OS, as an old-line Protestant, doesn't track the path of the Pope too closely. But today, this came across the transom, and given recent events both here and abroad, these words, delivered today in Paris, are cogent:
At the heart of the "City of Light", in front of the magnificent masterwork of French religious culture which is Notre Dame, a great court has been created in order to give fresh impetus to respectful and friendly encounter between people of differing convictions. You young people, believers and non-believers alike, have chosen to come together this evening, as you do in your daily lives, in order to meet one another and to discuss the great questions of human existence. Nowadays many people acknowledge that they are not part of any religion, yet they long for a new world, a world that is freer, more just and united, more peaceful and happy. In speaking to you tonight, I think of all the things you have to say to each other. Those of you who are non-believers challenge believers in a particular way to live in a way consistent with the faith they profess and by your rejection of any distortion of religion which would make it unworthy of man. Those of you who are believers long to tell your friends that the treasure dwelling within you is meant to be shared, it raises questions, it calls for reflection. The question of God is not a menace to society, it does not threaten a truly human life! The question of God must not be absent from the other great questions of our time.
Dear friends, you are challenged to build bridges between one another. Take advantage of this opportunity to discover, deep within your hearts and with serious arguments, the ways which lead to profound dialogue. You have so much to say to one another! Do not turn away from the challenges and issues before you!
The rest is at the link above, and are worth the time taken to read.
Now, let's take a peek at what other folks are saying and doing this weekend.
Our friends at UK Uncut have been cheerily vandalizing central London. Such nice boys and girls.
UK Uncut secret occupation revealed as Fortnum & Mason 3.30pm – UK Uncut occupy Fortnum & Mason and aim to stay for as long as possible
UK Uncut groups from across the country transofrmed banks and shops on Oxford Street into hospitals, libraries and theatres with Sam West, Josie Long and Mark Thomas performing.
UK Uncut, the anti-cuts direct action group, are currently occupying Fortnum & Mason over the tax dodge of over 40 million by its owners Whittington Investments which have a 54% stake in Associated British Foods who produce Ryvita, Kingsmill and others and own Primark. ABF have dodged over £40 million in tax. Over 500 activists congregated on Oxford Circus from the march and from Oxford Street where they had been transforming tax dodging retailers such as Vodafone, Boots and BHS where actors Sam and Timothy West performed and Soho Square where comedians Josie Long and Mark Thomas performed stand up comedy gigs. The activists left Oxford Circus at 3:30 reaching Fortnum & Mason by 4 PM. They are vowing to stay for as long as possible in the shop where there will be music, speeches and games.
Then, let us not forget the cheery group of Islamists who marched yesterday, calling for the imposition of Sharia law in Libya--sweet...
OS has one question: Which of these three alternatives offers us a future?
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
BACHanalia, Nashville TN: A 6-Hour Celebration Of J.S. Bach
N.B. Those who attended (and a lot of people, of all ages, filled the pews!) were treated so some of the most glorious music-making ever seen in Nashville. Carol McClure, with her quartet of harpists, Murray Somerville and friends holding forth with a Brandenburg Concerto, the venerable Wilma Jensen performing the Toccata D minor, and Elisabeth Small's stunning performances of portions of the violin Chaconnes and Sonatas were highlights--but it was all wonderful. Thanks to Christ Church Cathedral and Susan Dupont, event chair.
*****
One of the joys of living in the regions of Nashville TN is the privilege of hearing so much wonderful music, produced locally and performed live. This week alone, OS enjoyed the saxophone artistry of Lou Marini, backed by a cracking good big band, a top-flite country songwriter performing his own material, and tonight--the music of J.S. Bach. Six hours of it, if he can sit still that long.
It's BACHanalia time in Nashville, at Christ Church Cathedral, corner of 9th and Broad downtown. It's a wonderful evening, free to the public. Whole families attend, from kids to seniors. Begins at 5:00 pm, ends as close to 11:00 as can be accomplished.
For OS's readership in this part of the world--a hearty invitation to join in.
