Happy Constitution Day.
On this day in 1787, the representatives at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the Constitution. It was ratified by the states and went into effect on March 4, 1789.
You remember the Constitution don’t you?
That’s the document that says the president “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed …” Not waive, delay or ignore parts of laws the president doesn’t like. Not tell the attorney general to not defend laws such as the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
Constitution
You know, the piece of paper that says, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives …”
It’s those four-handwritten pages that give Congress the power “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States …” Not to force people to engage in commerce or pay a fine or a tax for not doing so.
They later added the Bill of Rights, which says such things as “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
It also gave Congress the power to “declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.”
The instrument also says the “President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.” Not decide for himself when the Senate is in session.
The First Amendment of those Bill of Rights says Congress “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …” That probably means Congress can’t order a religion to pay for contraceptions, abortifacients and sterilization against its beliefs.
I’m pretty sure the document did not envision a president’s administration creating by regulation laws the Congress refused to pass — think immigration enforcement, EPA, FEC, HHS, HUD, USDA.
As James Madison said, “I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
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4TH ST8 
The Constitution. It was in all the papers. Then the papers disappeared.
Sent from my iPhone
Forgot the welfare work waivers.
http://blog.heritage.org/2013/09/17/morning-bell-5-ways-obama-has-trampled-the-constitution/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell
Are disappearing.
The LVRJ and the Sun leaflet that accompanies it is disappearing, literally, what’s next, three column width, then two, then TV Guide size, they why bother? Less paper and now a higher price, hardly worth going out to get it from the driveway, soon only diehards will subscribe.
“They later added the Bill of Rights, which says such things as ‘right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.’”
You forgot the amendment that says, “The people have a right to keep and bear arms in a state militia.”
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/topguns/check-out-how-texas-textbook-summarizes-second-amendment
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government — lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” – Patrick Henry
“In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I often wondered whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lives in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it.” – Judge Learned Hand
Well folks, those three quotes pretty much sum up the last 226 years…
War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength
Gag me, Milty, and in Texas, too. My version of the 2nd Amendment says it is not a right to bear arms “in a militia,” but that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, because a well regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free state.
Milty, pls note that in your link, Jonathan Wolfe mistakenly states: “Many across the web are pointing out the questionable summary given for the rights granted to citizens in the Second Amendment.”
The Bill of Rights grants nothing: “You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe.” – John Adams
Back to the bogus founding father quote business. Your quote from Patrick Henry is a complete and utter fabrication. He never said that.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_Henry#Misattributed
What is it with you wingnuts and bogus founding father quotes?
“As quoted in The Best Liberal Quotes Ever : Why the Left is Right (2004) by William P. Martin. Though widely attributed to Henry, this statement has not been sourced to any document before the 1990s and appears to be at odds with his beliefs as a strong opponent of the adoption of the US Constitution.”
Hmmm, “has not been sourced” hardly qualifies as “complete and utter fabrication.”
Even if it is a misquote, that hardly negates the point that the Founders believed in a Constitutionally limited, unobtrusive federal government (except perhaps Hamilton), something we haven’t enjoyed since before Lincoln.
“If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one….” – James Madison, letter to Edmund Pendleton, January 21, 1792.
Now, NYP, we all here know that you are enamored with federal power, and an apologist for all kinds of federal usurpation. No, no, don’t bother refuting, just say to yourself, “Yes, I love Big Brother!”, and leave it at that…
War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength
Doesn’t matter if I am repeatedly passing along bogus founding father quotes — I have some more that aren’t bogus!
BTW – Patrick Henry hated, hated the US Constitution.
I am well aware that Henry refused his invitation to the convention, commenting, “I smell a rat.” And, obviously, he also fought bitterly during the ratification process in Virginia. However, once it was the law of the land, he resigned himself to that fact and worked for unity, despite his misgivings, even after the Bill of RIghts that he so fought for (or restrictions on federal power, as the preamble states) was passed.
