In the U.S. Constitution article III invests the judicial power of the United States in the federal court system. Article III, Section 1 specifically creates the U.S. Supreme Court and gives Congress the authority to create the lower federal courts. (Office of Court Administration • Tom C. Clark Building).

Congress has used the power given to them to establish the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, the 94 U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Claims, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. U.S. Bankruptcy Courts handle bankruptcy cases. The Magistrate Judges handle some District Court matters. (Office of Court Administration • Tom C. Clark Building).

When it comes to the State of Texas in this matter the Supreme Court is the court of last resort for most civil and juvenile cases, and the Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for criminal cases. The Legislature has also created 14 Courts of Appeals and hundreds of district, statutory county, and statutory probate courts, and all this can be read and researched at the following link: http://www.courts.state.tx.us/fedvstatecourt.asp

The link above shows the structure of the Federal Courts and the structure of the Texas Court System. The link divides the structure into three sections. The first being the structure of the systems, the second being the Selection of Judges, and lastly the types of cases heard on both sides.

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The most obvious solutions, which are being paid for by the United States Consumer are extending the Postal Regulations incorporating existing laws for the Internet. The wording needs to read as a part of private communications instead of mail communications. Transmissions of copyright material under the FCC can be made similar. Once a movie is transmitted ( transmission is broad ) “in any form” it can be owned by the reader/viewer and it is in the hands of the viewer. From this point forward, it is legally shared material even under copyright. You can’t stop people talking about entertainment. It would be counter productive of entertainment’s first premise.

The laws contra mail rip-offs should be applied to the Internet. The US Postal Service has raised prices to compensate monies for the reduced mail traffic, and they stated their price hikes are because of Internet competition. The laws that support people’s protections under Postal Carriers can be adjusted to customer protection. These laws were generated over an experienced three hundred years. Ben Franklin was the colonial Post Master General in 1775, and the Pony Express started before the Civil War. Laws well thought out from years of experiences came into being, and they have endured through many revisions.

The names have been changed to protect the guilty. Congressman Joe Blow and Congressman Henry Hankerer haven’t any possibility to produce laws that are as good or as exact existing from our history. To cut cost further, law enforcement needs little training and they have experience under existing laws. Millions of dollars can be saved because current training applies. The three hundred years of experience went through the hands of hundreds of government officials rendering current laws to protect the consumers and stifling illegal activities. Give the tools out of the tool chest to the right people. Their is no need to waste money by creating more government growth yeilding a different government.

Free Speech is a guarantee. The Federal Government cannot break the Constitution vagrantly although they make illusive vagueness in their dissertations to reduce the Bill of Rights. One question looms, if you are not given a second chance why are you to giving politicians second chances. Something came from their mouths and they acted opposite. Hold everyone, from your neighbor to your employer, on the same standard. No Second Chances! You got what you got without a second chance, now give equally back, don’t loan your tools, don’t give your vote, and don’t work, if promises are fleeting memories. Your iron is in the fire, now apply it. They may say they didn’t remember or the famous “I’m sorry, I can’t recollect that.” Break the philosophical spiral that may continue until humanity dies. This is not saying take advantage of others nor is it saying not to be charitable. It is saying your are the result, and this result gains you equally.

Responsibility will never be present, if the results don’t come to bear.

Think on it. Make a decision, because abuse is two fold. You must have an abuser and you must have the abused. Most people are not into sadomasochism yet you live it. In slavery there is a slave driver and the slave. The Constitution is the law of the people, and your representatives are to serve you not to be a bloodline of mastery. The Magna Carta (“The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest“) and the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments of The Constitution of the United States of America) were made to protect people from the horror of serfdom and to give the people the ability to say no to government abuse.

