Letter: Our beginnings as Americans

Jon T.
11/21/2009 8:41 AM

"I ain't passed the bar, but I know a lil bit..."~Jay-Z. My niece is the real scholar. She taught Constitutional and Internet/Copywrite law at Duke, took a clerkship for the 8th Judicial Court of Appeals, and is now in a teaching position at UT. What amuses her the most is when people wail and moan and gnash their teeth about what the "founding fathers intended" without truly studying the body of work that has surrounded the constitution and the evolution of our judicial system accordingly. It's an easy shield to use, simply throwing around the word "constitution" when being asked to explain a position that may be erroneous.

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Craig H.
11/20/2009 11:20 AM

I would think only a constitutional scholar would be able to recongize when someone isn't one. So, Jon T., are you a scholar?

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steve p.
11/20/2009 9:22 AM

Didn't Jefferson have slaves?

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Jon T.
11/20/2009 7:27 AM

Gee, Barb, I didn't know you were a constitutional law scholar. I'd love to know where you studied. And I don't hate our country, I just like to remind people of uncomfortable origins that they like to pretend never happened.

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Casey O.
11/19/2009 8:39 AM

I don't agree with, one God as the "right" belief. Many people have had many Gods. They have a different God for each thing in their lives. Thor, God of Thunder, to name one. The Natives have had many Gods too. I know the God I believe in is not the same God as many of you claim to believe in. That's what's so great about America, we're free to believe how we want, but many say there is only one way to believe. To me, that's not the land of the free, is it?

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Casey O.
11/19/2009 8:32 AM

The government is not backing the panel on mams. They are staying with the previous advice. That's outdated news.

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joe r.
Willmar, MN     11/19/2009 12:42 AM

Barb many of us understand the constitution, but like I stated before there were those who did not follow what our fore-fathers planned for this country when it was written. People endorsed slavery, bigotry, and killed and terrorized anyone who stood in their way. Perfect example the lovely KKK, who at one time had more political influence in this country then probably any president. We saw child labor, and slave labor, all for the turn of a buck, and when there was opposition they tried to crush it by beating up, and shooting up union officials. That was part of our working history in this country. We saw segregated schooling, and watched as churches and syngogs were bombed. Abortion clincs were bombed, and shot up, and doctors murdered. Without the government many of these radicals would still be out there making it difficult for Americans to live in this country the way constitution was written by our fore fathers. Barb how far do you think you would get, or anyone else for that matter, without the government? Also the tea parties staged now are by the right, and some of these people who were involved had self motivation to join in on these so called tea parties, such as the lobbyists and insiders who were threatened by governemnt health care reform.

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Craig H.
11/18/2009 10:32 PM

Amazing that there are still people out there that think this administration is destroying the constitution while they sat silent when the previous administration trampled it to death. Spying on your own citizens! Remember that???? Government secrecy, politicizing the justice department, falsifying intelligence to start a war, getting rid of habeas corpus (just to name a few things)... does any of that ring a bell??? People say our constitution is threatened but fail to give any factual proof as to why that is the case. Just because you heard it on the radio doesn't make it true. And the so-called "tea baggers"... you know, those groups organized by GOP backers... they don't care about the constitution as evidence of their desire to stop debate rather than their participation in it... as evidence by their claim of socialism without even being able to explain what it is. The only way these guys would be sticking up for the constitution is if there was an article in it saying you should hate people named Barrack Obama.

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Mike C.
11/18/2009 9:58 PM

Barb the last time I checked the school in Prinsburg is a private school. Are you suggesting that they are not teaching properly?

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Barb K.
11/18/2009 9:51 PM

If you actually read and understood the Constitution you would know that it is the document that set the stage to change the norms of the time making it possible to abolish slavery and allowing women and blacks to vote. Because of the venacular of the time "All men are created equal" means all women too. I admit that took way to long but it is the Constitution that made those things possible. I've been yelling for years and years that just about ALL the politicans ignore the Constitution and it just keeps getting worse. I thought I was pretty much alone until the Tea Party movement came along saying the same thing. I don't know of anyone who actually wants to go back and live in the 1800's but we do need to get back to a Constitutional federal government where the states have a lot more of the power and can decide the social policies. That way if you don't like what your state is doing you can move to another that suits you better. That's the way it's suppose to be. If you want to live in a "nanny state" you move to one. I'd prefer a state where I am free to live my life with very minimal govnt instrusion or help. I certainly don't need them telling me how often I should get a mammogram.

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