Tenth Amendment Remembered

...from Tenth Amendment Center Many people today think the Constitution is a “living, breathing” document, one that just changes with the times. But that just means those with power will tell us what it means in ways that fit their political goals. The end result? The largest government in the history of the world. Path to Liberty: November 30, 2020 Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Podbean | Google | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | More Platforms Here SHOW LINKS: JOIN TAC Show Archives Mass Circular Letter (1768) Constitution 101: Living and Breathing is the Same as Dead The American Revolution Was a Constitutional Crisis America Embraces the Tyranny its Founders Fought to Reject James Madison to Henry Lee (25 June 1824) Richard Henry Lee – Virginia Ratifying Convention Declaration of Independence George Washington’s Farewell Address ALTERNATE VIDEO SOURCES Watch on LBRY Watch on Facebook Watch on Bitchute Watch on Twitch.tv Watch on Brighteon Watch on Periscope W...

...from Tenth Amendment Center TRENTON , N.J. (Nov. 30, 2020) – A bill introduced in the New Jersey Assembly would ban “no-knock” warrants at private residences and effectively nullify several Supreme Court opinions. Rep. Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson) and Rep.Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton) introduced Assembly Bill 4286 ( A4286 ) back in June. Under the proposed law, before executing an arrest or search warrant at a residence, police would have to follow the following steps. Knock on the door of the residence; Clearly and verbally announce the officer’s identity and the reason for the officer’s presence; and Absent exigent circumstances, wait a reasonable amount of time, but not less than 30 seconds, for occupants to answer the door, whichever is greater, before entering the premises. All search and arrest warrants executed at a residence would be required to contain these requirements in order to be valid. Nullifying the Supreme Court Passage of A4286 would effectively ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Thomas Jefferson called the Tenth Amendment “The foundation of the 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.” This tells us the federal government was meant to be very limited. In fact, you should barely even know it exists. Yet here we are — obsessing over virtually anything and everything as a do-or-die national issue. In the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 , Thomas Jefferson warned us, “In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” Why? Because power corrupts. And as Lord Acton said, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Sadly, Americans have let politicians in Washington D.C. have almost absolute power. States have become mere subsidiaries of D.C. Your rights are now subject to the whims of the political class – whether heade...

...from Tenth Amendment Center I recently appeared on the Conflicts of Interest podcast hosted by Kyle Anzalone to talk about the pernicious impacts of America’s endless, unconstitutional wars. Kyle and I discussed the ongoing U.S. military actions in Yemen and Somalia and their constitutional ramifications. We discussed constitutional war powers, how Congress has pawned off its responsibility to the president and why the founders didn’t want a single individual making decisions about war and peace. We also touched on the cost of these endless wars. Kyle and I also talked about some of the big wins for nullification in the November elections and touched on the growing momentum behind the Defend the Guard bill to limit National Guard deployments to foreign combat zones without a congressional declaration of war. For Further Reading The Unconstitutional War in Yemen Grinds Life and Liberty Under Its Wheels Trump’s Quiet Little War in Somalia Thirty-Six and Counting: More States...

...from Tenth Amendment Center In what many consider a Thanksgiving gift for religious liberty, the United States Supreme Court struck down occupancy limits for church gatherings in New York. The restrictions were implemented by Governor Andrew Cuomo in an attempt to thwart the spread of the coronavirus. The Justices held that restrictions on the size of congregations violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The decision was a 5-4 split. Amy Coney Barrett sided with the majority, while John Roberts joined Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan in the dissent. Governor Cuomo issued an executive order in October initiating a three-color risk system as part of his draconian response to the virus. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the Agudath Israel of America filed complaints as the order severely restricted the size of congregations for religious worship. No more than 10 people are allowed to gather in “red” zones, 25 in “orange” zones; the restrictions are harsher fo...

