War Powers Act? psssshh

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

From that book, first published in 1935:

Yes, all over, nations are camping in their arms. The mad dogs of Europe are on the loose. In
the Orient the maneuvering is more adroit. Back in 1904, when Russia and Japan fought, we
kicked out our old friends the Russians and backed Japan. Then our very generous
international bankers were financing Japan. Now the trend is to poison us against the
Japanese. What does the "open door" policy to China mean to us? Our trade with China is
about $90,000,000 a year. Or the Philippine Islands? We have spent about $600,000,000 in
the Philippines in thirty-five years and we (our bankers and industrialists and speculators)
have private investments there of less than $200,000,000.

Then, to save that China trade of about $90,000,000, or to protect these private investments
of less than $200,000,000 in the Philippines, we would be all stirred up to hate Japan and go
to war -- a war that might well cost us tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of
lives of Americans, and many more hundreds of thousands of physically maimed and
mentally unbalanced men.

Predicting future wars becomes easy when you follow the money.  I'm a little disappointed in myself for not having heard of this guy before.  I've held the belief that Woodrow Wilson was a piece of shit for a decade at least, but am a bit surprised I never stumbled upon this guy until now.

How old are you again?

Just celebrated my 32nd anniversary on the planet.  And much celebrating there was.

It amazes me what they seem to stop teaching every decade.  I'm only 12 years older than you.  Then again they tried to teach my son that the Holocaust was just Isreali propaganda....  so the deterioration of the education system is beyond help.

[Disco Pickle]

From that book, first published in 1935:

Yes, all over, nations are camping in their arms. The mad dogs of Europe are on the loose. In
the Orient the maneuvering is more adroit. Back in 1904, when Russia and Japan fought, we
kicked out our old friends the Russians and backed Japan. Then our very generous
international bankers were financing Japan. Now the trend is to poison us against the
Japanese. What does the "open door" policy to China mean to us? Our trade with China is
about $90,000,000 a year. Or the Philippine Islands? We have spent about $600,000,000 in
the Philippines in thirty-five years and we (our bankers and industrialists and speculators)
have private investments there of less than $200,000,000.

Then, to save that China trade of about $90,000,000, or to protect these private investments
of less than $200,000,000 in the Philippines, we would be all stirred up to hate Japan and go
to war -- a war that might well cost us tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of
lives of Americans, and many more hundreds of thousands of physically maimed and
mentally unbalanced men.

Predicting future wars becomes easy when you follow the money.  I'm a little disappointed in myself for not having heard of this guy before.  I've held the belief that Woodrow Wilson was a piece of shit for a decade at least, but am a bit surprised I never stumbled upon this guy until now.

How old are you again?

Just celebrated my 32nd anniversary on the planet.  And much celebrating there was.

It amazes me what they seem to stop teaching every decade.  I'm only 12 years older than you.  Then again they tried to teach my son that the Holocaust was just Isreali propaganda....  so the deterioration of the education system is beyond help.

I stopped counting on the education system for my education shortly after high school.  Every technical job I've ever held since High School as been with a self taught skill, including the one I currently do, and I've never had a problem finding work.

My curiosity about history has never dried up, and I always felt I wasn't being taught enough in public school anyway.  I mostly now take recommendations from other history buffs on subjects I haven't previously read.

I only ever finished my Associates degree and while I regret it to a point and will return for a Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering, now that I've decided that's what I want to do, I don't regret taking on the debt that would have been required and would have had to pay throughout my 20's.

[Doktor Howl]

You can't question Butler's guts:

Medal of Honor (2)
Marine Corps Brevet Medal
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
French Order of the Black Star

Nor his willingness to see clearly and speak his mind:

I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class thug for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

[Laughin Jude]

I graduated in 1999 and took advanced placement US history. We spent months on the American Revolution, the Civil War and the World Wars. The class more or less ended with the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing and a brief look at the civil rights movement and maybe a word or two about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unless something major's changed, US education isn't teaching kids much of anything about the last 40-50 years of US history, and I have no doubt it's purposeful.

[Cain]

Butler also stopped the 1934 "Business Plot", an attempted fascist coup against Roosevelt.  It was meant to emulate Mussolini's March on Rome, using ex-soldiers.  Butler was chosen by the ringleaders to be the leader of the veterans movement, the pretext was to be Roosevelt's failing health, and the money behind the plot (which allegedly included Du Pont and the Singer Corporation, among others) would pull the strings in order to kill the New Deal and bring down a hammer on the unions.

The plot was pretty incoherent in the first place and probably would have failed regardless, but it could have given fascism a wider say in the American politcal system of the time.

Also, back on topic, the Stiftung would like you know it's about checks and balances, not the seperation of power

http://www.stiftungleostrauss.com/bunker/?p=5362

This episode is a classic example of why separation of powers is a misnomer. As taken to extreme by the Bush Administration this framework posits rigid compartmentalization of power. Article II power is here. Article I is there. No touching. Cooties. Checks and Balances relies on the commingling of power. As one branch waxes, the other can exert pressure back in other ways until the balance is restored.

We agree with Jack Goldsmith in the original NYT article. These issues ultimately are settled by inter-branch politics. How much does Congress believe the Administration is over reaching? What's its ante? Or does it fold? Clearly, Obama has bet on the latter.