Robert Scheer writes for the LA Times:
"Is it conceivable that Al Qaeda, as defined by President Bush as the center of a vast and well-organized international terrorist conspiracy, does not exist? ...
"Terrorism is deeply threatening, but it appears to be a much more fragmented and complex phenomenon than the octopus-network image of Al Qaeda, with Bin Laden as its head, would suggest...
"While the BBC documentary acknowledges that the threat of terrorism is both real and growing, it disagrees that the threat is centralized...
"The fact is, despite the efforts of several government commissions and a vast army of investigators, we still do not have a credible narrative of a 'war on terror' that is being fought in the shadows...
"Everything we know comes from two sides that both have a great stake in exaggerating the threat posed by Al Qaeda: the terrorists themselves and the military and intelligence agencies that have a vested interest in maintaining the facade of an overwhelmingly dangerous enemy...
"Such a state of national ignorance about an endless war is, as 'The Power of Nightmares' makes clear, simply unacceptable in a functioning democracy."
Is Al Qaeda Just a Bush Boogeyman?
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Destruction, Natural and Man-Made by Harry Browne
Harry Browne writes:
"This past week the TV screen has been full of pictures showing people in Southeast Asia returning to their villages after the tsunami, only to find their homes completely destroyed.
"Unfortunately, that isn't the only place where people are returning to devastation. The same thing is happening in Fallujah, Iraq...
"Why haven't we seen these pictures on TV? Because the U.S. military has banned TV cameras in the city. (For security reasons, I'm sure.)...
"Speaking of the tsunami: As soon as someone could find George Bush at his Texas ranch and inform him of the disaster... he immediately announced that the U.S. government would donate $15 million in relief funds, and within days had raised that to $35 million. After he was accused of being too stingy, he upped the figure to $350 million.
"Of course, this wasn't his own money he was pledging. He was being generous with your money. And he had no authority to commit even $1 of federal money to anything that hadn't been approved by Congress – which in turn had no Constitutional authority to commit even $1 of federal money to any charity, in the U.S. or overseas...
"Speaking again of the tsunami: One of the unfortunate aftermaths of the tidal wave is the epidemic of malaria that will follow in its wake. Forty years ago that wouldn't have been much of a problem, because the affected areas could have been sprayed with DDT. In fact malaria itself was pretty much eradicated throughout the world, because DDT helped kill the mosquitoes that cause malaria.
"But benevolent souls in the U.S. got together and saw to it that DDT was banned worldwide, because it had interfered with the procreation of bald eagles in America – and because Rachel Carson in her book Silent Spring had asserted, without proof, that DDT could damage the health of human beings. And so every year more than a million souls die of malaria. Fortunately, some countries are repealing their DDT bans. But not the U.S., of course...
"A lot of people have come to realize the folly of saving birds at the expense of humans...
Destruction, Natural and Man-Made by Harry Browne
"This past week the TV screen has been full of pictures showing people in Southeast Asia returning to their villages after the tsunami, only to find their homes completely destroyed.
"Unfortunately, that isn't the only place where people are returning to devastation. The same thing is happening in Fallujah, Iraq...
"Why haven't we seen these pictures on TV? Because the U.S. military has banned TV cameras in the city. (For security reasons, I'm sure.)...
"Speaking of the tsunami: As soon as someone could find George Bush at his Texas ranch and inform him of the disaster... he immediately announced that the U.S. government would donate $15 million in relief funds, and within days had raised that to $35 million. After he was accused of being too stingy, he upped the figure to $350 million.
"Of course, this wasn't his own money he was pledging. He was being generous with your money. And he had no authority to commit even $1 of federal money to anything that hadn't been approved by Congress – which in turn had no Constitutional authority to commit even $1 of federal money to any charity, in the U.S. or overseas...
"Speaking again of the tsunami: One of the unfortunate aftermaths of the tidal wave is the epidemic of malaria that will follow in its wake. Forty years ago that wouldn't have been much of a problem, because the affected areas could have been sprayed with DDT. In fact malaria itself was pretty much eradicated throughout the world, because DDT helped kill the mosquitoes that cause malaria.
