Free Republic

The following is an excerpt of the book description written for The National Security Constitution in the 21st Century which Professor Harold Hongju Koh published on June 25, 2024.If re-elected, could President Trump, by a single tweet, withdraw America from the United Nations, NATO, and every treaty and international organization to which the U.S. belongs? Or if re-elected, could President Biden gradually take us to war throughout the Mideast—Gaza, Yemen, Iran, the Red Sea—by supplying weapons and ordering drone strikes, cybercommands and Special Forces without congressional approval?SNIPThis increasing imbalance of foreign affairs power has intensified across recent administrations of both...

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution vests the power to lay and collect tariffs with Congress. The Founding Fathers intended for legislative oversight on taxation, tariffs, and related financial matters, viewing tariffs as strategic levers to be used with caution and prudence. Historically, Congress set tariffs and maintained tight control over this power. However, over time, particularly after the Great Depression, there was a shift towards delegating some authority to the executive branch. This began with the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934, allowing the President to negotiate trade agreements without separate congressional approval each time.Later acts, such...

Dear Neighbors, Congress is advancing a bill that threatens to override D.C.’s locally funded budget, imposing nearly $1 billion in mid-year cuts to essential services, including public safety, schools, emergency services, and sanitation. This unprecedented federal overreach treats D.C. like a federal agency rather than a self-governing city, undermining our autonomy and jeopardizing the well-being of all who live here. This is more than just a budget cut—it is devastation at the doorstep of the collapse of D.C. as we know it. These proposed cuts will gut the very foundation of our city, erasing progress and setting us back for...

Once more, faithful P&E readers and students of the Constitution’s “natural born Citizen” (“nbC”) Eligibility Clause – not a concocted, fictitious “’natural born’ Citizenship Clause” – grab your preferred caffeinated beverage and find a comfortable chair, because what follows gets a bit convoluted. Ready? The “natural born Citizen” (“nbC”) issue remains unresolved, but at least the threat of yet another ineligible president at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been avoided through the Nov. 5, 2024 election of Donald Trump and the rejection of Kamala Harris. That fact will remain true, of course, only if before January 20, 2025 (a) the slug...

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[note 1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Constitution Day – 17 Sep 2024: A Lesson from History. Is Being Born a Citizen (Citizen at/by Birth) of the United States of Sufficient Citizenship Status to be President of the United States and Commander in Chief of Our Military? The Founders and Framers Emphatically Decided — No, It Is Not!

President Trump spoke with reporters following another wasted day sitting in court before corrupt New York Judge Juan Merchan for crimes that have yet to be defined. President Trump was threatened earlier today by far-left Judge Merchan with jail if he continued to defend himself in public. This is blatantly unconstitutional but Democrats get away with a lot of unlawful acts these days. Republicans like to look the other way. President Trump told reporters he would gladly go to jail to defend the US Constitution. President Trump: Because this judge is giving me a gag order. And said you’ll go...

Time to Change Our Language.. It is time to stop blaming “Covid” for breaking the economy, destroying businesses and livelihoods, and wreaking untold havoc upon families. It was not “Covid” that did this. It was not even the Chinese. It was our government. The government has conditioned us to blame the impersonal “Covid” for the destruction it wrought upon our businesses and families. We need to change the discussion by using the proper language to fix the blame where it belongs. Good generals can win a battle by picking the terrain upon which they fight. At Waterloo, Wellington forced Napoleon...

The teaching of history has become a flashpoint in the culture wars. But while the battle is fierce, it’s not new. An earlier round in the conflict in the 1920s — over the teaching of the American Revolution — indicates that it will be crucial for historians to weigh in loudly and forcefully during the current debate. That will give them the space to continue to teach the most accurate, up-to-date version of U.S. History and prevent forces that fundamentally don’t understand the job of historians from shaping what American children learn about the past. In the late 19th century,...

In Nikki Haley’s case, it is well documented that neither one of her parents were citizens, natural born or naturalized, at the time of her birth in 1972. It has been previously reported that a South Carolina-based newspaper included a quote from the Office of Nikki Haley, stating that “her parents were not U.S. citizens at the time of her birth in 1972 and did not become citizens until 1978 and 2003.” Thus, although the parents may have been lawful residents at the time of her birth on South Carolina soil, which may or may not confer her with the...

