Tenth Amendment Center: The Real Constitution that Politicians Don't Want You to Know About

The Real Constitution the politicians don't want you to know about I’ve been told that law students prepping for the Bar Exam are told that if the Tenth Amendment is ever among the answers on a multiple-choice question, they can immediately rule it out. For the "experts," the Tenth Amendment is never the right answer. And politicians today - love it that way. Thomas Jefferson had a little different view of the Tenth Amendment. He called it the “foundation of the Constitution.” I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That ‘all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.’ To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specifically drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” The Tenth Amendment makes it unquestioningly clear that the Constitution constrains the general government to very specific and very limited powers. As James Madison explained in Federalist #45, “The powers delegated to the federal government by the proposed Constitution are few and defined.” James Wilson told us that "every thing which is not given, is reserved." That’s the dirty little secret politicians don’t want you to know.

JOIN TAC -from just $2/mo Help us take a stand for the Constitution and liberty - whether the government likes it, or not. (they don't) Monthly, annual, 5 year and lifetime options available. Details Here

John Jay - the first Chief Justice - described things this way: "The Constitution only serves to point out that part of the people's business, which they think proper by it to refer to the management of the persons therein designated" That's nowhere close to what how things operate in practice today - the largest government in history. Now – brace yourself. This might come as a shock. But the people in power are perfectly happy to operate with an undefined, boundless field of power. The founders referred to that as "arbitrary power" - one of the "injuries and usurpations" listed in the Declaration of Independence. And that’s why the Tenth Amendment is never the right answer according to the politicians, and the academics, judges, power brokers, lobbyists and talking heads that support them. Before the ink was even dry on the Constitution, the political class was already “interpreting” the document to expand its own powers. For example, by changing the meaning of the word "necessary" into merely "convenient" for federal power, Alexander Hamilton got his first national bank. And we're all paying the price for it too. Today, that federal government controls nearly every aspect of your life. It runs your healthcare, educates your children and monitors your every move. Bureaucrats in Washington D.C. even tell you how much water you can flush down your toilets. So much for powers “few and defined.” Sadly, most Americans accept this state of affairs. They even embrace it. In fact, most Americans actually believe that the federal government legitimately exercises all of this authority. After all, they’ve been taught all their lives that the Tenth Amendment is the wrong answer.

St. George Tucker: Our Original Originalist He wrote the first systematic commentary on the U.S. Constitution - and was one of the most influential jurists and legal scholars during the formative years of the United States. Article Here Get Tucker's Book Here

The nature of the American political system today exacerbates the expansion of power. “Democracy” gives everybody the false sense that they have some hand in exercising power – or that they will at least benefit from its expansion. This creates a dilemma, as political economist Bertrand de Jouvenel explained. Under the ‘ancient regime,’ society’s moving spirits, who had, as they knew, no chance of a share in Power, were quick to denounce its smallest encroachment. Now, on the other hand, when everyone is potentially a minister, no one is concerned to cut down an office to which he aspires one day himself, or to put sand in a machine which he means to use himself when his turn comes. Hence, it is that there is in the political circles of a modern society a wide complicity in the extension of Power.” A written constitution was meant to lay down rules that check the tendency for government to grow. It erects barriers to government power that must not be crossed. As Jefferson put it, “in questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution.” As John Hancock put it, "the powers reserved by the people render them secure" But like most things, a constitution won’t ever work if the people don’t know how to use it. While we do a significant amount of work to help reach and teach people about the original, legal meaning of the Constitution - based in principles from the Revolution - "how to use it" is probably our most important work. But for far too long politicians, bureaucrats, judges, law professors, and chattering pundits have told us how the Constitution should work - instead of the other way around. The political class has “interpreted” the rules. And it’s interpreted to give them more and more power over you and me. They teach us from day one that the way to keep the government in check is to convince the government to keep itself in check. Thomas Jefferson warned us how that would play out, noting that allowing the government to determine the extent of its own power would put the people of the several states "under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgment for them" After generations of interpretation by the people in power - just like Jefferson warned, we now have a federal government that claims the authority to do virtually anything and everything. Along the way, our liberties have been whittled away. The power of the politicians grows at the expense of our liberties. If we want to reclaim our liberties, something has got to give. It’s time for dis-interpretation. It’s time for “we the people” to reclaim their own Constitution and their own liberty. To do that, we have look at the Constitution through the eyes of the generation who wrote and ratified it. We’re have to follow Jefferson’s admonition and “carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or intended against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.” And then we have to follow what the founders told us has to be done to keep the government in check when it refuses to follow the rules. Today, of course, that's 24/7/365 James Madison told us that states and individuals should use a "refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union." James Iredell - one of the first Supreme Court Justices - told us that the ONLY way to deal with usurpations of power is through "the inherent right of the people to prevent its exercise." Not just a mere good idea - but the only way to deal with federal overreach. And Jefferson said "where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy" Also, not just a mere suggestion to try after everything else fails - but THE rightful remedy to all undelegated power. This is the real Constitution that the politicians don’t want you to know about. The one where the people of the states themselves determine the limits of federal power. The one where the people of the states themselves enforce the constitution through non-compliance and resistance. The one where no one who violates their oath of office is given support.  As John Dickinson put it, when there's a "bad administration" (which we sure do have) - the answer is to be found "before the supreme sovereignty of the people." IT IS THEIR DUTY TO WATCH, AND THEIR RIGHT TO TAKE CARE, THAT THE CONSTITUTION BE PRESERVED; Or in the Roman phrase on perilous occasions—TO PROVIDE, THAT THE REPUBLIC RECEIVE NO DAMAGE. (yes, he used the all caps in the original!) In other words, in the American political system, as originally conceived, the Tenth Amendment is always the right answer. We've got a lot of work to do - but with your support, we're building a strong foundation for today and the future.  Brick by brick. Person by person. State by state: For the constitution and liberty. Thank you so much for reading and your support! --Michael Maharrey, Michael Boldin along with TJ, Alan, Mike and the  rest of the TAC Team.

