Spotted this quote over on the 9/12 Project web page:
"Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act. In this relation, then, the new Constitution will, if established, be a FEDERAL, and not a NATIONAL constitution."
-James Madison
On Wednesday I was asked by someone if the Tea Party protests were about the Tenth Amendment at all. I told him that I thought that the Tea Party protests were about all of the Constitution, not just about taxation and spending; that the Federal government has exceeded its bounds and needed to be reminded about where their power derived-from the consent of the governed. He pressed, and asked if I thought the Tenth Amendment issue was settled. Since he wanted to corner me on an answer, I told him, in essence, that I thought that there is a lot that is still unsettled, specifically with regard to the 9th, 10th, and 11th Amendments.
Think about the following...
The 9th Amendment:"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people".
This means that the constitution does not limit OUR actions, and our rights not listed in the Constitution are still ours to excercise. The power is retained by the PEOPLE, not the Government.
The 10th Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people".
There will continue to be struggles in the balance of power relationship between the States and the Fed. As long as the Fed continues to use Commerce as justification for its existence, and redistribution of tax dollars (with strings attached) as the club of enforcement, then the States will continue to be Vassals of the Fed. Most States can throw off the yoke of Federal control of their operations by refusing Federal Tax dollars. Because, ALL Federal Tax Dollars come with strings attached. Governor Perry of Texas is starting his state down this path.
The 11th Amendment: "The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State".
This means that Federal courts and Federal Prosecutors need to stay out of issues involving issues between citizens inside a state, and between states. It also means that the Federal courts can not be used by Foreign Nationals to sue citizens or States. The Federal Judiciary has exceeded this Amendment many times over, by adopting an expansive view of the Commerce Clause (as Congress has done) in order to interpose themselves into issues that rightfully should be resolved at the State level. Of course, since the Supreme Court has final authority to interpret the Constitution, they have already deemed their usurpation of jurisdiction to be Constitutional. Go figure.
I'll bet that the "constitutional scholar" (yes, lower-case) in the White House thinks that these issues have all been settled long ago. You know, the Constitution is a "living document" to the Left. Situational ethics, and malleable morality muddle the Left's thinking regularly, right up to and until they regain power. At that point, the Constitution is no longer up for debate...unless WE THE PEOPLE make it so.
Contact your congress critters regularly. Hold their feet to the fire about upholding their oath of office. Ensure that your voice is heard. And if they don't listen? Throw the bums out!
Enjoy your weekend.
Pax,
Newbius
1 comment:
Newbius,
Your notes on the Constitution are very helpful. I have added to my project list a commitment to go through the Constitution line-by-line, reading particularly (obviously) in the context of the threat we are currently under.
It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance on the way to the Tea Party on Wednesday.
These are certainly interesting times we live in. I knew it was bad, but the virulent, militant response by the press to our peaceful and rational gathering is a new indicator point. The people I met there were the kind that any normal person would like to see moving in next door.
Yes, they evacuated us from the park for about 45 minutes. When they let us back in, the event organizer took to the microphone and made some very gracious remarks about the Secret Service folks taking care of their business in a timely manner so that the park could be reoccupied. Even though it was tea bags, I have not ruled it out as a false flag op. There were a few code pink people making their way through the crowd when I first got to the event.
Before the park "evacuation", the event organizer was interviewed by Greta Van Susteren. This is not an advertisement for Fox, but the interview questions were all reasonable, some challenging, and no softballs. The event person did very well with her responses.
Cheers!
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