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More Hilarity - "Can I have my spy plane back?"
wraith808:
The Obama administration has basically given the office of the president god-like powers to do whatever he wants. The next president could simply arrest all of the 3 branches of government as traitors and terrorists. ;D :P (I couldn't resist that one either~! The sad thing is that it's actually true~!)
-Renegade (December 25, 2011, 10:29 PM)
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Ummm... what? I don't get the reference. And there's been a lot that hasn't been able to make it through, even down to extending unemployment benefits during the holiday season, so I *really* don't get it.
IainB:
Sheesh. Now I don't get it.
Is this intending to suggest that Obama culd have sold the Patriot missiles to foreign powers, or given the UAV to Iran?
Or is what's really important the substantiation and dominance of one's paradigm as to whether Obama is good/bad or pink/green or thick/thin?
40hz:
Everybody seems to forget that there are three branches of the government in the US for a reason- checks and balances.
-wraith808 (December 25, 2011, 09:00 PM)
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Including the government. :tellme:
Starting with the Cold War, all real authority has increasingly been centralized in the Executive Branch -either through legislation or presidential fiat. Problem is, since the Supreme Court has been extremely reluctant to consider anything which seriously challenges Executive Privilege, there's little moral or legal objection being made from within the three branches.
And now that the Executive Branch has come out on several occasions with statements that the Supreme Court does not have legal jurisdiction over actions taken by the Executive Branch, (a very odd thing to say in a country which bases it's right to exist on law) I think it's pretty obvious where this country is heading.
Especially now that it's become obvious, to even the most clueless, that the Legislative Branch (i.e. the representative body) no longer represents the voters in any meaningful sense.
Though the president does have a lot of power, he is not all powerful and can't act alone. And in this case, there's been very little that he could do to make things better, with the state of politics in Washington. Unless that changes, no matter who gets into office, there won't be much difference, other than the spin.
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The real problem is that the federal government has a large number of career bureaucrats who view themselves as the "real government" and see the president as little more than a figurehead/spokesperson for various power cabals within the bureaucracy. "Patriotism doesn't get reelected every four years," as a few neo-cons have put it.
This isn't crazy conspiracy theory either. It's generally acknowledged by many in government (starting with president Eisenhower) that the intelligence and security agencies are fairly out of control in this country. That's why you have so many overlapping agencies freely pursuing their own agendas. Often at cross purposes with each other. Often times acting without proper legal authority. And, increasingly, in complete defiance of any congressional attempts at oversight. Good thing there's executive privilege!
Because if there's anybody who should be charged with Contempt of Congress - it's the Executive Branch.
No surprise there.
Sad truth is, the current U.S. Legislature has earned, and well deserves, whatever contempt it's getting.
Renegade:
Yes, but who could be in a position to sell Patriot missiles (a lot of them too) to foreign powers?
Might the same be true of UAVs?
Why were the Patriot missiles put in the cargo hold apparently so carelessly that not even a dunderhead could miss them?
-IainB (December 25, 2011, 10:02 PM)
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No clue on that one. Yeah, anything is possible. But... I simply have no idea.
The Obama administration has basically given the office of the president god-like powers to do whatever he wants. The next president could simply arrest all of the 3 branches of government as traitors and terrorists. ;D :P (I couldn't resist that one either~! The sad thing is that it's actually true~!)
-Renegade (December 25, 2011, 10:29 PM)
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Ummm... what? I don't get the reference. And there's been a lot that hasn't been able to make it through, even down to extending unemployment benefits during the holiday season, so I *really* don't get it.
-wraith808 (December 26, 2011, 01:26 AM)
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NDAA 2012 gives the US govt the power to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone for *any reason*.
http://rt.com/news/terrorism-credit-cards-government-613/
Do you own flashlights? Or pay with cash instead of a credit card? And do grocery shopping for the week? I do. You probably do – and guess what, according to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, that could make both of us terrorists.
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So the next time you're in Wal-Mart, and you see someone buy a flashlight, report them! Especially if they pay with cash. :P
wraith808:
NDAA 2012 gives the US govt the power to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone for *any reason*.
http://rt.com/news/terrorism-credit-cards-government-613/
-Renegade (December 26, 2011, 06:27 AM)
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I don't think that points to what you think it does. The smoking gun that was quoted there was distributed to military surplus stores. I don't think wal-mart is a military surplus store.
And as far as the NDAA 2012, that's the legislative branch giving away authority to the executive branch, not the other way around. Think about it- it made it through the house even as it stands. The Republican controlled house. What does that say?
And apparently (though not in as attention grabbing a headline) Obama has threatened to veto in its current form, so language is still being added to avoid a presidential veto.
More clarifications on the controversial terms.
Which, if true, would mean that Ron Paul and others who have supposedly read it, are either ignorant of these same facts (unlikely) or using the internet firestorm to their own advantage.
Which would be politics as usual.
Ron Paul can't save us now. We can only save ourselves.
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