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Merged USAID: is it really a bunch of crazy leftists? / Trump Was Absolutely Right to Shut Down USAID

Emily's Cat said:
Not really a great example. There genuinely is no medical need for marijuana. And it really never was about medical use - medical use was the thin end of the wedge because an argument could be made that THC stimulates appetite which is a good thing for cancer patients. The goal was never medical use of marijuana, the goal was always legalization for recreational use, and the money to be made from that.
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Counter-anecdote: My uncle, who died at the age of 95, had been on dialysis for many years and had developed controllable but terminal cancer. Widowed, he became clinically depressed the last couple years of his life. At the recommendation of his psychiatrist, he began consuming cannabis chewables. He took one-half a chewable a day, because a full one would get him high, and he didn't like the feeling. A half of one per day, didn't get him high, but completely relieved his depression. He called them a miracle and said that they prevented him from committing suicide.
 
theprestige said:
Government agents don't have rights. They have authority.
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Where do the DOGE agents get their authority from? Isn't there supposed to be some kind of process and accountability for them? Or is this just being made a mockery of now and the president gets to let anyone do what they want without any checks or balances from Congress, the courts or established government agencies?
 
angrysoba said:
Where do the DOGE agents get their authority from? Isn't there supposed to be some kind of process and accountability for them? Or is this just being made a mockery of now and the president gets to let anyone do what they want without any checks or balances from Congress, the courts or established government agencies?
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The king's favorite's friends have all the authority invested in them by hearsay that they're working for the king's favorite, who obviously can do whatever he wants unless and until the king withdraws his favor. Sheesh, are you new? It's like you don't understand how absolute monarchies work. Get with the times, it's 1225.
 
dudalb said:
Doge has apparetly borken into the Insitute of Peace a Non Profit Independent organization which is NOT a government agency, though it is largely funded by the US Government.
This could mean legal problems for Musk and DoGE. Yes, they can probabl cut off funding, but they do not apprarenlty have right to acess the insitute's records.
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Not likely, they will just ignore any court orders like they do with so much else, and they will get away with it.
 
angrysoba said:
Where do the DOGE agents get their authority from? Isn't there supposed to be some kind of process and accountability for them? Or is this just being made a mockery of now and the president gets to let anyone do what they want without any checks or balances from Congress, the courts or established government agencies?
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They get their authority from the executive branch. The checks and balances are well known to you.
 
angrysoba said:
Where do the DOGE agents get their authority from? Isn't there supposed to be some kind of process and accountability for them? Or is this just being made a mockery of now and the president gets to let anyone do what they want without any checks or balances from Congress, the courts or established government agencies?
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The President has declared various states of emergency which enables him to do anything he wants. Ordinarily congress would at least have oversight of these actions but the GOP congress will simply rubberstamp anything he does and whilst the judiciary is pushing back, he is simply ignoring their rulings - apparently without any blowback.
 
theprestige said:
They get their authority from the executive branch. The checks and balances are well known to you.
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And those same checks and balances are now absent.

The GOP in congress has ruled that time does not pass or order to avoid having to go on record as supporting some of his actions and he is simply ignoring judicial rulings.
 
theprestige said:
Nope. They're right where they've always been, doing exactly what they always do.
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I don't recall Congress passing a motion to stop time so as to avoid a difficult vote before.

I don't recall a President using EOs in such an extensive and unchecked way before.

YMMV
 
The Don said:
I don't recall Congress passing a motion to stop time so as to avoid a difficult vote before.
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"Checks and balances" doesn't mean "benevolent referee that ensures things always work out to The Don's preference."
The Don said:
I don't recall a President using EOs in such an extensive and unchecked way before.
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"Unchecked". You're upset because the executive and legislative branches are aligned. This possibility was always intended to be part of the system of government.
 
Trump and Musk can do whatever they want. Trump is King and Musk is the King's Hand. Maga/Nazis use different words, but that's what they really mean.
 
theprestige said:
"Checks and balances" doesn't mean "benevolent referee that ensures things always work out to The Don's preference."

"Unchecked". You're upset because the executive and legislative branches are aligned. This possibility was always intended to be part of the system of government.
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And the courts never meant anything to begin with.
 
theprestige said:
"Checks and balances" doesn't mean "benevolent referee that ensures things always work out to The Don's preference."

"Unchecked". You're upset because the executive and legislative branches are aligned. This possibility was always intended to be part of the system of government.
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The legislative branch is not aligned, it's absent.

An aligned legislative branch would pass a series of bills to support the President and go on record as a result, not run away.
 
jt512 said:
Counter-anecdote: My uncle, who died at the age of 95, had been on dialysis for many years and had developed controllable but terminal cancer. Widowed, he became clinically depressed the last couple years of his life. At the recommendation of his psychiatrist, he began consuming cannabis chewables. He took one-half a chewable a day, because a full one would get him high, and he didn't like the feeling. A half of one per day, didn't get him high, but completely relieved his depression. He called them a miracle and said that they prevented him from committing suicide.
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I didn't say it wasn't useful in some situations. It definitely stimulates appetite, and in some cases can help with depression or anxiety - even though for a subset of people it has the counter effect of exacerbating them.

My point was that "Marijuana is a medicine" was never the *objective* of marijuana advocacy. The *objective* was always legalization for recreational purposes. Defensible use as medicine was a mechanism by which to get the foot to decriminalization in the door. It was a tactical move to support the overall strategy.

By the by... St. John's Wort is also very effective at mood stabilization and mitigating depression. For milder forms of stress or anxiety, chamomile, lavender, hops, and rhodiola rosea all work.... and about as effectively as pot although without the pleasant euphoria. On the other hand... none of them induce paranoia either and the likelihood of accidentally overserving is pretty low.

Many plants have medicinal properties; having medicinal properties does not make them medicine.
 
theprestige said:
You're upset because the executive and legislative branches are aligned. This possibility was always intended to be part of the system of government.
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Let's be clear here - they're only upset that the executive and legislative branches are aligned under Republicans. Were the executive and legislative branches aligned under Democrats, it would be considered a good thing.
 
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