In yet another indication of how extreme Bush officials were in their war on terrorism, the New York Times is reporting that Vice President Dick Cheney and others pushed former President George Bush to send troops into Buffalo New York to arrest a group of men accused of terrorism.
What is interesting about this story is that such use of military force was completely unnecessary and shows how Bush officials used terrorism to advance their agenda to expand the authority of the presidency. Many Bush officials like John Yoo, Viet Dinh and others had advocated radical views of presidential authority before 9-11. If true, this is the most obvious example of how 9-11 was viewed by Bush officials as an opportunity to achieve their objectives to re-structure the American presidency along the lines of what is often called an “imperial presidency.” The Bush people articulated a view that dwarfed even Richard Nixon who is most associated with the imperial presidency model.
The debate over a military intervention in the suburbs of Buffalo occurred in 2002 — precisely the time when the unlawful programs on torture and warrantless surveillance were ramping up. Indeed, the usual suspects were present in these meetings calling for extreme measures: the lawyers John C. Yoo and Robert J. Delahunty authored the primary memo supporting the move. They argued implausibly that the move would be supported by federal law since the president was recognized to have authority “to take military actions, domestic as well as foreign, if he determines such actions to be necessary to respond to the terrorist attacks upon the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, and before.”
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 generally prohibits the military from acting in a law enforcement capacity, but Bush officials were highly antagonistic toward the act and its limitations. Congress allowed Bush to expand the domestic use of the military after 9-11 — part of its passive and infamous legacy in the aftermath of the attacks.
The targets were the Lackawanna Six and the Bush officials wanted them declared enemy combatants and a military intervention launched. These were relatively low-grade terrorist wannabes who were convicted of material support — a relatively easy charge for prosecutors when they cannot prove actual terror plots or conspiracies. Mukhtar Al-Bakri, Sahim Alwan, Faysal Galab, Shafal Mosed, Yaseinn Taher, and Yahya Goba all received sentences of ten years or less. The very idea of intervening with active military units for such a group is further evidence of the opportunistic conduct of Bush officials to achieve their vision of an all-powerful chief executive. To his credit, Bush refused to order the military intervention.
Notably, most of the framers opposed a standing army rather than a people’s militia because of their fear of the tendency of the military in history to exert political and social control over countries. We have seen how a domestic role of the military in other countries has produced instability and abuses.
What is truly frightening is how close we came. A single person stood in the way of tearing down one of our most important legal and political traditions. The bar on domestic law enforcement activities distinguishes this country from other countries where the military holds tremendous power like Iran. The recent military takeover in Honduras is an example of the dangers. We have long believed that people raised under our freedoms (and particularly trained in our laws) would be opposed to such attacks on our traditions and values. Yet, a vice president and top legal advisers facilitated an effort that was not just unlawful but unnecessary. It shows that, even in the most successful democracy in history, we can still stand just one vote away from a path of abuse or even tyranny. The alarm over this story is magnified by the utter failure of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to exercise checks and balances during this period. We came down to George Bush — no civil libertarian — to block this effort — though this may have been more of a political and legal calculation.
For the full story, click here.
bdaman, I think history teaches us that the strongest mind-altering drugs are actually money and power.
IS, each of us has to make his own decision about the value he places on the opinion of another. I know that we will never come to agree on what should have happened to Elian. I simply wish to note that my comment about the mother’s wishes was based upon the fact that neither you nor I ever spoke with her and I have never read a word (although I followed the controversy on a daily basis at the time) suggesting that she did not want Elian’s father to have custody of him were she to die. And more to the point, that was not her choice to make, and that is where you and I most strongly disagree. Your view is that we should ignore hundreds of years of common law and statutory authority and terminate without due process the rights of a surviving parent to his or her children if the surviving parent lives under a political system with which we disagree. Surely you can see that were that the law, it would be an open invitation to arbitrary interference by government in the most fundamental of social units. That is simply not a doctrine I could ever find acceptable, and I will leave it at that.
