Democratic Ideas, IX: "Let's Hear It For Strict Construction, Part 1"
by Steven Jonas

The Georgite mission of Constitutional destruction is now out in the open through a variety of revelations. Serious concern with it is no longer the sole province of the Left. Mickey Edwards is a former member of the House Republican leadership, national chair of the American Conservative Union, and a founding trustee of the Heritage Foundation. In the July 31/Augst 7, 2006 issue of The Nation (!, p. 5), he said: "[Bush has shown] deliberate disregard of a law prohibiting electronic surveillance of US citizens without a court-ordered warrant. . . . [The] issue at stake is . . . the continued viability of the separation of powers, the central tenet in America's system of constrained government. . . . The concentration of power in the hands of a single chief executive, whether President or King, is an outcome neither the left nor the right should welcome. But with a President who assumes that all important decisions are his to make, . . . that may well be where we are headed." Unless, that is, the Georgites are headed off, and fairly quickly too.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Florida-based news station WFTV.com reported in its "news of the strange" section that the Army is considering opening up a military theme park in Virginia. But the plan isn't as farfetched as you might think; the Washington Post ran the story on its front page this morning.

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

by Big Dave From Queens

Here's 40 reasons for Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans to oppose Joe Lieberman.

1. Joe sends Liebergoons to harass Ned Lamont’s family, then denies it, then said they were well behaved.

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

by Brian Patrick Clarke

Re: Coaching isn't life or death; it's more important by Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, Sunday 8/6/06:

Having lived with a father who coached both basketball and soccer on a collegiate level, I certainly take no issue with Mike Bianchi's basic premise: coaching is all-too-consuming a proposition for many in the profession. However, in an effort to underpin his supposition, Mike points to Nick Saban's recent decision to "just say no" to an invitation for dinner with President Bush as the ultimate case-in-point.

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Ruth Lopez

Forget about Reagan's Cadillac-driving "Welfare Queens," Bill Frist, George W. Bush, and the Republicans controlling Congress want to create a permanent class of tax exempt, "Welfare Lords and Ladies."

Two years ago, my friend Anne and I were in northern Israel, where, for the last month, Hezbollah missiles have been falling and killing. We'd just had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the coastal town of Tiberias and were driving back to the kibbutz bed and breakfast at which we were staying for the night.

BARBARA'S DAILY BUZZFLASH MINUTE

Call it what you will, “a war on terror,” “sectarian violence,” “a civil war,” but no matter what you call it, it still means innocent people are dying every day in a preemptive unnecessary war that has no winners and a whole lot of losers!!!

Rep. Bob Ney Won't Seek Re-Election

by Tony Peyser

Some speculate
This may mean a
Chance he's gotten
A recent subpoena.

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

The Washington Post often has bizarre commentaries with neo-con logic that twists itself into contortions that no pretzel could rival.

But an item by one Robert Kagan advances the preposterous notion that Lieberman is being targeted for being an honest man. Like Bush, Lieberman may think he's honest, but as we pointed out his Sunday news talk show statements indicated that he can peddle mistruths, lies and personal historical revisionism with the best of the Republicans.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Joe Lieberman's continued support of Iraq and Bush has led to understandable anger from the Democrats he abandoned (and praise from the ultra-conservatives he has joined, like Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter). On the verge of a vitally significant primary election Tuesday, it’s important to remember that Lieberman hasn't just been a passive follower, he has been among the most active proponents of Iraq since the beginning when he led Congress in deciding to give Bush a blank check.