Today Walter Williams writes and excellent column, American Idea. I encourage you to read the entire article. He basically describes how the major difference between Americans and the rest of the world is the healthy distrust and suspicion Americans have had for government. Unfortunately these sentiments are not shared as much by today’s Americans.
This distrust is evident in the Bill of Rights, separation of powers, checks and balances, Electoral College, and constitution amendment process requirements. The creation of this nation’s framework was not designed out of a desire for speed, efficiency, and good intentions impulses, but rather out of a suspicion and distrust of government.
It certainly has worked out well to grow a collection of diverse colonies into the most powerful nation on the planet. Unfortunately, the debates we have these days does not include as part of the debate the question in my title.
As we lose the healthy suspicion and distrust of government, then we move toward less liberty and greater governmental control of our lives.
Tangent
OccamsRazor Thursday, October 22nd at 1:55AM EDT (link)I backspaced everything. (wouldn’t you like to know)
Obama's reply to the question in your title:
jlynnr Friday, October 23rd at 2:48PM EDT (link)“Who cares.”
Brings to mind the paper Obama wrote while at Columbia, bemoaning how the Constitution put shackles on people by not allowing for the distribution of wealth…
thanks for the recco. we have heard him on the Warren Court
pilgrim Friday, October 23rd at 2:55PM EDT (link)There is no proof concerning the concerning the Columbia paper. We got enough to criticize without adding things that we do not have the proof on.
It is a great advantage to a president, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man.Calvin Coolidge
Skepticism of Government
reason60 Saturday, October 24th at 6:38PM EDT (link)is the foundation of patriotism, and conservatism. I would only hope that this skepticism includes also the Police powers of the States, such as the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretapping, and the suspension of habeas corpus.
There has been far too little skepticism and caution shown by the GOP with regard to the enlargement of government power in the war on terror.
When you consider that most of the “sneak and peek” searches (where the govt’ searches your house, without telling you they did it) have NOT been used in actual terror investigations, but ordinary criminal cases, one has to wonder how the enormous power will be put to use by the Obama Admin. or more succintly, why we should support the govt having such power.
Sorry, but those "warrantless wiretaps" are just fine
GregInFla Saturday, October 24th at 8:33PM EDT (link)Spoken and written words entering and exiting this country over telecommunications media are subject to inspection in the same way that luggage and imports/exports are examined. Nothing different here. This is just a virtual customs inspection.
– A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
Support Marco Rubio for US Senate.
Without threadjacking
reason60 Saturday, October 24th at 10:07PM EDT (link)I wil leave aside foreign communications for the moment- but am I the onliy conservative who feels that the power of the government to read our email, imprison without charges, is too much power to trust it with?
For instance, does everyone in here feel comfortable knowing the NSA has the ability and permission to read every keystroke, capture every purchase you make, and track your movements, with very little or no court oversight?
When these people are running around with Liberty flags, “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, waving banners quoting Thomas Paine and Ben Franklin about giving up freedom for security, what do they men, if not reducing the power of government to spy on and imprison us?
If forcing citizens to register guns is intolerable tyranny, then what is giving the government the power to track the purchase of that gun via your bank account?
I think there needs to be a little more skepticism on the Right of all government power, not just the social welfare parts.
My issue was with the taps on international calls
GregInFla Sunday, October 25th at 12:13AM EDT (link)and I could not let it get by unanswered. And, even though the NSA might be able to do all that you fear, I doubt the means exist to do so. It’s the folks in the White House now that have me worried.
– A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
Support Marco Rubio for US Senate.
Greg, I hate to disabuse you
towerclimber Sunday, October 25th at 5:34AM EDT (link)of the notion that those things can’t be done.
As an communications field engineer, I can assure you that those things ARE possible and are indeed taking place.
in the course of a year, the NSA will sample your phone conversations an average (minimum) of 9 times. Those are just the Domestic calls. International calls are scrutinized more heavily.
I’ll bet it would surprise you to know that even an idiot like me could build a device that can use your television speakers to listen in on conversations going on in your living room.
You’d be amazed at the technology that’s out there.
“The ultimate result of shielding man from the effects of his folly is to fill the world with fools.”
Herbert Spencer
reason60, I've looked at a lot of your comments and it must be said:
janis Saturday, October 24th at 8:42PM EDT (link)RonPaul, RonPaul, RonPaul,RonPaul,RonPaul,etc.etc.etc.etc.
