It is glaringly obvious that Congress does not read legislation, Or, they do not know what is stated in The First Amendment. REDUX

These elected clowns keep doing it !

Cyber Security Act of 2009

Or, more descriptive The Complete Elimination of Free Speech When We Want To Act of 2009.

Call your Senators, before it, too, is an act of Right-Wing Extremism

It is glaringly obvious that Congress does not read legislation, Or, they do not know what is stated in The First Amendment.

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that will transform all the reasons and results of AmeriCorps forever.
It is currently in The US Senate.

The language of HR 1388; The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act includes the following language:

‘(3) YOUTH ENGAGEMENT ZONE PROGRAM- The term ‘youth engagement zone program’ means a service learning program in which members of an eligible partnership described in paragraph (4) collaborate to provide coordinated school-based or community-based service learning opportunities, to address a specific community challenge, for an increasing percentage of out-of-school youth and secondary school students served by local educational agencies where--
‘(A) not less than 90 percent of the students participate in service-learning activities as part of the program; or
‘(B) service-learning is a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency

What part of Volunteering is mandatory ?

Many other writers will refer to the violations of the the proscription of slavery.
Most of those, however, see no problem with military conscription, though, despite the specific language of Thirteenth Amendment to The United States Constitution:

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

My major concern with this latest far-reaching encroachment on Civil Liberties is in the language of Title I, Subtitle C, Section 1304:

SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
‘(a) Prohibited Activities- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities:
‘(1) Attempting to influence legislation.
‘(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.
‘(3) Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing.
‘(4) Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements.
‘(5) Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office.
‘(6) Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials.
‘(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.
‘(8) Providing a direct benefit to--
‘(A) a business organized for profit;
‘(B) a labor organization;
‘(C) a partisan political organization;
‘(D) a nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 except that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and
‘(E) an organization engaged in the religious activities described in paragraph (7), unless Corporation assistance is not used to support those religious activities.
‘(9) Conducting a voter registration drive or using Corporation funds to conduct a voter registration drive.
‘(10) Such other activities as the Corporation may prohibit.
‘(b) Ineligible Organizations- No assistance provided under this subtitle may be provided to the following types of organizations (including the participation of a participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle in activities conducted by such organizations) or to organizations that are co-located on the same premises as the following organizations:
‘(1) Organizations that provide or promote abortion services, including referral for such services.
‘(2) For-profit organizations, political parties, labor organizations, or organizations engaged in political or legislative advocacy.
‘(3) Organizations that have been indicted for voter fraud.
‘(c) Nondisplacement of Employed Workers or Other Volunteers- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not perform any services or duties or engage in activities which--
‘(1) would otherwise be performed by an employed worker as part of his or her assigned duties as an employee or by another volunteer who is not a participant in an approved national service position; or
‘(2) will supplant the hiring of employed workers or work of such other volunteers.’.

You read that right

There are countless items listed that are verboten. Clearly, solidly and strongly this language violates The First Amendment to The United States Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

How is it possible that these elected representatives have made it to the point in life they are at in this country and not know the First Amendment to The United States Constitution ?

Congress steps up its Un-Constitutional Acts under the guise of Outrage

A very bad bill went through both houses of the Congress because they did not read the language.

The President signed it into law without reading the language.

So, now, in an effort to create outrage, in order to distract the public from more bad plans in the Congress, they have passed a bill in the United States House of Representatives that will take a big thick black permanent marker to The United States Constitution.

Article I Section 9:

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

That means that the Congress cannot retroactively rewrite the terms of a contract.

That means that if it has already happened, and it was legal when it happened, it can not be retroactively made illegal.

Yet, the Congress wishes to retroactively tax a legal, contractual payment after the fact. A payment that was expressly approved in the great big bill that no-one read, except the guy that wrote that provision, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT).

What else will they go after ?

How far will they be allowed to go before we stop these attacks on The United States Constitution ?!?!?!?!?

When will the Congress read anything ?

