[ExI] My prediction

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 09/01/2026 13:30, spike wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of Ben Zaiboc via extropy-chat
> ...
>
>> ...So the constitutional safeguards that spike keeps mentioning are in fact powerless....
> On the contrary Ben.  The constitution is what is preventing the current POTUS from becoming a dictator.
>
> Had POTUS been able to violate the constitution he would have held the office in Jan 2021 and prevented the government shutdown of Oct 2025.  That office is far more limited than Americans imagine.


> "That office is far more limited than Americans imagine"

Then Americans must imagine the office of POTUS to be omnipotent, I think.
It certainly seems to be far, far less limited than I previously imagined.

I never imagined that a president of the US would be able to first halt, then reverse, the global efforts to combat global warming.

I never imagined he would be able to effectively wage war on another country without any acknowledgment that he was in fact committing acts of war (such as killing citizens of that country, invading it and abducting its ruler, without the whole world condemning him).

I never imagined he would be able to threaten another NATO member with forcibly annexing territory that belongs to them without being immediately slapped down by his own people (and probably impeached for threatening world stability, and endangering the treaty which has protected the western world for the last 77 years).

I never imagined he would be able to deploy troops on US soil against US citizens, ignoring the people supposedly governing the states involved.

I never imagined he would be allowed to appoint people with no relevant experience, to critical positions in the government, apparently on the basis of their loyalty to him (Remind you of anything? Ring any alarm bells?).

I never imagined he would be allowed to abuse the presidential ability to issue pardons for convicted criminals on such a large scale.

I never imagined he would be able to openly harass and have dismissed from their jobs, people who disagreed with him.

I never imagined he would be able to tell ridiculous lies without being reined in by his own people.

And I never imagined that a convicted criminal would be able to be elected president, thus putting him in a position to pardon himself, which strikes me as possibly the most ludicrous thing about this whole dangerous fiasco.


The constitution doesn't seem to be able to prevent any of that, does it? If it's supposed to be safeguarding democracy, it's doing a very poor job in this case.


> "The constitution is what is preventing the current POTUS from becoming a dictator"

It had better get a move on then, because it seems totally powerless when it comes to preventing someone setting up the requisite conditions for turning a democracy into a dictatorship.
You have to appoint loyal people to the right positions, you have to make sure the courts obey your wishes, you have to have control of the armed forces and the police. And you have to render your opponents powerless.

What has the constitution got up its sleeve?
Something really, really good, I sincerely hope.

-- 
Ben