The General Welfare Clause

Federalist 2012145 Comments

The “General Welfare” clause
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution
The 10th Amendment to the Constitution

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
– Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

This posting covers many areas spanning from the original institution through the beginning of the subversion of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This document relies on vetted on-line information, books, and other available materials from institutes of higher education. Credit will be given to the best of the ability of this writer. Spelling will contain the spelling of the time of publication. I can only hope this post can lead to further discussion of the subject matter.

Article 1 [Legislative Branch] Section 8 [Powers of Congress] of the US Constitution defines what the enumerated duties of the Federal Government are while Amendment 10 [ratified December 15, 1791], which is also known as the States’ Rights Amendment, reinforces what is inside and outside the purview of the Federal government. The Constitution was written and ratified to both authorize and limit the powers of the Federal government listing those enumerated duties which, in part, were reaffirmed with the Tenth amendment of the Bill of Rights two years later.

Renderings of the exact enumerated duties are commonplace in the age of the internet; however, this post will look at what the men who wrote the Constitution had to say about the Constitution in general and the “general welfare clause” in particular. James Madison, the father of the Constitution, said, “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one …” Madison also said, “With respect to the two words “general welfare,” I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.” Reiterating, Thomas Jefferson said, “Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated.”

Reaffirmation comes as part of the Bill of Rights, and in particular, the 10th Amendment which embodies the general principles of Federalism in a republican form of government. The Constitution specifies the parameters of authority that may be exercised by the three branches of the federal government: executive, legislative, and judicial while the Tenth Amendment reserves to the states all powers that are not granted to the federal government by the Constitution, except for those powers that states are constitutionally forbidden from exercising.

With consideration that the Framers were wary of a centralized government, they created a novel system of mixed sovereignty between duties of the national (Federal) government and those of the States. Noted in The Federalist No. 39, the new government was “in strictness, neither a national nor a federal Constitution, but a composition of both.” Critical to this system was the enumerated federal powers, which allows the federal government to operate only within defined areas where the States individually could not. Federalist No. 33 states that a congressional act beyond its enumerated powers is “merely [an] act of usurpation” which “deserves to be treated as such.” Additionally, in Federalist No. 45, Madison explained: “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.”

Governments control people–constitutions control governments

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Why I Support Israel and the Jews

Mark Noonan27 Comments

With the nomination of Chuck Hagel to Defense Secretary, the issue of Israel and America’s relationship with her is squarely on the table and so I think it an appropriate time to re-state my views.

As for Hagel, himself, I don’t have much of a concern, one way or the other.  He’s clearly not qualified to be Secretary of Defense but, then again, we can say that about pretty much all of Obama’s nominees (the only two who had a shred of credibility in their posts were former CIA Director Petraeus and outgoing SecDef Panetta).  Hagel also has clearly stupid views about Iran and what our policy towards the Muslim powers should be but, once again, that is common for Obama Administration officials.  In Hagel we’ll get a man who doesn’t know how to do his assigned job and who will bring to his job a set of beliefs which are divorced from reality:  the Obama Administration in a nutshell.  But there is something disturbing in Hagel’s apparent views about the Jews and Israel.

There seems to be a gigantic shift in views about Israel and the Jews going on.  I won’t call it so much a throwback to the old anti-Semitism but, rather, just a resurfacing of anti-Semitism which never died out.  Think about it – Hagel, himself, has complained about the “Jewish lobby” and its influence on American policy, and that is nothing more than a re-phrasing of a thousand statements by Hitler and his minions about the baleful influence of the Jews and how Germany must be protected against the machinations of the Jews.  For some reason, hating Jews and being worried about their alleged influence is a hardy perennial among people – and for those who try to ascribe it to some particularly Christian ideal, I point that ancient pagans felt the same sort of hostility and, of course, modern pagans called communists, fascists and Nazis have been hostile to Jews to one degree or another.  The bottom line is that anti-Semitism is back, in force, and is steadily gaining in social respectability.

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Global Warming Hoax Update

Mark Noonan43 Comments

From The Hindu:

Plummeting mercury, coupled with thick fog cover, threw normal life out of gear in the entire North India on Monday, with 24 more people succumbing to the cold wave in various parts of the region.

While 20 more persons died in Uttar Pradesh, four persons lost their lives in Uttarakhand, officials said.

