{"id":448426,"date":"2010-03-19T17:29:28","date_gmt":"2010-03-19T21:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/?p=32862"},"modified":"2010-03-19T17:29:28","modified_gmt":"2010-03-19T21:29:28","slug":"violating-our-constitution-shredding-our-rights-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/448426","title":{"rendered":"Violating Our Constitution, Shredding Our Rights + More"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/papundits.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/03\/constitutionintheshredder2010-03-19-digest.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-32863\" style=\"margin-left:5px;\" title=\"ConstitutionInTheShredder2010-03-19-digest\" src=\"http:\/\/papundits.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/03\/constitutionintheshredder2010-03-19-digest.jpg?w=300&#038;h=304\" alt=\"Constitution in the Shredder\" width=\"300\" height=\"304\" \/><\/a> <strong><a rel=\"tag\" href=\"http:\/\/patriotpost.us\/\" >The Patriot Post<\/a> Digest<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>The Foundation<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;[G]iving [Congress] a distinct and independent power to do any act  they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the  preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It  would reduce the whole [Constitution] to a single phrase, that of  instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good  of the United States; and as sole judges of the good or evil, it would  be also a power to do whatever evil they please. Certainly, no such  universal power was meant to be given them.&#8221; &#8211;Thomas Jefferson<\/p>\n<h2>Government &amp; Politics<\/h2>\n<h3>Constitution in the Shredder<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;We are absolutely giddy over the great news that we&#8217;ve gotten,&#8221;  House Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) declared Thursday. No wonder.  The Congressional Budget Office provided a predictable boost to  Democrats this week with its &#8220;preliminary&#8221; estimate that the updated  health care takeover bill \u00a0 &#8230; \u00a0\u00a0<span id=\"more-32862\"><\/span> (text <a href=\"http:\/\/rules.house.gov\/bills_details.aspx?NewsID=4606\" >here<\/a>)  would cost $940 billion over the next 10 years &#8212; all without adding to  the deficit.<\/p>\n<p>If you believe that, we have some oceanfront property in Arizona for  sale.<\/p>\n<p>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) cooed, &#8220;I love numbers. They&#8217;re so  precise.&#8221; That is, if by &#8220;precise&#8221; she means bogus. The CBO is required  to take legislation as it&#8217;s written (or, more precisely in this case,  how it&#8217;s described), not necessarily as it will be enacted. The  deficit-neutral finding is based on the Demo claim that increased taxes  and shuffling Medicare and Medicaid expenses will &#8220;save&#8221; money. Cutting  these entitlements, however, is easier said than done. Additionally,  implementation is delayed, meaning there will be hardly any spending for  the first few years under the bill. On top of that, a provision was  recently added to the bill that ends student loan subsidies to lenders  &#8212; which conveniently accounts for nearly all of the $19.8 billion in  deficit &#8220;reduction&#8221; that Democrats are touting.<\/p>\n<p>As we have pointed out numerous times before, however, the money  business is almost entirely beside the point. House leaders are trying  to foist upon us an unconstitutional nationalization of the health care  industry using a cowardly and unconstitutional method, namely, the  &#8220;Slaughter Rule.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Because of the election of Scott Brown to the open Senate seat in  Massachusetts, Democrats were forced to abandon their machinations in  the upper chamber, though not before threatening to use &#8220;reconciliation&#8221;  to jam the bill through on a simple majority vote. Now, the House is  planning to &#8220;deem&#8221; the Senate bill passed, rather than vote on it, in a  process known as a &#8220;self-executing rule.&#8221; As <a href=\"http:\/\/patriotpost.us\/alexander\/2010\/03\/18\/pulling-the-plug-on-our-constitution\/\" >Mark  Alexander<\/a> observed, &#8220;&#8216;Slaughter&#8217; and &#8217;self-executing&#8217; may describe  both the process and the electoral future of many Democrats in the  House.