For the last year, I have written several letters and op-eds arguing the courts are the last check on the president. I have also suggested that, while the judiciary has and may continue to find the president’s actions unconstitutional, they lack an enforcement mechanism to stop him.
As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett admits, the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, doesn’t have unbridled authority to enforce its decisions and, in fact, sometimes the law prohibits the judiciary from doing so. Barrett has cautioned against an “imperial judiciary,” emphasizing that while the executive branch has a duty to follow the law, the judiciary’s ability to force that compliance has limitations.
Sadly, the situation may be more dire than that. Following Friday’s Supreme Court rulings, I fear history will document how Donald Trump’s three appointments to the Supreme Court had an enormous impact on the erosion of the rule of law and destruction of our democratic republic.
It is becoming clear that all power may have been ceded to the executive branch — something our founding fathers wished to prevent. I’d be hard-pressed to refute the claim that we now live in a dictatorial autocracy.
The remaining question is: Will historians, like so many Republican politicians and legislators, attorneys and the media, be intimidated and coerced by the president?
If they acquiesce, Trump, who seems to have manipulated our knowledge of the past and present, discursively may be able to write the future, what communication scholars call the rhetorical construction of history.
And that, I worry, will take decades to correct and in the meantime will result in the loss of what the U.S. Constitution guarantees all of us in the Bill of Rights.
Richard Cherwitz, PhD, professor emeritus, University of Texas at Austin.
Chicago needs to care for its trees
If the city of Chicago wants lots of trees for environment and aesthetics, it needs to maintain them. There are so many trees that need trimming, especially along roadways. Also, fall leaves need more removal services. The grid system to maintain them does not work. Crews need to be dispatch as hazards are reported.
John Petersen, Belmont Heights
Scoop Jackson right on sneakers and suits
Hats off to Scoop Jackson for his article on the incompatible mixing of sneakers to suits. He is absolutely correct in stating that non-casual wear does not fit with sneakers. The influence that professional athletes have on general behaviors is incredible. When you look at the bench of NBA teams, it’s like who can be the worst dresser? I agree a dress code needs to be reinstated. Let’s bring back the old adage “dress for success.”
Saul Holmes, Chatham
Chicago’s place as America’s Second City
I write as someone who has loved Chicago since my first visit to a high school student convention in 1965. I returned to the city for college, research fellowships, conferences, holidays and now retirement after a career as a university professor.
The city’s new marketing slogans say so much more than the ad agency knows. They confirm Chicago’s place as “America’s Second City” and especially “The Windy City.”
This rings throughout City Hall as well as the marketers and promoters.
Harvey J. Graff, Lincoln Park
