… contains a couple of provisions not included in the document the rest of us use.
In addition to the Special Secret Clause that allows Texas to secede, Rick Perry’s version of the Constitution - far more creative than the rather dull document produced by Madison & Co. - includes the following provision:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort, or stimulating the economy while a Democrat is President. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court, or the ranting of someone who got a D in economics at Texas A&M.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
And Article I, section, provides, “The Congress shall have Power … To declare War, but the President may send drones into multiple countries without congressional approval.”
And the Fifth Amendment provides, “No person shall … be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, unless the President wants to imprison a person indefinitely without due process, or in a secret prison in Somalia or on a ship, or unless a person discloses information about U.S. war crimes to Wikileaks.”
Look, we know that Obama is a lesser evil than any Republican candidate, but the cheerleading for Obama and the criticizing only of Republicans is getting old.
Perhaps Henry…
But also too, if the Left doesn’t loudly point out at the start, exactly how toxic Perry’s views are, Medium Media will assume his positions are benign.
And all things egregious will be swept behind the water cooler as old bygones amongst patriotic friends.
No, I suspect it is best to harpoon the brute when it first surfaces. Once the barb is sunk, you can relax and reel the water-pig’s line in at leisure…
koreyel, I’m persuaded, having just read this headline at Huffington Post: “Rick Perry Raises Predator Drones As Possible Border Security Solution.” I won’t even bring up from whom he might have gotten the idea for the cavalier use of drones.
I may be falling into a right-winger trap here, but not only do I not think the GOP is dumb enough to nominate Perry, but the mere thought of him both bores and repulses me. Not him personally, but the idea of having to think about him or his “ideas.”
If they don’t nominate Romney, or someone like him, I won’t eat my hat, but I will eat … some veggies.
The feds, former Air Force pilot Perry told a campaign gathering in New Hampshire, should use unarmed Predator drones to monitor the flow of illegal drugs coming from Mexico.
Henry, you have to remember, context is everything, and denying it to you is a well practiced art…
Brett, the Huffington Post story does not say that Perry would use unarmed drones. The closest it comes to saying that is, “Perry noted many unarmed aircraft are already flown in the area each day as practice for the Air Force pilots who will guide them overseas.” I mistakenly inferred that he’d add armed drones to the “many unarmed aircraft” already there.
Henry, that’s the point: They knew he said he would use unarmed drones, and deliberately left you with the impression they WOULD be armed. You have to be very vigilant about things like that, when you’re getting information on a candidate from people opposed to him. At most, when you hear something negative, you should treat it as an indication you should check for yourself.
Note that all the negative stuff we’re being fed here consists of paraphrases. That should be an immediate indication that you have to check what was actually said before forming an opinion at all.
it’s my understanding that drones are already being used for border patrols.
CBP has used (unarmed) UAVs in border enforcement for some time, including in Texas. Contrary to Andrew Malcolm, there’s no mystery about it. It’s not clear how Perry could be unaware of this.
http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/kuayd7-b78581415z.120091207135748000gbvl968m.1.jpg
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/93764/rick-perrys-original-thinking
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS21698.pdf
http://securitydebrief.com/2011/08/16/yet-another-misguided-reference-to-using-predator-drones-for-border-surveillance/
The more common rightwing line recently is that since the Administration is deploying drones, they must be useless.
Perry is not content to say that climate models have failed to control for too many relevant variables to be convincing proof of manmade climate change. He confidently attributes the theory to scientific misconduct:
“I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects.â€
Serious charges should require serious supporting evidence. Will Perry be asked to provide his evidence, and will he be judged unfit for high office if he fails to deliver? Or will the Tea Party show its willingness to tolerate a chief executive who freely accuses others of wrongdoing without evidence? If you are willing to execute a condemned man for arson based on scientifically unsound evidence, certainly there is no problem with dispensing with the whole concept of a justice system which places the burden of proof on the accuser rather than the accused.
The authoritarian mindset again betrays itself. Lovers of liberty (not to be confused with libertarians), take note.
Hahaha, Mark you sound like me way back when. Better watch that! All we need is another Texas Buffoon running the country and we’ll be the political and economic equivalent of [pick a banana republic] in a decade.
Anyway, the last few days have demonstrated, (As though anybody had any doubt.) that Journolist, whatever it’s being called now, is back in business. It’s almost scary to watch the way multiple liberal sources ‘spontaneously’ leap into synchronized action, parroting the predetermined party line.
Brett, I hadn’t read any liberal news in a couple weeks prior to listening to Hulk Bush’s announcement. I “spontaneously” thought he needed to be stopped in his tracks before he becomes a problem after the first couple minutes of his speech. I just wish it was done more tastefully by Mark and others. All the liberals I know don’t need Journolist to see the crazy of Hulk and the rest of this batch of GOP nominees. It’s like listening to a born-again Christian attempting to save you. Makes you feel funny inside.
It’s worse than Brett imagines. This time, Tony Fratto, Peter Wehner, John Podhoretz and Karl Rove are on the list. Or maybe I’m just paranoid.