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governance
"As the frames of our Constitution understood, the
citizens of a self-governing
society must be free to
think and talk
openly and critically about issues of governance." - Geoffrey R. Stone
"Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its
failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its
own existence." – Supreme Court Justice
Tom C. Clark
"When a legislature undertakes to proscribe the
exercise of a citizen's
constitutional rights it acts lawlessly and the
citizen can take matters into his
own hands and proceed on the basis that such a law
is no law at all." –
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
"Where is it written in the Constitution, in what
section or clause is it contained, that you may take children from their parents and parents
from their children, and compel them to fight
the battle in any war in which the folly or the
wickedness of government may engage it?" – Daniel Webster
"It took about 150 years, starting with a
Bill of Rights that reserved to the states and the people
all powers not explicitly delegated to the
federal government, to produce a Supreme Court willing to
rule that growing corn to feed to your own
hogs is interstate commerce and can therefore be regulated by Congress." –
David Friedman
"The Constitution is not hearsay. It is not a bunch
of legal myths passed along by word of mouth. It
is not a depository for judicial delusions and ideological pipe dreams. It is not a figment of some justice's
Marxian imagination. It is a written document – a
legally binding contract whose words,
spirit and intent are clear." – Linda
Bowles
"We the people are the rightful master of both
congress and the courts – not to overthrow the Constitution, but to
overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." –
Abraham Lincoln
"Our government routinely permits
law enforcement officers to violate an
individual's constitutional
rights." - Travis Brennan
"From the utopian viewpoint, the United States constitution is a
singularly hard-bitten and cautious document, for it breathes the
spirit of skepticism about
human
altruism and incorporates a complex
system of checks, balances and restrictions, so that everybody is holding the
reins on everybody else." – Chad Walsh
(in plain modern terms)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 now and
in the future, do establish this Constitution for the
United States of
America.
All legislative
power shall be vested in the Congress of the
United States consisting of a
Senate and a House of Representatives.
The House
of Representatives shall be
composed of members chosen every second year by the People of their respective
States. A
Representative shall be at least
twenty five years of age, will have been a Citizen of the
United States for seven years
and be an inhabitant of the State
represented.
Representatives shall be apportioned
among the States according to their
respective population which
shall be determined by counting each free Person and indentured servant as one, slaves as three fifths and excluding
untaxed Indians. The population count shall be made
every ten years. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one
for every thirty thousand, but each State
shall have at least one Representative.
When
vacancies happen in the representation
from any State, the
executive authority thereof shall hold an
election to fill such vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall choose a
Speaker and has the sole power of Impeachment.
The Senate of the
United States shall be composed
of two Senators from each
State, chosen by their respective
State legislature for six years. Each Senator shall have one vote. A
Senator shall be at least thirty years of age,
a Citizen of the
United States for nine years
and be an inhabitant of the State
represented.
If vacancies
happen during the recess of the
legislature of any State the
executive authority may make temporary
appointments until the next meeting of the State legislature, which
shall then fill such vacancies.
The
vice president of the
United States shall be
president of the Senate and have no vote.
The Senate shall choose a president
pro tempore in the absence of the vice
president or when he shall exercise the office of
president of the
United States.
The
Senate shall have the sole power to bring an
impeachment to trial and will be under oath during an impeacement trial. The
Chief Justice shall preside when the president of the
United States is tried. No
Person shall be convicted
without the concurrence of two
thirds of the Senators present.
Judgment in cases of Impeachment shall extend to
removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of the
United States
government. Impeached and
convicted
individuals shall be liable and
subject to indictment, trial, judgment and
punishment, according to
law.
The times, places and manner of holding
elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be
prescribed in each State by the Legislature.
Congress may at any time alter such
regulations by
law, except as to the places of choosing
Senators.
The Congress shall assemble
at least once in every year.
Each House shall be the
judge of the elections and qualifications of its own
members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business. A
smaller number may adjourn from daily business and may compel the attendance of
absent members and under such penalties as each House may provide.