The “Bill of Rights has come to a sudden and catastrophic end with the President’s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a law that grants the U.S. military the “legal” right to conduct secret kidnappings of U.S. citizens, followed by indefinite detention, interrogation, torture and even murder. This is all conducted completely outside the protection of law, with no jury, no trial, no legal representation and not even any requirement that the government produce evidence against the accused.” –excerpted from the article

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_Bill_of_Rights_Obama.html#ixzz1iKFhRgjN

The party is now over. Big Brother has assumed control, and the rest of us will be hard pressed to wrest control over our lives back from them without a fight of some kind. The introductory statement above, alluding to collusion amongst the separate branches of our government, is made clear by the very fact that, for this document to even be considered as legal according to the Constitution, the Judiciary Branch would have to be in tacit and written agreement with the two other parts of our three part system, thereby reneging on their duty to act as a check to the legislative and executive branches, to safeguard our Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

All of the first ten given rights in the Bill of Rights have been declared null and void, without any objection from the judiciary. It seems fairly obvious that this country is now in the hands of people who have no regard for human rights, unless it pertains to their own; anyone who disagrees out loud with their new regulations don’t deserve any rights, in their eyes. And according to this new legislation, foisted on society while it was busy being distracted once again by rhetoric and illusory holiday seasons, anyone who is even suspected of being against these laws may now be kidnapped in the dark of night, with never a word of justification of any sort to anyone; none is now required, there is no oversight at all.

Considering some of what has been written here, and in other places where the author’s work may be found, they will be coming for me very soon….oh excuse me, someone is at the door…. be right back…..

            Americans purchase real guns or airsoft guns for a variety of reasons. Some people use it for recreational purposes, such as hunting or firing at a range. However many Americans own a gun for the reason of self-defense.

Airsoft rifles are made to mimic actual firearms. They use small, hard plastic pellets called BBs as ammo and are made to be non-lethal. However this does not remove the danger of using an airsoft rifle gun because it definitely can injure a person from bruising to teeth damage. These airsoft guns are usually the first experience children and teens have with a gun. Therefore, it is important to educate them on safe and responsible use from the onset.

            Whether the new gun owner is purchasing the gun for recreational use or self-defense, he or she will have to follow important rules to safely store it. Storing a gun is the first part of safety because an unprotected and loaded firearm can find its way into the wrong hands. This could result in serious injury or death. The most important part of gun storage is to store the gun, unloaded in a locked gun safe. Storing the gun for a prolonged time can result in it not operating due to accumulated dirt or moisture. So cleaning the firearm is essential to safety.

            While guns aren’t delicate silverware, they need to be cleaned and maintained properly. When cleaning the barrel, it is vital to make sure the weapon is unloaded since having it going off would cause mishap. Most importantly, you need to know how your gun works and know its basic parts. Being able to tell when there is a defect, such as a crack, with the gun is essential to safe operation. Contacting a gunsmith would be the best way to repair or know what to do about it.

            The right to bear arms is one of the foundations of American society. It is a privilege that is to be earned by responsibility and safe use. Learning about the risks and safety procedures of firearms should be installed in teenagers who will plan on being future gun owners. 

Passage of the Constitution by the states was by no means certain in 1787. Indeed, many people at that time opposed the creation of a federal, or national, government that would have power over the states. These people were called Anti-Federalists. They included primarily farmers and tradesmen and were less likely to be a part of the wealthy elite than were members of their opposition, who called themselves Federalists. The Anti-Federalists believed that each state should have a sovereign, independent government. Their leaders included some of the most influential figures in the nation, including PATRICK HENRY and GEORGE MASON, leading national figures during the Revolutionary War period. Many Anti-Federalists were local politicians who feared losing power should the Constitution be ratified. As one member of their opposition, EDMUND RANDOLPH, said, these politicians “will not cherish the great oak which is to reduce them to paltry shrubs.”

The Federalists favored the creation of a strong federal government that would more closely unite the states as one large, continental nation. They tended to come from the wealthier class of merchants and plantation owners. Federalists had been instrumental in the creation of the Constitution, arguing that it was a necessary improvement on the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, the country’s first attempt at unifying the states in a national political arrangement. Leaders among the Federalists included two men who helped develop the Constitution, JAMES MADISON and ALEXANDER HAMILTON, and two national heroes whose support would greatly improve the Federalists’ prospects for winning, GEORGE WASHINGTON and BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

Between September 17, 1787, the day the Constitution was signed by the Constitutional Convention, and May 29, 1790, the day Rhode Island became the thirteenth and last state to ratify the Constitution, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists engaged in a fierce national debate on the merits of the Constitution. This debate occurred in meeting halls, on streets, and on the printed page. Both sides in the argument had a considerable following. Many of the questions raised remain with us today: What is the best form of government? What rights must the government protect? Which government powers should be granted to the states, and which to the federal government?

