LAW PUNDIT Tuesday, October 28, 2003 10/28/2003 02:01:00 PM [Home]
The Perfidious Senate Bill S 1558 IS
In my previous posting on Spam and Spam Laws, I already noted that the US Congress had adopted a path of encroachment on the powers of the other branches of government, one path of encroachment being the numerous fairly recent Constitutional Amendments passed regarding the Presidency and the other path of encroachment being the legislative assault on judicial review, i.e. the means by which the judiciary department of the U.S. government performs its "checks and balances" on the legislative department, as forseen by the logic of Madison's Federalist Paper Number 51, as reproduced in part in my previous blog posting.
Let us take a look at the perfidious bill, S 1558 IS, introduced in the Senate by a man named Wayne Allard of Colorado as the so-called Religious Liberties Restoration Act. You can find this bill at the graciously named website, Stop Liberal Judges, which by its very name already shows that the powers of the judiciary are intended to be encroached and usurped by this bill.
Section 3(d) of that bill provides:
EXERCISE OF CONGRESSIONAL POWER TO EXCEPT- The subject matter of subsections (a), (b), and (c) are excepted from the jurisdiction of Federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court.
In other words, all of the provisions of this bill are to be excluded from judicial review by the Federal courts.
I could not imagine that any man trained in law and having even the remotest understanding of the structural system of American government, as explained by Madison in the Federalist Paper Number 51, could sponsor such a perfidious bill in the name of religion, so I looked at this man's biography, finding indeed that he was not trained in the law, but rather in veterinary medicine.
Let me say this, as someone trained in the law, that I would not feel competent to be administering medicine to your pets at home or to your animals on your farm. That is not my expertise, but the realm of the vets. I wish vets such as Mr. Allard would take the same view with respect to the law and with respect to the fabulous structural legal system in America, as described by Madison, which has made the United States such a great country for more than 200 years.
The sadness of this story is that Mr. Allard is trying to do what he thinks is the "right" thing and in the process - if successful - is destroying the very foundations of that very same great country that he thinks he is trying to defend.
If these kinds of assaults on the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances are ever successful, then the United States will cease being the leader of democracy in the world, but will join the ranks of tyrants, with majorities exerting their ephemeral whims on the populace, just as a herder of animals does on the ranch. Animals are not subject to the rule of law, but humans, at least in the United States, still enjoy its protections.
When judicial review is eliminated, the tyranny of legislatures is not far behind and the rule of law will disappear.
I suggest Mr. Allard stop campaigning ceaselessly in Colorado (his own website boasts that he spends more time there than in Washington) but rather that he make himself familiar with the Federalist Papers, read them, and try to understand what Madison was talking about. Indeed, this suggestion goes out to all members of the US Congress, regardless of your political party. FIRST, understand your job. THEN, do your job.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 10/28/2003 02:01:00 PM
The Perfidious Senate Bill S 1558 IS
In my previous posting on Spam and Spam Laws, I already noted that the US Congress had adopted a path of encroachment on the powers of the other branches of government, one path of encroachment being the numerous fairly recent Constitutional Amendments passed regarding the Presidency and the other path of encroachment being the legislative assault on judicial review, i.e. the means by which the judiciary department of the U.S. government performs its "checks and balances" on the legislative department, as forseen by the logic of Madison's Federalist Paper Number 51, as reproduced in part in my previous blog posting.
Let us take a look at the perfidious bill, S 1558 IS, introduced in the Senate by a man named Wayne Allard of Colorado as the so-called Religious Liberties Restoration Act. You can find this bill at the graciously named website, Stop Liberal Judges, which by its very name already shows that the powers of the judiciary are intended to be encroached and usurped by this bill.
Section 3(d) of that bill provides:
EXERCISE OF CONGRESSIONAL POWER TO EXCEPT- The subject matter of subsections (a), (b), and (c) are excepted from the jurisdiction of Federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court.
In other words, all of the provisions of this bill are to be excluded from judicial review by the Federal courts.
I could not imagine that any man trained in law and having even the remotest understanding of the structural system of American government, as explained by Madison in the Federalist Paper Number 51, could sponsor such a perfidious bill in the name of religion, so I looked at this man's biography, finding indeed that he was not trained in the law, but rather in veterinary medicine.
Let me say this, as someone trained in the law, that I would not feel competent to be administering medicine to your pets at home or to your animals on your farm. That is not my expertise, but the realm of the vets. I wish vets such as Mr. Allard would take the same view with respect to the law and with respect to the fabulous structural legal system in America, as described by Madison, which has made the United States such a great country for more than 200 years.
The sadness of this story is that Mr. Allard is trying to do what he thinks is the "right" thing and in the process - if successful - is destroying the very foundations of that very same great country that he thinks he is trying to defend.
If these kinds of assaults on the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances are ever successful, then the United States will cease being the leader of democracy in the world, but will join the ranks of tyrants, with majorities exerting their ephemeral whims on the populace, just as a herder of animals does on the ranch. Animals are not subject to the rule of law, but humans, at least in the United States, still enjoy its protections.
When judicial review is eliminated, the tyranny of legislatures is not far behind and the rule of law will disappear.
I suggest Mr. Allard stop campaigning ceaselessly in Colorado (his own website boasts that he spends more time there than in Washington) but rather that he make himself familiar with the Federalist Papers, read them, and try to understand what Madison was talking about. Indeed, this suggestion goes out to all members of the US Congress, regardless of your political party. FIRST, understand your job. THEN, do your job.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 10/28/2003 02:01:00 PM
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