Trump said he had called Ulbricht's mother to let her know he had granted her son a full pardon.
www.bbc.com
Why is this a big thing?
Ubricht was convicted in 2015 for founding the "Dark Web", where 200 million $ of drugs, illegal guns, traficked humans and illicit services (e.g. murders for hire) were traded anonymously, with Bitcoin as payment medium. He was sentenced to two lifetimes and 40 years.
So if somebody claims to be "against Fentanyl", why do they pardon the person who is responsible for the biggest fentanyl deals in history?
What reasons did Dump give?
He said "it had been his pleasure" to issue an unconditional pardon for Ulbricht, because the Libertarian movement had helped him so much to become president, and that the people who had convicted Ulbricht had also been mean to him.
That is definitely one of the most scandalous pardons in the history of the United States.
Trump said he had called Ulbricht's mother to let her know he had granted her son a full pardon.
www.bbc.com
Why is this a big thing?
Ubricht was convicted in 2015 for founding the "Dark Web", where 200 million $ of drugs, illegal guns, traficked humans and illicit services (e.g. murders for hire) were traded anonymously, with Bitcoin as payment medium. He was sentenced to two lifetimes and 40 years.
So if somebody claims to be "against Fentanyl", why do they pardon the person who is responsible for the biggest fentanyl deals in history?
What reasons did Dump give?
He said "it had been his pleasure" to issue an unconditional pardon for Ulbricht, because the Libertarian movement had helped him so much to become president, and that the people who had convicted Ulbricht had also been mean to him.
That is definitely one of the most scandalous pardons in the history of the United States.
Trump said he had called Ulbricht's mother to let her know he had granted her son a full pardon.
www.bbc.com
Why is this a big thing?
Ubricht was convicted in 2015 for founding the "Dark Web", where 200 million $ of drugs, illegal guns, traficked humans and illicit services (e.g. murders for hire) were traded anonymously, with Bitcoin as payment medium. He was sentenced to two lifetimes and 40 years.
So if somebody claims to be "against Fentanyl", why do they pardon the person who is responsible for the biggest fentanyl deals in history?
What reasons did Dump give?
He said "it had been his pleasure" to issue an unconditional pardon for Ulbricht, because the Libertarian movement had helped him so much to become president, and that the people who had convicted Ulbricht had also been mean to him.
That is definitely one of the most scandalous pardons in the history of the United States.
Ulbricht did not found the Dark Web, and that's not what he was convicted for. He was also not convicted for trafficking or murders for hire. I believe his site, Silk Road, forbid items/services that would be specifically harmful to children. However, according to the US attorney's office, southern district of NY, this is what he actually was convicted of:
ULBRICHT, 31, of San Francisco, California, was convicted of seven offenses after a four-week jury trial: distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the Internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering.
These are very serious crimes for which he was rightfully sentenced to a long prison sentence. That said, it sounds as if the judge wanted to make an example out of him to deter copy cats. Two life sentences and an additional 40 years sounds like overkill to me. In Europe you generally do not get sentenced to anything beyond 21 years, unless you're deemed to pose a threat to society, e.g. people who are violent due to mental illness.
I agree with you that the punishment was especially und disproportionately harsh, but for a « Party of Law and Order » standing up against « the horrible Fentanyl epidemic » and using it as a pretext to deport millions of people, the argument « his party helped so well in getting me elected » should not really fly.
Another major step towards full on fascism happened just this weekend when Mahmoud Khalil, who has a green card, was detained by Immigration agents and sent to a detention facility, now awaiting deportation proceedings. He's not charged with a crime. He was detained for peacefully and non-violently expressing political opinions that the Trump regime doesn't like - pro-Palestinian views - as one of the leaders of the protests at Columbia University last year.
Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University, has been a prominent figure in the university's pro-Palestinian protest movement. He was detained at his Columbia apartment building in Manhattan on Saturday evening.
Since the Democrats running their party continued to move right along with the magats, preferring to promote the republicans and condem their leftist base. Since the neo-libs have lost their spine and civil duty in favor of appeasing the Republican party
Just because their are a handful of republicans who oppose this administration doesn't mean they're on the Democrats side.
