No MRIs, but there were doctors

Hullabaloo, a Liberal blog, posted this little gem:  “There were no MRIs in 1780.”

Ignoring the fact that the United States had not yet forced Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown in 1780 (and hence, no Articles of Confederation, let alone a Constitution, had been ratified), the line of reasoning by the author is sophomoric at best and intellectually dishonest at worst.

Nowhere in the constitution does it authorize the Federal Aviation Administration or the Center For Disease Control either, so I guess they’re out too. The fact that the founders weren’t psychics or time travelers is a real problem for us, apparently.

Ian Millheiser from CAP pointed out that if you used this logic, then Medicare and Medicaid are unconstitutional as well. Pilon agrees, saying that the entire New Deal is unconstitutional. So, there you have it.

Um, no, not exactly.

Filed under: Government, health care, personal health, stupidity, 1780, citizen, constitution, federal power, hullabaloo, MRI, power, specious, straw man

On the Wrong Side

The United Nations, the United States, the European Union and the Organization of American States have all  denounced the ousting of Manuel Zelaya as President of Honduras three months ago.  Zelaya has asked his supporters to descend upon the nation’s capital of Tegucigalpa in protest.  This would be all well-and-good, except for one important detail:

It wasn’t a coup.

A little background:

Zelaya was the elected President of Honduras.  Per the Constitution, he is limited to one term.

Zelaya attempted to have the Constitution amended so that he could serve another term.  The nation’s legislature refused.

Zelaya called for a non-binding referendum on a constitutional amendment.  The legislature refused.

Undeterred, Zelaya had ballots printed in Venezuela, shipped to Honduras, and ordered the military to hold the referendum.  The military refused.  A court battle between Zelaya and his own Attorney General ensued and Honduras’ Supreme Court ordered the referrendum stopped.

Still undeterred, Zelaya had his followers go to the mliitary base to take the ballots and distribute them.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting: Honduras’ Constitution specifically states that anyone who even suggests that a President should serve more than one term is guilty of treason.

Filed under: Government, liberty, politics, constitution, coup, EU, honduras, OAS, obama, UN, zelaya

Happy Constitution Day

On this day, September 17, 212 years ago, a group of men convened together to approve the re-writing of history.

No, they were not revisionist historians. They were making history by rejecting the ineffective Articles of Confederation, adopted as the United States gained its Independence from Britain, and establishing a more capable and effective form of republican government.

They established in the preamble both the reason why they were there, the purpose of the existence of the government of the United States of America and the reason why governments are established for mankind:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Establish Justice.

Insure domestic Tranquility.

Provide for the common defence.

Promote the general Welfare.

Secure the Blessings of Liberty.

Filed under: Government, liberty, constitution, republic, united states