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Did congress declare war on someone while I was napping? Just sort of curious if we're officially at war or if this is one of those "War on Drugs" or "War on P

Did congress declare war on someone while I was napping? Just sort of curious if we're officially at war or if this is one of those "War on Drugs" or "War on Poverty" things.

defrost 1y ago
It's part of the ongoing War on EDS (Epstein Derangement Syndrome). So far that's going as well as the Wars on Drugs and Poverty did.
pjc50 1y ago
Russia escalated their incursions into NATO airspace with the result of several drone kills: https://news.sky.com/story/poland-scrambles-nato-defences-after-russian-drones-repeatedly-violated-airspace-in-ukraine-attacks-13427923 https://news.sky.com/story/poland-scrambles-nato-defences-af... Oh and Israel bombed Qatar with implicit US approval.
- altacc 1y ago
  Neither of these are something the US would ever react to diplomatically let alone militarily, except maybe to give Israel more weapons.
mcdonje 1y ago
Congress has been ceding power to the executive branch to greater and greater degrees over time. The president can effectively declare a war, even if not technically. The founding fathers thought the different branches would want to keep their power. They didn't expect that feckless senators and representatives would want to hand off parts of their jobs so they could tell voters the bad happenings aren't their fault.
pbiggar 1y ago
They don't declare war anymore if they can avoid it. Being at war comes with obligations and consequences, so they prefer to drone strike Yemen and Gaza without declaring war
- spuz 1y ago
  You need to update your world model. Trump would very much like to officially declare war with Venezuela because it gives him certain wartime authorities (such as the Alien Enemies Act and the Insurrection Act) which he can use to to deport people without due process and deploy the armed forces domestically. This is why he ordered the destruction of a speedboat near Venezuela, has increased the bounty on the arrest of Venezuela's president Maduro and called him the head of the Cartel of the Suns. This is also why he is changing the department of defense to the department of war. He wants to use the pretense of war to subvert any checks against his power. He likely does not want to actually invade anyone or do anything that brings actual war to the US but he does want the personal benefits that come with being at war. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/09/americas/venezuela-yvan-gil-interview-intl-latam-hnk https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/09/americas/venezuela-yvan-g... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwywjgynyxo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwywjgynyxo
  - pbiggar 1y ago
    Interesting. That does match what we've seen. Interesting his use of the word "terrorists" - they also use this word to describe the resistance against Israel's oppression. Truly a multi-faceted word that can be used to justify any crime against humanity!
  - krapp 1y ago
    >He wants to use the pretense of war to subvert any checks against his power. What checks to his power? The US is already in a state of emergency, one magically extended into infinity by the legislative branch redefining what a "day" is. The Alien Enemies act has already been used to justify Trump's mass deportation program as a war against the "invasion" of the US by immigrants, and that continues despite pushback from the courts, because Trump has declared openly that he doesn't consider himself bound by the courts. And given what he's already gotten away with, his thesis seems to be correct. He isn't going to seek the pretense because he knows he doesn't need to.
    - spuz 1y ago
krapp 1y ago
Congress hasn't declared war since WW2. If you think that sort of formality is still relevant, you've been napping for a while.
- OhMeadhbh 1y ago
  And the last time we had a war department was during WW2. Coincidence? I think not.

Did congress declare war on someone while I was napping? Just sort of curious if we're officially at war or if this is one of those "War on Drugs" or "War on Poverty" things.

defrost 1y ago

It's part of the ongoing War on EDS (Epstein Derangement Syndrome). So far that's going as well as the Wars on Drugs and Poverty did.

pjc50 1y ago

Russia escalated their incursions into NATO airspace with the result of several drone kills: https://news.sky.com/story/poland-scrambles-nato-defences-after-russian-drones-repeatedly-violated-airspace-in-ukraine-attacks-13427923 https://news.sky.com/story/poland-scrambles-nato-defences-af... Oh and Israel bombed Qatar with implicit US approval.

altacc 1y ago
Neither of these are something the US would ever react to diplomatically let alone militarily, except maybe to give Israel more weapons.

mcdonje 1y ago

Congress has been ceding power to the executive branch to greater and greater degrees over time. The president can effectively declare a war, even if not technically. The founding fathers thought the different branches would want to keep their power. They didn't expect that feckless senators and representatives would want to hand off parts of their jobs so they could tell voters the bad happenings aren't their fault.

pbiggar 1y ago

They don't declare war anymore if they can avoid it. Being at war comes with obligations and consequences, so they prefer to drone strike Yemen and Gaza without declaring war

spuz 1y ago
You need to update your world model. Trump would very much like to officially declare war with Venezuela because it gives him certain wartime authorities (such as the Alien Enemies Act and the Insurrection Act) which he can use to to deport people without due process and deploy the armed forces domestically. This is why he ordered the destruction of a speedboat near Venezuela, has increased the bounty on the arrest of Venezuela's president Maduro and called him the head of the Cartel of the Suns. This is also why he is changing the department of defense to the department of war. He wants to use the pretense of war to subvert any checks against his power. He likely does not want to actually invade anyone or do anything that brings actual war to the US but he does want the personal benefits that come with being at war. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/09/americas/venezuela-yvan-gil-interview-intl-latam-hnk https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/09/americas/venezuela-yvan-g... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwywjgynyxo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwywjgynyxo
- pbiggar 1y ago
  Interesting. That does match what we've seen. Interesting his use of the word "terrorists" - they also use this word to describe the resistance against Israel's oppression. Truly a multi-faceted word that can be used to justify any crime against humanity!
- krapp 1y ago
  >He wants to use the pretense of war to subvert any checks against his power. What checks to his power? The US is already in a state of emergency, one magically extended into infinity by the legislative branch redefining what a "day" is. The Alien Enemies act has already been used to justify Trump's mass deportation program as a war against the "invasion" of the US by immigrants, and that continues despite pushback from the courts, because Trump has declared openly that he doesn't consider himself bound by the courts. And given what he's already gotten away with, his thesis seems to be correct. He isn't going to seek the pretense because he knows he doesn't need to.
  - spuz 1y ago

krapp 1y ago

Congress hasn't declared war since WW2. If you think that sort of formality is still relevant, you've been napping for a while.

OhMeadhbh 1y ago
And the last time we had a war department was during WW2. Coincidence? I think not.