Christ Church Cathedral is celebrating the genius and mastery of Johann Sebastian Bach in the fifth annual BACHanalia, a 6-hour marathon music festival. Music begins at 5 pm and continues non-stop until 11 pm on Friday, March 25, 2011. Admission is free.
Audience members may come any time and stay as long as they like. Food, beverages and t-shirts are available for a minimal cost, with music piped into the dining area so as not to miss a minute of the performances.
BACHanalia is a gift to the Nashville community from nearly 100 of Nashville’s finest musicians. They will perform a wide variety of Bach’s masterpieces in expected and unexpected ways – everything from harp to marimba, organ to voice, jazz ensembles to harpsichord, and sonatas to sarabandes will delight the ear. Studio musicians, Nashville Symphony musicians, area university faculty and students, and church musicians all contribute to this festive evening of Bach's music.
*****
One of the joys of living in the regions of Nashville TN is the privilege of hearing so much wonderful music, produced locally and performed live. This week alone, OS enjoyed the saxophone artistry of Lou Marini, backed by a cracking good big band, a top-flite country songwriter performing his own material, and tonight--the music of J.S. Bach. Six hours of it, if he can sit still that long.
It's BACHanalia time in Nashville, at Christ Church Cathedral, corner of 9th and Broad downtown. It's a wonderful evening, free to the public. Whole families attend, from kids to seniors. Begins at 5:00 pm, ends as close to 11:00 as can be accomplished.
For OS's readership in this part of the world--a hearty invitation to join in.
Christ Church Cathedral is celebrating the genius and mastery of Johann Sebastian Bach in the fifth annual BACHanalia, a 6-hour marathon music festival. Music begins at 5 pm and continues non-stop until 11 pm on Friday, March 25, 2011. Admission is free.
Audience members may come any time and stay as long as they like. Food, beverages and t-shirts are available for a minimal cost, with music piped into the dining area so as not to miss a minute of the performances.
BACHanalia is a gift to the Nashville community from nearly 100 of Nashville’s finest musicians. They will perform a wide variety of Bach’s masterpieces in expected and unexpected ways – everything from harp to marimba, organ to voice, jazz ensembles to harpsichord, and sonatas to sarabandes will delight the ear. Studio musicians, Nashville Symphony musicians, area university faculty and students, and church musicians all contribute to this festive evening of Bach's music.
Just Because It's Friday: The Story of Joseph Genesis Chapter 45, KJV
Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, this climactic passage from Genesis, Chapter 45.
Joseph, sold into slavery as a lad by his brothers, who subsequently faked his death, confronts them decades later in his role as Prime Minister of Egypt. He holds their lives in his hands, and had framed them for a capital crime. Instead of the gallows, he offers grace, reconciliation, and a future.
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Joseph, sold into slavery as a lad by his brothers, who subsequently faked his death, confronts them decades later in his role as Prime Minister of Egypt. He holds their lives in his hands, and had framed them for a capital crime. Instead of the gallows, he offers grace, reconciliation, and a future.
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The McClintock Letter To Obama: The War On Libya Is Unconstitutional And Illegal
Tom McClintock, Republican, 4th District of California has thrown down the gauntlet in a letter to TheWinnerOfThe2010NobelPeacePrize, The One (Oprah? Anything to say?), The Only, The President, who decided to send America to war against Libya, and has declared war on the US Constitution.
The complete text:
Dear Mr. President:
I have read your letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate dated March 21, 2011 concerning your order that United States Armed Forces attack the nation of Libya. You cite the authority of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 and your "constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive."
The Constitution clearly and unmistakably vests Congress with the sole prerogative "to declare war." Your letter fails to explain how a resolution of the United Nations Security Council is necessary to commit this nation to war but that an act of Congress is not.
The United Nations Participation Act expressly withholds authorization for the President to commit United States Armed Forces to combat in pursuit of United Nations directives without specific Congressional approval. The War Powers Resolution states that the President's power to engage United States Armed Forces in hostilities "shall not be inferred . . .from any treaty heretofore or hereafter ratified unless such treaty is implemented by legislation specifically authorizing the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities..."
