#ThanksObama: 5 Scary Powers Trump Will Take Over as President

[EasyAce]

By Justin Monticello
http://reason.com/archives/2017/01/13/scary-powers-president-trump-thanksobama/print

Remember when those pesky other branches of government wouldn't bow down to Obama's whims, and the president
famously bragged about going it alone? Now Obama's out and it will soon be Donald Trump wielding his pen and phone.

As Barack Obama bids farewell to his presidency this week, keep in mind these five scary powers that President Trump will
inherit from him.

1. War Without Congress

During the Libya intervention, Obama decided that he didn't need Congress to approve massive bombing campaigns and regime
change.

Obama has done legal gymnastics to justify using the same authorizations that George W. Bush got to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban
to send our armed forces to places like West Africa, Somalia, Yemen, and Syria —not to mention staying in Pakistan and Afghanistan
and going back to Iraq—all without Congress.

So if the Mexicans won't pay for his wall, President Trump could just as well decide to bomb them.

2. Kill Lists

Obama made up his own rules on targeted killings, denying that courts could review his "kill list" and only paying lip service to drone
guidelines when he thought Mitt Romney might win in 2012. That never actually happened, and even in his last months in office,
Obama has continued to expand the reach of our flying robots and special operations forces.

So President Trump can now vaporize any person he puts on his kill list, even American citizens, even outside of acknowledged
battlefields, even if civilians die—all without due process.

3. Access to All of Your Information

Obama expanded the powers of secret courts that provide little more than a rubber-stamp for mass surveillance of Americans.

He supports weakening encryption, general warrants that cover millions of people, and a host of powers with the ultimate goal of
giving spooks what the NSA has called "Total Information Awareness"—access to your every word, move, purchase, and relationship,
all without your knowledge.

Orwell would have been impressed, and Trump certainly will be.

4. Prosecuting Whistleblowers and Journalists

The leader of the self-anointed "most transparent administration" in history has prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage
Act than all other presidents in history, put together. His administration exploded the number of classified documents and fought the
ACLU and New York Times in court to keep its legal interpretations secret.

Oh, and Obama's Justice Department spied on journalists and investigated them as co-conspirators.

Based on what Trump thinks of the media, reporters should take care not to violate any secret laws going forward, especially in secret
drone zones.

5. Screwing Immigrants

Many undocumented immigrants trusted Obama with their personal information in exchange for his promise not to deport them. That
may have been a huge mistake. First off, he's deported more people than any president in history, so that should have been a red
flag.

After Congress didn't act on immigration, Obama turned to his pen and phone again. But he overreached, and his executive order giving
deportation relief was ruled unconstitutional. So now he'll be gone, but those immigrants will still be listed in a Department of Homeland
Security database.

So the next time you find yourself applauding the President for doing a gleeful end-run around the Constitution and separation of powers,
pause and ask yourself: What will happen when it's President Kanye West?

And as the 44th president bids us farewell, let us all take a moment to say #ThanksObama.

[DCPatriot]

Damn, @EasyAce ....thanks!!

...reading that gave this old coot an erection.   

[bigheadfred]

Damn, @EasyAce ....thanks!!

...reading that gave this old coot an erection.   

You're cheering the destruction of the rule of law. Nice.

[Hondo69]

In my opinion this goes hand in hand with a corrupt media.

More than a few Obama initiatives were quickly abandoned when the public outcry became too hot to handle.  Trying to run the census from the White House, an executive order to change ammunition standards, and taxing college savings accounts are a few abandoned trial balloons that come to mind.  The public outcry against Fascism shut these efforts down cold.

But only because the public was aware of them in the first place.

[Cripplecreek]

You're cheering the destruction of the rule of law. Nice.

They won't like it much when that destruction goes even further and the democrats retake Washington (And they will retake Washington at some point)

[Hondo69]

If you listen closely to Democrats opposition to Trump it can all be summed up in one overriding theme - they worry Trump will be just like Obama.

They demand Trump work closely with Congress - no end runs around Congress like Obama.

