Chilling quotations:

[Brigid]

These are from Al Gore's book "The Assault on Reason," in the chapter dealing with the presidency and the balance of power among the three branches of government especially war powers:

"The Constitution supposes what the History of all Governments demonstrates, that the executive is the branch of power most interested in war and most prone to it. It has accordingly and with studied care vested the question of war with the Legislature." -- James Madison, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson

And here are a couple of quotes from Gore himself:

"During the Korean War, one of our most eloquent Supreme Court Justices, Robert Jackson, wrote that the president should be given the 'widest latitude' in wartime, but he warned against the 'loose and irresponsible use' of phrases such as 'inherent powers, implied powers, incidental powers, plenary powers, war powers and emergency powers' as an excuse for discharging the executive branch from the rules that govern our republic.' Jackson continued, 'No penance would ever expiate the sin against free government of holding that a President can escape control of executive powers by law through assuming his military role.'"

"Our founders were greatly influenced far more than we can imagine by a careful reading of the history and human drama surrounding the democracies of ancient Greece and the Roman Republic. They knew, for example, that democracy disappeared in Rome when Caesar crossed the Rubicon in violation of the Roman Senate's long prohibitiion against a returning general entering the city while still in command of military forces. Though the Senate lingered in form and was humored for decades, when Caesar impolitically combined his military commander role with his chief-of-state role, the Roman Senate, and with it the Roman Republic and the dream of democracy, withered away; and for all intents and purposes, democracy disappeared from the face of the earth for seventeen centuries, until its rebirth in our land."

Sound familiar? :scared:

[truedelphi]

1. Chilling quotations for chilling times. n/t

[villager]

2. The Fate of "The Mightiest Nation:"

http://newrepublic.blogspot.com/2003_04_20_archive.html

[Brigid]

3. Yep, that us all right.

Because we're repeating the same mistakes.

[Mabus]

4. TAOR is a great book

The passages you quote are indeed thought provoking and chilling.