...from Tenth Amendment Center 3 Supreme Court opinions and the incorporation doctrine have taken this unconstitutional policy and forced it on all 50 states. Learn where it started, the 3 cases – and efforts that are happening now to start the process of nullifying those opinions in practice and effect. Path to Liberty: November 28, 2020 Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Podbean | Google | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | More Platforms Here SHOW LINKS: JOIN TAC Show Archives Movement To Limit Police Raids Looks Beyond ‘No-Knock’ Warrants Wiki: No-knock warrant Libertas: Should Home Invasions for Drugs Continue? No-Knock Warrants: How Common They Are And Why Police Are Using Them Signed as Law: Virginia Prohibits No-Knock Warrants New Jersey A4286 Texas SB175 ALTERNATE VIDEO SOURCES Watch on LBRY Watch on Facebook Watch on Bitchute Watch on Twitch.tv Watch on Brighteon Watch on Periscope Watch on BitTube Watch on DLive FOLLOW and SUPPORT TAC: Become a Member: htt...

...from Tenth Amendment Center RICHMOND , Va. (Nov. 25, 2020) – Late last month, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill into law that bans “no-knock” warrants and nullifies the impact of several Supreme Court opinions in practice and effect. Del. Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax) introduced House Bill 5099 ( HB5099 ) on Aug. 20. The new law prohibits any Virginia law-enforcement officer from seeking, executing, or participating in the execution of a no-knock search warrant. Under the law, all search warrants must be executed by an officer “recognizable and identifiable as a uniformed law-enforcement officer.” Police must provide “audible notice” of their authority and purpose “reasonably expected to be heard by occupants of such place to be searched prior to the execution of such search warrant.” All warrants must be executed during the day, “unless (i) a judge or magistrate, if a judge is not available, authorizes the execution of such search warrant at another time for good cause shown.”...

...from Tenth Amendment Center It’s Thanksgiving Eve, and when I think of sharing what I’m thankful for, there are so many things – family, friends, health – and so much more. And for the past 14 1/2 years, I’ve been given an incredible gift – the opportunity to share the wisdom of the Founders with more and more people every single day of the year. When I started the TAC back in 2006, my goal was to reach just a single person – maybe a handful of people – and help them understand the Constitution and liberty. Since day one, this has been David vs. Goliath. TAC vs. the establishment. Good guys with almost nothing vs. the bad guys with everything. Fast-forward to today, and TAC has had an impact far beyond anything I ever imagined. In the last few years, we’ve seen more nullification bills introduced – and PASSED – than at any time in our history. THANK YOU for being a part of it with us! Nothing – and I mean nothing – helps us roll up our sleeves ev...

...from Tenth Amendment Center I ran across a billboard asserting that I needed to vote Trump in order to “save America from socialism?” That raises a question: who’s going to save us from Trump socialism? It's laughable to think a big-government, big-spending socialist is going to "save us from socialism" @mmaharrey10th pic.twitter.com/m5E0yXo4Kh — TenthAmendmentCenter (@TenthAmendment) November 24, 2020 There is really only one way to save America from socialism and it has nothing to do with voting for a president. For Further Reading What Next? Trump 2020 Deficit More Than Doubles Obama’s Previous Record Today in History: Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 Passed     The post Saving Us From Socialism? first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center Blog . Mike Maharrey November 25, 2020 at 12:48PM

