Posts Tagged ‘Law’
Unlimited power – Part III
Since ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791, the Supreme Court has found a constitutional answer to every case brought before it. Doesn’t it seem unlikely that a document prepared in the 1700s could address all issues for more than two hundred years? We currently have nine justices, none elected by the people, all appointed to their office for life, who claim absolute control over the United States Constitution. Is this what the founding fathers and the states intended? With their fear of government, why would they give unchecked power to any branch of the federal government?
The path to socialism – Part I
“We do not have socialism. We have regulated capitalism.” – ISJ reader comment
Is that true? Is it all or none? Or is the path to socialism a process so slow that each individual step is logical, masking the eventual outcome and encouraging inattention and indifference until it’s too late? More important, if we are not yet socialist, is our federal government still the limited government the founding fathers created with the United States Constitution?
Is the Arizona law a burden?
Those opposed to Arizona’s illegal alien law praised Judge Susan Bolton’s ruling against it as a victory for immigration rights. Really? What did the Arizona law have to do with immigration rights? Wasn’t it about illegal aliens?
Sanctuary cities and Arizona
Among the limited powers of the federal government are matters of immigration and border security. However, the government seems unable to carry out these constitutional responsibilities, seemingly incapable of doing what the Constitution mandates.
Impenetrable borders
Is border security a priority for the government? The president proposes adding $500 million to the Border Patrol budget, which seems significant until you remember he spent over $3 billion on the “cash for clunkers” program. Further, his solution for the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens already here is to create a way for them to become U.S. citizens. But won’t that just increase future illegal entry into our country rather than eliminate it?
Racism or common sense?
Reading about Arizona’s new law dealing with illegal aliens, I got the impression that Arizona had done something radical by requiring non-citizens to carry documents proving their legal status in our country. Not so. The new Arizona law only enforces existing federal law, the Alien Registration Act passed by Congress in 1940. Arizona is only enforcing federal law the federal government refuses to enforce. This is an act of necessity, of common sense and is Arizona’s latest attempt to deal with 450,000 criminals in the state. Remember, illegal aliens are criminals, not undocumented immigrants.
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.
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?
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.
“Give me the youth…”
What do a group of like-minded people do when they cannot convince society to agree with them? How do they persuade society to not only acknowledge their values, but in the end to agree with those values?
Dr. Tiller – the murderer is murdered
Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed last week while serving as an usher in his church. Is this a fitting end for the man who performed over 60,000 abortions and arrogantly performed “late term” abortions?
Role of the Supreme Court?
A Justice of the United States Supreme Court is retiring. A chance to re-shape the court. A chance to change history. Wait a minute. Don’t the above statements suggest the United States Constitution is flexible, open to interpretation, no need to amend it?
Selective law enforcement
What do you do with a county sheriff who treats criminals like criminals, who enforces all the laws, not just the politically correct ones?
“Make my day” gun laws
Guns are back in the news, or perhaps more correctly, still in the news, this time in Colorado. A 22-year-old man drove home with a blood alcohol of 0.26, three times the legal limit. He drove to the wrong house, beat on the front door hollering obscenities when he could not get in, went to the back door beating on it while hollering more obscenities, and then broke a window, reaching in to unlock the deadbolt. At that point, the homeowner, who had been on the phone with police the entire time, shot him twice, killing him.
“to provide for the…general welfare of the United States”
Our Founding Fathers fought the Revolutionary War to free us from a government that controlled our lives. They created the United States of America with a Constitution granting specific, limited powers to the government, guaranteeing that “We the people” controlled the government. So how does Congress regularly circumvent the Constitution, expanding their power without “We the people” consenting? Remember, our Constitution begins with “We the people,” not “We the Congress.”
What are blue laws?
The Founding Fathers built our nation with a religious foundation. I believe they wanted religion in government; but did they want government in religion?
Should gay marriage be legal?
On November 4th three more states passed constitutional amendments refusing to legalize gay marriage, raising the total to thirty states with similar amendments. Gays were outraged at the outcome and at those who did not support legalizing gay marriage.
Edward Bushell and the power of juries
Can a citizen exert power over the government? Can a citizen be protected from government enacting bad law? Can a citizen do anything about bad law? Does the jury represent the citizen, the government, the court, or do they represent the Constitution of the United States of America? Does the jury answer to the court or do they answer to their judgment and conscience? Can a jury rule on law, or must they only rule as the court directs? How do juries relate to the branches of government that have the power to enact and interpret the law?
What to do about illegal aliens?
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is challenging a federal government plan to use the Social Security Administration’s “no match” rule to crack down on illegal aliens. Currently they send “no match” letters to employers who have more than 10 employees with a mismatch between their name and their social security number. Previously, there were no incentives for employers to respond, allowing them to ignore these letters. The new plan from Homeland Security would give the employer 90 days to resolve the mismatch, fire the employee, or face legal consequences. The chamber is concerned there will be a significant financial impact on industries that employ large numbers of illegal aliens. They also are concerned that requiring industries to comply with the law will create costly paperwork and procedures. But, the Social Security Administration only sends mismatch letters to employers with 10 or more mismatches. Are we to believe employers with large numbers of illegal workers are unaware they are hiring illegal aliens? How much sympathy does a company deserve when knowingly employing illegal aliens?
Virginia Tech, one year later
April 16, 2008 is the first anniversary of the 32 people murdered on the Virginia Tech campus. The state of Virginia has reached a legal settlement with most victims’ families. The reactions to this settlement, the ongoing evaluations of what occurred that day, and the many assertions of who is to blame for the tragedy continues.
