Will the Union Survive?

(Published  Democrat & Chronicle 12/2/11)

For me, the failure of the so-called “super committee” sharply illustrates the disturbing reality that this country is, indeed, irreconcilably divided rendering political

compromise virtually impossible.

Many years in the making, this increasingly irreparable ideological  divide separates  socialism and capitalism, statism and individual liberty.

And no matter how hard we try, like oil and water these competing ideologies can never, ever  mix.

Deeply ideologically divided, the unsettling reality is now patently obvious: we are now and have been for some time a nation headed for political dissolution. Like our Constitution itself, our union
too is on life support.

Gone are the simpler, more wholesome times when Americans shared first principles, divided only by relatively innocuous political gamesmanship rather than fiercely opposing ideological convictions.

In the face of these severely divergent political viewpoints, sustaining an “indivisible union” may, in the longer term, be but a pipe dream.

Well, it was a great ride while it lasted.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell.
 

SCOTUS Must be Reigned In!!!

I tremble every time a serious constitutional question is put to the “Supreme Court”.

Obvious to all but the willfully ignorant or ideologically blind, over the years SCOTUS has evolved into an essentially unbridled power unto itself. Guided by the principle of "judicial supremacy" vs "constitutional supremacy", and tainted by politics, ideology and a sinister proclivity for social engieneering, it has morphed into an unelected, unaccountable, black-robed judicial "Oligarchy of Nine", America's Privy Council, whose constitutional moorings have long ago been essentially abandoned. Deceptive adherence to the Constitution has replaced genuine faithfulness.

I can still recall the devastating words of Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes in the 30′s when he dropped all pretense of judicial faithfulness to the Constitution by haughtily proclaiming that “We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is.” Whoa, baby! Just let those insidious words sink in for a moment. Rather imperious, wouldn't you say? Just who made these mere mortals Gods? Most certainly NOT the founders and most certainly NOT We the People. But thanks to an overreaching and arbitrary Marbury v Madison (1803) ruling which vested exclusive authority in the Supreme Court for divining what is and what is not constitutional, the judicial tyranny has continued unabated ever since.

Clearly, we are seriously in need of a constitutional amendment to reign in our runaway courts, most particularly the Supreme Court. No less than Thomas Jefferson warned us against the encroaching, indeed despotic, power of the Supreme Court. Tragically, his warnings have been generally ignored, and we are now paying the awful price for having failed to properly and effectively challenge the recklessness doctine of "judicial supremacy".

That said, since SCOTUS has “ruled” in favor of Obamacare's individual mandate--or is it a tax-- should We the People yet again obediently and robotically yield because the Oligarchy of Nine ruled that we must? NOT ON YOUR LIFE--NOR MINE!!!!

Per the 9th and 10th Amendments, We the People and our immediate fiduciary agents, the States, must summarily nullify this odious ruling. And that remedial action should be but the first step in a determined grassroots effort to reign in the runaway courts and the mortal jurists who populate them. Our founders and our progeny would expect nothing less of us.

As originally intended, We the People, the final arbiters, the “highest tribunal”, are duty-bound to assert our constitutional authority when the “supreme court”--or any branch of the federal government--oversteps its original constitutional authority, failing which we deserve the cesspool of statism and tyranny which will surely ensue.

"There is not greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice." Montesquieu

OWS Deserves Our Support

Rousingly addressed recently in Chicago by John Bachtell  of the Communist Party USA, the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest has, unfortunately, been nagged by thefts, rapes, murders, shootings, brawlings, illicit drugs, and arrests for both public disorder and trespassing.

But, gee, what can you expect of a big crowd? There are bound to be bad apples.  Were those Tea Partiers any better?

Anointed by big labor, openly supported by high-minded public figures like Roseanne Barr and Michael Moore, by high profile and thoughtful Democratic Party leaders like Rep. Nancy Pelosi , and with the encouragement of the Democratic Socialists of America , how can anyone seriously believe that OWS is anything but an admirable mirror image of the Tea Party?

With many marching OWS protesters donning CPUSA T-shirts and unfurled red flags in Chicago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avG4LgTF0ho),  I can’t imagine why so many Americans are misjudging these civic-minded American citizens who have consistently espoused nothing but peaceful protest and honest, intelligent debate.

And to you right wing nuts, this: unfairly dubbing them “useful idiots” of the radical far left is grossly irresponsible and intentionally incendiary. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Frankly, OWS patriots burst my buttons with pride.