When it comes to constitutional issues, most lawyers in America suffer from what I call J.D. impairment. I don't mean to disparage lawyers. But by and large, they don't have a clue about the actual meaning of the Constitution. Of course, most Americans don't have a clue either. What makes this particularly problematic when it..
Read morePodcast: Taking on the Anti-Nullifiers
In the inaugural episode of my podcast Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I take on the anti-nullifiers. They label us morons and call our efforts to limit federal power through state action illegal. But the anti-nullifiers are wrong. We're not morons, and we're not breaking the law. In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head,..
Read moreConstitution 101: Privileges and Immunities
Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution states that "the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states." Often referred to as the "comity clause," Alexander Hamilton called it "the basis of the union." In his paper Origins of the Privileges and Immunities of State..
Read moreConstitution 101: Federal Highway Funding Unconstitutional
With a single headline, I just relegated myself to the political fringe. Federal highway funding is unconstitutional. Most people immediately dismissed this statement as out of hand. Extreme. Kookie. This illustrates just how far Americans have strayed from our constitutional roots. Notice what I did not say. I didn’t suggest the federal government shouldn’t fund..
Read moreConstitution 101: Natural Born Citizen
Article II Sec. 1 of the Constitution lays out requirements for the presidency, including a stipulation that “No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.” We find little debate about the reason..
Read moreConstitution 101: Freedom of Speech and the Press, the Palladium of Liberty
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press were among the core liberties many American believed needed express protection in a bill of rights from infringement by the newly created federal government. Freedom of speech and the press find their roots in the same soil – liberty of conscience. If people have the right to..
Read moreConstitution 101: The 2nd Amendment Militia
Two weeks ago, we looked at the Second Amendment and determined that it prohibited any federal infringement on the right to keep and bear arms, and that the prohibition even includes restrictions imposed while exercising legitimate federal power. This week we will look at the connection between the militia and the Second Amendment. “A well..
Read moreConstitution 101: The Incorporation Doctrine and the Bill of Rights
In my last Constitution 101 post, I established that the Bill of Rights was not originally intended to apply to the states. But lawyers and other supporters of federal courts policing rights at the state and local level will point to the 14th Amendment. They argue that it “incorporates” the Bill of Rights and applies..
Read moreIf You Don’t Like It, Don’t Fly!!
Last week I had to fly to New York City for a quick business trip. These days, I try to avoid flying as much as possible, not because I dislike flying, but because I loathe the airport experience. Or more specifically, I loathe the TSA peek and grope. I know in the big scheme of..
Read moreConstitution 101: The Bill of Rights
I was originally planning on looking at the Second Amendment this week, but it occurred to me that we should examine the Bill of Rights more generally before digging into specific provisions. Adding a declaration of rights to the Constitution was a condition of ratification for several states, and five state ratification documents included specific..
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