3 ms·

I'm not saying it's good, for sure. But I don't think it's a sign that the push for autocratic authoritarianism is winning, either. My optimistic take is that

by kemayo 1y ago

I'm not saying it's good, for sure. But I don't think it's a sign that the push for autocratic authoritarianism is winning, either. My optimistic take is that this is the sort of stupid overreach that works to turn other arms of government against the executive. The judiciary tends to be prickly about its prerogatives, and Trump's far from the point where he can just push stuff through without some cover.

hypeatei 1y ago
> My optimistic take is that this is the sort of stupid overreach that works to turn other arms of government against the executive This is your take given the blatant corruption and clear constitutional violations of this administration? Sure, let's hope that norms and vibes save us against an executive ignoring due process. Those other branches don't even have a way to enforce anything; the executive are the ones who arrest people.
- kemayo 1y ago
  The power of the executive is constrained, ultimately, by what people let them do. Including people inside the executive branch -- the people who're doing the arresting, transporting the prisoners, gunning down the protesters, etc. There's a lot of people involved who aren't committed to some authoritarian project, they're just... doing their job. They can be swayed by vibes, and general unpopularity of the regime. The alternative to this view is either giving up or preparing for armed struggle. It's certainly possible that we could get there, but I don't think it's guaranteed yet. (I acknowledge that this position is quite the blend of optimism and cynicism.)
  - Hikikomori 1y ago
    Like this judge they're being ousted for the smallest pushback and are being replaced by project 2025 people, they even set up a system that you can apply to do exactly this. Trump (or Vance that is fully in with Thiel) will have full control over all agencies where all low level employees are on board with this Christo fascist takeover and the judiciary will be powerless.
WhitneyLand 1y ago
Dear god wake up before it’s too late.
pesus 1y ago
We are far past the point of any optimistic take like that being realistic.
- vuggamie 1y ago
  The fact that HN is letting political posts stay on the front page after months of suppression shows that we are past the point of denying the authoritarian road we are on.
alabastervlog 1y ago
We've been heading this direction with hardly a pause, let alone step back, since the '70s. Authoritarianism was winning for 50+ years. Nobody with power meaningfully tried to stop it, and voters didn't give enough of a shit to elect people who would. Where we're at now, is that it won.
542354234235 1y ago
Trump is calling for the Fed's Jerome Powell to be fired for not lying and saying everything will be fine as a result of tariffs. He pulled the security clearance of former CISA Director Chris Krebs, and anyone associated with him, for not lying about the result of his cyber security investigation of the 2020 election. He also pulled security clearances for political rivals including Biden, Harris, and Cheney as well as the Attorneys General involved in his civil case for fraud, which he lost and was ordered to pay $355 million. This is blatant and unambiguous. "If you cross me, I will use executive power to destroy you". There is no optimistic view of this.

by kemayo 1y ago

hypeatei 1y ago

> My optimistic take is that this is the sort of stupid overreach that works to turn other arms of government against the executive This is your take given the blatant corruption and clear constitutional violations of this administration? Sure, let's hope that norms and vibes save us against an executive ignoring due process. Those other branches don't even have a way to enforce anything; the executive are the ones who arrest people.

kemayo 1y ago
The power of the executive is constrained, ultimately, by what people let them do. Including people inside the executive branch -- the people who're doing the arresting, transporting the prisoners, gunning down the protesters, etc. There's a lot of people involved who aren't committed to some authoritarian project, they're just... doing their job. They can be swayed by vibes, and general unpopularity of the regime. The alternative to this view is either giving up or preparing for armed struggle. It's certainly possible that we could get there, but I don't think it's guaranteed yet. (I acknowledge that this position is quite the blend of optimism and cynicism.)
- Hikikomori 1y ago
  Like this judge they're being ousted for the smallest pushback and are being replaced by project 2025 people, they even set up a system that you can apply to do exactly this. Trump (or Vance that is fully in with Thiel) will have full control over all agencies where all low level employees are on board with this Christo fascist takeover and the judiciary will be powerless.

WhitneyLand 1y ago

Dear god wake up before it’s too late.

pesus 1y ago

We are far past the point of any optimistic take like that being realistic.

vuggamie 1y ago
The fact that HN is letting political posts stay on the front page after months of suppression shows that we are past the point of denying the authoritarian road we are on.

alabastervlog 1y ago

We've been heading this direction with hardly a pause, let alone step back, since the '70s. Authoritarianism was winning for 50+ years. Nobody with power meaningfully tried to stop it, and voters didn't give enough of a shit to elect people who would. Where we're at now, is that it won.

542354234235 1y ago

Trump is calling for the Fed's Jerome Powell to be fired for not lying and saying everything will be fine as a result of tariffs. He pulled the security clearance of former CISA Director Chris Krebs, and anyone associated with him, for not lying about the result of his cyber security investigation of the 2020 election. He also pulled security clearances for political rivals including Biden, Harris, and Cheney as well as the Attorneys General involved in his civil case for fraud, which he lost and was ordered to pay $355 million. This is blatant and unambiguous. "If you cross me, I will use executive power to destroy you". There is no optimistic view of this.