January 6 is the day we learn whether our Constitution will hold and whether congressional Republicans care.
Read MoreMark Levin Commentary: On January 6, We Learn Whether Our Constitution Will Hold
Tag: Constitution
Commentary: Reflections on the Bill of Rights
The deep divisions plaguing our country may find a remedy in the most unlikely of places: the Bill of Rights. Ratified 229 years ago on December 15, 1791, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. There is little public commemoration of December 15, in contrast to the tradition of celebrating two famous dates in the history of the United States—the Fourth of July, the day that the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, and September 17, the day that the members of the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. Yet, of the three documents, the Bill of Rights is perhaps the one most invoked by citizens and advocates in everyday life.
Read More106 GOP Members File Amicus Brief in Texas SCOTUS Election Lawsuit
A total of 106 House Republicans on Thursday filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the plaintiffs in Texas v. Pennsylvania, et al, including Tennessee’s U.S. Representatives Mark Green, Tim Burchett, Chuck Fleischmann, David Kustoff, John Rose, with U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) taking the lead.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) tweeted, “100+ House Republicans and I have filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the Texas case. The election for the presidency of the United States is too important to not get right.”
Read MoreDecember 8 Deadline for Selection of Electors Does Not Apply to Disputed States, Amistad Project Says
In a white paper released Friday, The Amistad Project of the non-partisan Thomas More Society is arguing that the current Electoral College deadlines are both arbitrary and a direct impediment to states’ obligations to investigate disputed elections.
The research paper breaks down the history of Electoral College deadlines and makes clear that this election’s Dec. 8 and Dec. 14 deadlines for the selection of Electors, the assembly of the Electoral College, and the tallying of its votes, respectively, are not only elements of a 72-year old federal statute with no Constitutional basis, but are also actively preventing the states from fulfilling their constitutional — and ethical — obligation to hold free and fair elections. Experts believe that the primary basis for these dates was to provide enough time to affect the presidential transition of power, a concern which is obsolete in the age of internet and air travel.
Read MoreChristian Wedding Photographer and Ministries Sue Virginia Over Law Banning LGBTQ Discrimination
A Christian wedding photographer and two churches, three Christian schools, and a pro-life ministry sued Virginia for its LGBTQ discrimination law. The plaintiffs argue that the law is a violation of religious freedom in the First Amendment.
The Christian plaintiffs say the state law forces their hand. If they don’t forsake God’s commandments, they could endure hundreds of thousands or more in fines and litigation fees. And, they could face a court order to adhere to the law. These individuals are also prohibited from expressing any religious beliefs that may be perceived as discriminatory.
Read MoreMinnesota, Virginia Congressmen Propose Constitutional Amendment to Limit Supreme Court Size at Nine Justices
U.S. Reps. Collin C. Peterson (D-MN-07) and Denver Riggleman (R-VA-05) said they want to make sure that neither political party can ever pack the Supreme Court.
In a bipartisan joint press release issued Thursday, the representatives said they introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to permanently set the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices at nine.
Read MoreCommentary: For the Sake of the Constitution, and the Country, Fill Ginsburg’s Seat Quickly
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday at the age of 87. Her passing was not unexpected. On the contrary, her steadily worsening condition over the past several years left her increasingly incapacitated. After Donald Trump’s election in 2016, many on the Left expressed dismay that she chose to stay on the court rather than resign and let President Obama nominate her replacement.
Read MoreHarvard Poll Shows Voters Overwhelmingly United on Many Issues, But View Many Rights as Under Threat
Americans largely agree on rights and values that they deem fundamental to the United States, a Harvard University Carr Center poll shows, despite all-time high political polarization.
The survey shows that over 70% of Americans “have more in common with each other than people think” and that they favor an expansive view of rights beyond those in the Constitution. The poll also shows that most Americans believe those rights are under threat.
Read MoreLetter to the Editor: Colonel George Mason’s Key Contribution to Our Constitution
On 15 September 1787, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was just two days from adjourning after nearly four months of painstaking negotiations.
Yet Col. George Mason of Virginia remained fearful the proposed federal government could one day go rogue. In the waning hours of deliberation, he set out to persuade fellow delegates they were on the verge of codifying a fatal flaw.
On that day, with extraordinary foresight, Mason championed a ‘Break In Case of Emergency’ tool which 233 years later is being used to stop out-of-control federal bureaucrats and career politicians.