The War Powers Resolution unambiguously defines three circumstances under which the President as Commander in Chief may order United States Armed Forces into hostile action: "(1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." Your letter cites none of these conditions.
Nor can the power to order an act of war be inferred from the President's authority as "Commander in Chief and Chief Executive."
The Constitution's Framers were explicit on this point. In Federalist 69, Alexander Hamilton draws a sharp distinction between the President's authority as Commander in Chief as "nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces" and the authority of the British king "which extends to the declaring of war and to the raising and regulating of fleets and armies ~ all which, by the Constitution under consideration, would appertain to the legislature."
With all due respect, I can only conclude that your order to United States Armed Forces to attack the nation of Libya on March 19, 2011 is in direct violation of the War Powers Resolution and constitutes a usurpation of Constitutional powers clearly and solely vested in the United States Congress and is accordingly unlawful and unconstitutional.
Sincerely,
Tom McClintock
Member of Congress
This is succinct, unemotional, clear, respectful, and essentially irrefutable.
The White House, having begun an illegal war, are thrashing about now, attempting to disengage, hoping that Europe will come to his rescue before Congress reconvenes.
Even if they do (and they won't), McClintock's letter remains to be answered. It is the basis of an impeachment resolution.
OS hopes his readers will distribute the letter to all their family and friends. The link above takes you directly to the letter, posted on the Congressman's official site.
The complete text:
Dear Mr. President:
I have read your letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate dated March 21, 2011 concerning your order that United States Armed Forces attack the nation of Libya. You cite the authority of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 and your "constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive."
The Constitution clearly and unmistakably vests Congress with the sole prerogative "to declare war." Your letter fails to explain how a resolution of the United Nations Security Council is necessary to commit this nation to war but that an act of Congress is not.
The United Nations Participation Act expressly withholds authorization for the President to commit United States Armed Forces to combat in pursuit of United Nations directives without specific Congressional approval. The War Powers Resolution states that the President's power to engage United States Armed Forces in hostilities "shall not be inferred . . .from any treaty heretofore or hereafter ratified unless such treaty is implemented by legislation specifically authorizing the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities..."
The War Powers Resolution unambiguously defines three circumstances under which the President as Commander in Chief may order United States Armed Forces into hostile action: "(1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." Your letter cites none of these conditions.
Nor can the power to order an act of war be inferred from the President's authority as "Commander in Chief and Chief Executive."
The Constitution's Framers were explicit on this point. In Federalist 69, Alexander Hamilton draws a sharp distinction between the President's authority as Commander in Chief as "nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces" and the authority of the British king "which extends to the declaring of war and to the raising and regulating of fleets and armies ~ all which, by the Constitution under consideration, would appertain to the legislature."
With all due respect, I can only conclude that your order to United States Armed Forces to attack the nation of Libya on March 19, 2011 is in direct violation of the War Powers Resolution and constitutes a usurpation of Constitutional powers clearly and solely vested in the United States Congress and is accordingly unlawful and unconstitutional.
Sincerely,
Tom McClintock
Member of Congress
This is succinct, unemotional, clear, respectful, and essentially irrefutable.
The White House, having begun an illegal war, are thrashing about now, attempting to disengage, hoping that Europe will come to his rescue before Congress reconvenes.
Even if they do (and they won't), McClintock's letter remains to be answered. It is the basis of an impeachment resolution.
OS hopes his readers will distribute the letter to all their family and friends. The link above takes you directly to the letter, posted on the Congressman's official site.
The Best Business Model Ever Invented: European Arms Sales To Libya
(Sound of hand slapping forehead...'Damn, why didn't I think of that!')
