Quote of the Day

"Of all enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debt and taxes. And armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few." -- James Madison, Father of the Constitution

Quote of the Day

"In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended. Its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds are added to those of subduing the force of the people. The same malignant aspect may be traced in the inequality of fortunes and the opportunities of fraud growing out of a state of war ... and in the degeneracy of manners and morals engendered by both. ... No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." -- James Madison

That's what the Father of the Constitution thought. That John Yoo and other Bush lawyers could offer the opinion that a state of war means the president can do virtually anything he wants, including violating the Fourth and First Amendments, without informing or telling Congress - when there hasn't even been a declaration of war by Congress, as the constitution requires -- is beyond shocking.