Many of us have heard of the Constitution of the United States
referred to as "The chains that bind government."
Those "chains" have a "lock". Unfortunately,
those with intent to unlock this lock have had such great success
that few ( including the Federal Judiciary) even understand, or
recognize what the "lock" is.
The "lock" is Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
Article 1 Section 8 was written by James Madison. It lists everything
Congress can spend money on. Everything. As in spending money
from the U.S. Treasury on anything else has no Constitutional
authority.
I find it a continuing source of frustration that those who are
concerned about what the Federal Government is doing, don't know
that the answer for most of their concerns would be strict adherence
to Article 1 Section 8.
Madison wrote an introductory sentence to Article 1 Section 8.
Here is the famous quote: "and provide for the common defence
and general welfare of the United States".
Madison lived long enough to be the first to observe and comment
on his introductory phrase ( which most certainly is not, according
to its author, a "clause") being referred to as "the
General Welfare Clause" and thus used to rationalize spending
money from the public treasury on matters not authorized by Article
1 Section 8.
He scolded the congressmen of the day (1820's) telling them that
if he meant his introductory phrase to allow spending of public
funds on anything they desired, he would not have bothered to
list the 18 specific powers of the Congress, including all the
things Congress could spend money on.
Quite simply, if Congressionaly appropriated funds are not listed
in Article 1 Section 8, they aren't Constitutional. Now before
you legal scholars out there hammer on me, yes I am aware of court
decisions to the contrary.
However, we need not speculate as to the simple English of Article
1 Section 8. Nor need we ponder or speculate as to the intent
of the author. We so often engage in circular arguments as to
"original intent" of this, or that, section of the U.S.
Constitution. Our 2nd amendment is well-known for these arguments.
As I stated above, Madison was still living and able to comment
on the perversion of what he wrote. A perversion that continues
virtually identically today.
Congressman Ron Paul (R. TX) leads a small group of U.S. Representatives
( less than 20 last time I checked) who both understand Article
1 Section 8 and vote accordingly. It is for this reason ( his
criteria for voting for or against any given piece of legislation)
that Congressman Paul's nickname is " Dr. No".
It takes a while to comprehend the full implications of what the
ramifications of Article 1 Section 8 would be if it were being
followed. Well more than half of the federal budget would be gone!
No more Social Security, No more Medicare, Medicaid, FBI, CIA,
NASA, USDA, EPA, OHSA. It's a pretty long list. More than half
of the "Blue Pages" in your telephone book gone!
BATFE? The U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments compliment
each other.The militia (the same militia in the 2nd amendment)
is mentioned twice in Article 1 Section 8. Clearly, there is no
authority in Article 1 section 8 for Congress to spend money from
the public treasury for a department (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives) to restrict an activity that is very
specifically authorized to take place, namely "organizing,
arming and disciplining the militia". Oh yes, the militia
(right now in 2007) enjoys a very specific legal definition and
status. The citation is United States Code, Title 10, Chapter
13, Section 311. The 2007 federal militia is all able-bodied males
17 to 45 years of age and all female citizens who are members
of the National Guard.
Not to worry! The odds of Article 1 Section 8 being followed by
our elected representatives is about as likely as a foot of snow
falling on Miami in July!
No dear reader, the lock was unlocked beginning in the 1820's
and has only been re-locked for short periods since. The attempts
at lip-service can be quite humorous. For example "National
Defense Student Loans". Excuse me? What in the world does
loaning money from the U.S. Treasury for going to college have
to do with National Security? At the time this was enacted, the
U.S. Congress still felt some need to comply with Article 1 Section
8.
It was 1958. We still had a living Civil War Veteran (John Salling,
CSA, died 3/16/58). WWI Veterans were middle-aged men, still in
the work force, Congress and the Senate. The world was a different
place. Most U.S. adults were still literate. When Public law 85-864
was passed, they needed to justify their unconstitutional spending
by making a connection to something that was Constitutional, thus,
the National Defense title.
