General Politics the second: But what is politics?

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Yeah it sucks. There was a large protest tonight near the parliament after they used the 49-3 article, and the protests will keep on happening (big one on the 23rd).
The 49-3 is one of the many parts of our constitution put in place after the 4th republic proved too erratic to govern. The people who wrote the new constitution decided to make parliament strong except when the executive wants to limit its power. It's being overused quite a lot these days...
 
the power of the French president to simply impose whatever he wants seems to speak to (or should I say, "acknowledge") one inherent weakness of parliamentary democracies: there are just too many parties.
As I understand it parliamentary democracies are ones like the UK, where the one with the most seats in parliament forms the government. That is opposed to presidential democracies like France and the US where there is a directly elected president. I am not sure this makes much sense from with those definitions.
 
The French system is semi-presidential, not presidential or parliamentary. It is fairly similar to a presidential system like the US when the president's party firmly controls the legislature, but if it's split control the presdiency becomes much weaker, because unlike in a full presidential system the cabinet still requires confirmation and support from the legislature, and split control means the president is forced to work with a much less compliant parliament that has its own agenda. The elections this year left a situation like this, as Macron lost his absolute majority. The prime minister is still from his party and is leading a minority government type situation. That's as opposed to it being a case of full "cohabitation", which is a PM being from an opposition party and effectively setting a legislative agenda at odds with the president.

What's currently happening is, to my understanding, akin to a no-confidence motion but based on constructive legislation rather than a vote of confidence in the executive per se. Macron is essentially daring the legislature to oppose the measure and force an election, as the recourse against the president taking this action. It's something that's essentially happening because of the weakness of the current Macron presidency compared to most of the previous 20 years. It's a bit of an all or nothing gambit.
 
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Varoufakis was physically assaulted, recently (broken nose, but is recovering).
It's impressive that he persists, in such a rotten system. I am thinking of voting for him, out of respect. If not, I won't vote at all, but I am gravitating towards going to vote and choosing him.
The problem is always the same, of course= one vote is generally no votes and so it makes no difference. Still, it's worth it as a symbolic move.
 
somebody apparently have shot down two seperatist helicopters in Northern Iraq . New Turkey would love to , but currently busy blaming Americans doing it .
 

A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election​

A prominent Texas politician said he unwittingly took part in a 1980 tour of the Middle East with a clandestine agenda
  • March 18, 2023
WASHINGTON — It has been more than four decades, but Ben Barnes said he remembers it vividly. His longtime political mentor invited him on a mission to the Middle East. What Mr. Barnes said he did not realize until later was the real purpose of the mission: to sabotage the re-election campaign of the president of the United States.

It was 1980 and Jimmy Carter was in the White House, bedeviled by a hostage crisis in Iran that had paralyzed his presidency and hampered his effort to win a second term. Mr. Carter’s best chance for victory was to free the 52 Americans held captive before Election Day. That was something that Mr. Barnes said his mentor was determined to prevent.

His mentor was John B. Connally Jr., a titan of American politics and former Texas governor who had served three presidents and just lost his own bid for the White House. A former Democrat, Mr. Connally had sought the Republican nomination in 1980 only to be swamped by former Gov. Ronald Reagan of California. Now Mr. Connally resolved to help Mr. Reagan beat Mr. Carter and in the process, Mr. Barnes said, make his own case for becoming secretary of state or defense in a new administration. The hostage crisis in Iran hampered Mr. Carter’s effort to win a second term.

What happened next Mr. Barnes has largely kept secret for nearly 43 years. Mr. Connally, he said, took him to one Middle Eastern capital after another that summer, meeting with a host of regional leaders to deliver a blunt message to be passed to Iran: Don’t release the hostages before the election. Mr. Reagan will win and give you a better deal.


 

A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election​

A prominent Texas politician said he unwittingly took part in a 1980 tour of the Middle East with a clandestine agenda
  • March 18, 2023
WASHINGTON — It has been more than four decades, but Ben Barnes said he remembers it vividly. His longtime political mentor invited him on a mission to the Middle East. What Mr. Barnes said he did not realize until later was the real purpose of the mission: to sabotage the re-election campaign of the president of the United States.

It was 1980 and Jimmy Carter was in the White House, bedeviled by a hostage crisis in Iran that had paralyzed his presidency and hampered his effort to win a second term. Mr. Carter’s best chance for victory was to free the 52 Americans held captive before Election Day. That was something that Mr. Barnes said his mentor was determined to prevent.

His mentor was John B. Connally Jr., a titan of American politics and former Texas governor who had served three presidents and just lost his own bid for the White House. A former Democrat, Mr. Connally had sought the Republican nomination in 1980 only to be swamped by former Gov. Ronald Reagan of California. Now Mr. Connally resolved to help Mr. Reagan beat Mr. Carter and in the process, Mr. Barnes said, make his own case for becoming secretary of state or defense in a new administration. The hostage crisis in Iran hampered Mr. Carter’s effort to win a second term.

