Constitution

The Real Constitutional Crisis

by Laurence M. Vance November 1, 2020

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a crisis (plural: crises) is: 1a: the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever b: a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered function c: an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life; a midlife crisis 2: the decisive moment (as in a literary plot); The crisis of ...

Democrats, Republicans, and the Constitution

by Laurence M. Vance May 1, 2020

In July 2017, after President Donald Trump had been in office for less than six months, Congressmen Al Green (D-Calif.) and Brad Sherman (D-Tex.) introduced in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives an article of impeachment (H. Res. 438) against the president for “High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Said Green, “I am introducing Articles of Impeachment to begin a long ...

Betraying the Constitution

by John W. Whitehead December 10, 2019

“It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”—Thomas Paine While Congress subjects the nation to its impeachment-flavored brand of bread-and-circus politics, our civil liberties continue to die a slow, painful death by a thousand cuts. Case in point: while Americans have been fixated on the carefully orchestrated impeachment drama that continues to monopolize headlines,

A Gross Violation of the Constitution

by Laurence M. Vance March 28, 2019

Although Donald Trump had a Republican majority in Congress for the first two years of his presidency, he failed to obtain funding to build his signature wall between the United States and Mexico. Yet now that the Democrats control the House, he is more determined than ever to build his wall. But never mind the Congress, just declare a national ...

Summon Mark Judge to Testify in Kavanaugh Hearings

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2018

Preliminary Note: See my September 28 article “Brett Kavanaugh: A Black Mark on the Supreme Court?” and my blog post of today, "Trump's Sham FBI 'Investigation' of Kavanaugh." *** Now that Congress and President Trump have allowed a one-week delay in the Kavanaugh confirmation vote to permit further investigation, the FBI is ...

Suspending the Constitution

by John W. Whitehead September 19, 2018

“That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn't even any rioting in the streets. People stayed home at night, watching television, looking for some direction. There wasn't even an enemy you could put your finger on.”—Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale We can pretend that the Constitution, which was written to hold the government accountable, ...

Constitutional Conservatives Fail the Drug Test

by Laurence M. Vance July 13, 2018

The announced retirement of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy from the U.S. Supreme Court (effective July 31, 2018) has conservatives salivating over the prospects of Donald Trump’s nominating a constitutional conservative to the Supreme Court. Although Kennedy was nominated to the High Court by Ronald Reagan, he has at times disappointed conservatives with some of his votes, especially ...

The Constitution Is Not Neutral

by John W. Whitehead July 6, 2018

“The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of the people.”—Justice William O. Douglas For those still deluded enough to believe they’re living the American dream—where the government represents the people, where the people are equal in the eyes of the law, where the courts are arbiters of justice, where the police are ...

Is the Constitution Even Welcome Here Anymore?

by John W. Whitehead May 31, 2018

“The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered and there was no end to the butchery, a blanket of silence spread. When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out ‘stop!’ When crimes begin to pile up they ...

The Libertarian Angle – The Purpose of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (video)

by Future of Freedom Foundation May 22, 2018

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling discuss the purpose of the United States' founding documents Go to the podcast.

What Americans Should Know about the Constitution

by Laurence M. Vance October 1, 2017

Having just finished reading a new biography of H.L. Mencken, I was intrigued when I discovered that the Washington Post had an online section about politics called “Monkey Cage.” It was Mencken who said, “Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.” “Monkey Cage’”s mission “is to connect political scientists and the political conversation by ...

Patriots and Protesters Should Take a Knee for the Constitution

by John W. Whitehead September 28, 2017

“Seems like in the past 15 years or so the idea of patriotism has changed some. More polarized, more tied to political or ideological views. I’ve never seen patriotism or the flag connected to either; I see the flag more as the symbol of a nation that allows the freedom to express those ideas. That alone ...