American Duties 3 of 11

From the Eisenhower Building address comes another question for Bush...And he has an answer:

QUESTION: Several Republican lawmakers recently have criticized Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. What does he need to do to rebuild their trust?

BUSH: Well, first of all, when I asked the secretary to stay on as secretary of defense, I was very pleased when he said yes. And I asked him to stay on because I understand the nature of the job of the secretary of defense and I believe he's doing a really fine job.

The secretary of defense is a complex job. It's complex in times of peace and it's complex even more so in times of war.

And the secretary has managed this department during two major battles in the war on terror, Afghanistan and Iraq. And at the same time he's working to transform our military so it functions better, it's lighter, it's ready to strike on a moment's notice; in other words, that the force structure meets the demands we face in the 21st century.

Not only is he working to transform the nature of the forces, we're working to transform where our forces are based.

As you know, we've recently worked with the South Korean government, for example, to replace manpower with equipment, to keep the peninsula secure and the Far East secure, but at the same time recognizing we have a different series of threats.

And he's done a fine job and I look forward to continue to work with him.

And I know the secretary understands the Hill. He's been around in Washington a long period of time. And he will continue to reach out to members of the Hill, explaining the decisions he's made. And I believe that in the new term, members of the Senate and the House will recognize what a good job he's doing.

OPINION

I agree with Bush. Rumsfeld will continue to reach out to people on the Hill and make the effort needed to effectively handle this war. However, Rumsfeld is not very popular with the American troops so maybe he should work on reaching out to them. Whether that is good or not is for you to decide. Rumsfeld is like a war general right now. Is it better to be feared or loved? Well, given the way that this war was initiated...I think feared actually is better even if it means people not feeling so into the idea of fighting. I mean, some soldiers may think about deserting and also may leave the army as soon as possible but overall, you know...he's got a system that is necessary given the circumstances.

Judicial Appointments and Filibusters

We open this story with this quote:

"At this rare moment in history, the rightwing of the Republican Party controls the House, the Senate, the White House, and is very close to controlling the Supreme Court," says Ralph Neas, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way. "There are only three checks and balances [left] in the federal system: the filibuster, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Anthony Kennedy."

Regardless of Senate efforts, Bush could bypass a filibuster and just make appointments on his own simply because he has the authority to fill vacancies. Some say that this is necessary to avoid filibusters that would prevent judicial appointments from happening. But if Bush chose to do this, he bypasses the "advise and consent" role that the Senate tends to have. The Supreme Court is now being asked what to do in this situation and whether Bush's power should be limited. This issue is very important because it determines whether or not Bush will be allowed to just make recess-appointments at his discretion.

Bush responded to the Democrats' "obstructionist" tactics with recess appointments for Mr. Pryor which are now under review by the Supreme Court. Pryor was approved with 53 votes but the votes required for breaking the filibuster came up short. The issue now is when can a president make appointments like the one Bush made. The Constitution normally allows the president to make recess-appointments while Senate is not in session and during intersession and intrasession breaks. Courts have looked at cases like these before and in fact, the appointee has been given the right to remain on the court for up to two years. Recess appointments have been rarely used but with an administration so bent on having the upper hand, it is clear that the administration will utilize all loopholes. Bush could legally right now appoint someone to stand on a court for up to two years and nobody could do anything about it. Given the opportunity to avoid having to face a filibuster, I think that is the choice the Republican administration will make.

Truth Squad mourns the loss of thousands and hopes that Asia recovers soon.

Devastating Quake, Tsunami

There's no way you, the public, will miss this one and there is no way Truth Squad can avoid covering a part of this devastating natural disaster.

The Bush administration has quickly responded and promises to give aid to Asia. Thousands of people are feared dead off the Indonesian island Sumatra after the disaster. The effort to aid in the reconstruction and recovery in Asia will come from the United Nations, nongovernment organizations, and other concerned states and organizations who all will be instrumental in getting people back on their feet. It's naturally expected that much of the international community will send words of sympathy and send their best wishes hoping for recovery to come swiftly. No one would want to suffer such a blow to their economy or nation like Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia, etc. have taken.

A Nonlethal Weapons Handbook

In 1997 our government produced a nonlethal weapons handbook for special operations. They later removed it but through the Freedom of Information Act this handbook has been posted on the web for the public to read. It's 97 pages about what people could use other than lethal weapons. No doubt, with the 9/11 attacks our government feels that this handbook should be kept from the public. Well, sorry...if you don't want the public to know what the government is up to, think again. Because my government does not keep secrets from me and get away with it. That is why I love the Freedom of Information Act so much.

The nonlethal weapons are divided into categories: acoustics, acoustics & opticals, antilethals, antiplant agents, barriers, batons, biotechnicals, electricals, electromagnetics, entanglers, holograms, markers, five concepts of nonlethal weapons: ethical, functional, operational, physiological, and theoretical.

This handbook is extensive but for anyone that enjoys something new and interesting I guarantee this to be worth cycling through.

http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/fulcrum_main.pl?database=ft_u2&searchid=10989392465002&keyfieldvalue=ADA365328&filename=%2Ffulcrum%2Fdata%2FTR_fulltext%2Fdoc%2FADA365328.pdf

Day Off

Couple loose ends: I had nothing knew to bring forward today but enough to respond to. I was given a spot on the Principle web page. I did not like the site at first but it would appear that I whipped it into shape so...all is well. Christmas was very very good to me. All of the cheer and all of the spirit...it's just simply incredible. The Bush series resumes tomorrow. So hope to see you back here on Truth Squad For America.