Showing posts with label checks and balances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label checks and balances. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

No Two Kings the Same: Charles III and Donald Dumpling II

 

 

No Two Kings the Same:

Charles III and Donald Dumpling II

 

AS APRIL FADES into history, we should take note of a recent uproar, fueled by angry dopes on X. These dopes demand to know how Democrats in Congress could stand and applaud Charles III during his recent address, when those same Democrats, and people like me, use the phrase, “No Kings,” in protest.

I doubt anyone has ever said, “I go to X to get the latest carefully crafted analysis,” on any topic, but holy shit. 

If one were to read what the real King of Great Britain said, you would understand why people on our side applauded. 

But that would require reading, and “influencers” on X don’t go in much for reading (or introspection).


Charles III addresses Congress.


"No Kings" protesters. Donald Trump deals in hate.

 

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POLICY-WISE, here are Charles’ main points (in bold) that those of us left of center can applaud.   

(Interpretation for the MAGA faithful is added in orange, as needed.) 

(King Charles III and Donald Dumpling II are not the same.) 

(Orange being The Dumpling’s favorite skin toner color.)

 

On the Founding Fathers, for example, Charles had this to say: 

They carried with them, and carried forward, the great inheritance of the British Enlightenment – as well as the ideals which had an even deeper history in English common law and Magna Carta.

 

These roots run deep, and they are still vital. Our Declaration of Rights of 1689 was not only the foundation of our constitutional monarchy, but also provided the source of so many of the principles reiterated, often verbatim, in the American Bill of Rights of 1791.

 

And those roots go even further back in our history: the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases since 1789, not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances. 

No American, now or in the future, will ever be well-served if one man or woman grasps too much power in his or her hands. Note that Charles specifically mentions the need to check and balance executive power. 

He’s talking about Donald …


A reference to the Magna Carta is a reminder to check the power of any king.

Got it?
 

 

What animates our great nation? Charles mused: 

Distinguished members of the 119th Congress, it is here in these very halls that this spirit of liberty and the promise of America’s founders is present in every session and every vote cast.

 

Not by the will of one, but by the deliberation of many, representing the living mosaic of the United States. In both of our countries, it is the very fact of our vibrant, diverse and free societies that gives us our collective strength, including to support victims of some of the ills that, so tragically, exist in both our societies today. 

We’re not ruled by a king. He’s still talking about Donald Dumpling II. 

 

On faith, he points out that while Christianity is his rock, he also believes in building a broad understanding: 

Through it I am inspired by the profound respect that develops as people of different faiths grow in their understanding of each other. It is why it is my hope – my prayer – that, in these turbulent times, working together and with our international partners, we can stem the beating of plowshares into swords.

 

I am mindful that we are still in the season of Easter, the season [as a Christian] that most strengthens my hope. It is why I believe, with all my heart, that the essence of our two nations is a generosity of spirit and a duty to foster compassion, to promote peace, to deepen mutual understanding and to value all people, of all faiths, and of none. 

For lawmakers like Rep. Andy Ogles and Rep. Randy Fine, who love to hate on Muslims, it must have been painful to listen to Charles. King Dumpling, of course, has preferred to call Somali immigrants “garbage,” and has said he doesn’t want any more immigrants from places where, frankly, they’d be non-white.

Compassion, promoting peace – we have a fool in the White House talking about “ending a civilization” in Iran. 

We who speak out and say, “No Kings,” find almost no overlap in the words Charles III uttered, and the words of hate that so regularly spill from Donald Trump’s mouth. 

 

The king of Great Britain continued: 

The alliance that our two nations have built over the centuries, and for which we are profoundly grateful to the American people, is truly unique. And that alliance is part of what Henry Kissinger described as Kennedy’s ‘soaring vision’ of an Atlantic partnership based on twin pillars: Europe and America. That partnership, I believe Mr. Speaker, is more important today than it has ever been.

 

The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone. But in this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements, or assume that foundational principles simply endure. As my Prime Minister said last month: “ours is an indispensable partnership. We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last eighty years. Instead, we must build on it.” 

Great Britain and the United States have combined strength for a hundred years to defeat fascism, to curb Islamist forces, and more. If Trump wants to knock down one pillar, we’re all endangered. 

The king wants our nations to remain friends. It’s pretty stupid to have to listen to Donald threaten to take over Canada – which still, nominally, listens to the commands of Charles, himself.  



Mural from the Eisenhower Presidential Library,
celebrating our alliance with the British and many other allies.


This is not difficult to understand – though some loud mouths on X, want not to pretend they understand. Stirring up daily anger is their only real trick. Charles understands how alliances make all involved stronger, and he made clear his support for NATO, citing the response of allies after the attacks of 9/11: 

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when NATO invoked Article Five for the first time, and the United Nations Security Council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together – as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder, through two World Wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan and moments that have defined our shared security.

 

Today, Mr. Speaker, that same, unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine and her most courageous people. It is needed in order to secure a truly just and lasting peace. From the depths of the Atlantic to the disastrously melting icecaps of the Arctic, the commitment and expertise of the United States Armed Forces and its allies lie at the heart of NATO, pledged to each other’s defense, protecting our citizens and interests, keeping North Americans and Europeans safe from our common adversaries. 