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Moses went off on Mount Sinai to deliver guiding principles to his people.  Our Founding Fathers met in a Continental Congress.  Beginning a new tradition is never easy or without risk.  Loyalty to the principles and that which has freed you from enslavement is paramount. 

In today’s culture, I can just see the Founding Fathers at their realization that the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to our Constitution created to protect and preserve the rights of the citizens, have been held in every bit as little respect and reverence as were the guidelines set by Moses as he went off to construct or receive the 10 commandments.

In my conversations with people, I have been called “exaggerated” “impractical” “selfish” and many other adjectives because I hold true to the founding principles of this nation.  I have also been told that the Founding Fathers created a system based on compromise, and I was completely going against what they stood for.  Somehow, I fail to see how they were willing to compromise their inalienable rights to Mad King George.  As I recall, they pledged their lives to one another to ensure that their individual liberties would be fought for and preserved. 

Oddly, I have also heard someone mention that it is everyone’s duty to preserve our natural rights in the same paragraph that he said that the needs of the many will always come before the needs of the few.  Forgetting for a moment the gross lack of ability to conceptualize that this contradiction represents, how is it that people within 300 years of a Revolution founding the first nation on earth on the idea of individual rights can so bastardize the foundation of these concepts that not only are they not held dear but they are scoffed as something negative and annoying?

What caused them to clamour around modern day golden calves?  What is so frightening about taking the responsibility of one’s own freedom and preserving that of others?

Since they have met with a similar fate, I will be interposing the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Ten Commandments.  Please understand that this by no means insinuates  a desire to hold to one religion, or even a religion.  I merely believe that there are parallels which can be insightful when drawn.

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence…” – The Declaration of Independence

‘1 And God spake all these words, saying, 4-5 The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire … saying, Pre 1 — 2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” – The Ten Commandments

In both of these instances, the starting point is similar:  you were enslaved, and you have been set free.

The Bill of Rights:

“1. Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

“You shall have no other gods before me.”

Basically, this would mean that the government has been delegated to the role of servant, not God.  It is there to serve the preservation of individual rights, not their subservience or destruction.

“2. Right to keep and bear arms

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

“You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.“

This basically underlines who is in charge.  It is the people, or, rather, the individual, who is served by the government which exists to protect their rights, not whom they serve.

“3. Conditions for quarters of soldiers
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”

1. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
    

The army of the nation is not the source of the power of the government.  It is the consent of the governed.

“4. Right of search and seizure regulated
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

1. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
    

The home is hallowed and sacred, as is the Sabbath day.  It is not to be violated by anyone who would seek to enslave.

“5. Provisons concerning prosecution
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”

Honor the roots of the Constitution – Individual rights.

“6. Right to a speedy trial, witnesses, etc.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”

“You shall not murder.”

You shall not unjustly condemn any man.

“7. Right to a trial by jury

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law”

“You shall not commit adultery.”

You shall not hold someone accountable for the same accusation in another court.

“8. Excessive bail, cruel punishment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

“You shall not steal.”

You shall not take financial advantage or physical advantage of an accused.

“9. Rule of construction of Constitution
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.“
The government shall not create laws which clash with the rights of the people.

“10. Rights of the States under Constitution
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

1. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

The goverment shall not look to covet the rights of the people.

Now, for anyone out there reading this who is smacking their lips at my usage of Judeo Christian analogies and saying “right wing religious zealot”  let me advise you that the parallels could possibly be found under any spiritual doctrine.  The Buddha said that all true spiritualities have the same feeling: that of freedom.  I will also  state for the record that I was a happy, contented athiest for most of my life.  I am drawing parallels as I see them.

