Free Republic

If old Karl Marx, the embittered inventor of communism, could return from the grave, he would no doubt be surprised to find that most of the 10 planks of his Communist Manifesto, issued in 1848 in collaboration with Frederick Engels, have been happily adopted or are at least supported by Americans. Let's look at the 10 planks: 1. "Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes." Well, we're working on this one. The federal government owns huge amounts of land and is acquiring more. Private property rights are being eroded deliberately in the...

(Ninth in a series of ten. For other articles in this series, click on View all articles by John Armor--and "Blogs by this author.") The eleven amendments which constitute the Bill of Rights are more important than merely a recitation of rights beyond the reach of the federal government. Collectively, they are the third great document of American liberty, after the Declaration and the Constitution. Yes, I said eleven, though you were taught in school there were only ten. There were only ten, back then.... But, seven states demanded amendments to protect individual and states’ rights as a price of...

A weekly SATIRICAL feature from your friends at Not WRIGHT for America Not WRIGHT for America has learned that Barack Obama will make the bold and surprising move of calling for a Bill of Rights. Senator Obama will use the occasion of his meeting with Palestinian leaders to unveil his new plan. Readers may recall that Not WRIGHT for America noted Obama's support for special new rights for terrorists in early July. Not WRIGHT for America was able to obtain an advance copy of Obama's remarks, including the candidate's own notes, which he plans to make Wednesday in the West...

... The United States is the only country to take the position that some police misconduct must automatically result in the suppression of physical evidence. The rule applies whether the misconduct is slight or serious, and without regard to the gravity of the crime or the power of the evidence. “Foreign countries have flatly rejected our approach,” said Craig M. Bradley, an expert in comparative criminal law at Indiana University. “In every other country, it’s up to the trial judge to decide whether police misconduct has risen to the level of requiring the exclusion of evidence.” But there are signs...

Everyone knows this, but it's worth repeating: The Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln and was established in 1854 to block the expansion of slavery. The Democratic Party was the party of slavery: Its two founders, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, owned large numbers of slaves, and every party platform before the Civil War defended the institution unequivocally. After the war, it was the Republican Party that rammed through the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution over Democratic opposition. Republicans also enacted a series of civil-rights laws that culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1875,...

Repeal the 2nd Amendment June 27, 2008 No, we don't suppose that's going to happen any time soon. But it should. The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is evidence that, while the founding fathers were brilliant men, they could have used an editor. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

NEWS RELEASESAF CALLS CHICAGO TRIBUNE PLEA TO REPEAL 2A ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ BELLEVUE, WA – The Chicago Tribune’s call for repeal of the Second Amendment following the historic Heller Decision is an “unconscionable attack on the entire Bill of Rights and the freedoms it protects,” the Second Amendment Foundation said today. In an editorial published on the day after the Supreme Court handed down its 5-4 ruling, the newspaper called the Second Amendment an “anachronism” that should be repealed. The newspaper supported its argument by falsely claiming that a 1939 case, U.S. v Miller, established the amendment as a “collective right” that...

“We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom, and earnestly desiring to secure these blessings undiminished to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution." Do you recognize these words? They are the preamble to Michigan’s Constitution. Like almost every other state in the union, Michigan acknowledges the existence of God in the opening lines of their state constitution. So much for the so called “separation of church and state.”How is it that public school valedictorians are still being persecuted for their faith and prevented from exercising their right...

The Supreme Court is meeting to issue opinions and announce whether it has accepted any new cases. Major cases still undecided include the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., and whether people convicted of raping children can be given the death penalty. The court's term ends in late June.

When Bob Barr announced his candidacy for the Libertarian presidential nomination on May 12, I wondered how long it would take for the "A" word to come out. By my best reckoning, it took exactly one week. The first mention of it I read was from it was Susan Hogarth of the Radical Caucus (and in the running for a National Committee slot at the convention), who on May 9 released an Open Letter criticizing Barr's "antilibertarian congressional record and disinclination to fully repudiate it". Since then, many other voices have joined in to form a mighty crescendo; the libertarian...

Fortunately, there is an objective way to measure how libertarian or "anti-libertarian" Barr's record in Congress actually was. The Republican Liberty Caucus has been publishing its annual Liberty Index since 1991. For Congress, the Liberty Index selects 40 key votes each year, half on economic freedoms and half on personal liberties, using those votes to rank Congressmen on a Nolan Chart (like the one at the top of this article). A rating of 100 would place a Congressman at the top of the chart -- a "pure" libertarian -- while a rating of 0 would place him or her at...

