Pillar I, Part I--What is the United States of America?
Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and Article 1: enumerated federal powers.
This is the first part of the show covering the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
This is the last part of the show covering Article I of the Constitution.
The alliance of Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr will prove to be the biggest political alliance in decades.
We covered this back in January 2022 in our episode The Great Awakening and New Political Alignment.
One of Donald Trump’s greatest successes is he put on display for all of us to see that there is in fact a Uni-Party in this country, with the Democrats and Republicans being two wings of the same bird.
This coalition wants power at any expense and over the last 8 years has shown what they are willing to do.
This show was started to bring an uncontrolled opposition media to East Tennessee, as I saw what exists here now is definitely controlled opposition. It has evolved as the understanding of what really goes on in the world becomes more and more clear.
Moving forward there will be a somewhat different focus. It begins here.
The first thing to do is define who we are and what we are about. I am done with party over principle. We have done multiple shows on Republicism vs Republicanism. We have discussed the Republican Party in charge does not mean Republican governance.
Our foundation for Talk Radio 2.0™ will be five key focuses:
What is the United States of America?
What have we become?
Who are our enemies and what does their coalition look like?
Who are our allies and what does our coalition look like?
How do we gain substantive influence in the political process? Substantive influence means winning elections, influencing policy, and having good governance.
What is the United States of America?
Our Founders started the Declaration of Independence with
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
We have the right to live, have liberty, and happiness, meaning unlimited opportunity based upon the value you add to the marketplace.
We see further into the minds of our Founders with the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
First Amendment: freedom of speech, religion, and the press, the right to peacefully assemble, and the right to petition our government.
We have the right to discuss issues and concerns on all matters, including whether the Holocaust happened, whether there is a Jewish conspiracy, and any other offensive topic.
The best way to flush out bad ideas is make people defend them in a public setting. False, nonsense cannot survive scrutiny.
We have a right to use our front yard to create and erect yard art to expose the criminal behavior of local officials.
We are a Judeo-Christian nation. Our rights and freedoms have a basis in Christianity and the Bible. We have a right to practice our religion, or not practice one at all.
We have freedom of the press, which is the right for people to report on and discuss the issues of the day, especially ones that our ruling oligarchs and elites do not want discussed.
We have a right to peacefully assemble, including allowing Nazis to march through a neighborhood of Jewish Holocaust survivors. Our rights end when people we do not like lose theirs.
**I am not condoning any of the topics that I consider protected rights. Civil liberties are either for everyone or no one. I do not condone Holocaust denial, hating anyone because they are Jewish, Muslim, or any other religion, or acting like a jackass by intentionally inciting Holocaust survivors.**
Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
This Amendment is often misrepresented. Our Founders wanted the people to be well enough armed to be able to remove a tyrannical government, much like what we have today.
Our Founders did not want a federal army. They wanted militias organized via the states and locally of men who were well regulated, which at the time meant well trained.
Third Amendment
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
This was highly relevant at our founding as the British government would force colonialists to house soldiers in their homes. I actually think this amendment is also a direct protection of private property rights, which gets discussed further in later amendments.
Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
This amendment puts specific limits against government to protect our rights in criminal and civil proceedings.
The government cannot simply come into your home and search it, stop you and search you without cause, or seize your stuff.
Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Here our Founders wanted to create specific limits on government relating to criminal or civil matters.
Key protections here:
The government must present to an impartial body (grand jury) probable cause that you have committed a major crime.
The government cannot prosecute us twice for the same crime. They get one shot at the apple.
The government cannot compel us to make statements to them in a criminal investigation against us.
The government cannot just take our property (land, stuff, etc).
We have basic due process rights. The government cannot just lock us up. They cannot deprive us of our rights without a hearing in front of an impartial judge.
We will cover this in greater depth in future episodes. Here we are providing a framework.
Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Here our Founders covered our rights in a criminal trial.
We have a right to be represented by competent counsel.
We have a right to have a trial occur in a fast and reasonable amount of time.
We have a right to be judged by impartial and unbiased judges and a jury of our peers.
We have a right to know what we are being accused of in advance with adequate time and ability to defend against these accusations.
We have a right to face our accusers and to present witnesses in our favor.
Again, more on this in the future.
The Seventh Amendment
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
This is another important way our Founders wanted to keep checks on the system. A jury of our peers can put a check on out of control judges, prosecutors, or law enforcement.
Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Here, our Founders wanted to put another check on an out of control judicial system being weaponized against us with excessive fines, unreasonable incarceration, or grossly abusive punishments.
Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
This was another check on out of control government power. Our rights are ours, not granted by the government. The default is rights to us as the people of the United States.
In a dispute, the tie or any confusion always goes against government.
Tenth 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.
Our Founders were adamant about creating a Constitutional Republic where the federal government had only enough power to keep the country from descending into chaos.
Our US Senators were appointed by state legislatures so the Senators were beholden to the states, not what they have become: owned by whomever donates the most money to their campaigns.
Our Founders were very specific on what they wanted the federal government to be able to do. If they did not explicitly put purview over a matter in the Constitution it is because they did not want the federal government involved in that item.
The US Constitution Article 1
This defines Congress shall consist of a House of Representatives and Senate, and specific responsibilities and duties they have.
Originally, Senators were appointed by state legislatures, until the 17th Amendment.
Section 8 specifically enumerates powers of the federal government:
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;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
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;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
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;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
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;
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 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;–And
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.
Congress has specific authorities:
—The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States
—Borrow money
—Regulate commerce with foreign nations
—Create an immigration system
—Create a system for bankruptcy
—Create a national currency
—Create a uniform system of weights and measures: pounds and inches.
—Create copyright, trademark, and intellectual property protections.
—Create a Navy and summon militias to protect our nation from threats foreign and domestic.
—Resolve disputes amongst states.
In essence, there are some things in a republic that only a central government can do. They have to set and maintain national standards: money, intellectual property protections, immigration rules and implementation, A federal government has to have a process to resolve disputes amongst states and foreign nations.
Beyond this, via the 9th and 10th Amendments, our Founders were clear on how serious they were about limiting federal power. The more local the control, the more likely government functions correctly.
Summation:
Our Founders based the United States of America on a set of principles, starting in the Declaration of Independence. We have a God-given right to life, liberty, and the right to pursue whatever you can dream and earn.
Our Founders protected certain critical rights in the Bill of Rights and defined a very narrow federal government.
In part II we will discuss the values that Americans need to be the greatest country in the history of the world.
©2024 Uncontrolled Opposition™. All rights reservedThe alliance of Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr will prove to be the biggest political alliance in decades.
We covered this back in January 2022 in our episode The Great Awakening and New Political Alignment.
One of Donald Trump’s greatest successes is he put on display for all of us to see that there is in fact a Uni-Party in this country, with the Democrats and Republicans being two wings of the same bird.
This coalition wants power at any expense and over the last 8 years has shown what they are willing to do.
This show was started to bring an uncontrolled opposition media to East Tennessee, as I saw what exists here now is definitely controlled opposition. It has evolved as the understanding of what really goes on in the world becomes more and more clear.
Moving forward there will be a somewhat different focus. It begins here.
The first thing to do is define who we are and what we are about. I am done with party over principle. We have done multiple shows on Republicism vs Republicanism. We have discussed the Republican Party in charge does not mean Republican governance.
Our foundation for Talk Radio 2.0™ will be five key focuses:
What is the United States of America?
What have we become?
Who are our enemies and what does their coalition look like?
Who are our allies and what does our coalition look like?
How do we gain substantive influence in the political process? Substantive influence means winning elections, influencing policy, and having good governance.
What is the United States of America?
Our Founders started the Declaration of Independence with
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
We have the right to live, have liberty, and happiness, meaning unlimited opportunity based upon the value you add to the marketplace.
We see further into the minds of our Founders with the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
We have the First Amendment: freedom of speech, religion, and the press, the right to peacefully assemble, and the right to petition our government.
We have the right to discuss issues and concerns on all matters, including whether the Holocaust happened, whether there is a Jewish conspiracy, and any other offensive topic. The best way to flush out bad ideas is make people defend them in a public setting. False, nonsense cannot survive scrutiny.
We have a right to use our front yard to create and erect yard art to expose the criminal behavior of local officials.
We are a Judeo-Christian nation. Our rights and freedoms have a basis in Christianity and the Bible. We have a right to practice our religion, or not practice one at all.
We have freedom of the press, which is the right for people to report on and discuss the issues of the day, especially ones that our ruling oligarchs and elites do not want discussed.
