So, the question is, was this the intent all along? Was the war (against Iraq, not against the 9/11 terrorists who had nothing to do with Iraq and is a whole other kettle of fish) a pretext to put all these totalitarian measures into effect? Was the religious right-wing desire for Taliban-like control of the populous to be implemented under the guise of safety and security, just like Hitler promised the Germans? If not, funny how it’s ending up that way.
The President We Were Warned About
George W. Bush is the imperial president that James Madison and other founders of this great republic warned us about. He lied the nation into precisely the “foreign entanglements” that George Washington feared would destroy our experiment in representative government, and he has championed a spurious notion of security over individual liberty, thus eschewing the alarms of Thomas Jefferson as to the deprivation of the inalienable rights of free citizens. But most important, he has used the sledgehammer of war to obliterate the separation of powers that James Madison enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
With the “war on terror,” Bush has asserted the right of the president to wage war anywhere and for any length of time, at his whim, because the “terrorists” will always provide a convenient shadowy target. That’s just the “continual warfare” that Madison warned of in justifying the primary role of Congress in initiating and continuing to finance a war — the very issue now at stake in Bush’s battle with Congress.
In his “Political Observations,” written years before he had served as fourth president of the United States, Madison went on to underscore the dangers of an imperial presidency bloated by war fever.
“In war,” Madison wrote in 1795, at a time when the young republic still faced its share of dangerous enemies, “the discretionary power of the executive is extended … and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people.”
Spot on! I can’t think of anything more to add, I just wanted to be first to comment ^^
Too Right! (No pun intended) Me Second!
Cheers
We are at war with Eurasia, we have always been at war with Eurasia.
Yep, them Republicrats sure are working to reduce the size of government!
In 1995, I would have NEVER in my wildest dreams thought that I would miss Bill Clinton when he was out of office. It just goes to show how wrong we can sometimes be.
But, of course, Hillary voted for the war and the Patriot Act., so where does that leave us???
This wars are not going to end until one or the other are dead, this is an enless cycle. I pity the peace lovers who bend over and take it.
Asheville NC.
A man carrying a sign reading “IMPEACH BUSH – CHENEY” was arrested. He stood on a bridge showing his 5ft X 1ft sign to traffic on the Interstate below. The first charge was for obstructing the sidewalk. Now they are changing it to “Endangering Motorists”.
Once in custody he was repeatedly questioned about his affiliation with various groups, such as Veterans for Peace and the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action .
http://tinyurl.com/ys5g4w
Be afraid.
Mother Earth news. What a great unbiased news organization.
On the plus side their blog entries are funny.
Direct quote from the just published REAGAN DIARIES.
The entry is dated May 17, 1986.
‘A moment I’ve been dreading. George brought his ne’re-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I’ll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they’ll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work.”
…War Without End, Amen
grog,
I almost didn’t believe your quote, but there it was on The New Republic’s site…
This is nothing new for the baby boomers – this is the Cold War reloaded!
America NEEDS an enemy and the damn Russians gave up!
Back in the 50’s it was the commies – the only good commie is a dead one.
So now it’s the Muslims….
Cheers
This article is correct. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a blind fool or has something to gain by claiming the fascist Bush admin are anything else.
#11 what was true then is true now — conservatives believe that only by killing people can you save lives and only by stripping away liberty can you save freedom and that only through war can peace be achieved
conservatives will not be happy until the republican party is the only party allowed by law and that all political opposition is declared treason, and we become what our countrymen and women for centuries have died to protect us from becoming — a totalitarian state no better than red china or stalinist russia
i fully expect gitmo to start housing american dissidents in my lifetime
grog and ethanol: Hilarious and, dare I say it, poignant! However for anyone looking for a non-subscription site for attribution.
http://tinyurl.com/ywl8vp
#4 It leaves us with Barak Obama.
You cant blame it all on Bush, he’s just the puppet, there is a much bigger agenda, conspiracy theories do have basis.
I agree with this, but why outrage at him only?
Lied us into war, that never happened before?
He is proceeded by a long line of Constitution shredders and manipulators. (Most of them are behind the scenes).
War is Peace as Orwell said, or War is the health of the state as Bourne has said.
Barack Obama 08!
Regarding previous comments, which may or may not have been serious, “The Reagan Diaries” from which the quotation about Bush was taken was a fictitious, humorous piece. To be sure, calling young Bush shiftless was not inaccurate for that period in time, but attributing that description to the pen of Reagan is fiction.
#3 roXet, I believe you are incorrect. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
Welcome to Amerika: first door on the left, one cross each.
There is nothing wrong with anything Bush administration has done. The only duty of the government is to provide for its own security. Anything the government does to make itself more secure, including jailing dissidents, is a legitimate use of its power.
Critics of Bush are only giving aid and comfort to those who would take away our freedoms. We will not be free until all those who criticize the government are silenced or imprisoned.
#3 roXet, you are incorrect. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
21. LOL
In regards to the article: I would have to say it is about time people started looking at where we have come to as of late.
And to take it one step further, how did we GET into war in Iraq? Well, they were in league with the terrorists, and they needed to be stopped because with WMD’s they could do real damage. Looking further, what would allow them to assert this, other than an ‘attack’ on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Wow, what a coincidence huh? They just happen to have the Patriot Act ready to go in under 20 days, and no one was given time to even read it before it was signed into LAW. All from a terrorist attack they seemed to have identified one month earlier…..
I am sure that it is not GW’s fault entirely, however, it is George W. Bush, his party and government officials under his direct command that have, through alarmist rhetoric, worked tirelessly to inure the American people to increasing levels of brutality and intrusiveness carried out in their name.
Not sure what you guys will do when Bush is out of office. Oh yeah, I forgot, he’s not leaving.
Yes, that pretty much sums things up.
I willingly accept our New… um.. Current Lords and Masters!!
Now, if you want to see the documentary from the nation of James Madison’s forefathers that dots the ‘ i ‘s and crosses the ‘ t ‘s on this matter, go here –
http://tinyurl.com/ahfjb
Allen McDonald, El Galloviejo®