"But benevolent souls in the U.S. got together and saw to it that DDT was banned worldwide, because it had interfered with the procreation of bald eagles in America – and because Rachel Carson in her book Silent Spring had asserted, without proof, that DDT could damage the health of human beings. And so every year more than a million souls die of malaria. Fortunately, some countries are repealing their DDT bans. But not the U.S., of course...
"A lot of people have come to realize the folly of saving birds at the expense of humans...
Destruction, Natural and Man-Made by Harry Browne
Congressman Ron Paul Denounces National ID Card
"Congressman Ron Paul today denounced the national ID card provisions contained in the intelligence bill...
"'A national identification card, in whatever form it may take, will allow the federal government to inappropriately monitor the movements and transactions of every American,' Paul continued. 'History shows that governments inevitably use such power in harmful ways. The 9-11 commission, whose recommendations underlie this bill, has called for internal screening points where identification will be demanded. Domestic travel restrictions are the hallmark of authoritarian states, not free nations...
"'Nationalizing standards for drivers licenses and birth certificates, and linking them together via a national database, creates a national ID system pure and simple... regardless of whether the ID itself is still stamped with the name of your state.'
"'Those who are willing to allow the government to establish a Soviet-style internal passport system because they think it will make us safer are terribly mistaken,' Paul concluded. 'Subjecting every citizen to surveillance and screening points actually will make us less safe, not in the least because it will divert resources away from tracking and apprehending terrorists and deploy them against innocent Americans! Every conservative who believes in constitutional restraints on government should reject the authoritarian national ID card and the nonsensical intelligence bill itself.'"
Paul Denounces National ID Card
"'A national identification card, in whatever form it may take, will allow the federal government to inappropriately monitor the movements and transactions of every American,' Paul continued. 'History shows that governments inevitably use such power in harmful ways. The 9-11 commission, whose recommendations underlie this bill, has called for internal screening points where identification will be demanded. Domestic travel restrictions are the hallmark of authoritarian states, not free nations...
"'Nationalizing standards for drivers licenses and birth certificates, and linking them together via a national database, creates a national ID system pure and simple... regardless of whether the ID itself is still stamped with the name of your state.'
"'Those who are willing to allow the government to establish a Soviet-style internal passport system because they think it will make us safer are terribly mistaken,' Paul concluded. 'Subjecting every citizen to surveillance and screening points actually will make us less safe, not in the least because it will divert resources away from tracking and apprehending terrorists and deploy them against innocent Americans! Every conservative who believes in constitutional restraints on government should reject the authoritarian national ID card and the nonsensical intelligence bill itself.'"
Paul Denounces National ID Card
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Christianity and War by Laurence M. Vance
"Or, as the historian and economist, Murray Rothbard (1926–1995), said, in making his case that America has only had two just wars (1776 & 1861), 'A just war exists when a people tries to ward off the threat of coercive domination by another people, or to overthrow an already-existing domination. A war is unjust, on the other hand, when a people try to impose domination on another people, or try to retain an already existing coercive rule over them.'
"The fact that a government claims a war is just is irrelevant, for American history is replete with examples of American presidents who have exaggerated, misinformed, misrepresented, and lied to deceive the American people into supporting wars that they would not have supported if they had known the facts.
"Veritatis Amans, in his 1847 article 'Can War, Under Any Circumstances, Be Justified on the Principles of the Christian Religion?', wrote: 'But under what circumstances is war truly defensive? We reply, when its object is to repel an invasion; when there is no alternative but to submit to bondage and death, or to resist.'
"George Washington: 'The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible.' Thomas Jefferson: 'Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations – entangling alliances with none.' John Quincy Adams: 'America . . . goes not abroad seeking monsters to destroy.'
"So the War on Terrorism, like the War on Poverty and the War on Drugs, is in so many ways just a tragic joke. But why Christians support any of these bogus 'wars' is an even greater tragedy."
Christianity and War by Laurence M. Vance
"The fact that a government claims a war is just is irrelevant, for American history is replete with examples of American presidents who have exaggerated, misinformed, misrepresented, and lied to deceive the American people into supporting wars that they would not have supported if they had known the facts.
"Veritatis Amans, in his 1847 article 'Can War, Under Any Circumstances, Be Justified on the Principles of the Christian Religion?', wrote: 'But under what circumstances is war truly defensive? We reply, when its object is to repel an invasion; when there is no alternative but to submit to bondage and death, or to resist.'