 

You Cannot Be Free if You Cannot be Moral and Just

“If we are too weak to take charge of our own morality, we shall not be strong enough to take charge of our own liberty.” – Calvin Coolidge​

Uh, yes we do care what "the adults" are doing. Private behavior has public consequences. Perversion becomes pervasive when it is permissible.

I listened to a speech from a Democratic candidate. He talked about “liberty,” and how Republicans don’t really explain what they mean by liberty. This candidate then continued to define what the Democratic Party thinks of liberty: abortion on demand, any time on the taxpayer’s dime. Fully funding government institutions, even if they are not effective or competent. The freedom to marry anyone you want, whether the same sex or the opposite sex.

This candidate had a point: liberty is not something we define very well, and the fact that we fail to do so means that we will struggle in our fight for protecting marriage and the family.

Liberty is freedom from the restraint of the state? Yes and no.

You cannot be free if you are not alive.

You cannot be free if you are in bondage to destructive behaviors, either.

You cannot claim to be free if you are depriving other people of their freedom, too.

Where does liberty come from? Who are you, who am I to say that I should be free?

The Declaration of Independence answers that question:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Life is the first right listed. If you are not alive, how can you be free.

If the behaviors that you promote undermine society and harm other people, whether in the short term or the long term, then we have another problem, don’t we?

Consider what the United States Constitution says about liberty:

“"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Establishing justice comes first. Liberty is mentioned, but later on. It’s not the first thing, and it’s mentioned as a BLESSING, which means that liberty has a divine origin.

Liberty is not something that man could come up with. Liberty is a result of revelation and released into the community via reason. Not reason alone, but in subjection to revelation.

Regarding LGBT behaviors and ideologies, it is inherently unjust to:

1.       Deprive children of their natural parents.

2.       Promote sexual licentiousness, which undermine bonds of honor and fealty

3.       Expand venereal disease and other dysfunctions

4.       Promote lies and force others to adopt and accommodate those lies.

The LGBT agenda at its very core is not just unconstitutional but anti-constitutional. It’s not about promoting liberty for more people, but depriving liberty from many and according privilege to the few.

Happy Independence Day From Sin!!

Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters of Jesus Christ,

Happy Independence Day!!!  May God bless our solders who have served this country for our freedoms.  May we bless God and give Him glory for freeing us from sin through His Son Jesus Christ.

Everyday I am thankful to the LORD Jesus for my brothers and sisters in Him.  Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values.

"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..."

The Holy Bible was read in school. The students were taught to love the USA and more importantly the LORD our God.  The God who blessed us with His Word and made this country flourish.  Our Father God "YahWeh" has blessed our nation partially because we support Israel.  My prayer is that we love our God and not fall away.  Dr. David Jeremiah ministered on the apostasy of the church during the tribulation.  This is already occurring.  Let us draw closer to Jesus day by day and sing praises unto Him who died so we may live eternally with Him.  How awesome is our God! 

