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Filling a few loopholes in the US Constitution?

Posted by: on: January 26, 2021

How George Washington filled a few loopholes in the initial Constitution…

Posted on January 8, 2014

In the previous post on how George Washington was elected first President 

https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/how-george-washington-was-elected-in-his-first-executive-functions-part-3/ 

I wrote:

“The ceremony of investiture is done in the Federal Hall at the angle of Wall Street and Broad street.

At noon, Robert Livingston, the chancellor of New York administers the Presidential oath.

This ceremony institutes two precedents that were not covered by the Constitution:

1. Washington swore with the right hand on the Bible

2. And concludes “May God assists me“

George Washington had to create the Presidential functions from scratch. He was allocated a limited budget of 16% of the $639,000 spared for the executive branch that was newly provided for in the Constitution.

Washington is supported by a dozen assistants, about 1,000 tax collectors, and 700 military personnel.

He nominated Alexander Hamilton (his right hand during the revolution) for the Treasury, Henry Knox for the department of war, Thomas Jefferson for foreign affairs, Samuel Osgood as Post Master, and Edmund Randolph as Attorney General.

The Constitution didn’t provide for a cabinet of ministers and the heads of department barely met.

Philadelphia was the temporary Capital for the Confederated colonies, and on July 1790, Congress decided for a permanent Capital to the new Federal Constitution.

Maryland and Virginia ceded a portion of their lands to erect the Capital from the ground up, which was later named Washington DC. The essential building in that Capital will be operational to host the President a decade later.

In August 1789, the Senate refused to provide recommendations concerning a treaty with the Indians in the North-West and Washington decided since then to bypass Congress during the negotiation phase of any treaty.

On June 1790, Washington, bypassing Congress, dispatched 3 incursions against the Indians, 240 km inside Ohio, without declaring war, in order to tame the Indian resistance and he opened up the North-West territories for colonization on August 1794.

Alexander Hamilton created a national bank in 1791.

In 1791, Washington traveled for 2 months in the southern States, accompanied by journalists. Washington relied on James Madison to manage the executive function, initiated prepared ceremonies, and organized bi-weekly meetings with ordinary citizens to impress his position.

Internal conflicts between Hamilton and Jefferson took Washington and Congress by surprise, and the Constitution had no provisions for such instances among heads of departments.

Jefferson issued the daily National Gazette and formed the Republican-Democrat political group in order to oppose the Federalists of Hamilton.

Because of worsening foreign wars in Europe, Washington decided to run for another term of 4 years and in 1793, he obtained 132 out of 136 votes of the Grand Electors.

The Constitution didn’t discuss the number of terms a President can seek. Since Washington and Jefferson refused to run for a third term, it became a custom for Presidents not to try for a third term.

Only Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) ran for 4 terms before the Constitution was amended for only 2 terms.

In April 1793, Washington accepted the letter of credential of the French ambassador “citizen Genet” without consulting Congress, which was Not in session.

On April 22, he proclaimed the neutrality of America in the French/English conflict, a decision that cancelled the treaty of alliance of 1778 with the French, and the legislative branch had to approve this “proclamation” a posteriori.

Madison replied to Hamilton under the pseudo-name of Helvidius that grabbing the double power of deciding on and leading wars by the executive is the beginning of tyranny.

Under Washington, the effective of the military was multiplied by 7.

In 1796, Washington created a first by refusing to divulge to Congress secret documents relative to the Jay treaty with England on the ground of “State security interests“…

What were so secret in that treaty?

Thomas Jefferson resigned as head of foreign affairs department in 1794 on the ground that only France can play a counter power to England. He was proven right since British troops invaded the US and burned the new capital Washington DC in order to pressure the US government to renew the monopoly for printing US money by the Rothschild family of England…

The anti-federalists accuse Washington and Hamilton for their close ties with England, and the opposition press suggest that Washington has black blood and may have been an agent to England during the war of independence…

By Sept. 19, 1796, Washington let know that he will not seek a third term. He returned to Mount Vernon on March 4, 1797 and dies on Dec. 14, 1799.

Mason Weems published in 1800 a biography of George Washington, which was re-edited 20 times within 2 decades.

Note: How the-rothschild-family-Controlled the printing-of-the-dollars/https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/privately-owned-federal-reserve-bank-how-the-rothschild-family-controlled-the-printing-of-the-dollars/

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How colonial powers handled sovereign debts of “weaker nations”?

