Must have accessory: The Constitution

Posted on January 6, 2011 by brvanlanen

For the new Congress, the must-have accessory isn’t an iPad or a Kindle. It’s a 3.25-by-6.25-inch pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution.

A growing number of lawmakers are carrying the tiny copies in suit jackets and in their cars, a response in part to tea-party complaints that Congress has lost sight of the country’s founding document.

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The 224-year-old government road map has become a potent political symbol akin to the flag pin, and one that’s hard to reject, even for lawmakers who don’t necessarily sign on to tea-party ideas.

The document’s public prominence was spurred in part by voters who say Democrats overreached in their legislative agenda. At the center of that debate is the health care overhaul, which faces a series of court challenges on constitutional grounds. Democrats say that law and their other achievements fall within the scope of their constitutional powers.

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Striding up the stairs inside the Capitol Wednesday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) pulled from his left blazer pocket a copy emblazoned with his picture, an edition printed for his presidential campaign. “I always carry a Constitution with me,” Rep. Kucinich said. “This Constitution belongs to all Americans, and it’s a good thing that it be celebrated.” (Source: WSJ)

Kudos to Rep. Kucinich for pointing out it should be celebrated. However it should also be followed by every Congress.

It is a must-have accessory of all members of Congress. If your member of Congress doesn’t carry one ask them why. For good measure inquire if all members of their staff carry one.

House Reads Constitution, Gets Civics Lesson (blogs.wsj.com)
Michael Keegan: House Reads the Constitution, Should Defend Its Values (yubanet.com)

Sowell: Government Greed

Posted on October 15, 2010 by brvanlanen

Those who are always accusing people in the private sector of “greed” almost never level that charge against the government, no matter what it does. Indeed, the question of whether the government is greedy almost never comes up, so most of us probably never think about it.

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The government doesn’t have to prove that you are dead. The fact that your bank account had nothing added to it or taken from it for a few years is enough. Apparently politicians cannot imagine how someone would have money and not spend it, unless they were dead.

Escheat laws are just one of the ways governments seize money. Income-tax rates have been as high as 90 percent in the top brackets. Even after you have paid the taxes on your income and saved or invested part of what is left, the government comes back to take more of that same money, after you die, with estate taxes.

Perhaps one of the most unconscionable acts of greed by government is confiscating people’s homes, in order to turn this property over to other people, who are expected to build things that will pay more taxes.

The Constitution allows the government to take private property for its own use, provided “just compensation” is paid. That way the government can build reservoirs, bridges, or highways, for example, even if that requires displacing some people. But judges over the years have expanded this power to include taking private property just to turn it over to some other private individual or business. (Source: NRO)

Awesome analysis by Thomas Sowell. It is interesting how this all-out “greed” was allowed to grow unchecked. The question is are things about to change starting in November.