Friday, September 13, 2013

Paying for War,
under the Articles of Confederation

A tax upon wealth, upon the wealthy.
This provision was eliminated in the Constitution.
-----
Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the united states in congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several states, in proportion to the value of all land within each state, granted to or surveyed for any Person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated, according to such mode as the united states, in congress assembled, shall, from time to time, direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several states within the time agreed upon by the united states in congress assembled.

Monday, September 09, 2013

The so-called "Perpetual" Lease of Guantanamo Bay

The 1903 lease documents have no clauses that give a termination date for the lease. The motivation for the lease is the protection of Cuba, and the method is Naval and Coaling Stations. A naval presence allowed the US to remove the US army.
The motivation has been abandoned, and the means are obsolete.

1. No longer necessary as a coaling station
2. No longer necessary as a Naval Station for the mutual defense of the US and Cuba

The lease may be terminated for the reasons that a contract may be terminated, since a lease is a contract.
1. Material breach
Building a prison is a material breach
2. Anticipatory Breach
Kennedy's promise to not invade Cuba is an anticipatory breach of the US's duty to protect Cuban independence.

Consent of the governed

The larger the police force, the less you need the consent of the majority, and the easier it is to go with minority rule.

Points along the axis of consent are agreement, deference, objection, and opposition. The ship of state floats in a sea of struggle. The point of the ship is to keep the water out. If it doesn't do that, it has no point.