Can we have our Constitution back? Maybe some parts?

Sep 24, 2015 | History, Politics

ConstitutionNow that we’ve killed a 54 year old religious fanatic with kidney disease being hidden out by the Pakistani government in a mansion 800 yards from their West Point, can we have our Constitution back? I don’t want to be greedy, maybe we could just get back a few Amendments: 4th (protection from unreasonable search and seizure), 5th (due process), 6th (trial by jury, due process), 8th (cruel and unusual punishment)? Maybe even throw in the 10th (powers reserved to the states and the people.)

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

“These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful…” G.W. Bush, Sept 20th, 2001. Each time I make a phone call and know it is likely tapped without a warrant, each time I have my crotch fondled at the airport because I refuse a full body X-ray backscatter image, I am THANKFUL that we have not given in to terrorists or changed our way of life.

Smoke Filled Room

Aug 17, 2015 | Politics

Eric CantorI’m a big fan of the Law of Unintended Consequences, specifically, “A perverse effect contrary to what was originally intended.” Essentially, I am a connoisseur of irony.

To be successful in the primary, a candidate must be at the far fringes of their party in order to appeal to that party’s base, whether Republican or Democrat.

This is a direct result of post-Watergate throwing open the proverbial “smoke-filled rooms,” where the party’s elite would decide on their candidates for different offices based on who they felt most likely to be successful plus a lot of “horse trading”.

Replacing “smoke-filled rooms” with primaries to directly select candidates was considered more democratic.

However, the exact opposite has occurred, due to low voter turnout for primaries. Those voters that do turn out tend to be at the extremes of the party.

Please note that I am using Eric Cantor as an example only; neither party appeals to my interests for a variety of reasons.

Cantor Article