The most remarkable parallel to me, though, is that just as the people of Moses were quick to forget their deliverance from slavery and sold their freedom to the first calf of gold they could make and worship, Americans of today similarly forget their deliverance from a totalitarian dictatorship and are just as quick to melt their Bill of Rights down into a socialist nation they will worship and be happily enslaved by.

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We as Americans have a tremendous regard and respect for the framers of our Constitution because it was they that laid the foundation stones for the greatest country on earth.  But on top of the many amazing aspects of the Constitution, one stands out as an act of wisdom and foresight that made sure the Constitution would remain a living document for centuries.  That was the provision of the Constitution that allowed for the addition of amendments.

It was not long after the Constitution was ratified that the first ten amendments were indeed organized and became law.  That those ten amendments have become as central to the American system of government as the Constitution itself.  They have come to be known as the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights are so deeply engrained in the American consciousness that they are often referenced in conversations about issues, how Americans work and live together and our relationship with the government.  The true genius of the Bill of Rights was the work it did to severely limit the ability of the government of the United States to ever interfere with the fundamental rights of its citizens.  This is a stunning achievement at a governmental level when you think in terms of legal systems of governments throughout history and around the world. 

These ten amendments assure that the rights of citizens in this country are forever protected from any move by any administration to take those rights and give them to the government itself.  As such, the government is forever banned from getting too strong and it relegates the government to a servant role in society which so often is not the case in governmental politics elsewhere in the world.

The ten amendments to the Constitution cover the core rights of Americans including…

1.      Freedom of Religion, free speech, freedom of the press and the fundamental right of assembly without fear of harassment from the government.  Also the right to petition the government to seek relief for grievances caused by the government.

2.      The right to bear arms.

3.      Protection from the forced habitation of troops in civilian homes in a time of conflict.

4.      Protection from unreasonable search and seizure as part of a criminal investigation.

5.      The right to due process when being accused of a crime.

6.      The right to a jury trial, to be allowed to cross examine your accusers and other rights of accused to assure Americans cannot be “railroaded” by the legal system.

7.      The right to civil trail by jury

8.      Protection against cruel and unusual punishment and the right to bail.

9.      Protection of rights not specifically spelled out in these ten amendments

10.  Protection of states rights.

Of these rights, the ones listed in the first amendment are most often quoted and most cherished by Americans.  The original authorship of the Bill of Rights is credited to James Madison.  These basic rules of order for how the government will respect its own citizenry set in place and entitlement of rights by American citizens that has fundamentally shaped this country and how Americans come to expect its government to behave. 

It endowed the citizenry of the land with an expectation that the rights of the citizens of the country at a very basic level are more important than the rights of the government and that the government “works for us” which is a phenomenal change to the way societies have been organized throughout history.  As such, The Bill of Rights is one of the many reasons that America can be regarded as the most unique country in the world and the country that many citizens of other nations wish their own counties would emulate.

The thirteenth amendment is an equal employment law that abolished slavery. 

The fourteenth amendment provides equal protection for all citizens and required due process, which also protects all citizens regardless of their gender, race, or other differences. 

The Civil Rights Act makes it possible for all citizens to have equal opportunity to make, perform, modify, and terminate contracts. 

Because of the past the discrimination in gender was a big problem when it came to employment opportunities. Now there is an equal pay act to allow that all workers get paid by the work, regardless of their gender. The equal pay Act of 1963 gives equal pay, and equal work (University of Phoenix, 2007).

            sovereignty are regularly exercised.”

Nature and purpose of a Constitution

1. It serves as the supreme or fundamental law. It is the law to which all other laws must conform and

in accordance with which all private rights must be determined and all public authority administered.

2. It establishes the basic framework and underlying principles of government. The purpose of a

constitution is to prescribe the  permanent framework of the system of government and to assign to the

different departments or branches, their respective powers and duties and to establish certain principles on which the government is founded.

Kinds of Constitution

Kinds of Constitution: As to origin:

1. Conventional or Enacted. One which is enacted by a constituent assembly  (The Philippine

Constitution) or granted by a monarch to his subjects like the Constitution of Japan in 1889.

