Five Republican senators vote to remind the administration Congressional approval is needed for further action in Venezuela

Almost like the framers of the Constitution felt war was a serious thing not to be entered in lightly and wanted to ensure it only happened when absolutely necessary.

It's almost like they knew that war often provides an excuse to expand the power of government at the expense the people's freedom and liberty

Well, the way to cut the Gordian knot would be to transfer the power to the people. No wars or aggressive military actions unless the people approve by popular vote, with a designated quorum.

In fact, since we have the necessary mechanisms and technology, every bill or contemplated government action should be decided by popular vote and the roles of Congress and the President reduced to administrative and clerical only. We have a representative government rather than a true democracy because the latter would have been a practical impossibility in 1789. But not now, with the interblab and everybody and his dog owning or at least having access to a computer.

I have heard some people also say that to qualify to vote one must be current military, former military, or of drafting age. An interesting thought. 

Or that they didn't want one man to be able to embroil the country in a war. They had just spilled immense blood and treasure to prevent that very thing.

MAGA seems to be forgetting how antithetical it is to our values for a President to wage war unilaterally. They, after all, are the self-styled flag-waving patriots. And yes yes yes, I know that most other Presidents have overstepped their boundaries in this regard at one time or another. But that in no way gives Trump license to do that too.

Gaah! Horrifying thought. That means that any older person who has never served in the military would be disenfranchised.

I suspect you mean that those who will most directly bear the consequences of a war should be the ones who decide on whether it should be waged. But civilians who stay at home aren't any less affected...or harmed.

I agree with you. I don't think I would advocate for such a policy. I was just reiterating a thought that I've heard posed by combat veterans that I know. I think their motivation is that they were sick of seeing people willing to send other people's sons to war but never went to war themselves and would never send their children. 

If there's one commonality among combat veterans, it's that they assign some kind of special status, almost a holy aura, to themselves and their experiences. Yeah, combat is difficult and dangerous. But so are many civilian occupations. And many, if not most, are one or the other.

I greatly respect their efforts and sacrifices. But a parent, or a teacher, or a bus driver, or a logger, or a fry cook, all put out effort and make sacrifices as well. I don't subscribe to the pervasive American mythos that they're "special," and a suggestion that they should be awarded privileged voting status sounds like exactly that.

I agree

Trump just barfed out a diatribe about those five Republican apostates, saying that they should never be elected again. Opposing the Turd is a capital offense!

He also sent a couple dozen ICE goons to burn down their houses, but that operation hit a snag when the squad leader radioed in, "No brown people here, please advise."