Weblog Awards
Best Canadian Blog
2004 - 2007
Why this blog?
Until this moment I have been forced to listen while media and politicians alike have told me "what Canadians think". In all that time they never once asked.
This is just the voice of an ordinary Canadian yelling back at the radio -
"You don't speak for me."
homepage
email Kate
(goes to a private
mailserver in Europe)
I can't answer or use every tip, but all are appreciated!
Katewerk Art
Support SDA
I am not a registered charity. I cannot issue tax receipts.
Want lies?
Hire a regular consultant.
Want truth?
Hire an asshole.
The Pence Principle
Poor Richard's Retirement
Pilgrim's Progress
Trump The Establishment
I wonder if republics naturally turn to dictatorships through several processes , a natural tendency to keep grabbing power and maybe most disturbing a professional political class , sometimes a family compact, Clinton’s, Bushes, Kennedy ,Trudeaus surrounded by a sycophant civil service and press. I think the Roman republic took about 250 years to undo, about the same age as the USA
As, the very experienced and wise Grandfather of America, Benjamin Franklin, answered when questioned about the Constitution; “If you can keep it”. The essence of the Presidency of the United States of America, although not ideally transferable to other nations, was to remove the concept of Monarchy from the future of this new nation.
The ultimate intelligence of the “doer of the American revolution”; George Washington, defined the result of the war; the decade of discussion; the interminable but necessary parsing of each word by establishing the role of President, as Mr. President.
When the much maligned Richard Nixon first took office he attempted to add ceremony to State affairs by using Presidential Buglers, (not burglars, for the witty) to announce the arrival of the President. He was vilified in the media and by all in the political arena.
Now the smaller minds, the cockroaches of congress scramble for any dirty piece of glory or self-reward they can vacuum up and ignore their pledges of honour to govern according to the Constitution of America.
I am not hopeful; but possibly Academia will recognize the reason for Tenure is not self-security, but to provide the foundation for free speech.
Cheers;
To all in Canada who want to get rid of our Monarchical system we have a glaring example of what a Presidential Republic can produce for leadership, in Congress and the Oval Office.
I say no thanks!
Three letters explain all of this: N. S. A.
They’ve got the dirt on -everybody-. Funny how the Republicans keep voting for more of it.
For those who vaunt the Canadian monarchy over the US presidency let me point to one PET and his disastrous constitution and charter. No American president with a functioning congress could get away with that kind of crap. Personally I would like to see a compromise where the PM is the chief executive and the elected president’s role is to fire the PM should the PM get out of hand.
The reasons why Leftists won’t say a word against Obama’s power grab are multi-fold:
1. They have an innate tendency towards dictatorship.
2. They have little wisdom.
3. Their sense of history is minimal at best.
4. They’re incapable of anything beyond First Stage Thinking.
5. They’re 100% convinced that Obama’s motives are angelic and his opponents are evil.
6. They innately know that the moment they disagree with The One, they will be called a RACIST and kicked out of the Kool Kids’ Klubhouse.
Yeah don’t hold yer breath there. Faux-contrarian academists, already a minority among the lockstep Obama cheerleading that is campus, remain far more common than true dissenters. For shame!
Hi Liz; I agree with you and with my understanding of the philosophical debate is still unfolding for governance within a democratic concept. The effect of the Constitutional Monarchy is to provide a base for a liberal republican capitalist society. Using a figurehead persona as the penultimate individual.
This maintains the concept of “the rule of law” without resorting to a referendum to sort out a Representative Governing deadlock.
One of the discussion points I am trying to bring forward is when the United States was establishing the sovereignty of the ordinary individual it was pre-napoleanic Europe. The right of kings was still the basic premise. As you are aware it was not until the French Revolution when the still modern concept of Nation States was developed.
Napoleon developed the large French Army, sufficiently large enough to control much of Europe, because it was he who used patriotism and democracy dreams to gather all of the many French Speaking Provinces into one centralized nation.
In America the various Colonies were essentially self-ruling States gathered together in a similar cause. it was only after the details of the “Federalists Papers were dissected that the foundation firmly placed by George Washington, using his immense prestige, excluded the concept of Monarchy.
The significant difference between Canada (Westminister Parliamentary) and the American system is a separate Executive Branch of Government. This, as you well understand, works within a structure of equal authority, bringing the Supreme Court as decider of the Constitution’s framing through reasoned, capable discourse.
I have gone on far too long, except to say, “what would have evolved over the generations if Jefferson’s hated rival Hamilton had not been killed in a duel with Jefferson’s Vice-President Burr?”
It was certainly a different time, but the well thought and discussed concepts of the United States Constitution still hold true. If they can keep them!
Cheers;
Very true.
“They’ve got the dirt on -everybody-.
FunnyScary how the Republicans keep voting for more of it.”FIFY
It all boils down to a Political class we have made possible by allowing them to tax us to death for their own use. Sure you have business leaders along with wealthy interests using NGO’s for pushing policies. Today though you have the very representatives of the people living in gated communities. Going to the same schools, with health plans removed from reality. Social status that elevates them beyond reason. living as life style so removed from normal people, there is scarcely any real point of contact . How can they represent them? Lots of reasons this occurred from a never ending bureaucracy to Public Unions. Feather-bedding by politicians to a real sense of not only entitlement but infallibility by being just who they are.
You could never have a Truman again in America . Its that closed a shop. Canada is hardly any better.
And quite possibly, what we don’t know about Obama might be far, far worse than what we do know. We don’t know to what extent he might have sold out American interests to any of Russia, China or powerful Islamic interests. We may only find out later how much worse his performance has been, than the accepted combination of incompetence, malfeasance and negligence. By the way, there’s a great political slogan: Get the IMN advantage, vote for incompetence, malfeasance and negligence. No point in having it come as a surprise.
