Even if you are a tree hugging, dope smoking, peace-nik, long haired hippy type; you have to be able to appreciate George Will’s columns in the Post.  He always manages to educate and edify the general population when he goes off on one of his rants.  Today’s lesson in government was on the power of the President to veto legislation.

It’s interesting to note that Presidential power is not expressly provided for in the Constitution.  Those of us that wish we governed more on the basis of the Constitution and less on the decisions of judges should be glad to see this in print.  I’ve always thought the Founding Fathers wanted the Chief Executive to be able to send bills back for revision, but ultimately be beholden to the wants of the people’s elected representatives.  I’ve voted for W at least twice in both of the past elections, but I still do not approve of the way the President’s power has been expanded since the end of World War I.  (If you want to get down to the root of the problem it started with Lincoln in the War of Northern Aggression. But that is a rant for another time and place.)

I do support using the military as a tool of diplomatic relations with other nations, even to the point of blowing them off the face of the planet.  I like the phrase “use of force before attacks occur.”  In the modern age it can be fatal on a national scale to wait until a hostile state or actor (no, not Sean Penn and Alec Baldwin) to strike at us.  Our interests have to be defended, even if the threat is in the fledgling stages.  I’ve written here before about our responsibilities to the world as the only super power, and I stand by those comments today.  

Think of it this way.  Your oldest child, say a sophomore in high school, comes home with a report card full of C’s and D’s.  That child is then grounded and forced to give up all social activities until respectable grades come home.  Your younger child, pretend it is a fifth grader, sees this and realizes that she too will be punished if her grades fall.  She then studies harder because she values the freedom of being able to ride her bike in the neighborhood, as long as she is home at dark.  The effect of the first child being disciplined that even the youngest child, for the sake of argument a kindergarten aged boy, not only works to make good grades but begins to “pester and annoy” his older sisters about their ill behavior.  Countries sometimes need to be treated as if they are children to get the correct behavior.  Since it is difficult to ground an entire nation, invasion is often an acceptable response.

Anyway, the Redskins seem to be done shopping for players. And still no new home for Patrick Ramsey, which makes me question how a coach who is supposed to be so moral and all about the right thing can still be seen in that light.  Ramsey was a professional about his situation all year, it’s time for Gibbs to do the same.

And finally, it would seem that charging the front gates of CIA headquarters is not the best way to get a job there.  So, if God is telling you to do that, you may want to get the Big Guy to e-mail you a flaming bush to confirm it.

No more today.  We’ve both had enough.