Each
House may determine the rules of its
proceedings, punish its members
for disorderly behavior, and,
with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.
Each House shall
keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time
to time publish the same, excepting such parts
as may in their judgment require secrecy; and
the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any
question shall, at the
desire of one fifth of those present, be
entered on the journal.
Neither House
without the consent of the
other shall adjourn for more than
three days during the session of Congress,
nor to any other place than that in
which the two Houses shall be sitting.
The Senators and
Representatives shall receive
compensation for their services to
be paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all
cases, except treason, felony
and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at
the session of their respective Houses.
No Senator or
Representative shall, during the
time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the
authority of the United States.
All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate
may propose or concur with amendments as on
other bills.
Every bill
passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate shall
be presented to the president of the
United States before it becomes
a Law. If he approves he shall sign it, if not he
shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it originated,
which will enter the objections in their journal, and proceed to reconsider it.
If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House agrees 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. In all cases the votes of both Houses
shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the individuals voting
for and against the bill shall be entered in the journal of each House
respectively. If any bill has not been returned by the
president
within ten
days after being presented to him, the same
shall become a law, as if he had signed it, unless
the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall
not be a law.
Every order, resolution, or
vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of
Representatives may be necessary
(except on a question of adjournment) shall
be presented to the president of the
United States.
The
Congress shall have power to levy and collect
taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the
debts and provide for
the common defense and
general welfare of the
United States. All duties,
imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the
United States.
The
Congress may borrow money on the credit of
the United States and regulate
commerce with foreign nations, among the States, and with the Indian
tribes.
The Congress will
establish an uniform rule of
naturalization and uniform
law on the subject of
bankruptcies throughout the
United States.
The Congress will coin money, regulate it's
value, and the value of foreign coin, fix the standard of weights
and measure and will provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the
securities and current coin of the United States.
The
Congress will establish post offices and roads.
The Congress will promote the progress of
science and useful arts, by securing for
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive
right to their respective
writings and discoveries.
The Congress will create a court
system inferior to the
Supreme Court.
The Congress
will define and
punish piracies and felonies
committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations.
The
Congress will declare
war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and
make rules concerning captures on land and
water.
The Congress will raise and
support armies, but no appropriation of money for that use shall be for a longer term
than two years.
The Congress will provide and maintain a
navy and make rules for
the regulation of the land and naval
forces.
The Congress will provide for calling forth the militia to
execute the law of the
United States,
suppress
insurrections, repel
invasions and provide for organizing,
arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing them in the
service of the
United States. Reserving to the
states is the appointment of the officers,
and the authority of training the militia according to the
discipline prescribed by
Congress.
The Congress will exercise exclusive legislation over a
District (not exceeding ten miles square) created by cession of particular
States and the acceptance of Congress which
will become the seat of the government of the
United States. Congress will
exercise authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature
of the State for the erection of forts,
magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings.
The
Congress will make all law which shall be necessary
and proper for executing the power vested by this
Constitution in the government of the
United States.
The
importation of slaves to any of the
States now existing shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight. A
tax or duty may be imposed on such importation,
not exceeding ten dollars for each slave.
The privilege of the Writ of Habeas
Corpus shall not be suspended, except in the cases of rebellion or
invasion when the
public safety may require it.
No retroactive law shall be passed.
No direct tax shall be laid
except in proportion to the census.
No
tax shall be laid on articles exported from any
State.
No preference shall be given
by any regulation of commerce to the
ports of one State over those of
another. Vessels bound to or from one
State shall not be obliged to pay duties in
another.
No
money shall be drawn from the Treasury,
but in consequence of
appropriations made by law. A regular statement and account of the receipts and
expenditures of all public
money shall be
published from
time to time.
No title of nobility shall be granted
by the United States. No
Person holding any office shall accept any
present, office, or title, of any category whatever, from any
king, prince, or foreign state
without the consent of the
Congress.
