"With freedom and liberty for all"?

By JR Dieckmann

Look not to government to make your life better. Look to yourself to take advantage of the opportunities this great country provides. That is the message that needs to be sent to the American people and especially the Congress of the United States and those members who think government should be doing everything for us.

The states were not created by the federal government. The Federal government was created by the states to represent them in a common forum. That is why this country was named "The United States of America." But somehow, the federal government has been able to seize control over the states by imposing unconstitutional laws along with income and other taxes which are used to offer additional funding to states who comply with their mandates. The states in turn have become addicted to federal government subsidies and now Congress wants us, the people, to also become dependent on them. This simply must stop.

Our economy is on the verge of bankruptcy because of excessive federal spending and if Democrats have their way, they will take as much of our money as possible through high taxes and use it for government services to ensnare us in government dependency before the collapse. If we allow this to happen, we will become victims of the government and left out in the cold when government can no longer take care of us.

That day may be coming soon. All it will take is one good terrorist attack on a major city or two, or for China to call in our debt. The last attack on our World Trade Center started a chain of events rolling that caused our national debt to skyrocket. We simply cannot afford another attack and expect our economy to survive with the current level of federal spending. We need a reserve but have none.

Government cannot continue with this excessive spending without eventually collapsing the economy or becoming a communist state by taking control of business and industry to maintain their radical spending practices. 44% of our national debt is now owned by foreigners, and about half of that is owned by the governments of China and Japan. This gives them a strong influence in our foreign policy. When you owe someone a lot of money, you don't want to anger them. Why do you suppose we are still importing poison and toxic food and toys from China?

Sure, the economic figures are looking good. Low unemployment, high productivity, high home ownership figures, and a strong stock market, but it's all being done on borrowed money. The current national debt at the time of this writing stands at $9.116 trillion and as the debt goes up the value of the dollar goes down.

Because of this, the dollar has been devaluated to just 60% of what it was worth on the international market only a few years ago before 911. Foreign traders are now choosing to trade in Euros instead of dollars as they loose confidence in our ability to make good on our debts.

According to a news conference aired on CSPAN this morning, Sen. Harry Reid would have you believe this debt is due to the $800 billion spent to fight the war in Iraq and Afghanistan although Reid didn't mention Afghanistan, only Iraq. He said this money would better be spent on healthcare, housing for the poor, and paying people's utility bills who can't afford them, instead of fighting "a civil war in Iraq." If Harry is so concerned about government spending then why would he want to take that same money being spent to fight a war and spend it elsewhere instead of cutting it from the budget?

Obviously, it's not the spending that Harry objects to. It's the war. This is just the latest misguided attempt by Democrats to mislead the public and try to convince the American people that defeat and surrender to Islamofascism would be good for the country. War is actually good for the economy in that it creates lots of jobs and innovations within the defense industry and their contractors while there is virtually no return on giving money to the poor.

It's hard to believe that a person in a top leadership positions of this country could stand up in front of the press and the television cameras complaining about defense spending, deny the great progress being made in Iraq, and again demand a change of course, while promoting socialist spending programs as Reid did this week. Has Harry gone completely off his rocker? He's become about as useful in Congress as a Chia Pet, and not a whole lot smarter.

The fact of the matter is that fighting wars is one of the things that the Constitution authorizes Congress to spend tax money on. It does not authorize Congress to spend our tax dollars on healthcare, low cost housing, earmarks to campaign supporters, or private utility bills as Harry suggests.

I have often made reference to the Enumeration of Powers in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution which defines the powers of congress. Let's take a closer look at this section. It is prefaced with the following statement:

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

This says that Congress is granted the power to tax and spend, but all taxes and spending must apply to everyone equally. It then goes on to define specifically what that power includes:

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

That speaks for itself and our government has taken full advantage of it.

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

In other words, to act as a regulating agent in interstate commerce and foreign trade.

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;

Immigration and bankruptcy policies to be uniform throughout the states.

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

To establish the U.S. Mint and a uniform standard of weights and measures.

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;

That speaks for itself.

