Proposed Military Officers Letter of concern
From dKosopedia
original (proposed and discussed here, where several proposed revisions and various concerns about SCOTUS jurisdiction are discussed in the comments. I'm out of time to build out this page tonight, but if folks want to, have at it!):
An Open Letter From Individual U.S. Military Officers
To:
Congress
We, the undersigned, are officers who retain our commissions in some branch of the U.S. military. We take seriously our oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Threats to the U.S. Constitution might not be from an external enemy, but from people inside the government who are violating the compact.
We are concerned that President George W. Bush, our Commander-in-Chief, may be violating the Constitution. Specifically, his assertion that he can authorize his subordinates to monitor electronic communications, in a manner authorized by neither Congress nor the courts, appears to invalidate constitutional checks on presidential power.
While it is not our place to evaluate whether President Bush has exceeded his authority, the Constitution provides methods for this evaluation. As we understand the Constitution, Congress could consider whether President Bush is taking power not authorized by the Constitution.
We are troubled that Congress is not formally wrestling with the issue of whether President Bush exceeded his authority. If the issue is not being addressed through Constitutional processes, we are deeply concerned about the health of the Constitution.
Each of us swore to uphold an oath to support and defend the Constitution. We explicitly and formally request that these venerable institutions perform their constitutional duty to formally evaluate whether President Bush has exceeded his authority.
How many letters, just one, or more?
Is this even a good idea?
Does Carl mind this page being here?
What is our strategy for - publicity safety/careers/motivating participants
What are the real goals of this project? Is this an appropriat and worth-the-risks strategy for reaching those goals?