I never said that war has not been waged by a President (some argue a difference between "war" and "police action", some don't). I'm simply saying it hasn't been declared. Furthermore, I never weighed in on this issue so you really don't know my feelings about it.

Just like you commented on the Constitution without having read it, you have commented on my views regarding delegated war powers without asking for my opinion.

Why would you do that? Is it that important to you to save face that you would call me an idiot based on assumptions you've made regarding my opinions just to counter the emotional burden of admitting that you're an idiot?

Your statement was, "I guess we're both idiots", admitting your own idiocy but then positing that I too am an idiot for the following reasons:

  1. "I was looking for the Income tax clause, missed that one."
  2. "I was looking for the Patriot Act clause, I missed that one too."
  3. "Oh, I missed that one where the President can declare war."

1, As I have already pointed out to you, there is an Income Tax clause. 2, I agree that the PATRIOT ACT is probably Unconstitutional. 3, You don't know how I feel about the delegation of war powers, and at any rate no President has ever declared war.

That pretty much sums up my rebuttal to your accusation that I, like you, am an idiot.

Therefore, you're an idiot.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/09/2010 07:10:41 AM EST

[ Parent ]

No war since WWII

I am a veteran

Doesn't say very much, does it.  So knowing you were a veteran I opened the door for you or anyone to explain how nearly 100,000 soldiers have died fighting non-wars.  As a constitutionalist and I assume an oath keeper you might have an opinion regarding the current illegal, I mean unconstitutional, wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Columbia.

The non-declaration of war on Pakistan will be the next constitutional issue.  Seems like everyone, probably myself included, can read what they  want into our constitution.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/09/2010 08:28:01 AM EST

[ Parent ]

How do I get caught up in your idiocy? I have not made any untrue statements.

We have not declared war since WWII. That's a fact, jack. Go do something crazy out-of-this-world like, I don't know... LOOK IT UP.

But don't call me an idiot regarding an opinion you assume I hold.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/09/2010 03:23:29 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I said the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Columbia were unconsititutional. If they were wars then they were undeclared ones.  That is an abuse of power far more grievous then telling some local Imam to move his mosque somewhere else.

You gave me half answers.  These were predicated on the point that blind defense of constitutional rights in the face of gross unconsitutional behavior is silly and possibly moronic at best.

I like Imam Raul's logic now.  He can't move the mosque because too many Muslims overseas will take offense and might take violent action against Americans overseas.  That is exactly the point that people made objecting to the mosque that it would become a potent symbol overseas.

All he did was confirm it.  What a joke.

 

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/09/2010 11:57:27 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Congress may not have declared war in these cases, but Congress did approve of them, further mucking the waters.

What that says about my opinion, you still don't know. So don't call me an idiot based on your assumptions. Idiot.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/10/2010 12:47:17 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Does that make you a war criminal under international law?

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/11/2010 05:59:05 AM EST

[ Parent ]
You don't even know the US Constitution. I'll have to assume you don't know international law either. Don't do this to yourself. When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/11/2010 02:51:44 PM EST

[ Parent ]

perfectly alright to invade a country without provocation, slaughter its people, overturn its government, and occupy it for years all the while killing and maiming civilians to impose your governmental system on them.

I think I read that part in the UN declaration.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/11/2010 09:30:57 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Of course you didn't read that part.

You didn't read it at all.

You don't even know the name of the document you didn't read.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/12/2010 02:05:59 AM EST

[ Parent ]

Here is what was discussed regarding the legality of the war in Iraq, hint they needed to find weapons of mass destruction.

"Self Defense

Since it was not directly attacked by Iraq the United States did not have an obvious right to self-defense. The administration, though, argued that it had a right to defend itself preemptively against a future possible attack. In his speech to the United Nations on September 12, 2002, President Bush described Saddam Hussein's regime as "a grave and gathering danger," detailed that regime's persistent efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and spoke of an "outlaw regime" providing such weapons to terrorists. For an extensive discussion of international law and the preemptive use of force, see the Congressional Research Service's Report for Congress of September 23, 2002. "
 

http://www.hrcr.org/hottopi cs/Iraq.html

No weapons of mass destruction, no international justification for war.  Ergo, everyone who participated in the war is a war criminal under International law.  Don't take my word for it, read the UN charter.

Under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to which the United States is a party, a nation's use of force is authorized under only two circumstances: in individual or collective self-defense, as outlined in Article 51, or pursuant to a Security Council resolution, as outlined in Article 42. 

Wiggle all you want, Congress did not declare war and Iraq was not a threat to the US.  It was an illegal war and all military personnel are required to question an illegal order under the UCMJ.  I don't think I need to give you that reference.

