Should an American president have the power to unilaterally use nuclear weapons under any circumstances?
There’s a saying that “generals are always preparing to fight the last war.” That applies to publics too. The song by Sammy Kate, “Remember Pearl Harbor,” recorded ten days after the Kido Butai struck battleship row in Hawaii, was soon forgotten but the fear of a sneak attack engendered by the event persisted through the Cold War.
As Glenn Reynolds points out in his article in the
New York Post, American presidents’ power over the strategic arsenal grew out of the fear of an “atomic Pearl Harbor.”
WHITE HOUSE – The president of the United States, always accompanied by a military aide carrying a satchel containing nuclear launch codes, has sole authority to order nuclear warfare or respond in kind to such an enemy attack.
Now, lawmakers of the current president’s own party are asking President Joe Biden to surrender that unilateral power.
Giving one person such authority “entails real risks,” according to a letter endorsed by 31 Democratic members of the House. “Past presidents have threatened to attack other countries with nuclear weapons or exhibited behavior that causes other officials to express concerns about the president’s judgment.”
Three County Fair in Northampton announces furloughs, pay cuts; officials plead for upcoming shows to go on
Updated Dec 23, 2020;
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NORTHAMPTON The Three County Fair said Wednesday that it’s instituting a 14% pay cut for senior management and staggered furloughs for all employees to close a budget gap created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furloughs could be extended if the fairgrounds are unable to host events this spring that were postponed in 2020.
Those events include over a dozen different horse shows from April through October 2020, plus a variety of concerts and festivals, according to James Przypek, general manager of the Three County Fair.