William Lyon Mackenzie King Quotes
It is for Parliament to decide whether or not we should participate in wars in different parts of the world, and it is neither right nor proper for any individual, for any group of individuals, to take any step which in any way might limit the rights of Parliament in a matter which is of such great concern to all of the people ...
William Lyon Mackenzie King, 1874-1950, Canadian Prime Minister (Liberal), Debate, House of Commons, July 7, 1942
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
In 1949 the NATO treaty was signed. There was concern that a phrase in the treaty authorizing signatories to take "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force" would undermine Congress's powers:
‘Necessity’ is another word that governments use in such situations. To deal with “National Security” governments tend to extend their power over individuals, encroach upon civil rights” and repress their population. This is true of right and left wing governments, democracies and dictatorships.
An earlier version was written by Congressman Louis L. Ludlow, 1873-1950—see his quotation about it—{39681}. The proposed amendment was narrowly defeated.
There was much New England dissatisfaction with the disproportionate power held by the Southern states as a result of counting three-fifths of the slave population for apportioning Congressional seats. In addition they were disproportionately hurt by the War of 1812 and the Embargo on trade with England. Secession was proposed but failed to get a majority. A number of proposed Constitutional amendments were voted upon. The super-majority herein required would have diminished their vulnerability to Southern power.
President George W. Bush initiated an invasion of Iraq based on the fact that Iraq was developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. After the invasion however, there were none of these weapons found and much evidence that there were not any at that point in time. By the time Congress, the body which is supposed to declare war, found out that the reason for the war was bogus, it was too late. We had already occupied the country and were in the midst of a civil war. The President either acted on bad intelligence or wanted to invade Iraq for other reasons and history may finally tell us which, but Fein sees the problem as too much secrecy in the executive branch.
William Lyon Mackenzie King OM CMG PC, commonly known as Mackenzie King, was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921–1926, 1926–1930 and 1935–1948. A Liberal, he was the dominant politician in Canada during the interwar period from the 1920s through the 1940s. He is best known for his leadership of Canada throughout the Second World War (1939–1945) when he mobilized Canadian money, supplies and volunteers to support Britain while boosting the economy and maintaining morale on the home front. With a total of 21 years and 154 days in office, he remains the longest-serving prime minister in Canadian history.
