50-Point Swing Against Targeted Drone Killings of U.S. Citizens

[Razgovory]

And?

And some people might want some clarification on what would constitute an emergency situation if the executive is reserving the right to do so.

Presumably there are thousands of acts that the executive reserves the right to do in an emergency.  Should we go over each one?

[fhdz]

Raz, can you honestly say you'd be defending the Administration's lack of clarity on this issue to the same degree if we were in the midst of a Bush presidency?

Likewise, I am sure spiess would be leading the "don't give a shit" charge under those circumstances.

[Razgovory]

On this issue?  Yeah.  Since nobody has shown any interest in actually doing it.  Yi used nuclear weapons as an example.  I imagine that in extreme emergencies every President since Truman reserves the right to use a nuclear weapon on an American city (for instance, if that city fell to an outside invader and could not be dislodged any other way).

[derspiess]

Did you ever work in a theater, cause you seem to be projecting a lot.

How?  I'm not nearly as partisan as you are.

I'm not sure what "victory" Rand Paul achieved.  It looks to me that he's pandering to the paranoid wing of the GOP.

It was a victory for him in terms of internal GOP politics (he made McCain & Graham look foolish, stole their spotlight), he got a lot of positive press for himself, he swung public opinion pretty dramatically toward his point of view, and he forced the administration to do something it didn't want to do.  Still small in the larger scheme of things, but a victory nonetheless.

Did any Republicans demand answers from the Bush administration about drone strikes in 2002?  If not, why?

Because President Obama (for better or worse-- I'm not casting any judgment here) seems to have more of an affinity for using drones.

[Razgovory]

How?  I'm not nearly as partisan as you are.

[derspiess]

Raz, can you honestly say you'd be defending the Administration's lack of clarity on this issue to the same degree if we were in the midst of a Bush presidency?

Likewise, I am sure spiess would be leading the "don't give a shit" charge under those circumstances.

Oh come on now.  I'm partisan, but not like Raz.  When I disagreed with the Bush Administration I wasn't quiet about it.

[derspiess]

How?  I'm not nearly as partisan as you are.

Only a true ueberpartisan would use 11 smileys like that

[Admiral Yi]

Presumably there are thousands of acts that the executive reserves the right to do in an emergency.  Should we go over each one?

If you feel the need to clarify what would constitute a compelling emergency to justify each action, sure, knock yourself out.

[Razgovory]

Presumably there are thousands of acts that the executive reserves the right to do in an emergency.  Should we go over each one?

If you feel the need to clarify what would constitute a compelling emergency to justify each action, sure, knock yourself out.

I do not.  Nor do I see a reason to demand clarification for executive actions in unlikely situations.

[Habbaku]

How?  I'm not nearly as partisan as you are.

Channeling Strix?  Poor show.

[Valmy]

On this issue?  Yeah.  Since nobody has shown any interest in actually doing it.

Well they have been used overseas without due process and against American citizens.  There is a context here Raz and there are precedents being set, precendents which are establishing the international standards of drone use.  But that does not seem to concern anybody so I will just move on and say this:

I have no reason to believe Obama, or any other President, would use Drones except if they truly felt the security of the US was at stake.  I have no reason to believe any of us have anything to fear.  But that is not the point.  The point is our system was designed to be one of good laws, not good people.  That arbitrary power, even in the hands of the best...blah blah and all the rest.  I know the Executive wants to have as much flexibility as possible  in dealing with any situation but in the years since 9/11 they have gone way too far.  Obama had promised to roll this stuff back but instead he has gone double down on it.  In these circumstances it does not seem like an unreasonable request to simply clarify what the processes are for using Drones inside the US.

Besides, it is not like the Executive Branch is fighting some sort of law about to be passed severley limiting their authority they are just being asked a simple question and it seems even answering questions about its authority is off limits.  Don't you think it is getting a tad ridiculous?

[fhdz]

On this issue?  Yeah.  Since nobody has shown any interest in actually doing it.

That's simply not true. It's not so much that people are publicly expressing interest; it's that it already has occurred. Now you may or may not think it's justified - or was in that case but wouldn't be in others, etc - but that's a different matter.

[fhdz]

Well they have been used overseas without due process and against American citizens.  There is a context here Raz and there are precedents being set, precendents which are establishing the international standards of drone use.

[DGuller]

How?  I'm not nearly as partisan as you are.

    From my moderate centrist POV, it looks like you may be lacking in self-awareness.

[Admiral Yi]

Speesh is a tribal Republican IMO (the only one Languish) as Raz is a tribal Democrat (one of several).

The difference is that Raz gets emotionally invested (i.e. turns into a dickhead) on partisan issues in a way that Speesh does not.