No State shall enter into
any 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, ex post facto law, or
law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant
any title of nobility.
No
State shall impose duties on imports or
exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing
inspection law
without the consent of the
Congress. The net of all duties shall be for the use of the Treasury of the
United States. All such
law shall be subject to the revision and
control of the Congress.
No
State shall keep troops or ships of
war in time of
peace, enter into any compact with
another State or foreign power, impose any duty on tonnage, or engage in
war unless in
imminent
of actually
invasions
without the consent of Congress.
The Executive
power shall be vested in a
president of the
United States of
America. He shall hold office for a term of
four years with the vice president. They
are to be elected as follows:
Each State shall appoint a number of electors
equal to the
whole number of
Senators and
Representatives to which the
State is entitled in the Congress. No
Senator or
Representative, or
individual holding an office under the
United States, shall be
appointed an elector.
The electors shall meet in their respective
States, and vote by ballot for two
individuals, of whom one at least shall not be
an inhabitant of the same State with
themselves. They shall make a list of all the individuals voted for, and the number of votes for
each; which list they shall sign, certify and transmit sealed to the
president of the Senate. The
president of the Senate shall, in the
presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the
certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The
individual having the greatest number of votes
shall be the president, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and
have an equal number of votes, then the
House of Representatives shall
immediately choose by ballot one of them for president; and if no
individual has a majority, then from the five
highest on the list the House shall choose the president. In choosing the
president, the votes shall be taken by
States, the Representation from each
State having one vote. A quorum for this
purpose shall consist of a member or
members from two thirds of the States, and a
majority of all the States shall be
necessary. In every case, after the choice of the
president, the individual having the greatest number of votes of
the electors shall be the vice president.
If there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose by ballot
the vice president.
The Congress
may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the
day on which they shall give their votes;
which day shall be the same throughout the
United States.
No
individual except a
natural born
citizen or a
citizen of the
United States at the time of
the adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible for the office of
president. Neither shall any
individual be eligible who has not attained the
age of thirty five years and been a resident
within the
United States for fourteen
years.
In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his
death, resignation, or inability to discharge
the power and duties of the office, the office of
president shall devolve on the
vice president. The Congress may by
law provide for the case of removal,
death, resignation or inability, both of the
president and
vice president, declaring what
officer shall then
act as
president, and such
officer shall
act accordingly, until the
disability be removed, or a president shall
be elected.
The president shall
receive for his services
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period
for which he shall have been elected.
The
individual elected
president will affirm his commitment by
oath, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of
president of the
United States, and will to the
best of my ability, preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States."
The president shall be
Commander in Chief of the Army and
Navy of the
United States, and of the
militia of the States, when called into the
actual service of the
United States. The
president may require the
opinion, in writing, of the principal
officer in each of the
executive departments, upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices. The
president shall have
power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses
against the United States,
except in cases of impeachment.
The president shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the
Senators present concur. The
president shall nominate, and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, appoint ambassadors,
other
public ministers and consuls,
judges of the
Supreme Court, and all
other officers of the
United States, whose
appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by law. The Congress may by
law vest the appointment of
officers in the
president, in the courts of
law or in the heads of departments.
The
president shall have
power to fill all vacancies that may
happen during the recess of the Senate
by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of the Senate's next
session.
The president shall from
time to time give to the Congress information of
the State of the Union, and recommend for
their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient. The
president may convene both Houses and adjourn
them at his discretion.
The president shall receive ambassadors and
public ministers.
The president shall
take care that the law be faithfully executed and
shall appoint all the officers of the
United States.
The president,
vice president and all
civil officers of the
United States shall be removed
from office on impeachment and conviction
of treason, bribery, or
other high
crimes and misdemeanors.
