[Originally posted on goofyblog 9.25.06]
35 years ago, President Nixon used his executive powers to secretly drop 110,000 tons of bombs on Cambodia, instructing the pilots to falsify their flight records. He tried to cover up this by putting illegal wiretaps on journalists and other government officials who were investigating and/or leaking the details. In the name of national security, he ordered wiretaps on and had the tax records investigated of dangerous radicals like Paul Newman.
Nixon ordered the CIA to screw with Chile’s economy, then ok’ed a coup there, bringing murderous dictator Pinochet to power after democratically-elected President Allende was assassinated. He ordered the CIA to block the FBI’s investigation of the Watergate break-in, again all in the name of national security.
For none of these actions, did he consult Congress or get Congressional consent. He resigned before he could be impeached and, by the time he resigned, it was a certainty he would have been. President Gerald Ford, pardoned the disgraced ex-President sparing him criminal prosecution, also a certainty, in the name of “healing the nation.”
It was dramatic times. The Supreme Court had backed down the Executive regarding the Pentagon papers, Congress had backed down the Executive and started to impeach. A free press had effectively investigated and reported the abuses of power. Our 3-branch form of representative government had weathered the attempted takeover by a standing President. In a further reaction to Nixon’s abuses, Congress passed laws throughout the 70s to make sure it couldn’t happen again.
All’s well then, right? Not really. The people in power now and their advisors believe that everything Nixon ever did was quite alright. Not only that, they believe that Congress’ role is not to reign in the Executive. In short, these cretins believe that anything a President wants to do, he should be able to do. Break or just ignore laws passed by Congress? Tap phones? Invade countries using falsified evidence? Torture and imprison people without charges or due process? Violate the Geneva Conventions? Act like we are a rogue nation? Ignore diplomacy? All completely ok.
If you’re going: wtf? like I am, you’re probably in the land of the sane. Did we all go to the same American History and Civics classes? How could anyone even vaguely knowledgeable about the founding precepts of the U.S. think the Executive branch has the right to run free? No new world development makes it ok for President Whoeveritis to rule above the laws of the courts and legislature—ever. That’s why we aren’t a monarchy. It’s why we had a revolution against someone in England called King George.
What is the definition of a tyrant? A tyrant is a ruler who believes he can and should operate above the law. Nixon was a tyrant by that definition. Bush is also one. Bush advisors Professor Yoo and Attorney General Gonzales believe he has that right. They believe that the Prez can and should torture anyone he wants to. Torture doesn’t work, but they don’t care about that little detail. Our Leader knows what’s best for the rest of us. He has our best interests at heart therefore, we should let Him do anything He wants to.
There are too many proponents of this theory. Only problem with it is: it’s horseshit! Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, et al, started a republic with values contra to royalist assholes. I fail to understand how anyone in their right mind could go with the theory of unlimited power for the Executive.
Do you think we are somehow better off with a homegrown tyrant in power? How? Afraid of terrorists? Bush has made us less safe. Worried about the economy and your jobs? We now have an enormous world debt, leaving us in a financially unsound position. Many jobs are being shipped overseas (even some attorney work is now done in India). Worried about our ability to compete in the world market and the ability of future generations to compete technically? The Bush administration’s support of creationism and anti-stem cell research is a gigantic step backward from the scientific/technical trends of the rest of the world. We are moving backward.
Clinton eliminated the national debt, left a surplus, kept our foreign relations on an even keel and attempted other reforms that addressed the issues in this modern world. Maybe not the greatest President, but not an incompetent fool. Evidently, his private sex life was somehow more important to a lot of people. But a guy who screws everything up, takes no responsibility for it, calls himself The Decider, well, that’s ok?
Yea, for 30 years, they’ve been working on getting us back to the way it was in 1969. It’s like a monster in a horror film coming back to life—put it down, but it rises up again.
Our American values have influenced the rest of the world, but an all-powerful Executive is not one of those values. That’s another type of government, another country’s legacy. It’s a way of governing that you’d think everyone would understand was stupid without question. Now, the rest of the world is looking at us clearly, saying: what happened to America? What’s going on over there?
Such a foundation for American hegemony is unstable at best and sure to perish in the ill winds that are coming. Soon enough, there will be many storms.
We must return to being a nation of laws, not tyrants.
35 years ago, President Nixon used his executive powers to secretly drop 110,000 tons of bombs on Cambodia, instructing the pilots to falsify their flight records. He tried to cover up this by putting illegal wiretaps on journalists and other government officials who were investigating and/or leaking the details. In the name of national security, he ordered wiretaps on and had the tax records investigated of dangerous radicals like Paul Newman.
