The Power of the Dark Side

The Power of the Dark Side

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Last week the Vice President’s lawyer, David Addington, argued that the VP didn’t have to catalogue his secret documents because his role as President of the Senate means he’s not really a part of the executive branch and therefore doesn’t have to abide by the laws governing it. After this led to late night mockery, Addington argued instead that Cheney doesn’t have to comply because both the president and the vice president are exempt from their own executive order.

In other words, Dick is saying to the Constitution what he said to Senator Leahy. (Hint: It begins with an "f.")

Normally, this would be the point where tragedy becomes farce and the entire country leans back and takes a bong hit for Jesus if it weren’t for the four-part Washington Post series on Cheney. The article tells the story of the leader of the Senate, who starts an unnecessary war for the purpose of consolidating unconstitutional powers and turning the republic into an empire, while at the same time seducing a vain younger man with anger issues to the dark side.

The details are captivating, chilling, and too numerous to go into now, but here’s the big surprise: [Spoiler Alert] Dick Cheney isn’t really Senator Palpatine; he’s actually the Emperor.

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Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

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