01/15/10

Links to Visit – 01/15/10

The Anchoress – “Haiti is the broken bloody body of Christ” – UPDATED

Boston Herald – Poll shocker: Scott Brown surges ahead in Senate race

Brutally Honest – Security breach at nuclear weapons plant? (UPDATED)

Logistics Monster – So You Want To Stay In Power Forever? $340 Million And Amnesty (Hat Tip: Brian B.)

Family Security Matters – Exclusive: The March Toward ‘Gleichschaltung’ – Is the U.S. Heading Toward Socialism?

The Washington Times – U.S. said to eye D.C. for Gitmo trial (Hat Tip: Steve Schippert – ThreatsWatch) – See below:

Here’s a way to concisely communicate just who Hambali is to folks unaware of him: He can be described as the Usama bin Laden of South Asia – with command and/or heavy influence from Indonesia to the Philippines. For instance, when Abu Sayyef wanted/needed help with the effectiveness and lethality of their insurgency on the Philippines, it was Hambali and his Jemmah Islamiyah who extended big-brotherly love. So much so that the lines between JI and AS were blurred.

Gateway Pundit – Unicorn Rider to the Rescue… Obama Will Fly to Beantown to Save Coakley

Gateway Pundit – Just Awful– Coakley Uses Image of World Trade Center in Attack Ad to Symbolize Greed

Gateway Pundit – Under Obama Wages Dip 1.6%… Biggest Decline Since 1990

Bob McCarty Writes – Nuclear Weapons Facility in Texas on Lockdown! (Update)

Gateway Pundit – Obama Cuts Rank Backroom Deal With Unions On Health Care Cadillac Tax

Gateway Pundit – GAME-CHANGER—Martha Coakley: Devout Catholics “Probably Shouldn’t Work in the Emergency Room” (Audio)

Michelle Malkin – Blundermania: Dems attack Scott Brown’s “greed” using World Trade Center; Update: It’s official. Obama to Mass. on Sunday

Michelle Malkin – Beware: SEIU’s Purple Army marches on Massachusetts

Michelle Malkin – “Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee” = The Cover Tim Geithner’s A** Tax

Michelle Malkin – Garden-Gate: A metaphor

Michelle Malkin – “Hey, Harry, don’t say that kind of sh*t.”

Seattle Times – Seattle parks considering ban on smoking, spitting and sex

The Washington Post – FCC looks at ways to assert authority over Web access

01/15/10

“What a horrible woman she is.”

Hat Tip: Nancy Jacques

01/15/10

John Yoo’s Masterpiece – Crisis and Command

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Book Review

John Yoo’s new book “Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush” gives a historical accounting of presidential power and politics utilizing five Presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. Each of these men left his timeless stamp on American history through his actions and his ideals. Some good, some bad… Some to be admired and some in my opinion to be deplored. But that is a serious Constitutional discussion for another day. There is no doubt that the actions of these Presidents transformed the roll of the American President – their imprints go beyond mere historical impact. A brief summary of Yoo’s personal backgound::

John Yoo was a significant participant in the Bush administration’s war on terrorism. As a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, he wrote many of the legal briefs on which the Bush administration relied, including, famously, a number of memos relating to the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Yoo served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2001 to 2003. He worked on issues involving foreign affairs, national security, and the separation of powers.

One should also read Yoo’s previous books on Bush and his Presidential powers, War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror and The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11. These books are great resources concerning national security and the Oval Office.

Yoo is an exceptionally gifted author, attorney and someone I admire deeply. Not only for the writing of Crisis and Command, which I consider to be a literary and historical masterpiece from a timeless perspective, but an intellect that is fascinating to delve into. Honestly, this book will have an honored place in my historical library which is considerable and should be required reading for anyone interested in American history and our Founding Fathers and the impact that Presidents have had on said history. He not only masterfully goes through history from a leadership angle, he deconstructs the Presidential intent and effect that came through each Presidential term he covers.

I share Yoo’s precept that it is a good thing to have a strong executive office and many of the actions we see even now are nothing new. However, I also read history so that I can watch for violations of the Constitution – which have occurred throughout our history – and how to prevent them and ring the alarm on abuse of that executive power that can be used to protect the American people or, for the sake of power and control, harm the American people. That is an abuse occurring right here and now in the Obama administration and he will be remembered historically for his anti-Constitutional standings and policies.

Crisis and Command is a great read and I highly recommend it… Five stars to John Yoo and I look forward to his next book.