The
judicial power of
the United States shall be
vested in one Supreme Court, and in
such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish. The judges, both of the supreme
and inferior Courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated
times, receive for their services
compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
The judicial power shall extend to all cases in
law and equity arising under this Constitution, the
law of the
United States, and treaties
made. The judicial power shall extend to all cases affecting
ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls,
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction and controversies to which the
United States shall be a party.
The judicial power shall extend to controversies between two or
more States, between a
State and citizens of
another State, between citizens of different
States, between
citizens of the same
State claiming lands under grants of
different States, and between a
State, or the
citizens thereof, and foreign
States, citizens or subjects.
In all cases
affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls, and
those in which a State shall be party, the
Supreme Court shall have original
jurisdiction. In all the other cases
before mentioned, the Supreme Court
shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law
and fact, with such exceptions, and under such
regulations as the Congress shall
make.
The trial of all crimes,
except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury. Such trial shall be held in
the State where the said
crimes shall have been committed; but
when not committed within any
State, the trial shall be at such place or
places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Treason against the
United States shall consist in
levying war, or in adhering to their enemies by
giving them aid and comfort. No individual
shall be convicted of
treason unless on the
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt
act, or on
confession in open court.
The Congress shall have power to
declare the
punishment of
treason. No
individual shall be
declared
treasonous simply because of
blood relation to the
individual convicted of
treason. No property may be
seized except during the life the
individual convicted of
treason.
Each
State must fully disclose
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings to every
other State. Congress may by law prescribe the manner in which such
acts, records and proceedings shall be disclosed.
The citizens of each
State shall be entitled to all privileges
and immunities of citizens in the
other States.
A individual charged in any
State with
treason, felony, or
other
crime, who shall flee from
justice, and be found in
another State, shall on demand of the
executive authority of the
State from which he fled be removed to the
State having jurisdiction of the
crime.
No
slave or indentured servant under
the law of one State escaping into
another State shall be discharged from
such servitude in consequence of
any law or regulation therein, but shall be
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such servitude may be due.
New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union. No
new State shall be formed
within the jurisdiction of any
other State. No State may be formed by the junction of two or
more States, or parts of
States,
without the Consent of the
legislatures of the States concerned as well
as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have
power to dispose of and make all needful rules
and regulations respecting the
territory or other property belonging
to the United States. Nothing
in this Constitution shall be so construed as to
prejudice any claims of the
United States, or of any
particular State.
The
United States shall guarantee
to every State in this Union a
republican
form of
government, and shall
protect each of them against
invasions; and on application of the
Legislature, or of the executive (when
the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of
both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this
Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the
States, shall call a convention for
proposing Amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and
purposes, as part of this Constitution,
when ratified by the legislatures or conventions of three fourths of the
States. No Amendment may be made prior to
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight. No
State,
without its consent, shall be
deprived of its equal suffrage in the
Senate.
All
debts contracted and
engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as
valid against the United States
under this Constitution.
This Constitution and the
law of the
United States which shall be
made and all treaties made under the authority of the
United States shall be the
supreme law of the land. Judges in every
State shall be bound thereby.
The
Senators and
Representatives before mentioned,
and the members of the State legislatures,
and all executive and
judicial officers, both of the
United States and of the
several States, shall be bound by oath to
support this Constitution.
No religious test shall ever be required as a
qualification to any office in the government of the
United States.
The
ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the
establishment of this Constitution
between the States.
The Constitution
was agreed upon during a constitutional convention by the unanimous consent of
the twelve States present September 17,
1787.
Constitution became law after nine
State conventions ratify it on June 21,
1788.
Amendments to the Constitution
(Bill of
Rights)
"The Bill of Rights does not come from the people
and is not subject to change by majorities. It comes from the
nature of things. It declares the inalienable rights
of man not only against all government but also against the people
collectively." – Walter LippmannCongress
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.
A well regulated militia is necessary for the
security of a free State and
the right of the
people to keep and bear arms shall not be
infringed.
No soldier in
time of peace shall
be quartered in any house without
the consent of the owner, nor in time of
war but in a manner prescribed by
law.