We need more AOC, Bernie, Warren, Omar, Jaypal.........and probably Luigi too
In one of history’s little-known ironies, the Maple Leaf country pushing back against Donald Trump’s annexation bid is also host to a tiny, remote restaurant and brothel that helped launch the U.S. president’s family fortune more than 100 years ago.
He is STILL going on about Canada becoming a state. What does he not get? It's so frustrating when he doubles down on things that don't go his way -- and thus continues messing with people's lives, all over the world and not just in the U.S.
@Emma JC That article about Donald Trump's close ancestors is informative. But a quote from that article touches on a pet peeve of mine:
The elder Trump, a German immigrant, cooked and served food inside the Arctic to Americans and Canadians heading to goldfields in the Yukon. He made enough cash to sow the seeds for the future Trump empire.
I do love the United States, although I recognize its flaws and work on correcting them... but it bugs me that the term "American" is generally used to refer only to United States citizens. The U.S. is in North America- but so are the nations of Canada and Mexico... so shouldn't they also be considered "Americans"? (although they possibly might not want to be considered such...). Also: I'm inclined to think that, since the British Isles nations are considered to be part of Europe, then shouldn't the many island nations in the Caribbean also be considered part of North America, and also be considered Americans (again acknowledging my comments in parentheses in the previous sentence)?
I think I'll stop with that, and not get into Central and South American nations being considered part of America. ("Central" or "South" America.)
I do love the United States, although I recognize its flaws and work on correcting them... but it bugs me that the term "American" is generally used to refer only to United States citizens. The U.S. is in North America- but so are the nations of Canada and Mexico... so shouldn't they also be considered "Americans"? (although they possibly might not want to be considered such...). Also: I'm inclined to think that, since the British Isles nations are considered to be part of Europe, then shouldn't the many island nations in the Caribbean also be considered part of North America, and also be considered Americans (again acknowledging my comments in parentheses in the previous sentence)?
I think I'll stop with that, and not get into Central and South American nations being considered part of America. ("Central" or "South" America.)
I don't disagree with your peeve, however, speaking as a Canadian we are quite happy to be differentiated from US citizens by the word (no disrespect to my American friends here, just the political ones). When we travel we definitely wear our Canadian flags on backpacks etc so that no one mistakes us for our southern neighbours.
The party’s split over supporting a spending extension to avert a lapse in government funding boiled down to a practical question of how much power the president has in a shutdown.
www.nytimes.com
Bi-partisanship? That can only be a joke at this moment, honestly…
« Precedent » also seems strange in a completely unprecedented situation.
The party’s split over supporting a spending extension to avert a lapse in government funding boiled down to a practical question of how much power the president has in a shutdown.
www.nytimes.com
Bi-partisanship? That can only be a joke at this moment, honestly…
« Precedent » also seems strange in a completely unprecedented situation.
I need to listen to Heather Cox Richardsons take on this again, I haven't been able to focus on anything but work lately. I believe she had arguments for both ways
I'm quite skeptical about how much this alliance was needed based on those voting for
Long-ish post from Facebook:
Trump’s Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Is a Dress Rehearsal for Dictatorship
By Tony Pentimalli
Donald Trump just crossed a line that should terrify every American. By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants, he isn’t just attacking immigrants—he’s testing how far he can expand his power before anyone stops him.
This law was written for a very specific purpose: to allow the president to detain and deport non-citizens from enemy nations during a time of declared war. The United States is not at war with Venezuela. There is no invading army. But that didn’t stop Trump from inventing an invasion, branding the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) as an “irregular military force” engaged in warfare against the United States.
This isn’t about crime. It’s about precedent. Trump is laying the legal groundwork to label anyone he wants as an ‘enemy’ and strip them of their rights. Today, it’s Venezuelan migrants. Tomorrow, it could be immigrants, political opponents, journalists, or anyone who stands in his way.
If this move stands, Trump will have successfully rewritten American law to grant himself war powers without an actual war—and that should send chills down every spine in this country.
