Restore The Constitution

[RonPaul4President]

The Constitution was written to protect the liberties and rights of the common man or woman. Time and politics have eroded it's original intent. Slowly our freedoms and rights are being taken away from us as self-serving lobbyists and power hungry politicians chip away at it.

Restore the Constitution to it's original intent. Make any attempt to change it illegal. Any amendment that lessens the rights and freedoms of Americans should be met with swift and severe punishment.

The Constitution protects all of us from tyranny. Let's make sure it stays that way.

[mrapathy]

I disagree in removing the ability to change it.

its not easy to change the constitution to begin with.
what we need is for it to be enforced. its the duty of the people to protect it.
From Enemies Foreign and Domestic.

all laws repugnant to the constitution are null and void. I believe thats
Marbury vs Madison
sadly not upheld either and getting that worked out in the courts is tough as well.

Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government.
James Madison

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
James Madison

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
James Madison

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.
James Madison

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
James Madison

I dont know if all are correct I sure hope they are using BrainyQuotes.com

if its true they are timeless and quite applicable to today.

suggest checking out information regarding the media. owned by handfull of corporations. information control is mind control.

group think is overly abundant

good BBC 4 video set on Propaganda or Century of Self is excellent viewing.
it goes back through history the use of propaganda. the transformation and renaming of propaganda to public relations. search my name and find all sorts of good links to video's.

sadly one Amendment that frieghtens me is the Third. how does that work with devices created original for spying and espionage by military and secret government agencies?
it comes right down to it that its nearly the equivalent to having a man in your house.

technology around the corner in Military R&D are the perfect tools for enslavement.
UGV,UAV,Talons,Darpa Crusher,Robart III. ADS Active Denial System Microwave crowd dispersal system.
TPM Trusted Platform Module new security platform for computers. chip in every new motherboard on all new computers,cellphones,pda's. mac os,windows vista(check vista in 1984 book) and linux. TPM plays into Net Centric Warfare and all the military projects that basicly take over internet and other infrastructure. the British Version a Satelite is named SkyNet. plugging every military asset into the network. Global Information Grid. Tyrants dont like freedom. the Net is planned to go moderated. its what Tyrants and Dictators around the world want.

I could go on lots of stuff all on net. you wouldnt believe the stuff you find in thinktank,government,corporation,bank and university websites. wont last forever Freedoms days are limited. I dont like to say it. Ron Paul if he continues to be successful someone may try hard to shorten his life.

[kelldor]

(Copied from what I wrote on the ATS forums)

Many people on the net concerned about these issues support Rep. Ron Paul -Tx (R) for President. Why? His integrity, voting record, never flip-flopping, and he voted against the Iraq war, all appeal to folks. He WON the official MSNBC poll after the 1st debate, and once ABC put him in their poll he won that too, despite mainstream media not covering him. He is widely seen as "Founding Father" material.

For the Democrats, former Sen. Mike Gravel-Alaska is well liked in online circles for his opposition to our global empire building and his agreement with Eisenhower's speech warning against the Military Industrial Complex, as he was leaving office.

Eisenhower warns us of the military industrial complex.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY

THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX CONTROLS THIS GOVERNMENT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSLNwG9pQFY

Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel: "Eisenhower's Warning"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCkgFr7CACY

I am a Ron Paul supporter, but, I do tell my Dem friends/family to consider Mike Gravel. After what Bush has done, some people won't consider a Repub, so I started looking at the Dems to find 1 who wasn't a Council on Foreign Relations crony. I found that I liked Gravel because of his wisdom in recognizing the Military Industrial Complex, and I saw in him good elder statesman-like qualities, if not "Founding Father" material.

This then led me to discover his "National Initiative". He proposes a Democracy Act and Democracy Amendment by, Get This....,

....Going around congress to do it!

I don't wish to debate this initiative here, that would detract from the thread authors original intent. I have looked at it and I am "not" promoting it. For more information on it, see http://ni4d.us/

Here's why I brought it up. He proposes something called a "Philidelphia 2", where each state sends representatives to a National Convention and we amend the constitution ourselves!

Can we do that you ask? Sure we can! We did it before, a couple times. Each state sent delegates to debate the original Articles of Confederation, and then later the Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Convention

There are 2 ways to amend the constitution. 1) Through our elected representatives, 2) By We the People.

Each states Gov. sends 2 delegates (or by enumeration), to a new convention, and we use our authority to amend the constitution. Article 5 of the constitution is only for amending it through our elected representatives, but article 7 deals with the Ratification of the original constitution itself at the Philadelphia Convention, which sets precedence for "We the People" to enact our own laws.

From where does congress and the president derive their authority? From "We the People", and they can't take that right away from us. Read the Preamble. If "We the People" can "establish this Constitution", then we sure as hell can amend it ourselves if we damn well want to!

