Thursday, June 08, 2006

T'aint funny, McGee

Jack Balkin offers a satirical version of an internal DOJ memo explaining why the flag burning amendment is uneccesary:
Under the theory of the Unitary Executive underlying Article II of the United States Constitution, the President of the United States, as Commander-in-Chief-of-everything-under-the-sun, has plenary and unreviewable authority to detain, try, punish and execute enemy combatants. Persons who trample on, deface, or destroy the flag of the United States symbolically attack the country and the principles for which it stands, which include, among other things, the principle of the plenary and unreviewable authority of the Unitary Executive. Therefore the President, as head of the Unitary Executive, has plenary and unreviewable authority to detain, punish and execute any and all persons who desecrate the American flag, regardless of any laws or treaties to the contrary.
...
Moreover, because the President as Commander-in-Chief and head of the Unitary Executive has plenary authority under Article II to repel invasions and attacks on the United States, as well as to prevent future attacks from occurring, it follows that the President has plenary authority under Article II to detain, punish, and execute any persons that he suspects, has reason to suspect, or has no reason at all to suspect may be conspiring in the future to desecrate an American flag or to defend, harbor or otherwise support persons who would desecrate an American flag.
I really wish JB would stop doing that. The air kind of goes out of the balloon when satire becomes indistinguishable from the thing it mocks, and might actually enable it.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have researched this subject extensively since the Decider has the habit of autographing American Flags. It turns out that, as Commander in Chief, he has the right to desecrate flags. His name should be the Desecrator.

Argh!!!
JRW

7:10 PM  

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