Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

I love a good fantasy story. I loved Harry Potter from beginning to end. I adore a well-written shape-shifter yarn. And I am dragging my feet through Rebecca Yarros dragon rider series, The Empyrean because I don't want it to end!  I will also admit I really liked the first couple of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, but eventually lost interest because it was like reading manufactured prose; the passion was gone even if the sex remained. 

What I don't like is fantasy masquerading as policy and politics. President Felon's absurd expectation that he could, indeed, be pope, may have been called a joke by some, but that idea was tempered when he posted AI pictures of himself in papal garb. The image on the right was taken from Truth Social, his favorite fantasy platform. He may be his own first choice for the job, but the guy isn't even Catholic. A minor detail, I suppose.

On Meet the Press on Sunday, he also said he didn't know if he was required to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Oath of Office as prescribed in the Constitution - Article II, Section 1, Clause 8- states and repeated by President Elect Felon: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

 Since this is the second time he's taken the oath, one might think he actually read it. Or not. Still, his answers are rather bizarre. Even if you saw the interview, I would strongly recommend reading the transcript.It's enlightening. And while there are tons of things I could cite, I only want to concentrate on upholding the Constitution. This is the exchange between President Felon and the interviewer, Kristen Welker

WELKER: And this is the point, sir, about due process. The Constitution says every person, citizens and non-citizens, deserve due process. Why not push to have him come back, present all of that evidence in court, let a judge decide?                                               

PRESIDENT: Well, I’ll leave that to the lawyers, and I’ll leave that to the attorney general of the United States, because —                                                

WELKER: But do you agree —                                               

PRESIDENT:– they’re in it. You have to understand. I’m dealing with Russia and Ukraine. I’m dealing with China —                                             

WELKER: And we’re going to talk about that.                              

PRESIDENT : I’m dealing with Iran. I’m dealing with Rwanda and the Congo who are fighting and we’re trying to get that one straightened out. And I think we have done that, did a great job. Nobody even talks about it, but I think we’re close to doing that. They’re looking like they’re going to maybe make a peace deal, which was — would be good. But I’m dealing with a lot of different things. I don’t know much about this gentleman other than I hear he’s an absolute not good person. And I have very capable legal people, John Sauer, as you know, and all top people. And I have to rely on that to interpret whatever is said by the Supreme Court. Now with that being said, I have tremendous respect for the Supreme Court. Look, three of the people are people I appointed.                            

WELKER: Right.                                  

PRESIDENT: And I have great respect for the Supreme Court. And I would expect that the attorney general will be doing the right thing.  

WELKER: Your secretary of state says everyone who’s here, citizens and non-citizens, deserve due process. Do you agree, Mr. President?                      

PRESIDENT: I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.                                               

WELKER: Well, the Fifth Amendment says as much.     

PRESIDENT: I don’t know. It seems — it might say that, but if you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials. We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth.  

What the 5th Amendment says is:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Wanna talk about due process? Sure. Why not? The Fourteenth Amendment is often considered to be the most controversial of the amendments added during Reconstruction. The wording of the amendment is often debated as it is right now. It literally says:

Section 1

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

On the government website, Constitution Annotated, they address this issue thoroughly:

The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Supreme Court has held that this protection extends to all natural persons (i.e., human beings), regardless of race, color, or citizenship. The Court has also considered multiple cases about whether the word person includes artificial persons, meaning entities such as corporations. As early as the 1870s, the Court appeared to accept that the Clause protects corporations, at least in some circumstances. In the 1877 Granger Cases, the Court upheld various state laws without questioning whether a corporation could raise due process claims. In a roughly contemporaneous case arising under the Fifth Amendment, the Court explicitly declared that the United States equally with the States . . . are prohibited from depriving persons or corporations of property without due process of law. Subsequent decisions of the Court have held that a corporation may not be deprived of its property without due process of law. By contrast, in multiple cases involving the liberty interest, the Court has held that the Fourteenth Amendment protects the liberty of natural, not artificial, persons. Nevertheless, the Court has at times allowed corporations to raise claims not based on the property interest. For instance, in a 1936 case, a newspaper corporation successfully argued that a state law deprived it of liberty of the press. 

