Constitutional Amendments – Article XIV

 Posted by at 4:03 am  Editorial, Politics
Jul 262010
 

 constitution

We have been covering the US Constitution line by line.  When Republicans wave their paper props and parrot their vile machinations, we will be prepared to expose the lies.  We have finished the main body of the Constitution.  Now we continue with the Amendments.  You can find the last article on the main body of the Constitution here. It has links to all the others.  The text comes from The US Constitution.  Previous articles in the Amendment series:

Article I
Articles II and III
Article IV
Article V
Article VI
Article VII
Article VIII
Articles IX and X
Articles XI and XII
Article XIII

 

Article XIV

1:  All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.  No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

2:  Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.  But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

3:  No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.  But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

4:  The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.  But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

5:  The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

The Fourteenth Amendment contains several points of controversy.

Section 1 declares that all people born in a state are citizens of both the US and that state.  It forbids states from passing and enforcing legislation that abridges the rights of citizens.  This is controversial, because Republicans want to strip the citizenship from so called “anchor babies”, the children of the undocumented born in the US.  They whine that these children consume resources that should only benefit American families and that the accident of their birth here does not make them Americans.  To them I say that the we are all citizens by the accident of our birth here.  Since red states consume public resources at a higher rate than they contribute, Republicans are no more deserving of citizenship than those they despise.  But stripping their citizenship is unconstitutional, as is stripping the citizenship of the children of the undocumented born here.

Section one continues to guarantee due process.  This is controversial on a nonpartisan basis, because the IRS regularly deprives people of property for income tax delinquency without due process, leaving it up to the victims of this practice to prove that they are not delinquent.  Even then, people only recover the auction price the IRS received for the property, not its fair market value.

Finally Section 1 guarantees equal protection of the law.  This is controversial, because Republicans support racial profiling in violation of this guarantee.  Also, Republicans have repeatedly used illegal means to disenfranchise poor and minority voters.

Section 2 removed the 3/5 person valuation of African Americans in the census, and counted all males, 21 and over for determining levels of representation.  It also reduces that number for disenfranchised individuals.  Racist disenfranchisement, Democratic before 1964 and Republican since, has been all but ignored.

Section 3 bars public service to any who had violated a previous oath to support the Constitution and then joined the Confederacy.  It is not controversial, because it no longer applies.  It could be in the future, should Republicans follow through on their threats of secession and/or Second Amendment solutions.

Section 4 validates Union debts and invalidates both Confederate debts and claims of loss through the emancipation of slaves.  It is no longer controversial.

Second 5 provides for enforcement.

I shall try to put up a new article in this series almost every day.  It will take some time to cover it all, but when we’re done, we shall be immune to the lies with which Republicans seek to undermine our freedoms.

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Net Roots Show Frustration

 Posted by at 4:02 am  Politics
Jul 262010
 

Many of us on the left are not happy with the pace of progress.  How should we respond?

26Obama President Barack Obama Saturday tried to calm liberals frustrated by what they consider slow progress on their favorite causes, urging Democratic bloggers and activists to be patient and work with him.

"Change hasn’t come fast enough for too many Americans; I know that," Obama said in a four-minute video message to the Netroots Nation convention. "It hasn’t come fast enough for me, either. And I know it hasn’t come fast enough for many of you who fought so hard during the election."

Obama, a last-minute addition to the convention program, has been both a hero and an obstacle to the 2,000 liberal Democrats who’ve been meeting since Thursday to plot their political future.

After two days of strategy seminars, the crowd Saturday also spent an hour gently grilling House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who got a standing ovation, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Reid got a similar ovation, but his comments were received with only polite applause because he presides over a chamber where popular legislation on government-run health care, energy policy and other proposals have been stymied.

"There are times I get on your nerves," he said with a smile. "I’m here to tell you you get on my nerves."

Obama is an even more difficult figure for the netroots. They think their Internet networks helped elect him in 2008 _ and Obama Saturday acknowledged their influence, referring to them as "we" _ but they want to see a greater push in several areas, including health care, financial regulation, gay rights and other issues.

Be patient, Obama urged them. His message included a brief recitation of his accomplishments by liberal TV commentator Rachel Maddow, who noted that Congress has passed landmark health care and financial regulation legislation.

Remember, Obama said, "The fact is it took years to get here. It’ll take time to get us out." Look at the journey, not its endpoint so far, he urged.

"In ways large and small, we’ve begun to deliver on the change you’ve fought so hard for," he said.

The former Chicago community organizer praised the netroots’ chief political tactic, organizing from the ground up.

"Change is hard, but if we’ve learned anything these past 18 months, it’s that change is possible," Obama said. "The change doesn’t come from the top down, it comes from the bottom up, it comes from the netroots, from the grassroots, every American who loves their country and believes they can make a difference."

Pelosi defended Obama and Congress, blaming Republicans for delaying progress on key issues.

She won the crowd by sharing its frustration. More can be done on jobs and health care, for instance, she said, but added that "the leverage has changed" since major legislation shifts power to consumers and away from special interests.

