No To American Empire-Yes To American Republic - Let's NOT Forget That

American Empire Before the Fall by Bruce Fein is a must read for all concerned Americans who want to retain the America of freedom and love of country.  We must stand up and say enough before the Republic that was designed for maximum freedom and minimum government is turned on its head - and maybe it's too late.

The following is from Mr. Fein's book page 157 in the paperback:

Obama also covets unbounded presidential power to blunt natural and inevitable economic downturns through staggering federal spending and budget deficits...


Every Empire seeks to shield its people from economic shocks or dislocations by government interventions in pursuit of a risk-free existence....


Presidents in the American Empire bow to its orthodoxies because their preoccupation is day-to-day popularity and re-election.  Obama is no exception  He is no statesmanlike leader who breathes overarching convictions about defending and enforcing the Constitution irrespective of the immediate political fall-out.  Only a person of uncommon intellectual courage will defy the American Empire's political culture and disparage the primitive excitement of dominating other countries or people.  Obama has failed that test of courage over Afghanistan and at every other turn.


Expediency is Obama's North Star.  He was against the state secrets privilege to conceal constitutional wrongdoing, until he was in favor of it.  He was in favor of whistle-blower legislation covering intelligence agencies, until he was against it.  He was against presidential power to hold American citizens or residents as enemy combatants indefinitely without accusation of charge, until he was in favor of it.  He was favor of public financing of his presidential campaign, until he was against it.  He was against the death penalty for rape of children, until he was in favor of it.  He was in favor of releasing photos of United States interrogation abuses, until he was against it.  He was against individual Second Amendment rights to own handguns, until was in favor of it.  He was in favor of government  transparency, until he was against,.  He was against military commissions for the trial of war crimes, until he was in favor it.


A President who wished to restore the American Republic would assail unchecked executive power in favor of a separation of powers and checks and balances.  He would insist on the exclusive responsibility of Congress to decide whether to initiate war; acknowledge the sovereignty of "We the People" in lieu of an omnipotent executive branch; immediately withdraw all America troops from abroad and revoke all common defense treaties or executive agreements; treat international terrorists as criminal thugs, not warriors or combatants; and inculcate in ordinary citizens a pride in self-government and a recognition that securing unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for Americans is the sole mission of the United States.


As Mr. Fein continues he writes that Obama has done none of the above because he is a "mental prisoner of the American Empire.  Obama, as well as numerous other Presidents before him (Bush #1 and #2 come to mind) refuses to see that our country would be safer, freer and more prosperous by returning to our roots which is an AMERICAN REPUBLIC which used to confine the military to protecting the United States - period.