Why Do I Say The Constitution Failed? October 12, 2016

People often ask me, “How could you write a book entitled The Constitution Failed?”

If the Constitution was written to ensure a limited government and if today we have an unlimited central government my question is, “How can anyone contend that the Constitution hasn’t failed?”

We know that for the last 100 years the Progressives have sought progress by changing the Constitution, which was written to establish unbreakable boundaries for government, without recourse to the amendment process.  The Framers knew that without these boundaries government would grow into a millstone around the neck of the American people.  Instead of a document establishing solid limits the Progressives say it is a living document that can be re-interpreted with each passing year evolving into whatever the current leaders may desire.

Our twin headed Progressive party of power expands and twists the General Welfare, the Commerce, and the Supremacy clauses to sanction any executive, legislative, judicial, or regulatory action they wish to impose whether it’s a welfare state, energy policies, or the mandatory purchase of insurance.  However, nothing is more symbolic of the current irrelevance of the Constitution to our leaders than the utter contempt they hold for the 9^th and 10^th Amendments.

Back during the original debate to ratify the Constitution these two sentinels of limited government were forced upon the proponents of a strong central government by those much maligned patriots the Anti-Federalists.  The Constitution never would have been ratified without an assurance that the first order of business for the new government would be the ratification of the Bill of Rights.  The capstone of these sacred rights is the 9^th and the 10^th Amendments which state:

The 9^th Amendment, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

The 10^th Amendment, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

I present the following examples of how our Progressive central government infringes upon the rights of the States and the people:

Term limits:

While in almost every instance that voters have had an opportunity to voice their opinion they have overwhelmingly approved term limits, and the courts have just as consistently overturned the will of the people.  Through ballot initiatives and Constitutional amendments to State Constitutions the people have spoken, but instead of the voice of the people we hear the commands of the elites.

The Supreme Court in a classic five-to-four decision in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton (1995) said the states don’t have the authority to limit the terms of their own congressional delegations.  They further ruled that unless the Constitution is amended neither the states nor Congress has the power to limit the number of terms members of Congress can serve. Dissenting Justice Clarence Thomas pointed out that the majority ignored the clear meaning of the Tenth Amendment.  Since there is no explicit denial of the power to limit terms to the States in the Constitution the 10^th Amendment clearly states this power is reserved to the States.

Immigration:

When the Governor and legislators of Arizona attempted to address the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who are pouring over their borders with Mexico each year they first had to admit that the Federal Government was not enforcing their own laws.   After the central government ignored their petitions and pleas for help for years the government of Arizona acted to protect their citizens.

Immediately, the Justice Department sued to block the law, contending it violates the U.S. Constitution.  The Arizona law was subsequently struck down by the Federal Courts using the Supremacy Clause for their justification.  Judge Richard Paez, said, “By imposing mandatory obligations on state and local officers, Arizona interferes with the federal government’s authority to implement its priorities and strategies in law enforcement, turning Arizona officers into state-directed [Homeland Security] agents.”  When it reached the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a three judge panel said, “Congress has given the federal government sole authority to enforce immigration laws, and that Arizona’s law violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution”  The Federal Government has abdicated its responsibility to protect Arizona from invasion and in their opinion a law that requires law enforcement officials to enforce the law goes too far.

The intrusive actions of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA):

Legislators in Texas decided to take action to protect their citizens from what many considered to be overly aggressive pat-downs.  The reaction of the TSA to Texas attempting to protect their citizens from the molestation the Federal Agency calls a pat-down is indicative of the attitude our central government has towards any infringement of their absolute power.  On their website The TSA Blog the gatekeepers of the air said, “What’s our take on the Texas House of Representatives voting to ban the current TSA pat-down? Well, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article. VI. Clause 2) prevents states from regulating the federal government.”  This says it all.  As far as our Federal masters are concerned there is no limit to their power.

Obamacare: Mandating action and penalizing inaction:

The Federal Government’s successful attempt to enforce the mandatory purchase provisions of Obamacare alternately as authorized by the Commerce Clause and as a tax, depending on which argument they think a judge would uphold.  This massive invasion of personal liberty was challenged by 28 States as being beyond the bounds of the Constitution.  Two judges ruled it unconstitutional and three have ruled it constitutional.

This provision wherein not taking an action is considered either engaging in commerce and thereby subject to regulation and that a non-action is taxable was ruled constitutional by a delusional Supreme Court.  Which leads me to ask, what is left of our precious freedom?  What other non-actions will now be under the power of the government.  If a government can control our non-actions what does that say about their power over our actions?

