The Latest Torture Debate

 Posted by  Abuse of Power, Bill of Rights, Bush Administration, Terrorism  1 Response »
Mar 312009
 

Dick Cheney is on a whirlwind tour trying to justify the Bush Administration’s record on the War on Terror, especially their decision to torture detainees. Mostly he is trumpeting intelligence gleaned from a supposedly high-level al Qaeda operative who was held and tortured at Guantanamo. Meanwhile his critics are countering his claims, noting that most evidence suggests this guy wasn’t particularly high-level, that he didn’t give us a lot of information we didn’t already know, and that most of what he did tell us was mentioned before he was actually tortured. (You can read a round-up of the latest exchange, along with links to the appropriate articles, here.)

All of which may be true, but they are missing the point.
Continue reading »

Make DC Count

 Posted by  Bill of Rights  1 Response »
Feb 052009
 

In today’s Washington Post, George Will argues that the Constitution mandates that Washington DC be disenfranchised. In particular, there is a law working its way through Congress right now that would grant Washington, DC representation in the US House, and additionally create two new congressional districts which would (until the 2010 census) be apportioned to Washington DC and Utah, respectively. According to Mr. Will this “disgraceful bargain” is unconstitutional because Washington, DC is not a state, and so he goes on to mock the notion that Washington, DC could be a state, or even that there is room on the flag for a 51st state at all.

And as I look at the passage in question, Mr. Will is absolutely correct. The law is unconstitutional. Which is exactly why Congress should instead admit DC to the union as a state.
Continue reading »

Investigating the President

 Posted by  Abuse of Power, Bill of Rights, Bush Administration  4 Responses »
Jan 162009
 

In his Op-Ed today, Paul Krugman makes perhaps the most forceful argument I have yet seen that the Obama Administration should pursue a full criminal investigation against the Bush Administration. The argument is that besides pushing past all reasonable limits on torture and surveillance, that the Bush folks repeatedly made illegal and dangerous personnel decisions for purely political reasons. Krugman argues that these abuses are tantamount to a direct attack on the Constitution, and that therefore the oath that Obama is about to take mandates that he investigate these crimes no matter the political consequences.
Continue reading »

Comparing the Candidates: The War on Terror

 Posted by  2008 Election, Bill of Rights, Central and Southern Asia, Foreign Policy, Terrorism, War in Iraq  No Responses »
Sep 112008
 

Given the date, I thought it would be a good day to go over the differences between the two presidential candidates when it comes to The War on Terror. (If you were hoping that I’d discuss whether or not Senator Obama believes that Governor Palin is a barnyard animal, I’m sorry to disappoint.) The War on Terror covers a pretty broad range of issues, and I’ll try to address most of them; if I miss something, please let me know. Also, these issues are not presented in any particular order.
Continue reading »

Constitutional Ambiguity

 Posted by  Bill of Rights, Crime, Judicial System  5 Responses »
Jun 262008
 

The Supreme Court of the United States today struck down a Washington, DC ban on all handguns. I can’t say it’s one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever, but it’s surely a bad one–both in content and in language. First, the amendment in question:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Continue reading »

 Older Entries
© 2012 leftfielder.org login Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha