Congress is not eager to challenge a president, but is capable of the challenge if required by constituents. It was Congress - on both sides of the aisle - which led the Obama Administration to veto its own ideology and policy, at the UN, on February 17, 2011.
It was Congress - on both sides of the aisle - which led the Obama Administration to veto its own ideology and policy, at the UN, on February 17, 2011. Majority leader Cantor, Minority Whip Hoyer, Foreign Relations Committee Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Democrat Berman, Middle East Subcommittee Chairman Chabot and Ranking Democrat Ackerman spearheaded the flood of determined Congressional messages to the White House.
Once again, Congress demonstrated its role in co-determining US national security, possessing the power to direct the Executive. Thus, the occasional conflict between the Legislature and the Executive over national security policy is inevitable and inherent, as prescribed by the US Constitution with its elaborate system of checks and balances. Congress is not eager to challenge a president, but is capable of the challenge if required by constituents.
Once again, Congress demonstrated its independence, adhering to the principles of Separation of Powers. The late Senator Robert Byrd (West Virginia - Democrat) addressed President Clinton during a floor speech: "I am the obedient servant of the Constitution and not of the President."
Once again, Congress leveraged its Power of the Purse and its power to supervise the Administration, to shape, suspend, amend and even reverse policy. For example, it was Congress - and not the Administration - which terminated the US wars in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, US military involvement in Angola and Nicaragua, US ties with the white government in South Africa, the acquisition of the B-2 and the civil war in El Salvador. It was Congress which coerced the USSR to allow Jewish emigration, cut foreign aid to Turkey, imposed sanctions on Uganda, extended the acquisition of the F-117, prevented the ratification of Clinton's Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, restructured the US intelligence community, upgraded the port of Haifa for the Sixth Fleet, initiated the US-Israel Bi-national Industrial Research & Development (BIRD) Foundation, which produced a multi-billion dollar bonanza for the US economy, etc.
Once again, Congress highlighted the key axis of the US Constitution: Constituent and constituent-loyalty over party-loyalty.
Once again, Congress exposed the endemic constraints of presidential power, as stipulated by the US Constitution: To prevent Executive tyranny by limiting the power of the Executive. The term "Commander in Chief" has often been misinterpreted as if it were "Omnipotent President." A US president is not "The Government" - a US president constitutes one of three branches of government, which operate through genuine power-sharing.
Once again, Congress leveraged the relative weakness of a president, who is transformed from a Coattail President [Obama - 2008] to an Anchor-Chained President (Obama - 2010), as was President Carter. Traditionally, presidents benefit from their stature, which enables them to mold public opinion and influence legislators. However, Obama's stature has been eroded severely during the first two years of his administration.
Once again, Congress justified the Founding Fathers, who featured Congress - the most authentic representation of the American people - in the opening article of the Constitution, while the president was accorded the second article.
Once again, Congress highlighted the Jewish State as one of the very few common denominators on Capitol Hill, binding Democrats and Republicans, during one of the most polarized congressional sessions. Moreover, Congress - reflecting most constituents - does not consider Israel as a classic foreign policy issue. Congress considers the Jewish State a non-conditional strategic ally and also as a domestic issue, which is related to the moral Judeo-Christian foundations of the USA.
In light of the congressional reality, and the consistent and systematic congressional support of the Jewish State, Jerusalem should resurrect the policy of its 1948-1992 Prime Ministers (Ben Gurion through Shamir), who acknowledged Congressional (equal) power in co-determining national security. The Jewish State should, also, emulate the US Constitution, restructuring the Israeli political system by highlighting the constituent - and not political parties and prime ministers - as its chief axis, introducing genuine systems of separation of powers and checks and balances, and significantly enhancing the power of a newly-created bicameral Legislature.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman register with the US Congress their anxiety about a nuclear Iran, which would devastate their pro-US regimes. They urge the US to preempt and relieve them of a lethal threat, just as Israel did in 1981, preempting Iraq's nuclear drive, thus ridding pro-US Gulf regimes of a nuclear Saddam Hussein.
According to a June, 2012 study by the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 72% of 15-49 year old Palestinian married women prefer to avoid pregnancy, as are 78% in Morocco, 71% in Jordan, 69% in Egypt and Libya, 68% in Syria, 63% in Iraq and 61% in Yemen. The PRB study states that "a growing number of women are using contraception, as family planning services have expanded in the Arab region." The unprecedented fertility decline in the Muslim world was documented in June, 2012 by Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt, a leading demographer at the American Enterprise Institute, and Apoorva Shah of the Hoover Institute.
US global leadership. Thou shall embrace US global leadership, underscoring US freedom of unilateral action, rather than subordinating US policy to multilateral considerations. The US - not the UN or any international order - is the dominant quarterback of international relations. US global leadership is critical for its economic, homeland security and military concerns. It bolsters posture of deterrence, providing a tailwind for allies, thus constraining clear and present threats posed by rogue/terrorist Islamic regimes. On the other hand, US withdrawal is interpreted as weakness, emboldening adversaries, weakening allies, fueling clear and present dangers and facilitating the recurrence of 9/11
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
