January 16, 2009 - Lately I have been feeling, quite literally, sick to my stomach. I wake up with tension headaches and my stomach is so tied up in knots that I feel nauseous. What ails me is not the flu, it is stress brought on by my thoughts about our governments complete abandonment of Constitutional principles, and the subsequent erosion of our once great republic.

Over two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson made the following statement, “Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence.” Can you imagine what Jefferson would say if he were alive today? 

Our government is of the opinion that they are in charge, however our first President, George Washington, years ago told us who ultimately holds the power, “The power under the constitution will always be in the people.” Just to clarify things, that’s you and me folks, and if our government has run amok, assuming powers not specifically defined by the Constitution, you only have to look in the mirror to see who is at fault.

A nation cannot expect to survive, while maintaining liberty and freedom, when the people have degenerated into a herd of uneducated ignoramuses regarding the principles upon which their nation was founded. When a people forget from whence their freedoms originate, the act of assuming un-delegated powers becomes an easy task for an overzealous government.

Just to give you one example, I am sure that some of you remember the recent unconstitutional bailout of Wall Street, which according to an ABC News article, has the potential of costing the taxpayers of this country an astronomical $7.5 trillion.

If that weren’t enough debt to saddle the taxpayers with, Barack Obama is already laying plans for his version of an economic stimulus program to get our economy on the move again. According to CNN, Obama’s initial proposals are estimated to cost between $675 to $775 billion.

Just where the hell is Obama going to get all that money? In case you haven’t been told, our nation is broke!. Our national debt now stands at over $10 trillion, that is ten followed by twelve zeroes! Every penny our government spends for everything from the funding of the War in Iraq, down to buying a roll of toilet paper for Air Force One is money that they have to borrow, or get fresh of the presses from the Federal Reserve Bank, (which, causes inflation, decreasing the buying power of those same greenbacks in your wallets and handbags). They don’t care how much they beg, borrow, and steal, to fund their out of control spending, because guess what? They won’t have to pay it back, you will, as well as your kids, your grandkids, and probably their grandkids as well.

Obviously we have not heeded the financial advice of Thomas Jefferson, “We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude.”

We have allowed our government to spend us into bankruptcy, because we just love all those government programs which benefit us. After all, isn’t that why we vote for these guys, because of the promises they make to us, never thinking that our taxes are what funds them. We are told it is in the general welfare of our nation for them to do these things, yet James Madison held a very different view of what it meant for Congress to spend money for the general welfare, and it would behoove each of you reading this to consider closely what he said,

“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every State, county and parish and pay them out of their public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may assume the provision of the poor; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads; in short, every thing, from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police, would be thrown under the power of Congress… Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited Government established by the people of America.”

Wait a minute, didn’t Madison just describe, to a nutshell, government as it exists today? I guess that means that we have allowed our government to subvert the foundations upon which it was established. Aren’t you proud of yourselves?

Let’s see if I can explain what has happened in terms some of you might understand. Imagine for a moment that you decide to go on a two month vacation somewhere. You grant someone you trust a power of attorney so that they would have access to your finances to pay your bills and take care of any emergencies that arise while you are gone.

Now, while you are off enjoying Europe, or the Caribbean, your friend decides that he does not like the color of your house, so he paints it another color. He also decides you need a swimming pool as well. These two expenditures pretty much deplete your savings account. Oh, but your friend doesn’t stop there. Since he upgraded your home, he feels guilty and decides the whole neighborhood should reap the benefits of his generosity. So he goes to the bank and takes out a home equity loan, placing you deeply into debt. He then uses that money to paint a few of your neighboring homes as well. He buys a few folks a months supply of groceries because they are struggling to make ends meet as well. He even buys your neighbor a new SUV because their old car was on its last leg. What a great guy!

If something like that happened, you would be mighty upset, wouldn’t you? Guess what folks, it has. Just like your friend with the power of attorney to pay your bills, our government was given certain limited powers to do specific tasks on our behalf. But they got power hungry and decided that those powers weren’t enough. So they just took it upon themselves to assume more power, and along with it increase their spending, putting our nation in debt to the aforementioned tune of $10 trillion.

