Tag Archives: War Powers

The Constitution, the Executive Branch and War Powers

by Michael Boldin
In reading the Constitution, we can plainly see that Congress possesses the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, to raise and support armies, to grant letters of marque and reprisal, to provide for the common defense,” and even “to declare war.” Congress shares, with the President, the power to make treaties and [...]

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Only Congress Can Declare War

The framers of the Constitution attempted to balance the power of the President as commander-in-chief with that of Congress, the representatives of the People.
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives to the Executive Branch the command of the nation’s armed forces, while Article I, Section 8 gives to the Legislative Branch the power to [...]

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Limited or Unlimited Government?

Although the founders wrote the US Constitution to limit the powers of the federal government, politicians from both sides of the aisle take the position that their power is far beyond what was ever imagined.
And now, John McCain’s new advisor, Michael Goldfarb, is making the claim that the executive branch has “near dictatorial powers”

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The Presidency: Executive or Imperial Branch?

by Ivan Eland
More memos recently have surfaced that were written early in the Bush administration by John C. Yoo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel — the man who gave us the administration’s horrifyingly narrow definition of torture. As difficult as it is to believe, the recently released memos are even scarier than [...]

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Why we have a Tenth Amendment

Guest Commentary by Dan Reale
You can ask anybody what the first amendment prevents infringement upon. They might know about one thing, freedom of speech, but incorrectly, tell you we are granted freedom of speech. Even then, most miss the other four inalienable rights the Constitution limits the federal government from violating.
Most are equally unaware of [...]

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In Any Case

A recent OpEd by Mario Cuomo in the Los Angeles Times, What The Constitution Says About Iraq, gave some surprisingly good analysis of how the Iraq war is a direct violation of the constitution. Here’s a few tidbits:

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The Root of the Problem

Reports from the UK are talking about a British General lambasting US policy failures in Iraq. From the Guardian:
The bitter transatlantic row over Iraq intensified as another key British general lambasted the US for bungling the aftermath of the invasion.
Major General Tim Cross, the most senior UK officer involved in the post-war planning, said Washington’s [...]

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The Military Draft: A Moral Abomination

by Michael Boldin
An article in Newsweek, “Why We Need a Draft: A Marine’s Lament,” stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest online recently. It was written by marine who fought in Fallujah, Iraq, and actually gave a pretty compelling overview of the practical need for selective service.
I’m sure the marine was right – [...]

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The Constitution and the Powers of War

DIGG This
The framers of the Constitution attempted to balance the power of the President as commander-in-chief with that of Congress, the representatives of the People. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives to the Executive Branch the command of the nation’s armed forces, while Article I, Section 8 gives to the Legislative [...]

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