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Columnist <a href=\"http:\/\/patriotpost.us\/opinion\/tony-blankley\/2010\/03\/17\/constitutional-law-101\/\" >Tony  Blankley<\/a> explains, &#8220;[U]nder the proposed scheme, the Senate bill  would be &#8216;deemed&#8217; to have passed the House and become law without a  presidential signature. Then the Senate would pass the House-demanded  amendments, and the House members would then cast only one vote &#8212; for  the amendments they like, rather than the underlying Senate bill they  hate. Thus (so Pelosi&#8217;s theory holds) politically protecting House  members, who could say they never actually voted for the publicly  despised Senate bill.&#8221; Profiles in courage, no?<\/p>\n<p>Republicans attempted to force an actual vote on the bill, but  Democrats defeated that resolution Thursday 222-203. A &#8220;vote&#8221; &#8212; likely  via the Slaughter Rule &#8212; on the Senate bill is tentatively scheduled  for Sunday. (<a href=\"http:\/\/corner.nationalreview.com\/post\/?q=OTk4NWVkNTljOTdhNWUxNWE2MzE4MDk4MDYxZWQ4Nzk=\" >Here&#8217;s  a list<\/a> of Democrats who might need a little encouragement.)<\/p>\n<p>Democrats don&#8217;t care, but <a href=\"http:\/\/patriotpost.us\/document\/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-of-america\/\">Article  1, Section 7 of the Constitution<\/a> is pretty clear: &#8220;[T]he Votes of  both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the  Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal  of each House respectively.&#8221; If the bill passes the House via the Demos&#8217;  trickery, no single bill will have passed both houses. Thus, we have a  bill that is disliked by a strong majority of Americans, enjoys strong  bipartisan <em>opposition<\/em> in Congress, and is being rammed into law  via unconstitutional means. There&#8217;s a word for legislation like this:  illegitimate.<\/p>\n<p>Barack Obama, a narcissist if ever there was one, has made clear that  his presidency hinges on the passage of ObamaCare. Turning up the  pressure, Obama met with &#8220;undecided&#8221; Democrats this week, no doubt to  make them offers they can&#8217;t refuse. After the meeting, Rep. Jose Serrano  (D-NY) said, &#8220;We went in there already knowing his presidency would be  weakened if this thing went down, but the president clearly reinforced  the impression the presidency would be damaged by a loss. He was subtle,  but that was the underlying theme of the meeting &#8212; the importance of  passing this for the health of the presidency.&#8221; It should go without  saying that Obama&#8217;s ego is not sufficient reason for trampling the  Constitution while wrecking the American health system. But, then again,  who says elected Democrats are principled?<\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/image.patriotpost.us.s3.amazonaws.com\/2010-03-19-digest-cartoon-1.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/image.patriotpost.us.s3.amazonaws.com\/2010-03-19-digest-cartoon-1.jpg\" alt=\"Slaughter of Congressional Rules\" width=\"475\" height=\"415\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h3>This Week&#8217;s &#8216;Alpha Jackass&#8217; Award<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules  are in the House or Senate. What I can tell you is that the vote that&#8217;s  taken in the House will be a vote for health care reform. And if people  vote yes, whatever form that takes, that is going to be a vote for  health care reform. And I don&#8217;t think we should pretend otherwise. And  if they don&#8217;t, if they vote against it, then they&#8217;re going to be voting  against health care reform, and they&#8217;re going to be voting in favor of  the status quo. So Washington gets very concerned with these procedures  in Congress, whether Republicans are in charge or Democrats are in  charge. &#8230; By the time the vote has taken place, not only I will know  what&#8217;s in it, you&#8217;ll know what&#8217;s in it because it&#8217;s going to be posted  and everybody&#8217;s going to be able to evaluate it on the merits.&#8221; &#8211;Barack  Obama<\/p>\n<p>Translation: The Constitution be damned.<\/p>\n<h3>On Cross-Examination<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Politically speaking, [the Slaughter Rule] is beyond sleazy. It&#8217;s  meant to protect House Democrats, who are all running for re-election in  November, from having to make a tough vote up or down on health care  reform. Pelosi says of this process, quote, &#8216;I like it, because people  don&#8217;t have to vote on the Senate bill,&#8217; unquote. In Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s  world, accountability is a dirty word. &#8230; This tactic has been used in  the past, but never &#8212; never &#8212; for something as big and important as  the $900 billion health care reform bill &#8212; never. Republicans are  jumping all over this, rightfully so. They&#8217;re painting it as a way for  Democrats to avoid taking responsibility, which is exactly what it is.  