2. Cumulative or Evolved. Like the British Constitution, one which is a product of growth

or a long period of development originating in customs, traditions, judicial decisions etc.,

rather than from a deliberate and formal enactment.

B. As to their form:

            1. Written. One which has been given a definite written form at a particular time, usually by a

specially constituted authority called a constitutional convention.

2. Unwritten. One which is a product of political evolution, consisting largely of mass customs, usages and judicial decisions together with a smaller body of statutory enactments of fundamental character, usually bearing different dates.

Ex. British Constitution= Magna Carta+ Acts of Union + customs + usages, etc.

C.  As to manner of amending:

1. Rigid or inelastic. One regarded as a document of special sanctity which cannot be amended or altered except by some special machinery more cumbrous than the ordinary legislative process.

2. Flexible or Elastic. One which possesses no higher legal authority than ordinary laws and which may be altered in the same way as other laws.

Requisites of a good written constitution

A. As to form

1. Brief. Because if a Constitution is too detailed, it would lose the advantage of a fundamental law which in a few provisions outlines the structure of government of the whole state and the rights of the citizens.

2. Broad. The scope must be wide enough to make the Constitution flexible and easily adaptable to changing social, economic and political conditions, and thus enable it, without amending, to meet every exigency, for a Constitution is designed to be a permanent document to serve a country for many generations—indeed if possible “to endure for ages to come.

3. Definite, because any vagueness which may lead to opposing interpretations of essential features may cause incalculable harm.

B. As to Contents:

1. Constitution of Government. That dealing with the framework of government and its powers and defining the electorate. Articles 4,5,6,7,8,9 & 10

2. Constitution of Liberty. That setting forth the fundamental rights of the people and imposing certain limitations on the powers of the government as a means of securing the enjoyment of these rights.

Article 3: The Bill of Rights

3. Constitution of sovereignty. That which points out the mode or procedure for amending or revising the Constitution. Article 17

The Preamble

From the Latin Preambulare “to walk before.”

A Preamble is not essential in a Constitution. By itself, it cannot be invoked as a source of private rights

enforceable by the courts or of any governmental power not expressly granted or at least, clearly implied there from.

What then is the value of the Preamble?

1. It sets down the origin  and purposes of the Constitution. It tells who are the authors of the

 Constitution and for whom it was promulgated.

2. It may serve as an aid to interpretation.  The statement of the general purposes may be resorted to as an aid in determining the meaning of the vague provisions of the Constitution. As an illustration, the government is without power to impose taxes for private purpose because according to the Preamble it is established for public purpose– the promotion of the common good– and not for private purpose.

Handouts

An Outline of the Federalist Papers

Copy of the Bill of Rights

Content

1. The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States are known as the Bill of Rights.  They included: 1- separation of church and state, 2 – the right to have a state militia and individual ownership of weapons, 3 – the right to refuse quartering to troops, 4 – the right to require a search warrant, 5-the right to due legal process, Eminent Domain (property rights), and self-incrimination, 6-the right to a prompt trial, 7- right to a jury, 8 – right to bail, 9 – the right for the Constitution to be amended, 10 – the right of the states to reserve powers not listed by the federal government.

1. The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868,  was added to the Bill of Rights to give citizens due process in both the federal and state arenas.

1. Double jeopardy was being tried twice for the same crime.  It was prohibited by the Bill of Rights.

1. Checks and Balances within the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches were not primarily affected by the Bill of Rights.

1. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of Congress in both Houses or when 2/3 of the state legislatures request Congress to call a Constitutional Convention.

1. Ratification of an amendment must be done by at least ¾ of the state legislatures or a majority vote in ¾ of the state conventions called to vote on the amendment.

Terms to Define and Learn

Ratification

Amendment

Majority

Double Jeopardy

Fourteenth Amendment

Eminent Domain

Bill of Rights

State Militia

Critical Question Essay

Discuss how amendments to the Constitution are made.  Include all the steps in the process and why getting them accomplished would be difficult in most instances.

Internet Resources for this Lesson

www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/bill_of_rights.html

www.davidamayassociates.com/id17.htm