To be fair, one man technically does not have this kind of power; he has it only because he has the support of an entire political party and its movement - ThreadSky

swin24.bsky.social • 82 days ago

To be fair, one man technically does not have this kind of power; he has it only because he has the support of an entire political party and its movement

Reposted from Radley Balko

One man just wiped out $10 trillion in wealth, is destroying centuries-old legal protections, and seems determined to unravel humanity’s greatest public health achievement. In 3 months.

I don’t know how we get out of this. But if we do, one person can never have that kind of power again.

Comments

margaritas4all.bsky.social•81 days ago

This is who the Republicans are. Their economic plans are always a disaster.

follicular.bsky.social•81 days ago

I've been saying this for 10 years now but the GOP must be cleansed from our politics and the ground salted so they never rise again.

sarahbethg.bsky.social•81 days ago

So he does have this kind of power.

darthopper.bsky.social•81 days ago

Always said, it’s not just the Mango Menace, he's just the manifestation of the regressive party. It’s the party of racist, forced birth, misogynistic, pro-corporate/1%, anti-union, anti-education, climate denying, voter suppressing, lying, budget exploding, stock tanking, authoritarians.

thelonerunner18.bsky.social•81 days ago

and silence from mainstream media

charlie2daisy.bsky.social•81 days ago

And until Wall Street gets on the phone with elected Republicans that they bankroll this will not stop. These are probably the only people elected Republicans fear more than they fear Trump’s base.

johncalvinbestjc.bsky.social•82 days ago

Hmmm.... how "fair" should we be? One man bullied his way into this position (yes, Republicans are cowards) and one man decided to burn the house down. Being a coward is a lifestyle of "acts of omission". But let "the buck stop" where it needs to stop, okay?

lguap0.bsky.social•82 days ago

It’s the 77 million that voted for him, actually. Plus the tens of millions that didn’t vote at all. There has always been crazy, stupid, evil people that want absolute power. Always will be. But it’s the people that voted for him (a 2nd time!) that are the actual problem.

paultree10.bsky.social•82 days ago

And, honestly, the electorate.

Like sure, Trump lied about his agenda during the campaign in an unprecedented way, but January 6th was very public. And he won the popular vote 4 years later anyways.

adrianwashere.bsky.social•82 days ago

And we heard about Project 2025 during basically all of 2024.

paultree10.bsky.social•82 days ago

Right, like I’m not saying it’s not important that Trump lied about Project 2025 and media let him get away with it very easily.

But also it’s not like we didn’t have overwhelming evidence over many years and an entire presidency that Donald Trump is an unprecedented liar! People chose not to care.

stub22.bsky.social•82 days ago

A lot of them are used to going to church and believing what they're told there, despite the absence of evidence. Murdoch and Ailes dialed into that existing willingness to be programmed with repeated comforting lies.

pacheco-torgal.bsky.social•81 days ago

Trump's power grab: Since January 2025, Trump has declared six national emergencies to weaken federal institutions and justify economic manipulation, while cutting disaster preparedness funding and consolidating power through fabricated crises. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/america-is-on-a-war-footing-without?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=365422&post_id=160616587&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1se5ac&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

tracey11.bsky.social•82 days ago

🎯

ojtphd.bsky.social•81 days ago

Putting a non-MAGA POTUS in office will be like fighting Al Capone: Kill or be killed, fight to the death.

Those who never fought for civil rights can’t understand, or simply they’ve never known ruthlessness, greed and corruption.

alxfed.bsky.social•81 days ago

Exactly! The shallow sensationalism of his post is outrageously stupid.

ministry-of-truth.bsky.social•81 days ago

We need to unwind that unconstitutional SCOTUS decision on virtually unlimited presidential immunity.

bearpondboy.bsky.social•81 days ago

He could be stopped at any time.

midwesternmama.bsky.social•82 days ago

This is 💯 the #Republicans fault! Aiding and abetting an idiotic madman!