A Dictator’s Playbook in Action:
The MAGA movement is not about policy or even ideology. It is about power—and Trump just showed how he intends to wield it.
His attempt to use wartime powers during peacetime is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. It follows a pattern that history has shown us time and time again:
In Nazi Germany, the Reichstag Fire Decree was used to label political opponents as “enemies of the state” and suspend civil liberties.
In Chile, Pinochet used “internal enemies” as justification for mass arrests, disappearances, and a military dictatorship.
In the U.S., Japanese Americans were declared a security risk during World War II and forcibly imprisoned in internment camps.
Each of these regimes started by expanding emergency powers against a targeted group, conditioning the public to accept growing government control. Trump is following that exact playbook.
And it’s not just theory—his campaign has already outlined plans to invoke the Insurrection Act on day one, use mass deportations as a loyalty test for ICE and the military, and purge the federal government of opposition.
This is not about enforcing the law. It’s about rewriting it to justify authoritarian rule.
Ignoring the Courts, Gutting the Constitution
Trump’s power grab was immediately blocked by a federal judge. Civil rights groups challenged it, correctly arguing that he has no legal authority to invoke the Alien Enemies Act against migrants.
But here’s the real danger: Trump ignored the ruling. His administration still deported people under this illegal directive, flying Venezuelan detainees to El Salvador in direct defiance of a court order.
This is how fascists operate. They break the law first and dare the courts to stop them later.
If he can ignore the courts now, what happens when he refuses to accept a Supreme Court ruling against him? What happens when he orders deportations, mass arrests, or state-level takeovers, and simply declares the judiciary illegitimate when they push back?
This is a test. And if he gets away with it, the floodgates are open.
The Republican Party’s Silence Is Proof of Their Complicity
Predictably, not a single Republican has condemned this unprecedented abuse of power. Instead, they’re celebrating it.
That’s because this isn’t just about Venezuelans—it’s a trial run for mass deportations and mass detentions on a much larger scale.
It’s part of a bigger plan:
Expanding Trump’s ability to rule by executive order
Normalizing the use of wartime powers against civilians
Testing how much institutional resistance he actually faces
The modern GOP has stopped pretending to care about democracy.
They are fully on board with authoritarian rule—as long as it keeps them in power.
The Slippery Slope We Can’t Ignore
Trump has made his intentions clear. He will:
Use emergency powers to bypass Congress
Use executive orders to override court decisions
Use federal agencies to crush political opposition
Use the military and ICE as tools of enforcement:
His former officials have openly fantasized about mass deportations, with some even discussing “camps” for millions of people.
This isn’t paranoia—it’s public record.
If this move isn’t stopped immediately, what stops him from:
Declaring climate activists or Black Lives Matter protestors “domestic threats”?
Rounding up journalists and independent media under a national security pretext?
Using ICE and federal law enforcement to target political enemies?
Because that’s the next logical step in this process. History proves it.
What Can Be Done?
This is not a theoretical debate. Trump is testing the boundaries of American democracy in real time.
Here’s what needs to happen:
Congress must pass legislation explicitly restricting presidential war powers—not just for Trump, but for all future presidents.
Federal courts must act decisively—and enforce consequences for ignoring rulings.
Every Democratic governor must be prepared to resist federal overreach.
The public must mobilize, organize, and demand accountability—because waiting for the courts isn’t enough.
This is no longer about policy differences or standard political disputes. This is about whether we allow a single man to dictate who is an "enemy" and who has rights.
Trump has made his move. If we don’t shut this down now, we may never get another chance.
@Andy_T To a large extent, I have to agree: South and Central Americans, even when they are here illegally, can't rightly be compared to an invading army- or to Nazi or Communist spies. But border security is not a trivial issue. Can you really even have a country without a border?
Long-ish post from Facebook:
Trump’s Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Is a Dress Rehearsal for Dictatorship
By Tony Pentimalli
Donald Trump just crossed a line that should terrify every American. By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants, he isn’t just attacking immigrants—he’s testing how far he can expand his power before anyone stops him.