Delhi continued to shiver as mercury was below normal in the city by five notches to settle at 2.4 degrees, even as it rose from yesterday’s 1.9 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature too dipped to seven degrees below normal to settle at 13.4 degrees Celsius…

To translate from the bizarre celsius scale those weirdo foreigners use, 1.9 degrees celsius is approximately 35 degrees fahrenheit.  That is pretty darn cold for a subtropical area of the world.  Oh, I know – our liberals will jump in and say, “that’s just weather!”.  Don’t you know the difference?  Sure do:  “weather” is anything which undercuts global warming.  Anything which supports global warming is “settled science”.  I do know the drill.

But if it is just “weather” then it seems to be happening all over the world all at the time time.  This report is from India…but waaaaay the heck away from India up in Alaska, latest reports indicate that Alaska is heading in to an ice age.  Meanwhile, there seems to be no evidence of a warming globe for the past 15 years...

UPDATE:  It gets worse for you liberals.  The only nation which has cut its carbon emissions 12% from its 2007 peak?  The United States.  How did we do it?  By fracking our way in to massively increased natural gas supplies.  Yes, liberals:  Big Oil has cut US greenhouse emissions…

Too Big to Punish

Mark Noonan4 Comments

Ever heard of HSBC?  I’ll bet most haven’t, but it is one of the largest banks in the world.  Founded in the 1860’s in Hong Kong (“HSBC” stands for Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) in part to finance the growing opium trade with China, the bank is currently headquartered in London (the bank fled Hong Kong when the Japanese arrived in 1941) and has offices and branches pretty much everywhere in the world.

It turns out that HSBC decided it could turn a tidy profit by money laundering for drug cartels and terrorist States/groups.  The actions taken by HSBC in these efforts were pretty brazen and eventually they came to the attention of the United States government and legal action was started.  And HSBC faced what amounted to a “death penalty”.  The criminal activity was so pervasive that the criminal penalties would have demanded an end to HSBC’s activities in the United States and probably a bunch of other nations where it is alleged the “rule of law”is prevalent.

But, in the end, all HSBC got hit with was a $1.9 billion fine.  Don’t get me wrong, that is a pretty hefty chunk of change, but with a market capitalization of nearly $196 billion, it is the merest chump change as  far as HSBC is concerned.  They’ll probably make it up by moving their money laundering operations to some backwater where US writ doesn’t run and just add a surcharge to the drug lord’s monthly fees.   No directors of the firm were arrested or charged, nothing else is going to happen.  A gigantic criminal enterprise which makes the mafia pale in comparison and all that happens is a fine.  The likely reason they got off with a wrist slap?  Taking down HSBC would have roiled the financial system with incalculable effects:  it might have been something like a Lehman Brothers.

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The Usual Democrat Hypocrisy – “We can, you can’t! – Because we said so…..”

tiredoflibbs127 Comments

LEFTY MINDLESS DRONES READ THE ENTIRE THREAD BEFORE REGURGITATING YOUR DUMBED DOWN TALKING POINTS!!!

This needs no further explanation.  This latest politicizing of a mental midget, who goes on a shooting rampage, by the left is typical of the Democrat playbook.

“Don’t let a crisis go to waste.”

Here are two of the biggest anti-gun zealots in the Senate, who, of course, make exceptions for themselves.  They feel the need to carry, while they want to deny us our 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!!!

First up: Diane Feinstein: http://www.mrctv.org/videos/feinstein-1995-her-concealed-carry-permit-i-know-urge-arm-yourself-because-thats-what-i-did

Next: Harry Reid:  http://freedomslighthouse.net/2012/12/18/democratic-senate-majority-leader-harry-reid-in-2010-extolled-the-virtues-of-guns-i-carried-a-gun-every-place-i-went-but-for-me-guns-are-more-than-that-about-self-defense-video-2010/

More to come….

It is amazing that these same people promote “reasonable” waiting periods (minimum 7 business days) for purchasing of a gun – our CONSTITUTIONALLY GUARANTEED and EXPLICIT 2nd Amendment right. BUT, FEEL THAT A WAITING PERIOD (1-2 days) FOR AN ABORTION IS AN UNREASONABLE INFRINGEMENT ON A WOMAN’S “RIGHT” TO CHOOSE (and of course they are not worried about the lives of innocents then).

To quote, the Joker, aka Jack Nicholson, (on DC): “This town needs an enema!”

Update: Interesting perspective from a former burglar:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/04/ex-burglars-say-newspapers-gun-map-wouldve-made-job-easier-safer/

Imagine the whole country a gun free zone, if very short sighted proggies like bloch has their way.

Update 2: What would the forker and mitchie do in this situation???

Intruders enter your home because it is a gun free zone.  You call 911 the police do not show up.  Intruders still in home and have found you….. then what.

