Department of Education Responds

--- Original message ---
From: "Freid, Steve"
To: Subject: Response to Inquiry
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:42:15 -0500
Dear Sir:
This is in response to your recent electronic message to the Secretary of Education. In your message, you write that "there is no authorizing language in the Constitution for a federal Department of Education, and thus [the Department] is truly illegal" and should be abolished. You further state that "[e]ducation is truly a local function." Thank you for writing to us.
This Department's web site at http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html contains an overview of the Federal role in education, which recognizes that "[e]ducation is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States" and that "[i]t is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish and schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation." Because education is primarily the responsibility of State and local governments, the law establishing the Department of Education generally prohibits the Department from interpreting the laws it administers in a manner that would result in exercising "any direction, supervision, or control" over matters such as curriculum and the program of instruction in public elementary and secondary schools. 20 U.S.C. 3403(b).
The Department's web site also notes that the Department's current mission is to "promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access." The Department carries out this mission in two major ways--by playing "a leadership role in the ongoing national dialogue over how to improve the results of our education system for all students" and by administering Federal education programs. As you suggest in your message, there is no one provision in the Constitution that specifically authorizes the establishment of the Department of Education (or any other Federal Department for that matter). However, the Constitution does give Congress the power to lay and collect taxes and provide for the "general Welfare of the United States" (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1) and "to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution" the other powers enumerated in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18). These provisions of the Constitution are consistent with the creation and role of the Department. I hope that this information is responsive to your concerns. Sincerely, Stephen H. Freid Assistant General Counsel Division of Elementary, Secondary and Adult Education Office of the General Counsel U.S. Department of Education

Greetings Mr. Freid,
Your explanation in the last paragraph of your note is clever but unconvincing. By your logic there is virtually nothing that the federal government cannot engage in. This is in direct conflict with the intent and words of the Founders in the Constitution. If a duty is not specifically authorized in the Constitution then the federal government is prohibited from engaging in that duty short of an actual amendment. That duty is then reserved to the States. Unfortunately the incorrect and expansive power that you cite has been growing exponentially over the last many decades and has led to a huge, bloated and dangerous federal behemoth. If the people cannot enforce the Constitution upon the federal government we are indeed doomed. The authorized powers of the federal government are specific and yes, quite limited. The true power resides with the States, which created the federal government in the first place. Our current federal government rules by fiat and fear, and is quite illegal and unconstitutional in most actions.
God save the people.
Warmest regards,
December 28, 2007

"Who says A must say B." --WFB,Jr.

The best way to defeat someone in a debate is to force them down the path of their own argument.

Constitutional Fundamentalists?

It seems that every time the press gets the Republican presidential candidates together they ask them if they believe every word in the Bible. I think that we need to ask the Democrat candidates if they believe every word in the Constitution.

