Oh look, a peaceful transfer of power

[Scooter]

Interesting how Republican claims that Democrats would try to "steal" this election did not come to pass, unlike the converse four years ago.

[BoSoxGal]

The only silver lining to all this is that I’ve finally kicked my news habit. I can’t stand to turn it on anymore and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The most I get is 20 minutes of ATC on NPR on my way to work, but even in that time slot I’ve been listening mostly to podcasts. I turned on NPR yesterday and listened to a piece about the grieving Sicknick family and it left me in tears to think of the pain they must feel losing their son as they did and seeing this country re-elect the monster who ignited that riot. A monster their son supported and who never bothered to extend them any condolences whatsoever.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Politico has a piece about Officer Howie Liebengood who killed himself a few days after the riot / insurrection. His family have no doubt that his suicide was caused by the response and thus by the riot.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/ ... d-00195463

Meanwhile Trump is accusing Biden of making the transition difficult.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-in ... 20062b766e

Apparently "Four years after trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power, the president-elect claimed Biden is engaging in "lawfare such as has never been seen before.""

I will be in NYC in a week or so. A friend who is a Republican of the old type (you remember, reasonable people who were wrong about lots of stuff but with whom we could have amicable relationships and conversations) has invited me to a Harvard Club discussion on 'lawfare' so I will be interested to see if I can keep my mouth shut.

[Joe Guy]

Quick!! Somebody Call The National Guard!!!

Trump: Biden ‘doing everything possible’ to make transition difficult

President-elect Trump on Monday accused President Biden of making the presidential transition difficult, citing recent executive orders on climate and other official acts Biden has taken in his last weeks as president.

“Biden is doing everything possible to make the TRANSITION as difficult [as] possible, from Lawfare such as has never been seen before, to costly and ridiculous Executive Orders on the Green New Scam and other money wasting Hoaxes,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Biden announced earlier Monday he would block new drilling off the entire East Coast, as well as California, Oregon and Washington state, and block some drilling off Alaska’s coast in portions of the Northern Bering Sea and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Biden made the move just two weeks before Trump, who has promised to promote domestic energy production, is sworn in.

Trump vowed to undo Biden’s recent executive orders, though it’s unclear if he would be able to reverse the decision to block oil drilling, considering he was blocked in 2019 when he tried to reinstate drilling in areas blocked off by former President Obama,

“Fear not, these ‘Orders’ will all be terminated shortly, and we will become a Nation of Common Sense and Strength. MAGA!!!” the president-elect said.

Earlier Monday, Trump also blasted Biden’s oil drilling decision, saying he would “unban it.”

Despite Trump’s assertion that Biden’s White House has not been helpful during the transition, his incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles has said otherwise. She told Axios in an interview published Monday the White House has been helpful during the transition process.

“White House chief of staff Jeff Zients has been very helpful. He has made great suggestions, helped make sure we stay on time with required functions, helped us navigate the labyrinth that is the Executive Office of the President, and been very professional,” she said.

“He introduced me to the ‘former chief of staff club’ and even hosted a dinner [for Wiles and the former chiefs] at his beautiful home,” Wiles added.

source

[Burning Petard]

Liar-in-chief and half my family love him. 80% of the human race prefer living under a tyrant. Reference: 'The Authoritarian Personality' Adorno et al.
The methodology and assumptions of the research has been heavily challenged and criticized. However, the conclusion, as I restated above, has not been refuted.

snailgate.

[BoSoxGal]

[Bicycle Bill]

So basically, according to Trump, his administration is going to spend the first month or so undoing whatever the previous administration did that pisses him off.   And then, of course, four years later whoever follows Trump will undo what he does, and the guy after that will do the same.   So much for passing a law and expecting it to stand the test of time, let alone a hot-headed ten-year-old having a temper tantrum.

-"BB"-

[Big RR]

If Congress passes a law, it has a pretty good chance of stabding--but sadly we (both sides) have resorted to executive orders to bypass Congress. this is just one of the drawbacks (although, IMHO, the enhanced power of the executive is worse--even when I agree with the results of the EO. But the people seem to want a dictator (or king or emperor...) when they agree with the chief executive.

[ex-khobar Andy]

So much for the constitution. The Executive Branch was never intended to have such power. The Legislative says what shall be done, and the Executive gets it done. "Thou shalt have a speed limit on the highways" says the Congress; and the executive puts experts to work to decide on a reasonable compromise between safety and the needs of commerce, how to police it and so on. That basic notion worked fairly well. Unfortunately the one power the Constitution gives to the Executive - conduct of foreign affairs - really did not matter a lot in 1787 - who gives a shit what happens in Russia or China or Madagascar? But because of that the power of the Executive has grown and grown.

SCOTUS - by reversing Chevron in the Loper Bright decision last year - has made it worse. It used to be that experts in their field would take the legislative bones and put flesh on them. Congress does not have the time or the expertise to make these decisions. Again, something the Founding Fathers (I usually abbreviate them the FFS) didn't anticipate the 21st century.

[Big RR]

the one power the Constitution gives to the Executive - conduct of foreign affairs -

and even then any commitment of military forces required Congress to declare war, and any treaties had to be ratified by Congress. for the most part modern presidents have ignored this and no one really cares.