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[Rolan7]

Particularly if we're talking about presidential candidates and trying to maximize positive reform.
Like I told my brother recently...  Sanders would have made a great enlightened dictator, at least for a 4 year term or two.  But in reality we have to elect a leader who will work along with congress to enact positive change.  A pragmatist.

Actually maybe I complain too much about the electoral college and power of the president.  The composition of Congress has always been far more important than our president.  Though nowadays we're seeing a lot of power being grabbed by the executive branch...  I think that's a bad sign, and a bad thing.  That's not what the office was supposed to be.

[Frumple]

There isn't very much room to the left of Clinton, politically.

Well aware. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like it, though.

Also gods no, sanders would have been a terrifying prospect for an enlightened dictator even before all the shit that happened in the last handful of months. He's good on some subjects but other stuff I wouldn't want him close enough to touch with a ten foot pole.

... also fairly sure the executive branch hasn't actually expanded its powers much nowadays. Probably gets more attention these days because congress... is... but the exercise of power and whatnot (via executive orders, ferex) have either been largely steady or trending down, last I checked. Most of the major expansions happened a good ways back.

[Max™]

There isn't very much room to the left of Clinton, politically.

Well, electably no, there isn't, actually yeah there is a huge gulf of crazies and nutjobs over here to the left of even Sanders. Chasing after our votes isn't good though, gotta get dem centrists!

If people broke into more and more varied buildings, human trafficking might be lessened. Overpopulation may be lessened by eating Irish infants.

Mmm, delicious babies, and since they're more likely to be ginger, you don't have to worry about them ever getting a soul (you don't get a soul until you're like a year and a half old) so no guilt whatsoever!

You just need to make longer points.  Then your original post about the placebo can be diluted.  In fact make entirely new posts that dont mention the placebo angle at all.  That way they will have the memory of the placebo and be as strong as possible.

They need to quote the post and remove half of the letters repeatedly, and keep doing this dozens of times after there are no letters left.

It doesn't help when that shit can wind up near actual medication. The missus had a sty and her mom went to get the same goop she got for me but couldn't see the usual package so she grabbed a similar looking one from the same shelf and brought it back to us, when I saw the bottle I thought it looked weird and then I noticed small letters: _Homeopathic across part of the box.

...

[mainiac]

... also fairly sure the executive branch hasn't actually expanded its powers much nowadays.

Congressional inaction strengthens the executive branch by default.  If congress wants to limit carbon emissions they can.  If congress wants to stop limits on carbon emissions they can.  But if congress is too divided to do either of these things, the white house lawyers have plenty of time to finding ways to act that are within the existing decades old laws.  Congress can always take this power back at any time by just updating the law but until congress does, the executive branch has more power at it's discretion.  And as Clinton fills the benches the president will probably have the courts strike down fewer of their legal kludges.

[Frumple]

Eh... true enough, but I'm relatively certain that's not what most of the discussion of expanding executive power revolves around >_>

[BorkBorkGoesTheCode]

If people broke into more and more varied buildings, human trafficking might be lessened. Overpopulation may be lessened by eating Irish infants.

Mmm, delicious babies, and since they're more likely to be ginger, you don't have to worry about them ever getting a soul (you don't get a soul until you're like a year and a half old) so no guilt whatsoever!

In case the reader hasn't read the book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal

[Rolan7]

Bush II and Obama both expanded executive authority to a worrying extend.  Shit's nonpartisan, just foreboding.

[Max™]

If people broke into more and more varied buildings, human trafficking might be lessened. Overpopulation may be lessened by eating Irish infants.

Mmm, delicious babies, and since they're more likely to be ginger, you don't have to worry about them ever getting a soul (you don't get a soul until you're like a year and a half old) so no guilt whatsoever!

In case the reader hasn't read the book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal

I haven't read it but did know what you were referencing, due to my babyeating position.

[misko27]

Eh... true enough, but I'm relatively certain that's not what most of the discussion of expanding executive power revolves around >_>

Then that is the only part of it worth discussing.

