The Founding Fathers made a mistake. Although they were the greatest gathering of minds under one roof since the Last Supper, they never envisioned that one day legalistic left-wing weasels, in cooperation with partisan, dishonorable judges, would render their Bill of Rights meaningless. As an exercise in patriotism, we should all try to author an iron-clad Bill of Rights and post it on our blog. If you had the ability to go back in time and advise the Founding Fathers, what would you suggest? I've added a few Amendments to my ideal Bill of Rights. This is just off the top of my head, if I gave it any thought, it would probably be unreadable. Amendment I Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of political speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Amendment II As self defense is a basic human right, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Amendment III No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Amendment V No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Private property shall not be taken for the private use of others. Amendment VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Amendment VII In suits at common law, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. Amendment VIII Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Amendment IX The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Amendment X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. Amendment XI No person shall be taxed on his income, investments, holdings or estate. XII Rights and privileges designated for Citizens of the United States shall not apply to persons residing illegally within the borders of the United States nor any of its possessions, nor to enemy combatants.
4 comments:
LR, where were you in the 1700's when we needed you?
I believe that the Founding Fathers actually MEANT for the Constitution to read that way, and when they wrote it, everyone understood that.
The problem is that today, everything has to be written so that it spells out every little detail, or else people will intentionally misunderstand it, and Lawyers and power hungry Judges are all to willing to help them twist it up to serve their own purposes.
Liberals are expert at distorting things to make them read their way. All it takes is twisting one little word. How freedom of speech got to be freedom of expression is beyond me.
Amendment XII is looking pretty good to me. I don't know about XI though, because it would eliminate a major source of government revenue if not all of it.
This country survived just fine without an income tax until 1862. The first permanent income tax wasn't passed until 1913 with the ratification of the 16th amendment. Since most of what the federal government does is unconstitutional anyway, maybe if we stopped funding it, they would stop doing it.
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