#ImpeachThemAll

chavinsky.bsky.social•82 days ago

Such an important point here—it’s not just Trump, it’s the entire GOP Republican Party that has adopted, is defined and driven by, the maga worldview, and its refusal to abide by basic rules of law, transparency, honesty, or even decency. Our political system can’t function like this. #civics101

malthusjohn.bsky.social•81 days ago

You must see by now that the extra/unconstitutional existence of political parties, combined with the h/t to the great white Monarch powers of putting a "president" as figurehead atop a democratic republic, were critical errors that were just waiting to end in catastrophe.

Time to correct those.

malthusjohn.bsky.social•81 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/malthusjohn.bsky.social/post/3lma3qnn46k2y

quixcap.bsky.social•82 days ago

Trump didn't do it.
The American people did.
No institutional safeguards will protect the American people from themselves.

421322.bsky.social•82 days ago

This entire colonizer mess is OVER! The universe is DONE DONE with America. That pretty much sums it up. As well as all colonizer systems/empire that are still running. Game Over!

421322.bsky.social•82 days ago

We don't, he destroys the empire of America....

If some of you are wondering where this is going.

Yeah. . . It's gonna be a complete disaster BUT...BUT! We get to rebuild 🫂✊🏾🔥🤘🏾💜

dwerkoppimhimmel.bsky.social•81 days ago

Still waiting for the „good guys with the guns“ to „defend the nation and constitution“.

santacruzmag.bsky.social•82 days ago

egaal.bsky.social•82 days ago

Correct. Congress could get off its ass and do something. Hold them accountable as much as you hold Trump accountable.

enoch6211.bsky.social•82 days ago

Yeah that’s the point. There shouldn’t be the ability for one organization to elevate one person that way. It’s not a problem of the people enabling him. It’s the problem that our government is shaped in such a way that includes the job description he is manipulating.

josalo.bsky.social•80 days ago

Yes, demanding systemic fixes misses the point that the system is being bypassed by, to coin a phrase, a “vast right wing conspiracy.”

vl2024.bsky.social•81 days ago

Time for abolishment of the king?

unkthemonk.bsky.social•82 days ago

Totally agree. Make every Republican own this circus.

sarahdarerlittman.com•82 days ago

We cannot let the complicit Congressional GOP and the dark money folks off the hook

savingdemocracy101.bsky.social•82 days ago

It’s a cult. murica has been taken over by a cult of stupids. The rest of Murica is just standing around and letting it happen.

redwizard66.bsky.social•82 days ago

One man and the party that controls the house, senate, and judiciary

bamboozer2112.bsky.social•81 days ago

Truth! But expect the Fascists to crush all resistance, perhaps even unleash the military on we little people after they end the constitution. It's yet another version of slavery, but like ever it will fall upon the weak and helpless.

notrite132.bsky.social•81 days ago

The Democratic party is fighting as hard as they can. The Republican party is right with him. Nothing Democratic about our country right now. When they use a very old law to deport people out of our country to a prision, and won't bring any back, and Republicans do NOTHING, we're screwed.

exmemoriam.bsky.social•81 days ago

as hard as they *want

patricklovellpresentsthecleannewdeal.com•81 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/patricklovell13.bsky.social/post/3lm64p3ta6s23

playtyperguy.com•80 days ago

Yep. We saw the constraints that Biden had because Democrats aren't cult members.

welshrarebit.bsky.social•81 days ago

And the GOP has that power because Americans gave it to them. And the main reason they did so was because the Republicans pandered to their worst instincts.

nidula.bsky.social•82 days ago

Well that’s kinda the point, we can not allow this to happen again no matter how it came to be.

beshannonphotos.bsky.social•81 days ago

The GOP must be wiped from existence

5891jonathan.bsky.social•82 days ago

We need to punish those who allowed this to happen.

It’s. The. Republicans. Stupid.

