> Don't you need an AUMF for this, at least in theory?
That depends on which theory, and whose narrative of the facts relevant to the theory you accept.
For theories, there are three important ones to consider:
(1) The War Powers Act is Constitutional and its terms govern Presidential use of force without a separate Congressional authorization,
(2) The War Powers Act is an unconstitutional limit on the President's inherent authority and the President's powers to prosecute war abroad, without a Congressional declaration, are broader than the War Powers Act would suggest, and
(3) The War Powers Act is an unconstitutional delegation of reserved Congressional powers to the Executive, and has no effect, leaving the President's powers to prosecute war abroad without a Congressional authorization narrower than the War Powers Act would suggest.
As to relevant factual narratives, there are at least two salient alternatives:
(1) The Government of Venezuela, through the vehicle of the Tren de Agua gang which, in fact, is an instrumentality of the state, has conducted and is conducting, since sometime before March 14, 2025, an invasion of the United States as described in President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, and therefore the US is, and has been for some time, engaged in a defensive war against that attack by Venezuela,
(2) The invasion described in #1 is a fantasy, has not occurred, and the US is not engaged in a defensive war against a Venezuelan invasion.
Can you explain what you mean by that? As of this writing, there is a „Iran protests“ block on cnn.com on position #2 or #3 depending on how you count, well within the first 20% of the scroll-like homepage.
Ok very simple, left wing media lie by omission and push agenda via slanted headlines and opinions, as much as the right do. As a traditionally left wing person I did not know the extent of this. I no longer exclusively read left wing news.
The left, in 2025, have a dreadful fear of seeming Islamophobic, and this is evident in their handling of this current situation and of the unrest in 2022 when a woman died in police custody, arrested for the crime of not wearing specific headwear. BBC headline commented on how the economic situation created the perfect conditions for unrest. How about oppression creating the perfect conditions for unrest? No, we're not allowed to comment on Iran's culture/religion, only their economy.
I know Hackernews is pretty MAGA and that’s never going to change.
But for everyone else: it’s crazy to me they didn’t even bother making up a justification for this war. Completely evil. We cannot let the institutions that enabled this continue.
I don't think that HN leans MAGA, even by a long-shot.
There's lots of folks here that I often disagree with, but even the conservative-leaning tend to be far more willing to at least debate than you'll find on most places on the web.
Honestly, if you truly perceive a MAGA vibe on here, I would stop to question your own notions of what qualifies as moderate.
Sorry for assuming you supported the war [in Venezuela] but I’ve yet to see a moderate that’s anything other than a MAGA whos embarrassed by the asthetic.
Yeah. I'm a life-long Canadian leftist. I think everyone involved in the Trump cabinet should be tried for war crimes.
I also simply do not see even tepid support for this attack in the top comments, to the degree that I seriously wonder if we're looking at the same comments.
I do not want to put words in your mouth, but it really seems as though you're ignoring the fact that multiple things can be true at the same time; Maduro is a sack of shit, the US is demonstrating that they have no interest in the post-WW2 order, and many Venezuelans might be quietly or openly thrilled that he's gone.
But seriously: this is HN. It's a place where people hope to have intelligent conversations and polite debate. I'm not sure what you actually expect people to say which would satisfy your need to see sufficient outrage.
Absolutely nothing about that makes this place slant MAGA. This discussion between us simply wouldn't happen if this place slanted MAGA.
You are stuck on "If is not my brand of liberal, then they are MAGA and worse than Hitler" there is nuance in political opinions; people can be conservative and condemn and disagree with this war/administration/president.
Western society is turning into this tribalistic bullshit, is very visible in ithe US but to my suprise is now also in full force in Canada.
I don't think HN leans MAGA. However, I think there are a nonzero number of people on this site which hold MAGA views, which can feel like too many for a site that respects facts and intellectual richness.