Broken Promises

The Constitution is the document which created our federal government and supposedly empowers and constrains it. It is a covenant between the Government and the People. A fixed point of reference. Changes occur through the intentionally slow, difficult process of amendment. That is the only evolutionary process permitted. There are no penumbras or emanations. Announcements of the Supreme Court or legislation do not alter its fundamental fabric. Or at least, they are not supposed to. These bodies are creations of the Constitution and subordinate to it. That which is created is never greater than the creator. Everything the federal government does is supposed to be directly traceable to specific empowering language in Article 2, Section 8, or one of the amendments. Not some vague, ambiguous Supreme Court interpretation of the infamous Commerce Clause. Without a fixed point of reference we the People have no guarantee of our freedoms and liberties. If the federal government is not constrained by the Constitution then it is really constrained by nothing other than the capricious whims of maniacal politicians. That makes one shudder. Anarchy and tyranny by any other name would smell just as foul. I contend that the federal government has broken its covenant with the American People. It has jettisoned the Constitution and much of what it now engages in is de facto extra-constitutional; thus unauthorized and illegal. Sadly, anyone who points this out is laughed at and dismissed as a throw-back hick. I doubt the Framers what have appreciated such a label.
For example, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings was recently interviewed by Human Events reporter Terence Jeffrey, as reported in the November, 2007 edition of Imprimis. “ Mr. Jeffrey asked her is she could ‘point to language in the Constitution that authorized the federal government to have a Department of Education.’ Her reply shows that she knew the bearing of the inquiry: ‘I think we had come to an understanding, at least, of the reality of Washington and the flat world, if you will, that the Department of Education was not going to be abolished, and we were going to invest in our nation’s neediest students.’ Mr. Jeffrey persisted: ‘It is one thing to say that the political reality is we are not going to abolish the federal Department of Education, but can you seriously point to where the Framers actually intended the Constitution to authorize a Department of Education?’ The Secretary replied: ‘I can’t point to it one way or the other. I’m not a constitutional scholar, but I’ll look into it for you, Terry.’ Mr. Jeffrey reports that he did not get his answer. This is the Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, sworn to uphold the Constitution in the exercise of her office.”
Well, I’m no constitutional scholar either, but I can read it. The beauty of the document is that it is written so that nearly anyone can read and understand it. It means exactly what it says. Let me help you Madam Secretary, there is no authorizing language in the Constitution for a federal Department of Education, and thus your department is truly illegal, short of an amendment. And yes, it may some day be abolished, as it should. Education is truly a local function.
So, if the federal government is not required to abide by the letter of the Constitution are we the people required to abide by laws of the federal government when they exceed its constitutional authority? What power do we have to enforce the Constitution upon the federal government? All three branches are in it together. We can’t elect enough good people fast enough to make any substantive changes.
One if by land, two if by sea.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

So the Aussies finally drank the kool-aid and took the hard-left turn. Frankly, I’m surprised it took them this long.
Taking the liberal tack is really the effortless, gutless choice. It requires no intellectual heavy lifting. As long as it feels right and you think that you are helping out the facts are irrelevant. Good intentions, not results are the yardstick for success. Just look at the War on Poverty beginning in the 1960's in the U.S.A. Before this war most black families were intact and pillars of family and faith. With progressive welfare policies and trillions of dollars we succeeded in decimating black society. Thousands of young black men have died in their youth, lying in pools of their own blood on inner-city streets. Millions of babies have been aborted and millions born into impoverished single-mother 'families.' Generations have been locked into this cycle of poverty, misery and death. But these facts don't sway the liberal mind. They meant to help and thought that they were, so they feel oh so good about themselves. The actual results be hanged. Maybe we just need more money and more time. Liberalism is so easy. As Ronald Reagan remarked, it's born of a good heart and a misguided mind. The liberal looks so glamorous in the beginning, but the conservative is not vindicated until the end when no one is watching and no one remembers the liberal way back at the start. The liberal has since moved on to the next popular issue.
So, signing the Kyoto Protocols on global warming and pulling out of Iraq are now the top issues defining the Australian political scene. Well, that puts them in line with all of the other clueless, non-productive countries of the West. If the United States takes that tack next year who will be left to pull our collective chestnuts out of the fire when the insane Muslim throat slashers start pouring over our non-existent borders? Stalin couldn’t have hoped to pull this off so well. Without a shot being fired we go out with a whimper not a bang. Something about giving us enough rope. Ah well, just listen to the wizard and everything will be OK.

I Spy

Illegal alien and spy Nada Prouty got 6-12 months for stealing FBI and CIA secrets and passing them on to God knows who. Don't we execute spies? Our Federal Government is going to get all of our throats sliced. We must secure our borders and kick out these illegal infiltrators. We must replace our elected representatives and judges with people who understand the threat that we face and are willing to deal harshly with it. It is not pretty work, but the consequences of doing virtually nothing are nothing short of national suicide.