Posted by: on: April 3, 2018

How colonial powers handled sovereign debts of “weaker nations”?

Wars: Uncanny connections to Sovereign public debts

In the 20th century, USA went on a rampage of conquering and occupying nations under colonial powers (Spain) in Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico…  and practically controlled nations under French and English  powers until sovereign debts accumulated in WWI and WWII were restituted. 

The motto is a fundamental capitalist system that war is the quicker default alternative to resolving matters with weaker nations.

France, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany conducted their raids around the world to maintain “exclusive” trade facilities in each country they occupied militarily.

The direct connections among exorbitant levels of accumulated public debts and wars have been recognized for centuries, on black and white.

We witnessed that war is one of the preferred defaulting mechanisms on outrageous contracted debts, particularly when the creditor nation is weaker militarily.

In the last two centuries, the world witnessed 320 defaulting decisions by debtor nations.

Is it a coincidence that the last two centuries experience as many wars?

If you compare the two graphs of dates on defaulting and the timing of subsequent wars then, you realize that there are direct interrelations between the two factors.

1. In 1770, (England sovereign debts amounted to 140% of its GNP)

Adam Smith wrote: “At a level of accumulation of national debts, there are no examples that the debts have ever been repaid.  Public revenues were always freed to be spent, but never to paying off any debts. Governments prefer to default, occasionally admitting the debts, occasionally pretending to have paid off debts, but always incurring a real debt.”

2. In 1716 France, after the monarch Louis 14, was totally bankrupt:

The Scottish John Law convinced the French Regent to issue paper money covered by gold for easy circulation of money and internal trade.  To entice the public into accepting paper money, interests were added, secured by a special perpetual fund called the “General Bank“.

This bank was to be supplied by financial resources converging from the America’s colony of greater Louisiana.  The Mississippi Company, (later renamed the “Western India perpetual company“), was collecting indirect taxes for France.  Speculation by French nobility transformed the central bank into a machine for printing worthless paper money and the collection from Louisiana stopped to converge to France.

In 1748, Montesquieu in  “Of the spirit of laws” wrote:

“There are a few financial specialists disseminating the concept that public debts multiply wealth and increase circulation of money and internal trade.  Facts are, the real revenues of the State, generated by the activities of industrious citizens, are transferred to idle classes.  The consequences are that we make it more difficult on the industrious citizens to produce profit and worst, extending privileges to the passive classes.”

In 1781, Jacques Necker, France minister of finance, proclaimed that “There can be no peace in Europe unless public debts are reduced to the bare minimum:  Public debts are sources for increasing the military capabilities designed for destructive activities; and then more debts are accumulated for the reconstruction phase.  A devilish cycle that is anathema to prosperity and security.”

Necker was the first financial official in France to present a transparent statement sheet of all the revenues and expenses for the budget and he encouraged the French monarchy to emulate England by submitting complete budged so that investors and lenders be informed of the financial situation and be encouraged to considering France as a viable country to invest money in.

At the time, England had replaced Holland as the financial center of the world and the central Bank of England was already established.

All indicate that trends in growing sovereign debts in the richer and developed nations are not going to change till 2014.

In that year, it is expected that Japan public debts (mostly internal) will reach 250% of its GNP, Italy 130%, England 100 %,  the USA 100% (or $20 trillion, the interest alone representing 400% of its fiscal yearly revenues), France 95%, and Germany 90% of GNP.  The US will have to reimburse $850 billion in 2012 and finance one trillion.

The emerging States and most of Latin America countries are experiencing steady drop of their public debts to an average of 40% of GNP by 2014.

My question is:  If almost all States have incurred public debts then, who are the creditors?  

China economy has saved 2.5 trillion and Brazil and Turkey less than 500 billion.  All these savings cannot cover the amount of necessary public debts required by the debtor nations.

Fact is, world finance is functioning on worthless paper money and other financial tools transmitted here and there to give the illusion that the system is functioning.

So far, the IMF and the World Bank are controlled by the G8 who can withdraw at will from these supposed to be international financial institutions.  This situation of relying on magical financial illusions cannot persist for long.

A third World War will be created intentionally by superpowers in order to starting from scratch before establishing sustainable financial institutions, rules, and regulations.

If you carry a credit card at an interest rate of over 20% then, you know that the principal could never be paid since the credit limit is 50 times your real annual income  in order to finance a purposeful inflationary policy to give the illusion that the ratio of public debts to GNP is being reduced.