"George Washington: 'The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible.' Thomas Jefferson: 'Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations – entangling alliances with none.' John Quincy Adams: 'America . . . goes not abroad seeking monsters to destroy.'
"So the War on Terrorism, like the War on Poverty and the War on Drugs, is in so many ways just a tragic joke. But why Christians support any of these bogus 'wars' is an even greater tragedy."
Christianity and War by Laurence M. Vance
Christianity and War Revisited by Laurence M. Vance
"There is nothing 'Christian' about the state’s aggressive militarism, its senseless wars, its interventions into the affairs of other countries, and its expanding empire...
"... loving one’s country has nothing to do with loving the government, being patriotic does not mean blindly following whatever the government says, and some of the greatest critics of the military have been in the military..."
Christianity and War Revisited by Laurence M. Vance
"... loving one’s country has nothing to do with loving the government, being patriotic does not mean blindly following whatever the government says, and some of the greatest critics of the military have been in the military..."
Christianity and War Revisited by Laurence M. Vance
Should the US Military Be Allowed to Torture People? by Harry Browne
"In all the arguing over the presumed rights of a terrorist, one thing is being overlooked: no one knows for sure whether the person being tortured really is a terrorist...
"The problem, as so often is the case, comes back to government schools. Because there is virtually no education covering the reasons for the Bill of Rights, very few people in America have an understanding of why we have a Bill of Rights and why it must be enforced without exception – in both civilian courts and in military justice...
"If the government is allowed to suspend the Bill of Rights for anyone, the security of all of us is diminished.
"P.P.S. What is truly amazing is that after the Abu Ghraib scandal erupted, George W. Bush was still tsk, tsking about Hussein's alleged use of torture."
Should the US Military Be Allowed to Torture People? by Harry Browne
"The problem, as so often is the case, comes back to government schools. Because there is virtually no education covering the reasons for the Bill of Rights, very few people in America have an understanding of why we have a Bill of Rights and why it must be enforced without exception – in both civilian courts and in military justice...
"If the government is allowed to suspend the Bill of Rights for anyone, the security of all of us is diminished.
"P.P.S. What is truly amazing is that after the Abu Ghraib scandal erupted, George W. Bush was still tsk, tsking about Hussein's alleged use of torture."
Should the US Military Be Allowed to Torture People? by Harry Browne
Education Inflation by Neal Zupancic
Neil Zupancic makes the case that government subsidies have cheapened the value of a college education.
"... the Village Voice just ran a series of articles called Generation Debt... What they tell us is that college graduates have over $20,000 worth of debt on average and have difficulty finding a job that will allow them to pay off those debts. In other words, college education (for these people) costs a lot and gives little monetary return...
"Flooding the market with supply in the absence of demand creates a surplus, which drives down prices – in this case, salaries... this is a prime example of an investment turned sour by State intervention.
"The public education movement has decreased the quality of education consistently while also increasing its price. Education continues to eat up more of our tax dollars while producing students who have actually learned ever less and less...
"The answer to this problem is clear. The first step is to pull all government, which is to say, taxpayer, money out of college funding. Auction off all state colleges and Universities – state governments are not accountable enough to run them properly... A college education should be seen as a luxury, not a right or necessity...
"Everyone would be more wealthy and prosperous since they wouldn't have to pay taxes to support education anymore. And education would be a valuable commodity, not a rubber stamp of State approval."
Education Inflation by Neal Zupancic
"... the Village Voice just ran a series of articles called Generation Debt... What they tell us is that college graduates have over $20,000 worth of debt on average and have difficulty finding a job that will allow them to pay off those debts. In other words, college education (for these people) costs a lot and gives little monetary return...
"Flooding the market with supply in the absence of demand creates a surplus, which drives down prices – in this case, salaries... this is a prime example of an investment turned sour by State intervention.
"The public education movement has decreased the quality of education consistently while also increasing its price. Education continues to eat up more of our tax dollars while producing students who have actually learned ever less and less...
"The answer to this problem is clear. The first step is to pull all government, which is to say, taxpayer, money out of college funding. Auction off all state colleges and Universities – state governments are not accountable enough to run them properly... A college education should be seen as a luxury, not a right or necessity...
