Outside view: What is the Constitution?

UPI ^ | August 17, 2002 | Sheldon Richman

[B4Ranch]

The Constitution is a guidline to government that has been skirted in every possible way by both democrats and republicans. The trajedy is that the people do not realize how important the Constitution is to our children.

I presume most people are similar to myself and have no idea how to oppose both parties at the same time when they violate the Constitution, ie. Patroit Act.

[gcruse]

I don't think I have ever heard that mentioned before. It is a feeling of utter hopelessness.

[B4Ranch]

that mentioned before

What are you referring to ?

[B4Ranch]

that mentioned before

What are you referring to

[Mike4Freedom]

I presume most people are similar to myself and have no idea how to oppose both parties at the same time when they violate the Constitution, ie. Patroit Act.

Vote Libertarian! We are the ones that actually learned how to read despite the public school system and want the constitution enforced all the way. You might also stop calling us all "druggies" when we point out that the limited power of the federal government does not extend to the prohibition of drugs and therefore the War on Drugs is a violation of the constitution.

[B4Ranch]

My view on drugs is SIMPLE. If we ok pot, then we are going to ok crack, heroin, ice, you name it. Pot may calm you down but most of the others don't!

[Mike4Freedom]

My view on drugs is SIMPLE. If we ok pot, then we are going to ok crack, heroin, ice, you name it. Pot may calm you down but most of the others don't!

Actually, the way we fight the War on Drugs, we encourage hard drug use. By putting all the drugs in one basket, we are telling kids that they are all terrible. When they see their friends using Marijuana without consequence, they assume the govt is lying on everything and are more likely to use the hard stuff.

Just a lesson that lying is not a good idea. No one believes anything you say after that. Reminds me of the biblical lesson in that respect. In Genesis, Adam told Eve not even to touch the tree of knowledge when the rule was just not to eat of the fruit. This gave the serpent the ability to demonstrate that touching caused no problem and he got her to eat the fruit.

[gcruse]

Sorry. I was referring to the despair of watching the only two parties that have control of government use it to overwhelm the constitutional restrictions on themselves.

[B4Ranch]

When I saw the Patriot Act passed without any serious discussion I was dismayed. What in the hell do these scumbags think we elect them for? To follow the party leaders instructions or to follow our instructions. Gatt and NAFTA did the same thing to me. I will never vote for any incumbent in any office again.

[steve50]

After 75 years of brainwashing, the cannabis=hard drugs is a given to the older generation. Support drops off as age declines. It's going to take a few more years for worst of the drug warriors to die off, may they get their just rewards in the afterlife.

[ForOurFuture]

Scalia's judicial philosophy, explained in the article accurately, has long puzzled me. A case in point is term limits. Scalia has voted in favor of term limits being Constitutional. His reasoning is that the Constitution doesn't forbid them. This is true, but when the Constitution spells out qualifications for Federal office such as age and citizenship, any qualifications not mentioned in that section supercede the Constitution, and are therefore unconstitutional. A state mandating Congressional term limits would add to the particular clause restrictions that are not already there. This, IMO, violates the letter of the Constitution.

[gcruse]

Interesting thought. Since never having served before, or some such, is not a constitutional requirement for office, then term limits can't be constitutional. I sure can't prove otherwise.

[Commander8]

I believe the Constitution was written to prevent America from sliding into two extremes:tyrrany in the form of monarchy and tyranny in the form of mob rule.

[gcruse]

I know about the Magna Carta, but that was a change in governing, not an initiation. Is the American constitution the first of its kind?

[Commander8]

I am convinced that our Constitution is the first of it's kind because the writers had thousands of years of history to look at. Similar endeavors failed probably because they thought forming a new order would also mean consigning historical lessons to the dustbin.

[Don Joe]

"But when a student asked him whether a national ID would violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which protects individuals 'in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,' Scalia pointed out that the Amendment says nothing about an ID card."

The Constitution says nothing about abortion either.

If the SCOTUS is going to assert that a "right to privacy" is sufficient to give women the right to kill their children, than I think it hardly a stretch to conclude that a "right to privacy" would preclude the "papers, please" scenario that a "national ID card" would be intended to facillitate.

I see no hypocrisy in Scalia's statement.

[4CJ]

A state mandating Congressional term limits would add to the particular clause restrictions that are not already there. This, IMO, violates the letter of the Constitution.

See the dissent in US Term Limits, Inc. v Thornton, 514 US 779 (1995), written by Justice Thomas and joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Justices Scalia and O'Conner.

In a nutshell the opinion held that "where the Constitution is silent, it raises no bar to action by the States or the people."

An adherence to the 9th and 10th Amendments.

[AdamSelene235]

I presume most people are similar to myself and have no idea how to oppose both parties at the same time when they violate the Constitution, ie. Patroit Act.

Some suggested books

/b>

[Mike4Freedom]

then term limits can't be constitutional.

You are correct. The requirements for office for FEDERAL offices is spelled out in the constitution and the states cannot add conditions. On the other hand, they are free to add term limits on state offices.

If we want term limits on Congress, it will take an amendment-just like we already did for the office of president.