Senate

Congress Just Abolished One Its Most Important Consitutional Powers

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Govt Slaves | August 6 2012

(Alexander Higgins)  The United States Congress has just forfeited one of their most important Constitutional provisions to keep the power of the President of the United States in check.

When our founding fathers wrote the framework of the US constitution they went through painstaking debate to ensure a rigorous foundation was created that would allow the three branches of the federal government to maintain a balance to  keep the powers of the other in check.

Of the powers assigned to the US Congress, the Senate was given the authority to review and vet, then accept or reject the appointment of many presidential nominees.

This power was given in Article II section 2 and ensures that dozens of management positions, which now fall under the Department Homeland Security (including the treasurer of the United States, the deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, the director of the Office for Domestic Preparedness, and the assistant administrator of FEMA) are not appointed in a manner that would create a system of control by which the President could seize totalitarian tyrannical powers as possessed by King George during the Revolutionary War

I don’t know how much they were paid off but I certainly hope it was enough for them to overcome the guilt of destroying our nation because that section of the United States Constitution has just officially been abolished by the Congress  and now only awaits the President’s signature to be signed into law.

So just when the American public is outraged  by the media blackout over Obama appointing the first ever Assassination Czar congress rubs it our face by saying not only is that okay but the President can appoint such positions and we don’t even want any oversight over the process.

What’s next? A FEMA Camp Czar and a Homeland Assassination Czar?

Just one recent example of why this power is so important, if it weren’t for this balance the torture-tainted John Brennan, who is now Obama’s Assassination Czar and has been caught up in repeated scandals and outed for lie after lie, was actually Obama’s first choice to lead the CIA.

Due to fear over political fallout that would have occurred during the vetting process America Obama was forced not to make the appointment and America was saved from the horrible consequences that would have been suffered.

For more  on the Assassination Czar see: John Brennan, Torture-Tainted CIA Prospect, Alarms Obama Supporters and How the U.S. Army’s Field Manual Codified Torture — and Still Does

Now, thanks to the genius bureaucrats in Washington, the President will be able to make such horrible decisions in the future with absolutely no Congressional oversight or fear of political fallout for such appointments.

Here’s more from the New American :

House Passes Bill Eliminating Senate Approval of Presidential Appointments

By a vote of 261-116, the House of Representatives passed a bill rewriting Article II of the Constitution and divesting the Senate of the power to accept or reject the appointment of many presidential nominees.

Last year, the Senate passed the measure by a vote of 79-20, so it now goes to the desk of President Obama for his signature.

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Alex Pappas ~ House Passes Bill Eliminating Senate Confirmation For Presidential Appointees

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Govt Slaves | August 4 2012

UPDATE: The House passed the legislation Tuesday night by a vote of 261-116. The bill now goes to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

The House of Representatives is set to consider legislation Tuesday that would exempt certain presidential appointees from having to be confirmed by the Senate.

But a number of conservative groups are arguing that the “Presidential Efficiency and Streamlining Act” amounts to Congress neutering itself and giving the executive branch unprecedented power.

Presidential appointees that would no longer require Senate confirmation under the legislation include the treasurer of the United States and the deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The United States Constitution does not bestow kingly powers on the President to appoint the senior officers of the government with no process,” wrote Thomas McClusky, the senior vice president for the Family Research Council’s legislative arm, in a Monday memo to lawmakers.

Sources told The Daily Caller that there is concern in the ranks among conservatives opposed to the legislation that House leaders will bring the legislation up for a voice vote to avoid putting members on the record.

“I can tell you that there will be members who want this vote on the record,” an aide to one conservative member told TheDC. “Whether or not they’ll get the chance is still in question.”

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Virginia’s Anti-NDAA Bill Set to Become Law; Ariz. Joins the Fight

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Joe Wolverton, II | The New American | April 20 2012

After agreeing to changes suggested by Governor Bob McDonnell, both houses of the state legislature of Virginia passed HB 1160, the bill sponsored (and shepherded) by Delegate Bob Marshall (right) that prohibits state officers and agents from participating in the unconstitutional detention of citizens of the Old Dominion.

Neither the vote in the state House of Delegates nor the state Senate was even close: the House approved the measure 89-7 and the Senate followed suit later in the day voting 36-1 to make HB 1160 the law in Virginia.
In an interview with The New American, Delegate Marshall described the process that resulted in Virginia’s ultimate passage of a bill that reinforces the protections of the Constitution and basic civil liberties in Virginia.

“I worked with the governor’s staff to word his amendments in such a way that would be acceptable to the House and the Senate,” said Marshall.

“From the beginning, there was one goal: for Virginia to distance itself from ever participating in the illegal, unconstitutional detention of any citizen living in our state,” Marshall continued.

He expressed his gratitude to “the many liberty-minded citizens across Virginia” for their valiant effort to persuade their state representatives to add their voice to the chorus of lawmakers calling for the shoring up of the barricades placed by the Constitution around life, liberty, and property.

“This victory would not have been possible without strong grassroots support for my bill from Virginians of all political backgrounds and persuasions. I thank them for taking the time to write letters, send e-mails and make telephone calls to the governor and General Assembly members.

And I am proud of the Assembly’s response,” Marshall said.

The bill, as originally introduced by Delegate Marshall on January 16, prohibited “any agency, political subdivision, employee, or member of the military of Virginia from assisting an agency or the armed forces of the United States in the investigation, prosecution, or detainment of a United States citizen in violation of the Constitution of Virginia.”

HB 1160, the amended bill, would prevent the use of any state agency or member of the Virginia National Guard or Virginia Defense Force to participate in the unlawful detention of a citizen of Virginia by the U.S. government in violation of the state and federal constitution as set forth in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Senate vote completed legislative action on the bill, which had already been approved by Virginia’s House of Delegates where it was introduced by Delegate Bob Marshall.

One of the most noxious elements of the NDAA is that it places the American military at the disposal of the President for the apprehension, arrest, and detention of those suspected of posing a danger to the homeland (whether inside or outside the borders of the United States and whether the suspect be a citizen or foreigner).

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Does US Senate Commit Treason with NDAA Bill?

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Jeanine Molloff | Nation Of Change| January 22 2012

December 1st, 2011, the US Senate accomplished the unthinkable–with the nearly unanimous passage of the National Defense Authorization Bill of 2012–they committed treason. Written and planned in secret by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the newly minted NDAA contains three sections which collectively  sanctions indefinite detention of alleged terrorists or ‘terrorist sympathizers’–anywhere in the world including the US– and designates the military the duty to arrest, imprison and interrogate without benefit of counsel,’ accused civilians here on Main Street.  Ironically, the abuse of civilian Iraqis by our military and by military contractors is coming to a locale near you.

Theoretically, armed squads of US soldiers might be knocking on your door in the dead of night to take away Auntie Mame for her alleged ‘terrorist’ activities—at the ACLU.  This bill potentially allows for the blatant political prosecutions of any dissenter using the military as a bully club to instill deep fear in any who dare to question our government’s motives.

No proof of wrongdoing is required and those accused are denied the due process right of trial by their peers, or the services of an attorney– and are subsequently relegated to the ‘military commissions justice system.’  As a result–the accused are reduced to the status of ‘unlawful enemy combatant,’ and are subject to the following actions: ‘extroardinary rendition’, ‘enhanced interrogation’ procedures, ‘indefinite detention to possibly a  life sentence, and ‘presidential assigned extermination of target’ .  These powers are then ‘given’ to the President to use at will, fully codified in law,while requiring in reality no proof other than presidential whim.

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