The
right of the
People to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants
shall be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or objects to be seized.
No person shall be held to
answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or
indictment of a Grand
Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
forces, or in the militia, when in
actual service in
time of war or
public ; nor shall any
person be subject for the same offense to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a
witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property,
without due process of
law; nor shall
private property be taken for
public use
without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the
right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of
the State and district wherein the
crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to
have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
In
common law
suits, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be
otherwise re-examined in any court of the
United States
other than according to the
rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.
The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained
by the people.
The
power not delegated to the
United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the
people.
The judicial power of
the United States shall not be
construed to extend to any suit in law commenced or
prosecuted against one of the States by
citizens of
another State or by citizens or subjects of any foreign
State.
No
person constitutionally ineligible to the
office of president shall be eligible to
that of vice-president of the
United States.
Neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall
exist within the
United States or any place
subject to United States
jurisdiction.
All persons born or naturalized in the
United States are subject to
the jurisdiction thereof and are citizens
of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the
United States. No state shall
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the law.
Representatives shall be apportioned
among the several States according to their
respective numbers, counting the whole
number of persons in each
State, excluding untaxed
Indians. When the
right to vote at any
election is denied to any of the
male inhabitants being twenty-one years of
age and citizens of the
United States, except for
participation in rebellion or other
crime, the basis of representation
therein shall be reduced in proportion to the number of
males denied voting
rights.
No
person shall be a Senator or
Representative in Congress, an
elector of president and
vice president, hold any office, civil or
military, in the
United States, or in any
State, who, having previously taken an oath,
as a member of Congress, as an officer of
the United States, as a member
of any State legislature, or as an
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the
United States and then to have
engaged in insurrection or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. Congress may,
by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
The validity of the
public
debt of the
United States, authorized by
law, including
debts incurred for
payment of pensions and bounties for services in
suppressing
insurrection or
rebellion, shall not be
questioned. Neither the
United States nor any
State shall assume or pay any
debt or obligation
incurred in aid of insurrection or
rebellion against the
United States, or any claim for
the loss or emancipation of any
slave. All such
debts, obligations and
claims shall be held illegal and void.
The
right of
citizens of the
United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition of
servitude.
The Congress shall
have power to lay and collect
taxes on incomes, from whatever
source derived,
without apportionment among the
States, and
without regard to any census or
enumeration.
The Senate of the
United States shall be composed
of two Senators from each
State, elected by the
people thereof, for six years; and each
Senator shall have one vote. The electors in
each State shall have the qualifications
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the
State legislatures.
When vacancies
happen in the representation of any
State in the Senate, the
executive authority of such
State shall hold an
election to fill such vacancies. The
legislature of any State may allow the
executive authority to make temporary
appointments until the People fill the
vacancies by election.
The manufacture, sale, importation, exportation or
transportation of intoxicating liquors within the
United States and all territory
subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage
purposes is hereby prohibited.
The
right of
citizens of the
United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of
sex.
The terms of the
president and
vice president shall end at noon on the
tweentyth day of January, and the terms of
Senators and
Representatives at noon on the
third day of January, of the
years in which such terms would have ended if this
article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then
begin.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and
such meeting shall begin at noon on the third day of January, unless they shall by
law appoint a different
day.
If, at the time fixed for the
beginning of the term of the
president, the
president elect shall have died, the
vice president elect shall become
president. If a
president shall not have been chosen before
the time fixed for the beginning of his term,
or if the president elect shall have
failed to qualify, then the
vice president elect shall
act as
president until a
president shall have qualified. Congress
may by law provide for the case wherein neither a
president elect nor a
vice president elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as
president, or the manner in which one who
is to act shall be selected, and
such person shall
act accordingly until a
president or
vice president shall have qualified.
In the event the office of president is vacated by
death or otherwise the House of
Representatives may choose a
president if the
vice president is unable to assume the
presidency. The Senate may choose a
vice president in the event the office of
vice president is vacated by
death or otherwise.
