Excellent and extensive article/project about Joe Biden

[asher2789]

the intercept went over biden's entire political career up to the presidency, it's excellent investigative reporting and a must read for any who enjoy (is that the right word?) following politics.

https://theintercept.com/empire-politician/

intro (i almost missed this so i'm posting the link separately although its part of the above link): https://theintercept.com/empire-politic ... -long-war/

podcast: https://theintercept.com/2021/04/28/int ... ar-powers/

tl;dr: biden hasn't met a war he didn't support at some point and fought hard for the war powers act which despite being law every president since it was passed has violated it (the act states that a president needs the authority of congress for a war... which is also what the constitution says).

[easyrider16]

When the President violates the law the only recourse is impeachment. As we've seen, that check on presidential power almost never works. Instead, Presidential power has steadily grown over time. I think the founding fathers who warned about the President becoming an elected king were right. Eventually, a President will get elected, seize power, and refuse to give it up. Then the country will turn into something like what Russia or China has. Trump tried but failed because he was incompetent and there were enough honest people in the electoral process willing to stand up against him. But I think it's pretty much inevitable that someone smarter and better prepared will come along and those who care about democracy won't be able to stop it. I just hope it doesn't happen until after I die.

[yiddle on da fiddle]

about three strides short..of being just another blogger....i.e...valueless venting...

[yiddle on da fiddle]

hence......why Asser chooses to waste time reading it....

[asher2789]

hence......why Asser chooses to waste time reading it....

you're so f*** ignorant its incredible. people like you really shouldn't vote. what's fox "news" hysterical about now? going vegan yet? i heard biden is banning meat.

fyi i hate biden precisely for the reasons stated in the article. he's a nationalist warmonger.

[asher2789]

When the President violates the law the only recourse is impeachment. As we've seen, that check on presidential power almost never works. Instead, Presidential power has steadily grown over time. I think the founding fathers who warned about the President becoming an elected king were right. Eventually, a President will get elected, seize power, and refuse to give it up. Then the country will turn into something like what Russia or China has. Trump tried but failed because he was incompetent and there were enough honest people in the electoral process willing to stand up against him. But I think it's pretty much inevitable that someone smarter and better prepared will come along and those who care about democracy won't be able to stop it. I just hope it doesn't happen until after I die.

i don't understand how every president since the war powers act was passed has been able to violate it free of any repercussions.... not even supreme court involvement. if it's an "illegal" law like one of the bushes (or was it reagan?) claimed, then get the SCOTUS to overturn it. otherwise, they're not above the law and should be obeying it. and besides, the constitution is quite clear that the declaration of war is a power of congress, not the executive branch. but it's not a war if they don't declare it a "war" so thats how they've been able to wage "not-wars" all around the world installing far right dictatorships that are beholden to american corporate interests for decades with impunity. im really curious to see how long time war powers act proponent biden handles being the head of the executive branch he tried to reign in decades earlier.

and impeachment, as we see with trump's twice failed impeachment, isn't a cure to this disease either. one would think that instigating and encouraging a coup to overthrow the US government was an impeachable offense... besides everything else he's done.

[Bubba]

When the President violates the law the only recourse is impeachment. As we've seen, that check on presidential power almost never works. Instead, Presidential power has steadily grown over time. I think the founding fathers who warned about the President becoming an elected king were right. Eventually, a President will get elected, seize power, and refuse to give it up. Then the country will turn into something like what Russia or China has. Trump tried but failed because he was incompetent and there were enough honest people in the electoral process willing to stand up against him. But I think it's pretty much inevitable that someone smarter and better prepared will come along and those who care about democracy won't be able to stop it. I just hope it doesn't happen until after I die.

i don't understand how every president since the war powers act was passed has been able to violate it free of any repercussions.... not even supreme court involvement. if it's an "illegal" law like one of the bushes (or was it reagan?) claimed, then get the SCOTUS to overturn it. otherwise, they're not above the law and should be obeying it. and besides, the constitution is quite clear that the declaration of war is a power of congress, not the executive branch. but it's not a war if they don't declare it a "war" so thats how they've been able to wage "not-wars" all around the world installing far right dictatorships that are beholden to american corporate interests for decades with impunity. im really curious to see how long time war powers act proponent biden handles being the head of the executive branch he tried to reign in decades earlier.

and impeachment, as we see with trump's twice failed impeachment, isn't a cure to this disease either. one would think that instigating and encouraging a coup to overthrow the US government was an impeachable offense... besides everything else he's done.

Examples of "far-right dictatorships" installed by the US please?

