bothers to declare war, hell the executive branch doesn't really even check
with congress anymore, and that is a power that is supposed to reside with
the congress.
I think in many cases (ATF, gun law in general) some of these powers have
been stretched (interstate commerce) in order to give people loop holes
through the constitution to grant the government powers they were not
intended to have.
The idea of the "general welfare" has been used to provide for drug law,
seat belt initiatives (not a federal law, just an unfunded mandate),
drinking age mandates, and welfare, education, and a slew of other programs
that I think it was not originally intended to cover.
An important piece, I feel, is "shall be uniform throughout the United
States". As we all know this isn't true. I think that the federal gov't is
supposed to make sure that a certain amount of law carries over from state
to state, yet we know about drug law differences, tax differences and so
forth. Related to this is the idea of immunities. In VA I can carry a gun
with a $50 dollar permit. They way I read the constitution this same permit
should be good in all 50 states. It's not though.
I think by coming off of the gold standard and giving a lot of currency
control to the FED we have violated some of these principals, especially
seeing as the FED is a private organization.
Also the idea of "post roads" has been used to force highways through many
states and localities that didn't want them, and the federal government will
pass the cost of these unfunded roads onto the states, yet demand their
upkeep. We no longer need post roads.
Copyright and trademark should only be for a limited time. And by limited I
mean at most the lifetime of the creator.
To be legalistic we shouldn't have a standing army, and even in time of war
it should be pretty much reformed every two years. I think we need an
amendment on the formation of a standing
army though.
The militia, AKA the national guard, is supposed to be called up to repel
foreign invaders and prevent insurrection, not fight wars on foreign soil.
That's my break down. The basics at least. Now if we take that and the
10th into account I would have a far longer list.
--
Timothy Heald
Web Portfolio Manager
Overseas Security Advisory Council
U.S. Department of State
571.345.2319
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S.
Department of State or any affiliated organization(s). Nor have these
opinions been approved or sanctioned by these organizations. This e-mail is
unclassified based on the definitions in E.O. 12958.
-----Original Message-----
From: Haggerty, Mike [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 3:36 PM
To: CF-Community
Subject: Fun with the Constitution (was RE: More Breaking News)
I'm curious, how do you feel about Article I, section 8 of the
Constitution itself? It outlines a number of powers possessed by the
legislature that the executive branch is compelled to enforce at
Congress' legislative convenience.
How do Federal institituions depart from these powers, and where do they
exceed their authority?
M
-----Original Message-----
From: Heald, Tim [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 2:57 PM
To: CF-Community
Subject: RE: More Breaking News
Article 10: The powers 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.
My read on it is this:
The federal government can only take legislative control over those
items
specifically mentioned in the constitution, so long as it hasn't been
stopped from doing so by the states. Anything else falls either to
state
legislation or the people themselves.
The founding fathers could not envision all that is necessary to run a
modern nation and I think they new with time the government would need
to
change and adapt, which is why they built in an amendment process.
Legislating outside the scope of the constitution, without getting
approved
an amendment granting the federal government increased powers,
specifically
in your area of interest, is unconstitutional according to my read on
this.
--
Timothy Heald
Web Portfolio Manager
Overseas Security Advisory Council
U.S. Department of State
571.345.2319
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S.
Department of State or any affiliated organization(s). Nor have these
opinions been approved or sanctioned by these organizations. This e-mail
is
unclassified based on the definitions in E.O. 12958.
_____
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