To establish post offices and post roads;

This paves the way for the Highway Dept. and the U.S. Post Office. It provides for roads needed for the movement and delivery of U.S. mail.

(Keep reading. There is a reason for all this.)

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

This provides for the U.S. patent office and establishes copyright laws to encourage individual creativity for profit.

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

This is where Henry Waxman gets his power to hold never ending congressional investigations into the Bush Administration's activities.

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

The power to prosecute and punish international criminals involved in crimes against the United States outside the national borders.

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

Allows Congress, in addition to declaring war, to authorize private persons or companies to act as agents outside the U.S. borders in defense or retaliations for attacks or crimes against America. Also to establish rules for dealing with those captured in such actions.

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

The authorization to create and fund the Department of Defense and explains why the defense appropriations bill must be renewed every two years.

To provide and maintain a navy;

If we have an army, we're going to need a navy to get them to the war and defend our interests on the high seas. This authorizes Congress to fund the navy.

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

Authorizes Congress to establish operating rules for government agencies including the army, navy, and marines, but doesn't say anything about the Air Force, so go for it boys before they change the Constitution.

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

Authorizes Congress to call up armed forces to suppress riots and drive back invasions of our sovereign soil from places such as Mexico. We can expect Congress to continue ignoring that one.

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Establishes uniform rules, equipment and organization of the state's National Guards, and authority over them when in the service of the United States.

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;

This basically establishes Washington D.C. and all other federal reserves under the authority and regulation of the U.S. Congress.

And To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Notice above it states Congress is authorized to make all laws necessary to carry out the forgoing powers (listed here) and to make laws necessary for carrying out the other provisions of this Constitution. This is the limit of congressional powers. The 10th Amendment states that all other powers are reserved to the states and to the people.

It is clear that the Constitution does authorize Congress to fund military operations on foreign soil and in fact, the primary duty of all elected officials is to defend the Constitution and the United States of America from all enemies foreign and domestic, according to their oath of office.

By now, it should also be clear that Congress and the federal government has absolutely no constitutional authorization to regulate or fund healthcare, low cost housing, private utility bills, farm aid, foreign aid, welfare, social services, education, private enterprise within state lines, civil rights beyond the right to vote (15th Amendment), regulation of firearms, or any of the thousands of other freedoms they have stolen from us in their abuse of power.

The answer to Harry Reid is, cut out the unconstitutional spending so that there is enough money to fund the things that the Constitution authorizes you to fund.

America was a free country until the 20th century when career politicians began making Congress a full time job. We now have 535 career politicians with nothing better to do than to spend their time finding ways to spend our money and making unnecessary laws for the rest of us to live by. They keep the wheels of their machine grinding away simply to justify their own existence, ambitions, and power but do little for the country that doesn't have to be undone later on down the road with more laws and more spending.

The more time these people have on their hands, the more laws they think up and the more of our hard earned money they find ways to spend. It is important to understand that every single law passed by our government represents another freedom taken away from us. And when they are not busy taking away our freedom and liberties, they are taking away our hard earned money to give to someone else of their choosing.

This is not the America our founders intended. I often think about how it was in the wild west when men were really free. Local law was the prime law and people survived by being self reliant and not dependent on any government. That was when America was really America. We have allowed our free America to become a nation of regulations under the elected elite and a nanny state that takes what we earn and gives it to those who don't for the sake of their own reelection votes.

And now Democrats want to take it to the next level with the election of Hillary "Marx" Clinton. At this rate, I predict there won't be much difference between the United States of America and Russia under the former Soviet Union within the next 20 years. Everything must be regulated and controlled by federal government to assure that everyone is equal and life is fair for everyone. Everyone, that is, except those who would take personal responsibility for their own lives.

Is that what Americans really want? It's what we will get if we don't take back our government and return it to what it was before it's servants lost sight of our Constitution and declared themselves absolute rulers of the people. In 1903, Congressmen and Senators served a total of 73 days a year in Congress. Today it's more like 225 days a year but only about 10% of those days produce anything useful. It's time now for all of them to find new jobs, return the control of America to the people, and restore freedom and liberty to America.

© JR Dieckmann