"Bad Law": Ten Laws Ruining America Exposed | #RolandsBookClub

The US is experiencing a significant constitutional crisis because the President (referring to Trump) has ignored laws passed by Congress and court orders issued by the judiciary. This includes freezing funds authorized by Congress and defying Supreme Court directives to restore money to organizations. If a president can disregard both legislative and judicial authority, the nation operates under a 'fascist dictatorship' where the ruler's whims dictate governance, rather than democratic self-government.

Ellie Mystal details how Trump cut off money to organizations, defying congressional authorization and Supreme Court orders, stating, 'If the president can ignore both of those... then we don't have anything approaching a democratic self-government. We have a fascist dictatorship.'

Democrats are criticized for their reluctance to use political power maximally, in contrast to Republicans who aggressively implement their agenda. While Republicans come into office with a 'sledgehammer' to 'smash things' and create systems that entrench their power, Democrats typically respond with 'superglue and duct tape' to try and restore institutions. This reactive approach, focused on protecting existing (often flawed) institutions, is seen as a losing strategy that fails to dismantle 'evil, racist, misogynist' structures created by Republicans.

Mystal states, 'When Republicans get into office, they come in with a plan... to smash things... When Democrats come into office, they come into office with superglue and duct tape and they try to reconstitute things that the Republicans have smashed.'

All voter registration laws should be repealed because they create unnecessary friction for eligible citizens to vote. Unlike voter eligibility requirements (e.g., citizenship, age), registration laws don't prevent ineligible voters but rather suppress eligible ones through complex processes, purges, and advance deadlines. Most other major democracies have automatic, mandatory, or same-day registration, collapsing this two-step process. New York State, a 'blue state,' is highlighted as having historically and currently some of the worst voter registration laws, designed to suppress votes from renters, immigrants, and Black people in New York City.

Mystal argues, 'Every single voter registration law should be repealed... Voter registration requirements do not prevent ineligible voters from voting. Voter eligibility requirements prevents that.' He cites North Dakota as a state without registration requirements and New York's historical laws targeting immigrants and Black people.

The foundational 1921 Immigration and Nationalization Act was heavily influenced by Harry Laughlin, the chief American eugenicist of that era. Laughlin, who later taught eugenics to Nazi Germany and received a medal from the University of Heidelberg in 1938, provided the 'scientific' justification for the law. Congressional debates explicitly cited Laughlin's work to prevent the 'mongrelization of the white race by the inferior races,' demonstrating the law's explicit racist intent.

Mystal describes his 'wow moment' discovering that Harry Laughlin, 'the chief American eugenicist,' was 'key to writing our immigration laws,' with congressmen praising his work on eugenics to 'stop the mongeralization of the white race by the inferior races.'