Category Archives: Constitution

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

Posted on October 22, 2018 by

 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Can the President withdraw from a treaty? Surprisingly, he can. While treaties must be confirmed by Congress, there is little precedent for Congressional approval for withdrawing, particularly when the treaty provides for this. This seems inconsistent, … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Trump, War | Tagged , | 2 Comments

What’s conservative?

Posted on October 19, 2018 by

Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. — Northwest Ordinance of 1787 inscribed on Angell Hall at the University of Michigan What’s conservative? … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Economics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Would a larger House be fairer?

Posted on October 16, 2018 by

Steve Vladeck proposes a good government reform–more members in the House. At first glance this idea seemed inconsequential to me; a legislative body with 435 members is large enough already that members may never learn each others names,  but after … Continue reading →

Posted in Constituents, Constitution, Political | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Loyalty

Posted on August 14, 2018 by

Our very damaged president views the world in terms of personal loyalty. Loyalty to the country, or anything greater, is beyond his understanding. The real criminals are the Republicans who go along with him, knowing that he is fundamentally weakening … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018, Campaigning, Congress, Constituents, Constitution, Political, Trump | 7 Comments

Taxpayer money

Posted on August 10, 2018 by

“Taxpayer money,” we see and hear that phrase again and again. Politicians use it to emphasize that some of the funds in the Treasury are paid in the form of taxes. The phrase is misleading–once collected, money in the Treasury … Continue reading →

Posted in Campaigning, Constituents, Constitution, Taxes | Tagged | 5 Comments

Why say liberal with a sneer?

Posted on July 29, 2018 by

The root meaning of liberal from Latin “liber” is “free.” It is related to liberty, liberation and learning. Many founding fathers were liberals; Madison and Jefferson rejected monarchy; they envisioned a government for a free people with liberty and justice … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Education, Immigration, Reed's Views, Trump | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

Recusal

Posted on July 10, 2018 by

In the Supreme Court of the United States, the Justices typically recuse themselves from participating in cases in which they have financial interests.–Wikipedia   I am not aware of an instance when a Justice chose to recuse due to nomination by a certain President. Supreme Court … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Supreme Court, Trump | 4 Comments