Memorial Day 2011 Letter

The exact origins of Memorial Day are lost to history, with numerous stories and claims to its beginning. But the known facts surrounding Memorial Day have its origin in the Civil War, and was first officially declared on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan. The first State to officially recognize Memorial Day was New York in 1873, and over time various types of Memorial Days were established by different States. Northern States typically had a Memorial Day in May, while Southern States had Confederate War Dead Day. In 1971 Memorial Day finally became a National Holiday as the last Monday in May.

Originally the purpose of Memorial Day was to honor the War Dead of the American Civil War, but just like how Armistice Day for World War I became Veterans Day for all Veterans, Memorial Day became a Day for remembering all who have fallen, not just the Civil War. Most Holidays are for celebration of our past, Memorial Day is honoring and mourning those who gave all for our future, in the defense of Freedom and Liberty.

The Price of Freedom and Liberty is high, in times of peace we measure the costs in Dollars, which annually is in the Hundreds of Billions. But it is the true price of Freedom we remember on Memorial Day, a price in blood which is beyond what can ever have a Dollar sign fixed to it. In order to protect freedom and liberty, the cost is the most important treasure we have, which is life. It costs us Sons and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters, Mothers and Fathers, and Husbands and Wives. The sacrifice of so many is what keeps us free today.

British Tyranny, the First Amendment, The Origins of the Bill of Rights (Part 1:)

The Bill of Rights when submitted to the States in 1789 contained 12 approved Articles by Congress, 10 of which would be ratified by the required States on December 17, 1791, and an additional one would eventually be ratified in 1992 and is now the 27^th Amendment. But it is the first 10 Amendments that will be explored here.

Why where these specifics things chosen to be protected? What caused them to be so important? Who and what where the driving factors in having a Bill of Rights at all? These things and more will be explored through the course of this discussion.

The first thing to look at is the root motivation of the clauses. What happened in the past that caused it to be so important to specifically protect these rights? What lessons in history were learned leading to the inclusion of these Rights. To answer these questions we need to go back to even before the American Revolution even started, to when the British Ruled the continent.

Each amendment will be broken up into individual components for analysis.

THE FIRST AMENDMENT

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Signing with Autopen: Quick Thoughts

Today the President signed an extension on the Patriot Act using a device called autopen (the merits of the Patriot act are not of concern here, only the circumstances of its signing). The reason for this is, the President was in Europe at the time the bill was approved by Congress and ready for a the Presidents signature. According to Article I Section 7 regarding the passage of bills into Law it states:

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.

Article I Section 7 also states:

If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Who are the Founding Fathers? George Mason IV

Life: December 11, 1725-October 7, 1792

Wife: Wife: Ann Eilbeck (Wed April 4, 1750, Died March 9, 1773)

            Wife: Sarah Brent (Wed April 11, 1780, Died 1805)

Children:

Son: George Mason V (April 30, 1753)
Daughter: Ann Eilbeck Mason (January 13, 1755)
Son: William Mason (April 16, 1756-August 4, 1757)
Son: William Mason (October 22, 1757)
Son: Thomson Mason (March 4, 1759)
Daughter: Sarah Eilbeck Mason (December 11, 1760)
Daughter: Mary Thomson Mason (January 27, 1762)
Son: John T. Mason (April 4, 1766-March 19, 1849)
Daughter: Elizabeth Mason (April 19, 1768)
Son: Thomas Mason (May 1, 1770)
Son: Richard Mason (December 4, 1772- December 5, 1772)
Son: James Mason (December 4, 1772- December 5, 1772)

Home State: Virginia

Place of Birth: Stafford County (now Fairfax County), Virginia

Died: Gunston Hall, VA

Natural (unalienable) Rights

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

These are words every American is probably familiar with and something every child reads in school. But what are “unalienable rights”?  The Declaration of Independence provides some insight to them in the text that follows, that among them are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, but if these are only part among others, what are the rest?

Perhaps the first best place to look is the primary author of the Declaration of Independence itself, Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson said, “Bacon, Locke and Newton. I consider them as the three greatest men that have ever lived, without any exception, and as having laid the foundation of those superstructures which have been raised in the Physical and Moral sciences”¹. Francis Bacon influenced on separating religion and philosophy, Isaac Newton influenced him in science, but it was John Locke who influenced Thomas Jefferson on the Natural rights most.

So what is “Unalienable”? It simply means it cannot be alienated, or separated. These Rights can not be taken or separated from a person. They always belong to the individual, and never to anybody else. So what rights cannot separated from a person?

