|
Latest Articles: U.S. Constitution
NSA Spying Ruled Illegal, But Will Congress Save the Program Anyway?
Post Date: 2015-05-13 05:27:18 by Deckard
0 Comments
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the NSA’s metadata collection program was not authorized in US law. The PATRIOT Act, under which the program began, was too vague, the court found. But the truth is the Act was intended to be vague so that the government could interpret it in the broadest possible way. But this is really more of a technicality, because illegality and unconstitutionality are really two very different things. Even if Congress had explicitly authorized the government to collect our phone records, that law would still be unconstitutional because the Constitution does not grant government the power to access our personal information without a valid ...
OBAMA RIPS FOX: ‘WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE HOW THE MEDIA REPORTS’
Post Date: 2015-05-12 20:51:28 by out damned spot
7 Comments
For going on seven years we have learned three things about President Obama: 1) He loves the poor so much he continues to create more of them. 2) He loves the poor so much he does everything in his power to keep them poor. 3) He doesn’t see the opposition as loyal, but as bad players — his enemy. This is especially true of Fox News, which Obama ripped as anti-poor bigots during a Wednesday afternoon summit on poverty. We’re used to this Obama, the forever-partisan who has never seen himself as president of all the people but only of those who worship him. What was most revealing about the president’s comments was his expressed desire to “change how the media ...
BY THE PEOPLE: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission
Post Date: 2015-05-11 23:00:26 by tpaine
2 Comments
BY THE PEOPLE: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission By Charles Murray Crown Forum. 319 pages. $27. From the tea party to Occupy Wall Street to #BlackLivesMatter, America has spent much of this young century questioning its premises. And as the battles over federal spending, economic inequality and racial injustice continue, Charles Murray comes forward to identify another threat to the nation’s purpose and self- image: the rise of the regulatory state, a rapacious shadow government that has left us “at the end of the American project as the founders intended it.” Murray, a political scientist and professional controversy magnet at the American Enterprise Institute, is ...
Rand Paul plans filibuster fight over Patriot Act (& Ron Wyden... Ted Cruz, Patrick Leahy, Mike Lee)
Post Date: 2015-05-11 16:03:58 by Hondo68
1 Comments
The GOP presidential hopeful joins Democrat Ron Wyden in threatening to block a bill reauthorizing the Patriot Act without NSA reforms.Sen. Rand Paul during a filibuster of John Brennan's nomination as CIA director in March 2013. (AP Photo/Senate Television) Sen. Rand Paul is squarely staring down congressional leadership over surveillance reform. The Kentucky Republican said Monday he would filibuster any attempt to reauthorize the sections of the Patriot Act that allow the National Security Agency to run its mass data-collection programs. "I'm going to lead the charge in the next couple of weeks as the Patriot Act comes forward," Paul told the New Hampshire Union Leader. ...
Civil forfeiture: You can't make this stuff up
Post Date: 2015-05-07 10:32:03 by Deckard
6 Comments
"You're just making this stuff up."So responded Iowa State Rep. Clel Baudler, chairman of the Public Safety Committee and member of the Government Oversight Committee. In April, I had traveled to Des Moines to testify regarding civil asset forfeiture. Baudler's reaction to a law-abiding citizen attempting to state facts and express concerns speaks volumes on the growing rift between citizens and law enforcement.No, Representative Baudler, I was not making anything up, not even exaggerating. The facts speak for themselves. The only mistake I made was anticipating (hoping) that our elected representatives would be familiar with this important issue.For example, on April 15, ...
The Madisonian Dilemma
Post Date: 2015-05-06 20:00:58 by tpaine
24 Comments
The Madisonian Dilemma Cambridge University Press ^ | Dennis Goldford Jefferson commented that the purpose of a constitution is to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power, doing so by the chains of the Constitution. While the binding capacity of the Constitution comes into play in the area of structural principles such as federalism and the separation of powers, perhaps the prime example of that capacity is its role in the problematic relation between majority rule and individual rights. As fundamental law, the Constitution, supposedly above politics, is always drawn into political controversies between majority rule and individual rights precisely because of its ...