It's ingenious, really! Sell all sorts of military hardware to mad despots, wait for the serfs to rebel, watch him use his toys to murder the citizenry, then in a fit of righteous indignation (with UN approval of course of course of course), go blow all that stuff to kingdom come.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
From Deutsche Welle-just a sample of the tale:
Could European-made arms technology have been used by authoritarian regimes to silence their own citizens? Analysts say that's hard to prove but reports that governments both in Bahrain and Libya may have done just that have sparked angry debates and accusations of double standards in some European countries.
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron this week revoked licenses for arms sales to Libya and Bahrain after fears surfaced that British tear gas or riot equipment may have been used against political demonstrators.
In Belgium, YouTube footage showing alleged semi-automatic FN 303 anti-riot guns recently seized by anti-Gadhafi protesters has sparked a political controversy. Belgian defense company FN Herstal is said to have sold Libya arms worth 11.5 million euros. That included rifles, pistols, rifle grenades and ammunition cartridges.
In Germany, there are worries that its electronic exports to Libya could have possibly been used by the regime to jam internet and GPS services.
Of course, the good news is: If somehow Gadhafi and his homeboyz are sent on their way, then the tribal despots that succeed him will need new toys. And building materials and architects and engineers to rebuild all those cities blown up the last time around.
(Sound of hand slapping forehead...'Damn, why didn't I think of that!')
HT Miller-McCune
It's ingenious, really! Sell all sorts of military hardware to mad despots, wait for the serfs to rebel, watch him use his toys to murder the citizenry, then in a fit of righteous indignation (with UN approval of course of course of course), go blow all that stuff to kingdom come.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
From Deutsche Welle-just a sample of the tale:
Could European-made arms technology have been used by authoritarian regimes to silence their own citizens? Analysts say that's hard to prove but reports that governments both in Bahrain and Libya may have done just that have sparked angry debates and accusations of double standards in some European countries.
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron this week revoked licenses for arms sales to Libya and Bahrain after fears surfaced that British tear gas or riot equipment may have been used against political demonstrators.
In Belgium, YouTube footage showing alleged semi-automatic FN 303 anti-riot guns recently seized by anti-Gadhafi protesters has sparked a political controversy. Belgian defense company FN Herstal is said to have sold Libya arms worth 11.5 million euros. That included rifles, pistols, rifle grenades and ammunition cartridges.
In Germany, there are worries that its electronic exports to Libya could have possibly been used by the regime to jam internet and GPS services.
Of course, the good news is: If somehow Gadhafi and his homeboyz are sent on their way, then the tribal despots that succeed him will need new toys. And building materials and architects and engineers to rebuild all those cities blown up the last time around.
(Sound of hand slapping forehead...'Damn, why didn't I think of that!')
HT Miller-McCune
It just keeps getting better and better: 'Mistress of Disaster' Jamie Gorelick On President Obama's Short List for FBI Director
It's not too often that OS simply links another blogger's post verbatim, but this time, it's worth it.
We are paying a high, high price for having elected children to office since 1992.
We are paying a high, high price for having elected children to office since 1992.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
OldSouth Is Speechless, So He'll Let Peter Hitchens Speak
Words fail. OS keeps attempting to string some words together to relate what he is thinking and feeling about recent events. He just splutters and stutters and begins to curse, and his writing is bad enough as it is...
People like OS are why God created real writers, like Peter Hitchens.
Our British cousins have the same problem we have--a chief executive who decided to start a war without consulting Parliament, just because he concluded that the Libyan dictator is a VeryBadMan (which indeed, he is), and the UN sez it's ok.
Hitchens has it nailed for us all, on both sides of the pond.
Here's just a bit of it:
My test is this: If you are so keen to set Libya to rights, establish an International Brigade of like-minded persons, all so truly concerned about that country's fate, and so sure of which side is in the right, that you are prepared to be maimed or rendered limbless and disfigured in that cause, Off you go. Fly to Egypt, slip across the border and offer your services to the heroes of Benghazi.
I won't stop you. But I pay for armed forces to defend me, not to go off on righteous adventures, and soldiers likewise sign up to defend their own country, not mess around with other people's.
