Keep it Local!

I agree with the author that federalism does not created perfect governments since any government by its nature is imperfect but it limits the scope of damage to a small geographic area thus protecting the entire people from the laws passed in that domain.

I have no legal background and little experience but I question why the Federal government cannot be brought to court over it's comandeering of the constitution.
Isn't it possible to sue for relief, redress or a violation of constitutional rights?
As an example, It would seem that anyone being taken to court on a federal marijuana possession charge should be able to appeal citing the governments lack of standing to bring such a charge.
Would it be possible for any of the States to sue the Federal government on behalf of the people?
I would really appreciate someone with more knowledge sharing their insights.

There is NO chance of reforming Washington or reclaiming our lost rights short of some great crisis in the economy or by a secession of States, or something. I marvel at our slowness in realizing that only in secession can we really hope to make a new start. The evil that pervades Washington, the media, the federal reserve, etc, cannot be corrected by voting the rascels out of office. First, federal judges are appointed for life and will continue to destroy the Constitution at every turn; second, even if you could get your dream Congress and President for two terms, there is nothing to prevent the election of another Obama later. In fact you can count on it. I feel that States like Texas, Oklahoma, and others should join together in threatening secession. Only then can we hope to leverage our rights back from Washington DC.

Local? Obviously the reestablishing of the government will be local it is a question of whether this will even be allowed.

With the great danger affirmed by judge Carter in his letter dismissing the Keyes case Oct 29, 09 it ought to be clear that this ruling class has no intention of following any rule of law that will set that very law upon them. There is a time for talk and a time for action and as of the judges determination it is apparent we are in between and we had better be recognizing that fact.

http://jaghunters.blogspot.com/

Judge Carter wrote: “In order for Plaintiffs’ alleged injury to be fully addressed, Plaintiffs would have the Court intervene, upheave the results of a national election, declare the President illegitimate, shut down the functioning of the government of the United States, and leave this country defenseless.

I wonder if States will be be given an option to opt out on Cap and Trade as was proposed for health care? My bet is that if Health Reform passes we will see a "light" Cap and Trade attempt. If Health Reform should fail - God help us with Cap and Tax. There is no way the democratic Congress is going to be left holding the bag on a multitrillion dollar deficit that they created. That would be total suicide for the democratic party. Health Reform and Cap and Trade are the only two frameworks large enough to generate the massive revenue streams that they must have. Take your pick, or how about both.

What are our State leaders waiting for? How clear does this have to get, even dummies like me get it? What could they possibly fear? The worst that could happen is that they get kicked out of office and the act of doing that would cause a small revolution. I don't think I would allow myself to stay in office and watch this happen without at least trying to do something for my people.

The "option" of the State governments opting out of the Health Care debacle is ridiculous, if the "Federal Revenue Sharing" laws aren't REPEALED.
Who doesn't know that the "Federal Revenue Sharing" grants are the "teeth" that make the State and Local level governments beholding to the Office of the President.
The Office of the President has got to be "reigned in". Neither Republicans or Democrats want this "Monstrosity" to be "reigned in" to it's proper size according to the Constitution and our Foundations.
Think about it. Executive Orders - once used to "empty trash cans in the White House" now, is the "legislative Arm" of the Office of the President.
NO, NO, NO.

Go to the "Three Point Outline" in my above post. Nothing less will do.

For God & Country
Ruth Ann Wilson

It's good to see someone else echo my sentiments. Politically and culturally, the country is supposed to look like a patchwork quilt.

There are some great comments here on this excellent article. Another location for some great comments on the federal government's healthcare bill can be found here:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/28/c...
read them all.

We have over-looked the power of our local sheriffs. This is a great article about how Sheriff Mack took on the feds.

THE SHERIFF - MORE POWER THAN THE PRESIDENT

http://www.newswithviews.com/Stang/alan192.htm

What a great point...not that we find state power to be less corruptable, but rather that at least on that level we have alternatives to a localized tyranny.

