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These arguments are all smoke and mirrors unless we figure out where authority lies (? ;-)
With the people of this country. There that was simple. :)
As far as I'm concerned freedom of association is implied by freedom of assembly. To assemble in this context obviously means to associate. If it doesn't, then what the hell is it? To come together in order to work things out? Is that association? In the context of assembling for commerce, commerce is just assembling and agreeing on the terms of free association.
Okay, my point was simply that an assumed right shouldn't HAVE to be implied under the existing constitution. Either we have to find a way to list all our freedoms at once and then guarantee them definitively, or we have to not guarantee them on paper, so as to not LIMIT them TO paper. I'm assuming that the bill of rights was written in this spirit -- our forefathers listed and guaranteed all of our rights that had been previously contested by King George. I can only assume that they had no idea the kind of civil war they would start over rights that they didn't see as being threatened but must (in today's world) be guaranteed by law in order to be valid. I mean, hell how to you spell out the right to privacy in leagalese, in one paragraph? You can't, not in today's society. Everybody's definition has a different spin, and all of the ones based on common sense are correct.
The authority of a Supreme Court was challenged by Thomas Jefferson, who speculated that if such a court were the ultimate arbiter of justice, then a tyranny of the judiciary would follow.
Nine judges, appointed for life, who therefore never run for election (even though they are selected and confirmed by elected officials). Whomever chooses them influences the political philosophy driving that court for years and years after their term of office has expired. I entirely agree with Thomas Jefferson. Interestingly enough, the constitution doesn't say a damn thing about "judicial review." It was a power that the supreme court granted unto itself, something that the court itself would challange if either of the other two branches of government tried that... Personally, I think the voters should decide exactly what the supreme court can do (since it's rather vaguely defined in the constitution), and then give themselves to vote on who will be put in those nine chairs.
So who ultimately judges? I should think having a federal body judge the constitutional limitations of the federal government is an obvious conflict of interest.
I think the idea behind it all was to say that, in putting nine judges in the highest court and giving them lifetime terms, they then have the ability to make decisions without facing the wrath of the other two brances. You're correct, however. A man who represents himself in a court of law has a fool for a client, and this holds true for the Fed.
In any case, anyone willing to read the constitution and do just a little bit of homework will find out that the constitution is a *limitation* of the powers of the federal government, not a broad grant.
Thank you, thank you! :)
[little know fact: Earl Warren, noted Supreme Court "Justice" was the designer of the Japanese-American Prison camps in the US during WWII]
I didn't know that.
Before someone starts spouting off on "our living constitution"(TM) someone please tell me why they didn't strike out the conflicting parts of the constitution when they "grew" it? Something like "amendments number one, two, five, nine and ten should be amended to read "unless we say otherwise". Alterations of public law almost always specify the previous laws that are struck down. In fact, if memory serves, the repeal of prohibition specifically alters the amendment that created it.
Actually, I think the "unless we say so" clause is allready in there, in most if not all ammendments (unless I'm mistaken). It reads something to the effect of Congress having the athority to draft any and all laws that assist in the upholding of whatever part of the constitution that the clause is included in. I think it's called the "elastic clause," if memory serves me correctly (where's my copy of the constitution that has all the $2 bills with the signing of the declaration of independance on the back stuffed into the middle?!).
(It is left as an excercise to the reader to figure out why prohibition needed an amendment to the constitution while prohibition of other mind altering substances did not ;-)
I think what happened was that the prohibition ammendent was drafted in the "do MORE good!" days following the United State's successes in the first world war. A time of "good feelings" was in effect, and since the evil Germans had been stamped out, folks figured that stamping out other evils was also a good thing. How ironic that the repealing ammendment immediately followed the woman's sufferage ammendment. It's like the country woke up from a bad hangover...
Have a day.
Allways do. :) Best wishes and fresh-roasted peanut taste, The Sheriff. -- ***<REPLY TO: sheriff@speakeasy.org>*** - --- As kinky as it sounds, finger me to see my PGP key and confirm the signature attached to this message. Either that, or head for pgp.ai.mit.edu on the WWW and search for my e-mail address. - --- Any and all SPAM will be met with immediate prosecutory efforts. Solicitations are NOT welcome here! - --- ----BEGIN INFLAMATORY BLOCK---- Version: 160 (IQ) Comments: Definitely one of their greatest misses. Reporter: "Do you know what Public Enemy is?" - --- Citizen: "Public enemy?" [long pause] "Probably somebody in office." -----END INFLAMATORY BLOCK----- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 5.0 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com> Charset: noconv iQEVAwUBNLyDBQBMw4+NR29ZAQHRuAf/VijkwXb/H2uXRuObeNsAdpgysKmMvEWr 1ufctl9e+BtbeByLLLmH22qudsl76xrVA5EHq8qHOHixZQTDayb7lfeTBHBwnrkI Z79ZT5EUyjIBM6V6Iad2Qtit7ePkeGG52UqKYU1cbruEQkyM4FZc2js2kbG/uky6 53+ez/wvdBYwIbB8PnTRkrE8ZDC+21hHFH+5Aw4wSRP0cyHfslu8uWg4DM1O2car VQqxvy1XYEKv3uXoF/l8v/iw3kAwXpaJzhViEnOAuli21nVip8xa+3zG+sMyY4Gg us8wvVeqqNANNu8WG9WAUqV0OmGaWObNC6QGnVOqBGoKulmoDFFdjw== =Fsmr -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----