I saw grandpa chuckling as he was working feverishly at the computer. Curious, I went over and looked over his shoulder to see what he was writing that could be so funny. When I asked he told me that he was writing amendments to the Constitution of the United States so that it would clearly reflect the ideology of a certain group of people. As I read what he was writing I noticed that the changes made were in color. This was what he had written so far;
The Preamble
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect society, establish fairness, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the welfare of the few at the expense of the many, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves but not to our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article I
Section I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the people as represented in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Each representative of both houses are to vote for any legislation in concordance to the will of the people he represents not in accordance to his own conscience.
Article II
Section I. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States by acting in obedience to the will of the people as determined by a popularity poll, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States as it is determined to be applicable in the present society."
Section II. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States with one exception. That exception being, When in the performance of that service his popularity has waned with the people then the people shall be the commander in chief. He 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, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the society, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the will of the people and not the law be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.
Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. One exception, the high crime of perjury does not justify removal of office for the President even though it may be used against other civil officers for removal.
This was as much as grandpa had written but I could not help but chuckle at what he might write in regards to the rest of the Constitution. Also, I could not help but wonder if these were real amendments if they would pass.
WELCOMES YOU to his little home in cyberspace.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Grandpa's Amendments cont.
As i continued to watch quietly he continued to write;
Article V
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 several 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 of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. The Supreme Court may render this Article and any other Article of this Constitution useless by application of the theory of a “Living Constitution”.
Article VI
All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. The one exception to this would be in the nomination of any candidate for office. It would also require that any person holding office to place the rulings of the Supreme Court above his personal religious beliefs when such rulings are in conflict of those religious beliefs when making any decisions of government.
Article VIII
Nothing in this Constitution nor in any amendment is to be construed as a restraint upon the Supreme Court from interpreting it so as to redistribute any of the powers given, declared or undeclared, in order to meet the applicability standards of the day for government as they see it fitting without explicit permission of the States.
Article V
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 several 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 of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. The Supreme Court may render this Article and any other Article of this Constitution useless by application of the theory of a “Living Constitution”.
Article VI
All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. The one exception to this would be in the nomination of any candidate for office. It would also require that any person holding office to place the rulings of the Supreme Court above his personal religious beliefs when such rulings are in conflict of those religious beliefs when making any decisions of government.
Article VIII
Nothing in this Constitution nor in any amendment is to be construed as a restraint upon the Supreme Court from interpreting it so as to redistribute any of the powers given, declared or undeclared, in order to meet the applicability standards of the day for government as they see it fitting without explicit permission of the States.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Working like a Dog
Howdy, my friends, been away for a while but I hope each of you have enjoyed the music while I was gone. And I hope each enjoyed the songs that I dedicated to both, the mothers last month and the fathers this month.
Just came back to give you a partial idea of what drug me away from all my friends. The pic below is a pic of my lovely house that i live in. As you can see, it needs a helping hand from its owner. A touch of paint here, a touch of paint there, a little glue in spots and i'll have it back on its feet in no time.
In case you're wondering, that big white building you see on the left is my dog's house.
I guess you could say that I am the one treated like a dog around here.
Ok, Ok you don't believe me, that's just fine as he pouts. That is an old shed in my back yard that rotted away and finally fell over from a strong wind.(click on pix for a good closeup)
That is grandpa's version of recycling.
When I planted that tree you see, its height was at my forehead. Now it is twice as tall as I am. And don't ask me what type of tree it is. I have no idea. The only thing I know is that the leaves remain as green as you see them year round. If someone can identify it I'd sure would like to know.
Well, that was just a short version that I'd share with you and give you a small idea of the reason I feel like someone is working me like a dog.
Just came back to give you a partial idea of what drug me away from all my friends. The pic below is a pic of my lovely house that i live in. As you can see, it needs a helping hand from its owner. A touch of paint here, a touch of paint there, a little glue in spots and i'll have it back on its feet in no time.
In case you're wondering, that big white building you see on the left is my dog's house.
I guess you could say that I am the one treated like a dog around here.
Ok, Ok you don't believe me, that's just fine as he pouts. That is an old shed in my back yard that rotted away and finally fell over from a strong wind.(click on pix for a good closeup)
Below is a pic of how it looks now.
And below shows you what happened to it.
And below shows you what happened to it.
That is grandpa's version of recycling.
When I planted that tree you see, its height was at my forehead. Now it is twice as tall as I am. And don't ask me what type of tree it is. I have no idea. The only thing I know is that the leaves remain as green as you see them year round. If someone can identify it I'd sure would like to know.
Well, that was just a short version that I'd share with you and give you a small idea of the reason I feel like someone is working me like a dog.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Father's Day Gift
Couldn't help but come by and give all you guys a gift for Father's Day. And I thought Julie London would be the perfect gift. Who wouldn't want to be her "daddy"?
