(Originally posted at The Reaction.) I wrote about Yoo’s un-American constitutionalism — his championing of the executive branch over the legislative and judicial ones — last week (see here). My main point was this: “If there is only war, there is only wartime constitutionalism. Legislators may still enact laws (presumably) and judges may still interpret them (presumably), but the shift...

President George W. Bush and President Jacques Chirac of France said they agree on the strategy for pressing ahead in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear development program, it is reported. ” ‘The EU-3 will continue to dialog with the Iranians with the goal of getting Iran to suspend enrichment of uranium,’ Bush said of a European Union initiative after meeting with Chirac at the United...

I’m getting Breaking News emails about tanks rolling through the streets of Bangkok. BBC: Thailand calls state of emergency Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declares a state of emergency in Bangkok amid rumours of a coup. CNN: Thailand’s state-controlled Army television says the government maintains control of Bangkok and surrounding areas amid an attempted military coup. CNN: The military...

I may not agree with what President George Bush and his administration has been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the simple reason that this is going to hurt the USA in the long run. But what he is doing in the Indian subcontinent is unbelievable. Perhaps that’s why Bush has a large following in India. India and Pakistan are like small kids hell bent on bickering. I welcome when President Bush tells...

It is no longer a “given” that the Democrats will gain at least one house of Congress in the November elections — and the latest poll shows trend that should make Democrats nervous: Amid falling gas prices and a two-week drive to highlight his administration’s efforts to fight terrorism, President Bush’s approval rating has risen to 44% in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. That’s...

Arizona Senator John McCain has been insisting for several days that he is confident a compromise can be struck with the White House on the hotly-debated torture issue that’ll be one he can live with. But is McCain already political toast within the GOP? The Washington Post: Sen. John McCain’s bid to position himself as the natural heir to President Bush as a wartime commander in chief and to court...

McCain is hearing it from the Republican base over the torture amendment. They want torture. He doesn’t. From the NY Times: After months of orchestrated peace, the battle with Mr. Bush over the administration’s effort to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions has put Mr. McCain back into a familiar position: bucking the White House and at odds again with some conservatives, who had already been wary...

The Moderate Voice occasionally runs Guest Voice posts by readers who don’t have a weblog or have one and have something special to say here. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or its co-bloggers — but they do add to our free-wheeling debate. This is by reader C. Stanley. Freedom, rights and responsibilities By C. Stanley Sunday’s edition of the Atlanta Journal...

Donald Sensing, a United Methodist pastor and retired Army officer, always writes some of the most thought-provoking material on the Internet. Whether you agree with him on an issue or not, he offers solid food-for-thought (not regurgitations of what he heard on anyone’s radio or cable talk show) and his unique perspective (looking at issues at times from both a military and theological background) makes...

…at Moderate Voters.org’s new reformatted website. It is GREAT. Moderate Voters has been nice enough to choose TMV for a Blogad from time to time (we do NOT solicit advertisers and all of our blogads come from Blogads itself). TMV himself has visited that site often and it was always an excellent source of info and a must read. Well, just Take A Peek and you’ll become addicted. It’s now...

There is a solution to prevent the start of a new cycle of genocide in the Darfur province of Sudan. That may happen if the 7,000 African Union peacekeepers withdraw on September 30 leaving the fragile ceasefire without anyone to defend it. The United Nations wants to replace or expand the force to 20,000 soldiers, including Europeans, under the UN flag but Sudan’s Muslim-dominated government calls that...

A reader who viewed the Muscular Dystrophy telethon this month asked if we’ve posted a You Tube of the young and nutty Jerry Lewis and the young and suave Dean Martin in our occasional posts on great comedians. We did. And we offer you this clip, performed live on The Colgate Comedy Hour (I was too young to watch it so I’m also just discovering and studying this great comedy myself): You can...

One of the oldest critiques that supporters of the Iraq war offer is the charge that the liberal, anti-war mainstream media (usually acronymed as MSM) deliberately ignores the “good news” stories from Iraq. Instead, so the claim goes, the media plays up the acts of violence in order to drive home the larger anti-war narrative of chaos and failure. Some war supporters, when feeling generous, attribute...

The upcoming Supreme Court term is ground zero for Justice Kennedy. And by extension, the whole Court.

Jonathan Adler reports that the U.S. government spent one billion dollars on anti-marijuana ads that not only didn’t work, but actually increased the likelihood that teens would use the drug. Worse, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which commissioned the report showing the increased prevalance, continued running the ads, sat on the report for a year, and then when they finally released it, claimed...

“Is Jim Baker bailing out the Bushes once again?” asked The Washington Post yesterday: The former secretary of state, James A. Baker III, a confidant of President George H.W. Bush, visited Baghdad two weeks ago to take a look at the vexing political and military situation. He was there as co-chairman of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, put together by top think tanks at the behest of Congress to...

The greater danger for Americans is not from terrorism but from overblown faith in their super power status, which makes them disrespect the emerging strength of the rest of the world. The run up to the November elections suggests that many Americans think they can be safe because the US is a military and economic giant among Lilliputians. Consequently, they seem to care little for friendship and cooperation...

Just a short reminder: The documentary about Barry Goldwater, made by his granddaughter CC Goldwater, will be aired today, at 9 p.m., ET, on HBO. Don’t miss it…

There seems to be quite some debate about the state of the US economy. Some, like President Bush, believe that the US economy is “strong and vibrant”. Others, like the citizens quoted in this AP article, say that they are struggling, like never before, to make ends meet. Nancy Pelosi (perhaps naturally) agrees with those citizens: Times are “very good for the rich and very, very bad for the...

This is the heading of the editorial in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Here is the Haaretz editorial: “During the final days of the war, when it became clear that the Israel Defense Forces had no solution to the ongoing launchings of Katyusha rockets, a decision was made to “flood” the area with cluster bombs, delivered by artillery shells and rockets. This was non-target specific shooting,...