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I'm tired of doom scrolling, so some research and ideas. [1]

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Date: 2025-02-03

So, I start my day reading the local newspaper (Very Right-leaning). Then move on to state stuff online, national stuff, then into world stuff. I try to keep my finger on what’s going on.

These last few days have been bonkers at the national level, with Musk and Trump. I’m going to do my best not to call them names, but I might slip up, because yeah, they deserve it.

So I spent my day researching things like how states become states, can a state leave (No, not without a lot of ‘agreement’.) This was partly sparked by Elizabeth May’s comments about Canada pulling in WA/OR/CA to them. Link . Also the Mexican President (I’ll admit I like her) In response to President Donald Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum humorously suggested renaming North America to "América Mexicana." She also sent a letter to Google contesting the tech giant's decision to comply with Trump's renaming directive. cnn.com and theguardian.com

Also Trumps ramblings about Greenland, and making Canada it’s 51st state (Which would actually be 10 states and 3 territories, if you’re wondering). And this thing with Panama? (Rolls eyes).

What tipped the scale was the the Treasury department and the USAID firing and gathering information. That fell right into my wheelhouse (Degree in network engineering with a focus in INFORMATION SECURITY!) We all go through it, the two factor stuff, just to see our own banking records. Password, fingerprint, codes sent to devices, security questions. That’s just Mono-e-mono to my information. Musk, (Even as an elected official, which he is not), just walked into a government office, without security clearance, without authorization and accessed the data of millions of American’s.

I’m rather familiar with HIPAA and Confidential information that tech companies/apps obtain on an individual, and the levels that are considered breeches — And this is the cake, icing, and sprinkles on top. Every single individual that interacts with that department just had their privacy rights violated. That’s a class action suite of enormous proportions.

With USAID — it’s a literal list of everything (R’s) don’t like. Feeding children, getting them Vaccines, staving off pandemics that might hit the US if gone unchecked. Marburg, you should look it up, you thought Ebola was bad. Snark intended here — Oh, but we’re America first, these aren’t our problems and we shouldn’t spend money on them—But they will be when they land on our shores. And don’t think for a minute that corporations aren’t making money on this. Aid workers have to fly. Researchers need space to research. Pharma needs to provide drugs. Those in foreign Nations need protection. Yes, the government funds a lot of that, and I can agree it could be done cheaper, but to cut it off as they did? I’m sure there are some CEO’s and big donors unhappy about that. I kind of see it as the lesser of the evils, we need to get those CEO’s to speak to this. Not be friends, or allies, but how it hurt them.

So I’m going to circle back to the ‘States are states and can’t remove themselves from the union.”

Point #1: Our constitution makes that pretty clear. (Civil war was the result).

Article IV, Section 3 (Admissions Clause) : Congress has the sole authority to admit new states, but there is no provision for a state to leave .

: Article VI, Clause 2 (Supremacy Clause) : Federal law is the "supreme law of the land" , meaning no state can override the authority of the federal government.

:

I know, it sounds pretty ‘doomsday, and we have no choice’ but we do. We all want to blame Putin (I’m not saying he’s not involved). But if you the the United States and when the USSR broke up, there is one big thing. I’m going to have my AI do a chart here, instead of me rambling about it: FYI I just used WA state as an example, I know it best outside of the red state I live in.

1. Key Differences Between the U.S. and USSR

Factor U.S. (Washington State Secession) USSR (Soviet Republics Leaving) Legal Structure U.S. Constitution forbids secession (Texas v. White, 1869) USSR Constitution (Article 72) allowed secession Central Government Power Strong federal government with ultimate authority Weaker central government, especially in late 1980s Recognition of Breakaway States U.S. would not recognize Washington's secession USSR's collapse was internationally recognized Military Response U.S. could use military force, economic pressure, and legal action USSR attempted to prevent secession (e.g., Lithuania 1990), but lacked full control State vs. Union Structure U.S. is a federation of indivisible states USSR was a loose union of republics with the right to leave Economic Independence Washington relies heavily on U.S. federal funding Many Soviet republics had their own economies and resources International Pressure U.S. allies would oppose Washington’s secession Global pressure supported Soviet republics leaving

I Shouldn’t have to say this, I’m not pro-Putin. But I see what he’s trying to do with the former USSR, he’s trying to put it all back together. Right now he’s using war with Ukraine to do it. Their agreements (The USSR) those ‘states’ could leave, they were established before. In the US, you don’t get to leave as a state, you’re a slave forever.

Now take the above chart, think about it for a second, and let’s investigate as to why the USSR fell.

How I see it: The USSR collapsed because of:

Economic Breakdown – The Soviet economy was in crisis due to inefficiency, corruption, and Cold War expenses. — Oh Gee, that seems like a DOGE line. But it’s not cold war expenses it’s social expenses. Political Reforms (Glasnost & Perestroika) – Gorbachev’s reforms gave republics more freedom, making independence easier. — :Huh, Trump on Abortion and other things, ‘It’s a States thing.” Ethnic Nationalism – Many republics had historical grievances and ethnic identities that drove independence. — let’s see, cut federal funding for fighting fires because you’re D’s in California. A Weakened Central Government – By 1991, the Soviet leadership lost control over its military and economy. — This one isn’t here yet, but it’s coming. A Legal Path to Secession Existed – Article 72 of the USSR Constitution explicitly allowed republics to leave.

The argument can be thrown up that the Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, is not similar, because they were nations before being taken over by the USSR. Let’s compare — Washington State, Oregon State, and Specifically California, were ‘owned’ by other nations. Specifically Britain and Mexico as they had their independence then. Yeah, not independent nations, and signed on the dotted like to the US. Now we get into the states/federal stuff — That’s laid out in the Constitution.

Yes we all rail about the Supreme court, and their ‘stick to the original intent.’ Then make them stick to it! They have, as Abortion, and women’s rights, and such aren’t in the original constitution, women’s rights were in the later amendments. But State’s rights? Right up there in the original document.

I’m just getting into state’s rights, and their ability to object to these things going on. But it’s looking pretty good. Cursory:

A federal policy (or federal law) must be created in one of two ways:

1. The U.S. Constitution (Supreme Law of the Land)

If a policy is explicitly outlined in the Constitution, then states must follow it.

Example: The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law. A state cannot refuse to follow civil rights protections. — Oh hello defense against the President and citizen-billionaires over DEI. I’m hearing crickets from the Dem leadership. But they are chipping away at it.

2. An Act of Congress (Laws Passed by Congress)

If Congress passes a law, it becomes federal policy as long as it aligns with the Constitution.

Example: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress and upheld as constitutional by the courts—states must enforce it. — So If it didn’t pass congress, a state doesn’t have to uphold it, check.

So there’s no law that says the pres. can withhold funds, or fire people indiscriminately. A state could just hire those fired employees right back, because Congress didn’t say they had to be fired.

Let’s get into #3: EO’s. (Executive orders). You can do your own research, but what I found? They do NOT override the Constitution or the laws passed by congress.

This “DOGE” Has no legal authority to access records, Constitutionally, or through Congress. that’s what we want to believe, but that’s the loophole that all of this is happening. See Congress hasn’t said ‘No.”

This SCOTUS isn’t going to strip Trump of his immunity of crimes ‘while in office’ But that coverage doesn’t umbrella Musk, or any of his lackies. Musk as he pretends to be, is a citizen, he is beholden to the laws of the United States, and every state there within. Go after him, because the current President is teflon, and that is the shield protecting Musk.

I gotta stop as this will get way longer than it should be. Comments welcome, I’ll do my best to answer them with my research.

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