Charity Davis CharityAngel County Coordinator Location: Valley City, UT Last login: 11/01/09 RSS feed
Hi, thanks for checking out my profile. I love our country and the Constitution of the United States. During the rally for the Republic in Minnesota, I joined with thousands of others and took the oath to uphold and defend the Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic along with Adam Kokesh. This was not the first time that I took this oath, but it is a time that I will always remember.
I'm Charity Angel, and I approve this message LOL j/k. Ron Paul is the only candidate in my lifetime that has represented me and my views, and frankly, he woke me up out of my slumber.
I campaigned for him in Missouri, where I was living at the time through the meet-up group there which I later became co-organizer and then organizer of. I was also the Greene County coordinator there as well. My interest in Ron Paul also led me to the Republican Liberty Caucus, and I became the 7th district Director. Once Campaign for Liberty launched, I became the 7th District Coordinator. Missouri has some of the best and brightest liberty lovers I have ever known, and yes, I am biased. ;)
There are many activists here in Utah that I met before moving here, and I know that we have some very dedicated patriots in this state. I admire all that they have done clear from Missouri! I feel it a privilge to work with them now.
There is hope, because there is you. I really believe that. I also believe that we have the most power and influence as individuals locally, and it is my desire to become much more involved on that level then the national level.
If you are new to C4L, I welcome you, and encourage you to get involved where you can best use your skills and abilities. Lowell is a fantasic State Cordinator!
That simplifies the role of government in a way everyone should be able to understand. It is a basic law of morality that we cannot delegate a power to government that we do not have ourselves. When we do that, everything goes off balance and eventually the system will fail. Thanks for posting.
"A Free People Cannot Survive Under a Republican Constitution Unless They Remain Virtuous and Morally Strong"
Between 1775 and 1776 there were many heated debates between the colonies on the topic of morality. These debates focused on whether or not the people were adequately virtuous and moral enough to govern themselves. Self-government, referred to as ‘republicanism', was dependent upon a pure and unselfish people to operate successfully.
Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.' George Washington also stated that the American Constitution could only survive as long as there remained virtue in the people.
What then is public virtue? It is human character and service that adheres to the golden rule. Even though the people hungered after independence, they feared that they were not good enough to make it work. By the spring of 1776, there were thousands of confident voices throughout the land proclaiming that there was enough public virtue to make the republican principles work successfully. This movement was catapulted forwarded by the writings of Thomas Paine, specifically his best seller "Common Sense."
Many became aware of their lack of public virtue due to their non-involvement in the affairs of government. This accelerated the revolution because, as the people enjoyed a better life due to the changes that they made, they felt that they needed to hurry and cut their nation off from the corrupting influence of Britain. One American wrote, ‘Elegance, luxury and effeminacy begin to be established.' David Ramsey declared that if Americans had not revolted ‘our frugality, industry, and simplicity of manners, would have been lost in an imitation of British extravagance, idleness and false refinements.'
Samuel Adams said, ‘The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy the gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people; then shall be both deserve and enjoy it. While, on the other hand, if we are universally vicious and debauched in our manners, though the form of our Constitution carries the face of the most exalted freedom, we shall in reality be the most abject slaves.'
There is a key to preserving a virtuous nation, and our founders knew it. It is called Principle #3
This blog was created with the intention of being shared, all that is requested is that you state that this was an adaptation from W. Cleon Skousen's book "The 5000 Year Leap" and that it can be found at www.The PrinciplesofLiberty.com
This book, "The 5000 Year Leap" is historically innacurate on several points (the author's assertion that the words "In God We Trust were actually chosen by the Founders is incorrect as the words "In God We Trust" didn't come about until 1814 when they were included in a poem by Francis Scott Key) and therefore unreliable. If one wants to teach or spread the word about the Constitution I would suggest reading the Constitution and then referring to Max Farrand's "The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787." Another help might be Kurland and Lerner's 5 volume "The Founder's Constitution."
‘The Only Reliable Basis for Sound Government and Just Human Relations is Natural Law.'
What is Natural Law? When the Founding Fathers sought to answer this question, they turned to the writings of Marcus Tillius Cicero. Cicero was known for his philosophy of good laws, sound government, and the long-range formula for happy human relations. He understood that all of this could only be accomplished through recognizing and identifying the rules of ‘right conduct' based upon the laws of the Supreme Creator of the Universe. Cicero also taught that man shares with his Creator the quality of using a rational approach, or common-sense, to solve problems. Thomas Jefferson referred these ideas as ‘the laws of Nature and Nature's God'.
Natural Law is eternal and universal; it has also been defined as ‘true law'. Natural Law cannot be altered, repealed, or abandoned. Its basic principles can be understood by the human mind, and are completely correct and morally right in their application.
The first great commandment is to love, respect, and obey the all-wise Creator. The second great commandment is to ‘Love thy neighbor as thy self'. Cicero stated that justice is impossible unless it is based upon these two commandments. In his words, "For these virtues originate in our natural inclination to love our fellow-men and this is the foundation of justice." These virtues are the glue that holds a just society together.