John Locke: Two Treatises of Government

John Locke discussed Natural Rights most predominantly in his books Two Treatises of Government, with the second treatises on Civil government in particular discussing Natural rights. It was Chapter II of Book II, the State of Nature that Locke talks about Natural Rights in 11 parts, this what Thomas Jefferson would later call the unalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence. Locke starts off with this statement,

Which Document did it come from?

Where did the phrase come from? » online testing

Quick Thoughts: The Bill of Rights does not enumerate the People’s Rights!

 

On May 17, 2011 a Federal District Court Judge made a ruling that caught my interest, not the subject itself completely (though the subject still did catch my interest) but rather the rationale in the decision made. This decision was not based directly off of the Constitution itself for what it says, but rather off of previous courts decisions alone, using stare decisis. As I discuss in an article of stare decisis, stare decisis is prudent provided it used properly and in the correct manner and this is not a situation in which it was, by the Judges own admission in his opinion.

The background of this case concerns concealed weapons, the actual subject of the case is of actual little matter to my opinion here, rather it is his jurisprudence that I will examine. Yolo County CA banned concealed weapons, and a challenge was brought against the County citing 2nd Amendment protections.

The plaintiffs (contending the ban was unconstitutional) argued the same manner of interpretation should be applied to the Second Amendment as is the First Amendment (it is to protect maximum freedom of the subject). The Judges response to this was,

The Court sees no reason to analogize rights under the Second Amendment to those under the First, as plenty of case authority exists to provide a clear framework of analysis to facial challenges, without poaching precedent from another Amendment’s framework.

Quick Thoughts: Government run Anti-Rumor Agency

Recently Former President, Bill Clinton suggested their should be a United States or United Nation run agency for the purpose of debunking malicious rumors. This may sound good too some, but may also present a very troubling scenario. A Government run anti-rumor Agency would be one where the State is set up to be the sole source of “legitimate” information, and other sources or information that may be counter to this would be by default, treated as non-credible to the public. Leaving Government as the sole holder of what “truth” is regardless of the situation or scenario can only result in the State declaring what is valid and what is not. When Governments do this regardless of the motivations, this IS nothing more than propaganda.

If a story or source or information is critical of the government, and the government has declared itself as the final legitimate holder of truth, this presents a ways and means for governments to prevent and disregard potential legitimate concerns, ideas or questions of any subject. It would be nice to be able to trust a government to be prudent and proper with this responsibility, but history has a long dark history of this NEVER being the case, including the United States.

No one person, group, organization, government or nation should ever be able to declare a monopoly on what truth is. It is fine for government to present its facts or information in the public discourse, but these facts and information should ALWAYS be subject to public scrutiny, with no one place having the power to declare any questions regarding it as “rumor” and that to carry the public confidence in the form of a government agency.

The free flow and scrutiny of information from all sources and places must never be inhibited, and NONE should ever have a monopoly or the power to have a final say in “truth”. In a free society, there will be rumors, there will be misinformation, and there will be twists of what facts are to suit a specific purpose. But as long as all the information is available to all the people, with no single place having ANY authority to declare what “fact and truth” is, the people are better informed and are much better suited to decide on their own what the actual truth really is.

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpps/news/clinton-wants-internet-rumor-debunking-agency-dpgonc-km-20110514_13204832

A short quiz to see how you interpret the Constitution.

Not a long quiz, but should give a basic idea on you see the Constitution!

Are you an Originalist? » Quiz Maker

Declaration of Independence influence on the Constitution

I have heard more than a few people say the Declaration of Independence has no impact on the Constitution. While from an absolute government can do and government can’t do aspect this is not false, it does undermine the fact the Declaration of Independence does in fact have significant relevance to the Constitution.

 

The Declaration of Independence was more than just the title proclaims in declaring Independence from the United Kingdom it was an indictment against tyrannical rule and what the role of a government should be. The Declaration went beyond merely stating the Colonies would no longer have any ties with Britain, the Founders also stated what the rights of the people are, and that government operates at the beckon of the people, not the other way around.

 

So how does this relate to the Constitution? The comparisons between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, go beyond the most famous words of the Declaration that most of us learn in grade school, “We hold these truths to be self evident…”. It is almost a cause and effect between the two, with the Declaration being the cause or stating the purpose of government and the Constitution being the effect of those beliefs in creating a government. Though the Constitution does have many influences, the direct impact of what the Declaration states is clearly evident.

The first place we will look is the second paragraph of the Declaration.

Constitution Quiz (Basic #1)

Constitution Quiz (Basic #1) » Create A Quiz

The Constitution says what?

The Constitution says what? » online testing