I'd like to ask my fellow FReepers what you think about the Presidential candidacy of Bob Barr? Given our current choices for President, Obama, Clinton & McCain, is Bob Barr a good alternative this year? I know no one will agree 100% with any candidate's positions. But, instead of not voting, would a vote for Bob Barr be an alternative you would consider? As a disappointed Republican, I'm considering going Libertarian this year. I like most of their positins, especially on safeguarding Liberty for All. I'm tired of carrying Big Brother with me everywhere I go. I'd like to see...

STAPLES HUGHES, a North Carolina lawyer, was on the witness stand and about to disclose a secret he believed would free an innocent man from prison. But the judge told Mr. Hughes to stop. "If you testify," Judge Jack A. Thompson said at a hearing last year on the prisoner’s request for a new trial, "I will be compelled to report you to the state bar. Do you understand that?" But Mr. Hughes continued. Twenty-two years before, he said, a client, now dead, confessed that he had acted alone in committing a double murder for which another man was also...

After entering the House of Representatives in 1995, Georgia Republican Bob Barr acquired a reputation as one of the most conservative members of Congress. It was Barr who in 1996 wrote the Defense of Marriage Act, which said states didn't have to recognize gay marriages performed in other states; it was Barr who protested when he learned the military allowed soldiers to practice Wicca. A former federal prosecutor, a firm social conservative, and a strong supporter of the War on Drugs, Barr doesn't fit most people's image of a civil libertarian. But in his eight years in Congress (he failed...

Americans' civil liberties as established in the Bill of Rights are seriously in danger, says Bob Barr. So much so, he says, that it prompted the Smyrna resident and former member of Congress to consider a bid for president as a Libertarian. "There is one set of issues that ought to be discussed during a presidential campaign - the Bill of Rights, what are our liberties, what are our freedoms and how can we protect these liberties," Barr said in an interview Monday at his office for his consulting firm, Liberty Strategies, near the Cobb Galleria. "I'm interested in working...

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Gov. John Baldacci signed into law a bill to tighten standards for getting a Maine driver's license, acknowledging that the measures were a tough issue for lawmakers. Under pressure for the federal government, Baldacci wasted little time before signing the bill Thursday night after the Senate approved it by a 19-15 vote despite criticism from civil libertarians. With the bill's enactment, Maine joins 44 other states, including the rest of New England, in making proof of legal U.S. residency a requirement for getting a driver's license, the governor said. Previously, the state did not require any proof...

WASHINGTON -- The government plans to begin collecting DNA samples from anyone arrested by a federal law enforcement agency - a move intended to prevent violent crime but which also is raising concerns about the privacy of innocent people. Using authority granted by Congress, the government also plans to collect DNA samples from foreigners who are detained, whether they have been charged or not. The DNA would be collected through a cheek swab, Justice Department spokesman Erik Ablin said Wednesday. That would be a departure from current practice, which limits DNA collection to convicted felons. Expanding the DNA database, known...

A Michigan church filed a federal lawsuit after police officers, led by a local prosecutor, entered the sanctuary at least twice without a warrant, alleging the church's music was too loud. In one instance, they threatened to arrest church musicians for disorderly conduct. Faith Baptist Church, with a congregation of about 10,000 members, is suing local officials in the Township of Waterford, Mich., in a First Amendment case a church attorney said could have national ramifications in establishing what local governments can do in regulating churches. The suit -- alleging the township violated the church's freedom of religious expression, freedom...

Geraldine Ferraro’s impolitic commentary regarding Barack Obama has been widely covered and discussed. But in the rush to examine the really juicy part of her monologue, you know – the stuff about race – something else the 72 year old former congresswoman said is being lost. Toward the end of her recent, now infamous, interview, one that has apparently cost her that highly coveted role of “Honorary New York Leadership Council Chair�, the woman who broke political ice twenty-four years ago as the Democratic nominee for Vice President, talked about the big bad wolf of PARTISANSHIP. I’m referring to the...

A Progressive Bill of Rights I have begun to feel sorry for the Obama campaign. Sure, their candidate is still the frontrunner, but some of the old luster is gone. And his platform, if you can call it that, is so flat, so vaporous.So here’s an idea to spruce things up: Obama should assemble his favorite authorities on law and human rights, in order to draw up a new Bill of Rights for the Unites States. After all, the Obamamites clearly are not pleased with the current one. So instead of just whining, why not present the American people with...

