Sunday, January 2, 2011
Nullification: Interview with a Zombie
Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century
Unconstitutional laws are pouring out of Washington… but we can stop them.
Just ask Thomas Jefferson. There is a “rightful remedy” to federal power grabs—it’s called Nullification.
In Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century, historian and New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr. explains not only why nullification is the constitutional tool the Founders envisioned, but how it works—and has already been employed in cases ranging from upholding the First Amendment to knocking down slave laws before the Civil War. In Nullification, Woods shows:
• How the states were meant to be checks against federal tyranny—and how a growing roster of governors and state attorneys general are recognizing they need to become that again
• Why the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reinforces the rights of states to nullify unconstitutional laws
• Why it was left to the states to uphold the simple principle that an unconstitutional law is no law at all
• Why, without nullification, ordinary Americans will continue to suffer the oppression of unjust, unconstitutional laws
• PLUS thorough documentation of how the Founding Fathers believed nullification could be applied
Nullification is not just a book—it could become a movement to restore the proper constitutional limits of the federal government. Powerful, provocative, and timely, Nullification is sure to stir debate and become a constitutional handbook for all liberty-loving Americans.
Review by Jack Hunter
Tom Woods' latest book is another example of the author doing what he does best--dissecting political and economic failure by striking at the root of the problem and offering common sense and constitution-based solutions, something he always does in an easy to comprehend, everyman style. Ironically, the solutions Woods offers are often considered unconventional or controversial, but only by the same professional talking heads who got us into virtually every mess the author addresses.
As with his bestseller "Meltdown," in which Woods explained how the Federal Reserve and government intervention were primary culprits in the ongoing recession, "Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century," is a how-to for Americans fed up with an out-of-control Washington, DC. Question: How can we expect a federal government no longer restrained by the Constitution to be contained by that document any time in the future? Answer: by containing it ourselves.
Woods argues that Americans concerned about federal overreach — on everything from the imposition of national healthcare to medicinal marijuana laws — should revisit the "principles of '98," as in 1798, when James Madison and Thomas Jefferson famously insisted that the federal government, as Woods puts, "cannot be permitted to hold a monopoly on constitutional interpretation" or the "exclusive right to judge the extent of its own powers," or it would continue to grow, "regardless of elections, the separation of powers and other much-touted limits on government power."
Per the 10th amendment and Madison and Jefferson's example, Woods argues that states should render void —or nullify — oppressive federal mandates, as not only a necessary measure, but perhaps the only possible way Americans might ever stuff the beast in Washington back into its constitutional box. Woods points out that nullification is not only an old, all-American concept whose time has come, but is far more practical method of substantively addressing today's problems than the false solutions offered by the Left/Right, two-party paradigm, a truly archaic political model which has kept us distracted from the real dilemma of unchecked government power--something our rulers laughably keep insisting they will keep in check so long as their own party holds all the power in government.
FOX News host Judge Andrew Napolitano is correct when he says "In clear and well-documented arguments, Tom Woods gives hope to those who wish to tame the federal monster as the Framers intended--by using the utterly lawful and historically accepted principle of Nullification." Indeed. And with his latest offering, Tom Woods has given Americans who genuinely want to "take their country back" the blueprint to do just that.•
Decentralization
Decentralization—the transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the central government to subordinate or quasi-independent government organizations and/or the private sector — is a complex and multifaceted concept. It embraces a variety of concepts. Different types of decentralization shows different characteristics, policy implications, and conditions for success.
I) Political Decentralization
Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decision-making. It is often associated with pluralistic politics and representative government, but it can also support democratization by giving citizens, or their representatives, more influence in the formulation and implementation of policies. Advocates of political decentralization assume that decisions made with greater participation will be better informed and more relevant to diverse interests in society than those made only by national political authorities. The concept implies that the selection of representatives from local electoral constituency allows citizens to know better their political representatives and allows elected officials to know better the needs and desires of their constituents. Political decentralization often requires constitutional or statutory reforms, creation of local political units, and the encouragement of effective public interest groups.
"If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." - Aristotle
I) Political Decentralization
Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decision-making. It is often associated with pluralistic politics and representative government, but it can also support democratization by giving citizens, or their representatives, more influence in the formulation and implementation of policies. Advocates of political decentralization assume that decisions made with greater participation will be better informed and more relevant to diverse interests in society than those made only by national political authorities. The concept implies that the selection of representatives from local electoral constituency allows citizens to know better their political representatives and allows elected officials to know better the needs and desires of their constituents. Political decentralization often requires constitutional or statutory reforms, creation of local political units, and the encouragement of effective public interest groups.
We say that everything in our nation is political, but in a deeper sense of the word, almost nothing anymore in our nation is political, and that is the problem. Almost nothing is left to the determination of people, uniting in groups as they see fit to build a common life far more satisfying and more human than anything that a state can rig up or mandate. This freedom of association that I am calling for is nothing other than the very foundation of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" — the self-governance necessary for a Constitutional Republic, though it has been plowed under by the consolidation of power within the federal government by a myriad of corrupt special interests. In this sense, the American people need more political life, not less, as we understand that the ever-growing size and rampant corruption of the federal government, like the sprawling bureaucracies of the Persian empire, tend to strangle the political at the level where we do most of our living: at the level of the neighborhood, the school, the village, the club, the ball field, the library, the town hall, the mill, the church. - Anthony Esolen, The Forgotten Freedom
"If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." - Aristotle
Saturday, January 1, 2011
NJ State Constitution
Full Nature of Liberty and Governance
Written by: Jim Vetter
The past two years have seen an increased discussion on liberty, the role of the Federal government, and the US Constitution. Much focus has been on the US Constitution due to Washington’s egregious overreach in 2009 & 2010, and adding the last straw to the camel’s back with National Health Care. It is refreshing to see more Americans regularly reading the US Constitution and other writings by the founders to understand original intent and get us back on track.