In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn’t Amount to Much
Post Date: 2015-05-06 12:53:48 by Deckard
3 Comments
Police officers are more likely to be struck by lightning than be held financially accountable for their actions.—Law professor Joanna C. Schwartz (paraphrased) “In a democratic society,” observed Oakland police chief Sean Whent, “people have a say in how they are policed.” Unfortunately, if you can be kicked, punched, tasered, shot, intimidated, harassed, stripped, searched, brutalized, terrorized, wrongfully arrested, and even killed by a police officer, and that officer is never held accountable for violating your rights and his oath of office to serve and protect, never forced to make amends, never told that what he did was wrong, and never made to change his ...
Obama's Constitutional Role Model?
Post Date: 2015-05-04 13:51:19 by SOSO
17 Comments
The following is an excerpt for John Yoos Jefferson and Executive Power:
"CONCLUSION
Contrary to popular belief, Jefferson believed in an independent Presidency with inherent powers. He used them vigorously to the great benefit of the nation. Jefferson did not hesitate to exert direct control over the entire executive branch, challenge the courts over the right to interpret the Constitution, and use the military to advance foreign policy goals. He kept a firm control over foreign policy. Most importantly, Jefferson believed the President could act extra-constitutionally when the demands of necessity required. His belief in the Lockean prerogative allowed him to seize the great ...
Principles of Constitutionalism: Malum in Se versus Malum Prohibitum
Post Date: 2015-04-28 00:29:14 by tpaine
2 Comments
http://canadafreepress.com Principles of Constitutionalism: Malum in Se versus Malum Prohibitum Law, as a principle, should act to affirm and support natural liberty, rather than oppose it Author By Tim Dunkin In previous essays in this series, I have tried to emphasize that genuine constitutional republican government rests upon a foundation of the rule of law, which restrains government to fulfilling only certain, constitutionally-defined roles. Within legitimate governments, these roles are, in turn, defined by the principles of natural law and should serve to reinforce, rather than to undercut or overrule, the natural rights of the citizens. Our American Constitution was designed ...
The de facto meaning of the Consitution was, and continues to be, defined by testing it with actions.
Post Date: 2015-04-27 00:34:51 by tpaine
14 Comments
The plain simple truth is none of the framers, signatories or ratifiers of the U.S. Constitution had a clear and accurate understanding of what the Consitution meant, much less was there total agreement on what the intention was other than to deliberately make the language less than definitive, to make the language flexible and subject to interpretation.
Poster Comment:This remarkable interpretation of what our constitution means was recently posted on the 10th Amendment thread by SOSO.. Comments anyone?
"The Federalist Papers"
Post Date: 2015-04-26 15:53:47 by buckeroo
3 Comments
Sign up for "The Federalist Papers" Written between October 1787 and August 1788, The Federalist Papers is a collection of newspaper essays written in defense of the Constitution. Writing under the penname Publius, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay explain the merits of the proposed Constitution, while confronting objections raised by its opponents. Thomas Jefferson described the work as “the best commentary on the principles of government, which ever was written.” This course will explore major themes of The Federalist Papers, such as the problem of majority faction, separation of powers, and the three branches of government. This is a ten week course. ...
America's Soft Police State
Post Date: 2015-04-26 10:55:28 by tpaine
24 Comments
America's Soft Police State By Mark J. Fitzgibbons Today Americans live in a soft police state. We may not sense its severity and doom like runaway slaves or Anne Frank, but the freedoms of the greatest number of Americans have never been more threatened and violated institutionally -- both openly and secretively -- by our own government. The Fourth Amendment, which is the law limiting government power to search and seize our persons and most private property, has been gutted by executive and administrative actions, Congress, and the courts -- the very bodies that were supposed to enforce it on government. This American Bill of Right is based in English common law, and was written ...