Her most forceful pitch involved climate change legislation. Senate Democratic leaders this week abandoned an effort to vote this summer on legislation to help limit global warming. The House passed a similar measure last year.

"Time is running out. This is not an issue you can walk away from," Pelosi insisted. "Sooner or later this has to happen, the sooner the better."

Reid offered elaborate praise for the group and explained why it takes 60 votes, the number needed to cut off debate, to get anything done in the Senate. While some attendees have said that at one point in the 111th Congress, Democrats controlled 60 seats, Reid said, "We only had 60 seats for a few weeks."

Democrats today control 59 of the 100 Senate seats.

His message was similar to Obama’s: Stick with us… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <McClatchy DC>

Like many of you I feel very frustrated over the lack of progress on key issues, especially climate change.  Early in Obama’s term I said that Pelosi and Reid may have been well suited as minority leaders, but lacked the gumption to be effective as Speaker and Majority Leader.

I was wrong about Pelosi.  She has passed legislation on issue after issue, only to see it stalled in the Senate.

I was right about Reid.  He may whine about needing 60 votes, but on the first day of the current session last January, he could have changed the filibuster and hold rules with a simple majority vote.  By then, GOP tactics were clear.  He missed that opportunity.  We missed an opportunity too.  We could have challenged Reid in the Nevada primary, running a retarded chimpanzee with extreme body odor and excessive flatulence, who throws feces and masturbates in public.  Even that a candidate could easily beat Sharon Angle and Nevada would have a more effective Senator than Leg-hound Harry, who has spent more effort humping Republican legs that moving progressive issues.  Reid should have been greeted with only boos.

Here is Obama’s message:

I agree.  Rachel Maddow was right on.  No President has accomplished this much since FDR.  While I wish Obama were more progressive, I knew he was a centrist, when I voted for him.  Even then I spoke of my fears that many who were overcome with Obamaphilia would be disappointed, because they were basing expectations on who they wanted him to be.  Given the alternative, I am not prepared to throw this man or this party under the bus, but I will accept his offer.  I will continue to hold him accountable, and when I believe he is wrong, I will say so.

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Play Fantasy Football with Lefty Bloggers and Friends

 Posted by at 4:00 am  Plus
Jul 262010
 

LBaF Lefty Bloggers and Friends is a private league by invitation only.  It will have twelve teams.  My team is TC’s Teabuggery Trashers.  To join the league, first register at CBS Sports (click here).  Then send me email at tomcat1948@gmail.com, using the same email address you used to register at CBS.  I will then send you an invitation from within the league.

The live draft will be Saturday, August 7 at 12:15 PM ET (9:15 AM PT).  There’s not much to do there yet, because they just opened fantasy football, but I wanted to start seeking players ASAP, because we’ll lose the league unless we have all 12 slots filled.  We currently have 7 players and need five more to be able to play.  Won’t you join is?

Update 7/26: When Lisa joins we will have 9 players.  We need three more to be able to play. If you have any friends who might enjoy this, please send them.

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Open Thread – 7/26/2010

 Posted by at 3:55 am  Open Thread, Personal
Jul 262010
 

Yesterday my need for sleep won out over the heat and I finally got some.  The heat wave continues here, but in the last hour the temperature in my apartment dipped below 90°.  I have a lot of catching up to do.  I don’t know how much I will accomplish today, because I have my monthly grocery delivery coming today, and putting it all away is a strain even under normal circumstances.

Jig Zone Puzzles:

Today’s took me 4:24.  To do it, click here.

Yesterday’s took me 4:04.  To do it, click here.

Saturday’s took me 4:10.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Sebastián Piñera, Chile’s president, abruptly rejected calls on Sunday from the Roman Catholic Church to pardon dozens of imprisoned military officials convicted of human rights violations during the era known as Chile’s dirty war.

Chile’s dirty war was the GOP inspired coup in which Nixon and Kissinger plotted the overthrow and murder of President Allende.  Many of the military officers imprisoned in Chile now received their training in the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA.

From The Colorado Statesman: Predicting that the winner of the Republican gubernatorial contest between candidates Dan Maes and Scott McInnis is doomed to lose to Democratic candidate Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in the general election, former Congressman Tom Tancredo has pitched a “Catch 22” plan — the GOP candidates either vow to quit the race after the primary or Tancredo will run as the American Constitution Party candidate against the Republican primary winner and Hickenlooper.

Tancredo is a typical Republican in that he plots to get something he has not earned.

From Think Progress: Compensating for damage the Republican National Committee’s unsteadiness may cause Republican candidates this fall, several high-profile GOP operatives — including Karl Rove and two former RNC chairmen — recently founded American Crossroads as a “grassroots,” “shadow RNC.” Salon’s Justin Elliott now reports that the group raised 97 percent of its funding from just four billionaires.

This should be no surprise, since folks like these ate the only ones Republicans truly represent.

Cartoon: from Cagle.com

26beeler

OGIM!!

