Were the States Sovereign Nations?
by Brian McCandliss, LewRockwell.com A defining – but so far unasked – question regarding the Civil War is the political status of the states: specifically, was the “United States of America” indeed, as our popular Pledge of Allegiance claims, “one nation, indivisible?” Or was it, rather, a union of sovereign nations, bound only to each [...]
Oklahoma: Standing up for State Sovereignty
by Rich Hand As usual, Walter Williams hits the nail on the head. This article references a referendum introduced in the state legislature of Oklahoma to put the Federal government on notice that it has over stepped its bounds based on the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The founders would have never been [...]
Can We Ever Return to the 10th Amendment?
Guest Commentary from Constitution Daily General George H. Thomas earned himself the nickname The Rock of Chickamauga after his defense of September 20, 1863 saved the Union Army from annihilation. The battle of Chickamauga was a Confederate victory, but the losses to the South were enormous. General Thomas’ determination to protect the Union retreat saved [...]
A Rebellion Brewing in Oklahoma
by Walter E. Williams One of the unappreciated casualties of the War of 1861, erroneously called a Civil War, was its contribution to the erosion of constitutional guarantees of state sovereignty. It settled the issue of secession, making it possible for the federal government to increasingly run roughshod over Ninth and 10th Amendment guarantees. A [...]
States Rights Alive in California
Gay Marriage, Medical Marijuana, the Environment and more. For many years, presidents have been assuming more and more power for themselves and for the federal government, but California has been taking the lead recently in the battle for States Rights against this growth Federal power. Thomas Elias notes this trend in his recent Pasadena Star-News [...]
Power Always Corrupts
Back in ’99, even George Bush himself was calling for an end to the war on medical marijuana users. It’s not something that’s pointed out too often these days, and thanks to Anthony Gregory at LewRockwell.com, we can all read these statements from Bush himself.
Restraining Tyranny
As all major politicians move more and more towards centralization as the solution to virtually every problem in this country, there’s no greater need to start looking back to America’s founding principles of state sovereignty, argues Clay Barham at PopulistAmerica.com
Selective Respect
John McCain is developing a bad case of selective respect. For the Constitution, that is. Recently, he called upon the principle of States Rights in advocating drilling for oil off the coasts of California and Florida. But, isn’t he violating this principle at the same time he’s invoking it?
An Impossible Job
As usual, this election season, the Presidential candidates are telling us how they’ll make life better for you. They’ll improve the economy, help your investments, protect you from harm, help you get a raise, ensure that you’ll keep your home, and much, much more. The problem, of course, is that most of what these candidates [...]
There’s a Tenth Amendment?
Regular readers of this site recognize that the 10th amendment is forgotten (or ignored) in US government far more often then it’s invoked. That’s why the Tenth Amendment Center applauds the Oklahoma State House of Representatives, who recently declared “sovereignty” under the principles of the 10th.
Politicizing Pain: The War on Marijuana
by Rep Ron Paul K.K. Forss does not claim medical marijuana solves all his problems. His pain from a ruptured disc in his neck is debilitating. He is unable to go to work or to the First Baptist Church he used to attend because of the pain and muscle spasms. Taxpayers through Medicare spend over [...]
How the States Can End Real ID
by Thomas Andrew Olson, LewRockwell.com As of this writing, only a handful of states have formally resisted implementation of the draconian REAL-ID act, where the Feds create a de facto national ID card by hijacking the driver licensing agencies of all 50 states. Despite the chilling “papers, please!” overtones to this, some states are falling [...]
Oppose Implementation of The REAL ID Act
An open letter to Arnold Schwarzenegger Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: As a constituent who cares deeply about privacy and national security, I urge you to oppose implementation of the REAL ID Act and support its immediate repeal. The creation of a national identification card is not a power delegated to Congress under Article I, section 8 [...]
Why we have a Tenth Amendment
Guest Commentary by Dan Reale You can ask anybody what the first amendment prevents infringement upon. They might know about one thing, freedom of speech, but incorrectly, tell you we are granted freedom of speech. Even then, most miss the other four inalienable rights the Constitution limits the federal government from violating. Most are equally [...]
The United States Are, or The United States Is?
Guest Commentary by David Smith I have been pleasantly surprised by the Walt Disney Corporation’s recent foray into making decent movies, namely with the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and ‘National Treasure’ franchises. I would like to draw attention to a particular line of significance in the most recent release in these lines, ‘National Treasure: Book [...]
Limits vs Empowers
by David Smith In response to “The Constitution and the Right to Privacy” The only point that I would add is that there exists a fundamental difference between the Federal Government, which these amendments limits, and the State Governments, which the 10th Amendment empowers. Actually, ‘empowers’ is not the right term because power not delegated [...]
States Rights vs the EPA
Rob McKenna, the attorney general of the state of Washington, issued a press release on 01-02-08 to make clear that his state would intervene in the California emissions battle against the EPA and the Federal Government.
Support the Enumerated Powers Act
From DownsizeDC.org: It’s time for Congress to “cite chapter and verse.” When they pass new laws or spend taxpayer money they should be required to point to the specific language in the Constitution that empowers that action. The “Enumerated Powers Act” would require them to do precisely that. Help us bring this bill to a [...]
Gun Rights and States Rights
by Rep Ron Paul Speech before the US House of Representatives, April 9, 2003 Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a firm believer in the Second amendment and an opponent of all federal gun laws. In fact, I have introduced legislation, the Second Amendment Restoration Act (HR 153), which repeals misguided federal gun control laws [...]
Not Yours to Give: Limited Federal Powers
Guest Commentary by David Smith The concept of the Constitution of the United States is not to award unlimited Powers to the Federal Government or to Congress. See also the ideas expressed in Col. Crockett’s speech from my blog, “Not Yours To Give” from a few days ago. The idea is that the States were [...]
The Longest and Most Costly War in American History
If you are concerned at all about liberty, the economy, the Constitution and the power of the Federal Government – you cannot ignore our longest and most costly war – the War on Drugs. It’s now 35 years after Dick Nixon started this “war” -Â and we now have over 1 million – yes, 1 [...]
The Tenth Amendment and the Joy of Federalism
Guest Commentary from VirginiaConservative (or I don’t care how they do things in Massachusetts). Ask someone what is the most important amendment to the constitution. If he were a liberal, he would likely answer “the right to free speechâ€, the 1st.  If he were a conservative, he would likely answer “the right to keep and [...]
Jun 25, 2008 | Categories:Federalism | Tags: 10th Amendment, Constitution, Federalism, Guest Commentary, Liberty, Massachusetts, State Sovereignty, Virginia, Virginia Conservative | 1 Comment »