Some even suggest it&#8217;s unconstitutional. Meanwhile, President Obama&#8217;s  campaigning relentlessly, calling on lawmakers to pass health care  reform, quote, &#8216;I want some courage. I want us to do the right thing,&#8217;  unquote. Well, the irony here is if Nancy Pelosi gets her way, it won&#8217;t  take much courage at all on the part of our so-called representatives,  will it?&#8221; &#8211;CNN commentator Jack Cafferty, who is by no means a  conservative<\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/image.patriotpost.us.s3.amazonaws.com\/2010-03-19-digest-cartoon-2.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/image.patriotpost.us.s3.amazonaws.com\/2010-03-19-digest-cartoon-2.jpg\" alt=\"If John Hancock were in Congress 2010\" width=\"475\" height=\"360\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h3>The BIG Truth<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;You know we&#8217;re going to control the insurance companies.&#8221; &#8211;Joe  Biden, with his two cents<\/p>\n<h3>News From the Swamp: Debt Panel Takes Shape<\/h3>\n<p>Barack Obama&#8217;s bipartisan panel on the national debt is slowly taking  shape with the addition of six congressional Republicans this week.  Joining from the Senate are Judd Gregg (NH), Mike Crapo (ID) and Tom  Coburn (OK); from the House are Dave Camp (MI), Paul Ryan (WI) and Jeb  Hensarling (TX). All six have pledged to push for spending cuts instead  of tax increases to reduce the government&#8217;s obscenely large debt. The  commission&#8217;s final recommendations will not be binding, however, and the  White House has insisted that the panel complete its work <em>after<\/em> the midterm elections rather than before. This way Democrats can have  political cover when they recommend tax hikes over spending cuts in  order to bring the government&#8217;s finances in order.<\/p>\n<p>Higher taxes alone won&#8217;t save the budget, though. The entitlements  that have grown too large to manage will have to be trimmed if America  is going to keep its AAA bond rating. Moody&#8217;s Investors Service <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/03\/16\/business\/global\/16rating.html\">suggested  this week<\/a> that the U.S. is in danger of losing its top credit  status if it doesn&#8217;t soon control its debt-to-revenue ratio. A lowered  credit rating will harm the government&#8217;s ability to obtain favorable  loans, thus leading to massively increased interest rates and taxes. The  U.S. has maintained its AAA credit rating ever since Moody&#8217;s first  started rating the country in 1949, though the national debt currently  measures 64 percent of GDP.<\/p>\n<h3>New &amp; Notable Legislation<\/h3>\n<p>The Senate passed a $17.6 billion &#8220;jobs&#8221; bill Wednesday, the first in  a series of such bills, and Barack Obama signed it on Thursday. The  legislation includes highway funding as well as a payroll tax break for  small businesses. Eleven Republicans voted for the bill: Lamar Alexander  (TN), Christopher Bond (MO), Scott Brown (MA), Richard Burr (NC), Thad  Cochran (MS), Susan Collins (ME), James Inhofe (OK), George LeMieux  (FL), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Olympia Snowe (ME) and George Voinovich (OH).  Last week, the Senate passed a separate $150 billion package, which  included business tax breaks and extended unemployment and other  benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Republicans and spending, the Senate GOP defeated a bid  to freeze earmarks for one year, splitting from House Republicans who  made the pledge last week. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) made the case  against the pledge, saying, &#8220;We would be delegating that [spending] back  from Congress to President Obama to make those decisions.&#8221; Sen. Jim  DeMint (R-SC) countered, &#8220;Folks, we have every power here by the way we  appropriate to disallow the use of funds for certain things.&#8221; We pause  here to remind Senate Republicans who bravely voted to ban earmarks that  they don&#8217;t have to continue to request them just because they lost the  vote.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the Senate took care of some truly important business this  week &#8212; friendlier sentencing for certain cocaine convictions.  &#8220;Legislation approved by the Senate on Wednesday would significantly  reduce the disparity in sentences handed out to those convicted of crack  and powder cocaine charges,&#8221; the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnsnews.com\/news\/article\/62997\">Associated Press<\/a> reports. &#8220;Currently, a person convicted of crack cocaine possession gets  the same mandatory jail time as someone with 100 times the same  quantity of powder cocaine.&#8221; So why the urgency? The AP answers, &#8220;That  100-1 ratio has been particularly hard on the black community, where  convictions on federal crack laws are more prevalent.&#8221; The solution was  to reduce the ratio to 18 to one, so we can all rest a little easier  knowing that yet another unconstitutional power grab is a little less  unfair than it used to be.<\/p>\n<h3>From the Left: ACORN Rotting Into History<\/h3>\n<p>Despite their steadfast denial of wrongdoing, ACORN is closing up  shop around the country and putting an end to a saga which has gone on  for several election cycles. Predictably however, this hydra just  sprouted more heads with many former chapters simply reopening under new  names, and apparently they have allies in the Justice Department. The  watchdog group Judicial Watch this week released a laundry list of FBI  investigative material that shows that ACORN indeed falsified a number  of voter registration forms but managed to shift the blame to  overzealous canvassers who wanted to make an impression on their  superiors.<\/p>\n<p>The pattern of questionable registration suggested in the documents,  coupled with the lax enforcement of election laws by secretaries of  state in a number of key battleground states, places the legitimacy of  our electoral process into question. ACORN and its affiliate, Project  Vote, claim their goal is to encourage democracy (as do many thug  dictators), but they focused only on selected populations that they  deemed would either favor Democrats or be willing to sell their vote. In  the blind pursuit of power, these community organizers think they are  above the law. So far, despite having been caught red-handed numerous  times on camera, they&#8217;re right.<\/p>\n<p>All this sounds like the tactics of a certain onetime community  organizer who&#8217;s not letting niceties like following the Constitution get  in the way of his agenda, so it&#8217;s no wonder the Justice Department  turned a blind eye to these allegations. Remember, ACORN was stopped  only through the efforts of individuals such as James O&#8217;Keefe and Andrew  Breitbart, and groups such as Judicial Watch. Who will prevent their  outrageous crimes in the 2012 election?<\/p>\n<p><!-- [ADV|RealGeorgeWashington] --><a name=\"2\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>National Security<\/h2>\n<h3>Next Up: Immigration &#8216;Reform&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>As if the health care takeover alone weren&#8217;t enough to weaken the  foundation of what had been a nation of laws, Obama&#8217;s relentless  juggernaut of government transformation continues. The next assault on  our freedom takes the form of the so-called &#8220;immigration reform,&#8221;  promised by the Chosen One during his presidential campaign. As a ready  reference for the Obamaspeak term &#8220;reform,&#8221; we recommend George Orwell&#8217;s  &#8220;1984&#8243; (see updated &#8220;Doublespeak&#8221; glossary under &#8220;Hope &amp; Change&#8221;).<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;reform&#8221; of which His Worship speaks, however, refers not to real  reform, but rather to blanket amnesty for the 12-20 million illegal  aliens in the U.S., a payoff to the Latino community that voted  two-to-one for Obama in 2008. As envisioned by The One, the &#8220;reform&#8221;  bill would &#8220;include a path toward citizenship&#8221; for illegal immigrants.  Of course, these scofflaws would be required to register, as well as pay  taxes and penalties for &#8220;violating the law.&#8221; We can&#8217;t wait for the  legal challenges from countless &#8220;normal&#8221; (i.e., non-alien) felons who  would gladly &#8220;pay penalties&#8221; for violating the law and buy their way out  of jail, too.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO),  terrorists routinely apply for permanent residency in the U.S. by  seeking &#8220;green cards.&#8221; We&#8217;re also told that but for diligent follow-up  actions by the FBI, a great number of these green cards likely would  have been issued. The good news is that the administration has floated  another liberty-sapping idea &#8212; that is, issuing national ID cards &#8212; as  a means of preventing illegal aliens from getting jobs. We&#8217;re not  exactly confident that that&#8217;s what such cards would be used for just  because the president says so.