Not only 20% interest rate is exorbitant, but adding unpaid monthly installements to the principal is what all ancient customs forbade.

For example, if people of “independent means”, (called rentier) in French, could invest in a productive businesses generating profits of over 20% they would not have lent their money.  It is imperative that payments on interest should not last more than 7 years and further monthly payments automatically directed to paying off the principal.

Thomas Jefferson recommended, and then imposed his view when he became President to the new Independent America, that loans should never be contracted out by States for longer than 19 years so that future generations do not have to suffer decisions of the living ones.

As life expectancy is increasing, I suggest that Constitutions should force governments and official institutions to restrict the life of any loan to be 5 years shorter of the lower number of the average life expectancy or the age of retirement of citizens in the creditor nation. 

Anyway, if the loan is a private one, the lender should be able to enjoy his placement while alive and not suffer from defaulting decisions.

Note:  Reviewing the history of public debts since antiquity, the consequences of incurring huge public debts are the same:  Whether the dept is contracted out to a person (the monarch) and the debt is cancelled once the individual is dead, or the public debt is shouldered by a sustainable “immortal” entity such as a State, the weaker creditor will be punished.

The militarily weaker creditor will suffer now or later; it is a matter of delayed punishment for loaning a more powerful debtor whether voluntarily or after coercion.

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Notes and tidbits posted on FB and Twitter. Part 139

Posted by: on: January 31, 2018

Notes and tidbits posted on FB and Twitter. Part 139

Note: I take notes of books I read and comment on events and edit sentences that fit my style. I pay attention to researched documentaries and serious links I receive. The page is long and growing like crazy, and the sections I post contains a month-old events that are worth refreshing your memory.

The Phoenicians built the city-State of Thebes in Greece, 3 centuries before Athens existed. This famous city generated the illustrious Amphion, Hesiod, Corinna, Pindar, Epaminondas, Plutarch…

Three out of the 7 Greek Wise-men were Phoenicians, and among them was Thales of Miletus: born in a Phoenician City-State.

Appolonius of Tyre (60 BC) is the stoic philosopher who provided a “Tabulated account of the philosophers of the school of Zeno and their books”

Water carriers in Mecca were despised because any overflowing of water would damage the streets and homes built out of sand.

Masse7 joukh wa 3awwed al naass 3al 7arad

The Black Stone  (Ka3ba in Mecca) enshrined about 360 idols brought from around the neighboring civilizations to entice pilgrims in from all around the regions of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and India.   Idol Allah was the chief among them but failed to generate profit to owner.

It is funny these repeat scenes in movies where someone is drawing a list of pro and con qualities on the partner, and they are wondering how come the friendship lasted that long. Your 5 senses will tell you if this friendship can be sustained.

The aging process requires some kind of solitude, of larger needs for more privacy, and of hiding growing deficiencies…

Many mathematicians and scientists earned Nobel Prizes for researching the phenomena of randomness and chaos in the universe and the extremely rare events located on the tails of the Bell Curve shaped graph of the probability for the occurrence of events.

Thomas Jefferson said: “If the America people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currencies, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their prosperity until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

New research has found that simply learning a new word can spark up the same reward circuits in the brain that are activated during pleasurable activities such as sex. No wonder there are so many bookworms and scrabble addicts out there.

Einstein ventures into saying that if the old Jewish traditions relied on fear tactics to impose its values then it has outgrown it (Israel is currently totally relying on instilling fear in the region on a State scale).

Zionists insist on calling the Palestinians “Arabs”; this is not a simple general label that the Europeans used, but an ideological Zionist indoctrination to rob the native Palestinians of any national identity.

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a number of resolutions saying that the strategic relationship with the United States encourages Israel to pursue aggressive and expansionist policies and practices.[3]

The 9th Emergency Session of the General Assembly was convened at the request of the Security Council when the United States blocked efforts to adopt sanctions against Israel.[4] The United States responded to the frequent criticism from UN organs by adopting the Negroponte doctrine.

Masse7 joukh wa 3awwed al naass 3al 7arad

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Notes and tidbits posted on FB and Twitter. Part 134

Posted by: on: January 24, 2018

Notes and tidbits posted on FB and Twitter. Part 134

Note: I take notes of books I read and comment on events and edit sentences that fit my style. I pay attention to researched documentaries and serious links I receive. The page is long and growing like crazy, and the sections I post contains a month-old events that are worth refreshing your memory.