Watch for the monthly CPI data going forward. When they lose people who played by the rules and built wealth in 401k’s AND prices for consumer goods don’t drop, well, stick a fork in them because they’re done.

gordonvincent.bsky.social•81 days ago

It's not a party. It's a criminal conspiracy of terrorists and traitors, no exceptions.

andyfrazee.bsky.social•81 days ago

Congress can stop the tariffs. https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

brainmist.bsky.social•82 days ago

And because the "opposition party" tiptoed against obviously necessary legal repercussions after his previous term.

sofia824.bsky.social•82 days ago

panthersfan-afr.bsky.social•82 days ago

Exactly. The checks and balances have been shoved aside, ignored without consequences.

toireasaoflinn.bsky.social•82 days ago

This deserves it's own billboards in hard hit red states. Let them know that the stagflation they are about to receive is all the fault of the Republicans.

todders707.bsky.social•82 days ago

It takes a village of them.
That was the whole point of the massacre of getting rid of anybody institutional that would stand in their way fired or resign.

peltast1.bsky.social•81 days ago

And every mass media outlet in the country, and hundreds of the richest people on Earth, etc.

greenlightening.bsky.social•82 days ago

He has it also because of SCOTUS. And one man should never have as much power as any one justice has on SCOTUS.
Appointments for life should not be a thing for ANY office. EVER.

dariorivero.bsky.social•82 days ago

And both chambers in Congress!!

michaeljameshawk.bsky.social•82 days ago

craigwinston.bsky.social•82 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/craigwinston.bsky.social/post/3lm755zappk2u

majortom70.bsky.social•82 days ago

What FREE & FAIR ELECTIONS?! One man one vote?🤔

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/north-carolina-judges-side-with-colleague-in-his-supreme-court-election-dispute-over-ballots/ar-AA1Cjvmy

hoogostiglitz.bsky.social•82 days ago

Fair and important point. This is EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN letting this happen because they're chickenshit cowards. They must ALL be held accountable.

moocowsue.bsky.social•82 days ago

Which is why we call today #OrangeMonday

chadlevinson.com•80 days ago

I think the word you’re look for is authority, not power

approximal.bsky.social•81 days ago

This is very important to understand. It’s not just one man, it’s every Republican in Congress, and every Democrat that has failed to meaningfully oppose them.

waterybint1952.bsky.social•81 days ago

Yes! Thank you! It’s always presented as “trump did this” and “trump did that”, but he doesn’t actually DO any of it! He has the complicity of that political party and half of Congress. THEY do trump’s bidding. Without them, he’s just some unpleasant crazy guy handing out leaflets on a corner.

robofat.bsky.social•82 days ago

US is actually speedrunning ruzzia rn. All these shit we saw many times "it's only putin etc" - BS

theabd.substack.com•81 days ago

I mean he has the power to tariff and that’s independent of his party. If only the president’s party can stop him, I don’t think that counts as a backstop in any meaningful way, even when one party isn’t filled with sycophants and losers

brandogarcia.bsky.social•81 days ago

Yep—Congress could have stepped in any time.

playtyperguy.com•80 days ago

When Manchin and Sinema tanked Biden's priorities (esp on voting and abortion rights) they did so without fear or second thought. Republicans like Cassidy helped put RFK in charge of public health.

brandogarcia.bsky.social•80 days ago

The incentives for party loyalty are completely asymmetrical.

hope8.bsky.social•82 days ago

This is the fault of every single sitting Republican..

bikingcitizen.bsky.social•81 days ago

Complicity

askgma.bsky.social•82 days ago

He doesn’t have nearly the power msm and social media would have us believe. It’s a con and we are the dupes. But we are too slow to learned think someone else will solve the Fox problem. Or the court problem.

manuele.bsky.social•82 days ago

the criminal organization aka GOP uses Trump as the fall guy.

mikeintucson123.bsky.social•82 days ago

The complicity of the R’s is simply unforgivable. They should all be happy I am not in charge.

massachusettsxy.bsky.social•81 days ago

Correct. Assuming we survive this, reforms such as ability to recall Federal elected officials must be enacted.

hellofriend9753.bsky.social•80 days ago

The one man isn’t Trump.

luisapersnik.bsky.social•82 days ago

Very true and the maga voters.

maxinefaulk.bsky.social•82 days ago

And the courts.

osbournemom.bsky.social•82 days ago

AND the frickin MEDIA.

bkelsey91.bsky.social•82 days ago

And don't forget about SCOTUS

bershod.bsky.social•81 days ago

THIS⬆️

sigill.bsky.social•82 days ago

Every Republican in Congress is responsible. Even a small handful of them could end this tomorrow

kendimcdil.bsky.social•82 days ago

exactly

pluribus-unum.co•82 days ago

Call Congress and ask that they take back their authority over spending and tariffs.