In both houses of Congress there has been approved differing bills that would attempt to over-ride the Constitutionally assigned powers of all legislation in The District of Columbia.

The United States Constitution spells out in very plain language in Article I Section 2:

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

and Article I Section 8:

The Congress shall have Power.........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

The only thing stopping this egregious un-Constitutional bill is an even more un-Constitutional measure contained in the bill passed by The United States Senate, stopping it only until both Houses come to an agreement on how make something bad passable. The Senate bill has a provision that tramples on The 2nd Amendment in the same manner as the previous DC gun laws. They are trying to say that DC should have Congressional representation just as long as they surrender their right to representation. But, that is another story.

The District of Columbia is, as it was set up to be, the seat of the federal government. Subject to the legislative authority of Congress. Not a test case for the total disregard of specific language in The Constitution.

Over are the days of extending extra-Constitutional meaning to clauses.

Now there is the complete disregard to the meaning of the word State. The District of Columbia is not a State. If it were to be granted Statehood, then there will be need to move the seat of government to a new region ceded from a current State, or States.

Is that the goal of these stupid, arrogant, self-serving, asinine, illiterate, moronic, bunch of know-nothings that have been sent to Congress in our names ?!?!?!?!?!?

The 44th President of The United States of America - Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.

In full accord with The United States Constitution, the part we all know, we once again witnessed a peaceful transfer of power.

This is a feat that NO other country has ever been able to do for as long as we have. For over 200 years we have been witnesses to what many other Republics can still only hope to achieve.

We also were witnesses to the centuries-old traditions of pomp and ceremony of which such an astounding achievement is worthy.

Do not let this event pass without realizing the profound significance.

Do not be lulled into a sleep induced by how well we do this wonderful, peaceful transition.

History tells us it will not last.

We must remain ever vigilant.

Ever ready to preserve such greatness; for it is greatness that allows us such an event to be peaceful.

President-Elect Barack H. Obama

Despite how uninformed or uninterested the Obama camp was with The United States Constitution, with all of their attempts to pretend otherwise, there was no President-Elect until the votes of the Electors of the Several States were tabulated and certified.
As directed in Article II Section 1:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

and
Amendment 12:

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;

The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed

As President of The Senate, Vice-President Cheney announced

"Pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the United States, the Senate and House of Representatives are meeting in joint session to verify the certificates and count the votes of the electors of the several states,"

VP Cheney then opened and presented, in alphabetical order, the certificates of the electoral votes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Each certificate was read by two members of The Senate; Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert F. Bennett, R-UT, and two members of the House; Robert A. Brady, D-PA, and Vernon J. Ehlers, R-MI.

After the reading of the certificates, which were without objections, the vote totals were read:

Barack H. Obama/Joseph R. Biden, Jr. - 365

John S. McCain/Sarah L. Palin - 173

Congratulations and Godspeed, Mr. President-Elect Barack H. Obama and Mr. Vice-President-Elect Joseph R. Biden

United States Senate blocks seating of Constitutionally Qualified Senator

The United States Senate has determined that the Constitutionally appointed Senator Burris does not meet their standards.
However, The United States Constitution has spelled out the necessary qualifications in Article I Section 3:

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

Mr Burris is 71 years of age.
Mr Burris is a citizen of the United States.
Mr Burris is an Inhabitant of The State of Illinois.

So far Mr Burris has met all qualifications.

The Senate is not basing their standards on The United States Constitution.
While it is true that

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members

Those qualifications are fully met, as we have already seen.

The Senate is basing their standard on a technicality that is in The Senates rulebook. They require the Secretary of State of The Senator's State to sign his credentials.
A seemingly reasonable point considering that each State of the Union has such a requirement to legally determine their own elections.
One thing, though, is very different here. Senator Burris was not elected. Senator Burris was appointed to The Senate in full accord with Illinois State law and The 17th Amendment to The United States Constitution

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

Illinois State law does not require any Secretary of State signature, nor does The United States Constitution.

There is absolutely no Constitutional basis for the exclusion of Senator Burris.