CEI: Is the Constitution a Threat to Liberty?
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center Matt Peterson at the blog of the Competetive Enterprise Institute, writes, … Article 1, Sec. 8, the infamous “Commerce Clause” grants the federal government the power to “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.” And ever since it was written, this seemingly open-ended phrase [...]
Youtube: I’m No Communist
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center Which version do you like better? The new one’s good, but I like the older ones with the banjo. I especially like the Grandpa Jones version, but the visuals in this youtube video are a bit over the top.
PA Senate to DC: We will not Comply
PA Senate Votes Unanimously for Real ID Non-Compliance The Pennsylvania State Senate passed SB354, An Act relating to compliance with the Federal REAL ID Act of 2005, 50 to 0 today, stating (in part), Neither the Governor nor the Department of Transportation or any other Commonwealth agency shall participate in the REAL ID Act of 2005 [...]
I Guess Maybe Some Things Never Change
Sound Familiar? Give Me Liberty, by Rose Wilder Lane (1936) “…In 1933 a group of sincere and ardent collectivists seized control of the Democratic Party, used it as a means of grasping Federal power, and enthusiastically, from motives which many of them regard as the highest idealism, began to make America over. The Democratic Party [...]
The PATRIOT Act: Who Voted Against the Constitution?
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center On September 21, a federal court recognized what we all knew already (well, OK, everyone except the president and the geniuses in congress…). The PATRIOT Act is an unconstitutional violation of the Fourth Amendment tothe US Constitution. As MSNBC reports, Two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to [...]
Passing Thoughts 5
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center -*- If the power to nullify an unconstitutional law is prohibited to the states, it can be prohibited in one, and only one, place — The Constitution. This fact leads to a simple question which can settle the debate. “Where is the text in the Constitution that prohibits [...]
Video: The Liberty Song (The 56 Men)
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center According to wikipedia, “The Liberty Song” is an American Revolutionary War song composed by patriot John Dickinson, the author of Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. The song is set to the tunes of “Heart of Oak”, the anthem of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom and [...]
Tenth Amendment PowerPoint
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center I was pleased to deliver the presentation below to the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots of Central Montgomery County on Thursday evening (September 8, 2011). It was encouraging to see this group in action, with it’s focus on the core issues of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free [...]
Passing Thoughts #4
-*- The Reserved Powers Amendment trumps the Supremacy Clause. -*-
What if Glenn Beck is Right?
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a Glenn Beck fan, but I do listen to his program fairly regularly. My family and I went to his 8/28 rally last year, and I used to watch his show on the Fox News Channel when I had the opportunity. Usually, when [...]
First Principles: Rethinking Calhoun
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center In Rethinking Calhoun at First Principles, The ISI Web Journal, Adam Tate reviews the book “Majority Rule versus Consensus: The Political Thought of John C. Calhoun . Concluding, Read’s Majority Rule versus Consensus ultimately finds Calhoun’s argumentation unsatisfying and unhelpful for modern political problems. In the last chapter Read provides numerous examples of the [...]
Shared Sacrifice or Empty Words?
In 2007, the Washington Post reported, “Warren Buffet Slams Tax System Disparities“, reporting: Warren E. Buffett was his usual folksy self Tuesday night at a fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as he slammed a system that allows the very rich to pay taxes at a lower rate than the middle class. Buffett cited [...]
What is the Rule of Law?
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center At about 36 minutes into this video (watch the whole thing), Tom Woods incorporates discussion of five propositions from An Exposition of the Virginia Resolutions of 1798 by Abel P. Upshur, 1.) That the Constitution of the United States is a compact between the states, as such.
We Already Have a Balanced Budget Amendment
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center We already have a balanced budget amendment. It’s called the Tenth 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.
PA-13 Rep. Allyson Schwartz – Balanced Budgets are “Extreme”
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center Personally, I’m not big on the balanced budget amendment either. I think the 2/3 override vote will become a “rubber stamp” for future congresses (if there’s one thing both parties can agree on, it’s spending money!) and Constitutionally limited spending would be less than 18% of GDP anyway. [...]
Video: ReasonTV on the Debt Ceiling
cross-posted from the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center Until the debt ceiling was established in 1917, congress had to separately approve every new debt that the government took on. The debt ceiling was established to make it faster and easier for the treasury department to borrow money during WWI. Predictably, the war ended, but the treasury [...]
Passing Thoughts
When people qualify the word “justice” with adjectives like “social” or “racial” or “environmental”, what they usually mean is, “injustice”. Justice applies to individuals, not groups. It is impossible for the federal government (or anyone else) to provide justice to groups by violating individuals’ rights. === My truck is not the planet’s thermostat. Neither is [...]
An Opportunity to Say NO!
A few days ago, the Tenth Amendment Center posted this facebook status update BREAKING: Feds actively lobby on a bill in Austin – AND issue direct threat to Texas over TSA nullification bill today….Texas appears to have crumbled. More news and details coming soon… When this article posts tomorrow, there will be more details available, [...]
Passing Thoughts
Rule 1: Anyone who uses the word “crisis” is likely trying to part me from my money. Rule 2: Anyone using the words “fair”, “equal” or “sustainable” is likely trying to part me from my freedom. === Fact: There will always be a leading cause of death. Rule: There will always be someone who is [...]
PA Tenth Amendment Legislation Status – May 14
Update – May 15, 2011: Fixed incorrect status and link to SB9 instead of SR9. Sorry for the confusion. The list below contains the Tenth Amendment related legislation which we are currently tracking in the Pennsylvania legislature. This week’s updates include: SB3 reported favorably out of committee and are up for “second consideration”.* SB354 – [...]
Status of PA’s Tenth Amendment Legislation – May 7, 2011
This is the Tenth Amendment related legislation we are currently tracking in the Pennsylvania legislature. If you become aware of additional Tenth Amendment legislative activity, please let us know. Asserting State Prerogatives under the Tenth Amendment HR49 – State Sovereignty Resolution – Representative SWANGER – Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT, Feb 1, 2011. SR9 – State [...]
Two Challenges
A challenge for big-government conservatives: find a constitutional justification (rationalization) for the federal “war on drugs” that doesn’t also allow it to outlaw growing your own food in your own back-yard garden or to regulate the temperature of your living room. A challenge for big-government liberals: find a constitutional justification (rationalization) for a federal takeover [...]
How Can I Help?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article, written by Steve Palmer for the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center answers one of the most frequent questions we get – “What can I do?” While directed towards people in PA, the principles and suggestions are universal – and people in any state can act on his recommendations. Join us! ******* At [...]
Sam Rohrer at the PA Leadership Conference
By way of their facebook page, Americans For Prosperity’s Pennsylvania State Director, Sam Rohrer, speaks at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference. “The only solution (to “Obamacare”) is to structurally unchange it… for the states to nullify…” Listen to the enthusiasm when he says the word, “nullify” (at about 8:48).