If this Symbol of Jerusalem can appease the soul of all the religious sects swarming in this calamity city, let Trump declare Jerusalem a “neutral zone” to all religious sects, including the Jews, and the religious sites run by the UN as museums.

Since 1915, US Zionists pressured England to agree on a land for the Jews in Palestine in 1917, as part of entering the war. In 2017, an entire century, US pressured Israel to agree on Jerusalem as Capital. (Apartheid Israel has enough troubles without this new calamity)

So the US killed, injured, famished and displaced millions of Syrians, Iraqis and Yemenis for 2 decades in order to make the swallowing of Jerusalem as Capital of Israel as a far lesser Evil? Can Jerusalem from now on be considered the Symbolic Center of All evils?

In 1781, Jacques Necker, France minister of finance, proclaimed that “There can be No peace in Europe unless public debts are reduced to the bare minimum:

Public debts are sources for increasing the military capabilities designed for destructive activities; and then more debts are accumulated for the reconstruction phase.  A devilish cycle that is anathema to prosperity and security.”

Thomas Jefferson recommended, and then imposed his view when he became President to the new Independent America, that loans should never be contracted out by States for longer than 19 years so that future generations do not have to suffer decisions of the living ones.

In 1748, Montesquieu in “Of the spirit of laws” wrote: “There are a few financial specialists disseminating the concept that public debts multiply wealth and increase circulation of money and internal trade. Facts are, the real revenues of the State, generated by the activities of industrious citizens, are transferred to idle classes. The consequences are that we make it more difficult on the industrious citizens to produce profit and worst, extending privileges to the passive classes.”

Funny. Lebanon news media are still focusing on Saad Hariri. Is Jerusalem crisis off the air? Is Jerusalem within the stupid concept of “na2i bil nafess” (Not meddling)?

As life expectancy is increasing, I suggest that Constitutions should force governments and official institutions to restrict the life of any loan to be 5 years shorter of the lower number of the average life expectancy or the age of retirement of citizens in the creditor nation.

War is the preferred default mechanisms on outrageous contracted debts, particularly when the creditor nation is weaker militarily.

If it were in another time USA and another serious President, this declaration about Jerusalem status would have worried me. It seems all too clownish. And the government altogether. from Jared to this Pence the idiot.

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From “Bind man by chains of Constitution” to “Bind man by chains of Cryptography”: No more confidence or faith in man behaviors

Posted by: on: May 5, 2015

From “Bind man by chains of Constitution” to “Bind man by chains of Cryptography”:  No more confidence or faith in man behaviors  

Equal Internet to all? Any why science must outpace laws on restricting collective data gathering  and national security?

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1798:

“In questions of power. Let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution”

In 2008, Edward Snowden wrote in his manifesto of pro-privacy, anti-surveillance of massive collective data gathering solidarity cause:

“Let us speak no more of faith in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of cryptography.

Equal internet will work to the advantage of the average person when science outpaces law.

By understanding the mechanisms through which our privacy is violated, we can win. We can guarantee people equal protection against unreasonable search through universal law, but only if the technical community is willing to face the threat and commit to implementing over engineered solutions in (cryptography)”

The successive US governments worked hard in the last decade to demonstrate unlimited power. It preempted wars, tortured prisoners and imprisoned people without charges in undisclosed incarceration camps, drone-bombed targets in extrajudicial killings in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria…

President Obama directive of Nov. 2012 stated:

“To senior national security and intelligence officials: Draw up list of potential overseas targets for US cyber attacks. Prepare for a series of aggressive offensive cyber operations around the world…

And the messengers of divulging such atrocities and mass collective gathering of communication on private citizens in the US and abroad were Not immune under the law of free press.

Whistle-blowers were abused, prosecuted and jailed.

Investigative reporters and journalists were threatened with jail terms.

The decade of cultivated display of intimidation to anyone who even contemplate of challenging the power-to-be in the US is still thriving and immune from blame and prosecution.

On June 9, 2013, The Guardian revealed Edward Snowden, the leaker of top secret documents on the worldwide data gathering of the NSA.

Laura Poitras posted a 12-minute interview with Ed:

“Um, my name is Ed Snowden. I’m 29 years old. I work for Booz Allen Hamilton as an infrastructure analyst for NSA in Hawaii…

For 6 months, Snowden was emailing Glenn Greenwald under Cincinnatus encouraging him to install a PGP encryption program that shield email and online communication from surveillance and hacking activities. and so communications cannot be intercepted

And Glenn procrastinated because he was no expert in such installation. Snowden then contacted Laura Poitras and sent her a few secret documents in order to win Glenn over and join him in Hong Kong. Snowden identity was still a secret and on leave for epileptic treatments.

