Posts Tagged ‘United States Supreme Court’
Judicial ‘good Behavior’
We hold Supreme Court Justices in high regard, but should we? The Constitution says they “shall hold their Office during good Behavior?” Well, let’s look at their behavior.
Reclaiming the Constitution – Part V
In 1804, the United States Supreme Court claimed absolute control over the Constitution, declaring only it could decide the Constitution’s meaning and neither the president nor Congress could overrule it. More than 100 years later, through sheer intimidation, President Franklin Roosevelt got the Supreme Court to use this control to give Congress powers not in the Constitution.
Unlimited power – Part IV
“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.” – W. C. Fields
Though I hope this quote refers to the following Supreme Court rulings, some might suggest it better refers to my assessment of the rulings.
The beginning of the end – Part II
Three Supreme Court rulings changed our lives, making our Constitution near irrelevant. One gave the Supreme Court unlimited, unchecked power; the other two gave Congress unlimited power.
Socialism by force
“The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
Margaret Thatcher
Former Prime Minister, Great Britain
Failing to learn, our government continues unabated towards socialism, convinced it knows best, the Constitution obviously outdated, the people’s wishes obviously wrong.
Constitutional coup
” . . . the discretion of the judge is the first engine of tyranny.”
- Edward Gibbon, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”
The ‘ism’ elixir?
“Bad officials are elected by
good citizens who do not vote.”
George Jean Nathan
American drama critic and newspaper editor
I watched a 1948 cartoon produced by Harding College, “Make Mine Freedom,” which tells the story of Ism elixir. If you have already viewed this, my apologies. If not, let me share the tale of Ism.
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.
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.
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.
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 — “gibbsing,” a verb that well describes earlier rulings of the United States Supreme Court.
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
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
Abortion – call it what it is
Killing a fellow human being is not new to us. We already accept killing in war, capital punishment and self-defense. Society has made a distinction between murder and killing.
How to finance the U.S.S.A.
What did the Founding Fathers design our government to provide? Did they design a limited federal government to provide safety, freedom and opportunity? Or did they design a socialist welfare government to take care of our every need with unending entitlement programs?
“…equal protection of the laws”
New Haven, Connecticut, discarded a fire department promotion exam when white firefighters outscored minority firefighters. The city did so because it feared lawsuits, not because the exam was unfair. The United States Supreme Court ruled against the city, with Chief Justice John Roberts suggesting that had the scores been reversed the city would not have discarded the exam.
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?
Who are the ‘real’ terrorists?
The editorial page cartoon in the April 27, 2009, USA Today showed Uncle Sam saying, “Will you ever stop torturing me,” while he is whipping a helpless terrorist strapped on a table.
Is FDR’s New Deal the answer?
Did President Franklin Roosevelt and his “New Deal” shorten the recovery from the Great Depression? Was government intervention in the economy helpful or hurtful or both? Some economists suggest the government manipulated market forces too much and actually prolonged the recovery.
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?
