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Donald Trump’s Epstein Mess Keeps Getting Worse

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Video: Debt Ceiling Dysfunction

Video: Debt Ceiling Dysfunctionplay icon
'Mean Boys: Dancing on the Debt Ceiling' | The Washington Post Comedy + Satire
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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumSep 30, 2021
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Here we go again. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Four years later and another dysfunctional debt ceiling crisis. It would be funny except for how impactful this all is on the everyday lives of millions of Americans.

This video shows the humor of today's situation from four years ago. A new video soon to be released will be the same but with a different cast of characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl6-bt1QKyU

Reruns in movies are great because they indicate that the original had something going for it to begin with and that's why we love reruns. But a rerun for dysfunctional government is an entirely different story. It has to stop.

The debt ceiling dysfunction fits in perfectly with Albert Einstein's definition of insanity:

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Do you have other examples of Congressional dysfunction. We're compiling a David Letterman type top ten list. You may email us at pop-culture@fulcrum.us.

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Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

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Ours is a system of “checks and balances.”

The president can do this or that, but the courts and Congress can put a stop to it (depending on the circumstances and relevant rules). When the courts rule that the executive branch can’t do something, Congress can write a new law saying the president can do it. When Congress passes a law the president doesn’t like, the president can veto it. Congress, if it has enough votes, can override the veto. And so on. The whole idea is to deny any one branch or person too much concentrated power.

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Rioters breach Capitol security Jan. 6

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

Ours is a system of “checks and balances.”

The president can do this or that, but the courts and Congress can put a stop to it (depending on the circumstances and relevant rules). When the courts rule that the executive branch can’t do something, Congress can write a new law saying the president can do it. When Congress passes a law the president doesn’t like, the president can veto it. Congress, if it has enough votes, can override the veto. And so on. The whole idea is to deny any one branch or person too much concentrated power.

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Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s staunchest loyalists, pushed back against Trump’s narrative. Greene praised US-Americans as “the most talented people in the world.” She even introduced legislation aimed at ending “the mass replacement of American workers” by the H-1B visa program.

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Cryptocurrency: Debunking Myths, Understanding Realities, and Exploring Economic and Social Impacts
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“In 2020 and 2021, there was a big crypto bubble. You couldn’t turn a corner without seeing another celebrity crypto endorsement," said Mark Hays, the Associate Director for Cryptocurrency and Financial Technology with AFR/AFREF and with Demand Progress during the NFRPP’s October 25th, 2025, panel discussion. Hilary J. Allen, a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law, joined Hays. The discussion was moderated by Peter Coy, a freelance journalist covering economics, business, and finance.

Celebrities like Kevin Hart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Serena Williams, Paris Hilton, and Snoop Dogg jumped to endorse crypto-related companies. The record of these endorsements has been poor (Bloomberg), and some are calling for people who endorse these products without doing due diligence to face legal repercussions (Boston College Law Review). The message from the NFRPP’s panel discussion was one of intense skepticism towards cryptocurrencies in general, with Professor Allen going so far as to call them a “failure as a technology.”

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