We have a right to peacefully assemble, including allowing Nazis to march through a neighborhood of Jewish Holocaust survivors. Our rights end when people we do not like lose theirs.
**I am not condoning any of the topics that I consider protected rights. Civil liberties are either for everyone or no one. I do not condone Holocaust denial, hating anyone because they are Jewish, Muslim, or any other religion, or acting like a jackass by intentionally inciting Holocaust survivors.**
We have the Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
This Amendment is often misrepresented. Our Founders wanted the people to be well enough armed to be able to remove a tyrannical government, much like what we have today.
Our Founders did not want a federal army. They wanted militias organized via the states and locally of men who were well regulated, which at the time meant well trained.
We have the Third Amendment
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
This was highly relevant at our founding as the British government would force colonialists to house soldiers in their homes. I actually think this amendment is also a direct protection of private property rights, which gets discussed further in later amendments.
The Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
This amendment puts specific limits against government to protect our rights in criminal and civil proceedings.
The government cannot simply come into your home and search it, stop you and search you without cause, or seize your stuff.
The Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Here our Founders wanted to create specific limits on government relating to criminal or civil matters.
Key protections here:
The government must present to an impartial body (grand jury) probable cause that you have committed a major crime.
The government cannot prosecute us twice for the same crime. They get one shot at the apple.
The government cannot compel us to make statements to them in a criminal investigation against us.
The government cannot just take our property (land, stuff, etc).
We have basic due process rights. The government cannot just lock us up. They cannot deprive us of our rights without a hearing in front of an impartial judge.
We will cover this in greater depth in future episodes. Here we are providing a framework.
Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Here our Founders covered our rights in a criminal trial.
We have a right to be represented by competent counsel.
We have a right to have a trial occur in a fast and reasonable amount of time.
We have a right to be judged by impartial and unbiased judges and a jury of our peers.
We have a right to know what we are being accused of in advance with adequate time and ability to defend against these accusations.
We have a right to face our accusers and to present witnesses in our favor.
Again, more on this in the future.
The Seventh Amendment:
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
This is another important way our Founders wanted to keep checks on the system. A jury of our peers can put a check on out of control judges, prosecutors, or law enforcement.
The Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Here, our Founders wanted to put another check on an out of control judicial system being weaponized against us with excessive fines, unreasonable incarceration, or grossly abusive punishments.
The Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
This was another check on out of control government power. Our rights are ours, not granted by the government. The default is rights to us as the people of the United States.
In a dispute, the tie or any confusion always goes against government.
The Tenth 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.
Our Founders were adamant about creating a Constitutional Republic where the federal government had only enough power to keep the country from descending into chaos.
Our US Senators were appointed by state legislatures so the Senators were beholden to the states, not what they have become: owned by whomever donates the most money to their campaigns.
Our Founders were very specific on what they wanted the federal government to be able to do. If they did not explicitly put purview over a matter in the Constitution it is because they did not want the federal government involved in that item.
The US Constitution Article 1
This defines Congress shall consist of a House of Representatives and Senate, and specific responsibilities and duties they have.
Originally, Senators were appointed by state legislatures, until the 17th Amendment.
Section 8 specifically enumerates powers of the federal government:
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;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
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;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
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;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
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;
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 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;–And
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.
Congress has specific authorities:
—The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States
—Borrow money
—Regulate commerce with foreign nations
—Create an immigration system
—Create a system for bankruptcy
—Create a national currency
—Create a uniform system of weights and measures: pounds and inches.
—Create copyright, trademark, and intellectual property protections.
—Create a Navy and summon militias to protect our nation from threats foreign and domestic.
—Resolve disputes amongst states.
In essence, there are some things in a republic that only a central government can do. They have to set and maintain national standards: money, intellectual property protections, immigration rules and implementation, A federal government has to have a process to resolve disputes amongst states and foreign nations.
Beyond this, via the 9th and 10th Amendments, our Founders were clear on how serious they were about limiting federal power. The more local the control, the more likely government functions correctly.
Summation:
Our Founders based the United States of America on a set of principles, starting in the Declaration of Independence. We have a God-given right to life, liberty, and the right to pursue whatever you can dream and earn.
Our Founders protected certain critical rights in the Bill of Rights and defined a very narrow federal government.
In part II we will discuss the values that Americans need to be the greatest country in the history of the world.
©2024 Uncontrolled Opposition™. All rights reserved