TWO RARE OCCURRENCES IN ONE DAY
George Bush Vetos A Bill (Boo.)
David Wright Goes Deep (Yea.)
(They did dine together last winter, no?)
Now, I'll make like Atrios: Discuss.
David Wright Goes Deep (Yea.)
(They did dine together last winter, no?)
Now, I'll make like Atrios: Discuss.
Labels: Though Something Tells Me I'm Not Getting 436 Comments, Two Maybe?
posted by Mike at 7:39 AM
12 Comments:
"George Bush Vetos A Bill (Boo.)"
You know what's strange to me about this? Not that it's Bush's first veto; he did preside over a Republican Congress for most of his term up 'til now, after all.
What's strange is that the Constition vests in CONGRESS -- not the President -- the power to declare war. In this case, Congress never declared war -- they just authorized the president to do what was necessary, given a set of facts and circumstances (which, in retrospect, have yet to be proved -- i.e., the weapons of mass destruction have yet to be found and they're almost certainly no longer an "imminent threat"). Now, when Congress is trying to declare an end to the war, the President is saying "I don't have to listen to you")
In effect, the Legislature "lent" the executive the power to Declare war, based on a false premise. And I ask, is THIS even consistent with the Constitution?
And now, the Executive claims that the Legislature can never call in its loan.
Therefore, as I see it, the Legislature and the Executive, working together, initially, have ammended the Constitution without going through the prescribed ammendment procedures.
Now, we all know that the Executive branch has been calling the shots on "undeclared" wars since long ago and that the legislature has abdicated this function.
But we shouldn't forget: the power to declare was is EXPRESSLY a LEGISLATIVE function. Congress SHOULD be able to force the President to end this war.
I hope that Liberals and Conservatives reading this blog think about this and comprehend its importance for the next issue-of-the-moment. How much of the Constition are you willing to sacrifice the next time an issue important to YOU rolls around?
My view is that most people don't really care about seperation of powers. They say they do, but when push comes to shove, what they really want to see is issues resolved in a manner that produces a PUBLIC POLICY result they agree with. And that is what takes us down the road to completely eviscerating the Consitition, IMHO.
Two! you've now reached your goal.
A lucky single, a lucky HR, and a nice shot for the double. I won't break out the rap lyrics just yet, but he might be stirring.
Maybe Willie will get credit from the masses for moving him if he does break out? Silly me, Willie will get blamed for not doing it sooner.
applesaucer - I'm a bit young to remember Vietnam, but didn't a similar thing happen with the war over there, in that a trumped up event was used to start a non-declared war? And I recall reading that many complained it was illegal. And wasn't it a Democrat as President at the time?
I'm not defending The Decider. I think the war is so much BS. The bastards lied. Tenet is a douche for waiting till he has a book to sell to speak out against it. They are all to blame. But this is not the first time a President got us into a war and didn't know when to end it.
Bush blew a grand opportunity here. He could have signed it, and then blamed the Dems is a pullout turned Iraq into a bigger clusterfuck than it is now.
This ends Ed's momentary foray into political discussion. Now back to what I know better, baseball and boobs.
Then again, we have a lot of boobs running this country, so...
Thanks, I'll be here all week!
Right on, applesaucer, on the observation about who has the actual power to declare war, and on what has apparently become of that power.
It would make a helluva Supreme Court case if someone could bring it (against the executive, oh, excuse me, the 'decider').
And to think. A blue dress got the last guy impeached. This guy deserves so much worse.
And ed in westchester, right on for calling Tenet a bad name. I have worse for him that I won't type. Where the hell WAS he when the crap was all going down. He admits now that it was all lies. Damned lies. And that he knew it. Thanks a lot, thousands of lives ruined later, you (bad name). Thanks a lot.
"...wasn't it a Democrat as President at the time?
I'm not defending The Decider"
Ed, I agree with your post. Regarding the above, please let me sincerely say "Thank you!" Usually, I'm accused of being biased against Democrats -- for good reason, since I was a Republican until ~10 years ago.
As Mike would tell you, I hold LBJ's presidency in very low esteem. I think he was a fraud in many respects, including his promotion and prosecution of an undeclared war.
I'm not a pacifist/turn-the-other-cheek guy by any means, but the older I get, the more I'm convinced that these foreign escapades drag the US down. Not only that -- or more precisely -- I tend to think that they benefit the few at the expense of the many. But the many -- including me from time to time -- are fooled and don't even understand the price we pay: inflation, civil liberty erosion, evisceration of the Constition, [fill in the blank].
I think both Bush and Wright opted to celebrate the International Day of the Worker by actually doing their jobs. Alas, one did his well and the other not so much.
Nicely put Applesaucer.
Mike
Methinks The Prince may in fact be back.
2-4 today so far, 1 RBI
Drat... I wish I got here first.
Just to leave the "Frist" comment.
Anyway 9th!
Well, I'll admit that I had to look up who David Wright is. But I'm glad to know you're not a Yankees fan.
Apple - I agree. (And on that rare note, let me move on.)
Ed - Maybe he's turned th corner. I need to see him really driving the ball in Arizona this series. I remember a couple times when he was on fire in that ballpark.
Hoosier - Is that a typo, or a pun of sorts on our favorite Republican doctor from Capitol Hill.
Agi - Yankee fans are the Republicans of the baseball world.
I gotcha - sounds a lot like Manchester United fans or Abromovich-era Chelsea fans who like his Russian cash.
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