Prelude to the Apocalypse

[orange808]

I think we can all agree that pardon powers need to be repealed at all levels of government and replaced with a request for a review. I suggest a 75% majority in both houses to confirm an executive's request: to initiate a new trial or sentencing from a judge. No pardons.

That would end these shenanigans and leave sentencing decisions where they belong: in the judicial branch of our government.

Of course, the Constitution is almost impossible to amend. So, it would take a miracle to wash the American Constitution of this stain.

[Sima Tuna]

I think we can all agree that pardon powers need to be repealed at all levels of government and replaced with a request for a review. I suggest a 75% majority in both houses to confirm an executive's request: to initiate a new trial or sentencing from a judge. No pardons.

That would end these shenanigans and leave sentencing decisions where they belong: in the judicial branch of our government.

Of course, the Constitution is almost impossible to amend. So, it would take a miracle to wash the American Constitution of this stain.

I think we're going to have to repeal basically every legal decision that's happened since about six months before the election. Just, take all that shit back to the drawing board.

So many things we took for granted which have now been taken away.

We took for granted that no, the government cannot kidnap you for no reason, and especially not if you are a US citizen OR a legal resident (aka have a green card in good order.)

We took for granted that no, presidents should NOT be allowed to pardon their sons, criminal confederates, lackeys, minions, toadies and assorted nut-huggers. It was never codified in law but considered against the boundaries of good taste.

We took for granted that no, a president is NOT above criminal prosecution for crimes. It was always assumed a criminal president could be tried, and indeed one supposes that's part of the reason why Nixon voluntarily stepped down. That's not to say presidents haven't committed tons of crimes, but they usually didn't get caught in a way that left the justice system with no alternative except criminal prosecution.

We took for granted that medicaire, medicaid and social security, as extremely popular (with the VOTERS) programs, could not and would not be cancelled.

We took for granted that the head of the health department should be a person who believes in the efficacy of modern medicines to treat illnesses, and who sees the value in allocating funding to research for diseases like cancer in children.

We took for granted that certain popular, universally useful departments, such as the postal service and IRS, should not be subject to mass layoffs. The IRS especially, considering they bring in far more than their wages could ever cost. Firing an IRS guy is like shooting your wallet and watching money pour out onto the ground. Unless your goal is to perpetuate more IRS fraud, you just don't do it. The most basic law of every society is that more energies devoted to tax collection -> more tax money coming in. I bet they could figure that shit out even in the stone age.

We took for granted that prosecutors and judges should attempt to be impartial in enforcing the law, regardless of their personal or political connections to government officials. Corruption of this type is as old as humanity, but America has often blathered to itself about how we are above the kind of blatant corruption one might see in latter Song Dynasty China or the Cold War Soviet Union.

We took it as granted that (adults having) access to pornography and legalized Gay Marriage were settled issues.

[BryanM]

At least *I* didn't take such things for granted. Boy howdy, I'm not kidding when I say I was the most libbed-up I've ever been in my life, stanning the coronated democratic presidential candidate as hard as I possibly could, when it comes to keeping things getting worse at the same rate instead of accelerating.

All of this, everything, is arbitrary made-up bullshit. Our history shows how different things could be, for better sure but mostly for worse. We are fundamentally not too far away from becoming a mob state, just like Russia is. (If we aren't one already.) We are not special.

The only way a president could ever face consequences is if they tried to give everyone healthcare.

I really, really don't want fascists in control of AGI. 'Apocalypse' vastly undersells the misery that'll emerge from that scenario..