Did anyone stop to consider what the “few” behind the closed doors at the Capitol were actually considering and plotting? I think it might have been about a lot more than just health care. I also think their plan dates back well before the Presidential election and designed to use a National Healthcare Reform program as a vehicle to generate a huge, unbroken tax revenue stream in support of massive spending by progressives. Look at what is happening keeping this in mind and see if makes sense to you. For me, it seems to fill in many blanks and satisfies what appears to be broken logic on their part. Do they really care about our health? Look at what they are willing to compromise to get this bill passed. Do they really care about health insurance rates you are currently paying that will be forced unnecessarily to skyrocket? Are they interesting in helping small business in America so new jobs can be created and old ones saved? Do they care about health services that will have to be rationed or denied? They should on all of those, but they don’t - I say it is all about inserting huge “tax hooks” into a revenue stream representing one sixth of our overall economy.

Here’s the best one. In the latest Senate version of the bill, States that don’t like this system will be allowed to opt out of the “public option”. This, for the most part, validates what I was portraying above. What the Progressive Congress is saying is: OK, don’t play the health care game if you like, just give us the money – that’s all we wanted anyway. If the concern of Congress were truly the health and wellbeing of the American people, this language would never have been included. I rest my case.

State governments need to immediately call them out on this and ask how Federal tax law would look for states that so decline the public offer. Make no mistake; either in or out, they’re goanna be getting your money – hide and watch. This bill is going to pass one way or another, with or without any included health care whatsoever, and the redistribution of wealth saga continues…

Did anyone stop to consider what the “few” behind the closed doors at the Capitol were actually considering and plotting? I think it might have been about a lot more than just health care. I also think their plan dates back well before the Presidential election and designed to use a National Healthcare Reform program as a vehicle to generate a huge, unbroken tax revenue stream in support of massive spending by progressives. Look at what is happening keeping this in mind and see if makes sense to you. For me, it seems to fill in many blanks and satisfies what appears to be broken logic on their part. Do they really care about our health? Look at what they are willing to compromise to get this bill passed. Do they really care about health insurance rates you are currently paying that will be forced unnecessarily to skyrocket? Are they interesting in helping small business in America so new jobs can be created and old ones saved? Do they care about health services that will have to be rationed or denied? They should on all of those, but they don’t - I say it is all about inserting huge “tax hooks” into a revenue stream representing one sixth of our overall economy.

Here’s the best one. In the latest Senate version of the bill, States that don’t like this system will be allowed to opt out of the “public option”. This, for the most part, validates what I was portraying above. What the Progressive Congress is saying is: OK, don’t play the health care game if you like, just give us the money – that’s all we wanted anyway. If the concern of Congress were truly the health and wellbeing of the American people, this language would never have been included. I rest my case.

State governments need to immediately call them out on this and ask how Federal tax law would look for states that so decline the public offer. Make no mistake; either in or out, they’re goanna be getting your money – hide and watch. This bill is going to pass one way or another, with or without any included health care whatsoever, and the redistribution of wealth saga continues…

Outstanding argument Manuel Lora, it should be used more often to convince libertarians of the States Rights cause being the best path to ultimate victory. Perhaps it should be reposted on the Ron Paul Campaign for liberty forums and so forth?

It would be very useful to have their full support as an organization in implementing this strategy to weaken the grip of centralized government and thus ultimately increase liberty.

The more we work to convince them that the States right rough is the ideal rough to victory, given it works by using the nature of our Federal Constitutional System, rather then against it, the more aid and help we can get towards pushing this end and achieving ultimate victory.
We have a way to do this, a brilliant and ingenious way, with which the enemies of liberty are mostly unprepared to deal with. It will certainly be far easier for us to get a few or as many as possible states to rebel against (nullify) unconstitutional federal authority and effetely force the feds back into line then it will be for us to get federal politicians(any politician for that matter) to willingly give up their own power.

We don’t need to wage this war up hill our founders were very brilliant people and they knew of theses troubles which is why they created a system of checks and balances not just the 3 branches of government but the 3 levels of government. We need to uses the other 2 to weaken and dismantle the excess of the 1 which has become too powerfully.