(Jan. 2, 2024) — On Tuesday morning, New York State resident and registered voter Robert C. Laity lodged a revised formal complaint with the state’s Division of Election Law Enforcement regarding the New York State Board of Elections’s (NYSBOE) “misstating the criteria for being elected as President of the United States.” The original December 30, 2023 complaint contained a clerical error which Laity corrected in this morning’s submission. NYSBOE members are listed here, with Laity naming co-chairman Peter S. Kosinski in Section 2 of the complaint form in accordance with the instructions. Instead of the Article II, Section 1, clause...

“We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all times; where there are no secrets from government.” — William O. Douglas, dissenting in Osborn v. United States (1966)The government wants us to believe that we have nothing to fear from its mass spying programs as long as we’ve done nothing wrong.Don’t believe it.It doesn’t matter whether you obey every law. The government’s definition of a “bad” guy is extraordinarily broad, and it results in the warrantless surveillance of innocent, law-abiding Americans on a staggering scale.For instance, it was recently revealed that the...

'What I don’t like is anonymous Russians and Chinese and Iranians having' it, Haley told CNBC ... Nikki Haley was asked to explain her earlier remarks about social media companies on Wednesday and said that while she didn't mind "anonymous American" free speech, she didn't support anonymous free speech for actors in Russia, Iran and China. During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, Haley said every person on social media should be "verified by their name." Haley, who was fiercely criticized by fellow Republican candidates for the idea, joined the hosts of CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday and was...

Socialist Elizabeth Warren posted on X that the US Constitution clearly indicates “Muslim civil rights are American civil rights. There is no exception. Hate has no place in America. Islamophobia has no place in America. We will not be silent.” She posted this two weeks after terrorists slaughtered about 1400 Jewish people, mostly civilians. Warren is mistaken on every level. Hate and Islamophobia don’t mean we have to agree with or accept Islamist ideology. Not every Muslim follows the extreme ideology, but if they do, it can in no way co-exist with the US Constitution. We don’t accept female genital...

"all we say to America is be true to what you are saying on paper...if I lived in China or even Russia or any totalitarian country maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges because they have committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the Freedom of Assembly, somewhere I read of the Freedom of Speech, somewhere I read of the Freedom of Press, somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights. And just as I...

The world’s central planners meet, speak, plan and party together. Whether they do so in Davos or New York, Paris or Washington D.C.; whether in the name of the WEF or UN or Congress or EU, these central planners share the same goal: to repeat so many seemingly-unrelated lies, so often and so vigorously, that they can get the public to believe that statism is the solution. Well, their solution will never be right, because their premises will never be right. Facts are facts, no matter what the dictators of Davos may say. For example, a few truths: 1. Carbon...

Incoming US congressman Robert Garcia will be sworn in using the US Constitution - and a Superman comic.In a tweet on Tuesday, he said it is one of three items he will use that "mean a lot to me personally". The other two are a photo of his parents, who he said were lost to Covid-19, and his citizenship certificate. Mr Garcia is still waiting to take the oath of office, however, after Republicans failed to elect a speaker.

President Donald Trump isn't even currently in office but his mere existence has such a powerful effect on Politico founding editor John F. Harris that he wants to drastically rewrite the U.S. Constitution. Rather than be embarrassed about wanting to upend the document that guarantees our freedoms and form of government, Harris proudly declared to the entire world on Thursday, "The Best Way To Save The Constitution From Donald Trump Is To Rewrite It."

I don’t often read food reviews, but when the article concerns one of your favorites, you just can’t resist, right? Well, as a Chicagoan, when I saw an internet article come up on my screen, by a newcomer to Chicago reviewing the best of Chicago’s Italian Beef sandwiches, I naturally had to click on it. I didn’t expect to find a political meaning in the piece – and frankly, I’m quite sure that the writer didn’t intend any political undertone either – but there it was, in the subtext, for anyone who knows Chicago. The Italian beef is a great...

So you’re unhappy with the Supreme Court justices who turned back the clock on environmental protection, abortion, school prayer and guns? You’re angry because they’re ideologues with a reactionary agenda, flexing their muscles to eliminate rights, weaken government and endanger the planet? Me too. They’re reprehensible. But let’s be honest: The problem isn’t just with the justices. The problem, or at least a substantial portion of it, lies with the U.S. Constitution itself. Here are some of the criticisms. The Constitution created the undemocratic U.S. Senate that allots the same representation — two senators — to a state like Wyoming,...