Brutal Antagonistic Cop Assaults Woman Just Innocently Trying to Exercise her Constitutional Rights
Post Date: 2015-04-25 20:05:14 by no gnu taxes
3 Comments
Marijuana Is Not, Repeat Not, a Gateway Drug
Post Date: 2015-04-25 19:05:28 by buckeroo
22 Comments
With states legalizing marijuana by popular vote, some politicians, including Boston mayor Marty Walsh and New Jersey governor Chris Christie, are still calling marijuana a gateway drug. The gateway theory argues that because heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine users often used marijuana before graduating to harder drugs, it must be a “gateway” to harder drug use. The theory implies that there is a causal mechanism that biologically sensitizes drug users, making them more willing to try—and more desirous of—harder drugs. Yet the gateway hypothesis doesn’t make sense to those who use marijuana or have used in the past. Research shows that the vast majority of ...
Restoring the 10th Amendment [Full Thread]
Post Date: 2015-04-25 12:11:49 by tpaine
72 Comments
http://townhall.com Restoring the 10th Arrangement Editor's note: This column was co-authored by Congressman John Culberson (R- Texas). One of the basic responsibilities of the executive branch is to execute the law faithfully. The Obama Administration, however, has no problem ignoring this duty to create its own rules. Instead of working with Congress on substantive, collaborative legislation, the president has routinely opted to govern by decree, empowering bureaucrats at the expense of the democratic process. His misguided approach puts partisan politics – not the will of the people – at the forefront of decision-making in Washington. Our reasons for introducing the ...
A shocking new report details a memorandum between the VA and the FBI that shows them working together to disarm American veterans
Post Date: 2015-04-24 10:31:26 by Deckard
1 Comments
The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with the FBI to place veterans on a list that bans them from owning firearms, according to an article by The Daily Caller that cites a previously unreleased memorandum. This end run around the 2nd Amendment apparently starts with a veteran seeking medical care at a VA hospital. After the visit, VA officials can then add the veteran to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for any number of shocking reasons including their personal finances and common medical decisions. This now public backdoor gun confiscation program can then lead to unknowing veterans being raided by ATF agents who demand they turn over their previously ...
Raisin takings case oral argument goes badly for the government
Post Date: 2015-04-23 21:10:04 by tpaine
7 Comments
Raisin takings case oral argument goes badly for the government Things did not go well for the federal government in today’s oral argument in Horne v. US Department of Agriculture, the raisin takings case. Nearly all of the justices were highly skeptical of the government’s claim that forcible confiscation of large quantities of raisins somehow does not qualify as a taking of private property that requires “just compensation” under the Fifth Amendment. The forced transfer is part of a 1937 program that requires farmers to turn over a large portion of their raisin crop to the government so as to artificially reduce the amount of raisins on the market, and thereby ...
Supreme Court: Cops can’t hold suspects to wait for drug-sniffing dog
Post Date: 2015-04-21 13:09:58 by tpaine
35 Comments
thehill.com Supreme Court: Cops can’t hold suspects to wait for drug-sniffing dog By Julian Hattem - 04/21/15 11:11 AM EDT The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that the Constitution forbids police from holding a suspect without probable cause, even for fewer than 10 extra minutes. Writing on behalf of the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg declared that the constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure prevent police from extending an otherwise completed traffic stop to allow for a drug-sniffing dog to arrive. “We hold that a police stop exceeding the time needed to handle the matter for which the stop was made violates the Constitution’s shield ...
Automakers to gearheads: Stop repairing cars
Post Date: 2015-04-21 08:01:10 by tpaine
7 Comments
www.autoblog.com Automakers to gearheads: Stop repairing cars Automakers are supporting provisions in copyright law that could prohibit home mechanics and car enthusiasts from repairing and modifying their own vehicles. In comments filed with a federal agency that will determine whether tinkering with a car constitutes a copyright violation, OEMs and their main lobbying organization say cars have become too complex and dangerous for consumers and third parties to handle. Allowing them to continue to fix their cars has become "legally problematic," according to a written statement from the Auto Alliance, the main lobbying arm of automakers. The dispute arises from a section ...
