Constitution Thursday

President Trump has exercised his Executive authority to call forth the National Guard for the expressed purpose of "doing Military things' to guard the border with Mexico. 

Whether or not you agree with his policy, we ask the question about why it is that he President is calling forth the militia of the several states, when Article I section 8 makes it clear that Congress is supposed to be doing that. The President is the Commander in Chief. 

It's Constitution Thursday on Plausibly Live...

After their experience in the American revolution and years of watching Kings buy their way to policy, the Framers believed that a simple and even elegant solution was to simply ban the ability of a single person to hold Office both civilly and in the government. Makes sense, right?

So how did we get to the place where the Article is routinely "ignored" and senators become Secretaries?

Live broadcast of Constitution Thursday looks at the limits of the 26th Amendment in the light of calls for raising the purchase age of guns to 21

The 2nd circuit says that a not-for-profit group must turn over its donor list to the Attorney General of New York State.  Citizens United argued that the donor's information is protected as anonymous speech, but the Court rejected that argument. We look at why and how this odd argument took place.

In the ongoing (with no end in sight) debate over exactly what to do about mass shootings, the doctrines have become entrenched. On the Left, all guns must be eliminated, because Australia did this and ended gun violence. On the Right, Switzerland and Israel have guns everywhere and they have no such shootings.  

Guns *must* be taken away; guns are a Constitutional right and *cannot* be taken away.  

Who is correct? What if both sides are to a degree? What if neither side is correct at all?  

People who refuse to think, read that last paragraph, and have already tuned out because they “know” the correct answer. Nothing – not even the Finger of G-d – will change their minds.  

For the rest of us, what happens when we actually read what the Courts have said about the gun? Do we come away with our own positions further strengthened? Or more confused than ever?  

Remember that until Heller (2008), the unequivocal position of the Supreme Court was that the 2nd Amendment was not incorporated, meaning that while the Federal Government could not infringe your right to keep and bear arms, any given State could do so. 

And some did.  And since Heller? Well… McDonald incorporated the 2nd Amendment, but does that mean that there are no reasonable limits on who can have a gun?

It is almost an Article of Faith among Conservative Right political folk - the Courts are stacked with liberal activist Judges who will always overturn the will of the Voters. Don't believe me? Well... this week the Godfather of conservative Talk Radio said pretty much exactly that.

The problem is, of course, that Articles of Faith are usually - okay, always - based on confirmation bias. That is to say that they are based only upon things that tend to support the statement. events or things that tend to disprove the Article of Faith are generally ignored or dismissed.

When it comes to the Constitution, this is especially true. Conservatives believe that Activist Judges are upending the whole thing, while Progressives believe that the Judges aren't activist enough. Which more or less means that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Since I am on the political Right, I prefer to look at things that challenge my own position and thinking. When it comes to the perception of Judges destroying America, there's no place better to start than the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco.

So let's go there and take up the case of a Roseville Police Officer who managed to get herself terminated, for having sex, with a fellow Officer...

"nor excessive fines imposed..." - 8th Amendment  

So what happens when a young man sells four grams of heroin to an undercover cop? Obviously, he gets busted, does a year on house arrest, and pays a fine. Then he decided to get his life back together and heads out to find a new job.   

But...   The cops weren't done.   

They used civil forfeiture laws to seize his car, valued at $40,000. Don't read too much into that value, there is a valid reason that he had the money to buy it in the first place.   He sued, and the lower State Court held that he should get his car back. After all, it was only 4 ounces of heroin, and he had paid the fine the Court had imposed...   

The Law Enforcement agencies appealed it to the State Supreme Court...

Constitution Thursday takes a look at the history of the Supreme Court's process through the lens of one of the most controversial rulings ever made, Roe v Wade and the function of the 9th Amendment.  

At Launch by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) 

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

As James Madison leaves New York City to stand for election to the Virginia Ratification Convention, he is troubled. Overall, the nation is moving towards Ratification, but major hurdles remain, including New York, North Carolina, and of course, his home State of Virginia. If two of those three reject ratification, the entire enterprise will be in doubt. 

In Virginia, he finds the distasteful process of just getting elected tot he Convention an annoyance. Even if he gets elected, he still will face the man who many believe is the greatest orator of all time, Patrick Henry who has made it clear that he will not support ratification. Or maybe he will? This is the real issue in Virginia, the three positions taken by the various partisan sides. 

First are the Federalists, led by Madison, they support ratification as is. Next come the slightly-anti-Federalists, led by such men as Randolph and Mason, who will support ratification IF, and that is a big IF, they can get amendments included which they believe will safeguard individual rights. 

Thirdly, there is Kentucky. Currently, it is part of Virginia. Madison has been fighting a losing battle in Congress for the last two years to make her a State in her own right, but the inertial resistance has led many in Kentucky and around the South, in general, to believe that the proposed Constitution is little more than a Northern power grab. 

And overarching it all is Patrick Henry. There are rumors that he has his own ideas about what Virginia should do. Nobody is certain, but the evidence seems to lead to the conclusion that he would not be displeased if Virginia fails to ratify. Where there is smoke, there is fire, and Madison has to find a way to neutralize Henry's opposition.

Many years ago, back in the 1970s, you could, on rare occasions, actually learn something watching a TV crime drama. And so it was that way back when, Dave watched an episode of Quincy, M.E., during which he learned a fact about how Jury trials can work that he retains even today. That single fact is helpful when we recall the purpose of the Jury is to serve as a mighty bulwark against the government. To make certain that the government isn't allowed to just run roughshod over accused citizens.

At the same time, that simple fact also makes certain that a person who is guilty can't hide behind confusion and misdirection.

Back in 2012, a man stood accused of hacking into PriceWaterhouse and stealing the Romney's tax returns, which he threatened to release to the highest bidder if he didn't get paid $1Million in digital currency. The self-named "Dr. Evil," was about as competent as his nom de guerre, and ended up in the custody of the US Secret Service, who take a dim view of people threatening potential Presidents with blackmail. He denied being involved, of course, and eventually found himself sitting in front of a Jury as the Secret Service laid out their digital case against him.

It was extremely complicated, and for people who aren't computer experts, somewhat confusing. To make sure that the Jury understood the case, the Judge allowed the same thing that Dave learned watching Quincy, M.E., all those years ago to happen...