The Study Corner

388 – Executive Orders or Edicts?

President Obama famously said:

“We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation,… I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone…and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions.”

President Obama on CBS News

This is a perfect example of executive overreach should go down in history as the abuse of a President’s executive power to usurp the powers of other branches

387 – Honoring Constitution Day

Yesterday, September 17, 2023 was the 236th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. Did you, your family, or your neighbors honor that day? Have you considered what parts of your life you enjoy because of that documents and the 27 amendments that have been made to it? Have you considered what your life, and that of your family, would be like should that document continue its fall into obscurity? To paraphrase William Shakespeare, “It was a constitution, take it for all in all, I shall not look upon its like again.”
Today, I want to take sometime to consider not only what life would be like with a neutered and disabled Constitution, but what we are willing to do in order to keep it, and the protection of our rights it affords, alive and well in America. In our national anthem, we proclaim that the United Staters of America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. If we let the Constitution fall, then we will no longer be the land of the free, because We the People have not been brave.

20230914 – Liberty Lighthouse

Two hours of common sense and constitutional disscussion with: – your phone calls – guest Paul Engel of ConstitutiionStudy.com – and Scott Thompson of Right To Bear insurance (use code LIGHTHOUSE at protectwithbear.com) Liberty Lighthouse

385 – Do Artificial Intelligences Have Rights?

With the release of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) applications, there has been a lot of speculation and downright assertions about our future. With over 30 years of experience in Information Technology (IT), not more than a passing understanding of AIs, I’ve come to the conclusion that much of what I’ve heard is more science fiction than fact. A recent court case decided in the D.C. District Court revolved around one very important question. Do AIs have rights?

381 – The Role of the Federal Courts

In this third installment of the three-part series on the branches of government, we look at the role of the third and weakest branch. At least that is what our Founding Fathers thought of it. What is the role of the federal judiciary? What are the extent of their powers, how do they related to the other two branches of government, and why is a proper understanding of the role of the judiciary critical if the United States is to remain a constitutional republic?

380 – Compounding Errors in Favor of Religious Liberty

Our judicial system today works like a bad case of the game “telephone”. You probably remember that game from grammar school. The teacher would whisper something into one child’s ear, who would then whisper it into the next child’s ear, and on and on until the message got all the way around the room. Then the teacher would compare what they had whispered in to the first child’s ear with what the last child heard, and it would be completely different. This child’s game shows the dangers of what I call a “compounding replication error”, the idea that small errors that occur when something like a message is replicated, compounded with each new replica, until the original message is lost. This is how our judicial system works today, often with disastrous effects. In the case of Groff v. Dejoy, Postmaster General most people see a win for religious liberty. I, however, see another generation of a compounding replication error in judicial opinion that, while granting the correct outcome today, lays the groundwork for the destruction of our rights and the rule of law tomorrow

379 – Racism, By Any Other Name, is Just as Perverse

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines racism as:

racism noun a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
Racism – Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

This idea has taken many forms in American history, slavery, Jim Crow laws, Black Codes, eugenics, and yes affirmative action. Regardless of the euphemism you use, all of these policies are based in the idea that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities.

378 – The Role of the Presidency

This is the second in a three-part series on the branches of the federal government. The first article covered the Legislative branch, in this well look at the role of the executive branch. While there are many misconceptions about the roles of the three branches of government, some of the most seem to be reserved to the executive. Like referring to the President as the most powerful man in the world, or to an independent executive agency. So let’s delve into Article II of the Constitution and learn more about our nation’s chief executive.