The Unqualified President

As all of my readers know I have been pretty obsessed with the issue of Barak Obama's question of citizenship as it pertains to his eligibility to be POTUS under Article II of our constitution. As I follow the many lawsuits that have been filed and rejected there emerged a common thread. Berg vs Obama in Philadelphia for instance was rejected for lack of standing and understanding the law in this case the judge is correct. (Berg has appealed to the SCOTUS) Other suits filed against the various secretaries of state have had similar results.

So I did some research and, shame on me for not knowing this, on November 4th we do not vote for a candidate. We are electing "electors" that will in tern certify the results in the electoral college. So these law suits don't have merit because they are all based on the "candidate" and it is not a states responsibility to qualify a candidate. That is supposed to happen through the political party that nominates the candidate.

So what happens if that party is neglect in vetting it's nominees? Article II of our constitution is clear as to who can become POTUS and it clearly seems that Barak Obama does not meet the requirements. At least not that he has shown and the evidence supporting otherwise is almost overwhelming. So I took a look at the constitution and read how the electoral college works and I submit the following.

This is from Article II of the constitution for reference.(Pertinent verbiage only)

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Now we look at how the electoral college works. The following is excerpted from here.

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/procedural_guide.html

The Congress is scheduled to meet in joint session in the House of Representatives on January 6, 2009 to conduct the official tally of electoral votes. The Vice President, as President of the Senate, is the presiding officer. Two tellers are appointed to open, present and record the votes of the States in alphabetical order. The President of the Senate announces the results of the vote and declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States. The results are entered into the official journals of the House and Senate. The President of the Senate then calls for objections to be made. If any objections are registered, they must be submitted in writing and be signed by at least one member of the House and Senate. The House and Senate would withdraw to their respective chambers to consider the merits of any objections according the procedure set out under 3 U.S.C. section 15.

Now here is where it gets a little wobbly. The following section is a bit long so I will note post it here but to boil it down the process allows for objections as stated above but in section 15 only described procedure for objections to the votes cast.

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/provisions.html#15

But in section 17 it states;

Same; limit of debate in each house

§ 17. When the two Houses separate to decide upon an objection that may have been made to the counting of any electoral vote or votes from any State, or other question arising in the matter, each Senator and Representative may speak to such objection or question five minutes, and not more than once; but after such debate shall have lasted two hours it shall be the duty of the presiding officer of each House to put the main question without further debate.

And then in section 19 is where we see the word qualify.

Vacancy in offices of both president and vice president; officers eligible to act

§ 19. (a) (1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act as President.

So if Barak Obama gets the required number of electoral votes and he has still not proven his eligibility under Article II as stated above then I believe Sen. Joe Biden becomes POTUS by virtue of having enough electoral votes to become Vice President. Remember the electors vote for both the President and Vice President on separate ballots. So being qualified to be Vice President one would assume based on § 19. (a) (1) he would become President. His first act as President? He would nominate a Vice President. I think that would be Hillary.

That is the law as I see it. Now will this happen? I think that our representatives and senators who are sworn to uphold the constitution from all enemies, both foreign and domestic, have the duty to make sure that a president elect is eligible.

The sad part of all this is that it could of been avoided. There will be great public unrest and riots that will sweep over this country and I am sure in places like Kenya, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

How do we avoid this constitutional crisis? Vote.

Tags: Constitution Barak Obama POTUS

Wow

Just when we thought things were starting to go smoothly Janets Mom broke her hip. She is ok at the moment, she has a few extra pounds of metal though. A plate and some stainless steel bolts and nuts. (I wonder what brand of screw gun they use) Anyway she was out clubbing and tripped when leaving the place. We hope she will be able to make the wedding. She goes into rehab tomorrow so we know pretty soon her progress.

G&J

Rough Week

Well most of you know that Janet's Dad passed away on Sunday. He went quietly in his sleep. Janet was very busy helping her mom with all the arrangemets and keeping her mom company. The wake was Thursday evening and attendance was pretty heavy. William R. Lee and his wife Joan of nearly 60 years had 11 children. So you can imagine the amont of people.

