http://freekeene.com/…

This Veteran’s Day, like all others, you and I will hear that statement repeated countless times to the so called “men and women in service to our country.” They are credited with “keeping our country free” and securing America from people who hate our way of life. But while security is important to a free society, the military that was established to defend the Constitution is currently undermining the bounds intended by the founding fathers by occupying over 150 countries with a US military presence.

There is no doubt that there are people in the world disgusted by American people, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide if they hate us for McDonalds and freedom, or for a government that can’t stay out of foreigner’s lives. Despite the foreign and domestic threats to personal freedom, who is really responsible for the privileged life most of us are lucky to live here?

To the garbage collectors, custodians, entrepreneurs in cleaning service, and others involved in keeping the rest of our homes and workplaces clean: Thank you for your service.

To the mechanics, plumbers, electricians, roofers, painters, and others that have the skills to keep our cars safe, our appliances running, our buildings solid, and our lives better: Thank you for your service.

To the musicians, artists, filmmakers, actors, and others dedicated to providing entertainment in our homes and towns: Thank you for your service.

To the doctors, nurses, therapists, and the other hard working members of the government-bogged, understaffed, over-demanded medical facilities of this country that offer invaluable care to Americans: Thank you for your service.

To restaurant owners, waiters and waitresses, fast food workers, chefs and managers who allow us to treat ourselves to a night eating out: Thank you for your service.

To preachers, councilors, funeral home workers, wedding planners, financial advisors and others that will stand and help in times of extreme grieving, happiness, or stress in our lives: Thank you for your service.

To truck drivers, factory production workers, loaders and un-loaders, overnight stock boys, and others that keep products moving around the country: Thank you for your service.

To the volunteers of this country that donate their spare time to churches, charities, non-profit organizations, and the less fortunate citizens in our society: Thank you for your service.

To the single parents, workers of multiple jobs, those in less than comfortable living, and others that have learned the meaning of hard work just to pay a bill: Thank you for your dedication and your service.

And to the city workers collecting property taxes from homeowners in debt, the state workers demanding vehicle registration for cars people struggle to keep running, the municipal workers who pass the buck on responsibility to the next higher bureaucrat in line, and the rest of the people in this society who’s income is derived from the coercion of the rest: Isn’t it time you served?

I love how Bernanke stutters after Paul interrupts him with “coins.”
The pleading of the Fox Business people are pretty entertaining too.

The Constitution of the United States says but one thing about contracts.

Article I, section 10, clause 1:

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, expost facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

As Wikipedia states:

The framers of the Constitution added this clause due to fear that states would continue a practice that had been widespread under the Articles of Confederation—that of granting “private relief.” Legislatures would pass bills relieving particular persons (predictably, influential persons) of their obligation to pay their debts. It was this phenomenon that also prompted the framers to make bankruptcy law the province of the federal government.

Knowing that we do that the US Constitution is a document of enumerated federal powers we look to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4: The Congress shall have Power

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

It would seem to me that “a proposal, popular among many Democrats, to allow judges to modify mortgages in bankruptcy court.” would be unconstitutional as singling out mortgage contracts as judicially modifiable would make bankruptcy law non-uniform. I doubt they are currently but that would not legitimize this additional infraction.

It would seem to me that “uniform Laws” applies to the topic not simply their reach. Otherwise the Congress could create special exceptions for whomever they wished so long as they group things narrow enough.

Regardless of what the Constitution says I’m still not OK with an arbiter single handedly changing a contract without explicit consent by all parties of that contract. In this case it would obviously be used to help the mortgagor over the mortgagee. One could claim that by going to the government court you are giving consent but I doubt that completely private bankruptcy arbitration is something which is generally accepted. So I’m not sure that there is much of a choice in reality.

From the email I just received:

On the day following the 221st anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, WTP Chairman and constitutional activist Robert Schulz today filed a federal lawsuit in United States District Court in Albany seeking to halt the execution of the emergency bailout of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) by the United States Government and the Federal Reserve.

The lawsuit asserts that the commitment of public funds and credit for the direct benefit of privately owned AIG is an ultra vires action by the United States Government and Federal Reserve, i.e., beyond the limited legal authority granted by the Constitution. The lawsuit asks for a “show cause” hearing demanding that the Government produce evidence of its legal authority to commit public funds for such a purpose, as well as emergency and permanent injunctions halting the bailout transaction.

Beyond the Constitutional deficiencies, the bailout establishes a dangerous precedent enabling the Fed and/or Government to nationalize virtually any business or property within the United States without legal authority or congressional approval.

The defendants include the Federal Reserve System, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanki, the U.S. Treasury, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson Jr. and the United States Government.

The WTP Foundation today issued a press release citing Schulz:

“Beyond the moral hazard and dangerous precedent established by this action, it is of vital importance that the American people recognize that the present financial crisis is a direct and predictable result of decades of constitutional violations by the Federal  Government.  Through a long-standing policy of disinformation and collusion with the Federal Reserve and Wall Street financial elite, the United States Federal Government has denied public access to information about the secretive operations of the privately owned and operated Federal Reserve and its monopoly control of America’s money system.

“This monopoly control of our currency by a private banking cartel has resulted in increasing distortion, volatility and cyclical (boom and bust) economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad.  America’s fiat currency (produced from thin air) is manipulated by the Federal Reserve for the benefit of its owners, major Wall Street financial institutions and the Federal Government and is not unaccountable to the taxpayers. These abuses of the Constitution have taken our financial system to edge of the abyss. The chickens have come home to roost.”  Click here to read the Complaint, the Memorandum of Law supporting the TRO, and Schulz’s Declaration which includes several recent articles from the New York Times.

As the announcer from Smash TV once said: Good luck! You’ll need it!

This won’t get anywhere but it’s nice to see someone is trying.

I figure while we may appreciate the ideas behind the Constitution we do need to put the celebration in perspective.

http://www.harrybrowne.org/…

This day isn’t important.

There are far more significant days in the year:

• Labor Day, when we pretend to care about other people’s jobs while frolicking at the beach.
• Election Day, when we pretend we’re making a difference by voting.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Susan B. Anthony Day, when we pretend to be politically correct.
• Memorial Day, when we pretend that we live in a free country because of all the people who were killed in the government’s senseless wars.
• Flag Day, when we pretend the government is America.
• Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day, when we pretended that World War I made the world safe for democracy).
• National Teachers Day, when we pretend our children are getting an education.
• Earth Day, when we pretend that making the government more powerful will make the environment cleaner.
• United Nations Day, when we pretend to believe all those inane statements about world peace.

Today doesn’t seem to come anywhere near those days in importance.

You see, today is supposed to be Constitution Day. And no one really cares about the Constitution anymore.

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