Monday, June 09, 2008
Work
I'm going to be offline for awhile. I've been busy trying to catch up on work around here and won't have time for the computer.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Political beliefs vs Religious beliefs
People always worry about religion influencing the laws of this nation. But one thing you never hear is how the laws of this nation can influence the beliefs of religions. Where there may have been a diversity of religious belief on any given issue there is a trend towards unity of belief as a result of a law written, meant not to effect religious attitude, but the attitude of the people. Science has already agreed that laws do effect the beliefs of people. When this happens religious belief naturally must also change. For if it did not people would be adhering to two sets of belief in regards to that particular issue.
Now, we as the people have a choice. Would we prefer that government, by its laws, influence religious beliefs or would we prefer that religious beliefs influence government and the laws it enacts? Some would bring up the issue of which religion if the latter was advocated but I do not see that as an issue.
The reason I do not see that as an issue is because of how the founding fathers have set up our government, a government of three independent branches. We also have the Constitution to protect against any attempt to force a singular religious belief system onto the people. That protection is not found in the first amendment but in the body of the Constitution itself. It is found in Article VI, section 3 of the Constitution.
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Within those few words are the indication of just how important religious belief was to the founders. It is the only right of individuals that was protected from the very beginning. And if understood by its intent we can understand what role religion was to play in governmental decisions. For it protected those elected officials who would vote out of religious conviction rather than secular conviction. In do so, protected religions themselves. Thus, we can see that the founding fathers understood that religion was to play an important part in governmental decisions. Tradition supports this viewpoint.
The very diversity of religions represented by elected officials assures that no one religion will dominate and enact laws according to a singular belief system. This is especially true in the legislative body of government where laws originate. The only branch of government where a single religion can be declared as represented is the branch of the Presidency. While he may influence legislation in regards to laws he cannot enact them on his own. He only has the power and authority to execute the laws as enacted by Congress.
Within those few words we see another problem exposed also. With the advocation of a secular government we have seen and heard people attempt to use a religious test upon those who sought office. We saw it used against John F. Kennedy when he ran for the office of the Presidency. We have seen it used against George Bush often when attempting to associate his presidency with the “Religious Right.” we have also seen it as an influence in the Presidential nomination of Mitt Romney this year.
Yet also while there is a fear of religious influence and that fear is justified by past events of history I cannot help but believe that the fear is deeper than justified. I also do not feel that the founding fathers set up a separation of church and state in such a manner as to pit a man's loyalty and duty to country against his religious beliefs as a man must do now on certain issues. I do know they never intended to create a situation where a man might be forced to choose between serving his country and practicing his religious beliefs as might happen now.
Lastly, I do not believe I would get much of an argument from anyone if I was to say that the founding fathers placed the Bible and what it teaches above the Constitution and what it teaches. They may all have disagreed with what the Bible taught but not in disagreement of its place in the life of people.
Now, we as the people have a choice. Would we prefer that government, by its laws, influence religious beliefs or would we prefer that religious beliefs influence government and the laws it enacts? Some would bring up the issue of which religion if the latter was advocated but I do not see that as an issue.
The reason I do not see that as an issue is because of how the founding fathers have set up our government, a government of three independent branches. We also have the Constitution to protect against any attempt to force a singular religious belief system onto the people. That protection is not found in the first amendment but in the body of the Constitution itself. It is found in Article VI, section 3 of the Constitution.
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Within those few words are the indication of just how important religious belief was to the founders. It is the only right of individuals that was protected from the very beginning. And if understood by its intent we can understand what role religion was to play in governmental decisions. For it protected those elected officials who would vote out of religious conviction rather than secular conviction. In do so, protected religions themselves. Thus, we can see that the founding fathers understood that religion was to play an important part in governmental decisions. Tradition supports this viewpoint.
The very diversity of religions represented by elected officials assures that no one religion will dominate and enact laws according to a singular belief system. This is especially true in the legislative body of government where laws originate. The only branch of government where a single religion can be declared as represented is the branch of the Presidency. While he may influence legislation in regards to laws he cannot enact them on his own. He only has the power and authority to execute the laws as enacted by Congress.
Within those few words we see another problem exposed also. With the advocation of a secular government we have seen and heard people attempt to use a religious test upon those who sought office. We saw it used against John F. Kennedy when he ran for the office of the Presidency. We have seen it used against George Bush often when attempting to associate his presidency with the “Religious Right.” we have also seen it as an influence in the Presidential nomination of Mitt Romney this year.
Yet also while there is a fear of religious influence and that fear is justified by past events of history I cannot help but believe that the fear is deeper than justified. I also do not feel that the founding fathers set up a separation of church and state in such a manner as to pit a man's loyalty and duty to country against his religious beliefs as a man must do now on certain issues. I do know they never intended to create a situation where a man might be forced to choose between serving his country and practicing his religious beliefs as might happen now.
Lastly, I do not believe I would get much of an argument from anyone if I was to say that the founding fathers placed the Bible and what it teaches above the Constitution and what it teaches. They may all have disagreed with what the Bible taught but not in disagreement of its place in the life of people.
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