The Federalist Papers;Merits of the Constitution

Coming soon a series on the the 85 essays of the Federalist papers and the men who wrote them.Alexander Hamilton,James Madison and John Jay.

Liberation of America

Liberation, America’s past is all about liberation. Liberation of women’s rights, black civil rights and the liberation of other countries. In 2008 America is facing a different kind of liberation , one we have never faced before. Not like this, not quickly.

Not even during the Civil War did we here such a cry for liberation from the government and big Business. In 2008 with the staggering job lose, high fuel prices, immigration and record number of America’s losing their homes the cry grows louder every day. A storm is brewing and when it comes no one will be ready for it.

Sound like “The sky is falling” maybe so, but just talk to anyone around you and ask them the last time any American was happy about anything that is going on. No longer is this country the land where a hard working family can gain any ground . Today families are holding on by their finger tips.

Who do we blame for this mess? The government?  big companies ? Our self’s? In the end it won’t matter, in the end we will all pay for the actions of the few.

Have we been taken down so  low, that all we are is a bunch of lazy screw the next guy before he screws you society?

Are we not the sons of our father? Are we not our own keepers? Things have been set in motion beyond our control, our future is not in our own hands. It’s in the hands of others that mean us harm. Who don’t understand the collator damage the will cause. To countless numbers of Americans. For no other reason than they were born here.

We Americans do not war as a rule for the sack of it. We have always taken the fight to the enemy, now is no different. Will it be enough to stop those who are a clear and present danger to America? Or will we implode on our self’s in yet another civil war. to free our country of the tyranny of our oppressors?

A storm is coming .    

Clear and Present Danger

In 1919 Oliver Wendell Holmes was the first to coin the term in the majority opinion for the case  schenck v.The United States involving an appeal of the general secretary of the American Socialist Party, who had been convicted for distributing 15,000 leaflets to young men of draft age critical of the war effort and, especially, the draft. The leaflet urged readers to “Assert your rights–Do not submit to intimidation.” (exsploring Constitutional Conflicts)

 

“The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that the United States Congress has a right to prevent.”

 

As it read from Holmes speech. Later the term became a metaphor for the First Amendment. (Wikipedia)

 

 

To put into a clearer prospective Holmes explained the point by arguing that no one has a constitutional right to shout “Fire!” in a crowded theater when no fire is present, for such action would pose a “clear and present danger” to public safety. (Answers.com)

 

Following Schenck v. United States case, “clear and present danger” became a standard test in cases where a United States law limits a citizen’s First Amendment rights; the law is found to be constitutional if it can be shown that the language it prohibits is language that poses a “clear and present danger”. However, it should said the “clear and present danger” criterion of the Schenck decision was later modified by Brandenburg v. Ohio, and the test refined to determining whether the speech would provoke an imminent lawless action. (Answers.com)

Today the term lives on in current debate over Iraq and if it is clear and present danger to the United States. Where this term has be mentioned on average 600 times in the debate. (Eastland) To deiced if the term has not been mutated to apply to it’s new standard is hard to say. What is clear is that chairs seemed to favor the term and the test. Who is qualified to judge the test results is another paper.

Works Cited

Answers.com. 6 May 2008 <http://www.answers.com/topic/clear-and-present-danger?cat=biz-fin>.

exsploring Constitutional Conflicts. 6 May 2008 <http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/clear&pdanger.htm>.

Wikipedia. Wikipedia. 1 April 2008. 7 may 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_and_present_danger>.

State of Unemployment

 

As unemployment numbers rise along with fuel prices and everything else. I wanted to know the hard numbers of what the government’s definition of unemployment. Perhaps what they are including in their monthly numbers and what their leaving out. I felt a good place to start, in understanding of the jargon splashed over the evening news every night would by the bureau of Labor  Statistics. A branch of the United States Department of Labor.

 

The site is a one-stop-show for all information related to labor. Although I found the langue a little misleading in favor of making the administration look better. They weren’t able to hind the true we have all been feeling. According to The (Labor)Bureau, the unemployment situation as of April 2008 is good. 

 

The total number of unemployed workers was at a staggering 7.6 million. Up .8 percent over April 2008. The Bureau also reported job loss for the first three moths of the year 2008 totaled 240,000. (Labor)

 

Is there a silver lining to all this doom and gloom forecast? No really, unless you happen to be in the market for a lower paying part time job. As the Bureau went on to report in April part time jobs rose from 306,000 to 5.2 million. Which could be understood  as good news for a high school kid looking to off set his allowance , but for anyone trying make their bills or pay for their kids collage maybe not so much.

 

Works Cited

Labor, U.S Department of. Bureau of Labor Statics. April 2008. April 2008 <http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm#overview>.

 

 

Are the best days behind us?

A simple question, with a not so simple answer. Are the best days of America behind us? Are we slowly witnessing the decline of a once great nation? Or is there still hope, hope for new jobs and industry.New hope for better education, decline in crime or teen suicide. New hope for a justice system that seems to only care about dollars over justice. Or any other of the many seeming un-repairable problems facing all of us today. I dare anyone one to convince me of any solid hope, that America is not in a bottomless pit with no hope of return. I look forward to reading your argument , if anyone can make one.