According to Cicero, any legislation that is in violation of God's Natural Law is a scourge to humanity and it is a foolish notion to believe that all laws are good laws. Some legislation, he remarked, no more deserves to be called law than the rules a band of robbers might pass in their assembly. Just as deadly poisons prescribed by ignorant and unscrupulous men cannot be considered physicians' prescriptions; neither can legislation be called law if it violates eternal principles. Even if an entire nation were to accept ruinous regulation, the true nature of the legislation could not be altered. In short, all law should be measured against God's Law.
The Founders, who desired a moral and virtuous society which would cultivate freedom for the individual and prosperity for the whole commonwealth, sought to build our nation based upon Natural Law because they realized this was the only way to achieve their goal.
Unalienable Rights, Unalienable Duties, Habeas Corpus, Limited Government, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Self-Preservation, Justice by Reparation, the Right to Bear Arms and No Taxation without Representation are all examples of Natural Law that can be found in the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, laws protecting the family and the institution of marriage are also based on Natural Law.
Natural Law is the foundation and framework for everything that we have come to call ‘The People's Law'.
When reviewing legislation that is either currently being considered or is already on the law books, we must ask ourselves the following two questions: #1 "Does this violate the laws of God?" and #2 "By practicing or implementing this law, will it allow me to say; I love my neighbor as myself?". It is true that in these two questions hang all ‘true and just' laws.
This blog is created with the intention of it being shared with others, feel free to use it as content on your blog, website, newsletter or newspaper, all that is asked is that you state that it is adapted from w. Cleon Skousen's Book "The 5000 Year Leap" and that it can be found at www.theprinciplesofliberty.com
Unalienable Rights, Unalienable Duties, Habeas Corpus, Limited Government, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Self-Preservation, Justice by Reparation, the Right to Bear Arms and No Taxation without Representation are all examples of Natural Law that can be found in the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, laws protecting the family and the institution of marriage are also based on Natural Law.
Where are these unalienable duties found in the United States Constitution?
"The Unalienable Rights of the People are Most Likely to be Preserved if the Principles of Government are Set Forth in a Written Constitution."
The one weakness of the Anglo-Saxon common law, was that it was unwritten. Due to the fact that the whole people were aware of the principles, they seemed to be indifferent to writing them down. According to Dr. Colin Rhys Lovell, this was customary until they converted to Christianity. Prior to that, it was unwritten and considered immutable.
It was the Norman conquest that taught the Anglo-Saxons in England a bitter lesson. A majority of their treasured rights disappeared through the flood of blood and oppression. They did regain them very slowly over a period of time, a few centuries, and gradually were written down. In A.D. 1215, King John virtually had a sword held to his throat, due to the national crisis, and signed the Magna Charta, which set forth the traditional rights of the freemen as well as the feudal barons who had been serving under King John.
During that same century, the model parliament came into being which compelled the King to acknowledge that principle of no taxation without representation. Later, in 1628, Charles I was pressured into signing the People's Petition of Rights and the English Bill of Rights was signed in 1689 by William and Mary.
Through the centuries, the British have tried to manage the political affairs with no written constitution and relied on these few documents as a source of reference. They did prove very helpful to the Founders, but they felt that the structure of government should be structured in a more permanent and comprehensive form. So, the tradition if a written constitution in modern times is completely American in principle and practice.
The first written charter for America was the Mayflower Compact of 1620. If became more comprehensive when Thomas Hooker and his associates adopted the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut in 1639. The charter makes no reference to the British Government nor the Crown, but the source of its authority as "We, the people."
Montesquieu said that the writing of a statute or a charter is "oftentimes better regulated by many than by a single person." The Founders agreed with this idea and considered it wise to filter it through the wisdom and experience of many delegates assembled in a convention rather then leaving it to the genius of some individual.
James Madison stated, "It is not a little remarkable that in every case reported by ancient history in which government has been established with deliberation and consent, the task of framing it has not been committed to an assembly of men, but has been performed by some individual citizen of preeminent wisdom and approved integrity. Minos, we learn, was the primitive founder of the government of Crete, as Zaleucus was of that of the Locrians. Theseus first, and after him Draco and Solon, instituted the government of Athens. Lycurgus was the lawgiver of Sparta. The foundation of the original government of Rome was laid by Romulus, and the work completed by two of his elective successors, Numa and Tullius Hostilius. On the abolition of royalty the consular administration was substituted by Brutus, who stepped forward with a project for such reform, which, he alleged, had been prepared by Servius Tullius, and to which his address ontained the assent and ratification of the senate and people. This remark is applicable to confederate governments also. Amphictyon, we are told, was the author of that which bore his name. The Achaean league received its first birth from Achaeus, and its second from Aratus."
It is always difficult to operate through a committee, a group, or a convention as the Founding Fathers did. The final product was far stronger then any individual alone could have written it. And time has also proven the incredible value have having a written document for reference, a standard, rather then relying on a few scattered statutes as the fundamental law of the land.