The 9th amendment says that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people", so even though we give congress the right to make amendments and laws on our behalf, that can't be used to deny "We the People" of those same legislative rights we used at the Philadelphia Convention and still ourselves retain.

The 10th amendment says, "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", which means "We the People" still reserve the right to hold our own "Constitutional Conventions" and amend our own constitution.

I am just borrowing the vehicle Gravel wants to use for his initiative, as a means to forward the idea of a new constitutional convention to make an amendment that fires our entire federal government, & hold new elections, not dominated by media or parties.

A Constitutional Coup D'etat if you will.

1 last thought. As you may well know, the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 (NDAA2007), by means of rewriting the Insurrection Act, has not only weakened the Posse Comitatus Act broadening definitions where military can be used on U.S. soil, but has also stripped control of the National Guard from the states Governors during times of emergency.

This was largely due to failures during hurricane Katrina. Most people blame the administration for failing to deploy the guard soon enough, but at the time, it was not within his authority. That authority belonged to Gov. Kathleen Blanco, and for 3 days she didn't deploy the guard fearing political ramifications concerning infringements upon civil liberties of citizens. If I am incorrect in my historical account, please feel free to correct me, however, the reason the changes were made to the above acts were a direct result of the failure to deploy the National Guard in a timely fashion during time of emergency, regardless of where the blame lies.

Keeping that in mind, Governors all across the country are PISSED OFF that this power given to them under Article I, Section 8, clause 16, and the 2nd amendment, was taken away from them, without their advice or consent. No one in the administration, or in congress, consulted the governors regarding this power shift. That is a huge slap in the face, and now as a result, there are states openly debating the creating and deployment of a well regulated militia with the governor as Commander in Chief.

How does that relate to the above proposal? The governors are probably more likely now than ever to be amiable to a new "Constitutional Convention".

I would assume that the more legal way to do it would be that the state legislatures house votes on whether or not to attend and move the process forward. Once approved, sending the bill to the state senate. Once approved there, sending the agreed upon legislation to the governor who signs it into law. Then the governor nominates delegates (either 2 per state, or by enumeration, I am thinking by enumeration now that I look at the list of who attended the Philadelphia Convention), and then those delegates going before the state legislature for confirmation hearings.

Once the delegates are confirmed, they then would go meet at the convention, I suppose being in a place where the governors through maybe the National Governors Association (http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga) could vote and agree upon.

My main point here though, is we currently have some ticked off governors and state legislatures regarding the Real ID Act, and the Security and Prosperity Partnership Initiative, and also the taking away of National Guard authority from the Governors during emergencies. So ticked off that some are forming and activating their own state militias.

That looks like ripe pickins to me! What do you think?

[Bryan]

Good topic. Obviously I agree we need to restore the principles of the Constitution, if we look however how we have lost our freedoms it is through a constent addition of new laws- not amendments. So in this way it seems having "jury nullification" would be a better way to go then worry about controlling amendments:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=582

Or maybe it could be better said that, make it illegal to pass new laws.

One issue that I have on this topic, I sometimes see people saying "The Constitution is gone" or "we're not following the constitution at all"- this can confuse some people who aren't paying so much attention, as far as they know we still have three branches of government that are fully functional. The point to stress is that our liberties protected by the Constitution are gone.

[RonPaul4President]

Thank you all for the VERY informative and comprehensive responses. Wow!

My remark about not being allowed to amend the Constitution was in regards to any amendments that sacrifice liberty for security, such as the Patriot Act. If we follow the rule of law, with the Constitution being the supreme law of the land, the Patriot Act is illegal. Those responsible for the CONSPIRACY to bring it to fruition should be held accountable in a court of LAW.

[RonPaul4President]

The point to stress is that our liberties protected by the Constitution are gone.

Yes, and this is in part due to a Congress that has sat silently and allowed it to happen. This alone, is a treasonous and disgraceful act. If not for the few good men in Congress the Constitution would literally be a, "goddamned piece of paper", as George W. Bush(that'd be the residing U.S. president) referred to it.

[mdh]

Yes, and this is in part due to a Congress that has sat silently and allowed it to happen. This alone, is a treasonous and disgraceful act. If not for the few good men in Congress the Constitution would literally be a, "goddamned piece of paper", as George W. Bush(that'd be the residing U.S. president) referred to it.

Did Dubya actually say that? If so, when, and what was the context? I'd love to be able to use that quote.

[RonPaul4President]

Did Dubya actually say that? If so, when, and what was the context? I'd love to be able to use that quote.

As unbelievable as it sounds, he did say it. The link below shows the context and the circumstances involved in the disgrace to Americans.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/091205pieceofpaper.htm