IS I like that, very good. I hung out with people who dropped acid and saw what they did when tripping. I even saved a few from thinking they were superman. I decided that I would pass on that experience and live it vicariously through friends. Actually come to think of it they are all democrats now. I wonder if there is any connection, mind altering/destroying drug, life altering/destroying philosophy, hmmm it is a thought.
That is F”N hillarious
Mike Spindell:
It sounds to me like you have swallowed at least a half glass of the Objectivist “Kool Aid” as well.
Where do I begin? I disagree with some of your points but not all. Enron was a disgrace for one. Henry Ford had it right. And a few other points we agree on but maybe not for the same reasons.
Should they come for you, you are welcome at my home. I have extra weapons and enough ammunition to protect us both. Although I am short on canned food, I do have chickens (4), a well and small garden.
By the way I do understand what I am talking about and have spent many years coming to the conclusions I have come to and holding the beliefs I have. It was not spontaneous acceptance, when I hear of people that read something once and accept the tenants proffered, I am wary and believe them to be like Tom Tuttle of Tacoma (John Candy and Tom Hanks played Peace Corps volunteers in a movie whose title escapes me).
Mike Spindell:
“IS,
My mind is fine thank you and had you perhaps dropped some acid in your youth you might actually have an understanding of the human condition and learned to care more about your fellow humans, other than just the ones you love, or like.”
I like that, very good. I hung out with people who dropped acid and saw what they did when tripping. I even saved a few from thinking they were superman. I decided that I would pass on that experience and live it vicariously through friends. Actually come to think of it they are all democrats now. I wonder if there is any connection, mind altering/destroying drug, life altering/destroying philosophy, hmmm it is a thought.
Mike Appleton:
I freely admit my chauvinism for freedom, no evasion necessary.
I don’t think it takes a Jean Dixon to devine the wishes of a dead mother who just risked her life to cross 90 miles of shark infested waters. Were you serious when you wrote that I did not know the wishes of the mother? Maybe your political position blinds you to certain facts as well.
I truly hope you were joking when you wrote that, I do regard your opinions highly but that was just funny and if you were serious I will consider your opinions in the future with far less weight.
“It is becoming more and more apparent to me that you probably dropped a little too much acid in your misspent radical youth. Corporations are not evil, the people that run them maybe. But most CEO’s are not evil mice like Brain intent on world domination. Your neo-Marxist outlook clouds your vision. For one thing workers are better off in a capitalist system, especially one that allows wages to fluctuate following the laws of supply and demand.”
IS,
My mind is fine thank you and had you perhaps dropped some acid in your youth you might actually have an understanding of the human condition and learned to care more about your fellow humans, other than just the ones you love, or like.
Now being called a Marxist is quite another thing since I have already written extensively on why I’m not and never was a Marxist. Unfortunately, those programmed with “free market” nonsense have rather strange visions as to what constitutes Marxism, that is usually informed through ignorance and reading too many romantic novels, written by a confused Russian Emigre, whose parents longed for the good old days of Tsar Nicholas, who with his aristocrats was even worse for the
people than the psychotic communists who followed. Considering that Stalin killed about twenty million people and
was a rabid anti-Jew, it was pretty bad before the revolution,
but Ayn’s parents were wealthy then so they didn’t care.
I’ve actually known and opposed communism on the front lines of the movement, while all you’ve done is spend a life in search of money. Now if you really understood what Adam Smith meant when he coined the phrase “free market” and had some insight beyond the talking points you so guilelessly inhaled,
you might have known that Smith himself talked of an unfettered “free market” being a danger, unless under tight government control. Don’t take my word for it check me out by going to the source.
I have never said that corporations are per se evil, but I have in the past frequently explained why they do evil. The sole purpose of a corporation is to produce profit, in any way it can. That in itself is neutral. However, the people who have been running the largest corporations in the US, have since the days of the bad actor’s presidency, been creating profits at the expense of the US and its citizens, while at the same time enjoying benefits of government largesse far beyond their rightful share. Corporate greed, such as Enron creating blackouts in California to raise their rates has gone beyond reasonable measure and by its overreaching in search of profit has entered into a realm which need to be controlled by the government.
