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Supporters of President Donald Trump cheer at the start of his first re-election campaign rally in several months in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., June 20, 2020. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Yuval Levin and Adam J. White covered almost all that needs to be said about the most recent Trump executive orders, the spiritual descendants of Barack Obamas declaring I have a pen and a phone and deciding to enact the DACA and DAPA programs without congressional concurrence, authorization, or action.

The only thing I would add is that the general enthusiasm for Trumps moves from his grassroots fans, and the general enthusiasm for Obamas moves from his grassroots fans, demonstrates that most people in politics see no value in separation of powers, and cannot get their heads around why the federal government should have separated powers. They cannot comprehend why a government that invests far-reaching powers in the executive could possibly turn out badly for them.

Back in 2014, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and the 14 other members of the Full Employment Caucus in Congress introduced not legislation but drafted executive orders that they wanted the president to sign. Frustrated by being in the legislative minority, they started dreaming up new ways for the executive branch to change the laws and regulations. She declared, Well give President Obama a number of executive orders that he can sign with pride and strength, in fact, I think that should be our number one agenda, thats write up these executive orders, draft them, of course, and ask the president to stand with us. As the meme goes, thats not how this works, thats not how any of this works. If you want to serve in the executive branch, then leave the legislative branch.

The first thing all U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives do is take an oath declaring, I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. And then they advocate government actions that ignore the separation of powers in the Constitution. Two consecutive presidents have concluded, if Congress wont act, I will, and blithely ignored the fact that this is more or less why we fought a revolution against the British.

Do Americans even want a Constitution? Did the education system fail them so thoroughly that they cant even begin to grasp why concentrated government power would be a bad thing?

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Do Americans Even Care If Theres a Constitution? - National Review

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks ahead of International Womens Day (IWD) held on Sunday 8th March, on March 6, 2020, in London, England.Photo: Ben Stansall (WPA Pool (Getty Images)

Love her, hate her, ambivalent or as yet undecided, Meghan Marklealso known as the Duchess of Sussexis a household name we should all be well accustomed to hearing by now. And as weve previously reported, since she and husband Harry have recently signed to leading speakers bureau the Harry Walker Agency, we should also get accustomed to hearing more of both of them for the foreseeable future.

But should you want to hear this household name from the comfort of your own home, on Wednesday, the Girl Up campaign announced Markle will be appearing at their virtual Leadership Summit, a three-day online event taking place from July 13-15.

As reported by PureWow:

According to the organizations official website, Girl Up is an initiative that has worked with 65,000 girls via 3,500 clubs in nearly 120 countries and all 50 United States to inspire a generation of young women to be a force for gender equality and social change. The event will be one of the duchesss first public speaking engagements since stepping away from the royal family.

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Of course, the duchess is only one of several dynamic women (and men!) speaking and presenting at this years event, including Michelle Obama, Storm Reid, Steph Curry and Monique Coleman (Disneys High School Musical) and more.

The coolest part? You can bring all this girl power home for freeand its not too late to register! You find out more, donate and get tickets at the Girl Up website.

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Who Run the World? Meghan Markle, Michelle Obama and More to Appear at the Virtual Girl Up Leadership Summit - The Root

No tights, no flights: so far this has been a summer unusually light on blockbuster superhero entertainment. Amazonian sequel Wonder Woman 1984 was originally scheduled to hit cinemas in June before being pushed to October. The Marvel Cinematic Steamroller has hit pause: when Scarlett Johanssons Black Widow belatedly arrives in November, it will be the longest gap between Marvel movies in a decade.

Thankfully, one small-screen superhero series has overlapped neatly with lockdown, even if its oddball cast of boozy do-gooders and aggrieved demon-slayers cannot boast the kind of brand recognition that gets your likeness plastered on pyjamas and lunchboxes. DCs Legends of Tomorrow recently wrapped up its fifth season on Sky, bringing some much-needed levity to the often po-faced world of fighting crime in form-fitting costumes.

Compared with the various other shows that have sprouted from the brooding vigilante series Arrow an expanding TV universe that now directly interconnects The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, Batwoman and more Legends of Tomorrow has always been something of an outlier. Partly that is because of its team-based premise, tasking a grab-bag of C-listers with hopping around history to protect the integrity of the time stream in a whizzy spaceship called the Waverider. If that sounds like it has some overlap with Doctor Who, the slightly stodgy early seasons encouraged the comparison by casting former Tardis companion Arthur Darvill as the squads swashbuckling leader. While the hooded anti-hero Arrow was stuck protecting his home city, the Legends could theoretically go anywhere and any-when, with the team theoretically blending in thanks to a dressing-up box worthy of Mr Benn.

Since its debut in 2016, Legends of Tomorrow has operated as a sort of Ucas clearing house for guest heroes and villains who have wrapped up their arcs on related shows. After the supernatural series Constantine was cancelled in 2015, the title character an entertainingly aggro English exorcist who likes to pick fights with diabolical hellspawn later materialised on the Waverider and has stuck around ever since. Its all part of the rather back-handed compliment of being recruited into the squad: you can be safely removed from your own time without fear of disrupting anything major, so habitual under-achievers suddenly become prime candidates.

This pick-and-mix approach and constant turnover of personnel means that each season essentially stands alone, so even though all five are currently available to binge on Now TV you can basically dive in anywhere (maybe skip the first episode of season five, which wraps up an epic but confusing five-part crossover). As well as smart-mouthed warlock Constantine, the current lineup includes a hard-drinking bisexual ninja, a high-fiving bro of steel, various incarnations of an Egyptian wind god and a beefcake career arsonist played by Prison Breaks Dominic Purcell who has a secret double-life as a bestselling romantic novelist.