My case is that 'democracies' whatever they are, have enough to do at home keeping the weak from being robbed and attacked by the strong. And that war is so wicked that the only real justification for it is to defend yourself against those who would destroy, rob or subjugate you.
In the meantime, OS gets some face-time tomorrow night with his House member. He hopes he'll have his thoughts in order by that time, so he can calmly take it up with the one person locally who can actually do something about this tragic blow to Constitutional government.
The US is making war on Libya. Obama is making war on the Constitution.
People like OS are why God created real writers, like Peter Hitchens.
Our British cousins have the same problem we have--a chief executive who decided to start a war without consulting Parliament, just because he concluded that the Libyan dictator is a VeryBadMan (which indeed, he is), and the UN sez it's ok.
Hitchens has it nailed for us all, on both sides of the pond.
Here's just a bit of it:
My test is this: If you are so keen to set Libya to rights, establish an International Brigade of like-minded persons, all so truly concerned about that country's fate, and so sure of which side is in the right, that you are prepared to be maimed or rendered limbless and disfigured in that cause, Off you go. Fly to Egypt, slip across the border and offer your services to the heroes of Benghazi.
I won't stop you. But I pay for armed forces to defend me, not to go off on righteous adventures, and soldiers likewise sign up to defend their own country, not mess around with other people's.
My case is that 'democracies' whatever they are, have enough to do at home keeping the weak from being robbed and attacked by the strong. And that war is so wicked that the only real justification for it is to defend yourself against those who would destroy, rob or subjugate you.
In the meantime, OS gets some face-time tomorrow night with his House member. He hopes he'll have his thoughts in order by that time, so he can calmly take it up with the one person locally who can actually do something about this tragic blow to Constitutional government.
The US is making war on Libya. Obama is making war on the Constitution.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A Quick Memo To TheWinnerOfTheNobelPeacePrize: If'n Yuh Gunnah Startcherself A War Bubbah
...check to make sure the other guy don't have over 140 tons of gold in his vaults in Libya.
From FT:
The international community has hit Muammer Gaddafi with a raft of sanctions and asset freezes aimed at cutting off his funding. But the embattled Libyan leader is sitting on a pot of gold.
The Libyan central bank – which is under Colonel Gaddafi’s control – holds 143.8 tonnes of gold, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund, although some suspect the true amount could be several tonnes higher.
That's upwards of $6.5 billion USD, which can buy your boy Gadafi boatloads of weapons, ammo, intelligence, and Black African mercenaries quite willing to slaughter people wholesale.
Add a bunch of cash from all that oil money stuffed under the proverbial mattress, and plenty of time to get everything out of sight and reach of the West, and you, Bubbah, have gotcherself a big-ass mess on your hands.
And a really really really pissed-off Congress and a bunch of former friends to boot.
Hell'sBells, Bubbah! Yo' home-boy Kucinich be raking yo ass ovah the coals with yo' own damn words! Didjew evah stop to think that all that verbiage you spouted just to get yo scurvy self elected might someday be quoted?
Enjoy Latin America--wolf down a few extra burritos while you can, MissahPrezident.
To quote that great Cuban intellectual, Ricky Ricardo: 'You gots some 'splainin' to do, Lucy!'.
From FT:
The international community has hit Muammer Gaddafi with a raft of sanctions and asset freezes aimed at cutting off his funding. But the embattled Libyan leader is sitting on a pot of gold.
The Libyan central bank – which is under Colonel Gaddafi’s control – holds 143.8 tonnes of gold, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund, although some suspect the true amount could be several tonnes higher.
That's upwards of $6.5 billion USD, which can buy your boy Gadafi boatloads of weapons, ammo, intelligence, and Black African mercenaries quite willing to slaughter people wholesale.
Add a bunch of cash from all that oil money stuffed under the proverbial mattress, and plenty of time to get everything out of sight and reach of the West, and you, Bubbah, have gotcherself a big-ass mess on your hands.
And a really really really pissed-off Congress and a bunch of former friends to boot.