What you seem to lack the capacity to understand is that there is no “free market” that by its nature regulates commerce. Not only has that never existed but history past and recent is so replete with instances of corporations trying to destroy “free markets,” that it would take volumes of books just to document them. You tell me how oil that costs
$20 barrel at the well head, goes for $67 barrel right now and was in the $120 barrel range some few months back. It’s known as a manipulated market, not a free one. The main profit making mechanism for corporations over the past 150 years has been through manipulating the market, either as a monopoly or a cartel.
“For one thing workers are better off in a capitalist system, especially one that allows wages to fluctuate following the laws of supply and demand.”
Yes, how has that worked out for the American industrial worker, who is forced to compete against, dare I say it, indentured servitude in China, Russia and the far East? Tell me how the average Chinese worker has benefited from their change over to a market economy? Not one wit has their lot improved and that is because whether communist, or capitalist these countries still have the same oligarchy in power. Now in the US we are reaching the point where we are little better, but that hasn’t happened quite yet. The philosophy that you espouse will get us there soon and then you can enjoy the great benefits of indentured servitude, while old Acid Heads like me who have been trying to save people like you will be rounded up. As I said I hope you’ve got a lot of cash, or perhaps it will be your progeny selling their organs cheap, or working at slaves wages for the Corporations that will have morphed into monoply’s in each line of endeavor.
Your trouble IS, is that you’ve ingested a whole bunch of lies and propaganda to shape your world view and so you are unable to see what is plainly obvious. It would be so nice if the world worked out like Ayn Rand, or the University of Chicago economic cabal said it would, but it doesn’t.
“I am an indentured servant not because of capitalism but because of the philosophy of altruism.”
This indicates how little you understand me. I follow Gestalt Philosophy and I believe altruism to be a crock. Where you miss the boat is that I believe that the “Golden Rule” is even smarter politics than it is religion. Henry Ford, that great Capitalist anti-Jewish industrialist understood that in terms of profit. By paying his workers higher wages, they could afford to buy his products. Unfortunately, the whole passel of MBA’s that has come to head our corporations in the last thirty years are so besotted with their wealth and power that they could care less about the long term viability of the Corporations. That’s one of the reasons the US has lost its industrial base, greed not necessity. As we drift into third world status because you free marketeers have screwed up the country, we will indeed see how well a “free market”
has worked.
“A lion in a cage is the same as a man on the government dole.”
Poor IS, dealing again with areas of which you know nothing. The Federal Reserve, a private institution set up and run by the banking industry has raised interest rates to stifle the economy every time unemployment drops and threatens to raise wages. No free market there. Since Reagan in the 80’s redefined unemployment the rate is double what the actual figures are. Basically, the bankers have maintained the true unemployment rate at never less that 8%, or approximately 24 million Americans are kept out of work to suppress wages and have been for many years. These people are on the “dole” to help your Corporate friends make money, but you in your totally selfish view of the world see them as laggards. It is a shame IS that you know so little of what you spout and so much is propaganda uninformed by any true understanding of the way things are. You’re not a bad person I assume and probably very likable, I would guess, but yes your outlook on the world causes evil, is uninformed and essentially ignorant.
IS, your argument is with existing law. Appealing to the wishes of a dead mother may have some emotional power, but no mother, dead or alive, may unilaterally determine that the father of her children must forfeit the rights of a parent in favor of “close relatives.” Moreover, your position assumes that Elian’s father didn’t want him and was coerced into asserting his parental rights. That assumption in turn is based upon political views rather than facts. Has it not occurred to you that when Elian’s father came to the United States for the court proceedings, he could have readily secured asylum in this country if that is what he desired? Furthermore, why do you pretend to know the wishes of Elian’s mother? She was, after all, deceased when the controversy arose.