May God uplift you in spirit and in truth by His encouragement that He will always be there for you.  Remember God will never leave or forsake you.  Continue to trust in Him and let Him direct your purpose and path.  I would ask you to sing out loud your praises to God and call upon Him.  Never give up.  Here is praise songs we just heard that reminds us that when the sun comes up it is a new day dawning for which we can praise God.

Jesus Something Happens When I Call Your Name (With Lyrics)  >> https://youtu.be/s3jaDSldLmQ

Lord I believe in You - Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir >> https://youtu.be/56-qxg7i118

The Battle Belongs To The Lord >> https://youtu.be/CrrcYuR-Jio

How Great Is Our God >> https://youtu.be/5FS-AR8peTY

Throne Room with Lyrics >> https://youtu.be/0WWQRcKUBSw

If you would like to see the latest Shadow Mountain Church service enjoy it at >> https://www.shadowmountain.org/default.aspx?page=3468

Love from your brothers in Christ our Messiah, Lord and King,

Joseph and Bob Ellis

Open Letter to Torrance City Council: Reverse Stay-at-Home Orders, No Local Emergency Extension

Dear Torrance City Council and Staff:

It amazes me that the city of Torrance insisted on issuing its own stay-at-home, lock-down, must-wear-mask order.

The statistics bearing out the so-called spread of COVID-19 do not justify these extended lockdown orders across the country, and certainly not in the city of Torrance.

The rate of infections has dwindle tremendously. Initial projects had suggested that 2 million would die from COVID-19. Then teh projections were repeatedly revised downwards to 1 million, then one hundred thousands, then into the tens of thousands.

The projections have been wrong. Individuals who have contracted COVID-19 have survived by and large. A friend of mine from the city of Torrance, who now lives in Downey, contracted COVID-19 and had few symptoms before, during, and after the contraction.

More estimates indicate that COVID-19 is no different from the common flu, if actually milder in impact.

More importantly, it is unconstitutional for any government in the sovereign United States to allow for extensive lockdown orders.

Any emergency order must be narrowly defined and time-limited. Anything else is unconstitutional.

It's time to open up the City of Torrance once again.

Local municipalities are within their rights to exert constitutional authority and disregard unconstitutional statewide lockdown calls.

Sheriffs in Wisconsin and Washington are doing this, for example.

Municipalities are doing the same. Check out this order released by the City of Energy, Illinois:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1092139671160541&set=a.124283174612867&type=3&theater

Alex S. Parks This is the best thing that I have seen come out of Illinois in a long time. Proud of the village of Energy. There's hope yet! #DefyTyrants #LesserMagistrate www.facebook.com

Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska are taking steps toward opening up their states already. Orange County, CA has issued guidelines for business to reopen, as well.

The city of Huntington Beach, CA did not shut down their beaches EVER -- and there has been no spread of COVID-19.

San Diego has begun opening up their beaches, too! Why is there any delay for Torrance to open up?

City manager, the city order needs to be lifted. All forms of commerce need to be permitted to open up once again.

Time to rescind the orders and disregard the unconstitutional orders issued by Los Angeles County and California government agencies.

---------------

[Comments sent three days later]

I have been informed that a supplemental item was added to Agenda Item 9A.

I am unpersuaded and undeterred from my prior declaration.

The city of Torrance should not be extended any statement of emergency.

Whatever funds that the city needs to recoup after May the 15th, they can be sure that those funds will be coming into the city coffers when businesses open up again and commerce is renewed throughout the city.

No extension of the Local Emergency Declaration.

No more lockdown condititions.

Reopen Torrance Beach.

Issue a letter/resolution/declaration demanding that the County of Los Angeles and Governor of California rescind their excessive, unnecessary lockdown orders.

I would ask the city council to direct the Torrance police department not to enforce the county and statewide orders. They are unconstitutional in their overreach. The city has the right and responsibility to take these actions due to its status as a charter city and due to the basic oaths taken by the elected officials in the city.

Enough is enough.