Meanwhile, I did forget to thank you for that heads up, and I will mark that quote as questionable in my list. But as I wrote, just because one quote is inaccurate, it doesn’t negate my belief that the Constitution was a pretty good attempt to keep the control freaks/tyrants/usurpers at bay, but, unfortunately, two centuries later, they have taken over the governmental reins at virtually all levels, and are successfully setting up a militarized police/surveillance state, supported by an Orwellian warfare/welfare state, which is destroying our individual liberty.
Why? Because as a people, Americans have bought into the “security” of Marxist collectivism, brought about slowly by the Hegelian Dialectic Process, and will reap the rewards of their choices — global governance by fascistic banksters. But first, everyone will have the opportunity to choose whether to go along to get along with tyranny, or whether to stand up for the values of our Founders – freedom and self-government.
NYP, which will you choose?
War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength
The quote isn’t “questionable”; it is false. Patrick Henry never said such words or wrote such words.
One thing I have noticed in trolling extremist sites such as this one is that American conservatives have a very post-modern attitude towards matters of factual accuracy.
“…American conservatives have a very post-modern attitude towards matters of factual accuracy.”
So on one of the few issues where conservatives are following the lead of President Obama, Nyp’s complaining?
http://www.amazon.com/Deconstructing-Obama-Americas-Postmodern-President/dp/B0055X55HK
That’s the guy who claims that Obama’s books were actually written by Bill Ayers, right?
“That’s the guy who claims that Obama’s books were actually written by Bill Ayers, right?”
No, he’s the guy who claims that JFK’s book was actually written by Ted Sorensen.
No, he is not.
“One thing I have noticed in trolling extremist sites such as this one is that American conservatives have a very post-modern attitude towards matters of factual accuracy.”
LOL, this is an extremist site? Loving liberty and following the organic Constitution is only extremist to those who hate both, which certainly isn’t a shock in your case. You demand accuracy from “conservatives”, yet ignore the constant crap spewed from the other side. I guess it’s all just a matter of who butters your bread.
Which begs the question, NYP: Do you troll for fun and excitement, or are you paid?
War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength
Maybe Henry said those words and no one wrote it down.
1. I’m obviously paid (per click) by George Soros, but I do work on the side for the Illuminati, the Bilderberg Conference, the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds, and the Queen of England.
2. If I make factually inaccurate statements or (much more egregiously,) cite fabricated quotations, feel free to point that out.
3. Is this an extremist site? Well, its proprietor believes that the following are both unconstitutional and harmful and should be abolished: Medicare, Social Security, federal child labor laws, federal minimum wage laws, public universities, public high schools and public elementary schools. He seems to think that Lincoln was a tyrant and that the Confederacy was justified in attempting to break up the Union. I dunno, perhaps he is correct in holding all those positions. But on the spectrum of American opinion his views are so far to the extreme right that I get a neck spasm just trying to point them out. Then we have the fact that some of the regular denizens on this site have some pretty whacked-out views. For example, they believe that 9/11 was some kind of conspiracy by the Bush Administration — a view that should fill any sane reader with absolute disgust. And they think that America is already an Orwellian nightmare controlled by “freaks/tyrants/usurpers.”
Wouldn’t you agree that sounds pretty extreme?
You know, it just comes down to mindsets. You apparently don’t respect the philosophies that this nation was founded upon, and prefer the federal government to control everything in sight, and don’t really care if its actions are constitutional or not. Fine, that’s your prerogative, and you should certainly defend your belief system. But don’t be disingenuous and pretend that embracing Big Government has no negative ramifications.
If wanting to live under the same level of liberty as our Founders envisioned is now considered extremism in “post-modern” America, well then, make the most of it!
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
And when you finally figure out that you were just a useful idiot in this whole game, don’t come crying to me.
Extremely rational.
Yes – this so-called democracy of ours is just a big illusion, a big game. It is controlled by shadowy interests hell-bent on enslaving us all. Nothing more than a big, big, big conspiracy.
Democracy?
I thought this country was founded as a constitutional republic.
Wasn’t there someone who said something like a democracy is a gaggle of geese?