Your position is political rather than legal. That’s fine, but acknowledge it as such and recognize that the legal decision in the Elian Gonzalez case was not an aberration, but wholly in accord with the requirements of family law.
Mike Spindell:
“IS,
Come the revolution by those you’re most in sympathy with, most people on this site will face danger and possibly death, while you will be greeted with open arms by the Fundamentalist Christian/Corporatist/Free Marketeers. As I’ve previously said I hope for your sake you are wealthy enough to join the club, or then you will truly understand the horror of being an “Indentured Servant,” as will most of American society.”
It is becoming more and more apparent to me that you probably dropped a little too much acid in your misspent radical youth. Corporations are not evil, the people that run them maybe. But most CEO’s are not evil mice like Brain intent on world domination. Your neo-Marxist outlook clouds your vision. For one thing workers are better off in a capitalist system, especially one that allows wages to fluctuate following the laws of supply and demand. Had the buffoonery of leftist economic thought not taken hold in the early part of this century, most likely due to eastern European influences, we would have a much more robust economy.
That you see conspiracy around every corporate corner is telling. But maybe you should look to your own political brethren as they seem to dominate most of the large investment houses in New York. It is not capitalists that you need fear but wealthy leftist that feed on the carcass of capitalism in the name of the proletarian ideal of equality of outcome and altruism.
I am an indentured servant not because of capitalism but because of the philosophy of altruism. I am not my brothers keeper, his health is not my responsibility, I do not owe his daughter a college education, her mortgage is not a lien on my life and work.
You call me evil? I say make a man work for what he has, that is how you build self esteem. Not by groveling for hand-outs from the government. A lion in a cage is the same as a man on the government dole. A pitiful creature who cannot fend for himself and at the mercy of his keepers.
You on the left fear free men and women because you have no hold on them, you cannot control them, they do not owe you anything. They do not grovel at the alter of government. They do not need you and that is what you cannot abide.
Mike Appleton:
Kudos to you for being an advocate for children.
so the wishes of a dead mother mean nothing? Elian had close relatives in Florida. The father in Cuba probably had a choice-either go to prison or hire a lawyer and get your son back. There could have been even more coercive efforts on the part of the Cuban government.
Detaining Chinese or Pakistani children who come to this country with their parents for a visit is in no way equal to the Elian scenario. That you would even equate them is dithering (not exact for grahpics) ridiculousness. Or maybe ridiculous dithering. I’ll let you choose.
Mespo,
Had our kitchen done in other home years ago. What a horror. Re:
your father, mine was not at all handy around the house, but had friends who were. I can fix toilets and plumbing for some weird reason, since Jewish guys are not known for their handiness. I even took the Home Depot install a toilet course and actually installed one all by my lonesome. I also do wall painting and general handiwork to the amazement of my wife and our Jewish friends. However, I find the ability to install toilets is a limited skill, with few opportunities to practice it. Hope it’s done soon and your pleasure in it juices your culinary creativity.
“most on this site seem willing to live under Castro than face death”
IS,
Come the revolution by those you’re most in sympathy with, most people on this site will face danger and possibly death, while you will be greeted with open arms by the Fundamentalist Christian/Corporatist/Free Marketeers. As I’ve previously said I hope for your sake you are wealthy enough to join the club, or then you will truly understand the horror of being an “Indentured Servant,” as will most of American society.
Mespo,
You are a real trooper. I am empathetic.
I hope you saved all the sawdust. You, or any of the Fab Four
can make a kitchen witch(es) for Good Luck.
Or just make a ‘Sawdust Pie’ for the unveiling…
Sawdust Clay
This is very inexpensive to make, and the results are impressive. Children of all ages can use it, cleanup is easy, and one bucket of sawdust will last a long time.