The
manufacture, sale, importation, exportation or transportation of intoxicating
liquors within the
United States and all territory
subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage
purposes is repealed.
The
transportation or importation into any State, territory, or
possession of the
United States for delivery or
use therein of intoxicating liquors in violation of local
law is hereby prohibited.
No
person shall be elected to the office of the
president more than twice. No
person who has held the office of
president, or
acted as
president, for more than two years of a
term to which some other
person was elected
president shall be elected to the office of
the president more than once. This does not
apply until Franklin Delano Roosevelt
leaves the office of president.
The
district constituting the seat of government of the
United States shall appoint a
number of electors of president and
vice president
equal to the
whole number of
Senators and
Representatives in Congress to
which the District would be entitled if it were a
State but no more than the least populous
state. They shall be considered, for the purposes of the
election of president and vice president, to be electors appointed by a
State.
The
right of
citizens of the
United States to vote in any
primary or other
election for
president or
vice president, for electors for
president or
vice president, or for
Senator or
Representative in Congress, shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States or any
State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
In case of the removal of the
president from office or of his
death or resignation, the
vice president shall become
president.
Whenever there is a
vacancy in the office of the vice
president, the president shall nominate
a vice president who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Whenever
the president transmits to the
president of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives his
written declaration that
he is unable to discharge the duties of his office such duties shall be
discharged by the vice president as
acting president.
Whenever the
vice president and a majority of either the
principal officers of the
executive departments or of such
other body as Congress may by
Law provide, transmit to the
president Pro Tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
declaration that the
president is unable to discharge the duties
of his office, the vice president shall
immediately assume the power and duties of the
office as acting president.
When the
president transmits to the
president Pro Tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives his written
declaration that no
inability exists he shall resume the duties of his office unless the
vice president and a majority of either the
principal officers of the
executive departments or of such
other body as Congress may by
law provide, transmit
within four
days to the president Pro Tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
declaration that the
president is unable to discharge the
power and duties of his office. Thereupon
Congress shall decide the issue,
assembling within forty-eight hours
for that purpose if not in session. If the
Congress, within twenty-one
days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if
Congress is not in session, within
twenty-one days after Congress is required to
assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the
president is unable to discharge the duties
of his office, the vice president shall
continue to discharge the same as acting
president; otherwise, the
president shall resume the duties of his
office.
The right of
Citizens of the
United States, who are 18 years
of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or any state on
account of age.
No law varying the
compensation for the services of
the Senators and
Representatives shall take effect
until an election of
Representatives shall have
intervened.
"The
Americans who drafted the
Constitution were fully formed
human beings, with aims both petty and grandiose.
They could be alternately sophisticated or naive, manipulative or gullible. The legacy they
bequeathed us was one of struggle against prejudices,
self-interest,
greed and shortsightedness in pursuit of
freedom and self-rule. " - Lawrence Goldstone
"Only a government
which fights for
civil liberties and equal
rights for its own people can
stand for freedom in the rest of the
Earth." - Adlai Stevenson
"The most difficult decision
facing leaders in any
democracy, is whether to play by the rules. A
constitution is just words on paper. If
leaders are willing to follow the
law no matter how disadvantageous in the short
term, there is hope. When
politicians trample the law for their own gain, however, not even the
eloquence of Thomas Jefferson can
save the day." - J. Alexander Their, director of the
Project on Failed States at Stanford University's Center on Democracy,
Development and the Rule of Law.
