FINALLY---Someone in Congress Asks the Right Question

U.S. Congressional Representative, Ted Lieu of California, asked a Trump Admin official (in a Hearing) the following:  "Under the Constitution, does the President have the authority to declare war?".  The Trump guy hemmed, hawed, beat around the bush, and never answered the query.  Then Rep. Lieu said he would make it easy:  "The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, right?".  More hemming & hawing from the U.S. Envoy to Iran.  Kudos to Representative Lieu.

Those who rely on the War Powers Resolution (often called the War Powers Act), or any other "resolution", to declare war are violating the Constitution and their Oath of Office.  In our system of government, it isn't up to the President to decide when to go to war.  The Founders believed that could be subject to abuse, and so they made certain that only Congress had that power.  At least then, We the People supposedly would be represented in the decision.  Plus, Congress was not given the authority to transfer that power to the Executive.  The President only has power to manage a war...once Congress has declared war.  Finally, no Law supercedes the U.S. Constitution.

According to recent News reports, Trump & Crew are considering using the 2001 Resolution as authority to go to war with Iran.  That's ludicrous.  Not only is it ludicrous (and illegal) because of the paragraph immediately above, but also because that Resolution had absolutely nothing to do with Iran.  Nothing at all.

The last time Congress declared war was in December, 1941.  Over the decades since then, members of our Gov't have ignored the war clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States.  That means each of them has violated his/her Oath of Office.  Very few people seem to care.

The case for war with Iran is so flimsy that it really doesn't exist.  The Warmongers' efforts to make the case have a strong stink about them. More importantly, the President does not have the Constitutional authority to declare war on any nation.  Once any part of our bedrock Supreme Law of the Land is by-passed, then the same can happen to any other part.  Hello.  This whole scenario reeks of "The Grand Chessboard:  American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives".  Empire on steroids.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Third Iraq War for America, & the Constitution

Here we go again.  The first Iraq War was in the early '90s.  Just prior to that one, the Fed Gov't supplied weapons to Saddam for his war against Iran.  The second Iraq War started in 2003, I believe, and went on seemingly forever; however, it did eventually end (for the U.S.).  Now we're beginning the third Iraq War for America.  [For those who may not know, when one country drops bombs or shoots missiles from aircraft into another country, that's war.  Even if you're not bombing, say, the forces of Iraq, it's still war.]

My point here is this:  apparently I missed the preludes to those three wars---  the part where the U.S. Congress, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution, issues a Declaration of War.  Some time ago, John McCain in response to a question from Congressman  Jesse Jackson Jr. on this very subject, essentially stated that such a Declaration of War was not necessary because the War Powers Act gave the President (with the approval of Congress) the authority to go to war at his discretion.  In his defense, McCain is not the only DC Crony who uses that reasoning.  What they all appear to be ignoring is that no law supercedes the Constitution.  That means, despite what McCain and others tell us, Congress must declare war before troops (or war planes, or war ships) are sent into battle against some enemy.  I challenge any politician (or anyone) to disprove that.

For decades now, the Fed Gov't has been ignoring the restraints of the Constitution whenever it suits politicians or their Mega Business Cronies.  They use Laws to justify their war actions; there is nary a peep about the requirements and restraints imposed on the Fed Gov't by the Supreme Law of the Land regarding war and the proper use of the military.  I find it exceptionally strange that the U.S. public appears to accept this scenario.  Perhaps that is due to propaganda, or disinterest, or poverty, or being super-rich, or being too busy, or feeling helpless, or something else.  Maybe people don't believe that the Constitution does require a Declaration of War; or perhaps they believe that Laws actually can alter the requirements stated in the Constitution.  It especially puzzles me that "Conservatives" (nowadays that means Neoconservatives) accept this travesty against Constitutional Gov't.

Perhaps we as a People have forgotten the primary purpose of the Constitution:  it is to restrain the Fed Gov't.  For that to work, the requirements of the document cannot be ignored.  Simple logic.

Be Well