Preparing to hear oral arguments Tuesday on the extent of gun rights guaranteed by the Constitution's Second Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has before it a brief signed by Vice President Cheney opposing the Bush administration's stance. Even more remarkably, Cheney is faithfully reflecting the views of President George W. Bush. The government position filed with the Supreme Court by U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement stunned gun advocates by opposing the breadth of an appellate court affirmation of individual ownership rights. The Justice Department, not the vice president, is out of order. But if Bush agrees with Cheney, why did...

With the Supreme Court’s decision to examine the constitutionality of D.C.’s gun ban, the nation once again turns to an intense examination of the wording of the Second Amendment. One way to understand an amendment whose words have confused generations is to study its somewhat confusing text. But another way is to examine at whose request the amendment was written. For example, if 200 years from now constitutional scholars are trying to determine whether the Smith Tax Act of 2008 increased or decreased the taxes Social Security recipients paid on their retirement income, knowing that the act came into being...

In 2006 I sent one of our colorado representives ( a democrat ) an email. Stating that the first amendment appeared to be addresed to the congress of the united states, and was in fact a law that the law makers of the united states goverment had to live by. It was what I believed to be the letter of the law. because of the ( congress shall make no laws etc. ) and ask what he thought about it. He wrote back and and told me that the first amendment was for the purpose of seperation of church and...

National Bill of Rights Day customarily occupies a minor place on our calendars, if it occupies a place at all. It falls every year on December 15, commemorating the ratification of the first 10 amendments to our Constitution, which occurred on that day in 1791. Bill of Rights Day is a day for rising above the commotion over the meaning of each specific amendment. It is an opportunity for us to reflect upon the purpose of those amendments as a whole, to step back and consider the crucial questions that our Founders confronted in considering the idea of amending...

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP)-A suburban Atlanta prosecutor has dropped a disorderly conduct charge against an anti-abortion activist who was arrested for driving a truck emblazoned with images of aborted fetuses.... Police had arrested Robert Dean Roethlisberger Jr. 44, of Missouri near the Mall of Georgia the day after Thanksgiving when he refused to remove images on a "Truth Truck," owned by Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group. Police, who said the images were "obscene and vulgar", also impounded the truck and removed the banners. In an e-mail Monday to the Gwinnett Daily Post, Szabo (County Solicitor) said, "To ensure no abridgement of...

Three GW law professors have endorsed Republican candidate Fred Thompson's campaign for the presidency, joining the Lawyers for Fred coalition. Professors John Fitzgerald Duffy, Orin Kerr and Michael Abramowicz are members of the Law Professors Committee within the coalition. "Sen. Thompson is proud of his experience working as a federal prosecutor," said Darrel Ng, a spokesperson for the Friends of Fred Thompson campaign. "That's why he decided to form something like that (coalition), because of his background." Ng said that having endorsement groups for presidential candidates is an important part of the campaign process. "In campaigns you try to find...

A veteran New York City police detective was arraigned on perjury charges in the Bronx yesterday after a suspect in an attempted murder case secretly recorded his interrogation with an MP3 player. Detective Christopher Perino is accused of lying 12 times during his sworn testimony in the April trial of the suspect, Erik Crespo, by saying that he did not conduct an interrogation of Mr. Crespo. At yesterday’s hearing in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, Detective Perino, 42, a member of the department for 19 years, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of first-degree perjury. He made no further...

Naomi Wolf, Second Amendment Sister? Naomi Wolf has an article in today’s Washington Post tied to her new book, The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. The essay is actually a lot less leftist than the book. She deplores the civic illiteracy among young people that leaves them feeling ”depressed, cynical and powerless.” And she blames influences on both left and right: the Bush administration’s portrayal of “freedom and checks and balances as threats to national security,” of course, and also the No Child Left Behind Act’s emphasis on math and reading rather than civics...

TOPEKA | Countless flights across the country. Car rentals, gas money, food and lodging. All those cardboard signs. For the 71 members of Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church, the costs of doing business must add up. And those costs could soon grow a lot higher. A Maryland jury recently ordered Westboro to pay nearly $11 million to the father of a fallen soldier whose funeral was the subject of one of Westboro’s protests. Many hope the lawsuit, and future ones like it, will put the notorious church out of business for good. It’s something that new funeral picketing bans, now...

Yesterday, Senator Fred Thompson issued a statement on the Supreme Court's decision to grant certiorari in the District of Columbia gun ban case. It reads, in part: I’ve always understood the Second Amendment to mean what it says – it guarantees a citizen the right to “keep and bear” firearms, and that’s why I’ve been supportive of the National Rifle Association’s efforts to have the DC law overturned. In general, lawful gun ownership is a pretty simple matter. The Founders established gun-owner rights so that citizens would possess and be able to exercise the universal right of self-defense. Guns enable...

