Hat tip to DailyKos, where the diarist “Free Exchange On Campus” provided the quotes below:  Read more 

The Right-wing pundits sure know how to pour gas onto their own funeral pyre:

Of course, the big difference is that the Democrats don’t have a Ronald Reagan to take advantage of the situation. Nobody will ever confuse Hilliary’s (sic) shrill denunciations with the twinkle in the Gipper’s eye when he zinged an opponent. Nor will anyone fail to see the difference between the inspirational yet empty platitudes of Obama with Reagan’s soaring rhetoric that touched something so American in people’s souls.  Read more 

Remember when other countries gave us presents to commemorate our committment to liberty?

Democracy-forcing is Jack Balkin’s phrase, used in a much-linked-to piece to describe the central import of the Hamden decision.

If you’ve resisted other exhortations to click and read it, here’s another opportunity; go ahead; do yourself a favor, it really is a wonderfully clear and provocative post.

Balkin’s analysis emphasizes that the decision should be read primarily as one that reaffirms the separation-of-powers doctrine embedded through-out the constitution.

Thus, although Stevens’ opinion cites particular provisions of both the UCMJ and the Geneva Conventions, the President is bound by them not because the provisions are sacrosanct on some universal human rights basis:

The reason why the President is bound by these requirements is because Congress passed the UCMJ and because the UCMJ uses the laws of war— which include the Geneva Conventions— as a benchmark for procedures in military commissions. So when Congress acts under its constitutional authority to regulate military justice, as it has throughout the country’s history, the President must abide by those regulations.

And yes, as Commander-In-Chief, Presidents get to conduct wars, and are generally in charge of foreign policy, but while reminding myself that our government is based on a tripartite structure, I decided to refresh my own memory about what the actual constitution has to say about the role of congress in these matters.  Read more