Archive for the ‘Democracy/Government’ Category
The Supreme Court – omnipotent and divine?
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments to decide if the Second Amendment right of the individual to “keep and bear Arms” applies to the states in addition to federal enclaves such as Washington, D.C. Can the court please point to the section of the United States Constitution granting it the power to choose which parts […]
It’s our choice
“The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man.” Albert Einstein Larry Echohawk, the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior, recently commented on the mistreatment of the “first Americans” by the United States government. […]
Government economics and free markets
Can our free market economy survive the federal government? The president and Congress may get to learn what C.S. Lewis meant when he defined experience as “that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.” Hopefully, you do learn, but not always, which leads us to the economic theories of Vice […]
It’s our Constitution
Contrary to the wishes of Congress, the Supreme Court and the lower courts, “we the people” in our capacity as jurors and state legislators have the power to nullify laws we find unconstitutional. Did the founding fathers opine on this power? In 1790, James Wilson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and […]
Supreme Court – Constitutional guardian or Guardian Council?
Does the Supreme Court submit to the authority of the United States Constitution, as it should? Or, is it complicit with Congress, functioning beyond its constitutional powers? In 1803, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall, trying to preserve the checks and balances in the Constitution said, “To what purpose are powers limited, and […]
The Consitution v. the federal government
The Declaration of Independence states, “. . . these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.” This sentiment was reaffirmed in 1781 in the Articles of Confederation which states, “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation […]
The Bill of Prvileges
The Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, was ratified by three-fourths of the states in 1791. The Constitution was ratified four years earlier in 1787. Our Bill of Rights came into existence amid debate and deliberation. Many anti-federalists who supported it previously opposed ratification of the Constitution because that […]
“Humans are more important than hardware”
On Christmas day, a Nigerian man boarded Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit with a bomb he planned to detonate over the United States, his success prevented more by luck than skill. The President responded saying there were “human and system failures” and the United States will do “whatever it takes” to defeat the […]
Guns, the Constitution and Switzerland
A fact regularly ignored in much of the gun debate – the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. In 2008, the Supreme Court revisited the constitutional meaning of the right of the individual to “keep and bear arms,” and unequivocally affirmed our constitutional right of individual gun ownership. That should end the debate because […]
Free market economy?
Discussing the economy, the President said the private sector is “still nervous about whether they want to go ahead and take the risks that are inherent in a free market system.” But, the private sector is not afraid of free markets, it is afraid of continued government interference and fears how much more it will […]
What is public and what is private?
Does the public have a right to know everything? Does freedom of the press have any limits? Is anything private? Is everything fair game? How might Tiger Woods answer these questions? “Yes, no, no, yes.” Moreover, these questions have little to do with any claimed right to privacy, and all to do with the Constitution. […]
The damnpolitician and the farmer
Last week, I proponed the Founding Fathers had only two requirements to be president of the United States because they wanted to protect the people’s power to choose the president. They did not want those writing the Constitution and those later “interpreting” it to be able to limit our choices. They assumed people like you […]
To be President of the United States
There are only two constitutional requirements to be president of the United States of America. You must be a natural born citizen of the United States and at least 35 years of age. That is all that is needed for the most important job in the world. Although considered enough in 1787, is that enough […]
Robert Gibbs is a verb
The most entertaining moments of this presidency are watching Robert Gibbs explain the ramblings of Vice President Biden. With a straight face, a feigned sincerity and accompanied by the laughter of the press corps Gibbs says, “I understand what he said and I’m telling you what he meant to say.” He invented a new verb […]
“Earn this. Earn it.” – Veteran’s Day
Who are the men and women we honor each year on Veterans Day? An anonymous person offered the following description – “A veteran is someone who at one point in life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’” What makes […]
Who really has the power?
“The United States Constitution has proved itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written.” –President Franklin Roosevelt Did the founding fathers create a “marvelously elastic” Constitution as Roosevelt suggested? No, they created the antithesis, granting their new government limited powers, enumerated to prevent it from evolving into another all […]
Who has the power – government or “we the people”
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” –James Madison, 4th U.S. President father of the United States Constitution How does Congress constitutionally justify spending money on anything it chooses? […]
Spending the people’s money
“Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.” − Ronald Reagan Is it an appropriate use of taxpayer money to fund a “tattoo removal violence prevention program,” a Sparta Teapot museum, a program to communicate with extra-terrestrials, the Pleasure […]
The entitled generation
Last week I watched a news report on a new type of life crisis. Well, sort of. A young reporter discussed the many difficulties facing the 25-year-olds as they finish college. Wait a minute? Why are 25-year-olds just finishing college? Did they take a few years off along the way? How did they do that? […]
More jobs, larger tax base, fewer entitlements
The government continues wasting our money, leading us further into socialism and worse. Our leaders refuse to understand that the free market economy works, but only if the government stops trying to help. Nonetheless, government continues handing out “free” money, people little noticing that they are becoming dependent on those monies and losing the incentive […]