Wall of Separation: Myth?
The biggest misunderstanding is not even the concept of the “Separation of Church and State” itself, but a misunderstanding of federalism, the construction of the US Constitution, and the first 10 Amendments (i.e. the Bill of Rights).
Nationalism, Federalism and the Civil War
I often read blogs, articles, news “reports” and the like – where the commentator refers to the current 10th Amendment Movement with a comment like Hugh Holub in the Tucson Citizen: “The Civil War was about the right of states to allow slavery. The Union won and slavery was outlawed.” Obviously, the southern states wanted [...]
Gay Rights or States’ Rights?
When a federal judge overturned California’s ban on gay marriage, this supposed “victory” was in reality a defeat for the Constitution.
States’ Rights Are Not Wrong
A very long, but well-documented article on the history of nullification – and its current efforts in ….of all places …. the Huffington Post. Read it – it’s really good, and gives great ammo for discussing this issue with your friends on the left. We all have them. Admit it. (I even have a few [...]
What’s Wrong with States’ Rights?
A good read from VT Campaign for Liberty: First there were “Truthers” and then “Birthers” and now there are “Tenthers.” To be accurate, the “Tenthers” actually came first, since this newly-coined term (which is supposed to denote a “fringe” position and is therefore derogatory) refers to those who believe the tenth amendment to the Constitution [...]
Tom Woods vs Neil Siegel on States’ Rights
If you haven’t ordered Tom’s new book, Nullification, yet – it’s a barn-burner! A manual for liberty…
State Legislatures Take Up Abortion Issues
From The New American State governments are reasserting their constitutional right to regulate abortion. Eleven states this year have passed laws which either restricts or controls abortion, this activity represents a high water mark for state legislative action on this issue. Governor Barbour of Mississippi signed into law a measure which would keep new insurance [...]
Miss Oklahoma’s simple declarative sentence
There are three issues in the Arizona situation. In order of importance they are: a state’s right to act without permission from the federal government, chronic federal incompetence and mismanagement and the third: Is the controversial Arizona plan a good and workable solution for controlling the border? I was struck by the clarity of Morgan [...]
Against Judicial Supremacy
Much has been made of the coalition of state attorneys-general suing the federal government over the constitutionality of the recently enacted health care bill. But while many of us are happy to see the state governments taking some form of action to preserve their powers and to protect the liberties of their citizens from federal [...]
Nullification – The Forgotten Check on the Federal Government
“In questions of powers, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson On May 20th, I gave a short talk to the Concerned Citizens of Upper Perkiomen Valley for Smaller Government on the concept of nullification. Nullification is [...]
A Case for Nullification
Oklahoma House Joint Resolution 1054 was vetoed by Governor Brad Henry on Friday. The resolution would have prevented Oklahomans from the mandated purchase of health insurance and prevented monetary penalties for non-compliance. The message of the Oklahoma legislature was clear, Federal Government you have overstepped your Constitutional authority. Here is a perfect example of the [...]
Why are States’ Rights so important?
Here’s the latest book from Walter Kennedy – and his brother James:
Our States’ Rights Tradition
The Classical Liberal States’ Rights Tradition The fourth of ten lectures from the 2006 Steven Berger Seminar: Thomas DiLorenzo on Liberty and American Civilization, recorded at the Mises Institute, 06-06-2006.
Should Liberals Champion States’ Rights?
Regular readers of this blog will know that the answer to that question is a resounding YES! But for many people in America, particularly those on the left side of the political spectrum, the notion of states’ rights is as repulsive as it is misunderstood. Of course, if they grasped the concept of federalism and [...]
The Tenthers
Nolan Finley is a very conventional columnist for the Detroit News. Nolan has just published a very good column (for the most part) on the Tenth Amendment movement. However, he just has to get in that one little comment that separates him from the radical states’ rights movement (radical … meaning scholarly and “no surrender”): [...]
Are Same Sex Marriage Advocates Actually Tenthers?
They are if they oppose the federal Defense of Marriage Act on constitutional grounds. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what supporters of same sex marriage are doing in Massachusetts. From the Wall Street Journal: Last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley moved for summary judgment in a lawsuit, filed last July, brought by [...]
States Rights, Yes, But That’s Not All
As Jefferson said, the American principle supports the states as versus the central government, the counties as versus the states, the towns as versus the counties, the wards as versus the towns, and the individual as versus all. Radical decentralism is the libertarian principle. Originally posted on the LewRockwell.com blog
States readying for 10th Amendment show down
A story today in USA Today begins, “Another congressional delegation went to the White House today to talk with President Obama about a health care bill — and another congressional delegation left without talking to reporters.” This is now the standard operating procedure for this administration’s efforts to force a form of health care insurance [...]
Utah to Consider States’ Rights Legislation
The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that which has been delegated by the people to the federal government, and also that which is “necessary and proper” to advancing those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. The rest is to be handled by the state governments, [...]
They’ve Been Trampling Our Rights for Decades!
The following letter is from Louisiana State Senator, A.G. Crowe to all the other legislators in that state. He’s a 10th Amendment Pledge signer and author of SCR2, Louisiana’s State Sovereignty Resolution, which passed both houses in 2009. Linda and I want to take a moment to let you know that it is an honor [...]
Why States’ Rights are the Answer
We could talk, debate, point fingers about how we got from 1776 to today, but the fact is each of us is responsible, and unless we own the blame, we cannot own the solution. First you need to ask, “Does the constitution matter to you?” If you answered yes, you may ask, “but what can [...]
Virginia Blogger Calls Tenthers “Intellectual Boobs”
Dan Casey of the Roanoke Times recently embarrassed himself with a juvenile, ad hominem attack on the Tenth Amendment movement titled “The Whole Tenth Amendment Business is Dumb and Crazy.” While it’s unclear whether Casey actually expected his “arguments” to be taken seriously, it is clear that he cannot make his point through the use of [...]
Feb 19, 2011 | Categories:Commentary, Constitution, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Founding Principles, Government, Originalism, Sovereignty Movement, State Sovereignty, Tenthers, The Opposition | Tags: 10th Amendment, 10th Amendment Movement, Enumerated Powers, Founding Principles, State Sovereignty, States Rights, Virginia Sovereignty | 2 Comments »