Comment by nothrabannosir

Comment by nothrabannosir 10 hours ago

4 replies

View on Hacker News

> is there a single thing “President” cannot do right now

Stand in the middle of fifth Avenue and shoot someone :)

Have political enemies executed

Get his face on Mount Rushmore

Disband congress

Disband the Supreme Court

Keep Jimmy Kimmel off air

Get Jon Stuart to shut up

Get James comey indicted

Get a national holiday named after him

Etc.

Even when we focus on things he tried to do, there is a lot he couldn’t. Let alone when you look at things he didn’t try to do.

bdangubic 10 hours ago

we are 11 months in, please be patient while the process is taking place, be right with you with your list :)

lots of these are of course also just a distraction to discuss at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner vs you know, other things

Reply View 1 reply
  • nothrabannosir 10 hours ago

    You said "right now". If you want to change to "will be able to do in the near future, before the end of his second term", that's a (slightly?) different list. But it's also a different comment.

    You said "anything", in the context of dictatorship. I only used items in this list which IMO you can reasonably say Putin, an actual dictator, can do. Right now. Except the first one! Because that was a joke, a reference to something he himself said he could do.

    If you want to change to "anything which has backroom deal importance, not just bread and games for the masses, but the real things, if you know you know", that's a (slightly) different list.

    But, it's also a different comment.

    Reply View 0 replies
exasperaited 3 hours ago

He has functionally neutered Congress. It is almost completely meaningless and it is operating without an independent Speaker.

I think he could succeed in principle re: Mount Rushmore, to be honest. I think eventually people will cave in and agree to do it, and then they will just pray to cholesterol that they can wait it out.

Reply View 0 replies