The beauty of the lower levels of government returning to their position of holding the vast majority of government powers is as Manuel Lora said, they are much more easily checked and contained.

We know as our founders told us government is at best a necessary evil, a potential enemy to liberty in its nature in so much as it is necessary to defend liberty form other enemies.
Ol' Grey Ghost made a great analogy to the old Sun-tzu(Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)) quote: “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

If government is to be as our founders warned us at best a necessary evil, and thus potential enemy, then it is at best that we keep the vast majority of it as close to the people it rules as possible, less it’s threat to those peoples rights becomes greatest.

This is as true in war just as it is true in war’s peaceful counterpart politics (government). We must keep it close to us both in reach and in watch, vigilance and preparedness are the order of the day as our Founders warned us.

Outstanding argument Manuel Lora, it should be used more often to convince libertarians of the States Rights cause being the best path to ultimate victory. Perhaps it should be reposted on the Ron Paul Campaign for liberty forums and so forth?

It would be very useful to have their full support as an organization in implementing this strategy to weaken the grip of centralized government and thus ultimately increase liberty.

The more we work to convince them that the States right rough is the ideal rough to victory, given it works by using the nature of our Federal Constitutional System, rather then against it, the more aid and help we can get towards pushing this end and achieving ultimate victory.
We have a way to do this, a brilliant and ingenious way, with which the enemies of liberty are mostly unprepared to deal with. It will certainly be far easier for us to get a few or as many as possible states to rebel against (nullify) unconstitutional federal authority and effetely force the feds back into line then it will be for us to get federal politicians(any politician for that matter) to willingly give up their own power.

We don’t need to wage this war up hill our founders were very brilliant people and they knew of theses troubles which is why they created a system of checks and balances not just the 3 braches of government but the 3 levels of government. We need to uses the other 2 to weaken and dismantle the excess of the 1 which has become too powerfully.

The beauty of the lower levels of government returning to their position of holding the vast majority of government powers is as Manuel Lora said, they are much more easily checked and contained.

We know as our founders told us government is at best a necessary evil, a potential enemy to liberty in its nature in so much as it is necessary to defend liberty form other enemies.
Ol' Grey Ghost made a great analogy to the old Sun-tzu(Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)) quote: “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

If government is to be as our founders warned us at best a necessary evil, and thus potential enemy, then it is at best that we keep the vast majority of it as close to the people it rules as possible, less it’s threat to those peoples rights becomes greatest.

This is as true in war just as it is true in war’s peaceful counterpart politics (government). We must keep it close to us both in reach and in watch, vigilance and preparedness are the order of the day as our Founders warned us.

What a country we may yet have as the states adhere to the ideal! Now may be the time again. We pray!

Amen!

As the old joke (emphasize JOKE! Nobody's advocating anything here) about Federalism goes:

"Keep your friends close and your Fascist Dictators even closer...preferably within 400 meters."

Keep it LOCAL. All power is to reside with "we, the people". The seat of power is LOCAL.

It is "upside down!" The Founders intended that the Federal level was not to have the "seat of power", hence the oath of office and the boundaries of the Federal Constitution, to keep the Federal level "chained". We, the people, can't get there!!! Guess that's why the "enemy" has removed the power from the LOCAL level.

Keep, keeping on people.

1. REVERSE 1963 Supreme Court Ruling, government needs to stay out of the LOCAL School Board's jurisdiction. Locally elected school boards answerable to we, the people. The Atheist O'Hare should never been allowed to pursue taking prayer and Bible reading out of Public Schools.

2. REPEAL 1964 Civil Rights laws,We have a Bill of Rights.

3. REPEAL Federal Revenue Sharing - We won't send money up and they will not have the "teeth" to imposed rules, regulations and mandates.

The above "3 point outline" will begin to give us back our Beloved Country.

For God & Country
Ruth Ann Wilson

Great post! Truer words never spoken. We need to get back to the vision of our Foundng Fathers. Not only for our own sakes as people, but for our own sakes as a country and the future.