They demand Trump be president of all the people - no more Chicago-style politics like Obama.

They demand Trump adhere to the rule of law - no more ruling by whim as did emperor Obama.

I could go on but you get the picture.  The Constitutional crisis created by Obama's Banana Republic over the past eight years is finally getting some media play, although in a backhand way.  This new media play allows for an interesting opportunity.  As Chicago's mayor/mobster famously stated, "never let a crisis go to waste".

Turn it all back on the liberals and liberal media and force them to defend Obama's past actions first.

[EasyAce]

In my opinion this goes hand in hand with a corrupt media.

More than a few Obama initiatives were quickly abandoned when the public outcry became too hot to handle.  Trying to run the census from the White House, an executive order to change ammunition standards, and taxing college savings accounts are a few abandoned trial balloons that come to mind.  The public outcry against Fascism shut these efforts down cold.

But only because the public was aware of them in the first place.

The key: the public being aware.

[DCPatriot]

You're cheering the destruction of the rule of law. Nice.

You're most welcome!   

[Hondo69]

Say I want to shut down Hollywood movie production because I don't like them.  Sure they are perfectly legal and legitimate businesses, but I don't like them - so off with their heads.

All in all it's not a particularly difficult task if I just follow the Obama/Clinton template.  First, create the perfect diversion.  Get everyone to focus on the right hand while the left hand does the dirty work.  The media will be more than willing to aid and abet if I create the proper subterfuge.

Next, prepare the vice that will squeeze the life out of Hollywood businesses.  I'll re-interpret the law in my own twisted way, get the banks to cut off their loans, pressure merchant account providers to shut down their ability to accept credit cards, and then pick out 1 or 2 individual companies to attack personally, announcing "I'm outraged" and I just want to "save the children".

Nothing particularly complicated about it.  Once you understand government is to be used as a political weapon to punish those you simply don't like, the rest is easy as pie. 

By the way here's a little free advice for all you insiders - right about now would be a good time to invest in Texas film making companies.  I have a hunch their stock is about to go up.

[INVAR]

You're cheering the destruction of the rule of law. Nice.

The rule of law no longer matters to the Trump faithful.

As I have been told directly, in person - "Screw the rule of law!  We need our OWN dictator to do what is right for America!"

The Republic is over.

Now is the time of the rule of caesars, kings, potentates and messiahs.

Because PRECEDENT is the law - not what is written on parchment and ratified by the states of old America.

[INVAR]

Once you understand government is to be used as a political weapon to punish those you simply don't like, the rest is easy as pie. 

Thank you for summing up what the Trump & Obama faithful and a majority of the population in this country thinks the government and the Executive Branch are to be used for.

The only difference is which targets are designated for destruction and ruin by the hand of the state.

So much for liberty.

It was a nice experiment while it lasted.

[DCPatriot]

Thank you for summing up what the Trump & Obama faithful and a majority of the population in this country thinks the government and the Executive Branch are to be used for.

The only difference is which targets are designated for destruction and ruin by the hand of the state.

So much for liberty.

It was a nice experiment while it lasted.

What a load of crap.

Even a child learns that it's important to treat other people in the way you want to be treated.

And adolescents understand that having the same behavior turned around on them...calls for reflection on how to proceed in interacting with others.

It's time for a roundhouse, upper-cut, big-a$$ payback to these mental midget anarchists of mayhem.

My popcorn is right here. 

[Cyber Liberty]

 

[DCPatriot]

Glad to share it with you, @Cyber Liberty     

[Lando Lincoln]

Like all of us, I have had nothing but scorn towards the White House these past 8 years. I have been infuriated by Obama's lawlessness, his overreaching of authority, and his disrespect for our rule of law and tradional checks and balances. So...

Now that will be okay?

I think not. 

[INVAR]

What a load of crap.

Even a child learns that it's important to treat other people in the way you want to be treated.