The COVID-19 outbreak was never as serious as many of the experts had declared. The mortality rate associated with COVID-19 is less than for the common flu. Forcing individuals to wear facemasks in public for trade in commerce is not conducive to good health, to the development of anti-bodies, or to the development of herd immunity to ward off the spread of this disease. In fact, most of the outbreaks of this illness have ocurred in nursing homes in the city. More defined, concrete steps should be considered to assist the potential victims in these populations, but the comprehensive lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are ineffective overreach.

#OPENTORRANCE

#BALANCEDCITY

I am urging everyone else who receives this email to CALL INTO the Torrance City Council meeting tomorrow night.

Everyone can watch the city council meeting live tomorrow night -- it starts at 7pm.

Click on the link below, and then the link for the live city council meeting will appear there:

http://torrance.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=8&event_id=7304

The Agenda item dealing with the extension of the local emergency order is Item 9A.

PARTICIPATE BEFORE THE MEETING by emailing CouncilMeetingPublicComment@TorranceCA.Gov and write “Public Comment” in the subject line. In the body of the email include the item number and/or title of the item with your comments. All comments emailed by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 will be included as a “Supplemental” on the City’s website prior to the meeting. Comments received after 4 p.m. will be uploaded to http://Torrance.Granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=8 the following day.

PARTICIPATE DURING THE MEETING by calling 310-618-2404.

MassResistance VICTORY! California LGBT Assemblyman Pulls Disastrous Reparative Therapy Ban!

BREAKING! California LGBT Assemblyman Pulls 

Disastrous Reparative Therapy Ban!

Concentrated Efforts of MassResistance Activists 

Achieved the Impossible

Torrance, CA--

In a stunning upset, California State Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Cupertino) announced that he was pulling his bill AB 2943.

Low states:

The best policy is not made in a vacuum and in order to advance the strongest piece of legislation, the bill requires additional time to allow for an inclusive process not hampered by legislative deadlines. With a hopeful eye toward the future, I share with you that, despite the support the bill received in the Assembly and Senate, I will not be sending AB 2943 to the Governor this year. I am committed to continuing to work towards creating a policy that best protects and celebrates the identities of LGBT Californians and a model for the nation to look towards.

Celebrating this unprecedented pro-family achievement for MassResistance, Arthur Schaper, Organization Director and State Chapter Director, shared:

“Many sources said that this could not be done. Most pro-family groups had conceded that this legislation would pass. MassResistance activists remained undeterred. We visited lawmakers’ offices. We had constituents all over the state make phone calls on a frequent basis to their assemblymembers’ offices. We also contacted churches and urged them to start calling their assemblymembers. We provided them resources to contact their legislators and stop this terrible bill.”

Call to Action to stop AB 2943
Contact info for all 80 Assembly members

Email addresses for all 80 Assembly members

Sample text to email Assembly members

Twitter addresses for top 23 Assembly members to contact
Our 2-page handout of information on AB 2943
Our brief talking points on AB 2943

MassResistance President Brian Camenker declared: “This could not have happened without Arthur’s lead and support. While most pro-family groups just issue letters and make statements, Arthur organized people across the state to call, email, and visit their state assemblymembers. He coordinated and communicated quite effectively with a number of staffers in Sacramento, too, who gave him further information on how to make the greatest impact to stop this bill. Even constituents in Evan Low’s district contacted him for help and started calling their local churches to stop this bill. This was an incredible effort, and WE WON!”

MassResistance is an international pro-family group which fights for natural marriage, Biblical morality, and biological reality in matters of life, marriage, family, and sexuality. Founded in 1995 by Brian Camenker of Waltham, Massachusetts, MassResistance has been fighting the LGBT Movement, warning parents, families, and communities of the disturbing attacks on faith, family, and freedom which result from this agenda. Visit our website Massresistance.org for more information.

Contact information:

Arthur Schaper, Organization Director

arthur@massresistance.org

Cell: (310) 793-8647

Brian Camenker, President

MassResistance

PO Box 1612Waltham, MA 02454

(781) 890-6001

info@massresistance.org

Hell Freezes Over: Communist Cuba Recognizes Private Property

Hell continues to freeze over.

Or better yet, Heaven is breaking through the dark clouds of decades past.

Francis Fukuyama analyzed these increasingly welcome realities.

Communist regimes do not stay communistic for the long run, even under their communist leaders.

The first dictator is the harshest, the most brutal.

Then the successors start to ease away from such hateful, stringent, bloodthirsty policies because the second tier of leaders want to live with some sense of peace and liberty.

Cuba has been a communist hell hole since 1959.

