The Constitution and the Law

If the lawmakers would follow the US Constitution, I'd have little to complain about. Not that I wouldn't complain anyway....... While I'm continually amazed at the vision and foresight of the Founders, there were a few errors made.

The Founders even made a provision for just such an eventuality: the means to amend the document. Not impossible, but not too easy.

Which is one of the reasons why I'm so uneasy about the future of the Republic.

When Congress decided to make alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the nation (an incredibly stupid idea, to be sure), they went about it in the proper way. Recognizing that any law against production and consumption of alcohol would be unConstitutional, they proceeded through the rigors of amending the Constitution with the Eighteenth Amendment. A few years later, of course, they did it all again to repeal the Eighteenth with the Twenty-First. I'll drink to that!

Today, we're still involved in what has inaccurately been dubbed "The War on Drugs." Making the use and sale of drugs illegal is every bit as unConstitutional and Alcohol Prohibition would've been, but few in government are willing to admit this. No Constitutional Amendment has been proposed. Government simply enforces this collection of unConstitutional laws with the force of arms, using local police agencies as well as the FBI and several newly and unConstitutionally-created federal police agencies. In less than thirty years' time, the drug war has become so complicated and all-encompassing in law enforcement that government is rendered unable to enforce laws that are properly within its Constitutional role. As in the case of alcohol prohibition, violent criminals run virtually unchecked in society.

More recently, since the destruction of New York's World Trade Center, defense against any future attacks of that sort has caused the Federal government to redouble its creation of unConstitutional laws.

Our new "war," the War on Terror," has caused the creation of even more unConstitutional federal police agencies. Not surprisingly, there is almost no concern for Constitutional Rule of Law. The Federal government issues edicts and orders as if there were no Constitution at all. It seems, in order to fight against islamic dictatorship, we have to become a christian dictatorship.

Government officials and news people, in order to justify these outrages, cite precedent after precedent. Unfortunatly for those who recall and desire a more libertarian life, this seems to satisfy everyone. Government continues along its path to a police state.

What I'd like to propose is that lawmakers no longer be allowed to consider precedent law cases that may or may not be in accordance with the Constitution. I propose that every new bill under consideration be tested against the Constitution itself.

Shall Congress pass an act that creates a federal department of education? Where, in the Constitution, does one find authorization fort the federal government to be involved in the education of American people? I don't find any such authorization. The federal department of education should be abolished.

I'm watching the news right now. They're talking about making drivers' licenses harder to get by requiring four forms of ID. Now, I'm not sure I even have four forms if ID, unless you count my..........driver's license.

Do I think it'll happen? Not anytime soon. There is, so far, no will to repair the broken government. it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California