"Everyone would be more wealthy and prosperous since they wouldn't have to pay taxes to support education anymore. And education would be a valuable commodity, not a rubber stamp of State approval."
Education Inflation by Neal Zupancic
Peggy Noonan -- Way Too Much God
Peggy Noonan writes:
"Ending tyranny in the world? Well that's an ambition, and if you're going to have an ambition it might as well be a big one. But this declaration, which is not wrong by any means, seemed to me to land somewhere between dreamy and disturbing. Tyranny is a very bad thing and quite wicked, but one doesn't expect we're going to eradicate it any time soon. Again, this is not heaven, it's earth."
OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan
"Ending tyranny in the world? Well that's an ambition, and if you're going to have an ambition it might as well be a big one. But this declaration, which is not wrong by any means, seemed to me to land somewhere between dreamy and disturbing. Tyranny is a very bad thing and quite wicked, but one doesn't expect we're going to eradicate it any time soon. Again, this is not heaven, it's earth."
OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan
About That Cakewalk . . . by Paul Craig Roberts
Paul Craig Roberts writes:
"The Washington establishment must be wondering today how it was convinced into making such a fatal mistake. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein had no terrorist links or involvement in the September 11 terror attack. US casualties (dead and wounded) now stand at 10 percent of the US invasion force. A few thousand lightly armed insurgents have tied down eight US divisions. Iraq’s infrastructure lies in ruins. Fallujah, once a city of 300,000, has been destroyed. The US has lost control of the roads, and most of the US fighting force is confined to protecting supply lines and its own bases. The US military is cracking under the strain of prolonged service in the field. The cost of the war mounts, putting more pressure on a collapsing US dollar. The US occupation has recruited thousands of new terrorists for Osama bin Laden and provided a training ground. Torture and torture memos have destroyed America’s moral reputation. Civil war looms as neither Sunnis, Shiites, nor Kurds are willing to support a government they do not control. Anti-American feelings throughout the Middle East threaten to undermine the secular puppets that the US keeps afloat in Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Generals speak of staying another 3, 5, 7, and 10 years in order 'to get the job done.'
"If this is a cakewalk, what is a failed invasion and a lost war?"
About That Cakewalk . . . by Paul Craig Roberts
"The Washington establishment must be wondering today how it was convinced into making such a fatal mistake. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein had no terrorist links or involvement in the September 11 terror attack. US casualties (dead and wounded) now stand at 10 percent of the US invasion force. A few thousand lightly armed insurgents have tied down eight US divisions. Iraq’s infrastructure lies in ruins. Fallujah, once a city of 300,000, has been destroyed. The US has lost control of the roads, and most of the US fighting force is confined to protecting supply lines and its own bases. The US military is cracking under the strain of prolonged service in the field. The cost of the war mounts, putting more pressure on a collapsing US dollar. The US occupation has recruited thousands of new terrorists for Osama bin Laden and provided a training ground. Torture and torture memos have destroyed America’s moral reputation. Civil war looms as neither Sunnis, Shiites, nor Kurds are willing to support a government they do not control. Anti-American feelings throughout the Middle East threaten to undermine the secular puppets that the US keeps afloat in Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Generals speak of staying another 3, 5, 7, and 10 years in order 'to get the job done.'
"If this is a cakewalk, what is a failed invasion and a lost war?"
About That Cakewalk . . . by Paul Craig Roberts
What States Rights Really Mean by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
Professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr. reviews "Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy" (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), by William J. Watkins, Jr.
"Nowhere had the states delegated any authority to the federal government to pass legislation pertaining to the freedom of speech or press. In doing so, then, the federal government had encroached on a state prerogative...
"As far as Jefferson could see, the only way in which a state could both remain in the Union and retain its liberties in the face of an unconstitutional act on the part of the federal government was for the state to declare that by virtue of its being unconstitutional, the federal action was null and void and would not be enforced within the borders of that state...
"You may have noticed that these ideas are rather out of fashion today on both left and right. Watkins, however, identifies these ideas as absolutely fundamental to American liberty and as legitimate means, faithful to the spirit of the Constitution, of preventing the expansion of the federal government..."
