From the News
294 – Congressional Term Limits
U.S. Representative Tim Burchett has introduced a bill to limit the number of terms members of Congress can serve. I’ve talked before about term limits, but this seems to be a good opportunity to look at the details both to the legislation and the idea of term limits.
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291 – The Supremacy Clause and the Tenth Amendment v. Mandates
By now, you’ve probably heard of Jen Psaki’s response to a question about Texas standing up to Biden’s threatened vaccine mandate. She stated that federal law trumps state law. I guess it’s true that the best lie should contain a bit of truth. Today, let’s answer the question of whether federal law always trumps state law. Let’s do so by looking at the original documents, so we can answer this question not only when it comes to vaccine mandates, but all of the acts coming out of Washington, D.C.
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290 – Illinois Gun Tax Case
I usually cover cases involving the Constitution of the United States. Today however, I am looking at a case out of the State of Illinois involving that state’s constitution and the question of county gun and ammo taxes. While the appellant’s complaint argues that these taxes violate the both Article I, Section 22 of the Illinois Constituiton and Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Illinois Supreme Court instead focused on the taxing power of the county. While Cook County gun owners may be happy with the outcome, as a constitutional scholar I find the majority opinion woefully lacking.
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287 – Privacy vs Government Interest
Most Americans believe they have a right to privacy. Many Americans want governments to protect them from “bad actors”. What happens when our right to privacy collides with our desire for government to protect us? A recent Supreme Court case out of California involves the question of how far government can go to protect us. Specifically, is it necessary for governments to collect data about citizens in order to find criminals? As William Pitt (the Younger) said “Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.” While this case deals with California law, we should be asking bigger question. Does “government interest” trump our rights and the Constitutions of our states and the United States?
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286 – Is Transgenderism Contagious?
A recent case out of the Court of Appeals of the State of California brings up some interesting questions. First, does someone have the legal right to tell you how to refer to them? Second, does a mental disorder give someone the legal authority to infringe on the rights of others. The opinion in this case shows the irrationality of both the transgender activists and the judicial branch. Which leads me to a question, is the mental confusion we call transgenderism contagious?
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285 – Promoting Freedom or Just Another Form of Tyranny?
Many people have pointed to Florida as an example of a state protecting the rights and liberty of its citizens. They point to the state’s responses to COVID and Big-Tech as examples of not just upholding the rights of those in the Sunshine State, but specifically the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, an objective look at some recent legislation and executive actions shows that when it comes to rights and liberty, not all in Florida is sunshine.
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282 – Texas v. Roe
The recent Texas law SB8 has been described as an attack on the right to abortion. The case challenging the law, Whole Woman’s Health et al, v. Austin Reeve Jackson, Judge, et al, has become a lightening rod for abortion activists. Referring to the law as both extreme and a blatant violation of constitutional rights, President Biden has been one of the chief spokesmen opposing this law and the decision of the Supreme Court. By going to the original documents we can cut through the hype and understand the truth, not only about the law but the court’s opinion as well.
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280 – Eviction Moratorium Fiasco
There has been a fair amount of focus lately on the CDC eviction moratorium, including court findings and the fact that President Biden ignored them. By doing some research, we can find out the facts of this case, including the good, bad, and ugly when it comes to the constitutionality of the different actions. Let’s take a look at those details, and determine for ourselves what we should do about it.
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