Nixon ordered the CIA to screw with Chile’s economy, then ok’ed a coup there, bringing murderous dictator Pinochet to power after democratically-elected President Allende was assassinated. He ordered the CIA to block the FBI’s investigation of the Watergate break-in, again all in the name of national security.
For none of these actions, did he consult Congress or get Congressional consent. He resigned before he could be impeached and, by the time he resigned, it was a certainty he would have been. President Gerald Ford, pardoned the disgraced ex-President sparing him criminal prosecution, also a certainty, in the name of “healing the nation.”
It was dramatic times. The Supreme Court had backed down the Executive regarding the Pentagon papers, Congress had backed down the Executive and started to impeach. A free press had effectively investigated and reported the abuses of power. Our 3-branch form of representative government had weathered the attempted takeover by a standing President. In a further reaction to Nixon’s abuses, Congress passed laws throughout the 70s to make sure it couldn’t happen again.
All’s well then, right? Not really. The people in power now and their advisors believe that everything Nixon ever did was quite alright. Not only that, they believe that Congress’ role is not to reign in the Executive. In short, these cretins believe that anything a President wants to do, he should be able to do. Break or just ignore laws passed by Congress? Tap phones? Invade countries using falsified evidence? Torture and imprison people without charges or due process? Violate the Geneva Conventions? Act like we are a rogue nation? Ignore diplomacy? All completely ok.
If you’re going: wtf? like I am, you’re probably in the land of the sane. Did we all go to the same American History and Civics classes? How could anyone even vaguely knowledgeable about the founding precepts of the U.S. think the Executive branch has the right to run free? No new world development makes it ok for President Whoeveritis to rule above the laws of the courts and legislature—ever. That’s why we aren’t a monarchy. It’s why we had a revolution against someone in England called King George.
What is the definition of a tyrant? A tyrant is a ruler who believes he can and should operate above the law. Nixon was a tyrant by that definition. Bush is also one. Bush advisors Professor Yoo and Attorney General Gonzales believe he has that right. They believe that the Prez can and should torture anyone he wants to. Torture doesn’t work, but they don’t care about that little detail. Our Leader knows what’s best for the rest of us. He has our best interests at heart therefore, we should let Him do anything He wants to.
There are too many proponents of this theory. Only problem with it is: it’s horseshit! Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, et al, started a republic with values contra to royalist assholes. I fail to understand how anyone in their right mind could go with the theory of unlimited power for the Executive.
Do you think we are somehow better off with a homegrown tyrant in power? How? Afraid of terrorists? Bush has made us less safe. Worried about the economy and your jobs? We now have an enormous world debt, leaving us in a financially unsound position. Many jobs are being shipped overseas (even some attorney work is now done in India). Worried about our ability to compete in the world market and the ability of future generations to compete technically? The Bush administration’s support of creationism and anti-stem cell research is a gigantic step backward from the scientific/technical trends of the rest of the world. We are moving backward.
Clinton eliminated the national debt, left a surplus, kept our foreign relations on an even keel and attempted other reforms that addressed the issues in this modern world. Maybe not the greatest President, but not an incompetent fool. Evidently, his private sex life was somehow more important to a lot of people. But a guy who screws everything up, takes no responsibility for it, calls himself The Decider, well, that’s ok?
Yea, for 30 years, they’ve been working on getting us back to the way it was in 1969. It’s like a monster in a horror film coming back to life—put it down, but it rises up again.
Our American values have influenced the rest of the world, but an all-powerful Executive is not one of those values. That’s another type of government, another country’s legacy. It’s a way of governing that you’d think everyone would understand was stupid without question. Now, the rest of the world is looking at us clearly, saying: what happened to America? What’s going on over there?
Such a foundation for American hegemony is unstable at best and sure to perish in the ill winds that are coming. Soon enough, there will be many storms.
I am a patriotThe Latin title of this piece comes from Kant’s Principles of Politics and “is rendered thus: Let righteousness prevail though all the knaves in the world should perish for it. It is thus a bold principle of Right cutting through all the crooked ways that are shaped by intrigue or force…And this is to be held, whatever may be the physical consequences which follow from adopting these political principles…Moral evil has this quality inseparable from its nature that, in carrying out its purposes, it is antagonistic and destructive to itself.”
And I love my county
Because my country is all I know
I want to be with my family
The people who understand me
I’ve got nowhere else to go
And the river opens for the righteous.
-S. Van Zandt
We must return to being a nation of laws, not tyrants.
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