November 4, 2007 An Oct. 26 letter writer suggested limiting the Second Amendment to 18th-century firearms. What an interesting idea. I'm sure she would also be in favor of limiting free speech to 18th-century forms of communication, and she certainly must oppose the requirement for agents of the government to obtain warrants in order to listen in on telephone conversations or intercept other forms of electronic correspondence. After all, the telegraph was not invented until the 1840s, more than 50 years after the Fourth Amendment was written. Certainly, our Founding Fathers wouldn't be so "daft," as the writer suggests, to...

A North Side man discovered the hard way that taunting and threatening a police officer's K-9 dog is a felony offense in Pennsylvania. Kenneth King, 23, of 106 Sherman Ave., has been in the Allegheny County Jail since Sunday because he has been unable to come up with the $100,000 bond set by District Judge Eugene Ricciardi.

The National Rifle Association, which did not endorse President Bush in 2000 and 2004 until just a month before the general election, is considering stepping into the presidential campaign fray early next year during the primary season, the group's chief lobbyist says. While the NRA waited until October in each of the past two presidential election years before endorsing a candidate, the group plans to take a more high-profile role early in the 2008 Republican nomination process. "Historically, we have not gotten involved in primaries. We traditionally wait until after the conventions," said Chris Cox, head lobbyist for the NRA....

Lately, a whole lot of people around here seem to be exercised over the issue of whether the Constitution applies to "citizens only," or to the more generic category, "people." Must have been something President Bush or Attorney General Ashcroft said…. Well, I offered the result of my humble attempt at rational analysis, with the amusing result (hey, even I find it funny) of being screamed at and chastised, in 36-point type, for my dim-witted ignorance; and was in so many words accused of being a dunderhead, a horse's patoot, a "dunce." (Hey, maybe it's all true. :^) ) But ...

It's now leaking out that there was more going on than met the eye at the Security and Prosperity Partnership Summit in Montebello, Canada, in August. The three amigos - President George W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon - finalized and released the "North American Plan for Avian & Pandemic Influenza." The "Plan" - that's what they call it, with a capital P - is to use the excuse of a major flu epidemic to shift powers from U.S. legislatures to unelected, unaccountable "North American" bureaucrats. This idea was launched on Sept. 14, 2005,...

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson said Monday that while Osama bin Laden needs to be caught and killed, the terrorist mastermind would get the due process of law.

The District today asked the Supreme Court to uphold the city's ban on private ownership of handguns, saying the appeals court decision that overturned the law "drastically departs from the mainstream of American jurisprudence." Most legal experts believe the court will accept the case, which could lead to a historic decision next year on whether the ambiguously worded Second Amendment to the Constitution protects private gun ownership or only imparts a civic right related to maintaining state militias. The District argues in its petition for review that its law--one of the toughest handgun bans in the nation--should be upheld regardless...

If being a patriot means defending the Constitution and Bill of Rights, why is it that every time I see the ACLU, it is attacking my rights? Here are a few examples of the ACLU at work: • Supporting groups like NAMBLA (pedophiles). • Protecting obscene material (child pornography). • Abolishing chaplaincy/religious programs. • Against public schools observing recognized religious, cultural, historical holidays (Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah). • Multiple lawsuits against schools, local governments (costing our tax money). Please read the Bill of Rights, and compare with founder of the ACLU Roger Baldwin's own words: "I am for socialism, disarmament, and...

Former "blogging pedophile" Jack McClellan has been released from jail, following his arrest last week for violating a restraining order in California. His release follows the prediction of observers in law enforcement, child advocacy, and the judicial system who think it will be difficult to take effective or even constitutional steps against McClellan to protect children. The 45-year-old self-professed pedophile was arrested August 13 for violating a three-year restraining order that required him to stay 30 feet away from all children. He was being held in jail with a $150,000 bail bond. But according to Associated Press, he was released...

A wealthy libertarian is bankrolling a challenge to D.C.’s gun regulations—the most restrictive in the country. What drives him—and his take on whether the case will go to the Supreme Court. The District of Columbia has the most restrictive gun laws in the country. But that’s a distinction the nation’s capital will soon lose—if Robert Levy prevails. Levy was born in Washington, but left years ago; a resident of Naples, Fla., who made a fortune as an investment analyst, he is now a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. A critic of what he sees as...