What a question.
Kenny Solomon Saturday, October 24th at 6:56PM EDT (link)Do you seriously think Barack Hussein Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano, Kathleen Sebelius, David Axelrod and the rest of the current administration actually give a rat’s arse about one word of The Constitution and Bill Of Rights ?
Right now, they’re “nudging” things using a Congress that doesn’t realize it’s going to be completely irrelevant in the very near future.
When they finish generating their crisis too good to waste (and they just energized it’s foundation with declaring H1N1 a national emergency), watch the first-class stomping and parchment burning commence.
Only one thing is going to stop them…… those of us on the wall and at the tip of the spear who refuse to allow our nation and flag to fail…….. at all costs.
Take a good long look at your copy of The Constitution and Bill Of Rights…… Memorize it all. Tattoo it on the back of your neck if need be.
Push is coming to shove right now at impulse power. The Administration is about to try and check out Warp 1 with the Swine Flue insanity.
Of course you can have my guns……. Bullets first.
I didn’t say rounds, shells or magazines……
I said bullets first.
The Left has used the courts to
Warrior Saturday, October 24th at 9:03PM EDT (link)systematically delegitimize the U.S. Consitution since the sixties at least. By claiming every ridiculous behaviour, every stupid gubmint power grab and every sexual fetish to be a Constitutional right, they basically have created a huge cloud over and widespread ennui with what is actually in the Constitution.
They’ve also created the fiction that they average Joe can’t understand what’s in it — it’s way over our heads. We need a bunch of over-educated jugheads to figure it out for us, see…WRONG. The Constitution is not written in hieroglyphics. It’s written in plain English and is relatively easy even for a layman to understand.
Remember how the SCOTUS created a brand new Constitutional right (to abortion) by citing “penumbras and emanations”?
I think the Left realized then that if we swallowed Roe v Wade, we really didn’t give a crap about what was in the Constitution…
For a full treatment of this issue read Mark Levin’s “Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America”.
“Attorney General Holder’s decision to re-open the criminal investigation creates an atmosphere of continuous jeopardy for those whose cases the Department of Justice had previously declined to prosecute.”
—–signed by former [CIA] directors Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet, John Deutch, R. James Woolsey, William Webster and James R. Schlesinger.
Read http://www.redstate.com/warrior/ for insightful commentary on today’s events…
Here's Nancy Pelosi's response to the "constitutional authority" question: "Are you serious?"
ColdWarrior Saturday, October 24th at 9:12PM EDT (link)Didn’t we all know Congress has absolute authority over all aspects of our lives? Our scaredy-cat Republican “leaders” never make the Constitutional arguments against the Dems? Why not? Because “we the people” don’t demand they do.
Assuming the embed code works, here’s the audio:
Here’s the link to the story which also has the audio.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/55971
It’s really not that hard to make the constitutional arguments against Congress’s usurpation of authority over our individual rights relating to obtaining our own private health care. This former soldier was able to do it, succinctly, to an aide to Sen. Claire McCaskill. And, he’s running for office now.
Thank you.
ColdWarrior
http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com
American first, conservative second and Republican precinct committeeman by necessity.
http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com, so you can say, “I became a precinct committeeman before it was cool.”
“Elections have consequences, my friends.” — John McCain
thanks CW for sharing those vids
pilgrim Saturday, October 24th at 9:24PM EDT (link)I had not seen them before, but I am not surprised to hear the condescension by the speaker, and to hear better articulation from a citizen than from the Rs serving in the US Congress.
We need to have members of Congress who are NOT too scared to ask the question in the title of this diary.
It is a great advantage to a president, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man.Calvin Coolidge
CW I agree!
towerclimber Sunday, October 25th at 5:43AM EDT (link)Many of the things done in Washington are done outside the powers of the Constitution. that’s what got us in this mess to begin with.
“The ultimate result of shielding man from the effects of his folly is to fill the world with fools.”
Herbert Spencer
Here's a comment from Williams you will not likely hear from others:
Flagstaff Friday, October 30th at 12:19AM EDT (link)“You’ll see all the brute force that you want to see and if you resist too much, death is not off the table. ”
That’s the stongest warning against the O Admin yet written.
Pluto, the Ninth Planet - Forever!