What is a Constitution?
As part of our reading, how many have asked what a constitution actually is and also what it is not? The word constitution is sometimes thrown around loosely and often implied to mean different things to different people.
A constitution is defined as a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. Our US Constitution is simply the framework for operation of the Federal government. It establishes the Federal Government as an agent to act on behalf of the sovereign states in certain limited areas. The powers granted are specifically the enumerated powers in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. Most of the document discusses how the different branches of the Federal government work- judical, executive and legislative.
More than the Federal Constitution
Just as we don’t look to Washington alone, so to should we not look solely to the US Constitution. It is not the all defining, all governing document. It only discusses how the Federal government is meant to operate. As our 9th and 10th amendments make clear, there is a whole other universe of governance and rights:
* 9th amendment- the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
* 10th amendment- 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.
As James Madison said,
“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” So why do we focus so much on the US Constitution when so much lies elsewhere?
The Bill of Rights and Beyond
The US Constitution is not the only place to fully understand the rights and liberties of the States and individuals. Although our US Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, the Bill of Rights was primarily an explicit check on the Federal government by anti-federalists. Their concern was that the language in the US Constitution could be misconstrued to provide the Federal Government with too much power at expense of the States and the People. At the time, the Constitutional convention was meant to amend the Articles of Confederation and not create an entirely new Constitution. Anti-Federalists saw the creation of an altogether new Constitution as going too far, especially with regard to the initial language before the Bill of Rights was added. Author Albert Nock contends in his book “Our Enemy, the State” that the Convention was effectively a coup d’etat. At a minimum, time has proven the anti-federalists correct.
Dusting off The Declaration and our State Constitutions
So how frequently do we look to sources outside the US Constitution to understand our liberties and retained powers? Not as often as we should! The basis for our liberties are best articulated in the Declaration of Independence, and in individual State Constitutions.
I keep a large copy of the Declaration of Independence framed in my den. It is the ultimate controlling document that describes the aspirations and intent of the Founders. As Jefferson penned,
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.
This is what we are about as Americans, and why generations of legal immigrants have sought citizenship and our shores. It captures our spirit and essence. The US Constitution is just the simple architecture of federal governance to partially meet these ends on our behalf.
Most of the architecture of governance resides amongst the Constitutions of the individual, sovereign States. Few people have taken the time to read the Constitution that is most important in their lives- that of their home state. Part of it is due the deviation we have taken as a country where we have treated the States as administrative entities of a “national” government. We have neither a national government nor administrative entities. The States are powerful sovereigns, and the Federal government is just a limited agent.
Click Here to Read the New Jersey State Constitution
Written by: Jim Vetter
The past two years have seen an increased discussion on liberty, the role of the Federal government, and the US Constitution. Much focus has been on the US Constitution due to Washington’s egregious overreach in 2009 & 2010, and adding the last straw to the camel’s back with National Health Care. It is refreshing to see more Americans regularly reading the US Constitution and other writings by the founders to understand original intent and get us back on track.
What is a Constitution?
As part of our reading, how many have asked what a constitution actually is and also what it is not? The word constitution is sometimes thrown around loosely and often implied to mean different things to different people.
A constitution is defined as a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. Our US Constitution is simply the framework for operation of the Federal government. It establishes the Federal Government as an agent to act on behalf of the sovereign states in certain limited areas. The powers granted are specifically the enumerated powers in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. Most of the document discusses how the different branches of the Federal government work- judical, executive and legislative.
More than the Federal Constitution
Just as we don’t look to Washington alone, so to should we not look solely to the US Constitution. It is not the all defining, all governing document. It only discusses how the Federal government is meant to operate. As our 9th and 10th amendments make clear, there is a whole other universe of governance and rights:
* 9th amendment- the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
* 10th amendment- 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.
As James Madison said,
“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” So why do we focus so much on the US Constitution when so much lies elsewhere?
The Bill of Rights and Beyond
The US Constitution is not the only place to fully understand the rights and liberties of the States and individuals. Although our US Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, the Bill of Rights was primarily an explicit check on the Federal government by anti-federalists. Their concern was that the language in the US Constitution could be misconstrued to provide the Federal Government with too much power at expense of the States and the People. At the time, the Constitutional convention was meant to amend the Articles of Confederation and not create an entirely new Constitution. Anti-Federalists saw the creation of an altogether new Constitution as going too far, especially with regard to the initial language before the Bill of Rights was added. Author Albert Nock contends in his book “Our Enemy, the State” that the Convention was effectively a coup d’etat. At a minimum, time has proven the anti-federalists correct.
Dusting off The Declaration and our State Constitutions
So how frequently do we look to sources outside the US Constitution to understand our liberties and retained powers? Not as often as we should! The basis for our liberties are best articulated in the Declaration of Independence, and in individual State Constitutions.
I keep a large copy of the Declaration of Independence framed in my den. It is the ultimate controlling document that describes the aspirations and intent of the Founders. As Jefferson penned,
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.
This is what we are about as Americans, and why generations of legal immigrants have sought citizenship and our shores. It captures our spirit and essence. The US Constitution is just the simple architecture of federal governance to partially meet these ends on our behalf.
Most of the architecture of governance resides amongst the Constitutions of the individual, sovereign States. Few people have taken the time to read the Constitution that is most important in their lives- that of their home state. Part of it is due the deviation we have taken as a country where we have treated the States as administrative entities of a “national” government. We have neither a national government nor administrative entities. The States are powerful sovereigns, and the Federal government is just a limited agent.
Click Here to Read the New Jersey State Constitution
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