What is Originalism and Original Meaning

Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the following remarks at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2005.
 

Justice Antonin Scalia

JUSTICE SCALIA: It’s a pizzazzy topic: Constitutional Interpretation. It is however an important one. I was vividly reminded how important it was last week when the Court came out with a controversial decision in the Roper case. And I watched one television commentary on the case in which the host had one person defending the opinion on the ground that people should not be subjected to capital punishment for crimes they commit when they are younger than eighteen, and the other person attacked the opinion on the ground that a jury should be able to decide that a person, despite the fact he was under eighteen, given the crime, given the person involved, should be subjected to capital punishment.

Health Care Reform in the Courts

Health Care Reform has now started to come before the Courts. The main deciding factor in what will determine the outcome of these challenges when it gets to SCOTUS will be, is, is the Constitution a limiting or enabling document.
Does the Constitution limit Federal power to those enumerated and reserved to the Federal Government, or does the Constitution enable the Federal Government to assume others powers not necessarily enumerated or delegated outright.
How the Justices view the Constitution in this matter, will determine whether portion or most of the bill is struck down, or allowed to stand.

The Preamble

 

We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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. (Constitution of the United States 1787)

Simple words to start off the Constitution often overlooked in what those words are truly saying. The preamble sets the stage for what the rest of the Constitution will be. Many students around the country memorize this in either elementarily of middle school, and perhaps overlooked as having substance by most when reading the Constitution Though short in words, it is the most powerful part of the Constitution and the entire concept of government!

Just to get it all started: Supreme Court Justices

(Note: This was written in July 2010, and is transcribed as was written then) 

Yesterday I read an article on Supreme Court Justices using morality to determine the Constitutionality of cases (http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090708/cm_csm/ylitton). The article goes on about how one side of the issue believes the Justices should use their own value of right and wrong to help determine cases, while others believe that the Justices should be umpires and not use personal morals. I believe the later.

What this is about

The idea here will be to explore and explain issues of today, the past, and future, and how the original idea of the Constitution applies to them.

The goal will be a straight forward as possible, with the support of Original Source documents, mainly the words of those whom helped draft and have approved the article, section, or clause in question.

Ideas will always be welcome on what to cover, and open discourse is encouraged either in favor or against the positions taken.

I will start by posting a couple things I had written in the past, neither is really a complete finished product, but will be something to start the day and site off with.