Ethics is an objective, metaphysical necessity
of man’s survival.

Via PAUL: One year to go – Washington Times (and twitterer @tomjdalton):

I firmly believe the American people are serious about cutting spending and fixing our debt crisis now. Those struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families while also trying to save for the future know we must change course immediately.

I’m not running for president merely to trim a little here and there from our bloated federal budget. Instead, I have offered the boldest, most specific and most comprehensive solutions in the history of American politics to restore our economy and once again make America the most innovative, competitive and prosperous nation in the world.

We face no problem that cannot be solved by reaffirming our trust in the fundamental principles of freedom, limited constitutional government and individual responsibility.

I recommend the rest of the article: for example, “I will move to abolish all corporate subsidies and end all bailouts.”

The question is not whether these are the right arguments, but how to win these arguments in the UK.

Via Libya and the War Powers Act – NYTimes.com, comment on Obama’s conflict with Congress over whether US participation is within his authority:

It would be hugely costly — for this country’s credibility, for the future of NATO and for the people of Libya — if Congress were to force President Obama to abandon military operations over Libya. However, Mr. Obama cannot evade his responsibility, under the War Powers Act, to seek Congressional approval to continue the operation.

…

But the 1973 act does not apply solely to boots-on-the-ground, full-out shooting wars. It says that 60 or 90 days after notifying Congress of the introduction of armed forces “into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated,” the president must receive Congressional authorization or terminate the mission.

The subject came up in Foreign Office questions on 7 June, when Richard Fuller pipped me to it:

Richard Fuller (Bedford, Conservative)

The good work of our armed forces, the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Libya depends on the support of the United States. Does the Foreign Secretary have any comment to make on moves in the US Congress to review President Obama’s decision on his commitment to our efforts in Libya?

William Hague (Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Richmond (Yorks), Conservative)

This has been a long-running constitutional issue in the United States of America between various Presidents and Congress, and I probably have enough on without wading into American constitutional theory. We are assured by the US Administration that—[Interruption.] No, I really am not going to wade into that. We are assured by the US Administration that they are entirely satisfied with the powers they have to undertake the operations that they are undertaking and that those operations will continue.

So there we have it. For my own part, the US War Powers Resolution seems simple enough and the NY Times is right: President Obama cannot evade his responsibility to secure Congressional approval. He should do so.

Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister, has voiced concern over the outlook of US government bonds, calling on Washington to ease worries about US assets.

Speaking at his annual news conference on Friday, Wen expressed concern that massive US deficit spending and near-zero interest rates could erode the value of China’s bond holdings.

via Al Jazeera English – Business – China’s Wen worried over US assets .