Academic

In this week’s broadcast of This American Life Ira Glass presents “The Audacity of Government” in which the show relays “Stories of the Bush Administration, its unique style of asserting presidential authority, and its quest to redefine the limits of presidential power.”

The episode provides a prologue (featuring law blogger Jack Balkin) and a series of stories on presidential power and the Bush administration. What caught my eye, or ear, was the first Act, which tells the story of a land boundary dispute - but not just any land boundary dispute - this one involves the US/Canadian border … and Pomeranians. Here is the preview synopsis:

Act One. The Prez vs. The Commish.

Ira Glass tells the story of a little-known treaty dispute with far-reaching ramifications for our understanding of executive power. The dispute is between the President and one of his appointees…to the International Boundary Commission with Canada. This little-known commission carried out its function without fanfare or incident for over a hundred years, until a couple of retirees in Washington State built a wall in their backyard and, quite literally, set off an international incident.

Apparently this retiree couple lives right on the US side of the US/Canadian border and the long-standing treaty mentioned above required that they tear down a cement wall that they had built to keep in all of their Pomeranian puppies (they are breeders). The US/Canadian commission (IBC)  had for years had a hard and fast rule (as per the treaty) that the border could not be obstructed and was enforcing it on the Pomeranian owning couple who chose to litigate the matter. All was going as planned until the Justice Department got involved. I won’t reveal what happens next, but here’s a hint: it’s either wacky hijinks or a rather disturbing political power play, or both.

You can get the free download here (MP3).