So, how come you aren’t mad as hell, because that is exactly what your government has done, they have overstepped the authority granted them by the people, specified by the Constitution. Could it be that you are not mad because you are too concerned with who is going to win the Super Bowl, who is going to win Dancing With The Stars, or maybe it is because you just have to hear the latest about Brad and Angelina? Whatever your reason, you have neglected your duty, your responsibility, to ensure your elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and govern according to the Constitution. Again, aren’t you proud of yourselves? But then again, as long as you are entertained that’s all that matters, right? Who cares about the ideals written by a guys who have been dead a couple hundred years?

Our Constitution has been trampled upon by those who have sworn a sacred oath to uphold it. But don’t worry, the Constitution may not be around much longer. There is a movement afoot that may just lead to the complete dismantling of the Constitution, and along with it the Bill of Rights, which include all those freedoms you take for granted.

Hopefully, everyone reading this is aware of what a Constitutional amendment is. However, how many are aware that there are two ways an amendment can be added to the Constitution? Article 5 of the Constitution says, “The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments…”

So far, out of twenty seven amendments, Congress has always been the one to propose amendments, which were then voted upon by the state legislators. However, now thirty two states have called for a Constitutional Convention to add a balanced budget amendment. They only need two more states to jump on the bandwagon and Congress will have no choice but to hold a Constitutional Convention.

While the idea of adding a balanced budget amendment might seem like a good thing, there are a couple things you may want to consider before casting your lot with those who do.

First, California, according to the state constitution, is required to have a balanced budget. Every single year they go well beyond the budget deadline, arguing about which programs to cut, whether to raise taxes, or lower them, and the end result is the flow of money out of the state treasury just comes to a halt. While that may be a good thing, as they stop wasting money, it also means that essential programs get frozen as well, so consider that when deciding whether the idea of a Constitutional Convention is a good idea.

One other thing. There is a famous saying, that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. George Washington once told us that, “We ought not to look back, unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors and for the purpose of profiting by dear bought experience.”

Well my friends, this is one time we need to look back to history for an understanding of what might just happen if they do, in fact, convene a Constitutional Convention.

Prior to the Constitution being written our nation had a document entitled The Articles of Confederation. They contained a few weak powers granted to the government which did not allow it to do its job properly. So a Constitutional Convention was called to amend the Articles of Confederation. However, once the convention convened, they took it upon themselves to rewrite the existing Articles of Confederation, which is how our current Constitution came into existence.

You see, once a Constitutional Convention is convened, anything is possible. They could decide to do away with the Bill of Rights altogether. They could decide to extend the Presidents term of office to ten years, or for life, instead of four. Like I said, anything goes. Holding a Constitutional Convention would be opening a Pandora’s box of possibilities which could lead to disastrous results. Not that it would, but the possibility exists, and are your rights something you want to gamble with just to get a balanced budget amendment?

You may be saying to yourselves that you haven’t heard anything about it, and you would be correct, even if you had been watching the news instead of something else. The news has not reported on this, it is something you would have to take the time to research on your own to find out about.

People are always asking me how I know so much. I don’t, not compared to many of the other writers who are trying to educate and inform the people. However, I like to think of myself as did Alexander Hamilton, who said, “Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have is this. When I have a subject in mind. I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it… the effort which I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.”

The information is out there for everyone to find, if they have the desire to do so. There are subtle signs that our nation is about to fall apart at the seams, yet no one seems to notice. I am oft reminded of the passage in Luke 12, where Christ says,

“And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? “ (Luke 12:54-56)

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Bodily decay is gloomy in prospect, but of all human contemplations the most abhorrent is body without mind” Or as the other famous saying goes, ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste.’

The people of this country need to unplug themselves from their televisions and begin reading the signs of the times. The sacred protection of our liberties as contained in the Bill of Rights, the limited functions of government, are all things that have been ignored by those whom we put into power to protect and uphold. These are things that any thinking individual can see for themselves. The question is why do we allow these violations of our Constitution to continue? That can only be answered by each individual and only if they sit back and remain ignorant and apathetic when it comes to the actions of those whom they elect.

I can’t tell anyone what to do, I can only provide you with the information that will hopefully get your mind out of that television induced fog, and start thinking about what is happening. So far I have not been successful, at least not on a level to make a difference. And that is why I feel, quite literally, sick to my stomach, because I do see what is on the horizon for this country, and it scares the hell out of me.

I am Neal Ross, and I approved this message.

~ The Author ~
Neal Ross can be reached for comments at bonsai@syix.com. Visit Neal’s Blog at http://www.zombie-slayer.com/neal

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