[FrancoDiaz]

Also the problem isn't the "amount of power", the problem is using that power badly.

That's disturbing, but not surprising. I guess unchecked power is ok with you as long as it's policies that you're OK with being implemented.

[matt4077]

I think this is a misunderstanding/misrepresentation of the argument. Following your logic, everyone criticising the Iraq war would be a hypocrite if they did not also oppose Congress' power to authorise wars.

Others are arguing that this executive order violates constitutional rights because it's awfully close to a religious test. Within that line of reasoning, there's no contradiction between opposing this order and not opposing Obama's, assuming those do not violate constitutional rights.

[karlmdavis]

Of course that's okay with most folks. Reality is messy, and large swaths of it are unamenable to formalization in laws; human discretion will always be required.

Now, we can argue about where the balance is best struck, whether it's better to have the president making decisions vs. individual government workers, etc. Those discussions are fine. But we nerds have to stop pretending that a nation's laws are or could be or even should be as black and white and bug free (hah!) as most computer code.

[pitaj]

It's a hypocritical, authoritarian, and dangerous belief that many people of every demographic share.