Money for Nothin' and Chicks for Free

Liberals will always have an easier time garnering undecided and new voters because they offer something for nothing. Conservatives won't typically do that. This appeal is particularly seductive to the lower socio-economic classes and those with less education. Just look at the LOTTO mentality in this country. Lotteries are steep regressive taxes on the lower classes. The sad eventuality is that the siren song of the liberals actually turns out to be nothing for something.

Clinton Kitty Caper

All eyes on Fort Marcy Park for the carcass of Socks the cat, a victim of apparent suicide by catnip overdose.

All Heil Harry (Reid)

Using the power of the Federal Government against a private citizen and directing a citizen’s private employer to take certain disciplinary actions is nothing short of Fascist. The senators who signed the Clear Channel Communications letter on official U. S. Senate stationery regarding their misunderstanding of Rush Limbaugh’s comments are acting as nothing short of Nazis. We must never forget this and never let them forget either. They will hear from us. Oh yes.

Dear Doctor Dobson

As a fundamentalist Christian living in Colorado I have visited Focus on the Family several times and deeply appreciate the contributions that Dr. James Dobson has made to the cause of family values. On the issue of who to support in the 2008 Presidential contest I must however diverge from Dr. Dobson and many other Christian leaders. While I am not greatly enamored with the current field of Republican candidates, the prospects from the Democrats are downright frightful. I am constantly reminding my friends that electing government officials is not tantamount to selecting pastors and popes. We are selecting people to run our secular public institutions. Politics is the art of the possible not the perfect. I doubt any candidate will ever suit me completely (unless of course I run, not). My goal in deciding on whom to cast my vote comes down to who is the best possible choice on my side that has a chance of getting elected and keeping the much worse choice from the other side from being elected. The progress of political success is usually gained in many small steps with many small setbacks over a long period of time, not in one grand fell swoop. If my stand on principle predictably results in my opponent getting elected then I really have no principles. I have merely been a willing participant in making life worse for all. Sadly, politics is many times choosing the lesser of two evils. But the keyword is lesser. I know that the current consternation in Christian camps hinges on abortion. And I believe that there is a fear amongst many that voting for someone who is not unabashedly pro-life may truly invoke the personal judgment and wrath of God. But if your opponent is solidly pro-abortion and by your action of sitting out an election or supporting a third-party candidate (who has no chance of getting elected and merely siphons votes from your party’s candidate) with the result in either case being that the pro-abortion candidate is elected; then in my view you are complicit in that eventuality. Do you suppose that might be how God would see it? Have you served God and served your cause and the public or have you only served your selfish viewpoint? The truth is the President has little to do with abortion policy save appointing judges. So what we should be evaluating is who potential candidates might appoint to the bench and what the judicial temperament of a potential judge is. The real rub is that under our Constitution questions of abortion policy have no place in federal courts. The U.S. Supreme court has no jurisdiction in those questions since they are not addressed in the Constitution. The proper forums for those debates and policies are the States. So to my friends on the Christian right I beseech you to get some perspective on what we are really engaged in here. Washington, D.C is not heaven and politicians are not angels. We’re doing the best we can with what we have. Remember, progress not perfection is the goal. Let’s do some good today in order to avoid a really big bad tomorrow.