This law was written for a very specific purpose: to allow the president to detain and deport non-citizens from enemy nations during a time of declared war. The United States is not at war with Venezuela. There is no invading army. But that didn’t stop Trump from inventing an invasion, branding the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) as an “irregular military force” engaged in warfare against the United States.
This isn’t about crime. It’s about precedent. Trump is laying the legal groundwork to label anyone he wants as an ‘enemy’ and strip them of their rights. Today, it’s Venezuelan migrants. Tomorrow, it could be immigrants, political opponents, journalists, or anyone who stands in his way.
If this move stands, Trump will have successfully rewritten American law to grant himself war powers without an actual war—and that should send chills down every spine in this country.
A Dictator’s Playbook in Action:
The MAGA movement is not about policy or even ideology. It is about power—and Trump just showed how he intends to wield it.
His attempt to use wartime powers during peacetime is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. It follows a pattern that history has shown us time and time again:
In Nazi Germany, the Reichstag Fire Decree was used to label political opponents as “enemies of the state” and suspend civil liberties.
In Chile, Pinochet used “internal enemies” as justification for mass arrests, disappearances, and a military dictatorship.
In the U.S., Japanese Americans were declared a security risk during World War II and forcibly imprisoned in internment camps.
Each of these regimes started by expanding emergency powers against a targeted group, conditioning the public to accept growing government control. Trump is following that exact playbook.
And it’s not just theory—his campaign has already outlined plans to invoke the Insurrection Act on day one, use mass deportations as a loyalty test for ICE and the military, and purge the federal government of opposition.
This is not about enforcing the law. It’s about rewriting it to justify authoritarian rule.
Ignoring the Courts, Gutting the Constitution
Trump’s power grab was immediately blocked by a federal judge. Civil rights groups challenged it, correctly arguing that he has no legal authority to invoke the Alien Enemies Act against migrants.
But here’s the real danger: Trump ignored the ruling. His administration still deported people under this illegal directive, flying Venezuelan detainees to El Salvador in direct defiance of a court order.
This is how fascists operate. They break the law first and dare the courts to stop them later.
If he can ignore the courts now, what happens when he refuses to accept a Supreme Court ruling against him? What happens when he orders deportations, mass arrests, or state-level takeovers, and simply declares the judiciary illegitimate when they push back?
This is a test. And if he gets away with it, the floodgates are open.
The Republican Party’s Silence Is Proof of Their Complicity
Predictably, not a single Republican has condemned this unprecedented abuse of power. Instead, they’re celebrating it.
That’s because this isn’t just about Venezuelans—it’s a trial run for mass deportations and mass detentions on a much larger scale.
It’s part of a bigger plan:
Expanding Trump’s ability to rule by executive order
Normalizing the use of wartime powers against civilians
Testing how much institutional resistance he actually faces
The modern GOP has stopped pretending to care about democracy.
They are fully on board with authoritarian rule—as long as it keeps them in power.
The Slippery Slope We Can’t Ignore
Trump has made his intentions clear. He will:
Use emergency powers to bypass Congress
Use executive orders to override court decisions
Use federal agencies to crush political opposition
Use the military and ICE as tools of enforcement:
His former officials have openly fantasized about mass deportations, with some even discussing “camps” for millions of people.
This isn’t paranoia—it’s public record.
If this move isn’t stopped immediately, what stops him from:
Declaring climate activists or Black Lives Matter protestors “domestic threats”?
Rounding up journalists and independent media under a national security pretext?
Using ICE and federal law enforcement to target political enemies?
Because that’s the next logical step in this process. History proves it.
What Can Be Done?
This is not a theoretical debate. Trump is testing the boundaries of American democracy in real time.
Here’s what needs to happen:
Congress must pass legislation explicitly restricting presidential war powers—not just for Trump, but for all future presidents.
Federal courts must act decisively—and enforce consequences for ignoring rulings.
Every Democratic governor must be prepared to resist federal overreach.
The public must mobilize, organize, and demand accountability—because waiting for the courts isn’t enough.
This is no longer about policy differences or standard political disputes. This is about whether we allow a single man to dictate who is an "enemy" and who has rights.
Trump has made his move. If we don’t shut this down now, we may never get another chance.
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