The First Amendment and The Criminal Justice System
The First Amendment protects each citizen with the Right to Freedom of Speech and Press. Can this right be jeopardized by a Justice System that operates in a reckless and targeted manner? In the case of General Flynn, the incoming National Security Advisor, he was a man of strong views an the Director of Defense Intelligence, his criticism of the Iran Nuclear Deal, The Fight Against Isis, the power of Al Queda…..
Comey and Flynn
James Comey, The former FBI Director, took a very aggressive stance against Lt. General and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. The question is Why. All Bureaucracies are political institutions. That is they need support from The Executive Branch, The Congress, Interest Groups and public opinion! They desire funding, authority and independence. Comey’s actions appear to be very risky even bordering on reckless. While the Flynn case is part of a larger case study involving the Russian Collusion…..
Another aspect of the power of advice was the volunteering of political intelligence to superiors. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is in the Executive Branch of government and relies on executive authority to carry out its functions. By giving information, the bureau is providing a valuable service. All users benefit. Each knows that the information can be terminated and given to other political participants. It is also implied that the Bureau has information on the primary beneficiary the President. Bureaus…..
The Molding of Advice,
Bureaucratic Power is often subtle! The sustained attention that bureaucrats can devote to specific problems gives them a decided advantage over other political officials who deal with a variety of problems and confronts each issue pf public policy only at sporadic intervals! This is particularly true in the United States because American bureaucrats specialize early and remain in the service of a particular agency throughout their careers! In addition, expertise the concentration of energy. Not only…..
We live in an age of increased specialization and expertise! We as individuals know more and more about less and less. Individuals become more powerful over a narrower set of issues and mostly ignorant and powerless over more and more issues! Modernity with its ever-increasing division of labor provides us with great advances in science and technology but also with a great sense of despair over having little control over forces and decisions which impact our lives! How can democracy…..
In today’s current debate. The term Deep State is often presented as a sinister force in American Politics! While it is accurate to report that bureaucracies often do not perform what the Chief Executive commands or directs it is not necessarily a conspiracy! Article II of the Constitution does say that Executive Power is vested in a President of the United States of America.
The Constitution, however is more complicated. It also is a Separation of Powers System which give…..
In The 20th and early part of the 21st Century the critical source of power has become centered on expertise. As a people, we have become more specialize and know more and more about less and less. Government agencies also reflect this phenomenon Elected leaders are therefore less capable of overseeing the bureaucracy that they have created to assist them into carrying out their public policy. As a result,the struggles for power is not confined to conflicts between the President,…..
Welcome. My name is Frank M. Sorrentino, PhD, author of Presidential Power and The American Political System. I’m so happy to have you as a visitor to my blog about my new book. This project is very special to me, and I hope to share some of that excitement with you here.
I’ll be using this blog to interact with you about Presidential Power and The American Political System, expanding on some of the topics in it and blogging on…..
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