Musings of a Patriot

Month: September 2009

  • Future Amendment – Fiscal Discipline

    I believe I have been very clear about what I think of the 16th Amendment. For anyone who wasn’t sure – I think it should go the way of the 18th Amendment and be repealed. Not long ago I found a group that feels the same way and is pushing for the 28th amendment to…

  • Future Amendment – D.C. Representation

    Having read and processed all the documents upon which our Constitution was built as well the Constitution itself and each existing amendment along with other significant expressions of American political thought through our history I think I have established a fairly solid foundation for my own political thinking that can be explored by anyone who…

  • I Pledge

    With all the uproar over the showing of this video to elementary students I have been asked to weigh in on the video and whether it was appropriate to show it to the students. Of course others will have their own opinions and you are free to view the video yourself and let me know…

  • Free and Strong America

    I got an invitation yesterday to donate to the Free and Strong America PAC. The stated goal of this organization is to “advance conservative social, fiscal, and foreign policies.” Considering that this is Mitt Romney’s organization I had a bit of a laugh. Romney might advance conservative social policies (depending entirely upon your personal definition…

  • Constitutional Amendment 27

    I was fascinated when I learned that the 27th Amendment was included in the original proposal for the Bill of Rights. No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. Unlike the original 10 amendments this one, along with one…

  • Constitutional Amendment 26

    Like the 15th and 19th amendments before it, the 26th Amendment is direct and to the point in extending the right to vote to a previously disenfranchised group. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United…

  • Wash Your Hands

    [quote]Dr. Peter Pronovost sought to reduce the incidence of hospital-borne infections by promoting a simple checklist of ICU procedures governing physician hand-washing and other sterilization procedures. Hospitals implementing Pronovost’s checklist had enjoyed almost instantaneous success, reducing hospital-infection rates by two-thirds within the first three months of its adoption. But many physicians rejected the checklist as…

  • Constitutional Amendment 25

    I’m curious about what prompted Congress to finally address the issue of presidential succession when they did, but there were actually two proposals for the 25th Amendment. One would have given Congress the power to determine the presidential succession by law. The other stipulated the succession in the Constitution itself. Section 1. In case of…

  • Constitutional Amendment 24

    I would guess that poll taxes made more sense before the government adopted income taxes but because poll taxes could be abused (and were being abused) the nation used the 24th Amendment to end the practice of poll taxes and to make failure to pay taxes insufficient reason to deny the right to vote. The…