One of the more popular quotes I run across is the one about how
democracies are short-lived due to the population electing those
who promise the most benefits to the voters from the public treasury.
We see this phenomenon in elections at every level of government
with the Office of President being the worst offender!
History records the inevitable disastrous consequences of fiscal
foolishness of nations. There has never been ( to the best of
my knowledge) any nation in history to avoid these dire consequences.
The solution?
If you think that electing "the right person" ( President,
Congressman, Senator) will cure this, I'll send the Tooth Fairy
right over to grant you a wish or two!
I advocate that individually families make prudent preparations
and work with local (up to county level) elected and appointed
officials to make their communities better prepared to deal with
any crises that may occur.
So, how severe could the consequences of an economic crises be?
No, it won't be a repeat of the Great Depression in the 1930's.
That U.S. of A. polite, hard-working, only a generation away from
family farms, no longer exists!
I find great wisdom and thoughtfulness in the book "Patriots,
Surviving The Coming Collapse, Expanded Edition" by James
Wesley, Rawles available at www.survivalblog.com
. Jim's book is frequently referred to as a survival manual disguised
as a novel. He does a great job of outlining a scenario of social
chaos arising out of economic collapse.
When it comes to general preparedness, my two DVDs both give a
wealth of information.
"Family Safety In Perilous Times, Surviving Terrorist Attacks",
Volumes 1 & 2. Both are seminars in front of a live audience,
professionally recorded and edited.
Volume 1: A friend ( A Vietnam-veteran, who is a police officer
) said "John, your Volume 1 has too much military stuff,
civilians won't get it". You see I wasn't just at Group level
and Battalion level Special Forces Intelligence, I also served
as the Intelligence NCO of a Special Forces A-Team. OK, if you
want to learn how a military guy prepares, get Volume 1.
I digress.
Volume 2 has a number of presenters in health, communications
and NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) preparedness.
Those who listen to my radio show know I advocate self-reliance
and preparation for hard times. I advocate learning skills that
will both help save lives and be in demand during either a short-term,
or generational crises.
In order of priority they are:
1.) Emergency Medical Skills
Even Red Cross first-aid training and CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation)
as minimal as it is, will put you ahead of 95% of the adult population.
Please consider signing up at your local Junior college for an
E.M.T. (Emergency Medical Technician) course. It's only one semester,
the cost is pretty minimal and (if you're not going to make a
career of it) you really don't need to concern yourself with testing
out to be certified.
OR
Upon completion of your E.M.T. Training sign up for a Para-Medic
course ( typically an additional three semesters). Yes, I know
you're busy. For those who are "too busy" to learn emergency
medical treatment, be sure to tell that to your loved one while
you're kneeling next to them, holding their hand, as they die!
Once you have your new life-saving skills, acquire a kit of life-saving
equipment and supplies equal to your skill-level.
2.) Emergency Radio Communications
Both Hurricane Katrina and the events of 9/11/01 demonstrated
to the world the consequences of having (or not having) effective
radio communications! It's also become pretty common knowledge
that hard-wire telephones are the least reliable in an emergency
and Cellular telephones the most reliable. However, all it takes
to shut down the cellular telephone system is a volume of calls
that exceeds the grids capacity!
The Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) commenced the HAM
licensing program with the intended purpose of establishing trained
and equipped men and women who can lend communications assistance
in emergencies. I am a licensed HAM operator (Call sign KB0-QJV).
I encourage all persons to consider getting this training and
the equipment to communicate.
There's more skills including: the skills of the back-packer,
orienteering, farming, self-defense, etc.
The real foundation of preparedness is spiritual. We know from
studying those who went through the P.O.W. camps in WWII, Korea
and Vietnam that the men and women who had a solid spiritual belief
system stood a far better chance of surviving that experience
than those who did not.
John Moore
WWW.THELIBERTYMAN.COM
Listen to John live on WWW.RepublicBroadcasting.Org
Sunday afternoons 4 to 6 P.M Central time.
