What
You're Missing in our subscriber-only CounterPunch newsletter
WHO RULES: THE ISRAEL LOBBY
OR UNCLE SAM?
The answer
at last! Uri Avnery, former Knesset member, assesses the Lobby's
power. "If the Israeli government wanted a law tomorrow
annulling the 10 Commandments, 95 U.S. Senators (at least) would
sign the bill forthwith." But, yes, in the end the dog wags
the tail.Fifty
years ago Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" blew the cobwebs
out of millions of young minds and drove a stake through the
heart of Eisenhower's America. Lenni Brenner remembers Ginsberg
in the East Village.Dr Mengele died in exile, in disguise. Dr Ishii
died rich and recognized, in his own Tokyo home. Christopher
Reed on Japanese WW2 medical tortures and how the U.S. covered
them up.CounterPunch
Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember,
we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition
of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription
to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find
anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition.
Remember contributions are tax-deductible.Click
here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please:Subscribe
Now!
The
Omnipotent (But Far From Omniscient) Executive
Endgame for the
Constitution
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
The Bush administration has done more
damage to Americans and more harm to America's reputation than
any other administration in history. Yet, a majority of Republicans
still support Bush. This tells much about blind party loyalty.
By encouraging the move offshore
of American jobs and manufacturing, Bush has run up tremendous
trade deficits that have undermined the world's confidence in
the dollar as the reserve currency. Recently, both Chinese and
Russian government officials warned of the dollar's shaky status.
The fall in confidence in the dollar is evidenced by the sharp
run-up in the price of gold. In January 2001 the price of gold
was about $240 per ounce. Today the price is $660 per ounce.
The price of gasoline has risen
from around $1.30 per gallon to over $3.00 per gallon. Obviously,
Bush's war in the Middle East did not ensure the oil supply.
On Bush's watch, three million
US manufacturing jobs have disappeared. Tens of thousands of
highly qualified US engineers have lost their employment. US
job growth has fallen six to seven million jobs behind population
growth. Recent college graduates are employed as waitresses and
bartenders.
Illegal immigration has continued
to explode. While Bush spends $1 trillion and many lives trying
to control borders in the MIddle East, America's borders remain
undefended and over run. Bush advocates amnesty for the illegals
who have invaded America while Bush invades distant countries.
On false pretenses Bush invaded
Iraq, a country that comprised no threat to America. American
high explosives have devastated Iraq and its infrastructure and
killed at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians, people who Bush claims
to be bringing freedom and democracy.
All stability has disappeared
from Iraq. Iraqis now live in fear of one another as well as
fear of American troops. On April 28 Iraqi vice president Adil
Abdul-Mahdi said that 100,000 Iraqi families have been uprooted
by the sectarian violence unleashed by Bush's overthrow of Saddam
Hussein.
Not content with the uncontrollable
mayhem he has brought to Iraq, Bush hopes to expand the catastrophe
by attacking Iran. The US Secretary of State, sounding like the
warmonger she is, says the US may ignore the United Nations and
attack Iran on its own initiative. This would be the second time
that the Bush administration initiated wars of aggression--war
crimes under the Nuremburg standard established by the US.
Bush claims that he is higher
authority than both US law and international law. In the past,
US presidents vetoed laws with which they disagreed. Bush signs
the laws and ignores them.
Bush has declared himself to
be the sole judge of the limits of his powers--a claim that violates
Bush's oath of office to uphold the US Constitution. Bush has
set aside the Bill of Rights by detaining people indefinitely
without charges, by kidnapping and torturing people, and by spying
on Americans without warrants. These are actions that are illegal
under law as well as unconstitutional. All of these violations
of law and the Constitution are serious impeachable offenses.
Yet. Congress is supine as
the Bush regime exercises dictatorial powers. The exercise of
these dictatorial powers by the executive is a far greater danger
to American liberty than are Muslim terrorists.
Bush's apologists claim that
only terrorists have anything to fear. However, unaccountable
executive power is inconsistent with free societies. America
is no exception. Unless Bush is impeached and turned over to
the war crimes court in the Hague, Americans will never reclaim
their liberties from an executive branch that has established
itself as the sole judge of the limits of its powers.
As Jacob Hornberger, president
of the Future of Freedom Foundation wrote last month, "we
now live in a nation in which the president has the omnipotent
power to ignore all constitutional restraints on his power."
Bruce Fein, a Justice Department official in the Reagan administration
said that Bush "is moving us toward an unlimited executive
power."
The Bush regime's practice
of excessive secrecy and denial of information to Congress allows
the regime to avoid judicial review of its power claims. Bush
ignores Congress and evades the courts.
When President Richard Nixon
made excessive claims for presidential powers, principled Republicans
revolted and helped to bring down Nixon. Today's Republicans
are loyal only to power. They have no principles. By supporting
Bush, Republicans are bringing down America.
Now
Available
from CounterPunch Books!
The Case
Against Israel
By Michael Neumann
CounterPunch
Speakers Bureau Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid?
CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair
are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues,
as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call
CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.