The Return of George Washington: 1783 – 1789
Post Date: 2015-04-19 17:54:19 by tpaine
0 Comments
http://www.openlettersmonthly.com The Return of George Washington: 1783 – 1789 By Edward Larson William Morrow, 2014 Is there really more to write about George Washington? Almost as soon as he was in the grave, biographies began appearing, often multi-volume such as John Marshall’s six-volume Life of Washington. Two centuries later, that tide continues to come in. But what more can be known? Too often, new biographies repackage old analysis for a new generation. Worse, as with the other Framers some new biographies are less interested in discussing their subjects than in molding their lives into cudgels for modern political battles (think Glenn Beck’s frequent appeals to ...
The Return of George Washington: 1783 – 1789
Post Date: 2015-04-19 17:54:16 by tpaine
0 Comments
http://www.openlettersmonthly.com The Return of George Washington: 1783 – 1789 By Edward Larson William Morrow, 2014 Is there really more to write about George Washington? Almost as soon as he was in the grave, biographies began appearing, often multi-volume such as John Marshall’s six-volume Life of Washington. Two centuries later, that tide continues to come in. But what more can be known? Too often, new biographies repackage old analysis for a new generation. Worse, as with the other Framers some new biographies are less interested in discussing their subjects than in molding their lives into cudgels for modern political battles (think Glenn Beck’s frequent appeals to ...
Veteran Arrested After Stopping Flag-Stomping Protest
Post Date: 2015-04-19 13:24:38 by misterwhite
25 Comments
A U.S. veteran found herself arrested and banned from the campus of Valdosta State University in Georgia after she tried to take an American flag from protesters who were stomping on it. The incident, which occurred Friday, can be seen on a video recently posted to Liveleak. A group of protesters hoping to show their contempt for the United States had unfurled a flag on the ground, and were walking on top of it. Michelle Manhart, who served in the Air Force, told the Valdosta Daily Times that she didn’t know what the group’s cause was, but that she was determined to protect the flag from being disrespected after hearing about the protest from a Valdosta student. “I was ...
Woman Fined For Feeding The Homeless Tells Police: ‘This Is My Church and This Is How I Pray’
Post Date: 2015-04-18 21:23:24 by Orwellian Nightmare
31 Comments
Joan Cheever was recently stopped and cited by police for the “crime” of feeding the homeless. But this a San Antonio woman accused police of infringing on her free exercise of religion, which requires her to feed the homeless. Cheever said that she received a citation Tuesday for literally nothing other than feeding the homeless. She now faces a penalty that could reach up to $2,000. But Cheever told the officers who arrived at the scene to ticket her, that she has “a legal right to do this.” Police officer Mike Marrota disagreed. To him, whatever the state says, goes… even if it contradicts the Constitution that he swore to uphold. Cheever told Texas Public ...
Obama loses BIG as Corker-Menendez bill passes committee unanimously
Post Date: 2015-04-18 08:16:44 by out damned spot
0 Comments
The Senate Foreign Relations committee approved Tuesday afternoon the Corker- Menendez bill requiring that any deal the Obama Administration makes with Iran has to be approved by congress unanimously. Technically Congress won’t be voting on the deal, they will be voting on whether or not to remove the sanctions. However if the sanctions are not removed there will be no deal from Iran's point of view. But that's not the big story. After Sen. Corker announced a compromise everyone knew the bill would pass with bipartisan support, although no one could have foreseen unanimity. The big news is that Obama folded. He said via his press secretary Josh Earnest that unless there were ...
How the Constitution protects “free range” parents
Post Date: 2015-04-17 11:33:52 by tpaine
0 Comments
How the Constitution protects “free range” parents Montgomery County, Maryland police and Child Protective Services officials recently detained 10 year old Rafi Meitiv and his 6 year old sister Dvora, for hours merely because they were seen walking home from a local park alone (including a lengthy period when they were not allowed to contact their parents). They were picked up by police just three blocks from their home. CPS previously detained the children for exactly the same reason in December, investigated the parents for supposed “neglect,” and tried to pressure them into changing their parenting practices. The parents, who believe in following a “free ...
Latest [Newer] 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 [Older]
|
