Re: Fujitsu cobol debugging

docdwarf@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Article II give the president the unrestricted right to
wage whatever war he wants against whomever he wants. The Congress
only "declares" war; it is the president who "wages" war.

A declaration (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/declare ,
1) makes known formally, officially or explicitly; it answers the
question of 'is there a war?'. While the President may engage in or
carry out (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wage[2] , 1)
the war one might have difficulty carrying out or engaging in an
activity which does not exist... and, Constitutionally speaking,
the existence of war depends on Congressional declaration.

At least... that's the way the Constitution and the English language
have been used for a few centuries; perhaps I wasn't on the
mailing-list to be notified of the change.


I'm sure the people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, Albania, Sudan,
Haiti, Somalia, and Bosnia, who all experienced Bill Clinton's "war"
activities, would disagree.

I barely know what *I* agree with, let alone anyone else... when folks
from Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, etc. begin posting their disagreements
I'll have something to discuss with them.

I suppose the more pedantic phraseology would be "engaged in
activities which, if declared, would be considered "war."

I suppose that the Constitution, clearly and unambiguously, states in
Section I, Article 8, that:

--begin quotes text:

The Congress shall have power... To declare war, grant letters of
marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and
water;

--end quoted text

The Constitution, as noted in Article VI, states:

--begin quoted text

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be
made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be
made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme
law of the land;

--end quoted text

... and as such is Law. Law requires careful reading, re-reading,
consideration, discussion, re-discussion and re-evaluation; if doing
such requires that one be 'a formalist or precisionist in teaching'
( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedant ) then being a
pedant might seem to be appropriate.

(note - while the President has (Art.II, Sec 2) 'power, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties' a treaty is,
by definition (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/treaty) 'a
contract in writing between two or more political authorities (as
states or sovereigns) formally signed by representatives duly
authorized and usually ratified by the lawmaking authority of the
state' it would be interesting to see who served as 'political
authority' besides the United States. A treaty with only one
signatory seems to be as much of a treaty as a sale with only one
party is a sale... it takes at least two to treatise.)



You skipped the germane part of Article II Section 2: "The president shall
be the Commander of 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..."

To translate this into common-speak, the president can order the armies to
march to and fro and kill anybody they meet. This power is absolute and
cannot be gainsaid by the Congress or the courts.

But, one can't call it a "war" unless the Congress has so blessed the
action.

As one opinion by a court of appeals held: "... if the president's actions
do not agree with the will of the citizenry, they are at liberty to replace
him at the next election."


.

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