...from Tenth Amendment Center Recently published, by Ilan Wurman (Arizona State):  The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment  (Cambridge Univ. Press 2020).  Here is the book description from Amazon: In The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment, Ilan Wurman provides an illuminating introduction to the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s famous provisions ‘due process of law,’ ‘equal protection of the laws,’ and the ‘privileges’ or ‘immunities’ of citizenship. He begins by exploring the antebellum legal meanings of these concepts, starting from Magna Carta, the Statutes of Edward III, and the Petition of Right to William Blackstone and antebellum state court cases. The book then traces how these concepts solved historical problems confronting framers of the Fourteenth Amendment, including the comity rights of free blacks, private violence and the denial of the protection of the laws, and the notorious abridgment ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Thanks to qualified immunity, an elderly Georgia man has no recourse after Henry County Sheriff’s Office deputies mistakenly broke into his home during a no-knock raid. Onree Norris, 81, was watching TV when members of the Special Response Team battered down his door and tossed in a flash-bang grenade. The deputies were serving a warrant. The problem was they had the wrong house. The warrant was for the house next door. According to 11 Alive , the warrant included a detailed description of the target house. “The warrant described an off-white house with a black roof. Norris’ house is yellow with a gray roof. The houses even had separate driveways, addresses, and mailboxes.” Norris told reporters deputies kicked down four doors before they found him standing in his hallway. “Got to the hallway, they was all over me,” Norris said. “Grabbed my arm, twisted behind my back, and handcuffed me.” He said the whole incident “scared me to death.” Deputies...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Supporters of the monster state want you to believe that Necessary and Proper means “anything and everything.” But James Madison rejected this kind of view throughout his career, reinforcing the view that “Whatever meaning this clause may have, none can be admitted, that would give an unlimited discretion to Congress.” Path to Liberty: November 23, 2020 Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Podbean | Google | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | More Platforms Here SHOW LINKS: JOIN TAC Show Archives Necessary and Proper: Not Anything and Everything James Madison on the Bank Bill (2 Feb 1791) The Federalist No. 44 In Virginia Ratifying Convention (15 Jun 1788) James Madison and the Necessary and Proper Clause Today in History: James Madison Vetoes “Bonus Bill” as Unconstitutional ALTERNATE VIDEO SOURCES Watch on LBRY Watch on Facebook Watch on Bitchute Watch on Twitch.tv Watch on Brighteon Watch on Periscope Watch on BitTube Watch on DLive FOLL...

...from Tenth Amendment Center I have posted a revised version of  Originalism and Birthright Citizenship  (Georgetown L.J., forthcoming) on SSRN.  This should be close to the final version.  Thanks to readers of this blog and of Volokh Conspiracy for helpful comments. I want to respond briefly to Andrew Hyman’s  post , in which he argues that the citizenship clause requires birth within a state to acquire constitutional citizenship.  He bases that view on the fact that the clause says all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States “and of the state wherein they reside.” I think this is mistaken for three reasons.  First, there’s a plausible alternative reading: that national citizens are also citizens of the state, if any, in which they reside.  Residence outside a state doesn’t defeat national citizenship; it only defeats state citizenship.  True, this implies the phrase ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center President Trump has repeatedly asserted that before the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. was in the midst of the “greatest economy in the history of our country.” But the rhetoric certainly doesn’t live up to reality. In fact, Trump’s boasting doesn’t hold up, even to a cursory examination of the data. Considering real GDP growth through the first 13 quarters of his presidency – before the COVID-19 lockdowns wrecked the economy – Trump ranks dead last among all the presidents since 1948. Annualized Real GDP Growth Rate Per Presidential Term, From Highest To Lowest ( Courtesy of David Stockman ) Truman: 5.5% Kennedy-Johnson: 5.2% Clinton: 3.8% Reagan: 3.6% Carter: 3.2% Nixon-Ford: 2.7% Eisenhower: 2.5% Bush the Elder: 2.2% Bush the Younger: 1.9% Obama: 1.9% Trump: 1.8%. Some will argue that U.S. GDP as measured in Q1, 2020, set a record of $19.254 before the lockdowns drug the economy into the gutter. This, Trump apologists proclaim, vin...

...from Tenth Amendment Center We hear it said that  whenever  the Senate ratifies a treaty, it becomes part of “the supreme Law of the Land”.  But is that True?  Not necessarily!  Walk with me, and I will show you how to think through this question, and how to analyze other constitutional questions which come your way. You must always ask: Is this authorized in the Constitution? Where exactly in the Constitution? And precisely what is authorized by the Constitution? 1.  Does the federal government have authority to make treaties?  Can treaties be about any object? Or, are the proper objects of treaties limited by The Constitution? Article II, §2, cl. 2, U.S. Constitution, says the President: “… shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur…” Article VI, cl. 2 says: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which sh...