Category: Politics

  • Coughlin on War Powers

    Interesting take and excellent points, as always, from S. Coughlin: https://twitter.com/S_Coughlin_DC/status/1936727565269393741

    Quoting:

    There is nothing in the Constituion that ever said that the Presidents execution of his Article II powers was contingent on Congress declaring war.

     War is a legal status that can (and usually does) involve the use of militay force. Short of that, the President has some discretion on the use of force short of war.

    When TR launched the USN’s Great White Fleet (b/c Great Britain’s Royal Navy was black), Congress only gave him enough funds to keep the navy operational. So, TR sent the navy to the other side of the world and told Congress that if they want the Navy back, they better cough up the funds.

    Congress controls the purse. That’s their leverage. This debate, always a kabuke, always plays out this way.

    – 30 –

    The War Powers Act is Congress’s take on its own powers, born at the height of Democratic Party / Neo-Liberal power, just after the Vietnam War, and just before the Nixon Coup.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution

    The Constitutional question has never really been put to the test.

    The president is the ‘monarchical principle’ of the state, our Sovereign in effect, and the president can make war.   As with the Stuart Absolute monarchs, the primary restraint on the King by Parliament is the power of the purse.  Our constitution is very similar to its model, the British constitution, in this regard. [There are better theories of the relation of King to the Magnates and People, in a Zemsky-like Sobor, of course, but I am speaking of Anglo-American political theory here, in its Whig and Tory variants.  Our variant in North America was the *Continental Congress*]

    Another thing found nowhere in the constitution: that Congress has the power to *compel* the Executive to either spend all monies voted to it, or to prescribe in detail how those monies are to be spent, in a way that limits executive power so that it cannot function.

  • Chats at the Saturnalia Substack

    These never got much traction, but as they are in the MacroVerse I thought I’d retain an index of them, since they cover the usual set of topics discussed at Whitespace

    About 27 chats of note:

    Ouspensky on the Russian Revolution
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/2242a203-3749-4372-9ff0-37b6647363dc

    Dread of Dugin
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/7b1d22f4-9c11-40d8-a618-71d9edaeb3eb

    The Clauswitzian Triangle
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/f7af65cf-6b8d-4c7b-87bd-0e2029f8c176

    The American Republic is in Great Danger
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/0b96539c-77d7-4963-b63e-9e324707053f

    Classical America (Ziobro link)
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/c08542fc-b559-4980-b923-fae50cac37af

    The Aristotelian Curriculum from an Islamic Point of View
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/be68d1f0-eed1-49c8-bf82-ce2d1f8afccc

    St Thomas Aquinas Book Collection
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/bc8eba66-d23d-46db-a050-133d7740c68d

    Military Handbooks
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/b464cadc-3b45-4395-955e-53fead9519d5

    Covenants in the Bible
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/48eff394-0241-496b-930e-0882d33b879c

    Thomist Writings
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/9547e863-5ae1-4c2f-9c0a-1bc9effb2abe

    How Scotland Invented the Modern World
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/98fa4b07-61c8-470e-9f75-4be6447bb4e9

    On Hegel: A Study in Sorcery
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/1c87e32a-d4c0-4461-b564-b2093926c93c

    Quantum Mechanics
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/4198022d-c6a4-4086-af0e-1d942ea16482

    On RFK
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/a5b7e3e3-b303-455d-b3a2-cd81562ec476

    Vortigern Studies
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/170eaf81-8dd7-4c88-b2d8-25374b896c12

    The ChesterBelloc
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/7efda9b1-5ef9-4953-b19a-381c21b48196

    Cousins Wars: An Essential Book
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/dd9dbe19-8204-4796-9336-6e3f0d50b87c

    Bamberg Co
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/9d9953b6-f16a-4247-a5f9-dcdc6094bbe5

    Influence of the Scottish Enlightenment on the American Revolution
    A long rambling thread on the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment on Thomas Jefferson (mostly) and other Founding Fathers, along with a favourite topic — the library of Mr Jefferson’s that he sold to form the core collection of the Library of Congress, in 1815.
    https://twitter.com/weremight/status/1769440682786304063

    Garrigou-Lagrange on Common Sense
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/fb232855-9803-4cbc-97b8-4fd6ee1bdbac

    Vogelin on Aristotle
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/ec479aa5-3c74-4ccc-b36f-89a4866cd2bd

    Was Uhtred Real?
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/fb696ebf-1fe4-4457-9320-d3120c34f502

    Liberty Fund Books
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/614a9418-322c-43c7-8b4a-1eac2e014420

    Writings of James Wilson
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/afd8b803-8c21-4601-bafa-ddfae3c37eb0

    Re-inventing the E-zine on Twitter
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/26cfb546-756a-4e0f-9e0b-923a5635a7b3

    Topics from The Palmer Worm
    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/ad308015-5f4e-49e1-80d2-3b6b5591b3c9

    https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/66075bc6-809a-4c98-83b5-5d1eeccdfc99 – Southern Literature Reading Group

  • linuxhippie on the revolution

    It’s a Revolution dummy. 1) There can be disagreement about what “Legal Term” to use to describe the events unfolding in the United States. Have the “elements of the crime” of Insurrection, Revolt, Sedition, Domestic Violence, or Terrorism been met? I’ll leave that to the Lawyers. But whatever it is, it certainly isn’t a protest or protected speech. Any SF Guy worth his salt knows exactly what this is, Marxist Revolutionary activity. Full Stop. The Protest is the sea the Insurgent swims in.