202-224-3121

https://www.senate.gov/senators

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

janetlinde.bsky.social•82 days ago

Indeed. I called my congressional delegation on Friday (they're all Republican, from deep-red Montana) to tell them that, not only can they put a stop to the tariffs, but *I know* they can do it. And if I know, so do a whole slew of other constituents.

kdacar.com•82 days ago

I was just saying something very similar.
https://bsky.app/profile/kdacar.com/post/3lm75bjfglc2q

captainahab.bsky.social•82 days ago

more than that, Trump would veto the Cantwell-Grassley bill

sigill.bsky.social•82 days ago

It would take 20 senators and ~5 reps to remove him from office, or 20 senators and ~75 reps to override a veto. Either way, still a fairly small handful in my mind.

themilfmag.net•82 days ago

garland and by extension biden

riz4robot.bsky.social•81 days ago

yeah right

maximumeffort433.bsky.social•82 days ago

Because I feel like casting a wide net: A lot of Republican Governors and state legislatures fucked around with their voting laws with a damn near explicit intent of disenfranchising the Democratic base.

The whole party is complicit in Trump's arson, they all carried his gasoline.

traveller-in-black.bsky.social•82 days ago

This has always been the case; their disenfranchisement project is not new, and finds its origins in the 1971 Powell Memorandum.

It has always been the plan, to have business take control of the political levers of power.

maximumeffort433.bsky.social•82 days ago

I'm so glad to see people referencing the Powell Memo in the wild!

Yeah, exactly, Republicans have been at this shit for my entire lifetime and then some.

Fine, "things got out of hand," but they let the fires burn and kept adding fuel. Now we're here.

traveller-in-black.bsky.social•82 days ago

I am of the opinion - I haven't researched it - but I think the Powell Memorandum finds its origins in The Business Plot, in which a cadre of business types wanted to overthrow FDR (including Prescott Bush - yes, of _That_ Bush family) and install a compliant General. The General declined.

traveller-in-black.bsky.social•82 days ago

General Smedley Butler not only wasn't the slightest bit compliant, but he called them out and testified against them.

maximumeffort433.bsky.social•82 days ago

The US Chamber of Commerce funded the Powell memo, then Nixon made him a fucking Supreme Court Justice, now Republicans are still using the same gameplan but on a Fox News scale and with a lot of Southern Strategy mixed in.

ethicsshouldmatter.bsky.social•81 days ago

We should refer to the upcoming market crash as
Red Republican Monday. They are collaborators and they need to own this.

imagin8ion.bsky.social•82 days ago

It's a death cult 🤷‍♀️

thatshockratees.bsky.social•81 days ago

"What will you do to restrain your party's leaders if they turn against the country and attack it" should become a normal campaign question.

cadoc.bsky.social•81 days ago

The UK is normally a counter-example to how a country should be run, but the ruthlessness with which the parties dispose of their leaders is something to be admired.

jmjr227.bsky.social•81 days ago

The Maga party is not the same as the traditional Republican party, however the Republican party, as we all knew it, has decided to Enable this administration, to destroy our country and our lives! The Republican party is totally dead now! They will never come back from this!

alisoncreekside.bsky.social•82 days ago

77 million people voted for Trump for president. Twice.

johnny-blue01.bsky.social•82 days ago

scottw.bsky.social•82 days ago

Half right. Right in principle.

On this time spectrum, however, the moment 77 million nullified 93 felonies was the moment he was given that power.

It was also the exact moment our democracy expired.

In my opinion, there are only two tests remaining. One is the stress test of our military.

…

scottw.bsky.social•82 days ago

The second is in how and when The People practically define “tyranny.”

The second test has never happened.

terencecanada.bsky.social•81 days ago

You can get out of it, but you aren't willing to endanger yourself.

rogermccarthy.bsky.social•80 days ago

You have 77 million problems and each and every one of them will be a problem until you work as hard to disenfranchise them as they are working to disenfranchise you.

rogermccarthy.bsky.social•82 days ago

And 77 million voters.

raffez.bsky.social•81 days ago

You are correct. If the Republican party sits idly by as Trump destroys the USA they are complicit in its destruction and should be held accountable legally and morally.

lilflonase.bsky.social•81 days ago

Yes. Let’s not let the entire Republican Party off the hook for that which they have enabled

jimsdouglas.bsky.social•82 days ago

“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition” sounds sensible. Who could imagine that the men who got themselves elected to the national legislature would then fully cede their hard-won authority to a mad king? The whole point was to get away from a mad king.