Hell'sBells, Bubbah! Yo' home-boy Kucinich be raking yo ass ovah the coals with yo' own damn words! Didjew evah stop to think that all that verbiage you spouted just to get yo scurvy self elected might someday be quoted?
Enjoy Latin America--wolf down a few extra burritos while you can, MissahPrezident.
To quote that great Cuban intellectual, Ricky Ricardo: 'You gots some 'splainin' to do, Lucy!'.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Libyan Intervention: The Ground Shifts Under Our Feet
The Huff Post headline says it well: This could take awhile. No kidding? Really?
There's a good live blog stream running there, for those who wish to follow.
The announcement of the beginning of hostilities came during Saturday afternoon during one of the NCAA basketball tournament games. The WinnerOfThe2010NobelPeacePrize just started hisself a war, without consulting Congress. TheOne ordered our Navy and Air Force to bomb the bejeezus out of a country that has not attacked us, just because its leader is a murderous thug, and the UN sez it's OK.
He then boarded the plane to Brazil. Sweet.
This is patently in contravention of the US Constitution and the War Powers Act of 1973. Congress never never never ever ceded to the President the power to make war in our name, just because it suits him.
The ground has shifted under our feet. We're now at war with Libya, 'cuz staging air raids and missile attacks on a sovereign nation, even if the leader is a thug, is an Act of War.
Kucinich and his posse and the Tea Party GOP freshmen now have common cause--it is now time to introduce and debate a resolution to impeach Barack Obama.
It's also time for the GOP freshmen to stage a ComeToJeeeeezus meeting with John Boehner, to see if he thinks the Constitution is a good idea or not.
OS has a question: If it's OK to bomb the bejeezus out of countries we disapprove of, howz-about we flatten the bits of Havana that Castro hangs out in? How about a cruise missle or two, fired from Florida, at Chavez's pad outside Caracas? Or a B-2 raid from Missouri on Zimbabwe? Or Mynamar? Or North Korea? If we don't need to check in with Congress, or declare war, or need any other reason than our own disapproval of a particular regime at a particular moment, why not?
Moral Hazard/Shmoral Hazard!! We know better than them, so let's get to it, ya'll.
Or, perhaps, the framers of the Constitution had a better idea, to constrain the actions of a President posessing unlimited ego and no conscience.
There's a good live blog stream running there, for those who wish to follow.
The announcement of the beginning of hostilities came during Saturday afternoon during one of the NCAA basketball tournament games. The WinnerOfThe2010NobelPeacePrize just started hisself a war, without consulting Congress. TheOne ordered our Navy and Air Force to bomb the bejeezus out of a country that has not attacked us, just because its leader is a murderous thug, and the UN sez it's OK.
He then boarded the plane to Brazil. Sweet.
This is patently in contravention of the US Constitution and the War Powers Act of 1973. Congress never never never ever ceded to the President the power to make war in our name, just because it suits him.
The ground has shifted under our feet. We're now at war with Libya, 'cuz staging air raids and missile attacks on a sovereign nation, even if the leader is a thug, is an Act of War.
Kucinich and his posse and the Tea Party GOP freshmen now have common cause--it is now time to introduce and debate a resolution to impeach Barack Obama.
It's also time for the GOP freshmen to stage a ComeToJeeeeezus meeting with John Boehner, to see if he thinks the Constitution is a good idea or not.
OS has a question: If it's OK to bomb the bejeezus out of countries we disapprove of, howz-about we flatten the bits of Havana that Castro hangs out in? How about a cruise missle or two, fired from Florida, at Chavez's pad outside Caracas? Or a B-2 raid from Missouri on Zimbabwe? Or Mynamar? Or North Korea? If we don't need to check in with Congress, or declare war, or need any other reason than our own disapproval of a particular regime at a particular moment, why not?
Moral Hazard/Shmoral Hazard!! We know better than them, so let's get to it, ya'll.
Or, perhaps, the framers of the Constitution had a better idea, to constrain the actions of a President posessing unlimited ego and no conscience.
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