John Paul Jones President Command Military with Pen Only. He May Cut the Throats of Citizens.

Life and character of the Chevalier John Paul Jones ^ | unknown | John Henry Sherburne

[bushpilot1]

"I am glad that the new constitution will be, as you tell me, adopted by the nine states.

I hope, however they will alter some parts of it; and particularly that they will divest the President of all military rank and command; for though General Washington might be safely trusted with such tempting power as chief command of fleet and army, yet depend on it, in some other hands it could not fail to overset the liberties of America.

The President should be only the first civil Magistrate, let him command the military with the pen; but deprive him of the power to draw his sword and lead them, under some plausible pretext, or under any circumstances whatever to cut the throats of a part of his fellow citizens, and to make him tyrant of the rest.

These are not my apprehensions alone, for I have mentioned them to many men of sense and learning since I saw you, and I have found them all of the same sentiment."

[NTHockey]

>>Have to wonder what JPJ would do if he was the current commander of the fleet.<<

Before he was an admiral, JPJ was a privateer(i.e., pirate). As an admiral, I think the Potomac would be unnavigable from the fleet parked there. As the Potomac is the primary source of water for DC, they might be have a problem.

[lentulusgracchus]

Congress should consider suspending Obama as commander in chief of the military.

They can't. That role is assigned him by the Constitution. Article I, Section 2, unambiguous language, no room for waffles.

[Godebert]

"The leftists are saying the Founders could not have used Vattel’s Laws of Nations because the Founders were from England and did not speak a foreign language. They slander the Founders to cover for Obama."

They can be refuted directly by one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin.

There is no doubt that the Founding Fathers did not exclusively use the English translation, but relied upon the French original. On December 9th of 1775, Franklin wrote to Vattel’s editor, C.G.F. Dumas:

“ I am much obliged by the kind present you have made us of your edition of Vattel. It came to us in good season, when the circumstances of a rising state make it necessary frequently to consult the Law of Nations. Accordingly, that copy which I kept has been continually in the hands of the members of our congress, now sitting, who are much pleased with your notes and preface, and have entertained a high and just esteem for their author.”

[bushpilot1]

They are saying..the 1760 book is in French..and the Founders were English and could not read it. They say the 1760 edition does not have the words natural born citizen. The words were added in an later English edition after the constitution was ratified.

I found Jefferson read Montesquieu’s Esprit des Lois. He copied into his notebook (in French) numerous quotations.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

I read a biography of this great sea warrior. He was all too human in many ways, but one thing few people know about him was his journy across the Baltic Sea [on his way to Russia].

Couldn’t find a link to get this nailed down — strictly from fuzzy memory:

Jones chartered a sloop if I recall. The Baltic began to freeze over, and they feared that their vessel would be trapped by ice. Jones had to hold them at gunpoint to keep sailing. After the vessel was locked by ice, he had to travel on foot the rest of the way. That alone was an epic adventure. FRegards ....

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Thank you for this post. Adding to Monster Ping:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2496737/posts

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"The leftists are saying the Founders could not have used Vattel’s Laws of Nations because the Founders were from England and did not speak a foreign language."

That's a totally silly and fallacious argument. One of the reasons Jefferson was chosen to his post in France is because he spoke fluent French along with Franklin. Why they chose Adams, I have no idea. He did not speak the language though he was a man who could get things done.

[SunkenCiv]

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