The following cases are all the reasons you need to arm yourself for your and your family’s protection.  The proggies can whine all they want “you don’t need a gun(s).”  But as shown above, Feinstein and Reid were armed ready to protect themselves, but still want to deny your RIGHT to protect yours and your family’s.

Justices Rule Police Do Not Have a Constitutional Duty to Protect Someone

Warren v. District of Columbia

Update 3: According to mitchie, bloch and co, this woman should have done nothing while waiting for the police to arrive, after all there is no need for her to defend herself.

Georgian Woman Hides Her Children and Shoots Intruder.

Obamunism: Women, Minorities Hardest Hit

Mark Noonan25 Comments

From CNS News:

Government unemployment numbers for December showed that while the general unemployment rate remained flat at 7.8 percent, unemployment for women and African-Americans rose despite an economy that created 155,000 jobs.

Unemployment for women rose to 7.3 percent in December from 7.0 percent while the rate for African-Americans rose sharply to 14.0 percent from 13.2 percent in November…

Still astounds me that Obama managed to win – there is not a single metric you can bring in which shows genuine improvement since January 20th, 2009.

UPDATE:  And the Obama “my praise is a kiss of death” curse continues to work.

With a Measure of Disgust…

Leo Pusateri10 Comments
Oath of Office
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.” -Oath of office for Congress.

Just words– without one iota of consideration as to what those words mean.

I’m just getting more and more nauseated every time I think of this whole damned bunch of traitors, liars, opportunists, and career criminals.

I’ve lost every iota of optimism and faith in government.

They are no longer public servants, placed in a position of trust.

They–the lot of them– are self-serving, egotistical leeches who are in it for no one but themselves.

The inmates have taken over the asylum.

God have mercy on our nation, and please, drain the swamp, once and for all.

I’m so disgusted.

It Ain’t Over

Mark Noonan40 Comments

The left, flush with victory last year, is intent upon destroying us.  Believing that the nation has permanently changed in their direction, the left wants us to shut up and go away.  Neo-Neocon puts it succinctly:

…A goodly portion of the preening triumphalism that has followed in the wake of the 2012 election involves just this kind of hatred: towards white men, the rich, Republicans, Christians, gun owners. There’s a lot of talk about how the demographics have permanently changed in this country, and perhaps that’s correct—and now the tables are being turned, with glee. It’s been a long time since the expression of real racism against black people (as opposed to imaginary and/or astroturf-generated racism) was acceptable in this country. But it’s now completely acceptable against white men, and this is an exceedingly ominous sign.

They do hate us and they do want us to go away – in their best moments, they believe we’re deluded fools who can’t see what’s good for ourselves; in their worst moments they consider us to be actually evil.  In either case, they don’t want us to have a say any longer in how the United States is governed.  To be sure, they continue to want our taxes, our service in the military and our compliance with their dictates…but they don’t want us raising objections.  Certainly no objections based on such tired, worn out notions as the rule of law.

So, that is what they want. What are we to do about it?  Keep fighting, of course.  But, also, change radically in how we fight.  Back during the 2012 campaign I first happened upon the Broke Party – a group of activists in the liberal strong hold of Chicago who were, justly, complaining about the corrupt political structure:  a political structure which made sure that the rich of Chicago stayed rich, the poor stayed poor and everyone kept voting Democrat.  I don’t know much about the people who started up the Broke Party.  Maybe there is an element of kookiness among them – I doubt that such people have read deeply in to the works of James Madison.  But they are oppressed people who are kept in the liberal cage – providing the political power liberals need to eventually crush those of us who are not yet oppressed.  And they want to be free of it.

We likely have more friends than we realize, but we don’t even try to find them.  I know I’ve been on like this since November 7th (and, really, for longer), but it is important.  Do any of us really think that the voters who go 90% Democrat in the blue cities really want to live in crime-infested, worn down, Third World pest holes?  No, they don’t.  You know that.  I know that.  They know that.  But they are sitting in a place where (a) they can hardly hear an alternative voice and (b) we refuse to go.  Its time we started going there.  Find the various “Broke Parties” and see if we can break them lose from the Democrats.  I think we can – maybe not a majority, but even getting 20-25% of them kills the Democrat party in a dozen States (they are really that dependent upon massive support in the urban areas).  If your worry is voter fraud then you should be even more interested in this:  they can get away with it now because no Republicans are around to watch…get some Republicans in there and they won’t be able to stuff quite as many ballot boxes.

