Dick Cheney wears many hats...all of them black
Who would have thought that Mrs. Hall, my ninth grade civics teacher, was a complete moron. Here she was, teaching us that the Executive Branch included the vice president. What a fool she was! Dick Cheney certainly showed her with his assertion that he's not really a part of the Executive Branch, what with his role as tie-breaker in the Senate, and thus is exempt from presidential orders pertaining to the Executive Branch.
Well, Mrs. Hall wasn't perfect. It was she, after all, who launched me on my career as a public speaker when she entered me into an American Legion Oratorical Contest. (Let's just say that in 1972, the American Legion didn't really warm up to my 7-minute stemwinder on "Richard Nixon: Enemy of the Bill of the Rights, Scourge of Freedom.")
But Cheney isn't the first guy to tap dance around semantic loopholes. I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul who could play the "I'm a Roman citizen'' card when it could help him and then turn around with the "Hey! I'm a Jewish guy'' trump card.
Of course, Paul was on everybody's hit list.
Cheney is the guy checking the lists to see who's naughty, and nobody's nice.
Well, Mrs. Hall wasn't perfect. It was she, after all, who launched me on my career as a public speaker when she entered me into an American Legion Oratorical Contest. (Let's just say that in 1972, the American Legion didn't really warm up to my 7-minute stemwinder on "Richard Nixon: Enemy of the Bill of the Rights, Scourge of Freedom.")
But Cheney isn't the first guy to tap dance around semantic loopholes. I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul who could play the "I'm a Roman citizen'' card when it could help him and then turn around with the "Hey! I'm a Jewish guy'' trump card.
Of course, Paul was on everybody's hit list.
Cheney is the guy checking the lists to see who's naughty, and nobody's nice.
posted by Michael Riley at 9:14 AM
12 Comments:
Oh course, we always knew Mrs. Hall was a bit off. But at least she let us read the paper every morning.
Did she teach you the solar system has 9 planets? She was wrong about that too.
In the last days everyone did what was right in his own eyes.The vice president says the law doesn't pertain to him. Illegal aliens openly flaunt our laws while indifferent politicians look on. A prosecuter from North Carolina railroads three innocent college students with the blessings of 88 college professors and the college administration.
Didn't Jon Stewart do this very same Cheney bit on his show this past Friday? (I think he blamed his old junior high school civics teacher as well for teaching him "incorrectly" about the Executive Branch.) The only difference between the two is that Stewart is actually funny.
I wonder if Mrs. Hall knows this blog is R rated.
What's My Blog Rated?
Anonymous said...
Didn't Jon Stewart do this very same Cheney bit on his show this past Friday? (I think he blamed his old junior high school civics teacher as well for teaching him "incorrectly" about the Executive Branch.) The only difference between the two is that Stewart is actually funny.
...and that it's harder to anonymously harass jon stewart
I thought I heard Dick Cheney on TV the other day singing MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This".
Pat wrote:
"I wonder if Mrs. Hall knows this blog is R rated."
I wonder if Pat knows his posts are Duh? rated.
Who cares, Spooky?
What does St. Paul have to do with Dick Cheney? How could the one "remind" you of the other? I fail to see the correlation.
Margaret
"What does St. Paul have to do with Dick Cheney? How could the one 'remind' you of the other?" -- Margaret
Great question, Margaret.
Roman citizens in the first century AD enjoyed certain rights that others did not -- namely, the right to appeal directly and in person to Caesar before being put to death.
When put on trial before Festus, the Roman Procurator of Judea, St. Paul, a Roman citizen, was asked whether he wanted to be brought back to Jerusalem and stand trial there. Knowing that being brought back to Jerusalem in chains was not at all an attractive option -- the Jewish leaders considered St. Paul to be a traitor and planned to kill him even before he was brought back into the city -- St. Paul, much like a modern day death row inmate, sought to buy time and take his case to a higher court, so to speak. In response to Festus' question, and with the words "I appeal to Caesar," St. Paul asserted his Roman citizenship and demanded to be tried by Caesar himself. Festus honored the appeal and ordered that St. Paul be transported to Rome. (cf Acts 25: 1-12)
Although the appeal only delayed St. Paul's eventual death, St. Paul was able to buy some more time -- time which he then used to continue to serve Our Lord. (It was during this time that St. Paul continued to write that which we Christians now consider to be part Sacred Scripture.) In short, St. Paul, not at all the model Roman citizen, was able to exploit a technicality in the prevailing law of the day in order that he might serve some other purpose.
By way of comparison, Vice President Cheney, much to the amusement of Reverend Riley and others, recently did as much, albeit it in a rather lame fashion. To wit: When faced with a Federal statute that requires, among other things, that members of the Executive Branch of the Federal government make certain information available to others, the VP declined to do just that, and instead claimed that he was exempt or otherwise beyond the reach of the statute.
The reason the Vice President gave was that he, in his constitutionally-mandated and ex officio capacity as President of the Senate, was really a member of the Legislative Branch of our Federal government and, as such, was not part of the Executive Branch. It warrants mention, I think, to point out the obvious: The Vice President makes his claim notwithstanding the fact that he was, along with the President, elected to the Executive Branch of our Federal government. No one is directly elected to the office of President of the Senate.
Suffice it to say, the Vice President's assertion strains, if not tortures, what successive generations of Americans have been taught constitutes the very make-up of the three branches of our Federal government. (e.g., That which Mrs. Hall taught a young Reverend Riley in Junior High School civics class) Although the Constitution does name the Vice President as President of the Senate (See Article 1, Section 3 of the US Constitution), by tradition, the VP's role in that capacity is largely ceremonial. (e.g., swearing in new Senators, "leading" the Senate during the State of the Union speech, voting to break a tie, which happens about once a year, etc.)
In short, in making the legal claim that he is a member of the Legislative Branch, the Vice President, somewhat like St. Paul before Festus, appears to be acting out of desperation -- a desperation seemingly motivated by a desire to buy more time, which the VP can then use to serve some other purpose. (Albeit a purpose that is not nearly as noble as was the cause pursued by St. Paul.) :-)
I hope that helps some. Please enjoy the holiday.
Thank you for the lesson. Apples and oranges still, in my opinion.
Margaret
I wish papinian/pat would take a permanent vacation...do you think Dick Cheney would turn down the presidency if something happened to the president and he would be next in line to ascend the throne because he is "not in execeutive branch"? I am sure he would not defer the title to next in line Nancy Pelosi -Speaker of House - out of his beliefs that VP not part of Exec. Branch...hypocrite through and through...
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