There is a system of checks and balances. When one branch is ineffective, the other branches pick up the slack. Remember when the Voting Rights Act was struck down partially? Congress could have fixed that in a single year. Remember both Obamacare decisions? They both got to the top purely because the wording was vague and Congress wasn't in the mood to clarify.

It impresses me: the degree to which Congress has abdicated power. Ordinarily, that is the one thing that unites the chamber, but now nothing really does. The Supreme Court analyzes interpretations of laws that Congress could clarify easily: either to allow the President such power (such as to regulate Coal Mining under the Clean Air Act as Obama has) or to curtail it by stepping on those interpretations. Now they do neither, so the Supreme Court's naturally grows to cover more territory: less "constitutional" and more "legal".

Consider, instead, Presidential Power to wage war. If Congress believed Obama was in violation of his rights or doing something and/or involved somewhere in a way he should not be, they could state so and take action. If they believed he was in the right regarding his current actions, they could pass an authorization. Instead, they do nothing, and by doing so weaken their ability to check the President in the future.

This is not an agreeable state-of-affairs.

[BorkBorkGoesTheCode]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Rome 

[Rolan7]

@misko27
Yeah.
America hasn't declared war since WW2.
All the wars since then - which weren't technically wars, but they really were- were defying a incredibly simple and clear role of our Congress.

I believe in big government, but I also believe in a strong congress that accurately represents the people.
Not this... farce of a popularity contest, defiled by the two-party system.  And it is a TWO party system, de facto.
And the winner should not be our dictator, merely an executor of the will of Congress.  IE the will of our states, and thereby the will of us voters.

[Reelya]

There isn't very much room to the left of Clinton, politically.

Well aware. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like it, though.

Also gods no, sanders would have been a terrifying prospect for an enlightened dictator even before all the shit that happened in the last handful of months. He's good on some subjects but other stuff I wouldn't want him close enough to touch with a ten foot pole.

... also fairly sure the executive branch hasn't actually expanded its powers much nowadays. Probably gets more attention these days because congress... is... but the exercise of power and whatnot (via executive orders, ferex) have either been largely steady or trending down, last I checked. Most of the major expansions happened a good ways back.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/every-presidents-executive-actions-in-one-chart/\
In fact, just like how Obama's spending increases were actually the slowest since Eisenhower, Obama has the lowest number of executive orders per year of any president since Grover Cleveland (1893 – 1897). So much for the theory that Obama is acting like an emperor who's spending us to oblivion.

[Loud Whispers]

I mean, pretty much here.  Not 100%, but it used to be pretty extreme...
And they're pretty good points, though I blame Sanders supporters more than Sanders himself.  Like Trump, I think the loudest supporters are completely out of hand.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I can't believe I missed an opportunity to make a joke on feeling the bern, but honestly that's a bit overplayed last year ago so eh

Polls in: Clinton 2% lead
Polls have failed in my eyes consistently past 10 years but maybe for murrica they won't be such bullshit

[Strife26]

There isn't very much room to the left of Clinton, politically.

Well aware. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like it, though.

Also gods no, sanders would have been a terrifying prospect for an enlightened dictator even before all the shit that happened in the last handful of months. He's good on some subjects but other stuff I wouldn't want him close enough to touch with a ten foot pole.

... also fairly sure the executive branch hasn't actually expanded its powers much nowadays. Probably gets more attention these days because congress... is... but the exercise of power and whatnot (via executive orders, ferex) have either been largely steady or trending down, last I checked. Most of the major expansions happened a good ways back.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/every-presidents-executive-actions-in-one-chart/\
In fact, just like how Obama's spending increases were actually the slowest since Eisenhower, Obama has the lowest number of executive orders per year of any president since Grover Cleveland (1893 – 1897). So much for the theory that Obama is acting like an emperor who's spending us to oblivion.

That's not particularly useful information. An "executive order" isn't a good unit to actually look at what those executive orders are doing and especially what they're doing on the edges of traditional and constitutional presidential powers.

[mainiac]

America hasn't declared war since WW2.

Yes but in every military action Congress has given a clear authorization.  It's declaring war just not in so many words.