to have a morality that was above reproach.

In today’s US, for many of Trump supporters, his breaches of good character are of no concern.  Many are blind to his shortcomings.  He is their leader, their almost-savior, and they feel he can do no wrong.  

There are, however, about as many who are well aware of all of Trump’s moral and character failings, but for them it makes no difference to their support and vote.  They like his policies and that’s all that’s important to them.  They don’t seem to understand what a person of his nature could do to this country, the damage he could inflict on our institutions and our democracy.

A large part of the problem I think stems from the attitude of the “Me” generation that has spread to most of the younger populace, their children.  That would be everybody 60 or under.  If all you care about is how something impacts you, what is in your best interest, and you have no concern about how the rest of society, or the common good, is impacted, then you would indeed have no concern about a president’s character or moral, so long as you see his policies as benefiting you.

If this nation does not have leadership that encourages people to think about the common good and not just their own immediate interests, if children are not taught in civics class in school (many states no longer have a civics requirement) the importance of being aware of the common good, not just your own interest, then we will have a further deterioration of the fabric of America, of the American social contract.  And that will mean a deterioration of the quality of life in the US and of our influence in the world.