FOOD FOR THOUGHT 02/10/25

Everyone expects the Judicial branch of our government to be the bulwark against unlimited Executive power.

I want to know what flavor of Kool-Aid they are drinking.

The Judiciary has no innate power. It's power is derived from the acquiescence of the people

So what happens if a duly elected POTUS decides to give the Judiciary the middle finger?

Nothing.....unless the people rise up and take their power back.

The power of the Judiciary, and the rule of law, comes only from principled people who are willing to accept the decision of the court.

Even the SCOTUS is not "supreme". It's nothing... if people don't agree to obey it's mandate.

So if a POTUS or any other government entity refuses to acquiesce to the rule of law, the only way to restore democracy, or the rule of law, is by revolution. 

We saw it in the 1800s. We saw it, again, as recently as the 1960s. Is that where we are headed once again? Sadly, I think so and have since 2015.

I am a concerned citizen. #newsjunkie

ON THE FRONT LINES [ 02/09/25 ] PUBLISHED WEEKLY

FEDERAL BUDGET

As Republicans in Congress look for ways to slash spending, some legislators are floating new taxes on college scholarships, an end to student loan repayment plans and a big hike in taxes on university endowments. The ideas affecting higher education are among many in circulation among House committees that are exploring ways to cover the cost of extending and expanding tax cuts passed in President Donald Trump’s first term.

Washington Post: NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 

“The Trump administration this week eliminated much of the federal government’s front line of defense against foreign interference in U.S. elections,” (the Washington Post reports) [...]  alarmed state election officials and election security experts, who warned that safeguarding Americans from foreign disinformation campaigns will be difficult if no one at the federal level is doing that work.”

Trump’s executive order reauthorizing sanctions against international criminal court (ICC) personnel reflects a disgraceful effort to ensure that no American, or citizen of an ally such as Israel, is ever investigated or prosecuted.

 

US-Panama relationship was ‘very strong’. Then Trump upended the diplomatic playing board

 

Quote of the Day February 9, 2025 at 10:51 am EST
“I don’t think there’s any plans to invade Canada.” — National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, on Meet the Press.

THE CULTURAL WORLD ACCORDING TO TRUMP

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is firing members of the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and naming himself chairman. He also indicated that he would be dictating programming at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions, specifically declaring that he would end events featuring performers in drag.

ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT

 

Parents pull kids from childcare as immigration fears hit US’s youngest

 

Childcare workers also nervous to go to jobs due to deportation threats as Ice raids rampant in Trump era

MEANWHILE

 

Early Traders Had Speedy Profit on Trump Coin
February 9, 2025 at 7:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard

 

“The curious trade came a little past 9 p.m. on Jan. 17 — a $1,096,109 bet less than two minutes after the soon-to-be president of the United States posted on his social media account that his family had issued a cryptocurrency called $Trump,” the New York Times reports.

“In those first minutes, a crypto wallet with a unique identification code beginning 6QSc2Cx secured a giant load of these new tokens — 5,971,750 of them — at the opening sale price of just 18 cents each, starting a surge in the $Trump price that would soon reach $75 per token.”

“This early trader, whose identity is not known, walked away with a two-day profit of as much as $109 million.”