A Critique
Day 45 of #45
Monday,
March 6, 2017
2:59
AM
- "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
On January 20, 2017 Donald J. Trump took the above oath of the office of President of the United States having met all the requirements to assume this office.
In
matters of preservation and protection and defense my working assumption is the
entire U.S. Constitution will be subject to these.
On February 16, 2017 President Trump said, "The press has become so dishonest that if we don’t talk about it, we are
doing a tremendous disservice to the American people -- tremendous disservice. We
have to talk about it to find out what's going on, because the press honestly is out of control.
" During a Q&A at the same press
conference the President also said "But I am having a good time.
Tomorrow they will say, Donald Trump rants and raves at the press.
I’m not ranting and raving. I’m just telling you, you're dishonest people."
February 17, 2017 the President tweeted as @realDOnaldTrump "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC,
@CBS,
@CNN)
is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" On February 18, 2017 at a Press Gaggle
aboard Air Force One the President said " Life is a campaign.
Making our country great again is a campaign. For me, it's a
campaign. To make America great again is absolutely a campaign. It's not easy, especially when we're also
fighting the press and the media. So, I'll see you out there."
Are there fake news stories and do people, including
journalists, publish lies? Yes, they do.
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams lied about riding in a helicopter
that was shot down in Iraq in 2003. Fox
News Channel star Bill O'Reilly lied about experiencing war in 1982 between
Argentina and England. The New York
Times staff reporter Jayson Blair was caught lying about entire stories,
sometimes making up quotes and scenes that never occurred.
However, the fact that a story or report does not agree with
your point of view, nor depict you in the manner you desire does not it fake or
the people or organization who are promulgating it dishonest. Regardless, the citizens of the United States
of America are not stupid. We are
capable of discerning truth for ourselves.
If a story or report is fake it will soon out. This is assuming we will maintain a free and
unfettered press as promised in the 1st
amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That
being the document the President is sworn to preserve, protect, and
defend.
DO that Mr. President, rather than engaging the casting of
aspersions and twitter wars. Surely the
office of the Presidency has enough duties to fill your day.
- The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;
The President of the United States holds this position so that civilian
control of the military may be exercised.
This is not a power that exists so you may demonstrate how powerful you
are and to instill fear in those you oppose.
The military of the United States exists to defend our borders and our
allies. Of course, I understand that is
in an ideal world and the militaries of all countries are frequently used to
make or enforce policy when diplomacy has failed or patience comes to an
end. Also, as Commander in Chief, when
you do employ our military forces you also are assuming responsibility for them. Do not be so shallow as to embark upon a
poorly conceived or executed mission and then place the blame for failure upon
the actors. The Director has a part to
play as well in providing a vision and enabling the cast to bring that vision
to fruition. Furthermore, if you are
going to practice war, then have Congress do there part and DECLARE war. Place the entire country on a war footing
instead of expecting a small percentage of the population to shoulder the
entire burden. If the citizenry and
their directly elected representatives are not willing to do this then why are
we spending our treasure and spilling our blood?
- He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur;
Unless the United States shall isolate
itself from the rest of the world the President of the United States will be
called upon to make treaties. Treaties,
alliances, trade agreements, these are all devices that may be employed instead
of, or to forestall, military conflict or war.
Career diplomats and civil servants are crucial to this effort. Your proposal to cut the State Department budget
by 37% would indicate a lack of foresight and/or knowledge. 4 Years ago Defense Secretary James Mattis while commander of US Central
Command: "If you don't fully fund the State Department, then I need to buy
more ammunition." Mr. President,
you nominated this man, you may want to heed his counsel. You have said you wish to have peace through
strength. You have to be strong to
negotiate and compromise. Just because
you have a hammer does not make everything else a nail.
As I write this you have already had 1 cabinet member tender his
resignation and another, your Attorney General, feel it necessary to recuse
himself from an investigation due to lying to Congress. You've had a WH staffer violate ethics rules
publicly. This is only 45 days into
your administration. Had your entire
staff/cabinet already been confirmed, a condition which I know causes you great
consternation, it boggles the mind to imagine what other misadventures may have
already taken place.
In deed, if not word the Executive Order: Protecting The Nation
From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States, dated January 27, 2017 is
an impediment to immigrants, refuges, and visa seekers and holders based upon a
particular religion. In addition,
members of a "minority" religion based upon geographic location are
specifically granted precedence. The 1st
amendment to the U.S. Constitution begins with; Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof;. This must be preserved,
protected and defended along with the rest of the Constitution. Surely you do not make the argument the vast
majority of citizens of the 7 countries you have addressed in this Executive
Order are members of the Islamic State, aka ISIS, aka Da'esh. Were this the case the caliphate ISIS seeks
to create would already be established.
