Congressional Power and People Power over Nuclear Weapons - What's it gonna take?

Senator Corker: "We want a piece of this . . . "

Congress is elbowing its way into the Obama administration's deal with Iran on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. (See "Senate Leaders and White House Make Their Cases on Iran Deal Legislation" by Jonathan Weisman and Michael D. Shear in The New York Times, April 13, 2015.)

As far as I'm concerned, Congress' concern with nuclear weapons is healthy.

I'm delighted that Congress is searching desperately for its Constitutional authority to eliminate nuclear weapons. Congress isn't afraid of the President? Great news!

NOW . . . when is Congress going to do what really needs to be done and re-assert its war powers? And, in particular, to overthrow the "thermonuclear monarchy" that exists when the President is sitting with his finger on the trigger of the massive US nuclear arsenal?


TAKE ACTION:

April 2015: Join all the Peace and Planet

nuclear disarmament activities.

Every Tuesday: spread the word about

the need for nuclear disarmament with

#NoNukesTuesday on social media.

Non-stop: find your member of Congress

and tell them you want nuclear disarmament NOW!

(See sample letter.)

Related posts

That a bunch of GOP senators are agitated about nuclear weapons is a good thing. Now we just need to re-direct their energy to where the real problem is.

(See EXTRA! U.S. Congress Notices Problem with Nuclear Weapons! )

It may be counterintuitive, but House Majority Leader John Boehner has actually done a good thing by inviting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.

(See Bibi and Boehner's Gift to the Nuclear Disarmament Movement )

Elaine Scarry demonstrates that the power of one leader to obliterate millions of people with a nuclear weapon - a possibility that remains very real even in the wake of the Cold War - deeply violates our constitutional rights, undermines the social contract, and is fundamentally at odds with the deliberative principles of democracy.

(See Reviews of "Thermonuclear Monarchy: Choosing Between Democracy and Doom" by Elaine Scarry )

The decision about whether to live with the threat of nuclear annihilation is our decision. And that is why the entire country is mobilizing for mass action for nuclear disarmament in 2015. Are we capable of making sure the messengers -- Obama, Putin, the other agents of government -- hear their instructions from us clearly?

(See NEEDED: Heroes to Bring About Nuclear Disarmament )


The choices are: (a) take back the power currently held by our thermonuclear monarch; or (b) shut up and pray. Those are the only two choices, and everybody gets to choose where they stand. The people in Congress who won't step up to either of them are a nothing but a bunch of putzes.

(See Congress is a Bunch of Putzes )