Each September the hills around Zurich are alive — with the sound of gunfire. Nobody is alarmed, however, because they know it emanates from a bunch of teenagers doing what comes naturally to nearly every Swiss: sharpshooting. And there's nothing random about it: The 12- to 16-year-olds are participating in Knabenschiessen, the world's largest youth rifle competition, which blends the jarring report of rifle fire with the melodious ringing of cow bells. There's a paradox in this peaceful and neutral country that would make the NRA drool with envy: Firearms are as ubiquitous as chocolate and edelweiss. Weapons and ammunition...

Because federal spending and the bureaucracy are out of control, an American Taxpayer Bill of Rights is necessary to bring fiscal responsibility to Washington, D.C. Sign the petition! http://www.freedomworks.org/action/taxpayer/ We applaud the Republican Study Committee (RSC) for advancing this proposal that would force government to live within its means with these 4 crucial components: 1. Spending caps to stop out of control budget growth. 2. Preserving Social Security money just for Social Security, not for a Congressional slush fund. 3. Sun-setting the entire federal tax code to hold budgets accountable to outcomes. 4. A balanced budget without raising taxes. As...

When James Madison agitated to make religious freedom fundamental to the United States Constitution, it was not from hostility to religion. It was from hostility to established religion, with its presumption of an authority in worldly affairs that only an elected government should exercise. James Madison (1751-1836) The first freedom listed in the Bill of Rights tells us that Congress shall "make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" — a rule that is just as important in its second half as in its first.  However, the free exercise of religion involves living by...

On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dealt the City of Chicago and tony North Shore enclaves like Evanston, Wilmette, and Winnetka a terrible blow. I am sorry to report that those communities may very soon have to start abiding by the Bill of Rights. You may have heard the phrase “Honey, call the lawyers� reverberating up the Lake Michigan shoreline on Friday as the D.C. Appeals Court struck down the Washington, D.C. handgun ban and declared that the Second Amendment is an individual right. The court rightly rejected the flimsy argument that the...

 I was reading today about a federal case (Morse v. Frederick, aka "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case) winding its way through the courts, and was thinking how bizarre current federal jurisprudence has really become. On March 19, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over the limits of freedom of speech in public schools."I wanted to know more precisely the boundaries of my freedom,” Joe Frederick said when reporters asked why he'd raised the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner. "I feel that if you don't use your rights you lose them."It is all about rights, isn't it?...

Theater of the Absurd, by the Absurd, for... Ionesco as Political Consultant February 16, 2007 Every time I go to the United States (I have just returned from two weeks in Washington), I am astonished by the antic security, by the proliferation of admonitions and alarms and inchoate fear. Now it is illegal to carry toothpaste on airplanes. I find myself wondering: Is this just another spasm of periodic hysteria, like Prohibition, the Sixties, and a Commie Under Every Bed? Or is it calculated political programming? Most of it impinges at best lightly upon reality. For example, measures for...

Another “think tank,” this one called the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), has come out for total civilian disarmament and repeal of the Second Amendment. What’s new about that? ISPU is openly pro-Muslim, and the ISPU writer is a criminal defense attorney who argues for repealing parts of the Bill of Rights. You can read the whole article, entitled “In the Fight Against Terrorism, Some Rights Must Be Repealed,” by Junaid Afeef, on the ISPU website: http://www.ispu.us/pages/articles/2914/articleDetailPB.html A JPFO supporter sent us the link, and we did read the article, looking for: a. Inaccurate “facts” b. Missing data...

Commissioned by FDR to commemorate 150th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, this hour-long program was aired over the combined national networks (CBS, NBC Red, NBC Blue, and Mutual) eight days after Pearl Harbor. The Crosley Rating Service estimated 63 million people listened, half the US population at the time, and this was the largest audience in recorded history for a dramatic performance.

One cannot deny that radical Islam exists. The best example would be 9/11, but there are many others. Proponents of radical Islam are a small, yet loud, faction of the Muslim community who want to destroy America and Western civilization. In recent years, radical Islamists brutally attacked thousands of innocent civilians of all stripes and colors from Africa to London to New York City. Nothing stands in their way including their own lives via suicide bombers. I think we can all agree that destructive acts upon innocent civilians are always wrong and immoral. Let me be perfectly clear, the aforementioned...

Taxi passengers in Cleveland should be able to ride in clean cabs with drivers who speak English and know their way around the region, City Council's transportation committee chairman says. Councilman Kevin Kelley this week introduced a new law to create a passenger bill of rights for riders. It outlines standards of operation and behavior for taxi drivers. The document would have to be posted in every cab. More From The Plain Dealer | Subscribe To The Plain Dealer Cleveland considers bill of rights for taxi riders Wednesday, November 01, 2006 Susan Vinella Plain Dealer Reporter Taxi passengers in Cleveland...