<\/p>\n<p>For our part, we&#8217;re at a loss to understand why amnesty (or whatever  doublespeak term the administration is using for &#8220;amnesty&#8221;) should be  granted to those whose first act upon entering their &#8220;new country&#8221; was  to break the law. Nor can we understand why those who have entered  illegally should be granted rights to citizenship before others who have  obeyed our laws in trying to seek temporary or permanent residency in  the U.S. Finally, we&#8217;re at a loss to understand the concept of  &#8220;retroactive citizenship&#8221; associated with entering the U.S. illegally,  then having a child who becomes a citizen, and then seeking U.S.  citizenship on the basis of that child&#8217;s status. If that&#8217;s not gaming  the system, what is?<\/p>\n<p>Our recommendations: secure the borders and enforce existing  immigration laws; end &#8220;chain immigration&#8221;; deny amnesty to those who  have chosen to violate our laws; change by legislation the current  interpretation of the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship to anyone  born on American soil, despite parentage; and truly reform immigration  by making it easier for skilled workers to enter the U.S. while barring  potential threats. While we don&#8217;t advocate purposefully targeting any of  the illegals already in the U.S., we firmly support swiftly deporting  those found in the normal course of domestic law enforcement, with the  warning that repeat offenders will likely face a federal penitentiary  sentence.<\/p>\n<p><!-- [ADV|CategoryMarines] --><\/p>\n<h3>Department of Military Correctness: No Flag for You<\/h3>\n<p><em>U.S. troops storm Haiti; raise Old Glory to mark their triumphant  occupation!<\/em> This is, apparently, the twisted view of the Obama  administration, which has now banned flying the American flag at U.S.  military relief compounds in Haiti. When asked for an explanation, the  U.S. government&#8217;s Haiti Joint Information Center said, &#8220;We are not here  as an occupation force, but as an international partner committed to  supporting the government of Haiti on the road to recovery.&#8221; Never a  truer statement was spoken.<\/p>\n<p>However, that merely obscures the real reasons for the flag ban.  Every other military compound in Haiti flies the flag of its nation, as  it should. So why is the flag of the United States of America, a nation  which has donated far more in money and man-hours to assist Haiti in  earthquake recovery than any other nation on earth, the only flag banned  from flying in Haiti? The answer, of course, is that our  Apologist-in-Chief is ashamed of America, its history, its  exceptionalism, and <em>especially<\/em> its military. November 2012  can&#8217;t arrive fast enough.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"3\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Business &amp; Economy<\/h2>\n<h3>Regulatory Commissars: Dodd Introduces Financial Regulations<\/h3>\n<p>Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced his financial regulation bill this  week, and he&#8217;s taking heat from all sides. Nary a one of the 10  Republicans on his committee endorsed the plan, while his liberal  colleagues don&#8217;t think Dodd went far enough in creating a separate  Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The CFPA will still exist, but in  Dodd&#8217;s plan it will be part of the Federal Reserve, and it will allow  the federal government to interfere in the management of any company  that deals in credit. This means that the Fed will now stick its nose  into car dealerships that issue auto loans, check-cashing companies, and  even department stores that have layaway plans.<\/p>\n<p>The socialist hijinks don&#8217;t end there. Under this bill, a permanent  $50 billion bailout fund will be established to &#8220;rescue&#8221; companies that  the government deems &#8220;too big to fail.&#8221; The money for this fund will  come from taxes and fees assessed on the nation&#8217;s largest financial  institutions. These fees will translate into higher consumer fees at  your local bank as well as lower interest rates on personal savings  accounts. Additionally, the government would instill a &#8220;proxy access&#8221;  provision by which companies would be forced to subsidize campaigns for  board membership. This way, left-leaning labor and anti-business groups  can more easily become part of the governing body of companies and force  their socialist propaganda upon the shareholders. So much for laissez  faire capitalism.