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To: cll

Last I checked, the territories (few that they are) that the US holds, enjoy the protection of the US, and are free from federal taxes... I seem to recall taxation without representation being part of the rallying cry of the revolution.

I haven't heard of any uprisings in Puerto Rico or Guam about unfair treatment, tyranny or other actions in my lifetime.... Have you?

Please point me to the part of the Constitution that disallows it? This "America as Empire" nonsense has to end... if the US was an Empire we'd bascially have never returned Europe or western russia to their countries and leaders post WWI... let alone WWII... We'd also be ruling Japan, Most of the pacific rim and North Africa.... The Carribbean... etc etc etc....

Puerto Rico has its own elected Senate, in fact on election days in Puerto Rico, parts of the island are shut down due to traffic and other congestion related to voting.

In the presidential election, the Constitution is quite clear, territories and commonwealths (which Puerto Rico is) that are not members of the union may not vote in the presidential election... its very very clear. Territories of the western expansion did not have the right to vote either, until they became states.

I don't know where you are getting this unconstitutionality nonsense from, but its clearly not.

Here ya go my friend... just so you are up to speed on the constitution:

The Constitution of the United States states,

"the congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be construed, so as to preclude the claims of the United States or of any state." - Article IV

Now, to claim that such territories are unconstitutional shows complete ignorance of the constitution.


183 posted on 02/02/2006 6:26:21 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: HamiltonJay

Thanks for quoting the territorial clause of the Constitution. We are all too familiar with it, as we have been ruled by it for 107 years. And that's exactly the problem. 4 million Americans ruled as in:

"Monarchical and despotic governments, unrestrained by written constitutions, may do with newly acquired territories what this government may not do consistently with our fundamental law. To say otherwise is to concede that Congress may, by action taken outside of the Constitution, engraft upon our republican institutions a colonial system such as exists under monarchical governments." - Expanding on Justice Harlan's dissent to the Insular Cases, which are just our own Plessy and Korematsu.


184 posted on 02/02/2006 7:30:36 AM PST by cll
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