# Is anyone seriously preparing for the end of America right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051 "2020-08-14T03:29:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/165 "2020-08-19T21:07:04Z")
I never underestimate the nutjobs out there. Heck, yeah, I’m preparing…not so much for the end of America , but for the end of civilized society. Too many of my neighbors have Trump banners hanging/waving/blowing in the breeze. I’m a Republican, but they are the ones I worry about. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/166 "2020-08-21T20:21:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I believe the first thing Biden should do is support limits on the Presidency by Congress. Executive orders, for example have been misused. OMG, this. I hope there is a flurry of legislation in Congress to rein in the President’s powers, and that Biden gets behind it and signs it. Our system currently relies far too much on “political norms” to restrain the actions of the President. We have a guy in office now who blatantly fires anyone in government who investigates him. And who simply pardons or commutes his cronies who are convicted of criminal acts in a court of law. This is frickin’ dictator shit. We’re relying on name-and-shame system too much. Need an enforcement mechanism with real teeth. Weren’t there reforms along this line which came into being after Watergate? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/167 "2020-08-21T20:42:23Z")
Not that I recall, but then, with Watergate the President resigned and a bunch of guys went to jail. That seemed effective enough at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/168 "2020-08-21T23:44:33Z")
We definitely need new rules so the next Trump-like prez can’t go firing all the people just because they won’t kiss his ass. But should the next prez be able to fire all the ass-kissers that Trump installed? Should the next prez be able to fire all the Post Office commissioners that Trump put in there? All of the various internal watchdogs Trump put in place of the people he fired? We need the right kind of checks on presidential powers to prevent another Trump, yet another president needs the power to drain the swamp that Trump created. It’s a conundrum. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/169 "2020-08-21T23:57:31Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I believe the first thing Biden should do is support limits on the Presidency by Congress. Executive orders, for example have been misused. [CBS News Sunday Morning ran a story](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rewriting-the-limits-of-presidential-powers/) earlier this week about presidential emergency action documents, which give the president (not just Trump, but any president) extraordinary powers, but are really, really secret. [Here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Emergency_Action_Documents) is the Wikipedia article on them and [here](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/presidential-emergency-action-documents) is a report from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law on them. Now I can see in the event of a true emergency (missiles on their way from Moscow, or hostile aliens landing on the National Mall), a competent, rational president may need to act fast. But we don’t have a competent, rational president and he has the same powers. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/170 "2020-08-23T18:42:49Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I believe the first thing Biden should do is support limits on the Presidency by Congress. Executive orders, for example have been misused. Well, it’s been that way for awhile because when one party doesn’t fully control Congress and the White House the last 20 years, all Congress is good for is must-have appropriations. And sometimes not even that. And there’s other shit that needs to get done. Now, you can disagree with the shit in any given Executive Order(s), but they are challengeable in court. No president is going to make a move to limit his own powers. He may just choose to exercise them less. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/171 "2020-08-23T18:49:46Z")
> [@ThisIsTheEnd](#): > > No president is going to make a move to limit his own powers. I could see Trump doing it hours before his term ends. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/172 "2020-08-23T18:50:53Z")
Any Executive Order is un-doable by the next president, if that’s what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/173 "2020-08-25T14:30:11Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > We definitely need new rules so the next Trump-like prez can’t go firing all the people just because they won’t kiss his ass. Why? I was under the impression (from the [Whitehouse.gov](http://Whitehouse.gov) site) that one of the roles of the POTUS is appointing heads various independent federal commissions, federal judges, ambassadors, and other federal offices. IOW, regardless of the reason, hiring and firing people is very much in the purview of the POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/174 "2020-08-25T15:25:49Z")
