WEEK 15: Presidential War Making Powers



A Caisson carries the remains of Army Captain John Ryan Dennison during funeral services at 

Arlington National Cemetery, Wednesday, November 29, 2006



The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Captain John R. Dennison, 24, of Ijamsville, Maryland, died on November 15, 2006, in Balad, Iraq, as a result of small arms fire. Dennison was assigned to 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

THIS LAST CLASS IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF CPT JOHN RYAN DENNISON, THE SON OF JACK AND SHANNON DENNISON, OLD FRIENDS OF OURS FROM MY EARLIER MILITARY DAYS. PLEASE GO HERE TO SEE MORE ABOUT THE LIFE AND FAMILY OF JOHN RYAN DENNISON.

In this our last class, we will review the constitutional framework for presidential war powers and discover that the Constitution does not provide us with authoritative answers as to how the powers of the president as commander in chief are to be exercised. In fact, the debates of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 focused on the power of Congress to declare war and specific powers over the military found in Article 1. However, the commander in chief clause found in Article 2 of the Constitution does give some specific powers to the president and this forms the basis for the debate over presidential power in times of national emergency.

This week in our class handout we will discuss the following topics:

• A Christian Perspective on War
• The Constitutional Framework
• Presidents and the Military Establishment
• The Military Chain of Command
• Presidential Use of the Armed Forces
• Legitimizing Presidential War Making
• The War Powers Resolution of 1973

In more than 300 instances, U.S. presidents have relied on their constitutional prerogatives as commander in chief to use the armed forces abroad in situations of conflict or potential conflict to protect U.S. citizens or promote U.S. interests. Fewer than half of these situations involved any prior legislative or Congressional authorization. In September 2012, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) prepared for Congress an updated report and detailed listing of notable deployments of U.S. Military Forces overseas between 1798 and 2012. To view this listing click on here. In fact there have been only five (5) times in American history when presidents have used the armed forces with congressional declarations of war.

In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush named the Axis-of-Evil nations in his response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Since then there has been legitimate debate and interpretations of the Catholic just war tradition by Christians as they formulate a responsible U.S. answer to the terrorist threat. In this 2005 article "Bush vs. Benedict", you can read here how Catholic neoconservatives grapple with their Church's just war tradition. 

Mean while back in 2001, after the 9/11 attack, James V. Schall, S.J. wrote an extensive commentary on the War on Terror entitled "Assessing What is at Issue in this War" and Patrick Buchanan commented on Colin Powell's remarks on Terrorism on the 6th anniversary of 9-11 in his article "Is Terrorism Really a Mortal Threat?".

In June 2012, Mr. Buchanan offered commentary on the uprising in Syria by contrasting it to the Spanish Civil War which he describes as the Great Rehearsal for World War II in his article "Dress Rehearsal for a Mideast War?". And most recently last month, he analyzed the darkness of the current situation in the Middle East and suggests President Obama ask himself this question, "How would America's vital interests be imperiled by staying out of this particular quarrel, conflict or war?"  See his article entitled "Is Middle East Peace a Mirage?"

The neoconservatives are not really conservatives at all. They are impostors and opportunists. — Where the Right Went Wrong

WEEK 14: Presidential Diplomacy

Reaching a Critical Junction in Syria

Diplomatic attempts to end the Syrian conflict are "nearly impossible" and not enough is being done to end the fighting, the new United Nations and Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said in a recent BBC interview. 

In this Nov. 29, 2012 photo, night falls on a Syrian rebel-controlled area as destroyed buildings, including Dar Al-Shifa hospital, are seen on Sa'ar street after airstrikes targeted the area, killing dozens in Aleppo, Syria.
Source:  Christian Science Monitor



In this week's class,  we will examine the constitutional powers of the President in foreign affairs. What is diplomacy and how does the Constitution provide for the making of treaties? How does a treaty differ from an executive agreement and are these executive agreements constitutional? The president has three principal groups of officials to help him formulate foreign policy to include diplomatic communities, military communities and intelligence communities. The Secretaries of State and Defense together with the Director of Central Intelligence and the National Security Council (NSC) are key advisors to the President in carrying out his constitutional powers and interacting with Congress and its explicit constitutional powers detailed in Article 1. An example of a controversial diplomatic decision by U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton is the continuation of China's MFN status after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. See a BBC video of this event here, a Chinese video here, and a music video here that chronicles the massacre.

