Thursday, August 28, 2008

Executive Order

Definition: A legally enforceable order, decree, or regulation issued on the authority of the head of the executive branch of government

This is an order by which a president may circumvent the constitutional legislative process. In other words, it violates the Constitution by giving the president powers which are not expressly written in the Constitution. It is a powerful weapon for any president, and has been used without restraint by both the Clinton and Bush II administrations. Checks and balances? Only when we think it will pass.

To witness the extent to which the Bush administration has abused this power, do a search for "Bush executive orders" and you will find:

Executive Order: Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Burma

Executive Order: Blocking Property of Additional Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe

Executive Order: Blocking Property of Additional Persons in Connection with the National Emergency with Respect to Syria


Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo


Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus


And my particular favorite:
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq

So who are these people undermining the democratic processes of Syria? Please explain because I was under the impression that Syria was far from a democracy. Or is Bush saying that we as Americans cannot deal financially with Syria, or is it up to the president to decide who what and where as it applies to any of these countries? Is this not Imperialism?

I am not an absolutist when it comes to isolation. Rather, I believe America should follow a policy of hands off. Non intervention of the Washington-Jefferson type. Intervention and Imperialism are one and the same. Imperialism and unlimited executive power are one and the same. To paraphrase Hitler, if you can convince the people that what you are doing is for their own good then you are home free. So after 9/11 we have been propagandized into believing in the "war" on terror. We have had the Constitution sterilized by the "war" on terror. We have wasted trillions of dollars on the "war" on terror. We have had the dollar's value cut to nothing by the "war" on terror. We as Americans have done exactly what the alleged enemy wanted from the get-go. We have destroyed ourselves without them lifting a finger. And we should expect more of the same unless real change comes.

Now, read my favorite EO, dated July 17, 2007. You are by law prohibited from threatening the "Stabilization Efforts" in Iraq. I must ask, who destabilized Iraq in the first place? Now we as Americans are prohibited from demonstrating against the "war?" Is this how Americans are protected in the "war" against terror?

Answers

Hopefully you have not pulled out every hair from your balding head searching for the answers to my "Presidential" questionnaire.

Here they are:

1. James Madison
2. Martin van Buren (born post 1776, get it?)
3. Lincoln, Garfield (the man not the cat), McKinley, Kennedy
4. No
5. James Monroe
6. Thomas Jefferson
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. 4th
9. 5th
10. Jefferson and John Adams
11. 0, he was never president
12. Ulysses S. Grant
13. Arlington, former plantation of Jefferson Davis (president of the Confederate States of America)
14. Give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry
15. True (16)
16. 20
17. Theodore Roosevelt (not JFK)
18. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt
19. William Howard Taft
20. ?
Random thoughts of the day.

Why oh why did Zhang Yimou pick Jimmie Page and Whole Lotta Love to represent London and the UK at the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. I mean, this is the land of Shakespeare, The Beatles, God Save the Queen. Come on people, get over Led Zeppelin.

Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are aliens. I can prove it. Nobody can run that fast or swim that fast. There, I proved it.

Anyone notice the top two video releases this week? The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana. I'm old. The New Kids on the Block are back. They are old enough to be Miley's dad (sorry Billy Ray). So if that's true then where does that place Jimmie Page? And me?

It would be very cool if the Tampa Bay Rays finished ahead of the Red Sox and Yankees. I'm tired of New York and Boston dominating the sports pages.

Putting aside the lighter side, if you haven't noticed yet the New Cold War is getting hotter. I don't quite get what is going on in Georgia (the country not the state) but the Russians are saying they have successfully tested a missile that is capable of breaking through the proposed US missile defense. Oh great. Here we go again. Does anyone believe that either Obama or McCain can handle this?

Did you know that we have American troops in 130 countries around the world? Yes, 130. Why?

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both viewed an isolationist policy as best for the new nation. Both agreed that aligning with foreign nations was not in the best interest of the United States. Both agreed that becoming entangled in foreign intrigue was not in the best interest of the United States. Yes, it's a different and much smaller world now, but it makes no sense to me that we have troops in 130 independent nations around the world.

And finally, why are we still in the 60's regarding Cuba? We deal with China, we negotiate with North Korea and Iran and are cozy with the oppressive Saudi regime. Isn't it time to say hello to Cuba?