...their interviewers don't correct them. did dan abrams do so?

i used to think such interviewers were just observing some sort of warped code, operating under some misunderstanding about how interviews are supposed to be conducted.

now, i simply think they are stupid enough, and credulous enough, to believe everything their subject says.

and that explains why everybody who opposes the president's policies is viewed as opposing america

much as in absolute monarchies; "l'etat c'est moi".

is it possible that the historical dominance of monarchy is due to the primate instinct to submit to an alpha male being too powerful to be overcome in a large proportion of humans?

Click sig....

Enjoy!

To what advantage do the government schools have to teach the Constitution well?

Don't leave this important task up to the government. Teach your children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, neighbors.....the Constitution yourself! Copies can be given, discussions can be shared and just maybe America can get back to the way the Founding Fathers planned.

High School class of '94 here. Got to echo UsedtobeKristin on the Civics/Econ load at my Southwest GA High School. Pretty much everyone had to take it their freshman year, but in truth, each of these classes were taught by the Houghton Mifflin Company and chaperoned by "Teachers" (if I remember correctly, one was a Coach that was counting the days till his retirement.) "Class, quiet down, open your books, read Chapter whatever, there will be a quiz on Friday." Still and all, at least the indifference was bi-partisan.

Sadly the "right-wing" understanding of Government can be defended (rightly or wrongly) by pointing to the Kennedy administration and whining, "SEE!". I suspect the perception that the DOJ is literally part of the White House family took away subsequent administrations' hesitation to use DOJ as such.

The unitary executive theory sees everyone in the executive branch as an extension of the president's will. Each executive employee is to do their job the way the president would do it if he personally had that employee's duties. It's an dangerously attractive idea because it's so simple a child can understand it, and politically expedient. Everything is officially the president's fault, which means nothing is actually the president's fault. And Congress just observes, so nothing is their fault either.

Glenn,

You have such a pre 9/11 mindset. These days, as the Democratic congress has demonstrated again and again and again and again, the president IS the government. He writes the laws(signing statements), he executes the laws(that he approves of), he immunizes people from crimes(FISA), he immunizes people from testimony(Rove), and he declares war(Iraq). So when people swear an oath to protect and preserve the constitution, they are, in fact, swearing a loyality oath to the president. So come on in to the 21st centruy, Glenn, and realize that you live at the pleasure of the president. Your freedom is dependent on only his personal good will towards you. Should you become to inconvienent to him, you will be detained indefinately and tortured at the whim of George W. Bush. It's a new world, my friend. Try to keep up.

I did not know that. I am only aware of the AI version (which I heard again last night on TV - I presume it has been released as a single or something). I know, in the grand scheme of things, I shouldn't let something like this bring my blood to a boil, but for some reason, it really gets under my skin.

Not only should the constitution be taught well in school, so too should the question of loyalty. It’s very clear that to be a true member of the current Republican party, one must swear loyalty to the party above all else. Neither the constitution nor rule of law, binds a member of this party to waver from its loyalty to gaining and maintaining power. So an underlying problem that has caused so much damage to our nation and the world is misplaced loyalty to a party and the top leaders of that party rather than to the citizens and nation.

The first step in recognizing that problem is to do what Glenn does so well, put a spotlight on the existence of the problem and the subsequent consequences. However, if the focus is soley on the people who appear to be causing the problem, we won’t really solve the problem, because the real problem lies with faulty systems.

I fully agree that the Accountability Now-Strange Bedfellows project is a means of putting better people into our government. The accountability that we should expect from those we help get elected, or the coercive effect of showing Blue Dogs their decisions are being closely watched, should involve the question of what they are trying to do to change systems that will protect the people and our constitution. That is where real change and protection lie.

Do they teach Constitutional Civics in school anymore? When I was in High Scool in the seventies, they wouldn't let you graduate until you had taken and passed a "Constitution Test" I seem to remember having to pass an easier version in 8th grade as well. Did they discontinue that practice? If so, when?

I'll add my 2 cents to this question because I teach U.S. history (albeit in a private school).

I try very hard to get my students to see the important issues revolving around the constitution. I spend time focusing on the debates and its eventual ratification, but I also emphasize that the constitution throughout U.S. history needs to be continuously reassessed. It is indeed the backdrop to many key events in our history. As a result, the subject matter never strays far from the the Constitution.

186 days and counting...

Hip-hip-hooray! My rebate's in the mail....

Mine's in the bank, awaiting the day when they show up wanting it back.

I've had experience with this sort of Bush "giveaway" before, starting with Poppy changing the withholding rates so it looked like you were getting more money. That year, my wife and I went from getting a small refund (or paying a small amount) to owing almost $2000 in federal tax.