Mojo_PeiPei

Sorry Will, the right to privacy is held in the 4th amendment, 9 & 10 pertain to the enumeration, retention, and delegation of powers:

#9
#10
Maybe you aren't misspeaking, as 9 & 10 have been used creatively in certain cases. Not that I think its a bad thing, but I do find it interesting that the word privacy is not found in the Bill of Rights.

On to the actual post, I learned two things which I think pertain and are an interesting way of looking at the separation of powers (or lack thereof).

In my political philosophy class when we were learning about Hobbes, Locke, Montisque and all those old foggies, my professor made an interesting point in that it seems to be hinted at in all of their writings that it is the executives very duty to push the limits and push for as much power as possible. If he isn't doing that then he isn't really doing his job.

Then there was the pendulum power swing between Congress and the President. The bottom line is pretty easy and I'm sure not all that mind blowing to anybody here: Think of the power relationship like a pendulum in a grandfather clock. Starting from the middle (for reference we'll call it 6 0'clock) to either side you have congress and on the other the president. Now Ideally the pendulum swings to and from evenly , always passing 6. The reality is though that when the pendulum swings in favor of the president, it never fully resets to 6 o' clock, there is a permanent shift in favor of the president. Now that is not to say that the president doesn't get checked, and he power never declines; but the bottom line is that 6 is no longer the middle.

SOmething interesting about Presidential power and the judiciary will be decided soon, the SC is going to render it's ruling on Gitmo bay and the tribunals.

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