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-04-02-0199

accidentalflyer.bsky.social•82 days ago

At this point it's no longer a hyperbole to equate today's Republican Party to the German Nazi Party.

chrismac4u.bsky.social•81 days ago

So… what you’re saying is… he does have this kind of power.

web.kim•82 days ago

In a way, one man does have the power because those supine cheetolickers in Congress willingly gave it to him.

peoriabummer.bsky.social•82 days ago

Not just the cheetolickers. IEEPA is an abdication of Congress’s responsibilities that dates all the way back to 1977. We need limits on the president’s emergency powers.

digitalmb.bsky.social•82 days ago

Yes

https://youtu.be/l9m1cnzQE-g?si=QKBwiVi4GQgq3_Do

duhoc.bsky.social•81 days ago

At this point it’s fair to point to it as permanent demon that has been part of America from the outset. I could describe it as this but that, but I shall merely label MTG syndrome.

aussiedingo.bsky.social•81 days ago

The one man who did have too much power, allowing him to buy the presidency - that's the real problem. Any system that allows that kind of possibility is broken!

aussiedingo.bsky.social•81 days ago

prettybluecottage.bsky.social•82 days ago

I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately - Murdoch is the most powerful person in the world right now. It’s like the line from my Big Fat Greek Wedding - “`The Man Is The Head, But The Woman Is The Neck, And She Can Turn The Head Any Way She Wants.'' Murdoch is the neck.

johnraff.bsky.social•82 days ago

Murdoch has been a major centre of evil in the world for years, decades...

"The world has a problem with Rupert" wrote someone so long ago that it's unGoogleable.

riz4robot.bsky.social•82 days ago

heatherherbert.uk•82 days ago

But lying to yourself that it's just one person, means you don't have to realise systematic change is required, rather than just getting rid of a single person.

billmccormickpm.bsky.social•81 days ago

Yep. Trump doesnt do this without Roberts. Alito. Thomas. Mitch. Johnson. Bondi. Etc etc

shrink-e-dink.bsky.social•81 days ago

And the clear-eyed votes of 77 million people who had been told explicitly by BOTH that one man and his opponents that this was the plan

twardell.bsky.social•82 days ago

Bingo

tauriq.bsky.social•81 days ago

Weird, disgusting death cult masquerading as a political party.

cubeappbsk.bsky.social•81 days ago

Trump 1 had minders.

Trump 2 has worshippers.

saneplanet.bsky.social•82 days ago

IF there's one thing you watch today, this is it
https://bsky.app/profile/saneplanet.bsky.social/post/3lm6wtt5hwc2r

readeradrift.bsky.social•82 days ago

Still remember when you made fun of the women fighting this early calling them resistance wine moms

intellect1000.bsky.social•81 days ago

CORRECTION

NO! You do not have "humanity's greatest health care achievment"

CANADA HAS THE GREATEST HEALTH CARE ACHIEVMENT!

So, STOP with the eternal fucking bragging that the whole world is sick to death of! SICK OF IT!

mcclaryj.bsky.social•81 days ago

There are no technicalities with power. “He has it…” That is where this sentiment ends. It doesn’t matter why he has it or how he has it, the system has not slammed to a stop. It continues on, so clearly there is no caveat or restriction on his power. The only response is major reform and change.

etbalsbaugh.bsky.social•81 days ago

They literally stood by and cheered.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is their spirit animal

garysnyder.bsky.social•82 days ago

You can count the folks who despise him in the hundreds of millions if not over a billion globally. We [over] count his supporters in the tens of millions because they are loud and can be perceived as 'scary' by a population used to using reason, smarts, an education to solve problems.

trishanderton.bsky.social•81 days ago

THEY COULD STOP THIS. They refuse.

