The U.S. Constitution - Lesson #8: Powers of Congress

Welcome to class once again ladies and gentlemen. Today's lesson is the one that I am looking forward to the most because it deals with the largest collection of powers in the U.S. Constitution:  Article I, Section 8.  So lets jump right into it.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

The very first power of the U.S. Congress is the power to lay and collect taxes.  If you read the language carefully it says for what purpose those taxes are to be raised:  pay debts (we have close to $12 trillion now), provide for the common defense (military and other defense related organization), and promote general welfare.  Most people, including our representatives, thinks that the general welfare wording here and in the preamble gives them authority to tax and spend on anything that can be covered in the term general welfare, like education, unemployment benefits, retirement plans, health insurance and even more.  The problem with that mentality is that you have not just taken a government limited by the expressed powers of the Constitution to an unlimited government.

The other thing most people do not recognize in this clause is that the taxes collected by Congress must be uniform in nature.  Specifically it refers to duties, imposts, excises, which are all forms of taxes.  Unfortunately the current tax system in the United States is far from uniform.  This is not just referring to the progressive income tax but also taxes on import, exports and vice or sin taxes.

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

This clause is pretty self-explanatory and explains why we are in such a hole right now as a nation.  There was a goal in the 1990s to pass a balanced budget amendment that would have effectively changed this clause.  I feel it has merit though I understand the reasoning why it has never passed.  The government does need some power to borrow money in tough economic times, even if that is counter to the natural order of things.  In good times you must save, so that when the tough times come you have the surplus to draw on. 

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

This is where Congress again decides to grab most of its power in this modern era.  The true intent of this clause is the allow Congress to regulate the business done between the states.  During the Confederation Period, the states had trade wars between each other.  The Congress needed this power to stop the states from harming each other with unfair trade practices.

This clause is one reason why I feel the health care legislation current being debated by Congress is unconstitutional.  Health insurance is only bought at the state level.  Each state sets its own regulations.  For the COngress to  have to power to regulate health insurance companies they would need to be involved in interstate commerce, which they are not.  I buy my health insurance from a company in Nevada, not Illinois.  Now if Congress wanted to write a law allowing companies to sell across state lines in accordance with the laws of health insurance laws that of state, then they have the authority to offer up more regulation over that industry.

The fact that the Congress has power to regulate trade with "Indian Tribes" is where they get the authority to write and pass legislation on the Native American tribes in the United States.

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

This give the Congress the sole power to regulate both naturalization of new citizens and bankruptcies.  It was under this clause that the Congress passed among other legislation like the Chinese Exclusion Act.  Even though it was horribly discriminatory they had the authority to do so.

Debt and bankruptcy were big issues during the Confederation period.  It was the main reason behind the events of Shay's Rebellion.  Also many other citizens in other states rose up against the courts and legislators to seek relief from creditors.  This clause made bankruptcy law the sole power of the federal government.  They can pass the laws that affect everyone in the U.S. equally.

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

Congress has the sole power to print money, which it does a lot of in this day and age.  But it also tells us how much it is worth.  If you look at a modern dollar bill it says Federal Reserve Note.  This is because the Federal Reserve Banks try to regulate  the worth of our money.  It used to say, Gold or Silver certificate, when our money was actually backed by something valuable.  A dollar was not an amount of currency but a weight in gold or silver.  You cold take the dollar to a bank and get back real gold or silver.  Contracts could be paid in gold and silver.  Early in American history banks typically issued their own bank notes because gold and silver were still the only real currency in the U.S. 

Also Congress can set weight and measures, which is why we are still on the English system of inch, feet, miles, lbs, quarts, pints, gallons, barrels, bushels, etc.

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

Enter the Secret Service, whose original and ongoing job is to protect the integrity of our currency.  This was the original criminal law in the U.S. The Secret Service was also responsible for investigating other criminal acts prior to the invention of the FBI.

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

The power to create the United States Postal Service, but it goes beyond that as well.  The post roads section of this clause open up this power even more.  Considering that the USPS does not carry all mail it means they do have some legislative power over companies like UPS, Fed Ex and DHL.  They carry post, it can be implied that they can be legislated by Congress.  Also because mail can be carried in planes, trains and automobiles, it stands to reason they have a reasonable (key word) amount of legislative authority in those areas as well, but ONLY when they carry post (mail).  Like the can enforce fuel efficiency standards on USPS vehicles, but not mine, unless I am forced to carry mail.  Also because every road in the U.S. is capable of carrying post, they may have reasonable legislative authority on the roads as well. 