What States Rights Really Mean by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
"Nowhere had the states delegated any authority to the federal government to pass legislation pertaining to the freedom of speech or press. In doing so, then, the federal government had encroached on a state prerogative...
"As far as Jefferson could see, the only way in which a state could both remain in the Union and retain its liberties in the face of an unconstitutional act on the part of the federal government was for the state to declare that by virtue of its being unconstitutional, the federal action was null and void and would not be enforced within the borders of that state...
"You may have noticed that these ideas are rather out of fashion today on both left and right. Watkins, however, identifies these ideas as absolutely fundamental to American liberty and as legitimate means, faithful to the spirit of the Constitution, of preventing the expansion of the federal government..."
What States Rights Really Mean by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
Iraq Dispatches: Odd Happenings in Fallujah
Dahr Jamail writes:
"... pieces of these bombs exploded into large fires that burnt peoples skin even when water was dumped on their bodies, which is the effect of phosphorous weapons, as well as napalm."
Iraq Dispatches: Odd Happenings in Fallujah
"... pieces of these bombs exploded into large fires that burnt peoples skin even when water was dumped on their bodies, which is the effect of phosphorous weapons, as well as napalm."
Iraq Dispatches: Odd Happenings in Fallujah
Iraq Dispatches: Destroying Babylon
Dahr Jamail writes:
"With four of Iraq’s 18 governorates unable to participate in them, an estimated 90% of the Sunni population not voting, a sizeable amount of the Shia boycotting and a very large percentage of Iraqis unwilling to vote because of the horrendous security situation, calling them elections seems a bit of a stretch."
Iraq Dispatches: Destroying Babylon
"With four of Iraq’s 18 governorates unable to participate in them, an estimated 90% of the Sunni population not voting, a sizeable amount of the Shia boycotting and a very large percentage of Iraqis unwilling to vote because of the horrendous security situation, calling them elections seems a bit of a stretch."
Iraq Dispatches: Destroying Babylon
Iraq Dispatches: Collective Punishment
Dahr Jamail writes:
"I just phoned the military press office in Baghdad and asked them if they can provide me information on why they are blocking roads, firing weapons, plowing down date palm groves, and cutting electricity in the Al-Arab Jubour Village in Al-Dora, as several of the residents there claim.
"The spokesman, who won’t give me his name, said he knew nothing about such things, but that there were ongoing security operations in the Al-Dora area."
Iraq Dispatches: Collective Punishment
"I just phoned the military press office in Baghdad and asked them if they can provide me information on why they are blocking roads, firing weapons, plowing down date palm groves, and cutting electricity in the Al-Arab Jubour Village in Al-Dora, as several of the residents there claim.
"The spokesman, who won’t give me his name, said he knew nothing about such things, but that there were ongoing security operations in the Al-Dora area."
Iraq Dispatches: Collective Punishment
Friday, January 21, 2005
Private Help for Tsunami Victims by Ron Paul
Congressman Ron Paul reminds us:
"It’s admirable that Americans have been so willing to open their hearts and pocketbooks for the victims of this enormous tragedy, but it’s not the job of the federal government to make a show of generosity to the world with your tax dollars. Remember, government officials cannot be generous or charitable, because the money they dispense does not belong to them...
"We are mistaken when we assume governments must be the central organizing agents of the relief efforts. Private-sector charities and free-market social cooperation are the real saviors in any natural disaster, despite the intense desire of politicians to be seen as heroes on a white horse – heroes who use other people’s money. Government-to-government transfers are inherently inefficient, and adding the UN as a middleman will only ensure that even less of the money actually reaches those who need it most...
"The Asian tsunami is the worst natural disaster of our lifetimes, and we should all do everything we can to help. Investigate the charities and private groups involved, and send what you can. But let’s get governments and the United Nations out of the way, please."
Private Help for Tsunami Victims by Ron Paul
"It’s admirable that Americans have been so willing to open their hearts and pocketbooks for the victims of this enormous tragedy, but it’s not the job of the federal government to make a show of generosity to the world with your tax dollars. Remember, government officials cannot be generous or charitable, because the money they dispense does not belong to them...
