Wednesday, September 02, 2026

Trump's extreme executive power given by this Supreme Court and this Congress.

It's too bad how much executive power Trump has taken advantage of. This, because the Supreme Court has almost given him dictatorial powers when it over rides lower courts that have tried to restrain him. Congress hasn't done much either due to Republican majority.

Normally geographic names are handled, in the US, by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN): Established by Congress in 1890. Trump's executive orders can override that so things can be named by his whims.

Names within the US aren't necessarily accepted internationally. In some cases, countries disagree, like in 1982 during the Falkland Islands conflict between UK and Argentina. The UK called that territory the Falkland Islands while Argentina (which was trying to take it by force during the Falkland Islands War) called it Islas Malvinas.

Google Maps is following it's normal protocol off the cliff, so to speak. Google Maps determines geographic names based on local laws and official government mapping sources within each country. For disputed territories or bodies of water with varying names, Google follows a long-standing policy to display local, legally recognized names to users residing within those specific jurisdictions.

Other mapping entities, such as MapQuest and Apple Maps do it differently. New York State and many other public and private entities can it differently as well.

One person, Trump, is exerting lots of executive power over what has normally been decisions made within the US by community via entities, such as the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Before a recent Supreme Court ruling, these parts of the US government have had more independence and were less dependent on the whims of one person.

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