Various Executive Orders Of Varying Consequence

Unconstitutional Mandates On State Election Processes

President Trump signed an executive order purporting to protect the American voting system. All voting registration forms must require proof of citizenship, and States will be required to abide by certain rules for elections. Failure to abide by Trump's rules will result in the loss of federal election funding.  My issue with this is that there's no proof of fraud. Furthermore, it is not the President's role to mandate to states how to run elections. In short, this is an unconstitutional executive order.

Federal Government Moving To Electronic Payments

The president also ordered that all payments to the federal government be made electronically. No more checks or money orders or cash sent by mail will be allowed after September 30, 2025. I can foresee this being a problem for certain people, particularly the elderly, some of whom do not have the technological savvy, hardware, software, or account types, that might allow them to do this. There are people who cannot get bank accounts for whatever reason.

Talks With Russia And Ukraine

The White House issued high level results about Trump's negotiations with Russia and Ukraine with regard to the war.  

Here are the bullet points from the U.S. and Ukraine meetings:

• The United States and Ukraine have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.
• The United States and Ukraine agreed that the United States remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.
• The United States and Ukraine agreed to develop measures for implementing President Trump’s and President Zelenskyy’s agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities of Russia and Ukraine.
• The United States and Ukraine welcome the good offices of third countries with a view toward supporting the implementation of the energy and maritime agreements.
• The United States and Ukraine will continue working toward achieving a durable and lasting peace.

Here are the bullet points from the U.S. and Russia meetings:

• The United States and Russia have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.
• The United States will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.
• The United States and Russia agreed to develop measures for implementing President Trump’s and President Putin’s agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities of Russia and Ukraine.
• The United States and Russia welcome the good offices of third countries with a view toward supporting the implementation of the energy and maritime agreements.
• The United States and Russia will continue working toward achieving a durable and lasting peace.

PERSONAL NOTE: It's been a long few days. I haven't been able to look at the news much, and unfortunately missed that ridiculous event where the Trump adminisration included a journalist from The Atlantic in their text messages back and forth regarding war plans against the Houthis in Yemen. Unfortunately, I'm just one person with a pretty busy life, and I'll miss things here and there.