In our classs handout, we will discuss the following topics:

• The Constitutional Framework of Presidential Diplomacy
• Treaty Powers
• Executive Agreements
• The President versus Congress
• The White House Foreign Policy Advisory System
• The Secretary os State and the Diplomatic Community
• The Secretary of Defense and the Defense Community
• The Director of Central Intelligence and the Intelligence Community
• The National Security Advisor and the National security Council

WEEK 13: The President and the Budget



Your Portion of the Federal Debt is $50,563

This week we looked at the budget process and the role of the president, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Congress and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in developing a Fiscal Year (FY) budget for the U.S. government. Along the way we discovered that a budget simply determines government activities for the coming year, specifies when they will take place and puts a price tag on them. We compared the annual budget deficit or surplus for the years 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2000 though 2012 and the increase in the Gross National Debt and the Annual Interest on that Debt over those years. The FY 2010 budget was examined and controllable outlays were defined and identified and contrasted with uncontrollable outlays which include the various government entitlement programs.

The homework assignment requires the student to review the actual U.S. Government Budget totals for FY 2012 that ended September 30, 2012. You should view the Joint Statement of Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, and Jeffrey Zients, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, on Budget Results for Fiscal Year 2012 found under "Useful Links" and answer questions 1-5 of your homework assignment. Questions 6 & 7 are answered by reading the two articles found on the blog under "Useful Links" entitled: "What Would Leo XIII Say About the Social Security System" and "Fiddling While Social Security Burns".

Finally, we did discuss in class the potential impact of the "Fiscal Cliff",  but what often gets lost in the discussion is that "Bush's tax cuts" and "Obama's spending binge" don't begin to address the real problem and that is our Constitution gives Congress ultimate taxing and spending authority and they are ultimately responsible for the mess we are in, not this President nor any President before him.  See Professor Walter Williams article addressing this  "Who May Tax and Spend?" on this blog under "Useful Links".

Kent State Revisited



America in the 1960s and 1970s was filled with turmoil and civil unrest as the nation was divided in a way not seen since the Civil War.  As one looks at the events of this period, there is no doubt that the political activism of the young people on its college campuses contributed to the social unrest.  Civil rights demonstrations and anti-war protests were prevalent on campuses across the nation. Oftentimes violence followed these demonstrations and no other event captures this aspect of student life in those days more vividly than that of the tragic shooting that took place in a small university town in Kent, Ohio in May of 1970.

In a earlier post you viewed a video of this action by clicking on 1970 Kent State Ohio Shootings. Now you can read the rest of the story in an article revisiting those times by Steve Farrrell at "Peace Loving" Protesters: Kent State Revisited.

WEEK 12: The President & the Courts

Little Rock Central High School - 1957

This week we examined the Federal Court System and the Constitutional dimension. Article 3 of the Constitution vests all judicial power in the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. The president nominates candidates for openings to the 800+ lower-court positions in the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the nine member U.S. Supreme Court. These are life time positions and all of the presidential nominees must be reviewed and approved by the U.S. Senate. Because Presidents take an oath to defend the Constitution and execute the duties of their office, they have a constitutional duty to see that laws are faithfully executed - not only laws passed by Congress, but also federal court decisions. If U.S. Marshals under the Department of Justice are unable to enforce these laws and decisions of the federal courts, presidents may use Federal troops or call the National Guard to Federal service, or both.

Two examples in the 20th century of Presidents using this power to enforce Federal court decisions occurred in September 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas when Federal troops were called up by President Eisenhower. Click on this Little Rock Nine Documentary for more details.