Oh really?  So all of the entitlement Millennial mindset of 'gimme-gimme' or beat it out of someone and use government to steal it and force compliance with absurdity is just a figment of our imaginations eh?

adolescents understand that having the same behavior turned around on them...calls for reflection on how to proceed in interacting with others.

Oh yes, Ferguson and Baltimore are wonderful illustrations of those proverbs having impact upon a feral population. They certainly have showed us all how capable they are at 'reflection'.

It's time for a roundhouse, upper-cut, big-a$$ payback to these mental midget anarchists of mayhem.

My popcorn is right here.

The article was not addressing the BLM/Leftist Anarchist Revolutionistas out there, but the precedents set for any Executive in the future to use those tools of precedent as they see fit.  Even if it is raw despotism now that the rule of law no longer matters and the rule of pragmatism (otherwise known as the Rule of the Pen and Phone) is regarded as law.

That you applaud and cheer that is not in question.  I expect you would pay for a front row seat to cheer on the beating and punishment of any "enemy of the state" your leader declares, sans any due process - even if it's just a company that he does not like that manufactures their products overseas, notwithstanding the anarchists you decided to highlight.

I expect that from you because that is exactly what a people who are invested in a personality rather than principles will do.   

You can declare that to be crap until your face turns blue. 

Be of good cheer.  There are more people who see things your way than mine.

They see no need for a representative republic operating by the rule of law either.

[txradioguy]

You're most welcome!   

So if you think destruction of the rule of law is ok now...why is it so bad when Obama does it?

[txradioguy]

What a load of crap.

Even a child learns that it's important to treat other people in the way you want to be treated.

And adolescents understand that having the same behavior turned around on them...calls for reflection on how to proceed in interacting with others.

It's time for a roundhouse, upper-cut, big-a$$ payback to these mental midget anarchists of mayhem.

My popcorn is right here.

So you could honestly care two sh*ts about the Constitution...you just want revenge?

You know the same kind of mindset tore Europe apart in the 30's don't you?

[EasyAce]

So you could honestly care two sh*ts about the Constitution...you just want revenge?

You know the same kind of mindset tore Europe apart in the 30's don't you?

It didn't do us any favours via (to name two) Franklin Roosevelt or Richard Nixon, either.

[txradioguy]

It didn't do us any favours via (to name two) Franklin Roosevelt or Richard Nixon, either.

Exactly.

What's that saying about people who don't learn from history?

[DCPatriot]

So if you think destruction of the rule of law is ok now...why is it so bad when Obama does it?

Obviously, it's NOT going against the "rule of law"...if Obama showed us how to do it.

My only point is that I want MY 8 years of payback....including but limited to his own 'Disposition Matrix'.

I want to crush the Left, "see them driven before me, and hear the lamentation of their women!"

[DCPatriot]

So you could honestly care two sh*ts about the Constitution...you just want revenge?

You know the same kind of mindset tore Europe apart in the 30's don't you?

I can respond to you easier than the incoherence demonstrated by @INVAR above.

The left needs to be taught a lesson.....not the one that you suggest....that lets them continue to believe that the GOP are snowflakes and can be pushed around and intimidated into submission....because they're so afraid of what that so-called elusive 20% of the electorate think.

And you do know that WWII has given the West 70+ years of relative peace, don't you?

If you want to make an omelette ........etc..

[EasyAce]

If you want to make an omelette ........etc..

That's what this guy said about Stalin. We know how that worked out, too.

[txradioguy]

I can respond to you easier than the incoherence demonstrated by @INVAR above.

The left needs to be taught a lesson.....not the one that you suggest....that lets them continue to believe that the GOP are snowflakes and can be pushed around and intimidated into submission....because they're so afraid of what that so-called elusive 20% of the electorate think.

And you do know that WWII has given the West 70+ years of relative peace, don't you?

If you want to make an omelette ........etc..

The millions who died under the brutality of communism wod disagree.

Revenge never ends well for anyone when used as a political philosophy or strategy.

[bigheadfred]

@DCPatriot

Did you eat paint chips when you were a kid?