As a liberal in a blue gerrymandered district within a red state, I literally can only hope that the pain and destruction and illegal behaviors of this administration impact my friends who voted for Trump, so that their lack of empathy/attention to world events gets adjusted enough to sit out 2026/2028 or ideally to vote otherwise. - edit to be clear: Damage is being done to all of us; my point is not malice or Schaudenfreude but hope that something can open his supporters' eyes.
The sheer amount of illegal and quid-pro-quo behavior from the president and the justice department can only be described as a coup against our own Constitution and legislature.
https://x.com/sentdefender/status/2007341118204330216
That depends on which theory, and whose narrative of the facts relevant to the theory you accept.
For theories, there are three important ones to consider:
(1) The War Powers Act is Constitutional and its terms govern Presidential use of force without a separate Congressional authorization, (2) The War Powers Act is an unconstitutional limit on the President's inherent authority and the President's powers to prosecute war abroad, without a Congressional declaration, are broader than the War Powers Act would suggest, and (3) The War Powers Act is an unconstitutional delegation of reserved Congressional powers to the Executive, and has no effect, leaving the President's powers to prosecute war abroad without a Congressional authorization narrower than the War Powers Act would suggest.
As to relevant factual narratives, there are at least two salient alternatives: (1) The Government of Venezuela, through the vehicle of the Tren de Agua gang which, in fact, is an instrumentality of the state, has conducted and is conducting, since sometime before March 14, 2025, an invasion of the United States as described in President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, and therefore the US is, and has been for some time, engaged in a defensive war against that attack by Venezuela, (2) The invasion described in #1 is a fantasy, has not occurred, and the US is not engaged in a defensive war against a Venezuelan invasion.
The left, in 2025, have a dreadful fear of seeming Islamophobic, and this is evident in their handling of this current situation and of the unrest in 2022 when a woman died in police custody, arrested for the crime of not wearing specific headwear. BBC headline commented on how the economic situation created the perfect conditions for unrest. How about oppression creating the perfect conditions for unrest? No, we're not allowed to comment on Iran's culture/religion, only their economy.
I don't love CNN but comparing them to right wing news is pure false equivalency, however.
Trump is copying his friend Putin too much.
But for everyone else: it’s crazy to me they didn’t even bother making up a justification for this war. Completely evil. We cannot let the institutions that enabled this continue.
There's lots of folks here that I often disagree with, but even the conservative-leaning tend to be far more willing to at least debate than you'll find on most places on the web.
Honestly, if you truly perceive a MAGA vibe on here, I would stop to question your own notions of what qualifies as moderate.
If I'm completely honest, I'm not even sure which war you're specifically referring to; I assure you that I'm against all of them.
Sorry for assuming you supported the war [in Venezuela] but I’ve yet to see a moderate that’s anything other than a MAGA whos embarrassed by the asthetic.
I also simply do not see even tepid support for this attack in the top comments, to the degree that I seriously wonder if we're looking at the same comments.
I do not want to put words in your mouth, but it really seems as though you're ignoring the fact that multiple things can be true at the same time; Maduro is a sack of shit, the US is demonstrating that they have no interest in the post-WW2 order, and many Venezuelans might be quietly or openly thrilled that he's gone.
But seriously: this is HN. It's a place where people hope to have intelligent conversations and polite debate. I'm not sure what you actually expect people to say which would satisfy your need to see sufficient outrage.
Absolutely nothing about that makes this place slant MAGA. This discussion between us simply wouldn't happen if this place slanted MAGA.
Western society is turning into this tribalistic bullshit, is very visible in ithe US but to my suprise is now also in full force in Canada.
As a liberal in a blue gerrymandered district within a red state, I literally can only hope that the pain and destruction and illegal behaviors of this administration impact my friends who voted for Trump, so that their lack of empathy/attention to world events gets adjusted enough to sit out 2026/2028 or ideally to vote otherwise. - edit to be clear: Damage is being done to all of us; my point is not malice or Schaudenfreude but hope that something can open his supporters' eyes.
The sheer amount of illegal and quid-pro-quo behavior from the president and the justice department can only be described as a coup against our own Constitution and legislature.