Read MoreOregon Coronavirus Fund May Violate Constitution by Excluding Non-Black Applicants, Experts Say
A COVID-19 relief fund for African-Americans operated out of Portland, Ore., with federal tax dollars may run afoul of both the Constitution and 1964 Civil Rights Act if it excludes non-black applicants, legal experts warn.
The Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief + Resiliency said it seeks to offer “economic relief for the Black community, who are among Oregon’s most vulnerable groups due to systemic divestment and disparities widened and exacerbated by COVID-19.” The program is administered by two local nonprofits, the Contingent and the Black United Fund of Oregon.
Read MoreLawsuit Filed Over Ballot Language in Ongoing Battle Over Amendment 1 Redistricting
Virginia Lieutenant Governor candidate Paul Goldman filed a lawsuit Thursday against the State Board of Elections in the ongoing controversy over Amendment 1 redistricting. The suit says that the ballot question on the amendment uses misleading language to unfairly skew voter perception.
Goldman says people will assume they have a fair summary before them. However, he argues this is not the case.
Read MoreCommentary: Where Did ‘Cancel Culture’ Begin?
Bari Weiss was not the first victim of “cancel culture,” and certainly she will not be the last, but her exit from the opinion pages of the New York Times has finally focused national attention on the steadily increasing toll of intellectual intolerance among the soi-disant progressive elite. Ms. Weiss’s public resignation letter, which described “constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views,” with her superiors at the newspaper evidently condoning this harassment, exposed a cult-like climate of ideological conformity at the Times. Because she is rather young — she was born in 1984, the year Ronald Reagan was reelected — Ms. Weiss is not old enough to remember when liberals posed as champions of free speech and open debate. Some of us are old enough to remember, however, and have a duty to teach young people how it was that liberalism slowly succumbed to totalitarianism.
Read MoreCommentary: The Unelected Parts of Government, Including the Military, Are Revolting Against the Electoral Control by the People
During the Iraq War, the insurgency spent a lot of its resources attacking infrastructure, particularly the electrical grid. This made life miserable for ordinary Iraqis.
That outcome seems to go against the logic of insurgency, where the center of gravity is the people’s allegiance. But making life uncertain and unbearable means that even if the insurgents cannot win, they ensure the regime cannot win either. The cultivation of chaos exposes the government as ineffective and ultimately removes its legitimacy.
Read MoreSheriffs Across the Country Are Refusing to Enforce Unconstitutional Stay at Home Orders
Dozens of sheriffs across the country are refusing to enforce stay-at-home orders because of their unconstitutional nature.
Read MoreDespite the Media-Driven Rhetoric, the Constitution’s 14th Amendment Does Not Grant ‘Birthright Citizenship’
by James D. Agresti Michael Anton, a former national security official in the Trump administration, recently argued in a Washington Post op-ed that the current federal practice of granting citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants “is an absurdity—historically, constitutionally, philosophically and practically.” A number of media outlets have published fiery rebuttals declaring that…
Read MoreVictor David Hanson Commentary: Who and What Threaten the Constitution?
