As soon as President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2010 into law, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed suit against the federal government, arguing that the legislation is unconstitutional. Cuccinelli highlights the individual mandate as particularly offensive to the Constitution, emphasizing that “at no time in our history has the government mandated its citizens buy a good or service.” Some disagree with Cuccinelli, pointing to the Second Militia Act of 1792 as evidence that the individual mandate is not unprecedented and furthermore that the …
This season’s snow falls and Snowpocalypse presents a great opportunity to remember our president who also suffered through the cold to save the Republic. Happy William Henry Harrison Day! No wait. That is not right. Failing to wear a coat in cold weather is not the same as defeating the British during a blizzard. The third Monday in February has come to be known—wrongly—as President’s Day. But, this is not a day to celebrate every president in our Nation’s history: like one who served only a month in office. This …
Forget George Washington, James Madison, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln—nothing meaningful happened in America before 1877. That’s the lesson North Carolina public high schools may start teaching. Under proposed changes in their high school history curriculum, the U.S. History course (which seniors take) will cover events from 1877 forward only. It will be as if the American Founding never happened. According to Rebecca Garland, the chief academic officer for North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the goal of this change is to teach what students will feel connected to, “where they …
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial and admonished America to return to its First Principles. In his I Have a Dream Speech, he announced his dream that “one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” He longed to see a day when all “would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’” Dr. King did not talk …
This Bill of Rights day, Let’s Celebrate the Constitution Many Americans praise the first ten amendments to our Constitution, collectively called the Bill of Rights, as providing the true protection of our liberty. What if there were no Bill of Rights? Would our fundamental liberties still be protected? Would we still have the rights to speak freely and to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience? Sure we would! The Bill of Rights was never considered to be chief guard of our liberty. In fact, many founders argued …
Today, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) voiced his concern that the Senate is moving away the Founders’ vision. No, Senator Reid has not admitted the unconstitutionality of his health care legislation. Rather, in his floor remarks, Senator Reid asserted that the Founders never envisioned the Senate to be a forum for endless debate on legislation: “Because it couldn’t be any further from what the founders had in mind. They didn’t write this esteemed body’s rules so that we could stare at the hands of the clock, which are right up here, …
When CNS News reporter asked Nancy Pelosi “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?,” her response was “Are you serious? Are you serious?” Is Pelosi serious? Did the Speaker Pelosi really say that asking “is this Constitutional” is a trivial question? Could her statement be a gaffe? Nope. It’s no gaffe. Pelosi’s press spokesman, Nadeam Elshami, clarified for the record that asking the speaker of the House to articulate the Constitutional authority for the health care mandate “is not …
Today, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day. On this date in 1787, delegates from each state signed the final Constitution, securing our rights and assuring the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. It is now the longest lasting, most imitated national constitution in the world. The Constitution unified the country by providing a stable national government over the 13 separate states. The Constitution continues to unify us as Americans — and as conservatives. As Americans, the continued success and viability of our country depends on our fidelity to, and …
Around the country, many parents and students are preparing for the first day of school. For high school seniors, this means time is running out to select the best college; for many college students, this means perusing the course catalog and wondering if “Introduction to Popular TV and Movies,” and “Science of Stuff” are still open. The U.S. News and World Report, released yesterday, is often the first stop when students (and parents) consider which college to attend. Harvard, Princeton, and Yale routinely rank as the top three national schools. …
We have heard a great deal about the costs and benefits of a “public option” and “single-payer system.” We have heard about the financial costs—and the other costs—of allowing the government to interfere with matters of life and death. However, we haven’t heard whether the Constitution gives Congress the power to enact these plans. What does this say about the status of the Constitution in the minds our policymakers today? If a concerned citizen asks a proponent of nationalized healthcare to point to the constitutional authority for such a law, …