As we all know, if we don’t have our heads stuck in jack-o-lanterns, Donald continues to trash NATO, and our NATO allies. He has gone so far as to denigrate the sacrifice of NATO troops in the fight against the Taliban, though more than a thousand gave their lives. 

Note also the “melting icecaps,” a clear reference to the damage being done by climate change. Trump thinks climate change is a “hoax,” and wants to block efforts to expand renewable energy sources. 

The icecaps aren’t melting by chance. 

Meanwhile, The Dumpling truly believes that windmills cause cancer. Charles III and Donald J. Trump are not the same.


Melting ice in Greenland: A warning sign to all humanity.
 

 

The real king adds: 

Our common ideals were not only crucial for liberty and equality, they are also the foundation of our shared prosperity. The rule of law: the certainty of stable and accessible rules, an independent judiciary resolving disputes and delivering impartial justice.  

No individual ever to have been seated in the Oval Office has so continuously attacked the judiciary as the Dumpling King, including members of the U.S. Supreme Court, chosen by is dumpling self. He has called judges who oppose his will “disgraces,” and much worse. 

 

Then Charles III addresses the dangers of climate change – without using the term “climate change,” which otherwise might send Trump over the edge into full fear-the-windmills meltdown. 

No pun intended.

 

“So as we look toward the next 250 years, we must also reflect on our shared responsibility to safeguard nature, our most precious and irreplaceable asset.

 

… The natural wonders of the United States of America are indeed a unique asset, and generations of Americans have risen to this calling: indigenous, political and civic leaders, people in rural communities and cities alike, have all helped to protect and nurture what President Theodore Roosevelt called ‘the glorious heritage’ of this land’s extraordinary natural splendor, on which so much of its prosperity has always depended.

 

Yet even as we celebrate the beauty that surrounds us, our generation must decide how to address the collapse of critical natural systems which threatens far more than the harmony and essential diversity of nature. We ignore at our peril the fact that these natural systems, in other words, nature’s own economy, provide the foundation for our prosperity and our national security. 

Look, if you don’t know that Donald has been the worst guardian of the environment of any modern American leader, I feel sorry for you. You’re almost too clueless to be allowed to handle scissors.

There’s a reason almost every major environmental organization in this country has opposed electing Trump – three elections in a row. 

 

Charles continued: 

I pray with all my heart that our alliance will continue to defend our shared values, with our partners in Europe and the Commonwealth, and across the world, and that we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking. 

Politely speaking, “America First” doesn’t cut it. The same idea failed in the 1930s and early 40s, when the fascist powers, and a militaristic Japan rose to power, and then came close to winning World War II. 

The Chinese, the Russians, the Iranians, and the North Koreans would love to see the United States falter; and if they work together (and they are doing so), we will need strong alliances, as always. 


 

POSTSCRIPT: If you love Donald Trump, you don’t have to like this analysis. But if you are too obtuse to understand why our side does, you need to read more and scream less. On climate change, for example, if we get this threat wrong all our children and grandchildren will be screwed. 

And do we really want the Chinese – the communists the MAGA folks insist we on the left love, but don’t – do we really want them to dominate the rest of this century, with Russian help? 

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Chief Justice Roberts Explains the Obvious

  

To “check the excesses of Congress, or of the executive.” 

5/7/25: The MAGA fanatics are fuming because federal judges keep ruling against the MAGA God. Many of the worst priests and priestesses have begun calling for judges who rule in ways they dislike to be impeached. 

Or killed? 

In a clear attempt to intimidate the judiciary, some anonymous nut – or bag of nuts – has been sending unordered pizzas to the homes of jurists, in the name of a judge’s son who was murdered when he opened the door of his home to a supposed pizza delivery. 

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has warned: 

The targeted individuals reportedly include Supreme Court justices, judges handling legal cases involving the Administration, and the children of judges. Some of these deliveries were made using the name of Judge Esther Salas’s son, Daniel Anderl, who was murdered at the family’s home by a former litigant who posed as a deliveryman. 

 


Chief Justice Roberts.


Chief Justice John Roberts has also taken note of the many the threats. During an interview Wednesday he made a point of standing up for the role of an independent judicial branch – in the face of the MAGA fools. 

“In our constitution, the judiciary is a coequal branch of government [emphasis added], separate from the others, with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law and strike down acts of Congress or acts of the president,” he pointed out. “And that innovation doesn’t work if the judiciary is not independent.”

 

“Its job is to, obviously, decide cases, but in the course of that, check the excesses of Congress or of the executive, and that does require a degree of independence,” he added, drawing applause from the crowd.

 

 * 

This blogger can add that as a former American history teacher, he explained the job of the three branches this way: 

Legislative branch: Makes the laws. 

Executive branch: Carries out or enforces the laws. 

Judicial branch: Interprets the laws and the Constitution.


Chart from an old history book.
(Note the salaries.)


BACKGROUND: In July 2020, Judge Esther Salas’s son, Mark Anderl was shot and killed when a man posing as a pizza delivery man shot and killed him when he answered the door. Her husband Mark Anderl was also shot and wounded. In an online autobiography, the killer attacked feminists, generally. Then he described Salas as a “lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama.” 

As ABC News explained: The assassin “further criticized Salas’ accomplished resume, writing that ‘affirmative action got her into and through college and law school,’ and dismissed her private practice and public defender work. Her one accomplishment, he wrote, was ‘high school cheerleader.’”