"The
election of 2000 was the end of the
republic. It was the second time that
it happened that somebody who got the popular vote did not get the
election. 1876, when Governor Tilden, a
Democrat of New York, won the election. But
they were able - we still had troops in the south - they were able to turn the
election around, the electoral college,
Tilden didn't want another Civil War,
so he just withdrew, but there was no sinister group taking charge, it was just
a party group of Republicans who
wanted to continue the reign of General Grant. That was mildly
sleazy. This is major corruption. This is
corporate
America, as one, putting in place a president
who was not elected." - Gore Vidal"If
King George Bush can violate
existing laws, order our
government to
operate secret
interrogation camps overseas
and bug the phones of American citizens,
Congress should turn its attention to impeaching the
president, not debating a
law that will be ignored at whim." - Jeffery
Hain
"It is disappointing that the Senate buckled under to the
executive's Constitution busting demands
by extending the ‘Patriot Act', whose substance is 180 degrees off of its
label. There is nothing patriotic about continually eroding the magnificent
design of the framers of the Constitution that
individual liberty was to be the
default position in matters between individuals and their supposedly limited
government.
Let us enter the
new year with a resolution to return to the original
concepts of the framers,
which include no
standing army, small government doing
only necessary things and that minds its own business
on the
international scene, and a
celebration of individual liberty in
contests with that small government.
Or else let's just move on to Revolution # 2." -Michael J.
Kennedy
walking on the Constitution
"Many of the world's most
ruthless governments started out by promising their people a safer
society, all the while chipping away at civil
liberties." - Amy Smith
"The disdain and uncooperative nature that this
administration (George W. Bush) has shown toward Congress... is so egregious
that I can no longer assume that it is simply bureaucratic incompetence or
isolated mistakes. Rather, I have come to the sad conclusion that this
administration has intentionally obstructed Congress' rightful and
constitutional duties." - Dana Rohrabacher 02/08 David Claudio
Iglesias, a conservative evangelic, was appointed by the Bush administration to
be a justice department attorney. After failing to break the law for the Bush
administration he was fired.
"I thought I was working for the Jedi
Knights but they turned out to be Seth Lords." - David Claudio Iglesias
The strategy the George W. Bush's
administration used in the Jose
Padilla case was designed to make it possible to
suspend the Constitutional rights of American
citizens by presidential decree. A
precedent was set that future presidents can use to suspend the Constitutional
rights of any American
citizen at any
time for spurious reason. The writ of habeas
corpus was suspended even though America
was not being invaded nor was a rebellion taking
place. Jose Padilla was denied a
speedy trial. And although there is no proof, as the
proof is a classified secret, it is
pretty clear that Jose Padilla suffered
cruel and unusual punishment. This amounts to three
Constitutional violations. What ever happened to three strikes you're
out?
"It is shocking that 51 senators voted to give up the
writ of habeas corpus. That's taking a 790-year
step backward in civil rights. Conservatives claim to be strict
Constitutionalists, but only when it suits their
purposes - so it's all right to
invade
another country without a
declaration of war, and it's all right to suspend
the writ of habeas corpus even when we aren't being
invaded and there is no
rebellion." - Paul
Hoffman
"Habeas corpus is a basic human right and an essential
foundation of democracy. Every jailed person on Earth should have charges
against them brought in a timely fashion, should have access to counsel and
should be able to answer the charges in a fair and open hearing." - John
Slevin
George W. Bush's administration has
succeeded in nullifying the 6th Amendment of the Constitution. Under the
6th Amendment of the Constitution, the accused in a
criminal prosecution is entitled "to be confronted with the
witnesses against him." This right entitles the accused to be present at
the trial, and to hear and cross-examine all witnesses against him. In the past
evidence which is not subject to confrontation, such as the testimony of
anonymous sources, who are not subject to
cross-examination, may not be used against the accused.
A federal judge
ruled in August 2007 that testimony from a Israeli intelligence official could be
used anonymously in the federal trial to prove that the Holy Land Foundation
for Relief and Development was only a front to funnel money to Hamas. The
judge also refused to allow the submission of evidence that indeed the Holy
Land Foundation for Relief and Development had provided relief goods and
supplies to Palestinians in general.
George W.
