“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) Question: Does the Bush/Cheney Administration mirror the “inner soul” of the American people? Is this what we have become?
FindLaw’s Writ – Van Bergen: The Unitary Executive: Is The Doctrine Behind the Bush Presidency Consistent with a Democratic State? No. Our government was purposely created with power split between three branches, not concentrated in one. Separation of powers, then, is not simply a talisman: It is the foundation of our system. James Madison wrote in The Federalist Papers, No. 47, that: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few,…
Is anyone wondering how I decided on the name “VirusHead” (and domain virushead.net)? It’s a variation on theoryhead. “Theoryheads” immerse themselves in the study of theory – media and popular culture studies, postmodern philosophy, literary theory, and so on. The first time I heard the word was in the 80’s. This was in the context of postmodern philosophy generally, and especially through the lenses of Derrida and Foucault. In the humanities, one extreme was captured by the idea of the…
eSchool News online – Coalition: Don’t send education $7 billion in wiretapping costs Critical of a new federal order that could cost colleges and universities an estimated $7 billion to renovate their existing computer networks so law enforcement officials could conduct remote wiretaps, a coalition of university presidents, lobbyists, and other education stakeholders on Nov. 15 filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting an exemption. Speaks for itself. I’d only sputter like a wee Tasmanian devil.
Stop Corruption First – “As the first order of business Congress should pass an anti-corruption law to rein in lobbyists, toughen ethics rules, create an independent entity to enforce the rules and get serious about public financing of elections.” Protect Communities’ Right to Know About Chemical Releases Docket ID No. TRI-2005-0073 – One of our nation’s most successful environmental protections, the Community Right-to-Know Act requires industry to disclose information on chemical releases into nearby communities. (Congress ordered these annual “toxic…
Bush could bypass new torture ban – The Boston Globe Same tactic as the wiretapping. Grab executive power with the backdoor approach. Bush released a “signing statement” that functions just as if he crossed his fingers behind his back on the McCain anti-torture bill. David Golove, a New York University law professor who specializes in executive power issues, said that the signing statement means that Bush believes he can still authorize harsh interrogation tactics when he sees fit. ”The signing…