What happened next Mr. Barnes has largely kept secret for nearly 43 years. Mr. Connally, he said, took him to one Middle Eastern capital after another that summer, meeting with a host of regional leaders to deliver a blunt message to be passed to Iran: Don’t release the hostages before the election. Mr. Reagan will win and give you a better deal.


Casual treason

(Btw any time anyone says there are good, non-trumpy republicans, remember this)
 
Things aren't going well in France.

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Likely their restrictions and police attacks on protesters are still a bit better than what is going on here with the beyond pitiful prime minister, but that's nothing to be proud of.

I suppose the french policeman with the nice army gun could have taken part in the nato exercises too :p
 

A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election​

A prominent Texas politician said he unwittingly took part in a 1980 tour of the Middle East with a clandestine agenda
  • March 18, 2023
WASHINGTON — It has been more than four decades, but Ben Barnes said he remembers it vividly. His longtime political mentor invited him on a mission to the Middle East. What Mr. Barnes said he did not realize until later was the real purpose of the mission: to sabotage the re-election campaign of the president of the United States.

It was 1980 and Jimmy Carter was in the White House, bedeviled by a hostage crisis in Iran that had paralyzed his presidency and hampered his effort to win a second term. Mr. Carter’s best chance for victory was to free the 52 Americans held captive before Election Day. That was something that Mr. Barnes said his mentor was determined to prevent.

His mentor was John B. Connally Jr., a titan of American politics and former Texas governor who had served three presidents and just lost his own bid for the White House. A former Democrat, Mr. Connally had sought the Republican nomination in 1980 only to be swamped by former Gov. Ronald Reagan of California. Now Mr. Connally resolved to help Mr. Reagan beat Mr. Carter and in the process, Mr. Barnes said, make his own case for becoming secretary of state or defense in a new administration. The hostage crisis in Iran hampered Mr. Carter’s effort to win a second term.

What happened next Mr. Barnes has largely kept secret for nearly 43 years. Mr. Connally, he said, took him to one Middle Eastern capital after another that summer, meeting with a host of regional leaders to deliver a blunt message to be passed to Iran: Don’t release the hostages before the election. Mr. Reagan will win and give you a better deal.



I'm glad Mr. Barnes set the record straight on the betrayal.
Should have said something earlier.
 
Trump's arrest this coming week is like a hurricane making landfall.

Various secret service branches and local police are furiously coordinating to get him safely to where he will need to go.


Now it won't be as spectacular as 95 million people watching OJ fleeing the cops in a Bronco and holding a gun to his head, but it should be in the top 10 all time I think.
 
Now it won't be as spectacular as 95 million people watching OJ fleeing the cops in a Bronco and holding a gun to his head, but it should be in the top 10 all time I think.
We can hope - excellent imagery. I look forward to Trump being driven by Bannon in a white Ford Bronco in a slow-speed chase!
 
Florida considers ban on discussion of menstruation before sixth grade

Florida lawmakers are considering a draft law to strengthen state control over sex education that its sponsor says would ban any instruction in schools about menstrual cycles before the sixth grade.

The latest proposal, from Republican Stan McClain, would allow instruction in “acquired immune deficiency syndrome, sexually transmitted diseases, or health education” only in grades six through 12, generally meaning for children aged 12 to 18.

McClain confirmed at a recent committee meeting that discussions about menstrual cycles would also be restricted to those grades.

Just FYI, here is the distribution of ages of menarche, 40% are below 12. It would be illegal for these children to talk about what was happening to them.

 
PERP WALK PERP WALK
I think that's unlikely. If he does actually "get arrested" which, at this point we have only Trump's pre-emptive claim that he will... which... whatevs... rather than an "arrest" in the traditional sense we imagine, what seems more likely is a negotiated process whereby he voluntarily turns himself in and is subjected to a brief, basically ceremonial booking, and then promptly released "on bail" at a time of his choosing.

There would be a possible sequence where he appears in public, makes a short speech about how its all a witch hunt etc., and encourages his supporters to protest, either before and/or after he goes to the police department. The whole thing would be choreographed by Trump to make himself look as grandiose as possible.

I'm thinking no handcuffs or police escort, just him being driven to a law enforcement office in his limo or helicopter, going into the police office, and coming back out a few minutes later and departing, either by limo or helicopter. Again, that's if he is even charged in the first place, which hasn't happened yet, and then if they actually issue a warrant for his arrest.
 
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Fair enough, but have you considered:

PERP WALK PERP WALK
 
But even in the scenario you sketch, Sommer (which I think likely), there should at least be a mug shot. Nobody avoids those I don't think, and they're routinely made public.

And that will be satisfying.
 
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