Snowden didn’t finish high school but was hired as an internet expert by the CIA, NSA and Booz Allen. He had a diplomatic passport when stationed in Switzerland and was ordered to visit many locations in Europe to install communication infrastructure in order to gather secret communication on a wide scale.

And Glenn and Laura published a series of top secret documents of the NSA in the Guardian.

And I’m wondering:

1. By what chains can we bind our morbid species from igniting a Hydrogen Bomb?

2. By what chains can we bind our fickle and instant gratifying species from poisoning our environment to an irreversible state of no return?

If history is a guide, the few occasional decades of enlightenment and culture do Not match the consistent trend of our species for self-immolation 

Note 1: Laura Poitras made the documentaries “My Country” in the Sunni Triangle during the US invasion of Iraq and “The Oath” following bin Laden’s bodyguard and driver in Yemen.

Note 2: Read “No Place to Hide” by Glenn Greenwald

https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/no-place-to-hide-when-investigative-journalists-are-prosecuted-for-divulging-secret-government-illegal-actions/

 

 

 

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Beer: Built the Pyramids, caused the settlement of mankind, and amassed Capital…

Posted by: on: May 28, 2014

Beer: Built the Pyramids, caused the settlement of mankind, and amassed Capital…

232 million of gallons of beer were needed to build the Giza Pyramid. Each worker was compensated with 2 gallons of non-alcoholic  beer for along  day work. Beer was most nutritive and safest liquid to drink by everyone one, including kids.  Water was too polluted to dare drink and the brewing process eliminated many bacteria in the water .

Just figure out the quantity of barley that was necessary to produce and import for the brewing of beer.

For example, if not for beer drinking, far more than 50% of the Europeans in Medieval period would have died before the age of 6.

Beer brewing was discovered about 9,000 years BC, while bread was invented less than 6,000 years ago.

Nations were considered wealthy according to the amount of beer produced.

Beer was used as medicine as well for gum diseases and for bowel problems. The tetracycline (an antibiotic) in beer cured many illnesses.

Alcoholic beer is a modern product and consequently, women and children were banned from drinking beer on the ground of not that healthy for consumption on a large scale.

Beer was the first and most widely traded commodity, and remained so even in our time.

Mariners survived on beer during their long voyage since it didn’t spoil.

People in Europe of the 16th century consumed beer 6 times as much as today and everyone drank beer for fear of drinking water and because it was very affordable.

The monks in monasteries were the main brewers on an economical scale and the monasteries were filthy rich and prosperous. And beer was promised to people attending mass.

In the Arabic Empire, the Christian monasteries in Iraq and Syria were very prosperous because they were the main beer brewers. The caliphs and government officials paid regular visits to monasteries in order to drink at their leisure.

Actually, Wine or Khamra in Arabic and Persian poems referred to beer.

Beer brewing was the first means for amassing capital.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams… were brewers of beer on large scale.

Taverns, the first communication hubs, were created to cater for beer drinkers during breaks, before workers return home and during trips to other villages.

Do you believe the Green Dragon Tavern in Boston was the catalyst for the Boston Tea Party insurrection?

The melody of America’s national anthem (the Star Spangled Banner) is a 17th century beer drinking song.

Refrigeration was developed for the beer brewing industry and applied to control the temperature for the Lager kind.

And Carl von Linda invented the first commercial refrigerating machines in 1881.

Michael Owens invented in 1904 the mass automated production of beer glasses. This automation almost wiped out child labor within a decade.

Benjamin Franklin said: “Beer is the proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”

Note 1: Inspired by an article of Jean Maroun Aziz published in the Lebanese magazine Beryte

Note 2: If the beer industry start producing very affordable non-alcoholic beer at a large scale, maybe mankind will have another chance to survive from these heavily polluted rivers and water sources.

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US Presidents who expanded the Territory of the 13 colonies…

Posted by: on: January 18, 2014

US Presidents who expanded the 13 colonies territory…

Not before the 20th century, few people in Europe knew who was the President of the US, and much less the US citizens. Not before the advent of TV in the 1950’s did the world knew about the role of the US President and his newly acquired power…

1. George Washington (1789-97),  first elected executive chief, expanded the territory in the North-West by opening up Ohio for colonization in 1794. He dispatched 3 incursions deep 240 km inland to tame Indian resistance, without declaring war or asking approval of Congress. Waging war was a prime prerogative of Congress.