By ignoring the unambiguous meaning of the 9^th and 10^th Amendments and by stretching and twisting the meanings of a few vague clauses the Progressive leaders of our Federal government have interpreted our Constitution to mean anything needed to do anything desired.  Once the words lose their meanings, once the sentences can mean anything the Progressives want, what power does the Constitution have to limit government?

Ultimately this is a message of hope because I trust in the ability of the American people to solve any problem they confront.  However, we have to admit there is a problem before we can solve it, and if we refuse to admit there is a problem we have no chance of solving it. The problem is our limited government has become unlimited and does whatever it wants.  How can I say, “The Constitution Failed”?  What I am saying is our system is broken, it is no longer functioning as designed, and we need a re-set button.

Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion.  He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2016 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com  Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens

Who Do You Believe When You Can’t Believe Anyone? October 5, 2016

An old joke goes like this, “How do you know when a politician is lying?” answered by, “When their lips are moving.”  One of my favorite Chicago post-construction philosophers puts it this way, “All politicians lie.  The good ones do it convincingly.”  This is what passes for trust in our leaders in America today.

America is easily distracted.  The majority of the population is hooked on the bread and circus sports world.  They can tell you the minutest details about the lives and statistics of their favorite team but they don’t know how many Supreme Court Justices rule their lives.

They spend countless hours transfixed watching cars run around a track, people hit balls, pass balls, dunk balls, slap pucks, and try for a hole in one.  While they doze on the couch cheering for this side against that they have never watched a congressional hearing, don’t have time to read a book, and forgot even the minimal civics education they were force fed at the government run school.

Try to share anything you have learned from hours of research and you are greeted with, “I don’t think that’s right,” or “I never heard that before,” about anything that contradicts or doesn’t line up with what the Progressive-controlled ABCCBSNBCCNNMSNBC cartel extrude as truth.

Our leaders lie to get elected.  They lie to us after they are elected.  And we lie to ourselves about what is going on.  No matter how bad it gets the media megaphones and the public screwals continue to tell us we are the freest most prosperous and most powerful country on earth.  But are we?

According to the Legatum Prosperity Index’s findings for 2015 America has slipped to number fifteen when it comes to freedom and number eleven when it comes to prosperity.  According to the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom we rank number eleven.  Our military is the best of the best.  However they are committed to no-win wars hamstrung at every turn by politicians who use the blood, sweat, and tears of our heroes for props in their political theater.  Sure we are better than many places, but we used to be number one, and now our rankings are falling constantly.

Why?

Because America’s leaders no longer look out for America they look out for number one.  Our trade deals are good for everyone but us.  Our military is sent on peace keeping missions that end in body bags and wounded warriors fighting for everyone else’s protection while our own country is being overwhelmed by an invasion through open borders.

When we elect traitors who appoint traitors what do we expect to get?

Looking at the issue of traitors from another perspective we now live in a country where the government can listen to and record everything you say without a warrant and the person who tells us about it is branded a traitor by the Elite Regime and its media sycophants.

We know Hillary is a serial liar.  From Whitewater through Travelgate, from the Rose Law firm, through her emails we know she even lies about lying.  The Clinton Crime Family routinely gets away with things that would land a mere mortal in jail.

Looking at The Donald everyone tells me he is a liar too.  They say electing him instead of the Hillary, the tool of Oligarchs, would be electing one of the oligarchs instead.

“They” may be right.  However, I have been waiting my whole life, or at least since the last time Pat Buchanan ran for president, to hear someone say that they were going to put America First.  I have been waiting my whole life, or at least since Ronaldus Magnus brought us morning in America, to hear someone say they were going to unshackle the economy and let freedom ring.

Donald Trump has said these things.

When I give to a charity and that charity is later exposed as taking more of the money for administration than for doing the work I gave them the money to do that is on them, I gave out of my generosity and that is on me.  If I believe someone who tells me they will secure our borders, stop the endless wars for peace, and free the economy, and then they do something else that is on them.

I try to live my life with clean hands and a pure heart.  If I head North and things go South at least I know I used my mind, followed my heart, and voted my conscious.  For this reason I once again endorse Donald Trump for president.

Who do you believe when you can’t believe anyone?  I say believe the one who is saying what you want to hear and then pray they are telling the truth.

Some might say this is naive.  Some might say this is foolish.  Some might even say this is another case of “I know they are lying but I like what they say.”  None of that worries me in the least.

Why worry when you can pray?

Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion.  He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2016 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com  Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens