Redefining the Constitution

I found it interesting that Governor Palin was willing to continue the practice of expanding the powers of the vice-president beyond those defined in the United States Constitution.

I was under the impression that a belief in the strict interpretation of The Constitution was a criteria of the Republicans for choosing justices to serve on the Supreme Court. Yet Cheney has managed to redefine the role of the Office of Vice-President without recourse to the intentions of the Founding Fathers, the authors of the Constitution of the United States.

The leaves of change can be had on items at Picket Fence Friends, a cafepress.com store.

Another surprise is the unquestioning acceptance of The Press for this expansion of VP-Power. Now that the new, expanded role of the Vice President is not subject to question and that now that the office is more powerful than was defined by the Founding Fathers, no one will say nay to such expansion of power--so says CNN when reporting on Palin and Biden's responses to the role of the Vice-President during their debate this past week.

Seems like expanding those powers, as would be the case if she is given the agenda of issues to work on as VP which she described during the vice-presidential candidates' debate this past week, would be a progressive interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. I find it interesting that such a progressive interpretation is anathema to the pro-life movement. A strict interpretation of the Constitution is required to support the pro-life claim that the Roe vs Wade decision is actually unconstitutional and should be repealed as such.

Why is no one suprised that this lady who is now the key role model of feminist accomplishment is not pro-choice?

For that matter, why is no one objecting to the politics that will force a seventeen-year-old into a marriage for which neither bride nor groom is mature enough?

Maybe she is not the Conservative that I thought she was.

I will be voting for Obama and Biden.
I am not an Originalist in terms of Constitutional Interpretation.

I believe that our Constitution is a flexible document with meaning that is to be interpreted against the needs of current society. I believe that the strength of our country lies in the value of our heritage that guides us in making ethical, democratic decisions that are held in check by the principles of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, yet allowing us to evolve into a an advanced society of the modern world.

Watch The Supreme Court on Trial on Link TV.
Here are some videos from Link TV on American Politics.

A Dark Journey an American Future History

---Yes, I know. This is also posted in my other blog: different title; same emotions.---

Last week I had fun. I laughed with John Stewart as he showed us the sound bites repeated on each of the major networks. Almost, but not quite verbatim, each broadcaster used the same memes to analyze the statements and activities of the presidential candidates. Leave it to the mockery of Stewart to find comedy in the everyday. When my new dog barked at the eagle's birdsong that introduces the Colbert Report, I giggled and took myself off to bed. I am growing really fond of that dog.

Then I watched Link TV over the weekend. Now I am roiling in stomach acid. I spent the whole weekend in emotional turmoil. Shock at the shenanigans of American politics. Awe at the brazen usurption of American civil rights. I was slain by how I had been manipulated time and again by those I should have been able to trust. I now fear for the future of my children. The democracy of the country of my birth is being threatened from within, and patriotism will not save it.

If you want to know the source of the threat, I invite you to watch the Orwell Rolls in his Grave and Propanganda and Politics. These shows resonate with the pain of a betrayed people-US. And the sorry thing is, we actively tolled the death knell ourselves when we allowed voter fraud to occur right under our noses, and we did nothing to stop it.

I love this country. I have always believed that our diversity and system of checks and balances would guarantee our way of life for centuries to come. I believed that, flaws and all, our democracy was the best solution for governing people. I felt such pride in our goodness, or at least our striving to be good. And I am proud of our military and support the public servants-military, police, fire fighters, teachers, civil service workers--that work faithfully to keep us safe and our government operational.

I never believed that in the name of God, and freedom, a Christian president would use his power to undermine our US Constitution. I did not really believe that the mainstream public would rather pay lipservice to a politically correct notion of morality at the expense of modern technology and science. It is OK to use psychology and marketing technologies to win legal battles, no matter what the truth or who is actually guilty. But to accept scientific principles is anathema to one's faith.

Since when is the competition to win cases the measure of justice rather than the identification of guilt or innocence?

Since when is the freedom of speech less important than political correctness? Since when is the American Way subject to conforming to the neighbor in power? Since when does anyone have the right to tell me how to think? Since when can I no longer use my own sense of right and wrong to decide what choices to make?

I always thought that our Constitution protected us from government control over every aspect of our lives and thoughts. Our Bill of Rights and our US Constitution are being reinterpreted to remove the individual civil rights. What will replace them?

We live in frightening times. We live in a country on the verge of self-destruction. Slow, subtle erosions of the traditional American ideals, the vision of the founding fathers, and my civil rights are crumbling. I am white. I am Anglo-Saxon. Yet my voice, just like Peter Jenning's and Trent Lott's, is a weak whisper against the cacophany of sound bites manipulating and spinning the censored tidbits of information about current events and the axis of power in control.

If I count to 10 and breath deeply, can I will it all to go away. "Don't worry; be happy." A mantra should calm me down and make it better.

• Orwell Rolls in his Grave
  http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_orwellrolls
  Upcoming Airdates
  Timezone: CST
  Monday March 10th 02:00 pm
  Saturday March 15th 09:00 am
  Saturday March 15th 06:00 pm
  Sunday March 16th 03:00 pm


• Propaganda and Politics
  http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_propaganda
  Upcoming Airdates
  Timezone: CST
  Friday, March 14th 12:00 pm
  Saturday March 15th 03:00 pm
  Monday March 17th 12:00 am


• Stealing Democracy?
  http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_stealing
  Upcoming Airdates
  Timezone: CST
  Sunday March 16th 10:00 pm

Best of Link TV
http://www.linktv.org/rss/general/best.xml

Read more of my comments about Link TV.

Get these Resources on Global Warming!

The Planet 1-4 are important documentaries showcasing evidence for Global Warming and some of the cultural change that this phenomenon has already wrought. They are useful for high school and homeschool. They do have a political message, but it is one shared by many in the field of ecology and biology today: Global Warming is here.

Link TV is currently showing the 4-part series The Planet, which look for evidence for Global Warming. It airs several times this week including at 12:00 noon EST beginning Tuesday, 3/3/08, with Part 1 and ending Friday, 3/6/08, with Part 4. It is also shown in the middle of the night for those of you who, like me, record things during the sleeping hours; and at other times during the week. Get the schedule.

I watched The Planet 1 this past Sunday. The presentation this week runs 90 minutes because it is interspersed with interviews and Link TV fund-raising announcements.

And such interviews! Peter Coyote interviewed several scientists and authors this past Sunday, including Kim Stanley Robinson and William Steffen. Each have books and talks about the politics and science of Global Warming. The interviews are as interesting and informative as the documentary. I highly recommend that you catch the showing of The Planet this week to be sure to see the interviews.

I tried to locate The Planet documentaries for purchase, but could not find it at Amazon. Maybe later. I did find the books by Steffen and Robinson that are part of the gift package that Link TV was giving for a $300.00 donation. If you want to give less, as I did, but still want the books, they are available at Amazon. I offer them here.

The non-fiction books I recommend as references for student reports. These are the books by Steffen.

Concerning the books by Kim Stanley Robinson, these are fictional accounts of what could happen in the very near future. Robinson offers knowledgeable scenarios of the the individual and governmental responses to this looming crisis. Critiques of the books are on the Amazon pages. I offer links to the more informative ones that I deem useful for teachers and homeschool parents. These critiques mention the concepts covered in the book and will prove helpful in lesson planning.

Furthermore, the book review of one of the books in the trilogy by a school librarian publication, Library Journal Reveiw, indicates that these books are appropriate for use with youth. I haven't yet read them, but I think they will be safe. I believe the ones I have read--Red Mars and Green Mars, both on the terraforming and colonization of Mars by Robinson--are safe enough.

Read these informative critiques on the book that let teachers know what topics are covered so these books can be used in the classroom. The Library Journal review on the book page of Forty Days of Rain implies that the book is suitable for a high school library.

• Discussion of the science, politics, and readabiliy of the book
• Sixty Days and Counting


• Fifty Degrees Below

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Read more about Link TV and some of its offerings at Valerie's Memos later this week and, of course, at the Link TV website itself.