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

 This clause is to protect inventors and artists so that their work may not be stolen.  This is where the government gets the authority to prosecute people who have downloaded music illegally from Napster and other services.  Key term in this clause is limited times.  Generally the length for a copyright is three generations.  Anything after three generations is part of the public domain.  Recently Disney had to go to court to get their copyright of Disney characters renews because it was about to pass the third generation.  Also there seems  to be some abuse on this clause in the realm of drug companies renewing patents to prevent generic brands from making their way to market.

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

This give the Congress the authority to create additional courts under the Supreme Court of the United States. 

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

This is one of the few times the Constitution give Congress the power to enact specific criminal laws against the United States, piracy being the key one in this provision.  This is why the pirates captured last year for kidnapping the captain the Meersk Alabama is being tried in our federal courts.

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

The war powers of our government are split between the Congress and the President.  The Congress declares war against another nation and the president commands the military strategy.  There really have only been five declared wars by Congress (Extra points if you can name all of them).

Letter of marque authorize private shops to attack an enemy vessel during a war without being punished as a pirate.  Also Congress can authorize the seizure of property of the enemy.  They did this during both world wars with Germany corporations in the United States.  The U.S. has done this in modern times when they froze the assets of groups in the U.S. funding terrorism.

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy;

This allows the Congress raise a standing professional army, which the American colonists feared due to their experiences under British rule.  Until the Civil War most states submitted their militias for military service.  These militias were loyal to the states not the U.S.  The limit on this power is that no appropriate for the military can be longer than two years.  Another protection from our standing army is the oath all soldiers take:

"I, _____, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

A soldier swears first to defend the Constitution, not to a king, the Congress or even the President of the United States.  The Constitution is above the orders of the President.  There is an organization out there that is made up of people currently serving in the military, and law enforcement officers.  This nonpartisan organization promises that they will not any obey order that goes against the U.S. Constitution.

The power to make a use a military draft to raise an army can be implied by these provisions.  Technically the times that a draft has been used to raise an army has not really been effective.  During the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam most soldiers joined the military voluntarily.

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

This gives Congress the authority to write rules, regulations and laws for the U.S. military.  In today's day that is the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  Soldiers are judged by a military courts create by Congress.  If they commit a crime as a soldier they are tried their not in our federal or state civil system.

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

This give Congress the limited power of regulating the militias of the states but only the specific powers listed in this provision:  execute laws of the U.S. (like when Washington called for military to put down the Whiskey Rebellion) , suppress insurrections (like during the Civil War), and repel Invasions.  The Congress may only organize and regulate said militias when they are working specifically for the U.S. government.  In 1916 Congress passed a law making the state militias part of the national government.  I am not sure why that has not been challenged in the U.S. federal courts.  It is clearly an unconstitutional law and gives unprecedented power to the federal government over the states individual organized militias.

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;

Congress has the authority to control with legislation the federal district where the capital is located.  The residents of the District of Columbia did not really get any democratic self-rule until  1973.  The Congress this year tried to pass the D.C. Voting Rights Act which would give citizens of Washington, D.C. comparable representation in the House and the Senate.  This law never passed and is grossly unconstitutional if it did.  Residents of D.C. are not entitled to representation in Congress because only states have representatives.  One  solution to this problem could be to make D.C. a state.  Another would be to ceded the residential portion of D.C. back to Maryland , like what was done to the Virginia portion of the D.C in 1846.  Then those people would have representation in Congress.  D.C. was never intended to be a residential city, just a city to house the necessary government structure.

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

I have already dealt with this clause in a previous U.S. Constitution lesson on Expressed v. Implied Powers.  If you would like more information on this topic please click on this link:  The U.S. Constitution - Lesson #3: Expressed v. Implied Powers.

Whew!  That was a long lesson.  Next week we will look at the specific powers denied to Congress and the States.  I hope you all have a good weekend.  Send any questions my way.  Class dismissed!

News of the Day - 2/26/2010 - State, Jihad & the Wall

Another interesting day for news.  So lets get started

CANYON SPRINGS TO PLAY FOR THE NEVADA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
This is my school!  I know Faith won several state championships when I was a teacher there, but I was a middle school teacher and didn't know any of the athletes.  I currently have three basketball players on the team.  I feel so proud for them.  Not just because of their success on the court but in the classroom.  Curtis, Adrian and Davion are excellent students as well.  Two of them are in my honors Government class earning top marks.  The other is in my Street Law elective.  Good job and good luck tonight.