The funeral was Friday and a wonderful service. We had planned a reception at the Elk's but soon after arriving Joan took ill. She was rushed to the hospital at 2 o'clock and approaching midnight we left her well and in good spirits. It looks like she will be just fine.

Movin' In Cook Out

Janet and I took possession of the keys for our new home last night. The Fitzpatrick's, the previous owners, are just great people. They are about our age and we have found that we have allot in common, including politics! We will be seeing them again in the future.

So this upcoming week is moving week and we figure that we should be in great shape to entertain by Aug 3rd. So you all are invited to the "Movin' In Cook Out" featuring the Goss chicken wings among other great food & drink. Bring all and join us. Plenty of free parking. And don't forget to buy the cheap NH gas, booze, and cigarettes while you are in town.....

Re-Independence Day

The Forth of July has always been my second favorite holiday. Thanksgiving being my first favorite holiday. The latter being the day of thanksgiving for the bounty of the new world and the former the birth of "the" greatest nation on earth.

In reflecting on both of those holidays it occurs to me that the courage, forethought, and determination of the people that shaped our great nation might be considered fossil fuel and in today's climate that is a bad thing, pun intended.

I can remember when I was young being torn over Vietnam. I was about 1 year too young to serve. But I do remember the day I registered for the draft. I took the train into North Station in Boston and found the federal building where I was directed to register. To this day I can remember the ominous look and feel of the office. The hanging portraits of our great presidents, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy, and the flag standing in the corner. I can remember how official it all was, and when I got my card I remember how proud I felt. I even had it laminated at the local drug store.

So why the title "Re-Independence Day"? Well as I look around this nation, especially in an election year, I do not see or feel the patriotism that I felt the day that clerk handed me my draft card. I see a presidential candidate making excuses for not wearing the lapel pin of our flag. I see supporters of that presidential candidate questioning the patriotism of a wartime hero. I see people making a mockery of the greatest nations' on earths' national anthem. And I see a "free press" that does not denounce these acts as UN-PATRIOTIC!

So is it time to take back our country? Do we need a tea party to end all tea parties? Do we need to listen to the words of the "Pledge of Allegiance" and take them seriously? My fear is that we may have to take back our country and therefore a re-birth would take place. My hope is that we recognize what has happened over the last half century and fix it.

I hope where you are that you are allowed to celebrate the 4Th with fireworks as the writers of our constitution intended. Yes celebrating the birthday of our country with fireworks was written by John Adams and supported by others.



John Adams predicted in 1776 in a letter to his wife, Abigail, that Independence Day “ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade ... bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this day forward forevermore.” "Fireworks provide citizens a means to celebrate their freedoms."



Happy 4Th of July!

The Big One

Well after three years of not putting the puddle jumper in the water I finally "refurbished" the thing and Janet and I set sail on the lake, (it's called Nutting lake) but it's pretty much a pond.



Anyway because this body of water is pretty much the backyard Janet grew up in I left the navigation to her. We were a few hundred nautical feet from shore when she said "this looks good". I turned my high powered battery operated propeller off and dropped anchor. Wormed her hook and she tossed it over board. It went way off the bow for about three feet. As soon as the bobber hit the water it went under.



Excitement could be heard all around this cabin lined "lake", "it's a big one!" I calmly talked her in the proper techniques of landing the big one. This fight, big one versus the accomplished angular, lasted a good 30 seconds as out of the water came the biggest Blue Gill I have seen in years!



I turned out to be a very relaxing day and just caused me to realize how often we do need to relax.



So happy fishing!

Supreme Court 101

Tis the season for Supreme Court rulings, and this season is abound with confounding rulings. Let’s begin at the top. Headline "Guantanamo Bay Detainees Get Habeas Corpus". Well to most Americans, and I do mean most, this means "what?". And then when that particular American is asked how they "feel" about the ruling they say "I think everyone should have the right to the court system". Well not everyone is entitled to our court system, specifically non-citizens. The effect of this decision is that "any" foreigner now has access to our court system. Think about that for minute. Someone detained in let’s say China by our military protecting our athletes who happened to have a bomb strapped to his or her side now has a right to be heard in a US court. Remember Helsinki? That has huge repercussions. Our constitution is for American Citizens ONLY.

