Hardcore libertarians sometimes criticize me because of my focus on the Constitution and political action at the state level to limit federal power. They argue that the American constitutional system will never bring about liberty, and that by working through government at any level, I undermine the cause of freedom. I am sympathetic to the..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #42: The National ID Debacle
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about state resistance to the national ID program mandated by the REAL ID Act of 2005, and how the will to stand up against the feds seems to be crumbling. In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act and Pres...
Read moreHow Baseball Can Help Us Interpret the Constitution
Did you know that there is a general rule of thumb in baseball that will help you understand whether the federal government can constitutionally exercise a certain power, even in in the most legally complex situations? In a baseball game, a tie always goes to the runner. If the baseman catches the ball at the..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #40: The Liberty Enforcement Squad
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I explain the original application of the Bill of Rights, why it matters and why the liberty centralizers are wrong. A lot of people who say they believe in "limited government" turn around and favor the federal government "enforcing" liberty on the..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #39: What Is the Role of the Federal Government?
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about the proper role of the federal government. Hint: meddling in your sex life isn't part of it! During a recent televised townhall meeting, Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump to name the most important priorities of the federal government. Two..
Read moreConstitution 101: A General Government for Limited Purposes
If you delve into the ratification of the Constitution, you will often see the federal government referred to as the “general government.” This terminology tells us a great deal about how the founding generation understood the role of the government it created, and its relationship to the states and the people. Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #37: Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head I talk about the First Amendment, its relation to freedom of speech, and more generally the importance of free expression in a free society. The recent shutdown of a Donald Trump rally in Chicago has generated a lot of discussion about freedom..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #36: Rewriting Nullification History (With the Truth)
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about a recently published academic paper that obliterates conventional thinking about nullification and interposition. In 1798, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison penned the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. These documents, approved by the..
Read moreAmerica: Untethered from Its Constitutional Moorings
Americans have untethered their government from its moorings. The colonists fought a war to tie government down. Under British rule, government had become more and more arbitrary. Parliament and the King could issue edicts and pass laws detached from any absolute guiding principles. Americans called it tyranny. In the British system, the constitution evolved. Government..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #34: The Constitution and Federal Lands
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about what the Constitution has to say about federal land ownership and management. The recent standoff between the feds and ranchers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon thrust the issue of federal land ownership and control into the..
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