Bush's administration has also succeeded in
nullifying the Constitutional mandate that Congress declare war and oversee captured lands. (see
Iraq)
"Our government holds
all the information, dictates all the procedures and justifies the denial of
due process on grounds of national
security. The George
W. Bush administration is rapidly and relentlessly protecting us out of all
of our national values, not to mention the clear
provisions of the Constitution. Can we afford to wait out the
imperial presidency that has so
profoundly damaged our democratic republic?" - Barbara Bergen
In
June 2008 the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said it could not locate a
recording of the final interrogation of Jose Padilla. How convenient for the
Talmudists!
George W.
Bush took an oath in which he swore to "the best of my
ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
By failing to adhere to his sworn oath to preserve the Constitution and protect
the Constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic,
George W. Bush has committed
treason. The Constitution specifies that should the
president commit treason, by giving enemies "aid and
comfort", he shall be impeached.
"Just how does an loyalty oath guard against ? Anyone who is truly disloyal will simply
take the oath falsely. No subversive will be deterred by the
requirement of an oath."- Geoffrey R. Stone
"It is clear that the Senate and the
George W. Bush do not represent the
people. What good are constitutional rights if they are not enforced?" - Thomas
Bliss
"People shrink from the
uncomfortable realization that their government is their worst
enemy, an apathy that dooms their country." -
Obadiah Shoher Samson Blinded
To govern men in accord with
nature
It is best to be restrained;
Restraint makes agreement easy to attain,
And easy agreement
builds harmonious relationships;
With
sufficient harmony no resistance
will arise;
When no resistance arises,
then you possess the
heart of the nation,
And when you
possess the nation's heart,
your
influence will long
endure:
Deeply
rooted and firmly established.
This is the method
of far sight and long life.
Lao
Tze
Men strive to control
life.
All life is unique.
All life is individual.
To strive to
control life
without
understanding and taking into
consideration
the unique and individual aspect of each
life
and discounting of
individual life as having only the value
of the 'other', substance, is corrupt and evil.
See Life
See Jesus
See John
Locke
See The Golden
Rule
See I Corinthians 13:
4-7
See Revelation
See
George Washington
See
Thomas Jefferson
See
Abraham
Lincoln
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This web site is not a commercial web site and
is presented for educational purposes only.
This website defines a new religious
ideology to which its author adheres. The author feels that the falsification
of reality outside personal experience has created a populace unable to discern
propaganda from reality and that this has been done purposefully by an
international corporate cartel through their agents who wish to foist a corrupt
version of reality on the human race. Religious intolerance occurs when any
group refuses to tolerate religious practices, religious beliefs or persons due
to their religious ideology. This web site marks the founding of the religion
aptly named The Truth of the Way of Life - a rational religion based on reason
which requires no leap of faith, accepts no tithes, has no supreme leader, no
church buildings and in which each and every individual is encouraged to
develop a personal relation with God through the pursuit of the knowledge of
reality in the hope of curing the spiritual corruption that has enveloped the
human spirit. The tenets of The Truth of the Way of Life are spelled out in
detail on this web site by the author. Violent acts against individuals due to
their religious beliefs in America is considered a “hate
crime.”
This web site in no way condones violence. To the contrary
the intent here is to reduce the violence that is already occurring due to the
international corporate cartels desire to control the human race. The
international corporate cartel already controls the world central banking
system, mass media worldwide, the industrial military complex of America and is
responsible for the collapse of morals, the elevation of self-centered behavior
and the destruction of global ecosystems. Civilization is based on cooperation.
Cooperation does not occur at the point of a gun.
American social mores
and values have declined precipitously over the last century as the corrupt
international cartel has garnered more and more power. This power rests in the
ability to deceive the populace in general through mass media by pressing
emotional buttons which have been preprogrammed into the population through
prior mass media psychological operations. The results have been the
destruction of the family and the destruction of social structures that do not
adhere to the corrupt international elites vision of a perfect world. Through
distraction and coercion the direction of thought of the bulk of the population
has been directed toward solutions proposed by the corrupt international elite
that further consolidates their power and which further their purposes.
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