[easyrider16]

There's a long and sordid history of the U.S. installing or propping up dictatorships during the cold war as a means to prevent nations from going communist. Some quick googling indicates the U.S. installed or helped install the following right-wing dictators:

Carlos Castillo Armas in Guatemala
General Fazlollah Zahedi in Iran
General Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco in Brazil
Augusto Pinochet in Chile

I probably missed some. There were many, many other involvements in various forms of regime change, some to promote more democratic regimes and others to protect horrible dictators so long as they opposed communism.

Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... ime_change

[yiddle on da fiddle]

that....eerie silence......Minimum Wage and Abortion Rights responses in 3...2.......

[Bubba]

There's a long and sordid history of the U.S. installing or propping up dictatorships during the cold war as a means to prevent nations from going communist. Some quick googling indicates the U.S. installed or helped install the following right-wing dictators:

Carlos Castillo Armas in Guatemala
General Fazlollah Zahedi in Iran
General Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco in Brazil
Augusto Pinochet in Chile

I probably missed some. There were many, many other involvements in various forms of regime change, some to promote more democratic regimes and others to protect horrible dictators so long as they opposed communism.

Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... ime_change

Militarily in violation of the War Powers Act?

[easyrider16]

Militarily? Depends on how you define that. Military aid, certainly. Boots on the ground, in some cases, but usually clandestine. Often these were CIA operations with operatives on the ground.

As to the war powers act, i dont think it had been passed when many of those named dictators were installed. In almost none of these cases was there any form of Congressional authorization. I believe that was the impetus for that act, btw, because Congress was sick of the president waging war without consulting them.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[Bubba]

Militarily? Depends on how you define that. Military aid, certainly. Boots on the ground, in some cases, but usually clandestine. Often these were CIA operations with operatives on the ground.

As to the war powers act, i dont think it had been passed when many of those named dictators were installed. In almost none of these cases was there any form of Congressional authorization. I believe that was the impetus for that act, btw, because Congress was sick of the president waging war without consulting them.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

In other words, asher’s claim about violations of the War Powers Act and the installation of right wing dictators is factually incorrect. Yes, we have aided and abetted such acts in the past, primarily during the Cold War, but not in violation of the specific act she cites which was passed in response to the Vietnam War.

Contrary to recent political behaviors, arguments work better when facts are correct. It is difficult to make an effective argument when one loses credibility by continuously conflating issues.

[asher2789]

you know, if you guys would just read the article it would explain in detail all of the "not really wars" that biden supported that installed far right dictatorships friendly to "american interests" aka corporate exploitation of natural resources that violated the war powers act.

i know its like, oh so hard to read things that arent from breitbart these days, but jesus f*** christ. EDUCATE YOURSELF. one of the great things about biden is that he's the longest serving congressperson and has a massive paper trail full of (a few) good and (mostly) bad decisions behind him to examine, which is what this article does.

[asher2789]

Militarily? Depends on how you define that. Military aid, certainly. Boots on the ground, in some cases, but usually clandestine. Often these were CIA operations with operatives on the ground.

As to the war powers act, i dont think it had been passed when many of those named dictators were installed. In almost none of these cases was there any form of Congressional authorization. I believe that was the impetus for that act, btw, because Congress was sick of the president waging war without consulting them.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

In other words, asher’s claim about violations of the War Powers Act and the installation of right wing dictators is factually incorrect. Yes, we have aided and abetted such acts in the past, primarily during the Cold War, but not in violation of the specific act she cites which was passed in response to the Vietnam War.

Contrary to recent political behaviors, arguments work better when facts are correct. It is difficult to make an effective argument when one loses credibility by continuously conflating issues.

putting troops on the ground (or drones in the air, this being 2021!) in a foreign conflict is a war regardless of what kind of words they want to make it sound like a "not war". foreign aggression on behalf of the executive branch without the congressional branch approving it is in violation of the war powers act. every. single. foreign. conflict.

[Bubba]

you know, if you guys would just read the article it would explain in detail all of the "not really wars" that biden supported that installed far right dictatorships friendly to "american interests" aka corporate exploitation of natural resources that violated the war powers act.

i know its like, oh so hard to read things that arent from breitbart these days, but jesus f*** christ. EDUCATE YOURSELF. one of the great things about biden is that he's the longest serving congressperson and has a massive paper trail full of (a few) good and (mostly) bad decisions behind him to examine, which is what this article does.

I've read it. Please provide an example (or, since your argument was about multiple violations of the War Powers Act by multiple administrations, cite multiple examples) of the US, post passage of the WPA, using military force (that would otherwise require a Declaration of War) to install right wing dictatorships.