Legends of Tomorrow has always been self-aware and keen to send up superhero tropes, but this year it embraced its sitcom side more than ever, signalled with its updated credits sequence. The formerly whooshing sci-fi titles were replaced with a scrappy animated collage that crackles with punky energy.

The shows previous high watermark of daftness came in season three, when the team took on a telepathic super-ape called Gorilla Grodd who had beamed to Chicago 1979 to assassinate a lanky law student named Barack Obama while declaring it was time to make America Grodd again. But season five has taken some even bigger conceptual swings while cleverly cooking up a plausible monster-of-the-week formula: some of the worst offenders in hell are granted a second chance at life, requiring the Legends to pinball around time taking out older and wiser versions of Rasputin, Bugsy Siegel, Marie Antoinette and more.

There has even been some pushback at those who complain that culture is now too saturated with superheroes, with an impromptu 16th-century stag do getting so out of hand that Shakespeare is inspired to start writing plays about costumed avengers, beginning with Romeo v Juliet: Dawn of Justness. The penultimate episode goes even more meta, trapping the various Legends in different TV shows a Friends-alike sitcom, a mannered Downton spoof and a retro Star Trek analogue created to entertain the brainwashed masses of a 1984-style dystopia.

Self-indulgent nonsense? Perhaps, but as other heroes go super-gritty its refreshing to be reminded that these sorts of stories can be heightened, colourful and fun. The good-time crew of the Waverider drink constantly, get high and make messy decisions. When things do go wrong, the stakes feel high because you genuinely like and care for these goofballs. In a summer notably light on laughs, their adventures have been a genuine tonic.

All five seasons of DCs Legends of Tomorrow are currently available on Now TV

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Obama v a giant gorilla: here's why you should watch Legends of Tomorrow - The Guardian

Jason Furman, a Harvard economics professor and former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, has a very simple plan to both stimulate the economy and slow the spread of coronavirus.

A fiscal stimulus plan that would have incredibly high bang for the buck would be for the government to print up masks ... and mail them out to every American and tell every American to wear them.

Furman made the comment Thursday on CNBCs Closing Bell.

By his estimation, theres not a lot that fiscal policy can do to stop a virus. But the small cost of mailing a mask to everyone would assuming the vast majority of people wore them slow the spread of COVID-19 and make it possible to actually reopen the economy successfully.

Its really not hard, he said. A mask is one of the steps that can control that virus, adding that the masks could even say Thank you, Donald Trump on them if that did the trick.

Furmans not alone in preaching the economic power of masks. Goldman Sachs analysts earlier this week said that a national face-mask mandate could save the U.S. economy from a 5% hit to GDP.

Thats not to say fiscal stimulus doesnt also have its place.

Furman noted that the massive amount of stimulus from the Fed and Congress has definitely helped, but that its really important that we continue action.

We had an extraordinary amount of support, he said. Over the last two months, over $1 trillion went out. That was more than any given year in the financial crisis.

So this is something that protected us from seeing an even larger second-wave recession as the people that got shut out of their jobs didnt have to cut back on their spending nearly as much as they would have otherwise, he told CNBC.

Furman also warned that the economic recovery will likely be much slower than previously expected, as many companies will take the opportunity to cut costs and jobs. A lot of employers will use this as an opportunity to downsize, he said.

Read more here:
ExObama economic adviser offers a fiscal stimulus plan thats incredibly high bang for the buck - MarketWatch

Michelle Obama's new memoir "Becoming" will give readers their most intimate look yet at the life of the former first lady. Ahead of its release, take a look back at what she's already shared with us. USA TODAY

Michelle Obama is explaining why voting should matter to everyone, especially young people.

During an interview with Shonda Rhimes for Harper's Bazaar published Monday, the former first lady shared theperfect question she asks young people who are unsure about voting.

"When Im talking to young people, I like to ask them a simple question: Would you let your grandma decide what you wear on a night out to the club? Would you want her picking out the car you drive or the apartment you live in?" Obama said. "Not many people want someone else making their decisions for them, especially when that person might not see the world the same way as they do."

She continued, "Thats what happens when you dont vote: You are giving away your power to someone elsesomeone who doesnt see the world the same as you. Youre letting them make some really key decisions about the way you live. And the truth is, thats exactly what some folks are hoping youll do. Theyre hoping that youll stay home so that they can make these important decisions for you."

She also talked about the impact a vote has.

"Some folks dont see the impact of their vote on their day-to-day livesif the trains still run, the kids are still going to school, and they still have a job, what difference does one vote really make, right?" she said. "When you get whole families thinking like that, whole communities, then you start to see how the impact multiplies."

Staying Apart, Together: It's OK to admit you're struggling. I am.

She added that voting is "so much bigger than one election, one party, or one candidate."

"Its great to feel inspired by candidates and the visions they put forth, but it is by no means a prerequisite to casting a ballot," she explained. "Because at the end of the day, someone is going to be making the decisions about how much money your schools get and how tax money is distributed. Voting gives you a say in those matters... When we all vote, in all elections, we get the kind of responsive leadership that speaks for our families and our communities."

Obama said she counts herself as part of those feeling "confused, or scared, or angry, or just plain overwhelmed" with "everything thats gone on over these past few months," with both the coronavirus pandemic and the fight for racial justice.

"If you channel your frustration into our democracy with your vote and your voice, you can find your true north even in times of crisis," she added.

'Dear Class of 2020': Obamas, Beyonc, Lady Gaga salute young protesters in YouTube ceremony

More: Barack Obama crashes Michelle Obama's weekly quarantine story time

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Michelle Obama has the perfect question for young people unsure about whether to vote - USA TODAY