2. Thomas Jefferson (1801-09), third President, purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. This territory included all the States where the Mississippi River passes through. The mischievous story is that England extended the loan to the US for the purchase in order to get the French out of the American continent. Napoleon was preparing to invade England and needed funding…

That loan came with a heavy price: Alexander Hamilton convinced Jefferson to sign on the monopoly of the Rothschild family of England to print US paper money and eventually have control the expansion of the internal US market.

The second calamity attached to this monopoly is that England invaded the US in 1814 in order to pressure Congress to extend this license for 24 years…

The third catastrophe was that England (through the Bank Of US) cut-off credits to the settlers in Ohio and the North-West Territory and plunged the US in a deep financial crisis in 1819.

Jefferson was the first president to engage militarily outside the American continent: He ordered his “navy” to bombard Alger (current capital of Algeria)  in order to punish its Pasha from attacking US commercial ships, taking the few women as concubine and selling the prettier ones to the Ottoman Sultan..

3.  Andrew Jackson during President James Madison (1809-17) is elected militia chief of Tennessee and became a national hero during the 1812 war against England. The British troops entered the Capital of Washington DC and burned it.

He defeated the Indian Creeks before saving New Orleans from the British siege in January 1815.

Jackson confronted the Indian Seminole and colonized Spanish Florida. This non-declared offensive war, not approved by Congress, expanded the US territories to the east of Mississippi.

Jackson becomes governor of Florida in 1821. By 1823, he is a federal senator.

4. James Polk (1845-49) ran his election campaign under the need to annex Texas and Oregon. He ordered General Zachary Taylor to deploy the troops to the Rio Grande, 200 km south inside the Mexican borders. The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 gives the USA an additional 1.4 million square meters in the south-west, from Texas to the Pacific Ocean

5. Andrew Johnson (1865-69) purchased Alaska for US$ 7.2 million ($116 million in 2012 dollars)

The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of Russian America by the United States from the Russian Empire in the year 1867 by a treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate.

Russia, fearing a war with Britain that would allow the British to seize Alaska, wanted to sell. Russia’s major role had been getting Native Alaskans to hunt for furs, and missionary work to convert them to Christianity.

The United States added 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km2) of new territory.

Reactions to the purchase in the United States were mixed, with opponents calling it “Seward’s Folly”, feeling that U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, the primary American negotiator, got the worst of the bargain.  George Pomutz was also involved in the Alaska purchase.

Originally organized as the Department of Alaska, the area was successively the District of Alaska and the Alaska Territory before becoming the modern state of Alaska upon being admitted to the Union as a state in 1959.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

6. Benjamin Harrison (1889-93) overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii  (a coup d’état) on January 17, 1893), Anti-monarchical insurgents within the Kingdom of Hawaii, composed largely of United States citizens, engineered the overthrow of its native monarch, Queen Lili’uokalani.

Hawaii was initially reconstituted as an independent republic, but the ultimate goal of the revolutionaries was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was finally accomplished in 1898. (Read note 1)

7. William McKinley (1897-1901). On April 25, 1898 President McKinley declare war against Spain for lame excuses and conquer Cuba, the Philippines, Porto Rico, Guam…

8. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) participated in the war in Cuba against colonialist Spain in 1898, leading his “Rough Riders” cavalry regiment.  When he became president, his conquered Panama, which was part of Columbia in Latin America, in order to open up the Panama Canal.  Theodore Roosevelt was the first president who crossed the borders during his tenure and inaugurated the Panama Canal https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-panama-canal-challenges-glory-and-infamies/

He was also the first president to mediate between powerful nations such as when Japan totally destroyed the Russian Pacific fleet in 1905.

Note 1:  Timeline of US military operations https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/timeline-of-united-states-military-operations-since-1775/

Note 2: On July 6, 1846, U.S. Secretary of State John C. Calhoun, on behalf of President Tyler, afforded formal recognition of Hawaiian independence.  The Hawaiian Kingdom entered into treaties with the major nations of the world and established over 90 legations and consulates in multiple seaports and cities.[4] On the signing of the Bayonet Constitution in 1887 the threat began to be realized.