Afghanistan is exactly the same.  The Taliban never attacked the US.  Afghanistan never presented a threat directly or indirectly to the US, another illegal war.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/12/2010 05:38:29 AM EST

[ Parent ]

I must have missed the part where I argued that the war was justified.

I must have also missed the part where you drew a line from our nation's criminal responsibility to the criminal responsibility of soldiers.

You gonna dig up the Nuremburg Trials next?

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/12/2010 06:39:47 PM EST

[ Parent ]

They set the precedence.  What do you think will happen in the future?  The US will join the International Criminal Court and there will be trials for US war criminals.  But not for Bush or Cheney, as usual the common man will get punished. It's inevitable because it has happened everywhere else.

You don't like my position on the mosque, because of a constitutional stretch regarding "Freedom of Religion."  I say stretch because I don't seek to deny them the right to worship, just where they worship.  

In this, I am not alone, a super-majority of Americans and New Yorkers agree.

http://www.earthtimes.org/a rticles/news/342584,poll-ne w-york-times.html

You can call me bigot, racist, unconstitutionalist (is that a word?), or whatever you want, but I speak for the majority. Sometimes regardless of our constitutional rights we shouldn't do something.  Should we burn Korans, no.  I cannot support that either.  It's disrespectful and distasteful.  Should we burn the US flag, no.  I cannot support that either.  Is that freedom of speech, probably, that doesn't make it right.

As Americans we often do the right thing for the wrong reason and the wrong thing for the right reason.  Pragmaticism.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/13/2010 01:06:40 AM EST

[ Parent ]

Just because you deem something "not right" doesn't mean it isn't protected by the Constitution.

You have the right to freedom of speech too. And with that freedom of speech, you can express your personal disapproval of the 'mosque' or flag burning or koran burning. When a majority expresses that same opinion, those acts become less and less popular and with any luck, the perpetrator will decide on his or her own to avoid doing things that will make them less popular.

However, when the public gets outraged at Obama and Bloomberg for not stepping in and preventing the 'mosque' or flag burning or koran burning, this is just downright idiotic. They have no right to infringe on freedom of speech unless that speech provokes imminent physical harm.

Furthermore, people like you don't seem to realize just how counter-productive it is to focus your energy towards the people who burn flags. Of course you don't like it. That's the point. That's the purpose of the statement that is being made and the more you disagree with it, the more profound the statement becomes. For every flag burned on American soil, a conservative trips over his own dick against freedom of speech, one of the main principles the flag stands for.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/13/2010 06:36:53 PM EST

[ Parent ]

If everything was so cut and dry why do we live in a nation divided ready to riot and kill one another.  Sometimes you do the smart thing regardless of the "law."

Once upon a time it was constitutional to hold slaves.  That was wrong, too.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/14/2010 01:58:59 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Burning a flag to slavery. Wow.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/14/2010 03:41:14 AM EST

[ Parent ]

Is the constitution even relevant or just an archaic document from our history?  Nobody seems to follow it, unless they want to score political points.

When a law becomes ignored, it no longer forms the basis for law.  Welcome to the 21st century James, your government does as it pleases and when the constitution stands in the way, they trample it.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/14/2010 03:53:27 AM EST

[ Parent ]
And then get back to me.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/14/2010 02:32:18 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Patriot Act.  It no longer regulates our government.  Go read the Patriot Act.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/14/2010 10:51:07 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I've ready and we agree. It violates the Constitution, particularly the 4th Amendment. Your stance on the PATRIOT ACT is contradictory to your stance on flag burning (et al). If you get mad when our 4th amendment rights get trampled, you should be mad when someone tries to trample our 1st amendment rights.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/14/2010 11:16:28 PM EST

[ Parent ]
while you may have the legal right to burn the flag, as a political statement, not the proper destruction one, if I caught you doing it, I would beat the crap out of you.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/14/2010 11:28:50 PM EST

[ Parent ]
You would get your ass kicked, go to jail, then get sued. Sad day.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/15/2010 12:56:50 AM EST

[ Parent ]

that you protect it and not give your adversary cause to take it away.  It's all mute, I lost my free speech when they passed the Patriot Act.

I doubt they would ever get to the foot soldiers, but eventually someone will follow up on this once the US joins the new global government.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/ index.php?title=Bush_Admini stration_War_Crimes_in_Iraq

Eventually someone will want their pound of flesh out of America. Sad day for Americans.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/15/2010 05:27:16 AM EST

[ Parent ]

In order to "protect" my free speech, I must not practice it, other wise it will be taken away?

That's your position on flag burning?