2/3 parts fine sawdust (any kind except redwood)
1/3 part flour
Water
Large bowl or bucket
Wooden spoon
To mix the clay, use a large bowl or bucket. Mix 2/3 parts of sawdust and l/3 part of flour together. Pour in water and mix until it reaches a stiff but “squishy” consistency. Add more flour if it is too crumbly. The clay needs some kneading before the gluten in the flour becomes elastic, holding the sawdust together. Work it in your hands or on a table top covered with newspapers. Play with the clay a little until it becomes easy to shape.
This clay has a thick heavy texture and the best type of project seems to be “Indian” type pottery. Take large balls of clay. Push your thumbs together into the center, shaping the sides as you go for bowls and other containers.
Sawdust clay can also be rolled flat and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Poke a hole in each cut-out with a drinking straw. When dry, string them with yarn to make simple wall decorations or Christmas tree ornaments.
This clay air-dries very hard. When dried in the sun, sawdust clay becomes very hard and can be sanded with sandpaper before it’s painted.
It should be placed directly in the sun, if possible. When dry, you can sand it or not, depending upon what you like. Use Tempera or acrylic paints to decorate the finished objects. To give your pieces a glossy coating, spray with acrylic clean finish or paint with acrylic floor wax.
—
Patti’s 1880s Restaurant Sawdust Pie
Source: Patti’s 1880s Restaurant – Grand Rivers, Kentucky
7 egg whites, unbeaten
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix all ingredients together and stir by hand. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake until glossy and set (about 25 to 30 minutes). Do not overbake! Serve warm with sliced bananas and whipped cream.
Serves 8.
IS, although we may disagree, your comment that “most on this site seem willing to live under Castro than face death” is gratuitous and beneath you, as is your further comment about what I understand and don’t understand.
I have practiced law in Florida for 37 years. Despite my numerous deficiencies, there are at least two things I do understand: the law of Florida and the people of Florida.
The debacle surrounding Elian Gonzalez was not the product of a government run amuck, but of emotional hysteria promoted and encouraged largely by hard core elements in the Cuban-American community in Dade County.
The law is simple. When one natural parent dies, the surviving parent becomes the sole custodial parent. Following the tragic death of Elian’s mother, the normal course of action would have been to return Elian to his father. Enter the politicians. Elian’s father ultimately required the services of a lawyer to enforce the law.
The opposition to Elian’s return was not based upon legitimate fears that his father was abusive, or had abandoned his son or was in any way unfit. Instead, it relied upon the assertion that Elian would be “better off” living in the United States than with his own family because of the political system under which his country was governed. The rights of Elian and his father were wholly ignored during the ensuing political battle and the court was pilloried over what was an eminently correct ruling.
I have represented abused, neglected and abandoned children as a volunteer guardian ad litem for about 20 years. In many of those cases, I believed that the children would have been “better off” if they had different parents. I’m sure that you have made the same observation from time to time. Would you therefore be in favor of a government policy mandating that the children of families visiting from China be seized at the airport so that they do not have to return to life under a dictatorship? Should the daughters of families visiting from Pakistan, a country in which girls are frequently bound up at birth and tossed out with the garbage, be taken on arrival so that they can grow up in a country which values men and women equally? Should the government support the kidnapping of children living in tyrannical regimes? What about our domestic policies? Shall we endorse the forced separation of chilren from families suffering from the effects of alcoholism, drug addiction, ignorance or extreme poverty, or in which the parents have adopted values or lifestyles which fall outside of the mainstream in their community?
The only travesty in the Elian Gonzalez case was the willingness of people to use a child to further a purely political agenda.
mespo writes: You are a braver soul than me. I am anxiously watching my walls being demolished, my floors being stripped, and my schnauzer shivering in armature induced fear. Every clang and bang downstairs leads me to the inevitable conclusion that my kitchen space will be declared a landfill once this is over. I have few mechanical skills, and less inclination to learn. And this all from the son of the Director for Vocational Instruction. Dad went to his shop in the sky before I started this project, thank God for that.