If we hunker down and just try to hold what we have then we’ll eventually lose it all.  Douglas MacArthur was once asked his formula for defensive war.  His one word answer:  “defeat”.  You can only win if you attack – and if we don’t attack the liberal citadels, we won’t win – certainly not enough to make a clean sweep of liberalism.  We took a heavy defeat last November and we shot ourselves egregiously in the foot on January 1st.  Fine.  Over and done with.  Now is the time to fight.

Just a Note on the Fiscal Cliff

Mark Noonan32 Comments

Given the way Obama is getting insulting about the negotiations and, also, given the increasing level of hateful, eliminationist rhetoric from the left, my feeling is that we just dig our heels in and become increasingly unwilling to go along with the Democrat-led charade.  Agree to nothing.   Pass a bill out of the House keeping tax rates just where they are and cutting $1 trillion from FY2013 spending and then refuse to budge.  Also, refuse to raise the debt limit or pass any further continuing resolutions – pass a budget and then refuse to budge.

Does this carry risk?  Yes, it does – the American people might turn on us and toss us out of the House in 2014.  So be it.  I’m not about to be kicked and spat upon and then still be blamed for all the misery that Obama policies are bringing to the United States.  We can show our responsibility and patriotism by passing out of the House reasonable bills which actually address our spending and debt problems – let Obama and his toadies in the Democrat party and the MSM make of it what they will, and let the people decide next election time what they want.

UPDATE:  I was suffering from a really bad bout of stomach flu starting on the night of the 31st and continuing until just a few hours ago…so, I didn’t need Congress to make me sick to my stomach, for once.  Still, the additional nausea was unhelpful.

We really should have just passed a tax cut/spending cut bill and sent it off to the Senate to make of it what they will.  Look what going along with them got us?  Tax hikes, no real spending cuts and our brand so toxic that Chris Christie (who has killed his 2016 chances, entirely) not only throwing Boehner under the bus, but backing up a few times to run over him, again.  We’d have done better by sticking entirely to our guns.

And that is what we must do from now on – heck with Obama and his Democrats.  They are uninterested in what is best for America.  They just want to win.  Ok, so let them win – let them have it all…or, at least, as much as they can get with zero cooperation from us.  Just keep passing common-sense bills (which will be popular, by the way) and allow Reid and Obama to ignore or mutilate or whatever they want.  Can this eventually result in our loss in 2014?  Sure can – but so can nonsense like the “fix” to the fiscal cliff…how many GOP voters just said “heck with them” last night?  If we are to be defeated, then let us be defeated gloriously…and, who knows?, maybe if we fight for what is right, victory will crown our efforts?

New Year’s Open Thread

Mark Noonan28 Comments

I’ll make some predictions for 2013:

Does the fact that we’re entering the teens mean we’ll become moody and easily depressed?

Just wait till next year!  A thing always said by Chargers fans.  As they went 7-9 this season, they are keeping to their usual level.  But, the other thing all Chargers fans say – next year we’ll be 14-2 and go on to win the Super Bowl!

Chris Christie will be re-elected governor of New Jersey.  He’ll immediately be talked up as the front-runner for the 2016 GOP nomination.  This will be completely ignored by the Republican leadership who will be on the lookout for someone much more moderate and centrist than those crazy, TEA Party right-wingers we nominated in 2008 and 2012.

New York City Council Speaker (its that large that it needs a Speaker?) Christine Quinn, if she decides to run, will be elected Mayor of New York…unless she winds up squaring off with potential GOP candidate, and former Madam, Kristin M. Davis.  Given a choice between a political hack who will run on the fact that she’s gay and a madam, I think New Yorkers might go for the madam.

It will be announced some time in March or April that we are back in recession…just about the time we start to emerge from it (it started back in July or so).

When the I-pad 5 gets released I’ll once again fail to rush out and buy it.

The Syrian Civil War will come to a (temporary) end as the Assad regime crumbles…Civil War II will involve a battle between barbarians to decide who gets to rule over the carcass.

Hillary will be forced to cancel her Benghazi testimony over a terrible case of the hiccups.

In an effort to stave off bankruptcy, California will offer to sell Bakersfield to Nevada. Nevada will counter with an offer to cut cards for double or nothing.

In order to keep his promise for openness and transparency in his Administration, Obama will propose the creation of a Ministry of Truth.

Iran will announce that the earth-shattering kaboom was most emphatically not a nuclear test.

Obama will believe them.

The Department of Health and Human Services will announce that celibate religious orders will be required to provide health insurance covering birth control.  Oh, wait…that was a 2012 prediction.

Did the 2012 apocalypse disappoint you?  Well, cheer up:  only 3 years left until the Gorpocalypse!

What are your predictions for 2013?