Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, American government was rather authoritarian, kleptocratic and plutocratic. That era was characterized by stark disparities in wealth, with most people living in poverty. Political leaders and business tycoons often engaged in corrupt practices to enrich themselves at the expense of the public good. It was close to being a kleptocratic plutocracy.
The NYT reports about some of the new regime activity:
He pardoned nearly all the traitors who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. DJT issued a grant of clemency to all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the 1/6 attack on the Capitol. He issued pardons to most of the defendants and commuting the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia, most of whom were convicted of seditious conspiracy. The pardon order also directed the Justice Department to dismiss any pending indictments against people facing charges for DJT's coup attempt.
He withdrew from the World Health Organization. Public health experts say the withdrawal will undermine America’s standing as a global health leader and make it harder to fight the next pandemic.
He began his immigration crackdown. A series of orders Mr. Trump signed set off a policy barrage aimed at sealing the nation’s borders to migrants and cracking down on immigrants already in the country. Those orders included a declaration of a national emergency to deploy the military to the border and a bid to cut off birthright citizenship for the children of noncitizens. Many of the orders test the legal limits of his authority, and birthright citizenship in particular is protected by the Constitution.
He tries to put off a ban on TikTok. Mr. Trump signed an executive order aimed at delaying a federal ban of TikTok. It is unclear if that order could override the law that banned the social media app, but the measure instructs the attorney general not to take any action to enforce the ban for 75 days. Mr. Trump also told reporters that “the U.S. should be entitled to get half of TikTok” if a deal for the app is reached.
He withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. That makes the US one of four nations — along with Iran, Libya and Yemen — not party to the agreement. The US has gone full blown insane rogue on climate change and environmental protections.
DJT enacted a federal hiring freeze. He ordered a hiring freeze across the federal government that would remain in place pending the completion of a broader plan for reducing the federal work force. His order singled out the Internal Revenue Service, which received a large financial boost from President Biden and Democrats in Congress, calling for the freeze to stay in place longer for that agency. This is a really huge deal. To build his kleptocracy, DJT will need to gut the ability of government to collect taxes. That requires gutting the IRS and honest bureaucrats generally.
He gutted racial equity policies and protections for transgender people. DJT ordered his administration to dismantle federal programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, and to gut Biden administration policies that protect transgender Americans.
He again promised tariffs against Canada and Mexico. He plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on products from Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1 because those nations were allowing “mass numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in.” He also said that he “may” impose a universal tariff on all imports, adding that “essentially all countries take advantage of the U.S.”
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Meanwhile, maybe Musk was fill-blown Nazi and now feels free to express his true authoritarian feelings. The NYT writes about a speech he made yesterday at the inauguration:
Mr. Musk, who leads Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, and who backed Mr. Trump last year during his presidential campaign, added, “I just want to say thank you for making it happen — thank you.”
The billionaire then grunted and placed his hand to his heart before extending his arm out above his head with his palm facing down. After he turned around, he repeated the motion to those behind him.
He did that twice during his blither
about a “fork in the road of human civilization”
I think he probably is a vicious Nazi,
or is that idiotic, over the top, alarmism?
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Reporting from various sources are pointing to the lawlessness or near-lawlessness of DJT's executive orders. All are predicting an avalanche of lawsuits.
A WaPo opinion (not paywalled) comments on one aspect of the rise of American kleptocracy:
Trump finds a new way for foreign governments to pay him off: Crypto
Trump’s crypto coin is little more than a whizbang Ponzi scheme
The era of the Shakedown Economy has officially begun — and it started with something called a presidential “shitcoin.” No, I am not making this up.
Two days before his inauguration, Donald Trump abruptly launched a new cryptocurrency, traded as “$TRUMP.” For those unfamiliar, this kind of crypto token or “memecoin” is released and traded on public markets, sort of like a stock. Unlike stocks, however, memecoins have no cash flow, no fundamental value. There’s no claim to a business’s future profits, nor even the pretense of a business model. There’s no clear use case; no one is pretending $TRUMP will be used in real-world transactions to pay for groceries or a haircut, or to send remittances.
Rather, people buy memecoins such as $TRUMP solely because they think someone else might be willing to pay more for them someday. It’s basically a whizbang-sounding Ponzi scheme.
It's not just foreign governments who can pay DJT off. All people and corporations on Earth with enough wealth can bribe him. Putin can bribe him.
DJT is open for business!
NOTE: As of June 26, 2024, the USSC legalized the
illegal part on the left, provided that the bribe is
an after-the-fact gratuity or reward
That reward-winning decision came at us in the
case called Snyder v. US[1]
Footnote:
1. Snyder v. US lawsuit summary: James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, was convicted of accepting a $13,000 check from a state contractor after awarding the contractor a $1.1 million contract to provide trucks to the city. This conviction was initially upheld by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 straight party line vote, reversed Snyder's conviction. The Court held that 18 U.S.C. § 666, a federal statute criminalizing certain payments to state and local officials, applies only to bribes and not to gratuities or rewards for a good job well done.
What are the odds of this congress fixing this and making after the fact payments illegal? Close to 0%. What are the odds of DJT signing it if it did pass. Closer to 0%. What are the odds of congress overriding a DJT veto? Literally 0%.