A separate question concerns the ability of government officials to invoke the Due Process Clause to protect the interests of their office. Ordinarily, the mere official interest of a public officer, such as the interest in enforcing a law, does not enable him to challenge the constitutionality of a law under the Fourteenth Amendment. Moreover, municipal corporations lack standing to invoke the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment in opposition to the will of their creator, the state. However, the Court has acknowledged that state officers have an interest in resisting an endeavor to prevent the enforcement of statutes in relation to which they have official duties, even if the officials have not sustained any private damage. State officials may therefore ask federal courts to review decisions of state courts declaring state statutes, which [they] seek to enforce, to be repugnant to the Fourteenth Amendment.

This is not some guy's opinion; this is the Constitution of the United States as interpreted as law by the Supreme Court. Nowhere does it mention a backlog of cases is reasonable cause for suspending said Constitutional protections under the law. There is an underlying expectation that the accused will have an opportunity to present evidence and defend their rights in a court of law. Unless SCOTUS, the DoJ, or the White House has suspended the constitution while no one was looking, President Felon is breaking the law. Again. 

This country, founded on a set of laws basically enshrined in the Constitution along with the idea that no law is perfect, and laws sometimes require interpretation and/or change through proper process. Hell, Roe v. Wade falls under the Fourteenth Amendment and despite rigorous and contentious debate, was reversed by the Supreme Court. No, I didn't like the outcome, but it happened within the structure of Constitutional law....and with luck, it will change again. That's what process does. What's happening to due process is not the same thing even though it, too, is part of the Fourteenth. But in listening to President Felon talk about immigration and deportation, there is no doubt that he lacks a basic understanding of how the law in this country works, and he's being led down a path by lawyers who will tell him whatever he wants regardless of the legality. 

His rambling commentary that routinely runs of the rails should reinforce that notion that the guy has no idea what he's talking about. Ever. 

Just like today's dalliance in Fantasy Land where he went off on his idea that movies made outside the US should have tariffs. 

Now, for a brief and shining moment, that might sound like a good plan...but not when you're dictating how art and artists should be practicing their craft. Creatives embrace and express the fundamental elements of a people. Anyone who has studied the history of conquest knows that one of the best ways to demoralize and absorb an entire people is to rid those people of their culture and their calendar. Take away that which makes a community unique and it will founder in its identity...and ultimately disappear.

Setting up the Kennedy Center board so that it only permits "approved" shows, or wiping out the boards of national museums only to replace them with sycophants does nothing to promote arts. Slashing PBS, Voice of America, and NPR does not encourage the development of writers, musicians, journalists, artists, or any other creative endeavor. Does anyone remember Socialist

A. Girasimov/ Stalin & Voroshilov in the Kremlin -

Realism from Stalinist Soviet Union? This is exactly what Stalin did and it would seem President Felon is basically unaware. 

Yet at the same time, he wants another Soviet era demonstration of this "prowess" On Flag day that happens to be his birthday. He wants a military parade. We've been down this road before, in this last attempt at governing this country. 

While he's insinuating that girls get only 3 dolls instead of 30 is a slap in the face to anyone who has donated to a toy drive. While incomes decline, and tariffs kick in, toys will be in short supply for Christmas thanks to those tariffs. As prices will increase and basic needs become unattainable for many, he wants to spend millions for a penis parade to glorify himself. That'll boost kiddie morale, right? His birthday happens to fall on Flag Day, so he's thinking that's when it's gonna happen. 

When asked about it, the Defense Department estimated a cost of $45 million with the military coving of the costs at a time when their training budgets are being cut. Kristin Wenker asked him about it, and that answer is mind blowing:

WELKER: What’s the price tag? Do you know? 

PRESIDENT: Peanuts compared to the value of doing it. We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it. 

Programs to feed the hungry are being cut. Relief for storm-ravaged southern states like Arkansas is being denied. Veterans health care availability is being slashed....and he this spending millions on a penis parade has value. But that's because he thinks he runs the world. As he told The Atlantic in an interview with Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, published April 28th:

The first time, I had two things to do ‒ run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys. And the second time, I run the country and the world.”

Sure. I'm also sure Tears For Fears is thrilled. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch...

There was a children's story about the Fisherman and his Wife. When her husband caught a magic fish, she asked for a nice cottage, then a mansion, then a castle, then a kingdom, and then...she asked to be Pope. She ended up back in her hovel by the sea. 

Maybe there's hope for these here United States. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

The past week, we lost a woman whose voice was heard by thousands.

Judith Altmann, 100,  was a Holocaust survivor. 

Her refusal to be silent about her experiences changed lives. 

Please listen to her testimony
Witness: Judith Altmann

May her memory forever be for a blessing.