- Aug 20, 2000
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Note: Let's not get caught up on calls to impeach President Bush in this thread. It only inflames and distracts from the topic, and moreover simply isn't going to happen in our lifetimes. Let's talk about realistic things the next President can accomplish.
1. Better, possibly more frequent use of the presidential veto.
According to the U.S. Constitution, Section 7:
I consider the presidential veto to be one of the most important assets to the seat of power in the White House. Whether that President is working with a friendly Congress or not, the veto allows him/her to rein in excessive (or plain bad) bills from becoming law. The threat of a veto is usually enough to send Congress back to the drawing board to alter the proposed legislation.
President Bush's very lax use of the presidential veto during his two terms in power (10 to date, with 2 of those vetoes being overridden) is something I consider to be an enormous detractor to his legacy. Republican-controlled Congress or not, one of his principle responsibilities is to rein in Congress. Obviously, he hasn't been very active in this role.
List of United States presidential vetoes
2. Order the as-soon-as-possible closing of Guantanamo Bay by executive order.
I'm not normally one to say that people should care a whit about what people in other countries think of theirs. Too often the an advantage comes to another nation only at the expense of another, meaning that keeping other happy usually comes at a cost. Being a person who realizes that the security and prosperity of himself and those immediately around him necessarily comes first, I usually don't care much about the hurt feelings of the French, Danish, or Zambians.
Guantanamo Bay, however, transcends that.
From a high detainee count of 750+, more than 500 inmates have been freed over the last couple of years. While much has been made of a Pentagon report that says that 36 former detainees are "confirmed or suspected" of having returned to terrorism (source), an enormous number of those detained have so far displayed no connection to terrorism or organized military action against U.S. forces.
This, after years of solitary confinement without access to legal representation, repeated interrogation, and allegations of torture, sexual degradation, forced drugging and religious persecution. The stigma of G-Bay is such that the nations that these detainees were snatched up from often refuse to let them return (source). The lives of these men have been completely destroyed.
If you're curious about this topic and would like to hear from the ex-prisoners of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility themselves, I highly recommend a listen to the This American Life Episode 331: Habeas Schmabeas. Click the "Full Episode" link to listen online.
1. Better, possibly more frequent use of the presidential veto.
According to the U.S. Constitution, Section 7:
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it.
I consider the presidential veto to be one of the most important assets to the seat of power in the White House. Whether that President is working with a friendly Congress or not, the veto allows him/her to rein in excessive (or plain bad) bills from becoming law. The threat of a veto is usually enough to send Congress back to the drawing board to alter the proposed legislation.
President Bush's very lax use of the presidential veto during his two terms in power (10 to date, with 2 of those vetoes being overridden) is something I consider to be an enormous detractor to his legacy. Republican-controlled Congress or not, one of his principle responsibilities is to rein in Congress. Obviously, he hasn't been very active in this role.
List of United States presidential vetoes
2. Order the as-soon-as-possible closing of Guantanamo Bay by executive order.
I'm not normally one to say that people should care a whit about what people in other countries think of theirs. Too often the an advantage comes to another nation only at the expense of another, meaning that keeping other happy usually comes at a cost. Being a person who realizes that the security and prosperity of himself and those immediately around him necessarily comes first, I usually don't care much about the hurt feelings of the French, Danish, or Zambians.
Guantanamo Bay, however, transcends that.
From a high detainee count of 750+, more than 500 inmates have been freed over the last couple of years. While much has been made of a Pentagon report that says that 36 former detainees are "confirmed or suspected" of having returned to terrorism (source), an enormous number of those detained have so far displayed no connection to terrorism or organized military action against U.S. forces.
This, after years of solitary confinement without access to legal representation, repeated interrogation, and allegations of torture, sexual degradation, forced drugging and religious persecution. The stigma of G-Bay is such that the nations that these detainees were snatched up from often refuse to let them return (source). The lives of these men have been completely destroyed.
If you're curious about this topic and would like to hear from the ex-prisoners of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility themselves, I highly recommend a listen to the This American Life Episode 331: Habeas Schmabeas. Click the "Full Episode" link to listen online.