The amendments in the Bill of Rights seem to be viewed by many people as part of the original constitution. It looks to me that later amendments can be categorized as either clarifications of the constitution or alterations to it. The Eleventh Amendment would fall under the category of clarification: The Judicial power of...
My appreciation for the second amendment just went up another notch. Opponents of gun ownership rights like to argue that guns kill people (for that matter so do hands, cars, T-bone steaks, and many other things) but they never mentioned that gun rights could also kill an illegal house seat for D.C.: Fights over...
While it is good news that 10 banks will be allowed to repay billions in bailout funds I would be much more excited if I didn’t already know what was likely to happen as a result. The banks were deemed strong enough to leave the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, after months of...
I understand that it is a commonly held belief that the political left has more influence in online political activity than the political right. Now we have research by Richard Davis that sheds a bit of light on that. Davis also queried more than 200 journalists to learn how they use blog content in...
In my study of our founding documents I found this Petition from the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, signed by Benjamin Franklin and published in 1790, to be rather interesting. In the Letter the society asks Congress: that you will be pleased to countenance the Restoration of liberty to {slaves}, that you...
I was not sure whether to gag or chuckle when I heard the news that Senator Bennett wants to prevent the use of TARP money for the auto industry. To me that just sounds like he’s shutting the barn doors after the cows have escaped while insisting that there’s nothing wrong with leaving the...
With the news yesterday that New Hampshire passed a law to allow gay marriage I sincerely hope that the proponents of gay marriage may begin to see the right way to bring the change they seek – especially when put in context next to Vermont’s legalization of gay marriage, Maine’s legalization, the setback in...
Up until the last few months, when states have started to assert their rights through such actions as resolutions and the formation of the Patrick Henry Caucus, I am convinced that the Tenth Amendment has long been the most widely ignored of our Bill of Rights amendments. The powers not delegated to the United...
I really appreciated being challenged in my positions related to the eighth amendment. I would love to have people continue to let me know when they think I’m off base. As I read the Ninth Amendment I see it as a great example of why Hamilton was concerned about the side effects of having...
Back at the end of March David Brooks made a prediction for GM in the New York Times that came due today. I have been waiting to check in on that. He started with this background of the situation as it stood that day: The Bush advisers decided in December that bankruptcy without preparation...