My excellent idea!

Hi all,
I had a bright idea the other day, apparently a few other parents did too.

I strongly objected to the Obama indoctrination speech to school children, so I wrote letters excusing my children and in its place, I gave my son a pocket copy of the US Constitution to read in study hall!

I asked him to read it in its entirety and report back to me what it means. I asked him to pay attention to the tenth amendment and explain to me its meaning. I am sure my readers are all experts, but just in case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_U.S._Constitution

The Tenth Amendment = "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."

for a full legal discussion, knock yourself out =
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Here's why this is so important - nowhere is the health care debate discussed in terms of this amendment - the federal government is prohibited from controlling my health care based on this law. They cannot FORCE people to buy insurance, nor FINE them for not doing so. (also Eighth and Ninth Amendment!)

My children asked me what was so bad with the pres' speech after he highly modified it this week - I told them point blank - he is a liar. Sorry, the truth hurts.
He said many good and conservative things in the final version, which is commendable, but his ACTIONS are exactly the opposite of what he says. If someone says one thing and does exactly the OPPOSITE, what are they? To a child, it is simple, he is a liar. I cite the Tenth Amendment, he is not allowed to take over the health care market. Ms. Pelosi - how exactly is this distortion and mispromotion? Have you ever READ the Constitution? Seriously?

Then I got another idea - the next time you are at a town hall meeting, please ask your rep if THEY have ever read the Constitution.!!! Simple.

The Constitution has a total of 27 Amendments , the first TEN are called the Bill of Rights. That's it - Ten and only TEN "rights".

Our country was founded based on a few simple documents, starting with the Magna Carta, the "great charter", created in 1215. It states that the Kings did not get their governing power from God, but rather God gives His power to the people, and they in turn give some of that power to the Kings and governing class. It influenced the creation of the US Constitution.

The Declaration of Independence was ratified on 7/4/1776, and the US Constitution was created on Sept 17. 1787, so Happy Birthday next week to the US Constitution!

Please read it. I bet you can find several recent attacks on these real rights from the current congress.

* First Amendment: addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congressional establishment of a religion over another religion through Law and protecting the right to free exercise of religion), freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.

* Second Amendment: guarantees the right of individuals to possess firearms. See District of Columbia v. Heller.

* Third Amendment: prohibits the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers during peacetime without the consent of the owners. The only existing case law regarding this amendment is a lower court decision in the case of Engblom v. Carey.[17]

* Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

* Fifth Amendment: forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits double jeopardy (repeated trials), except in certain very limited circumstances; forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify against himself (this is also known as "Taking the Fifth" or "Pleading the Fifth"). This is regarded as the "rights of the accused" amendment, otherwise known as the Miranda rights after the Supreme Court case. It also prohibits government from taking private property for public use without "just compensation," the basis of eminent domain in the United States.

* Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. It also guarantees the accused a right to know the charges against him. The Sixth Amendment has several court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Crawford v. Washington. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that the fifth amendment prohibition on forced self-incrimination and the sixth amendment clause on right to counsel were to be made known to all persons placed under arrest, and these clauses have become known as the Miranda rights.

* Seventh Amendment: assures trial by jury in civil cases.

* Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

* Ninth Amendment: declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained by the people.

* Tenth Amendment: reserves to the states respectively, or to the people, any powers the Constitution did not delegate to the United States, nor prohibit the states from exercising.

Subsequent amendments (11 to 27)
Search Wikisource Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Additional amendments to the United States Constitution

Amendments to the Constitution after the Bill of Rights cover many subjects. The majority of the seventeen later amendments stem from continued efforts to expand individual civil or political liberties, while a few are concerned with modifying the basic governmental structure drafted in Philadelphia in 1787. Although the United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, only 26 of the amendments are currently in effect because the twenty-first amendment supersedes the eighteenth.

* Eleventh Amendment (1795): Clarifies judicial power over foreign nationals, and limits ability of citizens to sue states in federal courts and under federal law. (Full text)
* Twelfth Amendment (1804): Changes the method of presidential elections so that members of the Electoral College cast separate ballots for president and vice president. (Full text)
* Thirteenth Amendment (1865): Abolishes slavery and authorizes Congress to enforce abolition. (Full text)
* Fourteenth Amendment (1868): Defines a set of guarantees for United States citizenship; prohibits states from abridging citizens' privileges or immunities and rights to due process and the equal protection of the law; repeals the Three-fifths compromise; prohibits repudiation of the federal debt caused by the Civil War. (Full text)
* Fifteenth Amendment (1870): Forbids the federal government and the states from using a citizen's race, color, or previous status as a slave as a qualification for voting. (Full text)
* Sixteenth Amendment (1913): Authorizes unapportioned federal taxes on income. (Full text)
* Seventeenth Amendment (1913): Establishes direct election of senators. (Full text)
* Eighteenth Amendment (1919): Prohibited the manufacturing, importing, and exporting of alcoholic beverages (see Prohibition in the United States). Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment. (Full text)
* Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen to vote due to their sex. (Full text)
* Twentieth Amendment (1933): Changes details of Congressional and presidential terms and of presidential succession. (Full text)
* Twenty-first Amendment (1933): Repeals Eighteenth Amendment. Permits states to prohibit the importation of alcoholic beverages. (Full text)
* Twenty-second Amendment (1951): Limits president to two terms. (Full text)
* Twenty-third Amendment (1961): Grants presidential electors to the District of Columbia. (Full text)
* Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964): Prohibits the federal government and the states from requiring the payment of a tax as a qualification for voting for federal officials. (Full text)
* Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967): Changes details of presidential succession, provides for temporary removal of president, and provides for replacement of the vice president. (Full text)
* Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971): Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen of age 18 or greater to vote on account of their age. (Full text)
* Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992): Limits congressional pay raises. (Full text)

In closing, let me try to make you laugh - a recent Libertarian spokesperson said they would like to see Congress have a 2 Term limit - one in Congress and the second in JAIL!