Note 3: Manifest Destiny of the USA? https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/the-manifest-destiny-of-america-and-its-long-term-consequences/

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Hot Posts this week (Jan. 13/2014)

Posted by: on: January 16, 2014

Hot Posts this week (Jan. 13/2014)

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How George Washington filled a few loopholes in the initial Constitution…

Posted by: on: January 8, 2014

How George Washington filled a few loopholes in the initial Constitution…

In the previous post on how George Washington was elected first President https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/how-george-washington-was-elected-in-his-first-executive-functions-part-3/ we wrote:

“The ceremony of investiture is done in the Federal Hall at the angle of Wall Street and Broad street.

At noon, Robert Livingston, the chancellor of New York administers the Presidential oath.

This ceremony institutes two precedents that were not covered by the Constitution:

1. Washington swore with right hand on the Bible

2. And concludes “May God assists me“

George Washington had to create the Presidential functions from scratch. He was allocated a limited budget of 16% of the $639,000 spared for the executive branch that was newly provided for in the Constitution.

Washington is supported by a dozen assistants, about 1,000 tax collectors, and 700 military personnel.

He nominated Alexander Hamilton (his right hand during the revolution) for the Treasury, Henry Knox for the department of war, Thomas Jefferson for foreign affairs, Samuel Osgood as Post Master, and Edmund Randolph as Attorney General.

The Constitution didn’t provide for a cabinet of ministers and the heads of department barely met.

Philadelphia was the temporary Capital for the Confederated colonies, and on July 1790, Congress decided for a permanent Capital to the new Federal Constitution. Maryland and Virginia ceded a portion of their lands to erect the capital from the ground up, which was later named Washington DC. The essential building in that Capital will be operational to host the President a decade later.

In August 1789, the Senate refused to provide recommendations concerning a treaty with the Indians in the North-West and Washington decided since then to bypass Congress during the negotiation phase of any treaty.

On June 1790, Washington, bypassing Congress, dispatched 3 incursions against the Indians, 240 km inside Ohio, without declaring war to tame the Indian resistance and opened up the North-West territories for colonization on August 1794.

Alexander Hamilton created a national bank in 1791.

In 1791, Washington traveled for 2 months in the southern States, accompanied by journalists. Washington relied on James Madison to value the executive function, initiated prepared ceremonies, and organized bi-weekly meetings with ordinary citizens to impress his position.

Internal conflicts between Hamilton and Jefferson took Washington and Congress by surprise, and the Constitution had no provisions for such instances among heads of departments. Jefferson issued the daily National Gazette and formed the Republican-Democrat political group in order to oppose the Federalists of Hamilton.

Because of worsening foreign wars in Europe, Washington decided to run for another term of 4 years and obtained in 1793 132 out of 136 votes of the Grand Electors. The Constitution didn’t discuss the number of terms a President can seek. Since Washington and Jefferson refused to run for a third term, it became a custom for Presidents not to try for a third term.

Only Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) ran for 4 terms before the Constitution was amended for only 2 terms.

In April 1793, Washington accepted the letter of credential of the French ambassador “citizen Genet” without consulting Congress, which was not in session.

On April 22, he proclaimed the neutrality of America in the French/English conflict, a decision that cancelled the treaty of alliance of 1778 with the French, and the legislative branch had to approve this “proclamation” a posteriori.

Madison replied to Hamilton under the pseudo-name of Helvidius that grabbing the double power of deciding on and leading wars by the executive is the beginning of tyranny.

Under Washington, the effective of the military was multiplied by 7.

In 1796, Washington created a first by refusing to divulge to Congress secret documents relative to the Jay treaty with England on the ground of “State security interests“… What were so secret in that treaty?

Thomas Jefferson resigned as head of foreign affairs department in 1794 on the ground that only France can play a counter power to England. He was proven right since British troops invaded the US and burned the new capital Washington DC in order to pressure the US government to renew the monopoly for printing US money by the Rothschild family of England…

The anti-federalists accuse Washington and Hamilton for their close ties with England, and the opposition press suggest that Washington has black blood and may have been an agent to England during the war of independence…

By Sept. 19, 1796, Washington let know that he will not seek a third term. He returned to Mount Vernon on March 4, 1797 and dies on Dec. 14, 1799.

Mason Weems published in 1800 a biography of George Washington, which was re-edited 20 times within 2 decades.