<\/p>\n<h3>Income Redistribution: IRS Agents Pursue Payment of 4 Cents<\/h3>\n<p>As the government in Washington rushes to spend trillions of dollars  it doesn&#8217;t have, the IRS is doing its part to pinch every last penny  from American taxpayers. In Sacramento, California, two suit-clad IRS  agents recently showed up at Harv&#8217;s Metro Car Wash to demand payment of <em>4  cents<\/em> in back taxes from 2006. Well, 4 cents before taxes and  penalties, that is. All told, the pennies debt had accrued an additional  $202.31, leaving the owner with $202.35 in payment due.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, the federal business call came <em>after<\/em> the IRS  issued a letter last October stating Harv&#8217;s &#8220;has filed all required  returns and addressed any balances due.&#8221; Not surprisingly, the IRS  refused to comment on the issue, citing &#8220;privacy and disclosure laws.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Although he complained that the IRS agents &#8220;didn&#8217;t even get a car  wash&#8221; during their visit, the owner nonetheless noted the humor in the  situation. &#8220;It&#8217;s hilarious that two people hopped in a car and came down  here for just 4 cents. I think [the IRS] may have a problem with  priorities.&#8221; We think so, too.<\/p>\n<p><!-- [ADV|TNWhiskeyFudge] --><\/p>\n<h3>Around the Nation: States to Delay Tax Refunds<\/h3>\n<p>In place of their state tax refund, many Americans may find  themselves holding a government IOU as states struggle to meet budget  shortfall. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/nation\/2010-03-11-tax-refunds_N.htm?csp=34\">USA  Today<\/a> reports, &#8220;The recession has tied up cash and caused officials  in half a dozen states to consider freezing refunds, in one case for as  long as five months,&#8221; thus forcing citizens into providing de facto  zero-interest loans to their states. New York, for example, may delay  $500 million in taxpayer refunds as it faces a $9 billion deficit. In  the Aloha State, Hawaiians may have to wait until the end of August to  see their refunds.<\/p>\n<p>According to Scott Pattison, executive director of the National  Association of State Budget Officers, the prospect of delayed refunds is  &#8220;an indicator of how bad [the economy] is. You know things are bad when  you have to do that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the luxury to postpone payments doesn&#8217;t apply equally. For  taxpayers, late tax payments mean penalties, interest and potentially  even wage garnishment, property confiscation and visits to car washes.  But when the IRS is late refunding to Americans the money they overpaid,  repercussions <em>might<\/em> include interest on the late refunds &#8212;  interest paid with taxpayer dollars. Something is very wrong with this  picture.<\/p>\n<h2>Culture &amp; Policy<\/h2>\n<h3>Census Forms Arrive<\/h3>\n<p>The Constitution prescribes the census in Article I, Section 2, to  determine how &#8220;Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned.&#8221;  The text reads, &#8220;The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years  after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and  within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such manner as they shall  by Law direct.&#8221; Those last nine words have led to the permanent  codification of census procedure in 1954, which empowers the Secretary  of Commerce to determine the form and content of the questionnaire.<\/p>\n<p>Three years later, Congress enacted section 195, which provided,  &#8220;Except for the determination of population for purposes of  apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several States,  the Secretary shall, if he considers it feasible, authorize the use of  the statistical method known as &#8217;sampling&#8217; in carrying out the  provisions of this title.&#8221; Such sampling is controversial as it enables  the alteration of the count based on expected under participation, which  tends to be a problem disproportionately for urbanites, immigrants and  students. In many ways, sampling resembles the arguments, advanced by Al  Gore in 2000, that it was not actual votes that should determine the  presidency, but intended ones.