JIHAD AGAINST SWITZERLAND
Because of the ban on minarets, sort of like a steeple on an Islamic mosque, a Muslim leader declared a jihad, holy war, Switzerland and its people.  You know, if Muslims did not over react to every thing about their faith then maybe they would have more advocates in the world.  Every time someone says something against the faith, its leaders or even looks at them wrong, they want to kill them.  This is not the vast majority of Muslims, especially those in the U.S., because many of them came here to get away from the for us or against us mentality of Islam.  The problem is that their holy book, the Koran, does tell them to kill all infidels, which basically is anyone who is not a Muslim.  That scares most people, just like when fundamentalist Christians talk about stoning gays and adulterers.  Muslims its time to stop listening to those extremists and speak out against them.  Christians its time to do the same thing against the extreme bigots in our faith.  I understand what the Bible says about certain behaviors, but we need to love the sinner, hate the sin.  Being a stupid bigot never won anyone over to the faith.


AWESOME SCHOOL SIMULATION
So this school did a full school simulation of living in East Germany to honor the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Simulations are always great ways of teaching material to students.  They almost never forget the experience.  What I think is so great is how real they got it and to the truth of the matter.  Yea for teaching the truth of the Iron Curtain.  If Communism was so great why did millions of people risk life and limb to get over the Wall, and flee to Western Europe and the U.S.? 

As always comments and questions are welcomed.  

Calling Me a Racists

So yesterday, a woman at my work posted on the staff chat thread that her church is selling calenders with President Obama on them.  That's kinda cool.  My church prays for him and all our political leaders (no matter how popular or unpopular they may be), during the prayers of the church.  So it's all good.

A colleague of mine made a remark that I would like to buy 20 of each size (wallet and full size).  I thought that was totally hilarious.  I sent him an email saying I appreciated the joke.  I decided I would share the laugh with my co-workers.  I LOL'ed and then added:  "I need some more kindling for my fireplace."  I will admit after I wrote that I was wondering how long it would take before someone took what I wrote COMPLETELY out of context.

This morning there was a comment on the thread from one co-worker that she didn't think it was funny and I should keep my thoughts to myself and my mouth closed.  A little later while on the thread another co-worker told me to keep my racists thoughts to myself.  I had to hold myself back from writing a scathing response to the libel and slander against my name.  But I held my tongue.  There was another funny response with one of them talking about burning Bush calenders for eight years and now having to pay high power bills

In the end, I did apologize the the women who had originally posted the sales pitch, because it was taken down a tangent that was not intended.  A joke was made about me, that I thought was funny, so I thought it would be appropriate to respond humorously.  My joke was not to wish any ill will on President Obama or the lady's church. The co-worker who made the joke about me apologized as well since he knew I would respond to his joke.  I got support for numerous other employees during the course of the day.  No one of them thought that I was a racist in my comment.  People from all sides of the political spectrum were defending me.  It felt kind of nice.  One even offered to contact people in Cincinnati to help me out if I needed it.  I felt kind of flattered at that one.

That's the story of me being called a racists.  The bigger issue to be brought up in this story is that of the race or victim card.  Just because you don't like the black president doesn't make you racist.  Just because you want immigration laws enforced does not make you racist.  Just because you blame whitey for holding you down does not make you racist.  Racism or other discriminatory beliefs is not an attitude belonging to only one groups of people.  

But there are genuine times when companies, individual or groups are being racists, bigots or discriminatory against others.  Those ignorant people need to be ridiculed and driven to extinction in this day and age.  We must use peer pressure and pressure of our society against people who think, talk and act like that.  We need to make it completely and totally unacceptable to be racist against anyone in the United States.  We are the melting pot and the salad bowl of the world.  There are people of every race, color, nationality, ethnic group, sexual orientation, religion, and identity in the U.S.  All are equally America.  That is what makes us strong. 

As always I welcome comments and questions.  Have a great day!

News of the Day - 2/25/2010 - Reconciliation, Sales & Tea Party Independence

Today is another rapid fire news day.  Sorry for missing my post yesterday, I was not feeling it.  Plus I am starting to feel some burn out from writing everyday.  Any comments of going only three or four days a week?  Let me know my loyal readers.  Here are the stories of the day:

DEMOCRATS 2005: NUCLEAR OPTION POWER GRAB
This is a collection of videos from some legislation trying to be passed in 2005 by the Republican controlled Senate.  Reconciliation, aka the Nuclear Option, is a procedural rule in the U.S. Senate to block the use of a filibuster on a particular bill.  They can only use it once a year and it can only technically be used on something related to the federal budget.  For more extensive information check out this link.   The Democrats are currently working on trying to pass the health care legislation by the House, the Senate or now by President Obama through this process.  The hypocrisy of the democrats on this issues is unbelievable.  In this modern day of technology it makes me glad we have CSPAN, YouTube, TMZ and other organization who keep track of this information.  Whether its Republicans or Democrats these media outlets keep them honest.

