Book Club for the New Administration - July 2017

My apologies for the very late post!  As you might know, I teach in two low residency MFA programs.  Add on Comic Con, and July is a very busy month!  That's what's delayed the discussion on June's Book Club Selections:

At the time the books were suggested, President Trump had just backed the country out of the Paris Accords, North Korea's missile testing had given rise to saber rattling on all sides, and it seemed like a message of environmental responsibility and peace were in order.

Well, since then, many individual states have risen up in unity with the Paris Climate Accords and efforts to minimize the damage we humans are doing to the environment.  North Korea has plowed ahead with it's missile program-- with the alarming result that they will have California-capable missiles in their arsenal sooner than originally estimated.  The administration has been boiling over with controversy after and controversy-- including whether or not a sitting president can pardon himself.  (The jury is still out on that one.  It seems the answer is a qualified "no?")

Quite simply, this book club can't keep up.  So it's time to turn back to basics.  Basics that might answer the above question (and the one about states' rights to collude with foreign nations on such things as the Paris Accord).  It might also remind us a bit of who we are supposed to be as a country.

The Book Club for a New Administration Selection for July is:

That's right.  The Constitution of the United States of America.  Listen, this is a huge document with lots of articles and amendments.  Want to check the sections that relate to the above issues?  Head over to Article II, Section 2 for presidential pardons and Article I, Section 10 for the rights of states to enter agreements with foreign nations.  For a reminder of what America stands for, I point you to the Preamble:

I hope you have had a good July.  That you celebrated your Independence, surrounded yourself with friends and family and some down time.  The future keeps on arriving.  Rest up and be ready to meet what comes next.