sonofherby.bsky.social•81 days ago

Yep, it's why they all must go.

trishanderton.bsky.social•81 days ago

Every. Last. One. And most of the Dems too.

cadoc.bsky.social•81 days ago

^ and this is why there will be no backlash wipeout for Republicans

They'll close ranks and maintain their core of true believers, while Dems will take turns blaming each other for not opposing Trump correctly the moment they have power

sonofherby.bsky.social•81 days ago

That's why I think we need new parties, but for now I think we need a movement. We need to coalesce around a set of non-negotiables.
1. Money out of politics. Amendment overturning Citizens United and federally fund all national elections.
2. Get rid of the electoral college.

sonofherby.bsky.social•81 days ago

2. Term limits for Sens and Reps.
3. Uncap the House.
4. Expand the Supreme Court to 15, with judges rotating in from the Circuit courts.
5. Pass a voting rights amendment. No more gerrymandering.

cadoc.bsky.social•81 days ago

Lots of good ideas, all of them DOA because of the current Supreme Court. Something to revisit in 10 - 20 years, until then, dream smaller I guess.

dashleyca.bsky.social•81 days ago

This is true. They always win because they stick together.

wilreynolds.bsky.social•81 days ago

So well said.

kmcorby.bsky.social•82 days ago

My husband and I were just discussing this. Congress has abandoned its Article One responsibilities.

This shit is exactly why the Framers gave Congress the power of the purse.

elizmadsen.bsky.social•82 days ago

The reason Nixon resigned is that the Republicans of his time forced him to resign. The Republicans of our current time do not have that courage or commitment to the US.

dawnbrayton.bsky.social•82 days ago

Agree! I feel like this point is not shared enough!

castyman22205.bsky.social•81 days ago

I hate the two party system smh

Increases the likelihood of one political party becoming a cult that hates democracy and then getting unified control of the government after an election where voters don’t know how inflation works.

cadoc.bsky.social•81 days ago

Does it though? Two party systems typically end up with each party being a big tent held together with teneous alliances. That's the case for Dems, that's how Republicans used to be, same for Labour, LDP etc.

Modern Republicans are... unique, to put it nicely.

seasailor.bsky.social•82 days ago

Such an important point to keep saying out loud.

grantxw8.bsky.social•82 days ago

This is angels dancing on a pinhead level argument. He does have the power because he was given it. Again, he was given it so he has the power. Congress could grow a pair and take it from him but they’re cowards so they’ll let him destroy America and the world economy. Infamy awaits them.

frapdoodler.bsky.social•82 days ago

and the most powerful American media network backing him, together with majority of billionaire owners of social media platforms and their algorithmic bias ...

docslacker.bsky.social•82 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/docslacker.bsky.social/post/3llv4tvxsc22i

gratefullifeco.bsky.social•81 days ago

If on your job you caused a global crisis, wouldn't you be fired? It's past time for this firing. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/04/06/trumps-trade-war-threatens-a-global-recession

debkat.bsky.social•81 days ago

The founding fathers never counted on a major political party in our country completely betraying their oath. They weren't perfect, they just never anticipated that that party would someday want a king.

spacecowboyoutlaw.bsky.social•81 days ago

the founding fathers roasting in hell

broccolee.bsky.social•82 days ago

Trump’s economic strategy

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a5ih_TQWqCA

anotherdaphne.bsky.social•82 days ago

that helps ever so much. Future guard rails need to include disallowing the power-grabbing by a single person while in official/semi-official position and some means of also stopping a person from wielding such enormous power over others that they ride roughshod over populace/rule of law.

weisdorf.bsky.social•82 days ago

Precisely! The simple view of History attributes too much significance to the actions of individuals (men), while ignoring the structural and institutional circumstances that gave rise to their power.

The GOP could have killed the MAGA cult in its infancy...

...but apparently, they are 'pro-life'

bevy-b.bsky.social•82 days ago

The republican Congress allowed themselves to be neutered. And now, they feel unable to do anything to stop Trump from his insanity

gibbyretired.bsky.social•81 days ago

And. The Supreme Court Of The United States

MADNESS

lillym2.bsky.social•81 days ago

Exactly. One man a group that consists of a cross between idiots and cowards.

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