But competence and loyalty to the country _should_ take precedence over being a yes-man. YMMV. Note that the poster that you responded to didn’t say that those were the current rules, but that we should change the rules to accomplish that. At the very least, to have some standards when confirming them and their replacements. Also note that most of those appointments are supposed to be confirmed by the senate. And yet, many of them are not. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/175 "2020-08-25T17:45:39Z")
I just did a little web-surfing and found out that as of 2016, there were about 661,000 Americans living in Canada, compared to 783,000 Canadians living in the U.S. I haven’t seen any numbers to suggest a drastic change during the Trump years. Even in the unlikely event that Trump is re-elected, he’ll instantly become a lame duck with decreasing influence, quite possibly with a Democratic House and Senate majority. Whatever the case, if Trump gains a second term or if progressives are unappy with the pace of Bidenite reforms, there will likely be more whining about emigration to Canada, the U.K. etc. but little follow-up. And those countries would only be likely to want highly educated young professionals in high demand occupations, while their natives are unlikely to embrace newly arrived American emigrants competing for housing, natural resources, dwindling fish and chip stocks and so on. Rumors of America’s demise are vastly exaggerated. But for those eager to leave, don’t overlook Bolivia - cheap housing, you can telecommute and enjoy the local politics. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/176 "2020-08-26T13:58:10Z")
All countries will eventually do this if they haven’t already. I pointed out some time ago that all "allies’ of the US will be forced to hedge and spread their risk a little. Too many of my dumbasses here don’t make the connection between the US having the clout to dictate terms of trade and their own favorable economic situation, as in the case of American farmers who can just dump their products onto the world market and get subsidies. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/177 "2020-08-26T13:59:36Z")
Hiring and firing based on performance, not fealty. There’s a difference. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/178 "2020-08-26T14:00:44Z")
A world power like America declines slowly…then all at once. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/179 "2020-08-26T14:19:18Z")
The bigger you are… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/180 "2020-08-27T20:40:19Z")
Yes. It is true that other presidents have fired a person- like Truman firing Doug. But no president in memory has done it like trump. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/181 "2020-08-29T10:28:16Z")
Seriously preparing for the end of America? Of course not. However, I am preparing for a continuation of current trends. I expect continued increases in income inequality and homelessness, along with brittle supply chains and substantial civil unrest. My WAG is that we’ve wrung about all we can out of the stock market, and it will stagnate for long-term investors, producing low returns for the next decade or so. So I’ve invested accordingly. Of those trends, the only ones which could be a personal worry are civil unrest in cities, and serious supply chain interruptions. Since an avaricious, sclerotic, demented. decrepit, bloodthirsty, corrupt, septuagenarian candidate\* is certain to take the White House, I expect unrest, violence, and homelessness to continue and even accelerate. The supply problems could be an issue, but are trivially easy to mitigate with a buffer of meds, food, water, and money. The violence might be a problem, but only if it starts getting too close to home. Should that happen, it’s simple to redefine “home”, and move further from the city. I doubt if it will reach that point though. tldr; America will continue, but I must take more responsibility for my own safety and well-being. Not really worried. \*Either one, I see little difference. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/182 "2020-08-29T10:45:07Z")
It’s not Donald Trump that I’m making plans to escape from if need be. It’s COVID-19. That’s an important distinction. This isn’t “I fucking hate the guy so much, he’s so awful, I just can’t bear living in America for four more years if he’s re-elected!” This is “if he is re-elected we are going to have hundreds of thousands more deaths from COVID; possibly millions of infected people with debilitating symptoms; it’s going to be an ever-present danger and he has NO IDEA how to contain it or lead any kind of national leadership to do so, and he never will, and I no longer want to expose myself to the risk. Either of the virus OR of the MASSIVE societal / economic consequences when it continues to get even worse.” I remember sitting around with my college friends in 2004 when Kerry lost to Bush. “Fuck this! We’re going to Canada! Pass me that blunt!” That was an entirely different situation borne out of immature reasoning and impulsive need to be rebellious. The current scenario is FAR more dire. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/183 "2020-08-30T00:04:29Z")
I am lucky, I am a legal Canadian citizen.So is my wife. We got property there. Lose all the friends, get back with relatives. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2020, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051/184 "2020-08-30T03:23:20Z")
Oh, please. Most domestic terrorism has been from the radical right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051.md?page=10)