I Almost Forgot...Shameful!

5 Things I'm Thankful For:
1. GETTING ACCEPTED INTO UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY!!!!!
2. Promises of hugs!
3. Realizing I'll be home in 11 days! woot woot!
4. Super fun video games!
5. Mom worrying when my phone dies:)

Quote of the Day:
Sometimes people are layered like that. There's something totally different underneath than what's on the surface. But sometimes, there's a third, even deeper level, and that one is the same as the top surface one. Like with pie.
Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jed Whedon

Mmm, I like me some pie. THANKSGIVING!!!

I went to College Republicans today. I'm pretty excited to get involved even more so...when I go to USU! Yup, I'm an aggie now. I went to half of As You Like It. The production did not leave me impressed...at all. A handful of students performed marvelously but the rest of it was complete blah. The take the used on it was a disaster and made it rather confusing to follow. I wrote a paper for my PLSC class. I'm going to post it so that you can have something to read. Enjoy!!

Yo’ Congress, I’ma Let You Finish…. But the President Has the Most Power All Time…Just Sayin’

*****Yes, that's really the title of my paper. I used it because the teacher asked me if he should call me James or Kanye the other day(because I was wearing my sunglasses...I know, makes no sense) so i figured that Kanye was fair game in my class. My teacher also told us to pick a title that would go straight to the heart of your paper. My title does so. P.s. this was not part of the paper...just fyi:)********

The struggle for power between the President and Congress has been around since the foundation of our country. Throughout history the tables have turned from side to side, power tossed from branch to branch but ultimately the greater power resides with the President.
The first case presented is the War Powers Resolution. The power struggle here entailed the ability to put the troops into action. At the time it looked like this was a clear win for Congress but in hindsight we see that this was not the case. If Congress had actually focused on the legislation at hand rather than the politics they might have been able to come off with a victory. Congress tried to make it look as if they were limiting the Presidents’ power. In reality, Congress did nothing. This ruling has a plethora of loopholes that allows the President to do whatever they please. Probably the biggest loophole comes from Sec. 3 where it states, “The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities” (235). Could they have been any more vague? For a piece of legislation to be so unclear shows that Congress knows that the President needs the power over the armed forces so that he or she can be quick and immediate with a decision.
The second case presented is the Iran-Contra Affair. The power struggle here is the POTUS directly going against legislation that the Congress had passed—the Boland Amendments. These amendments basically stated that the Presidential administration could not sell weapons to Iran and furthermore that the Presidential administration cannot use their own funding to wage war overseas. The Reagan administration broke these laws when they, “had sold arms to Iran” (237.) The majority argues that a flawed process leads to flawed results and that flawed results bring about a weakened government (238). The majority insists that the separation of powers between branches is vital and that taking “shortcuts in the constitutional process” is disrespectful to our founders (241). Congress feels that as elected officials they have the right to know. They felt that the Reagan administration wronged them. They fail to point out that while they are indeed elected, the President and the vice President are the only two people that are elected by the entire country (242). One can see that what happened was a result of the belief that the end justifies the means. The administration needed to go against the law in order to bring about what needed to be done. “The executive’s branch functions are the ones most closely related to the need for secrecy, efficiency, dispatch and acceptance by the one person, the President, of political responsibility for the result” (243). The fact that the President broke the Boland amendments and was not impeached shows the power of the President; he broke the amendments—laid out because of him—and was not tried. That is power.
The third case presented is the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer. The power struggle here was if the President has the ability to take control of private property. Truman claimed that it was for the good of the economy but the judiciary claimed that Congress must grant the power. This was a loss for Truman. The majority says that the Presidents power to seize property must come from Congress and that there have been no acts passed by Congress that allow the President to seize property (292). The majority decision came with five concurring opinions. This makes it hard to understand the concept of seizure in times of emergencies, this makes it vague and leaves loopholes for the President. Although this was a win for Congress, the President is not left powerless when it comes to seizing properties. He has power left because of the loopholes left by the concurring opinions.
The final case presented is the United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation. The power struggle was predicated on the power of foreign affairs. The argument was the Congress was to be in charge of foreign affairs and that the President was doing too much. This was a win for the President because the President has plenary powers when it comes to foreign affairs that are not dependent upon Congressional delegation. Furthermore it is up to the President, “to determine whether or not enforcement of the statute will have a beneficial effect upon the reestablishment of peace in the affected countries”(296). The power lies within the President to uphold the statute.
The case, which gave the most power to the President, was the War Powers Resolution. It did not take away any power away from the POTUS and if anything it gave the President greater ability to work in secrecy when it came to mobilizing the troops. The U.S. Congress focused too much on the political game and wanted the people to think that they were doing something when in reality they did nothing.
The case, which was the biggest win for the U.S. Congress, was the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer. This was the only case that made the President go against what he had done. Truman was forced to remove the Truamnites from the steel mills. Truman wanted the power to seize property but it needed to be granted through Congress. This decision reaffirmed what the constitution said concerning that. Truman needed to go through Congress in order to seize property—even if it was for the good of the economy.
Although some of these cases can be seen as a loss for the President, the fact that they are hard to comprehend and make it difficult to understand where the President is limited shows the power of the presidency. If Congress wanted to limit the President they would do so. They would make legislation that was directly to the point with no loopholes. According to these cases they have failed to do so thus granting the President greater power than Congress.


I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>