Michael J. Glennon’s book on the dual nature of the American government, National Security and Double Government, is one of the most disturbing and disconcerting I have ever read. He posits that there is the “Madisonian” public government of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches found outlined in the Constitution, operating under the rule of law, with separation of powers, checks and balances, and openness and transparency. This is contrasted with the “Trumanite” clandestine deep state, established by the National Security Act of 1947 during the Truman regime. On every page he uncovers virtually unknown material in intricate detail and in such depth as I have never encountered before.
The section in the book concerning the federal judiciary absolutely blew me away. In particular how he detailed the “Trumanite” background of Supreme Court appointees and how they were vetted for their deferential views on “national security” while the establishment media presstitutes focused upon diversionary “hot button” issues such as abortion, women’s and gay “rights,” gun control, etc. I believe it to be the most powerful section in the book.
When the formal review process for the next Supreme Court justice is underway, it is imperative that the American people not acquiesce their grave responsibility but forcefully press their elected Senators and the news media to question and hold fully accountable the nominee for their viewpoint on vital national security issues such as the Constitutional power to declare war, Habeas Corpus, warrantless detention, warrantless surveillance, torture, rendition, national security letters, and the constitutionality of Continuity of Government (COG) and covert operations of the intelligence agencies.
Does the judicial nominee hold that the Constitution established a federal decentralized compact or republic of sovereign independent states granting explicit delegated powers to the general government for specific purposes while retaining their reserved powers for themselves? Or does the United States simply pose as a sham elective democracy but is in fact a militarized despotism with actual power residing in the hands of a secret oligarchy that is arbitrary, capricious, and unaccountable, a tyranny lacking transparency, justice, or restraint?