"We are mistaken when we assume governments must be the central organizing agents of the relief efforts. Private-sector charities and free-market social cooperation are the real saviors in any natural disaster, despite the intense desire of politicians to be seen as heroes on a white horse – heroes who use other people’s money. Government-to-government transfers are inherently inefficient, and adding the UN as a middleman will only ensure that even less of the money actually reaches those who need it most...
"The Asian tsunami is the worst natural disaster of our lifetimes, and we should all do everything we can to help. Investigate the charities and private groups involved, and send what you can. But let’s get governments and the United Nations out of the way, please."
Private Help for Tsunami Victims by Ron Paul
Which War Is This Anyway? by Tom Engelhardt
Are they freedom fighters, rebels, resistance movement, and guerillas or are they insurgents, terrorists, dead-enders, bitter enders, and Baathist remnants?
Tom Engelhardt says it seems to depend on whether the invading imperial superpower seeking to set up its own regime is the U.S. in Iraq or Russia in Afghanistan or Grozny.
Which War Is This Anyway? by Tom Engelhardt
Tom Engelhardt says it seems to depend on whether the invading imperial superpower seeking to set up its own regime is the U.S. in Iraq or Russia in Afghanistan or Grozny.
Which War Is This Anyway? by Tom Engelhardt
Ed Current: Where is Pro-Life Constituency for Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution?
"The pro-life constituency doesn't have the votes for impeachment and removal, but may enough votes for jurisdiction removal. It is far easier to remove the issue from the judge than the judge from the issue."
Ed Current: Where is Pro-Life Constituency for Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution?
Ed Current: Where is Pro-Life Constituency for Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution?
The News-Herald - 01/11/2005 - You're invited? (to the inauguration)
The inaugural parade participants spent "most of the day in heavily guarded warming tents... warned that they will not be allowed to leave the tents except to go to portable toilets accompanied by a security escort. Other instructions given performers include a warning not to look directly at Bush while passing the presidential reviewing stand, not to look to either side and not to make any sudden movements..."
The News-Herald - 01/11/2005 - You're invited?
The News-Herald - 01/11/2005 - You're invited?
The High Price of Official Lies
William Norman Grigg writes:
"Speaking just days before he launched the invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush digested the rationale for war into a single question: 'Has the Iraqi regime fully and unconditionally disarmed, as required by [UN Security Council] Resolution 1441, or has it not?' After nearly two years, the loss of more than 1,300 U.S. military personnel, the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis, and the expenditure of roughly $150 billion, the Bush administration has tacitly acknowledged that Saddam had no stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction...
"Actually, the world would have been better off if Washington had not connived in Saddam’s rise to power, and supplied him with the material and economic means to stay in power for decades...
"It’s a remarkable turn of events when ending a useless, counterproductive foreign war is treated as an iconoclastic notion, rather than unassailable common sense...
"By abdicating its constitutional power to declare war against Iraq, Congress embarked on what could be called a 'faith-based' foreign policy endeavor. For its part, the Bush administration acted in manifest bad faith, barraging the public with artfully wrought falsehoods and conducting a shameless, multi-layer bait-and-switch deception..."
The High Price of Official Lies
"Speaking just days before he launched the invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush digested the rationale for war into a single question: 'Has the Iraqi regime fully and unconditionally disarmed, as required by [UN Security Council] Resolution 1441, or has it not?' After nearly two years, the loss of more than 1,300 U.S. military personnel, the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis, and the expenditure of roughly $150 billion, the Bush administration has tacitly acknowledged that Saddam had no stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction...
"Actually, the world would have been better off if Washington had not connived in Saddam’s rise to power, and supplied him with the material and economic means to stay in power for decades...
"It’s a remarkable turn of events when ending a useless, counterproductive foreign war is treated as an iconoclastic notion, rather than unassailable common sense...
"By abdicating its constitutional power to declare war against Iraq, Congress embarked on what could be called a 'faith-based' foreign policy endeavor. For its part, the Bush administration acted in manifest bad faith, barraging the public with artfully wrought falsehoods and conducting a shameless, multi-layer bait-and-switch deception..."
The High Price of Official Lies
The Bush Administration's "Enabling Act"
The New American writes:
"In early December, without a word of public notice, the Justice Department placed on its website a lengthy September 25, 2001 memorandum entitled 'The President's Constitutional Authority to Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorists and Nations Supporting Them.' That document sets out, on behalf of the Bush administration, a plainly totalitarian view of presidential power...