Interesting question.
I am currently reading a Penguin book entitled “The decline of the Roman Empire” by Plutarch. Actually, Plutarch wrote no such book, but Penguin editors have made a collection of “Plutarch’s Lives” personae, those involved during a critical 100 year period, which really does explain how the Republic became a Dictatorship/Monarchy/Imperium.
Over the course of 100 years, the Republican system was slowly eroded by class warfare and personal avarice. Often, those pleading the cause of the people were the most cynical in pursuit of their own avarice.
Obama is a papier-mâché caricature of a president who serves well sometimes competing, private interests. It is not surprising that the President is not interested in foreign affairs. It is the control and use of the US which his minders are interested in.
Stolen power is the issue, stripped of all the legalese – and in a democratic republic system where prerogative rests with the people,when political power is redistributed, it is they who are disempowered by those who aspire to be their rulers rather than their servants.
A law suit fails as a tool to put a power lusting federal junta back in Pandora’s box – you need impeachment and indictment – these are the deterrents the founders left for congress to cope with tyrants in the presidency. – other than the right to revolt against unconstitutional regimes.
Too much talk, little action – this POTUS and his AG should be indicted.
Let us see now.
The US constitution is the most magnificent document on how to run a government by the people.
So much for that.
It was designed by free people. Those people designed it on the assumption of basic human decency.
You see, they were idealistic in their concept of the demos.
Don’t know what their occupations were. They assumed that the republic would be run by laws that the people designed and executed as decent people would want.
They also went on the assumption that the following generations would be as decent and observant of the laws and constitution as they may have been.
The constitution is a free country, if you get the drift. The thing is again is, it goes on the assumption of decency of those that represent the people.
It can be said without any doubt what so ever, that those that are the political class today are by any definition, low life scum. As you can think about it, it is true. They are 99.99% demagogues that see as far as the next election.
Full honor to the exceptions that are few and hardly none.
They talk full of, people this and people that, it is all for naught. This only lasts to the exit door.
Watched the other day video of Trey Gowdy at a town hall meeting, it seem, so far anyway, that he walks the talk.
They clearly did not count on lawyers. For it is the lawyers that screwed up the demos. They took the government out of the hands of people and obfuscated, lied and for self-preservation made the laws work for them rather than for the demos.
Those that came with the constitution, in their idealism, they accounted and expressly stated that the government will be run by the people. Just about anyone that qualified. They did make clear qualifications. No more than certain than the age of a person for a particular office and the age of the president. The constitution does state that the president is to be born in the USA.
Heh, look where it got Sarah Palin, whatever you may think of her, she was fully qualified to be vice president without exception.
As you read this screed, it may be confusing, the one thing can be stated though:
The assumption of the constitution is free and decent representatives of the people.
The fact is that the low life political scum (this is the whole body of politics today) of either party is looking after the number one. The demos are fed bullshit and be damned. The LIV will lap it up and be happy in their ignorance, singing kumbaya.
The republicans are complete non entities, a wholly useless bunch of people that was ever elected into the office in the US congress. Total waste time and money. Again full honor of the few and none exceptions.
It however needs to be added that the “journalist” are the biggest cheerleaders and are included in the said scum.
Of course the lawyers are at the very bottom of the sewage pond.
Dostoevsky had that right and knew whereof he was writing.
Too much talk, little action – this POTUS and his AG should be indicted.
exactly
Robert
“It is the control and use of the US which his minders are interested in.”
Soros, Gellen, Steyer, Bloomberg
and I would point out that these are extreme lefty Joos, but that would upset some in here. In here the truth can be as much a victim as it is in many lefty blogs
The Courts should be worried because they are the problem.
Obama’s incompetence has magnified this weakness in the Republic.
The political Class can only do what the Judicial allows, the concept of “Rule of Law” has been replaced with “Rule of Corruption”..note: the dysfunctional US 9th circuit
IE.
The so called immigration problem is the result of successive Executive Branch failure to enforce the existing laws & the Courts looking the other way. Immigration reform is just codifying (legalizing) the existing status-quo. The status-quo is what is broken & the band plays on.
In my mind the SCOTUS need to face Impeachment through a majority Vote every 4 years, placed on the presidential Ballet. The people need to have the power to “SIMPLY” get rid of the Corruption.
JMHO
One thing about this Soros character.
You may recall, as they say, a few years ago, this may also illustrate the character that was expected from the political scum.
Soros was interviewed on 60 minutes by Ed Bradley. Bradley asked him about the unethical way he got to his riches. Soros freely admitted that the way he acquired his wealth was unethical and coarse, though it was not against the law. Further, he said there should be law against what he was doing though there was not, so as far as anything goes the guy was in safe legal territory even though it was underhanded and unethical.
The conclusion may drawn that the rules were made for more or less people with ethics, if somebody wanted to scam the system they could, though they were scum.
However in today’s ethics relativity, the consensus of even an occasional investor, “the guy was smart”.
See how you deal with that.
Even here, there are those that would say he did some “smart” chess moves.
There will be others that will stick with ethics.
It is all a matter of how corrupt or not, one’s mind is.
the constitution allows for the removal of a tyrannical administration or even the complete government, by force if necessary. read it.
Caesar , who was handed the top job by the senate was criticized at the time for increasing the bread dole. He was uber rich and bought off the hoi polloi . At the time it was his own money though his estates had been expanded through war paid for by the state, First of a kind of government military industrial complex
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Looks like we are already approaching the last chapter
“Gellen” or Yellen? (Federal Reserve)