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/15/2010 05:48:17 PM EST

[ Parent ]
try walking in Harlem and say "nigger."  My point is with freedom comes responsibility.  You must be pragmatic.  That is why we say war on terror, not war on radical Islam.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/16/2010 12:21:40 AM EST

[ Parent ]

Walking into Harlem and saying "nigger" gives the people in Harlem a right to kick my ass?

Try walking into an Oklahoma Sooners bar wearing a Texas Longhorns shirt.

Based on your logic, the Sooners fans would be justified in pulling your balls off.

http://www.faniq.com/blog/T exas-Longhorns-Oklahoma-Soo ners-Rivalry-Moves-Straight -to-the-Top-Fan-Nearly-Lose s-Scrotum-Blog-3909

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/16/2010 12:45:50 AM EST

[ Parent ]

I may have the right to walk into the bar and call everybody a whore's son.  But pragmatism prevents me from doing it.  The same goes for Koran and Bible burning.  This lip service to "freedom of speech" is a joke.  Intelligent people can use common sense to restrict their speech themselves without need of a speech committee deciding which words are okay and which are not.

And if I was a Sooners fan, i might pull somebody's balls off, but I'm not so we will never know.  There is a difference between a football fan and destroying the emblem of your nation.  You are just setting up a strawman and you know it.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/16/2010 03:03:15 AM EST

[ Parent ]

Intelligence isn't measured by how hard you hit.

Notice you didn't say "Violent people can use fighting to restrict the speech of others without need of a speech committee deciding which words are okay and which are not."

In your own words: "Intelligent people"

Not "violent" people. It takes a special kind of idiot to say in one breath that speech can be restricted by intelligent people and in the next breath condone restricting speech by hitting someone in the face.

You are the speech committee

You want to restrict my speech and decide which words are okay or not.

"It is poignant but fundamental that the flag protects those who hold it in contempt."

Justice Anthony Kennedy, Texas v Johnson 1989

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/16/2010 04:14:31 AM EST

[ Parent ]

live in a courtroom.  We live in the real world with a mix of educational standards.  Be a hard case and die gasping "freedom of speech" as the enemies of America stand laughing over you.

Your wake-up call should have been Palestine when the people there exercised their new found freedom of speech and elected a bunch of terrorists.  Go freedom of speech.  Like I said it comes with responsibility, abuse it and you will lose it.  That's why we have the Patriot Act.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/16/2010 05:07:04 AM EST

[ Parent ]
when you say "enemies of america" you realize you're referring to yourself, right?

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/16/2010 03:51:19 PM EST

[ Parent ]
way of life, I only seek compromise to promote harmony.  You have a funny way of defining your enemies and your friends.  I suppose Dick Cheney is a friend and I am the enemy.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/16/2010 07:54:21 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I'm using your definition!

"Be a hard case and die gasping "freedom of speech" as the enemies of America stand laughing over you."

Who would be laughing over me if I tried to burn the flag (freedom of speech) and got my ass kicked for it? YOU!

It's fun to watch you trip over your own dick.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/16/2010 10:37:47 PM EST

[ Parent ]
the house.  The analogy was Anakin Skywalker dueling with Obi-wan Kenobi.  Only the Sith deal in absolutes, welcome to the Sith.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/16/2010 10:53:03 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Because the Sith were for free speech, right?

 

The one dealing with absolutes here is you. You believe morality and ethics to be black and white issues. Burning the flag is wrong and should therefore be punishable by force... no pun intended.

I don't like the idea of burning the flag either. I don't like the word nigger or religion for that matter. The first amendment protects all these things not because we like them, but rather in spite of the fact that we don't. That is a core American principle. If you are against it, or generallyforitexceptincases whereyoudon'tlikewhat'sbein gsaid, then you are against a core, nay... THE core American principle.

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/17/2010 02:35:39 AM EST

[ Parent ]

the death even though you know it is inherently wrong.  Standards change over time and so must the laws and constitution.  I believe so strongly in that that I left the US.  I am an American in passport and inherent culture only.  I will not go back to an America I see to be a nation of hypocrisy where laws and legislatures are corrupted by money interests.

That was the nation that Jefferson warned against and those money interests will continue to use those laws to justify their rape of our nation.  

How's that for honesty.

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/17/2010 07:55:13 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Did you move to a country that bans flag burning? Nazi Germany, perhaps?

"Terrorism is the war for the poor and powerless. War is the terrorism for the rich and powerful."

by JamesStevensDigArt on 09/17/2010 08:29:52 AM EST

[ Parent ]

Don't waste your vote, vote Green or Independent in the next election.

by mcamelyne on 09/17/2010 09:46:03 AM EST

[ Parent ]