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Krugman: Addicted to Bush

 Posted by at 4:48 am  Politics
Jul 232010
 

Paul Krugman wrote an excellent editorial about hoe Republicans are trying to resurrect the failed Presidency of GW Bush.

23reich For a couple of years, it was the love that dared not speak his name. In 2008, Republican candidates hardly ever mentioned the president still sitting in the White House. After the election, the G.O.P. did its best to shout down all talk about how we got into the mess we’re in, insisting that we needed to look forward, not back. And many in the news media played along, acting as if it was somehow uncouth for Democrats even to mention the Bush era and its legacy.

The truth, however, is that the only problem Republicans ever had with George W. Bush was his low approval rating. They always loved his policies and his governing style — and they want them back. In recent weeks, G.O.P. leaders have come out for a complete return to the Bush agenda, including tax breaks for the rich and financial deregulation. They’ve even resurrected the plan to cut future Social Security benefits.

But they have a problem: how can they embrace President Bush’s policies, given his record? After all, Mr. Bush’s two signature initiatives were tax cuts and the invasion of Iraq; both, in the eyes of the public, were abject failures. Tax cuts never yielded the promised prosperity, but along with other policies — especially the unfunded war in Iraq — they converted a budget surplus into a persistent deficit. Meanwhile, the W.M.D. we invaded Iraq to eliminate turned out not to exist, and by 2008 a majority of the public believed not just that the invasion was a mistake but that the Bush administration deliberately misled the nation into war. What’s a Republican to do?

You know the answer. There’s now a concerted effort under way to rehabilitate Mr. Bush’s image on at least three fronts: the economy, the deficit and the war.

On the economy: Last week Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, declared that “there’s no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue. They increased revenue, because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy.” So now the word is that the Bush-era economy was characterized by “vibrancy.”…

…On the deficit: Republicans are now claiming that the Bush administration was actually a paragon of fiscal responsibility, and that the deficit is Mr. Obama’s fault. “The last year of the Bush administration,” said Mr. McConnell recently, “the deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product was 3.2 percent, well within the range of what most economists think is manageable. A year and a half later, it’s almost 10 percent.”

But that 3.2 percent figure, it turns out, is for fiscal 2008 — which wasn’t the last year of the Bush administration, because it ended in September of 2008. In other words, it ended just as the failure of Lehman Brothers — on Mr. Bush’s watch — was triggering a broad financial and economic collapse…

…Finally, on the war: For most Americans, the whole debate about the war is old if painful news — but not for those obsessed with refurbishing the Bush image. Karl Rove now claims that his biggest mistake was letting Democrats get away with the “shameful” claim that the Bush administration hyped the case for invading Iraq. Let the whitewashing begin!

Again, Republicans aren’t trying to rescue George W. Bush’s reputation for sentimental reasons; they’re trying to clear the way for a return to Bush policies. And this carries a message for anyone hoping that the next time Republicans are in power, they’ll behave differently. If you believe that they’ve learned something — say, about fiscal prudence or the importance of effective regulation — you’re kidding yourself. You might as well face it: they’re addicted to Bush.  [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Many days, I feel almost as angry at Democrats as I do at Republicans.  I’ve seen bigger balls on a mouse.  But I temper that anger, because of something Benjamin Franklin said in 1787.  Asked what form of government our new nation will have, as the Constitutional Convention closed, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Today, our government is more representative of a corporate plutocracy than a republic.  The last vestiges of our Republic stand threatened.  We weathered the Fourth Reich only because it lasted just eight years.  If Republicans are allowed to establish a Fifth Reich, our republic will not survive.

We desperately need to drain the Democratic Party swamp, but right now, our spineless Democrats are the only thing standing between us and a complete loss of representative government.

Every Republican in office is one Republican too many!
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Rachel Maddow: Dealing with Right Ring Smears

 Posted by at 4:18 am  Politics
Jul 232010
 

Rachel discusses how the Obama administration should deal with right wing smears, and journalist, Jonathan Alter, disagrees.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rachel’s most important line in this was “Be proactive, and fight back!”  I agree.  I would suggest that he could best accomplish this by bringing back some of the progressive advisors, who helped him win the election.  He was mistaken not to have kept them, instead of the more establishment advisors that he did choose.  The latter have served him poorly on several fronts, including this one.

I disagree with Jonathan Alter.  He argued that fighting back is not worth consuming three or four news cycles.  It has consumed three or four news cycles anyway.  The difference is that, if he had fought back, he would have come out of this smelling like a rose, instead of just smelling.  Alter also suggests that fighting back might alienate people in Congress.  He must be referring to Republicans.  Alienating Republicans is like encouraging nuns to be Catholic.  They could not be more alienated than they already are.  Alter is giving the same advise as those advisors who are failing him.  He is wrong!

I was pleased to learn that Obama and Vilsack did apologize to Shirley Sherrod, who is considering a new job offer.

I’m probably done covering this, unless further developments prove newsworthy, like Obama tearing Breitbart, Beck and the GOP Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, a new one. {{{PLEASE!!}}}

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