a primer on the US Constitution

As you know, our country was established with an agreement or contract called The Constitution of the United States (including the Bill of Rights). Among other things, our Constitution provides that: * We honor our treaties * Legislative branch (Congress) decides how to spend money, passes laws, etc. * Executive branch (POTUS) carries out the law as written in the Constitution and as passed by the Legislative branch * Judicial branch (courts) get to decide how the law applies * The way the responsibilities of government are spread out among the separate branches is called "separation of powers" * The different branches have ways of stopping the others when they try to do something unconstitutional, or not complying with other laws; among other ways of double checking, the courts have the constitutional obligation to stop executive over-reach. This is called "checks and balances". * Separation of powers and checks and balances are meant specifically to prevent anyone from ruling with concentrated power to enact their own agenda without having to check with the other parts of government. These provisions are considered central to our democracy. Anyone who doesn't support them is supporting some form of government other than democracy. The form of government the current administration is building is called fascism, and it is incompatible with democracy and freedom. * Other than their official salary, federal officials are not allowed to accept any gifts, titles, or anything of value (emollients), which must certainly include work, service, and communications contracts. Congress may allow it in case of a foreign giver. There is no case this is allowable by a domestic giver such as the federal or state governments. * Every human (including the president) is equal under the law and has certain rights, including due process (right to an attorney, a jury trial, innocent until guilty kinda stuff). People who entered our borders incorrectly still have due process—which is necessary both for human rights generally, and to protect the rights of citizens because if there's a group who doesn't have due process, you won't be given a chance to prove you aren't a part of that group if the government decides they want to get rid of you. (As is already happening to many immigrants who came via legal pathways, and some actual citizens as well.) Do we normally do all of that perfectly? No. And we never have. However, advocates of democracy and civil rights who started before me, have taught me to view our nation's history as a long struggle towards achieving the promises in the Constitution. There are steps forward and steps back. But it always takes work. And people have always been doing this work. Your support of this work would be appreciated. At the moment it is unclear whether you even support the Constitution that you have sworn to uphold.