It can be plausably argued that nabalzbbfr is a fine example of the dangers of home-schooling.

You have to admit annonymoose does at least get the punctuation correct, unlike the sitting President.

Please!!! Don't insult my intelligence! It is an elementary principle - a Law of Nature, transcending even the US Constitution.

We don't live by the "Law of Nature", and the Constitution and the US Code are the law of the land. As such, their provisions are to be obeyed by all citizens.

Its rather sad you have to be reminded of this simple fact.

Again, besides a desperate appeal to Hobbes, how do you come to the conclusion you have?

There is no contradiction.

Please point out where, precisely, the Constitution empowers the President to ignore any provision of either its own Articles or any of the US Code on the smallest whim.

Note I'm asking for an exact passage here, not a half-baked and undocumented interpretation of one of the vaguer lines buried in the original text. If that's all you have, I'd advise you retire from the conversation here and now.

While the issue is legitimate, most people trust the President more than legislators trying to penalize companies, co-operating with a national effort.

Note the lack of attribution to this. Enough said.

My paragraph, that you quote above, is precisely the only reasonable common sense definition of "executive power".

You realize you're advocating a dictatorial fascism, don't you?

Amazing where 'reasonable common sense' interpretations leads, isn't it?

As AL points out, genuine crimes were committed by major telecom companies. Ones dressed up as 'patriotic duty', but crimes all the same and ones that risk undermining the fabric of our nation's character worse than the Administration's vanity-inspired expedition to Babylon.

Those elected to uphold and enforce the laws our society depends upon have proven sorely lacking as defenders. As a republic, the citizens convey exceptional trust upon those we elect to office. So what happens when that trust is betrayed and voided? How can we hope the crimes committed will see proper redress, especially when those crimes look ready to be forgiven by those who should be demanding and prosecuting that redress? To whom do we turn to?

This is coming at an odd moment in our country's history, many of the challenges facing it self-inflicted and the damage already done to it still being assessed. We have the opportunity to choose a new direction and new leadership, but the current field of candidates is proving...wanting.

Does this mean its now time for the citizens to take control once more? How many of us here are prepared to risk their positions and livelihoods to run for office ourselves?

I have no answers to this, merely raising the question for the moment. Anyone care to comment?

And all that still adds up to the President being more trustworthy than Congress, and lawyers using the law to injure an industry.

If that's your personal opinion, fine. State it as such.

If that's the result of some poll, fine. State the source.

If this is just some desperate attempt to soothe your tortured and broken soul, keep it to yourself. We're trying to have a serious discussion here.

We have a large force of soldiers occupying a hostile country with little-to-no local support and a very thin supply line. They are led by political appointees as commanders who appear to believe their own propaganda and don't appear to understand the locals or their culture.

I wonder who the part of Arminius will be played by this time, or if there will even be one this time. Certainly the Sunni and Shia don't appear all that interested in 'forming' a new Iraq, otherwise we'd have already seen an all-out bloodbath.

First let me personally thank you, both for your service to the country and for writing your little note. But you do us all a greater service with the latter.

Now, since it's fallen apart, you are now desperately trying to change the subject. Good luck with that.

You've shown us the tradition of Kings and Captain lives on, that those who taste power are ill-disposed to have it questioned, and that not all supporters of this fool's errand into Babylon wear only ties and live amongst the Beltway Bandits.

In any case, what do you care if Mr. Greenwald makes the very obvious point that the service branches employ their selected leakers to spin this vanity-inspired expedition? Its not as if you yourself are at issue, is it?

Of course when the Iranians do come over the hill You'll be the first people to claim they were 'provoked'.

Naturally, given the bellicose ranting the current Administration has been doing of late. Whether the scenario outlined here comes to pass is a different issue entirely.

You folks sometimes remind me of my southern neighbors who still call it 'The Wawr of Nothern Uggressoin'

Your neighbors need to learn their history better, as it wasn't Federal cannons that fired on Fort Sumpter. They also need to get with the 21st century and their heads out of some 18th century myth.

How are we to trust our elected leaders if they allow this atrocity to pass? Will there be any possibility of redemption after such an act?

So, I'm waiting: What are "the Clinton's" "crimes?"

So far as shooter242 and his ilk are concerned, the fact both of them are breathing is crime enough.

Real reporters don't report about pissing matches. They report the news that actually has an effect on people's lives.

The politization of the military and its interactions with the civilians they supposedly protect is not an issue of import? What a bizarre sense of priorities you have.

Now be a good pervert and go back to your harem of pre-adolescents, will you? We have serious matters to discuss here.