A Constitutional Coup?

There is a proposal by the Republican leadership of the U.S. Senate to interpret the Constitution in a new way. They propose to only allow voting on candidates nominated by the President, there will be no filibustering or delaying in committee. This will be comparable to a coup in that it will give total power to whoever has a partisan majority in the Senate. There will be no respect for the minority in the Senate, no matter how much of the U.S. population they represent.

The 2000 Census for the United States counted 281,849,906 persons. Ranking the States by population order, I found that the 26th through 50th States had 45,869,407 people. Then I added one half of the 25th State, Kentucky, and came up with 47,890,292. This represents 17% of the population.
Under the proposed rule, the Senators of the smallest 25 States in population plus one more (again, 17% of the population) will be able to approve judicial nominees and others that we will all have to live with.

Considering that it only takes 50% plus one vote to win an election, then only 9% of the population could win control of the Senate. Because of the constitutional requirement and empowerment for consent or refusal for certain high government positions, then the entire political process of the U.S. government would be in the hands of only 9% of the people.
This could be called the ‘novempercentumvirate.’

Gun Owners Enlist

If the present Administration gets us into another war (Iran, Syria, North Korea, whatever) while we are occupied in Iraq, we will need combat troops in a hurry with hardly any time to train them.
There is an answer to this dilemma, as long as you accept certain premises:
1. Gun owners know how to use their weapons.
2. Gun owners are orderly and disciplined, since these traits are prerequisites for proper gun usage.
3. Gun owners are very patriotic and are always ready to defend America and freedom.
So a logical conclusion would be that if we have a call for volunteers and/or a draft,
then gun owners should be the first to enlist. Basic and Advanced Infantry Training would be minimized. Many of the gun owners missed the chance to serve during the Vietnam War, so will be doubly motivated to serve their country.

Which First - Attack Iran or Start the Draft?

There is a story out about our latest military foray. Not content to put (stealth) boots on the ground in Iran, it seems that we are now overflying them. Ostensibly, this is to cause the Iranians to turn on their radar so that we can establish our targets for later on. (If the Iranians shoot at our planes, then this will give us a pretext for our next war - my comment.)
At the same time, the neo-cons at the Project for a New American Century have sent a letter to Sens. Frist and Reid and Reps. Hastert and Pelosi, noting that our military needs a quick boost in manpower and urging a big move on the issue. Most people are reading this as a push for a new draft.
So the question is: Which will come first, attacking Iran or starting the draft?

Warmonger Bush

Did You Vote for
George Walker Bush

or

George Warmonger Bush?

The New Draft

Some time soon there is going to be a crisis requiring new military action. Whether this crisis is real or manufactured is irrelevant. The crisis will be the basis for implementing the military draft.
But we don’t need to start drafting young people just quite yet. The current call up of veterans who are of Vietnam War vintage shows that age is no barrier. Rather than take those who served their country honorably when called to do so, why not take those who somehow missed the opportunity earlier, especially those who are flagwaving superpatriots and who would be glad to go. Many stayed out of the draft by way of political favors (such as Pres. George W. Bush and Dan Quayle), having better things to do (VP Dick Cheney), fraudulent draft deferments (John Ashcroft), playing possum (Karl Rove), or phony medical excuses (Rush Limbaugh). Now is their chance to show what they are really made of.
As for Congress, as a registered Republican, I am quite happy to volunteer all the GOP Senators and Representatives who did not serve earlier. We could make up a whole company of infantry just from them alone.
We could leave the Supreme Court alone. The Army doesn’t need any more barracks lawyers.
There is a great benefit to having the war-minded politicians and their likeminded followers serving in the military. They could learn from the experience and know what it is like to be sent off to an ill-defined war without proper preparation or equipment.
The ones who would benefit most from military service would be the neoconservatives who are in our war-planning offices. Up to this time their knowledge of military operations apparently comes from reading old “Sgt. Rock” comic books.
Just one more thing. Right now our ground troops are overextended and the ranks need filling up. A group of Gulf War vets has suggested that those who voted for George W. Bush and claim to back his war should enlist now and help out. This would truly be the best show of support for our troops.