Re: The Coast Guard

Laurence: Good point, but given that words must always be interpreted — and we have given to the federal government the monopoly power to interpret what constitutional and statutory words mean — what would prevent the feds from sending Coast Guard ships and sailors to “guard” the “coasts” in other countries? After all, in the age of empire, it’s all one coast anyway, is it not?  If state national guard troops can be sent to Iraq, and if wars can be undertaken at the whim of the president, what would limit such a deployment? Should any object, the Neo-Tories in Washington will tell us that “if we don’t fight them there, we’ll have to fight them here.” The coveys of Amelia Airheads at all the cable “news” channels will quickly chirp the refrain.

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10:44 am on May 25, 2011