<\/p>\n<p>In 1996, the Supreme Court upheld the sampling bar against a  challenge that it systemically resulted in an undercount of racial  minorities. The Court reasoned that the census&#8217;s purpose was not an  accurate measurement either of total people, or the distribution of the  population among ethnic\/racial groups, but the distribution of the  population among <em>states<\/em>. Six years later, however, the Court  approved the process of imputation, which it distinguished from sampling  on fairly technical grounds. With reapportionment, and the possible  future control of Congress at stake, further attempts to inflate blue  state totals seems inevitable.<\/p>\n<h3>DNA Collection on All Who Are Arrested<\/h3>\n<p>Conservatives have long recognized Barack Obama&#8217;s penchant for Big  Government, but now he&#8217;s drawing fire from the Left. In a recent  interview with &#8220;America&#8217;s Most Wanted&#8221; host John Walsh, Obama stated his  support for mandatory DNA-typing upon arrest, even if the individual is  not convicted &#8212; or even charged &#8212; with a crime. Several states have  such laws in place, but Obama&#8217;s support extends to the federal level as  well. For those on the Left, who believed they were electing a staunch  proponent of civil liberties, this comes as quite a blow.<\/p>\n<p>In expressing their disappointment in their Fearless Leader, leftists  make the inevitable comparison with George W. Bush, whom they continue  to blame for every problem to have befallen the world within the past  decade. Of course, the comparison is flawed. They cite Bush-era  policies, such as <cite>The Patriot<\/cite> Act, which were designed to  protect the country from terrorist threats in the wake of the 9\/11  attacks &#8212; a far cry from DNA-typing all Americans erroneously arrested  and innocent of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>The ACLU is currently challenging California&#8217;s law on mandatory DNA  collection, on behalf of people such as the Oakland woman who was  arrested while attending an anti-war rally. Her DNA was collected even  though she wasn&#8217;t charged with a crime. How pathetically ironic that  Obama, once viewed as redeeming the United States from the evils of  George Bush, now finds himself on the other side of the fence from the  ACLU.<\/p>\n<h3>UN Complains About New HIV Infections Among the &#8216;Persecuted&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>According to UNAIDS, the recent rise in new HIV infections among  homosexuals, prostitutes and intravenous drug users is a result of the  &#8220;archaic&#8221; laws in 85 countries that make these acts illegal. These laws  force homosexuals in particular to live in fear of persecution,  allegedly without access to services that would allow them to prevent  the disease. The head of UNAIDS, Michael Sidibe, is now asking for  funds, of course, to start a &#8220;prevention revolution,&#8221; a costly campaign  similar to those against smoking.<\/p>\n<p>However, Sidibe himself exposes the flaw in his argument. In the  United States, where homosexuals are free to live their lives and have  the same access to information, medicine and services as heterosexuals,  50 percent of new HIV infections last year were among homosexuals,  despite the fact that they make up less than 5 percent of the  population. This, Sidibe acknowledges, is due to the complacency of  individuals who choose to ignore safe-sex options, such as, well, not  engaging in homosexual behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Another question is whether such a campaign would have a significant  &#8212; if any &#8212; impact in countries where homosexuality, drug use or  prostitution is illegal. For example, would an ad on AIDS prevention  even be run in one of the seven countries where homosexuality is  punishable by death? Perhaps the UN should continue to campaign for  these countries to address problem laws within their own borders, rather  than asking the rest of the world to foot the bill for the  consequences.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnsnews.com\/news\/article\/62364\">18  U.S. senators<\/a> have called for an end to the ban on homosexuals  donating blood. In other words, despite their claims of flawless  testing, John Kerry and his ilk would put innocent American lives at  risk for the sake of political correctness.<\/p>\n<h3>To Keep and Bear Arms<\/h3>\n<p>Senewa Kahle broke into the house of Charles and Maureen Cassidy one  night last weekend in Stuart, Florida. Upon hearing noise, Maureen got  out of her bed to investigate. When she saw Kahle, she alerted her  husband, who grabbed his 9 mm pistol and readied himself by their door.  Charles warned the intruder to stop, but Kahle approached their bedroom  anyway. Charles fired several shots, hitting Kahle in the hip. The  suspect, who had a knife, then attempted to flee but was found by police  in a nearby yard. They also found an accomplice waiting in a getaway  car.