Imperial Presidency

Xerxes Is On The Move

"At a cost of 'between $60 million to $100 million,' 'President Obama goes to sub-Saharan Africa this month,' reports the usually adoring Washington Post. A good part of the comitatus—'the sprawling apparatus that encompasses … the emperor’s household and its personnel'—is going along for the ride. Military cargo planes will airlift in 56 support vehicles, including 14 limousines and three trucks loaded with sheets of bulletproof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the first family will stay. Fighter jets will fly in shifts, giving 24-hour coverage over the president’s airspace, so they can intervene quickly if an errant plane gets too close." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingXerxes Is On The Move

Freeloaders

"The president's family descended on Northern Ireland to enjoy a lavish holiday in a five-star hotel, where just their room (one of 30 they have commandeered) goes for a cool $3,300 dollars per night. The first family's two-day vacation to Northern Ireland is estimated to cost our families some $5.2 million. Not many working American families can afford a vacation at all, but they have no choice but chip in for the Obama family's fun and games. The first class holiday for the first family is said to be the 'biggest security operation ever mounted in Northern Ireland' -- and in a region that not long ago was mired in brutal warfare and terrorism that is saying quite a bit!" Continue reading →

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Bill Ayers: Obama should be put on trial for war crimes

"Radical anti-war revolutionary turned education advocate Bill Ayers said Tuesday he believed President Barack Obama should be charged with war crimes. Ayers, who co-founded the far left revolutionary Weather Underground group, told Tom Bevan and Charlie Stone of Real Clear Politics that Obama’s use of targeted drone strikes was 'absolutely' a form of terrorism. 'Every president in this century should be put on trial for war crimes,' he said. 'Absolutely. Every one of them goes into an office dripping with blood and then adds to it. And yes, I think these are war crimes. I think they’re acts of terror.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Ayers: Obama should be put on trial for war crimes

Obama Says Bernanke Has Been at Fed ‘Longer Than He Wanted’

"President Barack Obama said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has stayed in his post 'longer than he wanted,' one of the clearest signals the central bank chief will leave when his current term expires next year. 'Ben Bernanke’s done an outstanding job,' Obama said in an interview with Charlie Rose that aired yesterday on PBS, when asked about nominating him for another term subject to Senate approval. 'He’s already stayed a lot longer than he wanted or he was supposed to.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Says Bernanke Has Been at Fed ‘Longer Than He Wanted’

Obama on prosecuting Edward Snowden: I will leave it up to the Department of Justice

"Barack Obama addressed what he described as the public 'ruckus' over the leaked National Security Agency surveillance documents on Monday, indicating that the US authorities would pursue extradition from Hong Kong of the whistleblower Edward Snowden. Obama did not offer any more details about the process in his PBS interview. Instead, he addressed criticism that he has shifted a long way from the liberal positions he championed during his 2008 White House race. Obama said: 'My concern has always been not that we shouldn’t do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama on prosecuting Edward Snowden: I will leave it up to the Department of Justice

NSA Snooping on Americans Is Unconstitutional and Outrageous

"Even after 9/11, an American’s chance of being killed by terrorists is about the same as that of being killed by an asteroid and less than that of being struck down by lightning. President Obama recently gave a speech seemingly shining a light on the end of the tunnel in the war on terrorism. Apparently, that didn’t apply to snooping on Americans in that war. As a candidate prior to becoming president, Obama argued that no tradeoff existed between security and America’s unique and sacred liberties; yet after these government spying programs were leaked, he contradicted his early stance and opined we couldn’t have 100% security and 100% liberty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Snooping on Americans Is Unconstitutional and Outrageous

Effort to block NDAA indefinite detention fails in U.S. House

"Indefinite detention remains in effect, but this week an effort was made to fix the problem with the Smith-Gibson amendment to the 2014 NDAA act. This bi-partisan amendment, sponsored by Republican Chris Gibson of New York and Democrat Adam Smith of Washington, would have guaranteed any detainee a trial and prohibited the transfer of anyone arrested in the United States to military custody. As happened with the substantially similar Smith-Amash amendment last year, this effort failed by a close 226 to 200 vote on the floor of the House." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEffort to block NDAA indefinite detention fails in U.S. House

On This Day in 1933

"You were considered a hoarder and a slacker if you still resisted turning over your gold to the government. Roosevelt had only been in office for 101 days and while there was broad bipartisan support for inflationary policies in Congress, it’s safe to say that most of those who voted for FDR never expected him to confiscate private holdings of gold coins, bullion, and certificates. Roosevelt called the measure a temporary one (it wasn’t), and he followed it up by invalidating gold clauses in private contracts that obligated payment in gold dollars, which had the effect of devaluing the assets of bond and contract holders." Continue reading →

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Our Open Surveillance ‘Debate’: DOJ Wants to Block Release of Secret Court Opinion

"Because of the efforts of President Barack Obama's Administration to quash any release of even a smidgen of information about the government’s surveillance program, his comment today that he looked forward to a 'debate' on the issue was met with skepticism. Then, hours later, the Department of Justice responded to a lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation trying to stop the release of a secret court opinion connected to the very surveillance program about which Obama claimed to want to debate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOur Open Surveillance ‘Debate’: DOJ Wants to Block Release of Secret Court Opinion