Commentary

408 – Primaries, What Are They Good For?

I propose that all board elections for non-profit corporations should be run by the state at taxpayer expense. After all, we already have taxpayer funded elections for private organizations. We call them “Primaries”.

While this year’s presidential primary is pretty much a fait accompli, there are still hundreds, if not thousands of primary elections that will be held over the next few months. In some cases the race is so partisan that the primary effectively decides the race and the general election is moot.

What is the purpose of these taxpayer funded private elections? Why to limit your choices on election day of course. So why do we keep paying for someone else to take away our choices?

402 – New Years

I don’t “do” New Years Resolutions. To me, they’re one step above a campaign promise. (At least you intend to keep your resolutions.) That said, the beginning of a new year is a good time to consider your future. What plans do you have for the new year? While I do not make New Years Resolutions, if you do, here are a few ideas I think you should consider.

401 – A Christmas Wish

Thankfully, I have not seen the level of controversy over name “Christmas” this year that I’ve seen in years past. Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, 5 USC §6103 lists December 25th as the holiday “Christmas Day”, which is why government offices are shutdown today.

Since I do celebrate the holiday, I decided to take a few minutes, and consider a few some Christmas wishes I have for you, this country, and The Constitution Study.

400 – Washington’s Farewell Address – Part 2

As he prepared to leave office, President George Washington gave to us a Farewell Address.

Friends and Citizens: 

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. 

Washington’s Farewell Address 1796

As our thoughts are employed in the designation of the person who is to be clothed with the trust of administering the executive branch of the government of the United States, I think we should look back at the advice and warnings from the first occupant of that office.

399 – Washington’s Farewell Address – Part 1

As he prepared to leave office, President George Washington gave to us a Farewell Address.

Friends and Citizens: 

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. 

Washington’s Farewell Address 1796

As our thoughts are employed in the designation of the person who is to be clothed with the trust of administering the executive branch of the government of the United States, I think we should look back at the advice and warnings from the first occupant of that office.

398 – Will America be Destroyed From the Inside?

In 1837, Daniel Webster wrote:

“I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe… Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger.”

I’ve been thinking about that statement lately. I came across a video that I had forgotten about. It’s part of an interview with Soviet defector Yuri Bezmanov. Mr Bezmanov was a former KGB agent who defected to Canada in 1970. Then, in 1984, he gave an interview to G Edward Griffin where he exposed a long-term Soviet plan to defeat America not by force of arms, but through psychological warfare.

You may be asking, what does a late 20th century defector have to do with a 19th century lawyer and statesman, and how could it possibly be relevant to our situation in the 2020s? Come to find out, both of these men were quite prescient in their warnings to the American people.

yuri bezmanov, bezmanov, daniel webster, webster, freedom, foe, foreign, foreign influence, warfare, psychological warfare, decline, fall, russia, soviet union,

397 – Truth Under Attack

There have always been attacks on what is true. From the serpent in the Garden of Eden asking “Did God really say…” to today’s attempts to quash “disinformation”, truth has been under attack. While many of these attacks have been about what the truth is, over the past couple of generations, the idea of truth itself has been under attack. Why is that so? In the Gospel of John, Jesus said:

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:32 (NKJV)

Could the answer be that simple? Could the attacks on the very idea of truth simply be attacks on our freedom? If that is true, then what can we do to defend not only our freedom, but the very idea of freedom itself?

392 – Your Right to Remain Silent

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…

Miranda Warning

If you’ve ever been taken into custody, or simply watched a crime procedural on TV, you’re familiar with the Miranda warning, named after the 1966 Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona. However, if you’re getting your legal advice from television, you may find yourself in serious legal trouble. Where does this right to remain silent come from, how is it protected, and just how constitutional is the Miranda decision?