Guess what present our Dear Leader got two weeks ago! That’s right, easier power to declare martial law and seize control of National Guard troops over the objections of local and state authorities. Thus, one more important safeguard against abuse by the federal government goes by the wayside. So much for democracy and the rule of law. All hail The Decider, who is the Only One who can protect us from those evil terrists. Senator Patrick Leahy has summed up his objections to the bill. Read his protest for a good summary of how evil is truly done.
I suppose I should accept the fact that one day we will all be working for the Department of Defense. Or maybe we already are.
I don’t know if “how evil is truly done” is quite accurate here. I seem to remember a little thing called Hurricane Katrina that happened last year. For this last year I have read over and over how bad a job the Feds did on responding to the crisis. Obviously there was no blame on Nagan and Blanco for this, even though they at least share the blame. “Too slow” and “Ineffective” are some of the phrases I heard. So, outside of the politics involved, we all agree that the response was too slow….
Now here is a bill that would provide quicker response and organization to a natural disater or terrorist attack and you are complaining about it? Who should we give this organizational authority to? The state government? What if it is across multiple states like Katrina..then what state is in charge? Should the authority be given to the local government? Obviously a local government might not have the resources to do something like this.
I just don’t see your argument here. Its broken, so here is a solution that seems to make sense from an organizational and financial perspective. If it doesn’t make sense to you, what is your suggestion for making it work better? It’s always better to propose a alternative solution than to just complain about it….
Uhh, Katrina is a bad example because the local governments there asked for assistance and didn’t get it, at least in any timely manner. At all times, the authority over National Guard troops remained with the respective state’s governors.
States have authority over things and the federal government has rights over others. It has worked well for 220+ years, so the question becomes why does this president – one who has already shown a shockingly reckless disregard for the rule of law – think he has the need to challenge it?
You may think these walls are trivial and outdated, but you would be wrong. They exist to keep the federal government from overstepping its bounds. Fortunately, the jackasses who handed this to Bush may be finding new seats at the committee tables in less than a week!
Ok…so your suggestion is to leave things the way they were a year ago? The way they have been for 220 years? I thought things didn’t work right? Why would you leave things “status quo” if there were so many problems.
I guess my point here isn’t to re-hash old stuff about what happened a year ago. My point is that I would like a real solution? That requires a real answer and not just bashing W or members of Congress. Let me help you out here with a little fill-in-the-blank….
The solution to this problem is ______________. I eagerly await your answer.
A better question, Todd, would be:
“The problem requiring this extraordinary change in two hundred thirty years of constitutional principles is ___________________.”
If you can provide an answer to this, we can proceed to debate.
I don’t know what happened to the “Less Gov’t” Republicans. They have gone far too left for my liking. I am extremely disapointed in the expanse of government and budget by the current administration. But, consider the alternative, Al Gore or John “the military is full of uneducated idiots” Keri.
As for Hurrican Katrina, “Here you go again.” Mayor Nagan and Gov. Blanco dropped the ball on this one. It was the feds that got the city in some order. Parts of Alabama and Miss. were also hit hard and you don’t here much from them like you do Mayor “school bus” Nagan.
I agree with magarita drinker on this one. What would you have the feds do if not leave things as they were?
I’m surprised at the both of you. You consider yourselved Republicans, yet you have no problem turning over your well-being to the federal government. What happened to self-reliance?
My God, what would Reagan say?
Reagan would tell the individual states to figure it out and get it done at the state level. One of GW’s faults is that he is more sensitive to the criticism he gets on a daily basis. Reagan would say “to hell with the press and the left.” GW felt he had to do something. Again what is your solution to the problem?
As far as turning over my well-being to the federal government. I rely on the feds to protect me from foreign enemies and I think they do a fine job now that we have someone in office who will actually do something about terrorism. In a Katrina like situation, I have a responsibility to get my family out of harms way. It is not the feds responsibility to get me out of harms way. You cannot have it both ways, Mark. The feds should have done more in New Orleans, but the feds should leave things as they were pre-Katrina?
Yes. One screwup does not warrant the changing of 200 years of legal precedent, regardless of who may be to blame for the Katrina response.
Once again, tell me what the problem is that this is purportedly solving?
Maybe we are on the same page on this one. Maybe there was no problem with the way the feds handled the aftermath of Katrina. Go back to the way it was.
You are right Leonard…lets just leave things as they were before Katrina. Let Nagan and Blanco run things because they did such a great job. God forbid we change something small to make things more efficient in the future…that would actually make sense!
I just want to get this straight one more time, MT. You think we should continue to “stay the course” here then? Obviously it is more important then for the states to have their rights than to actually save American lives and help people, right?
Yeah. I’d rather not have somebody in Washington telling me what to do. The State of North Carolina knows North Carolina better than anyone on DC could ever hope to. If our governor wants to send his National Guard troops to the coast during a hurricane, that’s his perogative and his alone. They are North Carolina’s troops, after all.
As Benjamin Franklin said: “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”