Yesterday, President G.W. Bush took the oath of office and delivered his second inaugural address. As political speeches go, this one was rather brief only consuming four typewritten pages. Following are excerpts along with my abbreviated comments.
"I am determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed." (President Bush, January 20, 2005, Inaugural Address)
Unfortunately, President Bush either has no intention of fulfilling his oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States" or he has no inclination as to what the Constitution says, because virtually everything he has done since being elected in 2000 has been egregiously unconstitutional.
From expanding unconstitutional federal funding and oversight for public education to intensifying unconstitutional federal police encroachments upon our freedoms and liberties via the Department of Homeland Security and Patriot Acts to unilaterally and unconstitutionally ordering the invasion and occupation of Iraq, President Bush has demonstrated a calloused disregard for the Constitution. To now proclaim that he is "determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn" is meaningless rhetoric.
"The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world." (President Bush, January 20, 2005, Inaugural Address)
This statement formed a redundant theme throughout the President's speech. For example, Bush also said, "the ultimate goal of ending tyranny around the world." And, "one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world." Still other similar statements include, "the global appeal of liberty" and "a world moving toward liberty", etc.
The tenor and tone of the President's speech are very clear: G.W. Bush intends to use America's armed forces for imperialistic and expansionist purposes. Therefore, I believe it is all but certain that Bush will order our troops to invade and occupy Iran and Syria and perhaps even plans an attack against North Korea.
It is yet to be seen how long Bush's military aggression will be tolerated by the American people. After all, the cost in terms of American lives and tax dollars are so far incalculable. One thing is certain: we have not yet begun to see the tip of the proverbial iceberg!
"The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors." (President Bush, January 20, 2005, Inaugural Address)
Of course, the United States has ignored oppression for decades. Two of the most egregious examples of this are China and The Sudan.
The Communist Chinese government is one of the most prolific murder machines in world history. The toll of oppression and death inflicted upon the Chinese people by this killing machine is impossible to calculate.
Yet, the United States has invested billions of trade dollars into this monster with absolute disregard to the suffering souls of China. President Bush has continued the "one China" policy of his predecessors and has freely imported China's slave-labor products to the point that America's manufacturing base has all but disappeared and our trade deficits continue to break all-time records.
Likewise, President Bush has turned a blind-eye to the suffering people of The Sudan. The Chinese-sponsored Khartoum government has murdered more than 2 million people during the past two decades with utter impunity. The oppression and brutality inflicted upon the Sudanese people staggers the imagination. Men are crucified; women are raped into submission; children are tortured and sold into slavery. Yet, the White House seems totally oblivious to their plight.
"The unwanted have worth." (President Bush, January 20, 2005, Inaugural Address)
I would like to believe that President Bush would include unborn babies in this statement, but his actions on this subject prove otherwise.
More than four million unborn babies have been mercilessly slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers since G.W. Bush first took office in 2001. Abortion on demand is still practiced undaunted in these United States, rhetoric to the contrary notwithstanding.
Regarding abortion, President Bush and his fellow Republicans in Congress have proven to be "paper tigers." They talk pro-life during an election campaign season, but they have no intention of actually saving the lives of the unborn.
Even the Partial Birth Abortion bill which Congress passed and President Bush signed is nothing but an elaborate ruse to make Christians and pro-lifers feel good about voting Republican. There was nothing of substance to it!
If anything, the Partial Birth Abortion bill serves to cement abortion on demand into the legal fabric of America. By singling out only one abortion procedure (the least one used, no less; it accounts for less than one percent of all abortions), all remaining abortion procedures are thereby certified to be tolerable and legal.
Beyond that, President Bush has increased federal funding for both domestic and overseas abortion providers to record numbers. (Reference: http://www.covenantnews.com/lefemine041028.htm). He has consistently refused to make the life issue pertinent to his selection of federal judges. In fact, reports I have read indicate that no less than two-thirds of his judicial appointments to date are either neutral or lean pro-abortion. That is hardly the track record of a true pro-life leader!
Add the fact that both Congress and the President have the authority to end abortion on demand anytime they would choose to do it, and one easily sees through Bush's pro-life façade.
Congress could end the federal government's endorsement of abortion on demand by exercising their constitutional authority granted under Article III, Section 2, to regulate and except appellate jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Such action would clear the way for state legislatures to outlaw abortion on demand in their respective states.
However, President Bush has shown no propensity to encourage Congress to fulfill this constitutional obligation. He has not even taken a position on Judge Roy Moore's Constitution Restoration Act which was introduced in both chambers of Congress. (See http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/restoreconstitution2004.html).
In addition, the President has the power to end abortion on demand by refusing to execute what he considers unlawful and unconstitutional Supreme Court decisions. After all, the Supreme Court is not a power unto itself. It is one of three coequal branches of the federal government. As designed by the founders, each branch holds check and balance on the other. This means the judicial branch has no power to execute any decision or opinion. That authority belongs exclusively to the President.
For example, President Thomas Jefferson refused to honor the Alien and Sedition Act. After being told the Supreme Court upheld the law, Jefferson quipped, (paraphrase) "Fine. Now let's see if they can enforce it." Obviously, the Court had no authority to enforce its opinion, so without Jefferson's assistance, the bill became moot. And note that Jefferson was not removed from office by Congress.
The point is, if President Bush truly wanted to end the slaughter of unborn innocents, he could do it! By declaring unborn babies persons under the Fifth Amendment, he could issue an Executive Order to his justice department that the federal government would not interfere with those states that would choose to enact laws against abortion. Again, this would allow state legislatures and state governors to implement abortion laws as they deemed necessary.
Yet, neither a Republican-controlled Congress nor President G.W. Bush has done anything consequential to end abortion on demand. So much for Bush's statement, "the unwanted have worth."
I really wish I could be optimistic about President Bush's second term. I cannot. I'm afraid that unborn babies will yet be undefended. Furthermore, I fear this president is leading America into a federal police state at home and into an era of military expansionism overseas. I pray I'm wrong.
© Chuck Baldwin
This column is archived as http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2005/cbarchive_20050121.html
*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:
Chuck Baldwin Live Donate Form
I also have many books and DVDs available for purchase online. Go here:
Chuck Baldwin Live Store
To subscribe to my weekly columns, click here:
Subscribe to Chuck's Column
Related
|