One usually thinks of the president's airplane, Air Force One, as a sort of sanctuary, a safe zone for the president, even when it's not in the air. Well, that's just not so, Gentle Readers. Even Air Force One is not Safe.
Check out this video from StillFree [dot] com; it's fresh, and it's from the guys who were there.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
The peace of the dead
Hiroshima: urban warfare at its finest
While it may look like the Democrats are coming together in a semblance of uninamity on the subject of bringing our troops home (or "redeploying" them elsewhere in the Middle East) real soon, rumors are popping up all over that the administration may be about to attack Baghdad. Again.
Robert Dreyfus at TomPaine.com raises the possibility that Bush will order another Shock and Awe attack on Baghdad in a last-ditch attempt to win over American voters by his showing that he really really means business in Iraq, and the war on terror is under control.
Of course, if this plan does go forward, the results of the carnage sure to occur (house-to-house fighting, massive civilian casulaties, and the probable leveling of the city) will all be for naught.
Any sane person could reasonably assume that this will backfire bigtime, drawing the righteous condemnation of the rest of the civilized nations on Earth, as well as the undying enmity of the entire Muslim population of the planet (estimated to be about 1.7 billion souls worldwide), as well as most of what's left of any support by sane American citizens.
Being born here does not make you a citizen
While it is encouraging to see so many people take to the streets lately in mass democratic action (even if they seem to be advocating amnesty for illegal tresspass into the US) they may be confused on some specific issues.
While it is commonly assumed that persons born here are automatically citizens, it turns out that that is not quite the case.
Previously, there was some confusion on this issue, as the Constitution was a little vague, but this vagueness was resolved in part with the famous 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford decision, and further clarified with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In effect, the subsequent court decisions refined the law to mean that citizenship is conferred upon persons born here only in accord with the consent of the civil community (those persons already citizens prior to the passage of the various acts, laws, and Constitutional amendment). In other words, if they follow the existing and well-established rules and procedures (which does not include being born here because your mother climbed a fence and gave birth to you on American soil).
For a more detailed exposition, the Claremont Institute has the very argument archived at the link below, as part of its "Becoming Americans" Essay Series.
Becoming Americans
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