Our "Flawed" Constitution

“When a judge, at any level of jurisprudence, seeks to RE-interpret the Constitution, …with their own personal moral predilections, or …’society’s evolving standards’, what they are doing is something which is prohibited by the very constitution they are regarding.”

Quote from: Our "living breathing" Constitution - Edward Daley

Consider Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that has resulted in over 40 million abortions in the United States. Justice Harry Blackmun consulted his wife and daughter before writing the majority opinion. His daughter Sally had experienced an unexpected pregnancy while a sophomore at Skidmore College. Shortly after she married the father of the baby, she suffered a miscarriage. During the next six years she completed her graduation requirements. Sadly,her marriage collapsed. Today she questions whether she would have graduated at all had the child been born, and states that she might have made a different decision “had Roe v. Wade been around.” Sally is now chairwoman of Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando.

Why did Justice Blackmun consult his daughter regarding Roe vs. Wade? Did his decision have anything to do with Sally’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy and the pain and trauma it caused the Blackmun family? Is this how Supreme Court decisions are supposed to be made?

President Obama might think it’s the highest moral path in making Supreme Court rulings. He believes that the Constitution is a living, breathing and flawed document to be updated and refined by the Justices on the Supreme Court, based on their values, concerns, perspectives and empathies.

In the short time Obama served in the U.S. Senate, he established a record on judicial nominations when he voted against the confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. In explaining his vote against Roberts, Obama opined that deciding the “truly difficult” cases requires one to resort to “one’s deepest values, one’s core concerns, one’s broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one’s empathy.” In setting forth the sort of judges he would appoint, Obama has declared: “We need somebody who’s got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it’s like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it’s like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old – and that’s the criterion by which I’ll be selecting my judges.”

And in a radio interview on Chicago’s WBEZ-FM in 2001, Obama said that the Constitution is fundamentally flawed in that it doesn’t allow for redistribution of wealth. Pointing to the rulings on civil rights issues by the Warren court in the 1960’s, Obama said the court failed to “break free from the essential constraints” in the Constitution, which were placed there by the Founding Fathers, and launch a major redistribution of wealth. In the same interview he stated that the Constitution is “an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture. African Americans were not -- first of all they weren’t African-Americans -- the Africans at the time were not considered as part of the polity that was of concern to the Framers. I think we can say that the Constitution reflected an enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day, and that the Framers had that same blind spot. [The blind spot] reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.”

The U.S. Constitution is in in grave danger under this administration. How could Barack Obama take the oath of office of President of the United States and swear that he would ”to the best of [his] ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States” when he has declared it imperfect, lacking, and in need of interpretation based on one’s “heart” and empathy?

Homeland Security Report on Rightwing Extremists - Revised

Below are excerpts from the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis report titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment".

“Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.”

“Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures.”

“Disgruntled Military Veterans: DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today.”

"Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms ownership and use. Rightwing extremists are increasingly galvanized by these concerns and leverage them as drivers for recruitment."

OK, I reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority, I oppose abortion, I am concerned about the economy and home foreclosures, and I am antagonistic toward the new presidential administration, especially in its views of immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs, and restrictions on firearms ownership and use.

And what about those disgruntled military veterans?

Be afraid of those disgruntled, pro-life, states-rights,gun-toting war veterans. Be very afraid.

Tax Day Tea Party - UPDATE!!

The latest count for tea party attendance nationwide is 281,488!

Regarding yesterday’s nationwide Tax Day Tea Party, the best way to start is to quote Michelle Malkin.

“Wow.” Wow indeed. Attendance was over 225,00 and still counting.

But some people want to rain on our parade. According to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, these demonstrations are to be mocked.

Rachel Maddow


Why was Maddow so amused by the idea of hundreds of thousands of conservatives exercising their freedom of speech and freedom of assembly that she appeared unable to control her deep throaty laugh? The term “tea bagging” set her off and seemed to be an inside joke between her and her cameramen, who could also be heard laughing. I realized that I was in the dark, so I looked up “tea-bagging” in the Urban Dictionary. Don’t bother – it’s disgusting, and something we don’t really need to know about. I mention it because it illustrates Maddow's woeful lack of professionalism.

Moving on to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Tea Party demonstrations are to be feared. (Read my post on Homeland Security.)

So, what are these foolish and frightening people really like? My observations from the Tax Day Tea Party in Chicago are quite different from those of the main stream media and the Obama Administration, who of course have never actually observed a Tea Party demonstration.

Let me clarify that the demonstrations were not funded by “the usual group of right-wing billionaires”, as Paul Krugman wrote in his column in the New York Times. If that were the case we would have had radio and TV promotion, billboards, matching t-shirts, professionally printed signs, and a lot less fun. I would have liked a t-shirt, though.

We enjoyed the weather, the speakers, the homemade signs, and the camaraderie. We found like-minded people who are grieved over the direction that America is taking toward socialism and bankruptcy. We are businessmen and women, tradesmen, soccer moms, teens and grandparents. We’re afraid for our children and our grandchildren. We’re angry about the chipping away at the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the freedoms that they guarantee.

We didn’t resort to attention-getting antics such as those of Peta, Code Pink, or ACT UP. We didn’t symbolically dump tea into the Chicago River, although many of us really wanted to. We were peaceful. And I repeat, we were over 225,000 strong.

Is the Tea Party movement a joke? I think not. Is it made up of violent racists and skinheads? Definitely not. Is it something to be feared? Perhaps.

Pictures of the Chicago Tea Party here:

Chicago Tea Party

Abortion Pride Movement

A new t-shirt being marketed by Planned Parenthood boldly proclaims “I had an abortion”. The shirt, and the broader “I’m not sorry” abortion campaign, is making headlines. In short, women should not merely have the right to end unwanted pregnancies, they should have the right to be proud of having done so.

Riding the wave is bioethicist Jacob Appel, who wants to take prideful behavior to a new level with his call for an “Abortion Pride” movement. He is no friend of the unborn, having in the past contemplated a market for the fetal organs of abortion victims. In a recent article which he authored he states that “Women who step up to the ethical plate and have the strength to say, ‘This is the wrong time,’ or ‘This is the wrong fetus,’ should hold their heads high in the streets. And our society should be proud of them too. Our message should be … genuine joy that someone has made a decision for their own and for the collective good.”

Appel’s analysis of Bill Clinton’s assertation that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare” is that the “rhetoric” does a “profound disservice to the millions of women who have abortions in this nation each year. Abortions should be safe and legal. That goes without saying. But rare? Abortions should be as frequent or as infrequent as are unwanted pregnancies.”

This is a time when right is called wrong and that which is evil is being touted as good. The elitist progressives are leading the way in this ‘brave new world’, while Christians seem to be tired of the continual culture wars and are disengaging from the battle. Now is the time to stand up and be counted.