<\/p>\n<p>The Cassidys are part of a retirement community. One of the neighbors  supported Charles, saying, &#8220;If I couldn&#8217;t take him out with my hands,  I&#8217;d have to do something. We&#8217;re getting up in age around here. We have  to protect ourselves.&#8221; Kahle has had previous trouble with the law,  including an arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.<\/p>\n<p><!-- [ADV|2APreserving] --><\/p>\n<h3>And Last&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>Given the importance of the news these days, one might expect ratings  for cable news channels to soar. That&#8217;s true for one particular network,  but not the other two. Fox News was recently ranked number two in terms  of primetime viewership (just behind USA Network) and number four  overall. Alas, the official channel of the Angry Left, MSNBC, ranked  26th in primetime, while CNN didn&#8217;t even crack the top 30. The Cartoon  Network, on the other hand, managed the number 13 slot in primetime,  thus proving that Americans prefer animated cartoons to live ones. With  that in mind, perhaps CNN could change its name to Cartoon News Network.  It would increase viewership and provide truth in labeling at the same  time.<\/p>\n<p>Read more excellent articles at <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"http:\/\/patriotpost.us\/\" >The Patriot Post<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Filed under: <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/111th-congress\/'>111th Congress<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/democrats\/barry-soetoro-aka-barack-hussein-obama\/'>Barry Soetoro (aka Barack Hussein Obama)<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/conniving-politicians\/'>Conniving Politicians<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/us-government\/constitution\/'>Constitution<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/democrats\/demo-gogues-democrats-politics\/'>Demo-gogues<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/democrats\/'>Democrats<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/liberals\/'>Liberals<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/marxists\/'>Marxists<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/political-prostitutes\/'>Political Prostitutes<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/politics\/politicians-for-the-destruction-of-america\/'>Politicians for the Destruction of America<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/category\/us-government\/'>US Government<\/a> Tagged: <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/tag\/annie\/'>Annie<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/tag\/congressional-budget-office-cbo\/'>Congressional Budget Office (CBO)<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/tag\/health-care-takeover-bill\/'>Health Care Takeover Bill<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/tag\/the-patriot-post\/'>The Patriot Post<\/a>, <a href='http:\/\/papundits.wordpress.com\/tag\/unconstitutional-nationalization\/'>Unconstitutional Nationalization<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/gocomments\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\" \/><\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/godelicious\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/delicious\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\" \/><\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/gostumble\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/stumble\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\" \/><\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/godigg\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/digg\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\" \/><\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/goreddit\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/reddit\/papundits.wordpress.com\/32862\/\" \/><\/a> <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/stats.wordpress.com\/b.gif?host=papundits.wordpress.com&#038;blog=174708&#038;post=32862&#038;subd=papundits&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Patriot Post Digest The Foundation &#8220;[G]iving [Congress] a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce the whole [Constitution] to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4200,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-448426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448426\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}