With Liberty and Health Care For All

In her letter of 10/9/07, 'Gotcha Covered' (The Gazette, Colorado Springs), Kathy Verlo wonders why ‘socialized’ is a derogatory term and she makes the point that under a federal government single-payer health care insurance system, ‘everyone pays and everyone benefits.’
Well, first the simple truth. The elephant in the room that no one will notice is that under our Constitutional Republic (not the ‘true democracy’ to which she defers) the federal government has no constitutional power or authority to enact any federal health care or insurance system, mandatory or voluntary. No current Congressman, Senator or prospective Presidential candidate to whom I have made this point has been able to refute it. Short of a Constitutional Amendment such a program is a State prerogative. If our State’s constitution permits such a program then it should be proposed and debated in Denver, not D.C.
Second, socialism is just another name for collectivism which has been foisted upon the world in various forms including communism and fascism. It has never worked. It did not work that first harsh winter in Jamestown and it doesn’t work anywhere today. Socialism is merely the equal sharing of misery. Does she really want us to be more like decrepit, decaying Europe which produces nothing really, except laziness? The fact is most people of means who need specialized medical care come to the U.S.A from Mexico, Canada, Great Britain and most of the world. Most medications and medical treatments are the product of American research and development.
Finally, which successful federal government social program does she want to model this one after? You can hear the pin drop. There really aren’t any. These programs rapidly become bloated, inefficient and counter-productive to their original intent. Let’s leave the federal government to its true responsibilities of defending the borders, coining the money and building the roads on which to deliver the mail. I agree that we can make improvements in our health care delivery and insurance systems, but not the way that she has proposed.

Her Highness Hillary the Hilarious

• Since Hillary has fired the opening salvo by referring to Vice-President Cheney as Darth Vader, name-calling is now the order of the day. Jaba the Hut?
• If she is the Wicked Witch of the West, that would make Bill the general of the flying monkeys.
• How about Nurse Ratched?
• When will Norman Hsu turn up face down in Fort Marcy Park?
• KFC’s new meal combo: The Hillary Special: Two large thighs, two left wings and two small breasts.

Health (S)care

I have a simple request regarding the concept of federal mandates or provision of health- care and/or health insurance. Would someone kindly cite the empowering language in the U.S. Constitution (as amended) which gives the Federal Government authority and power to provide or mandate healthcare and/or health insurance and furthermore to use any federal tax money for such activity. I have read through the Constitution and amendments and can find no such positive authority, short of a new amendment. Finding none, it seems that the Tenth Amendment is the controlling legal authority in this instance and only the States would have such power. Any light that shed on this murky conundrum would be greatly appreciated. And by the way, don’t throw up the infamous Interstate Commerce Clause. Sorry, no cigar. It would seem that this question applies equally to Medicare and Social Security as well.

Full Disclosure

I think it would be great if Congress were required to specify at the beginning of each bill, unique topic within each bill and each amendment to a bill passed and sent to the President for signature; the exact language from the Constitution and its Amendments explicitly authorizing and empowering the Federal Government to engage in those activities. Furthermore, such disclosure should include ellaboration by Congress on the quoted Constitutional text so as to explain its understanding of why and how that language does indeed empower and authorize the Federal Government to engage in those activities. Full disclosure is required on a can of peas, why not Federal legislation?

Keep It Under Your Hat

Greetings Mr. Harsimran Kaur (United Sikh Coalition),
The ability to fly in the United States is not a right, it is not enshrined in our Constitution or Bill of Rights.It is a privilege. Just like having a driver's license. With that privilege comes responsibilities and regulations. We who drive are subject to random sobriety check points. When we fly we are subject to searches. It is the price we pay for living in a dangerous world. Checking headwear is no different than being asked to remove coats and place them on the x-ray conveyor belts.With regard to racial or ethnic profiling, that is a time-tested method used by law enforcement for decades. Nearly 100% of all international terrorism is perpetrated by radical Islamic fundamentalists.We who fly have a reasonable expectation that the government and the airlines will use all reasonable methods at their disposal to ensure our safety. This practice is reasonable. I think your ire would be better received if it were directed at denouncing and rooting out those Islamic factions responsible for making this screening necessary in the first place.

What Do These People Want?

Peaceful, freedom-loving people are going about their typical daily routines; getting the kids up for school, preparing breakfast, doing the laundry, going off to work, fixing the car, painting the house, camping up in the mountains; and then BOOM! Hijacked airliners start crashing into buildings. People scratch their heads, what in the world is going on? And why? We and those like us around the world harbored no evil designs or ill will toward those that planned and carried out these and other attacks like them before they happened. Our desire is that people everywhere have every opportunity to enjoy the best life possible. To that end the United States and our friends offer aid and support of all kinds to countries and peoples in need. We have for decades. Whenever catastrophes occur we are there with money, medicine, food and manpower. To those who don't like us or want our help we adopt a live and let live philosophy. We may not always understand why we are not liked, but we accept the fact that not everyone is our friend. But it is important to know that we do not threaten those who disagree with us. Unfortunately, some that disagree with us do threaten us. This is what we don't understand. The most prudent course of action is to agree to disagree; peacefully.

Which brings us to the question of 9/11. What do these people want? Surely they don't think they will forcefully overthrow the West. Do they believe that they can terrorize us into submission to their desires? Perhaps. But what desires. They are not yearning for individual freedom or Western culture or even wealth. In fact, they claim that these are the very things they vehemently oppose. To the point of suicide. So is this really all about fanatical Islamic militantism? The forcible establishment of universal worldwide Islam? Something seems fundamentally wrong about a religion that seeks to convert unbelievers by killing them. Are prayers prayed with a gun in one's ear really sincere? There is no obvious temporal, earthly benefit to those forcing such a culture upon the West, is there? No doubt they believe that a grand reward awaits them in the next life for fulfilling what they interpret to be Allah's wishes here on planet Earth. But the only thing they stand to gain before that next life begins is simply the raw exercise of power over another person.
Come to think of it though, over the centuries that has been the cause of scores of wars. So this current iteration is not really so different; just megalomania with a spiritual twist.

How, then; do peaceful, rational people deal with irrational murderers on a self-proclaimed religious jihad? Can you reason with someone willing to die for his wicked cause if he truly believes that he is headed for a grand reception in the sky? Probably not. Then what can we do to protect ourselves? First we do all that we can to educate and inform ourselves here at home. We must be vigilant and wise. We must protect our borders and admit immigrants only with scrutiny and caution. Every step must be taken to keep weapons and instruments of destruction out of the hands of those who mean us harm. A coordinated global effort to root out pockets of terror and hatred must be undertaken and sustained. These cells and breeding grounds of murder must be summarily destroyed whenever and wherever they are found. This effort will never end, just as our city police departments never close. Those who provide money, arms, training, food, shelter and safe-harbor to terrorists must be sternly dealt with. The cost of such complicity must be so high that it is absolutely unpalatable to those who do not share the suicidal zeal of the fanatics. We must continue to provide aid to those in need and pursue the peaceful spread of freedom.

Immigration

If this U.S. federal government refuses to enforce and protect our borders, refuses to build the southern border fence, refuses to enforce our immigration laws, imprisons our Border Patrol agents for doing their jobs, allows Mexican trucks to roam unchecked on our highways, allows illegal aliens access to our social and financial resources, refuses to deport illegal aliens, institutes an amnesty program for illegal aliens and institutes a guest worker program for illegal aliens; then this U.S. federal government is derelict in its Constitutional obligations and has broken the Constitutional covenant with the American people. The American people may have no choice but to rise up as we did in the American Revolution and forcibly replace this U.S. federal government and reestablish our U.S. Constitution. I am a peaceful citizen, a father, a husband and a physician. I don’t own a gun—yet. But my patience is worn thin. I hear people talking. May God bless America!

King for a Day

I have lost all faith and trust in the ability of the Federal Government (all three branches; Executive, Legislative & Judicial) to properly govern the affairs of our country. This is due in large part to a mostly apathetic, uneducated, immoral, amoral and dependent citizenry. In a sense we have the government that we deserve. President George Washington warned that a democratic form of government would only likely succeed with a moral citizenry. I think that even our financial system is corrupt. Adam Smith only discussed the concept of money in The Wealth of Nations in conjunction with ethics and morality. He referred to money as an ethical standard. I don’t believe that really is the case now. We are not teaching our children to understand our form of government or economics. People are shackled by unconscionable personal debt, have no concept of work, saving and thrift, believe that they should have anything that they want and believe that the Government will take care of them if and when they can’t. What a recipe for disaster! So, can we regain our footing? I’m not really sure. But there are a few things that I would do were I king for a day:

· Mandatory 2-year public service at graduation from high school or upon turning 18. It could be military or some other paid public service. Don’t tell me that we can’t order people around like that. We did it during the military draft. And we do it every day when we force people to pay mandatory taxes. My money IS my time. Most Americans work for the government through May each year to pay taxes before they can keep a penny for themselves. That’s 4-5 months of involuntary government servitude every year.
· Maybe property ownership to vote.
· Proof of basic civics knowledge to be allowed to vote.
· A 22% Federal Sales Tax, the ‘FairTax’ (NOT a V.A.T.) to replace the Income (Personal and Corporate) Tax, along with abolishing all Capital Gains Taxes and all Estate/Death/Inheritance/Gift Taxes.
· Outlawing all personal consumer credit other than one primary home mortgages for the sole purpose of the home purchase. No 2nd, 3rd home equity loans to finance cars or vacations to Hawaii. No car loans. No further credit card purchases or credit. Cards could still be used for purchases/travel, but only to the amount of cash in the personal bank account backing the card. Current credit payment contracts/rates would be locked and then after 7 years all unpaid balances would be forgiven with no tax implications.

Constitutional Amendments I Would Like to See

Abolish the Department of Education, no Federal funding of education
Enforce borders, deport illegal aliens immediately, no ID cards/Drivers licenses, no medical/education/welfare benefits (life or death emergency only pending deportation), no U.S. Citizenship for children of illegal aliens born on U.S. soil.
English as official and only language of Federal business
No Federal estate tax
No Federal capital gains tax
No Federal income tax on corporations
Abolish Federal Social Security
No Federal unemployment insurance or medical insurance/payment programs
The Interstate Commerce clause refers only to taxes levied by one State on real goods manufactured in another State and then sold in that State. It shall not be broadly interpreted and applied.
Personal income taxes shall be paid quarterly by the individual, not their employer. Move to the FairTax, a national sales tax, NOT a value added tax.
Federal personal taxes of all types, names and intended uses shall not exceed 10% of a person’s total yearly net income.
The powers and authorities of the Federal Government shall be strictly limited to the express and explicit enumerations contained within the Constitution, as amended.
There shall be no Federal Minimum Wage.
Enforce the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, and the First and Second. How about all of them?
There are no penumbras or emanations from the Constitution or Bill of Rights.

Capitalism

“Capitalism does not insure that people will always make good choices. But it does insure that people will always have choices.”

50 and Broke?

So, you’re 50 and broke huh? Are you finally ready to listen to your mother? It’s time to swallow your pride and do what I’ve been telling you for years. Your generation has done it all backwards. My generation worked hard, did without, saved our money and then when we could afford it we got the things that we wanted. You sniveling baby-boomers thought you could do it your way, after all you are the smartest and most coddled generation in history. Well, it finally caught up with you didn’t it? You thought you could go out and get whatever you wanted right off the bat and try to figure out how to pay for it later. It backfired. While we made compounding work for us, you have had it working against you from the day you left high school. And the credit card companies thank you as they laugh all the way to the bank. Well, they are the bank. So here are some thoughts in no particular order:

· Stick with your job; quit jumping from one to another. Get a second job evenings and weekends. Both of you. Put the kids to work. Put the dog to work
· Cut up the credit cards and pay cash for what you really need. Points are for suckers
· No more $4 cups of coffee, $100 sneakers or $3000 TV sets
· Cancel the newspaper and all magazine subscriptions
· Cancel the cable or satellite TV
· Cancel the satellite radio
· Don’t lease cars
· Quit buying new cars
· Quit buying new, big houses and financing them with ARM’s, Interest-Only Loans, and Minimum Payment/Negative Amortization Loans. Refinance now
· Snow skiing is too expensive
· You can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods
· Goodwill and The Salvation Army have great deals on almost-new designer clothing and home furnishings. Swallow your pride, put on some sunglasses and go shop
· No more movies, concerts or sporting events. No more $5 popcorn and $3 sodas
· Find your public library. It’s probably on the way to Barnes & Noble.
· If you have a home mortgage, car note or personal loan/credit card debt you have no business investing. Real investing is for people who fly private jets, drive Bentleys and carry more mad cash in their pockets than the net worth of the company you work for
· When you start having a little extra cash each month (what a concept, huh?) start putting a little into savings. The goal is 10% GROSS, remember?
· Start paying a little extra against the highest rate debt that you have. When that’s paid off just keep going down the list
· Don’t be proud, ask family if they can help (particularly the older ones, they have all the liquid cash)
· You do not have to hire the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus for you kids’ birthdays. Birthdays and Christmas are great times for new shoes
· Great people have graduated from in-state public universities
· Kids do not have to be in a dozen after-school activities
· Monopoly and chess are much better ways to learn life lessons and thinking skills than Grand Theft Auto. Smart kids get scholarships
· Get rid of the cell phones. They do make emergency-only phones for teens. Cell phones are for investors
· No more fast-food and restaurants. Restaurants are where investors have lunch. Learn to actually cook; it’s fun and nutritious. And cheaper (remember, no shopping at Whole Foods)
· Malls are for people-watching, not shopping
· Massage parlors are not places that nice people go to
· You can do your own nails
· Vacations are for people who can really afford them (Hint)
· Quit running to the doctor every time you sneeze. You’re not really sick and you are driving the doctor crazy. Besides, generic cold medicine at the grocery store is much cheaper (Not Whole Foods)
· The terms ‘all natural’ and ‘organic’ are not in your vocabulary
· The Lottery is not a retirement plan. Quit buying tickets

Now shut up and get to work!

Declaration of Independence from Judicial Tyranny

In DISTRESS, July 4, 2005
The unanimous Declaration of the People of the United States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the judicial bands which have connected them with the Federal Courts and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Courts are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Judiciary becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Courts, laying their foundation on such principles and organizing their powers in such form, as to them shall deem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Courts long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Courts, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Americans; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Federal Judiciary. The history of the present Courts is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Judicial Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

They have conspired with State Courts in Florida to order the brutal torture and murder of mentally handicapped people.

They have denied the same Rights to unborn citizens that are ascribed to Citizens of these States.

They have ordered Legislatures to lay taxes and levies on the People without their consent.

They have illegally amended the Constitution in the Kelo case, eradicating the protection of private property by changing the original intent of public use to that of private use for eminent domain. (added August 28, 2007)

They have found non-existent Penumbras and Emanations from the original text and meaning of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

They have misinterpreted and misapplied the Commerce Clause.

They have taken for themselves the exclusive right of Judicial Review, thereby usurping this authority from the Executive and Legislative branches.

They have made a mockery of the First Amendment, banning religious ceremonies and displays from all public discourse and failing to enforce the safeguards of Free Exercise.

They have permitted the squashing of Political Speech sixty days prior to an election.

The have systematically ignored the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.

They have intimidated the Senate so as to disallow simple votes on Presidential Judicial Nominees in violation of the intent of Advise and Consent.

They have brought Foreign Ideas and Principles into the adjudication of cases before them.

They have extended the Rights and Benefits of our Nation’s Laws to Aliens.

They have erected a multitude of lesser Courts, and sent hither swarms of Judges to harass our people and eat out their substance.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms; Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Judge, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the judge of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our legislative brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their Supremes to extend unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We must, there, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in Elections, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the People of the United States of America, in General Distress, Assembled across the land, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the Good People of these States, solemnly publish and declare, That these People are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent from Judicial Tyranny, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the ersatz Federal Judiciary, that they have full Power to read and understand our Laws, engage in Contracts, correctly enforce the Commerce Clause, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent Citizens may of right do.—And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.