Dan Rowden wrote:
Yeah, it's a bit of work. I was compiling my own list but got lazy. But I feel if you want to express a meaningful opinion on Trump and this regime you ought be over this stuff. Otherwise, what is it you're speaking to?
Just browsing quickly, I seem to be familiar with most of the items in this list of links and articles. It was easier digesting everything piecemeal, as it came out over the past couple of years.
The Obama regime began rounding up illegal immigrants with an actual criminal record (roughly 2 million over 8 years). Obama deported a record number of illegal Mexicans such that the net flow of Mexicans into the US is currently zero. But it was reasonable, targeted and not indiscriminate. It's analogous to the Muslim countries that Obama tagged for stronger vetting. That's what it was - stronger vetting. Trump turned it into a side show of indiscriminate police state madness that was, and continues to be, directed at US citizens with Islamic or Hispanic names. Muhammed Ali's son has been twice detained by these fuckwits purely because of his name. Police State? The US is already 30% there and has been since 9/11.
There are many concerning issues, and I think it is a reasonable proposition to suggest the US is heading in the wrong direction (headed into a police state). 911 does seem to be the major turning point. I believe that the main qualification for a police state is a state in which the police become militarized and issue final verdicts concerning the people of the communities in which they operate. I don't think we've gotten this far yet, but it's reasonably possible that we are headed in this direction.
I've read through the executive orders that Trump has issued so far, and I struggle to find issue with their wording. Perhaps one could find issue with the wording in this one.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-of ... eral-state Specifically this text.
pursue appropriate legislation, consistent with the Constitution's regime of limited and enumerated Federal powers, that will define new Federal crimes, and increase penalties for existing Federal crimes, in order to prevent violence against Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement officers.
Exactly what new federal crimes will be defined? This doesn't seem to be the job of the executive branch. However I believe this is a manifestation of what I spoke earlier. We are in a state of Imperial Presidency. We have been for the last 50+ years. This isn't anything new, and this certainly isn't Trump's doing. He is openly exploiting the system in line with all presidents before him for the last several decades. Democrats and Republicans push for more executive power whenever their candidate is in power. Vice-versa, Dems and Repubs push for limits on executive power when their guy isn't in office. This is how party politics works and is par for the course. The only difference is that Trump isn't putting up a politically correct facade to distract the electorate. Trump is overt, brazen, and doesn't take shit from anyone. In someone whom doesn't possess the kinds of principles of Trump, I would likely consider these qualities commendable. In fact it could be argued politics needs a guy like Trump to act as a mirror in which we (the electorate) can stop, look, and get a glimpse of the monster we've become.
The United States is in quite a predicament. Our military is based on the necessity of fighting two wars on either side of the globe at the same time if necessary, and we spend an insane amount of money in order to maintain this state of affairs. On the the other hand some would argue this expenditure is necessary because we are the military 30+ countries around the globe would call upon if conflict arises (including Australia). If we want to essentially keep policing the world like this then truthfully we aren't spending enough. This on top of the increasing costs of healthcare and college tuition, overcrowded prisons, the war on drugs, and so much other bureaucratic bloat that comes with such a large government, we run up the national debt to logarithmic heights with no end in sight. What are we supposed to do? It's a problem that has no easy answers. I don't have a clue how one would go about figuring a solution. I'm sure as hell Trump won't be able to figure this out. We use plumbers to fix pipes. We use sailors to sail ships. The government needs intelligent people who know how to fix issues, not politicians. I don't know how to get the right people into the right positions of power in order to solve our problems. Does anyone?