The 28 Principles of Liberty are adapted from W. Cleon Skousen's Book 'The 5000 Year Leap' and are brought to you by Fragrant Smoke.
The 28 Principles of Liberty: Principle 17 "A System of Checks and Balances Should be Adopted to Prevent the Abuse of Power"
After John Adams had sold the people on the separation of powers, it must have been shocking to him to see that they wanted to make the separation so complete that it would have made the system unworkable.
The individuals who took a puritanical view opposed the adoption of the Constitution because they wanted the separation complete and absolute. They missed the most important part, and that was that they were to be separate in their functions, but subject to the checks and balances of the other two departments in case it became abusive in performing those functions.
James Madison spent 5 of the Federalist Papers numbers, 47 to 51, explaining why the separation of powers should not be absolute, but should make allowances for a built-in system of checks and balances. He conceded that keeping the three departments separated was fundamental to the preservation of liberty.
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
The purpose of checks and balances is a constitutional control in the hands of each department of government to prevent any usurpation of power by another department or abusive administration of the power granted to it.
The failure to use the checks and balances effectively has resulted in allowing the judiciary to create new laws by pretending to be merely interpreting old laws. Failure to use checks and balances has also allowed the President to make thousands of new laws, instead of congress, by issuing executive orders. It has allowed the federal government to invade the reserved rights of the states on a massive scale. It has allowed the legislature to impose taxes on the people never contemplated by the Founders, or the Constitution. Each department of the government has the responsibility to rise up and protect its prerogatives by exercising the checks and balances which have been provided, and even more so, the people have the responsibility to be the watchmen over their representatives and elect ONLY those that will function within Constitutional boundaries.
James Madison said, "As the people are the only legitimate foundation of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter under which the power of the several branches of government is derived, it seems strictly consonant to the republican theory to recur to the same original authority whenever an one of the departments may commit encroachment on the chartered authorities of the others."
How do the people protect themselves? Madison sought many different avenues and found that the only protection was within the machinery of checks and balances provided in the Constitution as written.
The three departments are independent, yet reliant on each other to fulfill their functions, so they are mutually dependent. Their resulting system was far more complex then Montesquieu. Here are their provisions:
1. The House of Representatives serves as a check on the Senate since no statue can become a law without their approval.
2. The Senate also serves as the check on the House of Representatives since no statue can become a law without its approval.
3. A President can restrain them both by using his veto to send back a bill not meeting his approval.
4. The Congress has on the other hand, a check on the President by being able to pass a bill over his veto with a 2/3 majority of each house.
5. The legislature also has a further check on the President through its power of discrimination in appropriating funds for the operation of the executive branch.
6. The President must have the approval of the Senate in filing important offices of the executive branch.
7. The President must also have the approval of the Senate before any treaties with foreign nations can go into effect.
8. The Congress has the authority to conduct investigations of the executive branch to determine whether or not funds are being properly expended and the laws enforced.
9. The President has a certain amount of political influence on the legislature by letting it be known that he will not support the reelection of those who oppose his program.
10. The executive branch also has further check on the Congress by using its discretionary powers in establishing military bases, building dams, improving navigable rivers, and building interstate highways so as to favor those areas from which the President feels he is getting support by their representatives.
11. The judiciary has a check on the legislature through its authority to review all laws and determine their constitutionality.
12. The Congress, on the other hand, has a restraining power over the judiciary by having the constitutional authority to restrict the extent of its jurisdiction.
13. The Congress also has the power to impeach any of the judges who are guilty of treason, high crimes or misdemeanors.
14. The President also has a check on the judiciary by having the power to nominate new judges subject to the approval of the senate.
15. The Congress has further restraining power over the judiciary by having the control of appropriations for the operation of the federal court system.
16. The Congress is able to initiate amendments to the Constitution which, if approved by three-fourths of the states, could seriously effect the operation of both the executive and judicial branches.
17. The Congress, by joint resolution, can terminate certain powers granted to the President such as war powers without his consent.
18. The people have a check on their congressmen every two years, on their President every four years, and on their Senators every six years.
The Founders Device for Peaceful Self-Repair
In other nations that copied our constitution, they forgot to incorporate adequate checks and balances. Instead, when a usurper takes over, they must use an army and result to machine guns and bombs to get them out. What the founders wished to achieve in the Constitution of 1787 was machinery for the peaceful means of self-repair when the system when out of balance.
During Watergate, this peaceful process was used. The Congress threatened to impeach, and the President who used his high office for purposes that were outside his scope of authority and the ramifications of legal conduct, he resigned. There was no command of the army to allow him to stay in power; it was a quiet and peaceful transition. This was the primary purpose of the United States Constitution, to have a peaceful means in order to repair distortions of power. While it requires more patience then the use of force, its outcome is much more certain.
The 28 Principles of Liberty are adapted from W.Cleon Skousens book The 5000 Year Leap and are brought to you by Fragrant Smoke.
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson
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