60 years later, we have witnessed Fidel Castro inviting religious institutions to speak to the Cuban people. Orthodox churches have opened up on the island, too.

Then Castro stepped down in favor of his brother Raul.

Then Raul moved aside to allow for elections.

The elections were not a true contest of ideas and political visions, but they took place.

A new President is now governing Cuba.

For the latest development, the Cuban Constitution will now recognize private property.

REUTERS: Communist-run Cuba to recognize private property in new constitution

— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) July 14, 2018

Here's the full report from Reuters:

Communist-run Cuba to recognize private property in new constitution

HAVANA (Reuters) - Communist-run Cuba will officially recognize private property, something it has long rejected as a vestige of capitalism, under a new constitution that also creates the position of prime minister alongside the president, state media reported on Saturday.

State media has reported this further liberalizing element, but such moves are inevitable withing command-control countries, since communistic policies cannot sustain any society for long.

Consider what happened to the Pilgrim settlers during the first winter, when they worked with a common store instead of allow for individual liberty and responsibility through private property.

Cuba’s current Soviet-era constitution only recognizes state, cooperative, farmer, personal and joint venture property.

But former President Raul Castro’s market reforms, aimed at trying to boost the economy and make Cuban socialism more sustainable, have prompted hundreds of thousands of Cubans to join the ranks of the island’s self-employed since 2010, in new privately-owned businesses ranging from restaurants to beauty salons.

"Making socialism sustainable" is nothing short of impossible. Free markets, free enterprise, and free people are the only ways for any state, any society, any community to remain sustainable.

I can't believe that we haven't read more about what Raul Casto had initiated. It's particularly telling that while Cuba's economy is opening up, Puerto Rico's economy has completely collapsed.

Ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma published a summary of the new constitution on Saturday, saying a draft it had seen included 224 articles, up from 137 previously.

Details were not immediately available, and Reuters did not see the draft. But Granma said it enshrined recognition of both the free market and private property in Cuba’s new Magna Carta.

 

A new Magna Carta ... which we cannot see.

Hmm ... it's a good idea for the rest of the world to remain skeptical and see how things roll out on the island pariah nation.

That could mean enhanced legal protections for Cuba’s fledgling entrepreneurs, and foreign investors too, even though Granma said the constitution reaffirmed that central planning and state enterprise are the pillars of the economy overall.

Watch the central planning unravel. One individual citizens get a real taste of liberty, they will never settle for bondage and statism again.

It also noted the Communist Party would remain as Cuba’s dominant political force.

That would last long. Of course, the Communist Party is the dominant party, but the country is authoritarian, not communistic anymore since business is booming, and Donald Trump is finally talking tough and hitting the country's products with hefty tariffs.

Cuba expert Luis Carlos Battista at the Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas cautioned that the acknowledgement of private property did not mean the government wanted to give private enterprise a greater role.

Of course. We get that this is a baby step. Most likely the Cuban government is taking the step because they fear military sanctions from Trump, the United States, and the rest of the Western World. I think it's worth noting that under President Trump's watch, North Korea has moved to denuclearize their weapons, China is forced to play fair (or at least fairer).

Now we have Cuba backing away from its communistic past. I don't think any of this would have happened under the weaker leadership of Crooked Hillary.

Earlier this week, he noted, the government published a set of regulations tightening control on the self-employed and hiking possible fines to include property confiscation.

According to Granma, the government commission revamping the constitution will present its draft to the national assembly when it meets next week. It will then be put to a national referendum, expected later this year.

A National Referendum? I bet that there are plenty of black market operations at work throughout Cuba, and there's nothing that the Cuban Communist Government can do to stop it.

The commission is headed by Castro, 87, who remains head of the Communist Party.

Miguel Diaz-Canel

New President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who sits on the commission, is also expected to announce his council of ministers at the assembly meeting.

This will be interesting.

Apart from introducing the position of prime minister, dividing the roles of head of state and head of government, the new constitution makes the president head of the assembly and imposes a term limit on the presidency of two consecutive five-year periods.

Let's see if the people of Cuba remain vigilant enough to keep the powers that be honest to these promises. Again, once they get a taste of freedom, they will be less likely to tolerate any return to the statist authoritarianism of the Castro regimes.

Castro, who together with his older, late brother Fidel Castro ruled the country for nearly 60 years, had proposed the limit in 2011, as part of a bid to modernize the political system.