Colman: ABUSE OF POWER

In California, government controls wages and benefits for fast food joint.  That is an abuse of power.

The government is using lawfare to arrest and chill the actions of American citizens—even jailing them for refusal to comply—that is an abuse of power.

The Feds lie about the unemployment figures—that is an abuse of power.

The government is allowed to act in a cabal with the media to lie to the public and to hide the truth—that is an abuse of power.

Government is the abuse of power.  It needs to be controlled.

ABUSE OF POWER

By Richard Colman, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views,  7/8/24 

Was President Franklin Roosevelt’s World War II decision to intern people of Japanese ancestry -– people living in the United States — an official act?  Congress never approved Roosevelt’s decision.

Was President Abraham Lincoln’s Civil War decision to repeal habeas corpus an official act?  According to the Legal Dictionary, “Habeas corpus is a legal action in which a prisoner challenges the authority of the jail or prison to continue holding him.”

Were the Watergate break-in and the subsequent cover-up official acts during the presidency of Richard Nixon?

Was President Harry Truman’s 1952 decision to seize control of American steel industries an official act?

On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a six-to-three decision, ruled that official acts of the president of the United States are central to the presidency and deserve “absolute immunity.”

The High Court’s ruling expands the power of the presidency.

Some Americans believe that the presidency is already too powerful.

The above examples involving Presidents Roosevelt, Lincoln, Nixon, and Truman strongly suggest that the power of the American president is too broad.

The Supreme Court’s decision comes at a time when former President Donald Trump, a candidate for re-election to the White House in 2024, has made remarks about government authority.

In recent weeks, Trump, in comments about illegal immigration and other matters, has used terms like “vermin” and “poisoning the blood of our country.”  The terms Trump has used remind us of comments by Adolf Hitler and other authoritarian leaders.

About one week ago, Trump said that former Congresswoman Liz Chaney (R-Wyoming) should face a “televised military tribunal” for treason.  Ms. Chaney is a very conservative former member of the House of Representatives and a sharp critic of Trump.

Trump has said that shoplifters should be shot.  Trump also implied that Mark Millie, the former head of the military Joint Chief of Staff under Trump and President Joe Biden, should be executed for treason.

If a re-elected Trump were to carry out some or all of his provocative ideas, would his actions be constitutional under the Supreme Court’s ruling about immunity for a president’s official acts?

The United States is at a severe crossroads now that the High Court has expanded presidential power.  Is the president a king –- a king who has unlimited authority to do as he pleases?

Could a re-elected Trump close down a publication that is critical of Trump?  The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press.  However, would Trump’s possible closure of a media outlet be supported by the Supreme Court? 

In 1971, the federal government attempted to block publication of the Pentagon Papers, a hitherto secret history of the Vietnam war.  The High Court ruled that the federal government did not have the power to block publication of the Pentagon Papers.

America has a history of presidential abuse of power.  Now, after the Supreme Court’s July 1, 2024, decision to expand presidential power are Americans facing possible tyranny?

One could ask if President Biden has abused presidential power in such areas as American weapons shipments in the war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Americans ought to think seriously about whether or not their constitutional freedoms are in jeopardy –- from Trump, Biden, and other possible future presidents.

One thought on “Colman: ABUSE OF POWER

  1. Government control of wages in the fast food industry is not an abuse of power, it is illegal. Someone should sue. The State may have the right to set a minimum wage, but they cannot set wages by industry, employer employee size or location. That is discriminatory. The remainder of this article is a subtle attack on Donald Trump.

Comments are closed.