by Victor Davis Hanson Donald Trump on occasion can talk recklessly. He is certainly trying to “fundamentally transform” the United States in exactly the opposite direction from which Barack Obama promised to do the same sort of massive recalibration. According to polls (such as they are), half the country…
Read MoreCommentary: Decisive Political Victory is the Only Way to End This Cold Civil War
by Ryan Williams As even NeverTrump Republicans are coming around – grudgingly, and with caveats, of course – to recognizing the stakes in our ongoing domestic political fights, it is perhaps impolite to note: Some of us drew these conclusions quite a long time ago. The last two weeks of psychodrama in the…
Read MoreCommentary: Democrat Lynch Mob Shows We Have a Government of Fools, Not Laws
by Jeffery Rendall After you’ve finished snickering at the notion consider the reason Trump’s so-called loyal opposition (a.k.a. Democrats and #NeverTrumpers) hate the outsider president so much – isn’t it because he’s so different from most other Republicans? From the beginning you could tell Trump not only didn’t want to…
Read MoreWalter Williams Commentary: Brett Kavanaugh’s Opponents Aren’t Really Against Him, They’re Against the Constitution
by Walter E. Williams One of the best statements of how the Framers saw the role of the federal government is found in Federalist Paper 45, written by James Madison, who is known as the “Father of the Constitution”: The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal…
Read MoreThe Constitution Series: A Republic, If You Can Keep It
This is the first of twenty-one weekly articles in The Star News Constitution Series, which will be published between now and February 2019 in the following Star News Digital Media, Inc. publications: The Tennessee Star, The Ohio Star, The Minnesota Sun, and The Michigan Star. Statewide Star News Constitution…
Read MoreRegistration is Open for the 2019 Ohio Star Constitution Bee, Which Will Be Held on April 13
The 2019 Ohio Star Constitution Bee is open for registration! If you have a secondary school-level student enrolled in a public or private school, or an accredited homeschool program, they are eligible to participate in this original, one-day event to be held Saturday, April 13, 2019. This will…
Read MoreThe Double Standard of Justice in the U.S. Is Risking the Collapse of the Entire System
by Printus LeBlanc The political world is waiting with bated breath for the outcome of Paul Manafort’s trial. The former one-time Trump campaign chairman is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for various tax and bank fraud crimes, most of which occurred over a decade ago. Manafort is also…
Read MoreCommentary: When Did It Become Okay to Disrespect the Culture, Traditions, and Values of America?
by Jeffery Rendall Wake up any particular morning and glance out the window. Do you notice anything different from the day before? Changes in weather or the seasons don’t count. Chances are you’ll see things appear pretty much the same – and if you’ve lived in one place long…
Read MoreCommentary: It’s Time For President Trump To Go Full Andrew Jackson On Overreaching Judges
by CHQ Staff The news that a Bush-appointed federal district judge, John D. Bates (pictured), has ruled that Obama’s executive amnesty, not actual immigration law, is the law and that Trump must fully restore and renew the program is such a radical exhibition of judicial overreach that it should…
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE: The 202 Year Ratification Saga of the 27th Amendment
Gregory Watson has been recognized by historians, academics, and elected officials as the only individual in American history whose singular efforts are responsible for the ratification of an amendment to the United States Constitution. Mr. Watson has provided this first hand account of his successful efforts to persuade state legislatures…
Read MoreDespite the Media-Driven Rhetoric, the Constitution’s 14th Amendment Does Not Grant ‘Birthright Citizenship’
by James D. Agresti Michael Anton, a former national security official in the Trump administration, recently argued in a Washington Post op-ed that the current federal practice of granting citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants “is an absurdity—historically, constitutionally, philosophically and practically.” A number of media outlets have published fiery rebuttals declaring that…
Read MoreThe Top Ten Most Epic Presidential Vetoes in American History
by Lawrence W. Reed President James Garfield named his beloved dog Veto. The pooch was a monstrous but lovable black Newfoundland weighing more than a hundred pounds. Congress got the message: A bad or unconstitutional bill would go straight to the Garfield doghouse. (Sadly, none ever did because Garfield served…
Read MoreSoros-Linked Group Will Spend Millions To Stop Kavanaugh
by Kevin Daley and Andrew Kerr – Progressives have formed a new political outfit to mobilize left-wing energy on judicial confirmations, including Judge Kavanaugh – The group, Demand Justice, is financed and administratively supported by the Sixteen Thirty Fund – George Soros’ advocacy network has given millions to the Sixteen…
Read MoreCommentary: It’s Time For President Trump To Go Full Andrew Jackson On Overreaching Judges
by CHQ Staff The news that a Bush-appointed federal district judge, John D. Bates (pictured), has ruled that Obama’s executive amnesty, not actual immigration law, is the law and that Trump must fully restore and renew the program is such a radical exhibition of judicial overreach that it should…
Read MoreCommentary: Congress Must Exercise Its Article I Power, Or It Will Be Deemed Irrelevant
by Printus LeBlanc When the framers created the government, it was split into three coequal branches; the Congressional, Executive, and Judicial branches. Articles I through III describe the duties, responsibilities, and powers assigned to each branch of the government. However, one of those branches seems to be the redheaded…
Read MoreSix More Judge Nominees Advance in Trump Bid to Reshape Judiciary
by Fred Lucas President Donald Trump is completing a strong week, and is set to kick off a strong next week, in his push to reshape the federal courts, with Senate Republicans forcing votes on six more of his judicial nominees. Despite the Democratic minority in the Senate using…
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