maybe we could use a place to share our home improvement stories. poor little schnauzer…I assume you have a mini, I can’t imagine a std or giant shivering for global nuclear war. my first dog was a mini. game little guy. loving. friendly. once peed in a very expensive handbag when he wasn’t getting the attention he felt he deserved. he had all the bad dog habits. he was a leg humper, barker, furniture leg chewer, and would run for city limits if the front door opened a crack.
don;t worry about your kitchen. as long as your guy knows what he’s doing you’ll be fine. just expect that it will take twice as long and cost 1/3 more than you planned. even with my bathroom, which was DIY, there were roadblocks. at the end of the project when you are whipping up something fabulously cuisinee like melted cheese on a tortilla in your new microwave while drinking a Red Stripe it’ll all be perfect.
GW:
“I had this big scene over at home depot when I went to buy tools of destruction and the guy there laughed at me.”
************
You are a braver soul than me. I am anxiously watching my walls being demolished, my floors being stripped, and my schnauzer shivering in armature induced fear. Every clang and bang downstairs leads me to the inevitable conclusion that my kitchen space will be declared a landfill once this is over. I have few mechanical skills, and less inclination to learn. And this all from the son of the Director for Vocational Instruction. Dad went to his shop in the sky before I started this project, thank God for that.
Patty C:
Very deep dish indeed — but I can claim no credit for it. On the kitchen front, I am suffering appliance envy every time I peer through a restaurant kitchen serving door. Right now, I am awaiting delivery of range and refrigerator. “Maybe tomorrow,” I am told fervently, or should I say furtively. The cabinetry is in, and the granite is on order with templates made. I am hoping for late next week. Until then, I vacuum sawdust in earnest.
Mike Appleton:
your comments are disturbing, Elians mother died crossing from Cuba to the United States. I may not be the brightest bulb in the class but it seems to me she was making a very concrete statement about what she wanted for little Elian, the father probably agreed to it as well. She was willing to risk his life and her own so that he could live in the US. I should think the wishes of a dead parent would count for something in our legal system.
Since most on this site seem willing to live under Castro than chance death, I can understand their total inability to understand Mrs. Gonzales’s strength of will and nobility of spirit.
That he was sent back was a travesty and a stain on the Clinton justice department. It always amazes me that “progressives” are all about the children, pardon me if I don’t believe it after that show of “justice” (read force).
His return to Cuba was used as political propaganda by the Castro regime to very good effect.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
—
VERY deep-dish, my friend…
And so I must inquire, how’s the culinary construction coming?
Johnny Martz, you have misstated what occurred with Elian Gonzalez. First, the military was not dispatched to Miami. There is a difference between agents of the various federal agencies and the armed forces. Second, no rights of Elian Gonzalez were violated in any respect.
If you have any familiarity with the fundamentals of family law, then you should understand that parental rights trump political ideology. The right of children to be reared, loved and educated by their natural parents has deep roots in the common law. Indeed, we have long recognized that the state cannot interfere with those relationships except in the most egregious of circumstances. But even in the absence of controlling legal authority, one would think that common human decency would have compelled the prompt return of Elian so that he could grieve the loss of his mother in his own home with his own father. Instead, he was used as an unwitting concript and standard bearer for those political forces whose bitterness toward the Castro regime obliterates any coherent reflection on other concerns.
The attempt to justify what was in effect a form of kidnapping by the assertion that Elian would be better off in the U.S. was presumptuous and arrogant. No rational person would dispute the proposition that we do not have the right as a people to detain foreign children because we have concluded in our wisdom that their countries are impoverished, socially repressive or politically repugnant.
The decision to return Elian to his father was wholly in keeping with long established principles of law. That he would eventually be returned was a foregone conclusion. But we first had to endure a media sideshow, the misguided outrage of remote relatives and the political manipulations of right-wing Republicans. In the end Elian returned to Cuba not as a beneficiary of our compassion, but as a victim of our cynicism. And to emphasize the brilliance of our political establishment, we managed to provide immense propaganda fodder to the Castro regime in the process.
You may utilize as many capital letters as you wish in your posts, but you are way off the mark on this issue.