"In defiance of the unambiguous text of the Constitution, the Yoo memo declares: 'If the Framers had wanted to require congressional consent before the initiation of hostilities, they knew how to write such provisions.' As noted above, the Framers of the Constitution did exactly that — and the most influential among them pointedly reiterated that principle on numerous occasions.
"As James Madison, the 'Father of the Constitution,' wrote in a 1792 letter to Thomas Jefferson, 'the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It [the Constitution] has accordingly with studied care, vested the question of war in the Legislature.' Hamilton, who was notable in his zeal for a strong executive, noted in a 1793 essay: 'It is the province and duty of the Executive to preserve to the Nation the blessings of peace. The Legislature alone can interrupt those blessings, by placing the Nation in a state of War.'..."
The Bush Administration's "Enabling Act"
"In early December, without a word of public notice, the Justice Department placed on its website a lengthy September 25, 2001 memorandum entitled 'The President's Constitutional Authority to Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorists and Nations Supporting Them.' That document sets out, on behalf of the Bush administration, a plainly totalitarian view of presidential power...
"In defiance of the unambiguous text of the Constitution, the Yoo memo declares: 'If the Framers had wanted to require congressional consent before the initiation of hostilities, they knew how to write such provisions.' As noted above, the Framers of the Constitution did exactly that — and the most influential among them pointedly reiterated that principle on numerous occasions.
"As James Madison, the 'Father of the Constitution,' wrote in a 1792 letter to Thomas Jefferson, 'the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It [the Constitution] has accordingly with studied care, vested the question of war in the Legislature.' Hamilton, who was notable in his zeal for a strong executive, noted in a 1793 essay: 'It is the province and duty of the Executive to preserve to the Nation the blessings of peace. The Legislature alone can interrupt those blessings, by placing the Nation in a state of War.'..."
The Bush Administration's "Enabling Act"
To the Founders, Congress was king | csmonitor.com
John Dillin writes for The Christian Science Monitor:
"The nation's Founders expected Congress, not the president, to be where the real action was, says Dr. Carol Berkin, a professor of American history at the City College of New York and Baruch College. The president was supposed to be, well, more like an 'errand boy' for Congress.
"[The Founders] assumed that Congress, drawn from all parts of the country, would initiate bills, set budgets, approve wars, provide national leadership, and if necessary, impeach and toss out a wayward president. After all, who would give supreme powers to one man, or woman?
"Looking at today's politics, Berkin says: 'The Founders would be appalled, perhaps the most, in that the president presents a program to the Congress, and the Congress is expected to argue over it. This is the tail wagging the dog. Their view was just the opposite - with the president executing [the policies proposed and approved] by Congress.'...
"The public ranks Congress as successful, or not, depending on whether it enacts the president's program, Berkin says. Such an attitude would leave the Founding Fathers with 'their mouths on the floor,' she says. Yet fighting against the president's program can be the political death knell for a member of Congress, especially if the party cuts off support in the next election..."
To the Founders, Congress was king | csmonitor.com
"The nation's Founders expected Congress, not the president, to be where the real action was, says Dr. Carol Berkin, a professor of American history at the City College of New York and Baruch College. The president was supposed to be, well, more like an 'errand boy' for Congress.
"[The Founders] assumed that Congress, drawn from all parts of the country, would initiate bills, set budgets, approve wars, provide national leadership, and if necessary, impeach and toss out a wayward president. After all, who would give supreme powers to one man, or woman?
"Looking at today's politics, Berkin says: 'The Founders would be appalled, perhaps the most, in that the president presents a program to the Congress, and the Congress is expected to argue over it. This is the tail wagging the dog. Their view was just the opposite - with the president executing [the policies proposed and approved] by Congress.'...
"The public ranks Congress as successful, or not, depending on whether it enacts the president's program, Berkin says. Such an attitude would leave the Founding Fathers with 'their mouths on the floor,' she says. Yet fighting against the president's program can be the political death knell for a member of Congress, especially if the party cuts off support in the next election..."
To the Founders, Congress was king | csmonitor.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