Then we have this so called "Child Rape" law that stems from a Louisiana law that imposed capital punishment for child rape cases. Now I must say that I am in favor of capital punishment for hoodlums stealing grandmas pocketbook. But I would need to be a resident of state that voted for a state law imposing capitol punishment for unnecessary anguish inflicted on a person of age...and that is what is called “States Rights”. Now I may be a little beyond what the constitution would allow in my example but the fact of the matter is that capital punishment is a states’ rights issue. Can you impose the death penalty for littering? No, that would be considered unusual punishment. But violently raping a child? Maybe a close call for capital punishment, maybe not. So the court should by default not stomp on the states right according to the 10th amendment. This opens the door for other, and maybe even more important egregious usurping of other states rights. My point is that the media has missed the point on this one. It is a matter of states’ rights, not whether a child rapist should be fried.

Decision number three, the second amendment. Believe it or not I think this decision is scary. The court ruled that there is an individual right to own a gun. WoooHoo Yaaahooo and so on. I applaud the court and I think Justice Scalia’s written majority opinion was genius. My problem with this one was the dissenting opinion and that fact that four of them signed on to that opinion. Look out for the balance of power on this issue.
PS. I am definitely exercising my right in my new home before it is taken away….

Why the electorate is ignorant

In looking at the news Sunday morning, as I usually do with my vente bold, I came across this story in the Washington Post by Jobi Warrick. The headline and first two paragraphs are copied here along with a link to entire story.

Smugglers had design for advanced warhead
Draft report says ring acquired blueprints for nuclear weapon

An international smuggling ring that sold bomb-related parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea also managed to acquire blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon, according to a draft report by a former top U.N. arms inspector that suggests the plans could have been shared secretly with any number of countries or rogue groups.

The drawings, discovered in 2006 on computers owned by Swiss businessmen, included essential details for building a compact nuclear device that could be fitted on a type of ballistic missile used by Iran and more than a dozen developing countries, the report states.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25169704/

It is quit comprehensive and in-depth, so why am I pointing this out? Well first of all this is buried deep in the website I use to get my primary news and information. It is listed as one of the top home pages in the world. The top stories today are Tiger Woods, The Making of the Housing Bubble with a big red foreclosure sign, and the continuation of the un-timely death of Tim Russert. Now I can tell that I think it is very appropriate on Father’s Day to continue the life story of who I regard as a great American in Tim Russert. I think that a report on the housing bubble might be an interesting read. I think Tiger’s come back yesterday was remarkable. But a story of a “compact nuclear devise” possibly being in the hands of just about everyone who hates us is almost not noticeable?

We are ignorant and it is in part due to the fact that the media in general gives us the news they think will get more readership, plain and simple. And even more so today when instantaneously web statistics are available to the media outlet that is so detailed they can tailor the information exactly to the demographic that the statistics bear out.

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but all we do is read the cover.

Update! About one minute after I posted this I had gone back to my home page and now this story is "above the fold" so to speak. Maybe there is hope after all.

Update #2. I have not seen or heard of this since Sunday.

Greg

Fathers Day

My Fathers Day gift from Janet. It will hang in my new garage next to the fishing pole rack just above the cooler.

Marinated Chicken Wings

Now anyone who has enjoyed the Goss family "secret" BBQ chicken wings knows how good they are. Well they just got easier to make. I happened across some chicken wings that are packaged in individual vacuum packs. See picture.

So I got this neat idea to marinate the wings. I have an injector, see picture, and I just poke that into the package and inject the marinade right into the package. This has many advantages. One I use much less marinade and two I can have several different marinades. No mess and if your only cooking for yourself or maybe two it is so easy to just inject one package.

I actually mixed my marinade in a tall glass, so easy. Now I can experiment with different marinades using less liquids and ruining fewer wings.

Enjoy!