One of the things I have observed in my lifetime is that often people who claim or cling to ‘powerful’ titles don’t actually have much power. It seems to me that the people not concerned with titles or telling people how powerful they are tend to be the people who actually accomplish things.<\/p>\n
We remember 2008 when Barack Obama invented the title “Office of the President-Elect.” There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that creates that office, but by 2008 the press had pretty much destroyed President Bush, so there was a power vacuum that Barack Obama was able to step into. He had no actual power, but he had the title he made up.<\/p>\n
Contrast that picture with what has happened since the 2024 presidential election. President Trump has not claimed any title other than President-elect, yet world leaders and American influencers have made their way to Mar-a-Lago. Preparations are being made for a new sheriff in town, and some people are running for cover. That was illustrated in the “CR” bill that was not a actually a CR bill. That bill, which was going to be voted on this Friday, has been pulled. The bill was pulled because of pressure exerted by President Trump, Elon Musk, and American voters. Our voices are finally being heard.<\/p>\n
Some of the things hidden in the 1500-page bill that the swamp hoped no one would read were money for \u201cAmerican music tourism,\u201d \u201cconsumer safety standards for certain types of batteries,\u201d a pay raise for Congress, and a one-year extension of the State Department\u2019s Global Engagement Center (GEC). (source here<\/a>)<\/p>\n There is also one provision in the bill to block investigations into bad behavior by Congress (source here<\/a>):<\/p>\n Congressional leadership slipped a provision into the stopgap spending bill that would bar or stymie investigations into Congress.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tucked within<\/a> the stopgap spending bill is a provision that has enflamed controversy amongst many conservatives on and off Capitol Hill.<\/strong><\/p>\n The provision, titled \u201cTreatment of electronic services provided for House offices,\u201d sounds vague but could could stop or limit investigations into Congress.<\/strong><\/p>\n Part of the section states:<\/strong><\/p>\n Upon a motion made promptly by a House office or provider for a House office, a court of competent jurisdiction shall quash\u00a0or modify any legal process directed to the provider for\u00a0a House office if compliance with the legal process would\u00a0require the disclosure of House data of the House office<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n INFORMATION REGARDING IMPLICATIONS OF USING PROVIDERS.\u2014The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, in consultation with the House Office of General Counsel, shall provide information regarding the potential constitutional implications and the potential impact on privileges that may be asserted to each House office\u00a0that commissions or uses a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service. [Emphasis added]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cA new provision in the latest CR lets Congress block subpoenas for House data, including emails, potentially preventing any investigation into the J6 Committee,\u201d Benny Johnson, a conservative activist, wrote on X.<\/strong><\/p>\n The swamp creatures are trying to protect themselves. I hope it doesn’t work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the things I have observed in my lifetime is that often people who claim or cling to ‘powerful’ titles don’t actually have much power. It seems to me that the people not concerned with titles or telling people … Continue reading