EXPANDING GUN RIGHTS
The main idea behind this story is that most states are starting to expand gun owner rights.  The people on the other side are worried because no serious gun legislation has come out of D.C. since Obama's election.  Correct me if I am wrong but I believe the right to own firearms is not a federal issue.  The Second Amendment says that "the right of the people to own arms shall not be infringed."  That means the government, specifically the federal government, cannot prevent a normal everyday citizen from owning a firearm.  The state on the other hand can enact specific legislation regarding firearms as part of their reserved powers under Amendment 10 in the Constitution.  I think it's great that more people can own weapons.  They are essential for protection of a person within their own home and out in public. 

We saw this after Hurricane Katrina, the local police confiscated without warrants the weapons of law abiding
citizens.  What happened next, criminals moved into these neighborhoods and started rampant crime sprees, because they know the citizens were unarmed.  As long as they are properly licensed for their firearms, proof that you know how to use the weapon, then there is no issue.  An armed populace is safer since a criminal (who probably has a gun, purchased illegally) does not know who may or may not have a weapon.  Just like having an alarm on a house.  It helps prevent break in.

TEA PARTY DECLARES INDEPENDENCE
This article goes into details of how the organizers of the Tea Party movement in the U.S. have declared their independence from any political party.  The Tea Party movement, while conservative in nature, is not tied to Republicans, Democrats or any other party or organization.  Those who have tried to co-opt the movement or use if for their own ends have found themselves ridiculed by the true believers.  The Tea Party Movement, of which I am a follower, is mostly about several key principles:  1)  following the U.S. Constitution  2)  stopping the out of control spending of our government 3) making our government smaller.  I think the vast majority of U.S. citizens can agree on the majority of those principles. 

As always I welcome your response.  Have a nice day.

My Perfect School: Interscholasitic Athletics

Today's blog posting will focus on the role of interscholastic athletics in my perfect school.  Interscholastic athletics are varsity sports played between different schools.  This is another area where additionally input and comments from the readership of my blog would be beneficial to me.

An athletics at my program would be handled in one of several ways.  I will preview them here for your thoughts  My first would be to have absolutely no athletics program.  The other option would be to have only a varsity program for the available sports which would be funded outside of school tuition.

As a two sport, six time varsity letterer, I understand the place of athletics in school.  I also know there are plenty of opportunities for students to participate in sports outside of school.  Why should the school fund the athletic abilities of students for only their benefit.  A key aspect of any athletic program in my school would for it to be self-sustaining.  I do not want money spent by parents and other to be used on anything but anything that does not directly associate with academics and student learning.

The first options would be to have no athletic program.  As I have stated before there are plenty of opportunities for students to participate in these activities without taking away from their educational experience.  As a teacher I now fully understand the numerous disruptions cause the learning environment created in the school.  I know that many athletes are the the better performing students in the school, so there is less of a problem with failing academics for most athletes.


It sends a bad message to kids when we take time out of our day consistently to praise the skills of a specific class of students, i.e. pep rallies.  Also, they are allowed to miss classes for these competitions.  Which sets them apart from other students.  Because of their involvement in a specific volunteer activity they are allowed to skip out of classes or school.  This sends a message I don't want to make at my school.

Also, I would take an idea in a previous post on house or class competitions and expand it here.  Those athletically inclined students could participate the intramural athletic events throughout the year for their house or class.  These intramural activities would be gender neutral, both boys and girls would be allowed to participate on the same teams. 

There are several items I would want to make sure our program if we decided to have a sports program  First, the school would only have a varsity sports program.  I see the need for a possible sports program, but to have three teams that are nothing more than a practice squad and which have no bearing on state competitions is pointless.  A coach can add people on to his squad as part of the practice squad which he can draw upon to use in games, if necessary

Secondly, the student athletes grades need to be the best in the school.  I would require that a student maintain a C or even as high as a B average in all of their classes.  Each athlete would be responsible for getting weekly grade checks from their teachers.  If they fall below in any of the classes they are to use the next week to pull up their grades.  They would be excluded from practice to ensure this happens.  If a athlete forgets to get it completed they are disqualified from any practices of games until they have them completed.  If that means they miss the bus for Friday's game, then so be it.  It teaches them responsibility.

Thirdly, the funding of the athletics program would be outside of the school's traditional budget.  If students and parents really wanted the program, I would place the responsibility upon them to secure funding for that sport.  This would be done through a team or school athletic boosters club.  I will not have a single dollar given in education go towards any other program.

Fourth, any competition times would have to be arranged so students are not taken out of athletic classes unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.

I would like comments from all the readers about what you think of my athletic program ideas.  Please comment early and often.  Thanks and have a great day.