Note: How the-rothschild-family-Controlled the printing-of-the-dollars/https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/privately-owned-federal-reserve-bank-how-the-rothschild-family-controlled-the-printing-of-the-dollars/

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Initial Constitutional text on the USA Presidential Institution…Part 2

Posted by: on: January 1, 2014

History of the USA Presidential Institution… Part 2

Initial Constitutional text on the USA Presidential Institution.

Description of the articles in the initial Constitutional text related to Presidential power and the central executive institution…

In August 1786, Daniel Shays, a retired officer, lead a revolt of the debtors in Massachusetts in order to block actions of the creditors in courts. The proprietors, rich elite classes and politicians who defended the concept of public order were terribly worried of this turn of events.

What to do in periods of crisis, economic and foreign wars on the US territory?

The “Founding Fathers” or the 55 delegates that met for weeks agreed on this Constitutional text:

1. The name of the Executive chief will be “Mr. President”. President means “the one sitting ahead’.  The Constitutional Congress, the Constitutional Convention, the heads of the States of New Hampshire, Delaware, and South Carolina had presidents.  You may call “Mr. President of the Federal Executive branch”

2. Who can be candidate for the Federal Executive?

The candidate must be over 35 of age, born in the USA, and a citizen residing for the last 14 years. Many foreign revolutionaries were already citizens but didn’t reside that long such as the Prussian von Steuben.

Mind you that women, Indians and Black slaves were not considered citizens or eligible to vote.

3. Duration of the tenure?

It was decided to be 4 years. The Constitution didn’t mention for how many times a President could seek re-election.  The two strong Presidents, George Washington and the third president Thomas Jefferson were elected for another term, but their second terms were plagued with problems and they ended “lame ducks” and refrained from seeking a third term.  This implicit custom of not running for a third term was not in the Constitution.

4. The modality of the designation?

The option of a popular vote was discarded by the southern States on the ground that they were less populated in number of White eligible voters. And many delegates had strong reservation on the ability of non educated citizens to do the “right choices”.

The option that Congress should elect the president went contrary to the separation of powers: Legislative, Executive and Supreme Court.

It was agreed on an indirect ballot alternative: Each State designates a number of Grand Electors (equal to its senators and representative in the Federal Congress). These Grand Electors would constitute the Collegiate electorates.

The smaller States were favored since each State is attributed 2 senators. For the popular votes in each State, a White voter was valued as three fifth of a women or black person.

Each State had the autonomy for its designation process system for selecting candidates. Even the dates of the ballots were not initially uniform.

The Grand Electors served for a mandated single term in order to avoid the creation of a powerful political force.

Each State selects two candidates: One from the southern and one from the northern States and sends the results to the Senate.

The candidate who receive the absolute majority of vote is elected and the second in number of votes is appointed Vice-president. Otherwise, it is the Chamber of representatives that decides among the first 5 candidates.

In case of death, impeachment or incapacity of serving, the Vice-President takes over the Executive power, followed by the President of the Senate pro-tempore if the Vice also vacate the post in an untimely manner. Actually, the initial Constitutional text was not that explicit on who takes over, but it became a custom after the first Vice-President replaced the President.

5. Impeachment process is in the hand of Congress of representative and presided by the chief of Supreme Court.

6. What are the powers of the President?

The Constitutional text reserved only 5% to the executive compared to 25% for the legislative. Congress was to vote on laws, taxing, declaring wars, external commerce…

The President has the power to choose the department chiefs with the consent and counsel of the Senate and nominate the ambassadors to foreign countries and receives the foreign ambassadors.

He will commission all the Federal public employees and nominate the federal judges in the Supreme Court.

He will execute the laws that were voted by Congress.

He can participate in the legislative process, intervene and influence the program of the Congress.

All laws must be signed by the Presidents

The president had a veto power over the laws sent to him by Congress within 10 days. Congress will have to secure two third of the two assemblies in order to break the President veto.

He is the military chief of the armed forces and decided on the war strategy…

The President will inform Congress on the “State of the Union”

The President has the power to convoke both legislative bodies when he deemed it a national crisis.

Congress has no power to force the a government to resign.

Congress fixed the sum of $25,000 as the yearly salary of the President.

The President has the power to conclude treaties with the consent of two third of the present senators.

The President can gratiate federal criminals…

Slowly but surely, strong president encroached on the power of the legislative when not in session, during war crisis, loopholes and all kinds of excuses.

The next posts will describe how the first strong Presidents modified the Executive rights and power

Note: Read Part 1  ttp://adonis49.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/history-of-the-usa-presidential-institution-part-1/

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