A second example occurred in 1962 when President Kennedy called out Federal Marshals and then Federal troops so that James Meredith could be enrolled in the University of Mississippi. Click on Deadly Riots at Ol' Miss which outlines events leading up to President Kennedy's decision and the events surrounding the riots at Ole Miss and the shooting of 35 U.S. Marshals precipitating the calling in of Federal troops.

And in May 1970, closer to home, the Governor of Ohio called out the Ohio National Guard to the campus of Kent State University where students protesting the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces, clashed with Ohio National Guardsmen. When Ohio Guardsmen shot and killed four students on May 4, the Kent State Shootings became the focal point across the country for a nation deeply divided by the Vietnam War. See a video of this action by clicking on 1970 Kent State Ohio Shootings.

Projections Sunday November 4, 2012

Source:  http://www.electoral-vote.com/

                                                                                                   

Obama (281 Electoral Votes)   Ties (51 Electoral Votes)   Romney  (206 Electoral Votes)

                      

Blue States (Obama)  White States (Ties)   Red & Pink States (Romney) 

      

 If interested in Zogby's latest poll on Saturday, click on Zogby Newsmax Poll. 

If interested in reports and analysis found on the more conservative Rasmussen Reports, you can click Rasmussen Reports - Electoral College Breakdown . 

 

U.S. SENATE RACES -  Democrats currently hold the Senate by a 53-47 edge. To get an update on the latest projections for the U.S. Senate races click on  2012 Senate Balance of Power.

U.S.  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES -  Republicans currently hold the House of Representatives by a 241-194 edge. To get an update on the latest projections for the U.S. House of Representatives races click on Battle for the House.

Week 9: The Electoral College

    





In this week's class, we examined the constitutional basis for the Electoral College and how the system works during a Presidential election. We reviewed the key dates in November, December & January for the Electoral College and define some terms or issues that are sure to be heard on Election Day. We'll examine the most recent electoral vote projections for the Presidential race as well as projections on what the new U.S. Congress may look like. Closer to home, we will look at our state wide races and ballot issues and look at Harrison & Jefferson County races & ballot issues. 

What if the Electoral Vote is a Tie?

If the eletoral College vote ends in a tie, 269 votes for each of the candidates or no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes (270 or more) than the Constitution outlines how the President and Vice President  are to be chosen. Please view this instructive video that outlines the process by which the U.S. House of Representatives will choose the President and the U.S. Senate will choose the Vice-President
Click on to see this short video: An Electoral College Tie.

For more information on the Electoral College, click on   U.S. Electoral College resources for the National Archives site. To view the class handout used to explain the Electoral College in more detail see our Class 9 Handout-The Presidency and the Electoral College on the right hand column of this blog under Class Handouts.

Why We May Not Know the Winner of the Election For At Least 10 Days

Front of Ohio Statehouse

Kenneth Blackwell, former Secretary of State for Ohio, was recently interviewed on AFA Radio 88.9FM Steubenville and had an article written in NewsMax about his fears that a little-known change in the Buckeye State’s absentee-ballot process could lead to a “nightmare scenario.”

Quoting from that NewsMax article: "And that scenario could force the entire country to wait 10 days after the election to find out who will be the next president of the United States. It’s a complicated situation, to say the least, but one that could have a far-reaching impact on the Nov. 6 election process.

For the first time in the key swing state’s history, Blackwell says, virtually all Ohio voters this year were mailed an application for an absentee ballot. In previous elections, most Ohio voters had to request an application for an absentee ballot to receive one. The concern is that thousands of Ohio voters may complete the absentee-ballot application and receive an absentee ballot, but not bother to complete and mail in the ballot.

Anyone who is sent an absentee ballot — including those who do not complete it and mail it in — and later shows up at the polls on Election Day to cast their ballot in person will be instructed to instead complete a provisional ballot. And under Ohio election law, provisional ballots cannot be opened until 10 days after an election. To read more about this potential problem in full, click on Ohio Voting Count 'Nightmare' Looms