    Judges reference No Kings) to Sen Minority Leader Schumer sponsoring Legislation (No Kings Act) echoing the already “trademarked” and merchandized “No Kings” riots planned for this weekend (to coincide with US Army Birthday celebration—negating it)….. The continued theater by Democrat Politicians about “kneeling” to the executive (they had no problem kneeling for a drug addicted criminal when it suited them btw) and last but not least____THE DEAFENING SILENCE OF THE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER THUNE…….. Are clear indicators that the “Mass Line” has been established and the “Movement” toward confrontation is well underway.

    3) It is professionally negligent (to the point of criminal) to not conclude something untoward is afoot. Ignorance that gets in the way of analysis is a sever National Security Threat. People see these riots as noisy and destructive, but no real threat to the Republic. They are wrong. The Maoist Insurgency model has not changed. This doctrine has been rigidly adhered to since Mao developed and successfully deployed it. While certain elements have been “adapted” to modern technology and tweaked to fit the target environment it is essentially the same.

    4) Folks calling it “Color Revolution” are adding a level categorization that isn’t necessary, it’s Revolution, full stop. This isn’t 5GW or whatever, those terms serve to obscure what has been an element of warfare since the beginning of organized violence. Deception, distraction, misdirection, confusion, have always played a part in warfare, the advent of computers just provided a new delivery method. We are living through the outcome of removing “Threat Based” analysis from our National Security Organizations and the FORCED conversion to “effects based” analysis that relies on “pseudo-scientific” narratives (ie 5GW blah blah) to dialectically negate our “subjective awareness” of the reality we face.

    5) When a Marxist Insurgency being lead by State Gov, City Mayors, and Federally Elected Senator’s and Congressman is allowed to deploy across the Nation….. When those same people are openly calling for Troops (Ted Lieu) to disobey orders “they” deem unlawful (sedition?) and the Senate Majority Leader of the Presidents own Party remains silent……..we have a problem. That problem becomes existential when those who advise the President and provide him counsel don’t recognize it with this level of clarity. The theater with Sec Neom is an indicator (the Sen should’ve been charged) and the march to his office (Thune should’ve thrown them out and warned them they were in violation of Senate Rules)….. Indicate we are right back where we were when last we had a President Trump. The GOPe is the Controlled Opposition (ie they are allowing events by not intervening) and the entire Democrat Party is the violent splinter…..

    6) In order to defend, one must know what is being attacked and the what the enemy’s goals are. To be confused about this is to be “Strategically Dislocated” and ensures that responses will likely be “under-inclusive” to the threat and will fail. That is the goal of all this noise, and it’s working. It’s keeping the Admin in a “action/reaction” cycle that the left controls. As crazy as the left “APPEARS” to be on the street, those organizing these events are completely sane and have very clear objectives in mind. They have templated actions to achieve a “minimum success criteria” (a DST Decision Support Template) and are prepared to overachieve.

    7) “Negotiated Settlement” is always the goal when the Insurgency doesn’t have the combat power to overthrow by force of arms the existing Government. “Dialogue and Praxis” slowly, overtime, erodes the targets ability to generate a coherent defense of what is being attacked. (that’s where we are) Open Communications like “No Kings” is C3 of the resistance movement. They want “legitimacy” and if the Trump Admin continues to be overwhelmed by these “Staged Dramatics” (Neom event) and fails to respond to open defiance of Federal Law by Governors, Mayors, and State/ Local Law Enforcement, they will likely succeed in achieving their minimum success criteria….negation of the current Admin’s agenda and place Trump’s Presidency (that YOU voted for) in jeopardy. (GOP’s goal)

    8) So whatever you call it, this sure isn’t a protest. Sen Thune and the GOPe have declared (by their silence) they are siding with the Insurgents. It is up to the population to ensure that the one thing they most desperately want they don’t get, Trump to lose popular support. So as the Admin fumbles around with what is a highly coordinated “Intersectional” attack on the Foundation of Country, the citizens need to be aware of the part they play. Trump loses (or is perceived to have lost) popular support and all bets are off as to what the outcomes will be. It is entirely possible that as President, he doesn’t make it through the summer if the GOPe turns on him openly. THAT my friends, is what all this riot business is about

    # # #

  • Unconstrained Analytics Resources

    A page of links for later development:

    https://twitter.com/S_Coughlin_DC/status/1932884491779051999 (SORO diagrams)

    https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/resources/
    https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/report-re-remembering-the-mis-remembered-left-the-lefts-strategy-and-tactics-to-transform-america/ (2018)
    https://x.com/S_coughlin_dc

  • Geopolitical Situation Awareness Links

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  • CSAGOV site back online

    The CSAgov.org website, I note, is back. https://www.csagov.org/

    It looks like the group that was aligned with the ‘Southern Party’ [1] and thus opponents of the group Hunter Wallace aligns with (‘The League of the South’).

    [1]: Yankee-spun history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Party

    We had a thread on csagov, at the old Phora, and also of course much more discussion in the archives for Whigdev/Whitespace.

    Down the rabbit hole: Confederate States of America *Main* CSAgov.org – Offical Govnerment Website