A Proposed Amendment

Karl Spence wrote the following to me in an email:

How about an amendment that reads like this:

The Judiciary of the United States shall not presume to exercise nonjudicial power.

The sense in which this Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation shall be the guide in expounding it. Its provisions are neither to be restricted into insignificance nor extended beyond the natural and obvious meaning contemplated by the plain understanding of the people at the time of its adoption. Any faults it may contain are to be corrected by amendment as prescribed in Article V, not by usurpation.

Disregard of these principles is cause for impeachment.

If any of those phrases sound familiar, it's because they're lifted from the writings of John Marshall, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and George Washington.

The amendment would need additional sections to ratify those changes the courts made for us that we should have made for ourselves (e.g., the overthrow of Jim Crow), and --- if it is to have a chance of success --- to give proper constitutional authority to a great deal of the functions the federal government is now performing (Social Security, Medicare, the Federal Reserve, national parks, disaster relief, etc., etc., etc.). Devising it and getting past the furious opposition of today's legal establishment would be a lot of trouble. But at the end of the day, we'd have the advantage of practicing actual self-government, instead of bowing to the dictates of a judicial elite whose interpretations of the Constitution bear less and less relation to its original, true, ratified meaning.

I like it. What do you think? You can also email Karl yourself.

Does HIV Cause AIDS?

Dr. Harvey Bialy discusses this with us in Dean's World. Sample idea: Out of more than 250 chimpanzees who have been infected with HIV since 1980, only one has gotten AIDS. Chimpanzees are our closest genetic relative, and this is the only disease we know of which has behaved thus. Doesn't that fact deserve investigation?

An Unwitting School Tyrant

Kim du Toit argues persuasively against a man who would force his views upon my children. Were you to succeed, Professor Apple, you would only force my family to flee beyond your reach. Your intentions are benevolent, I grant you, but like all who would impose your views upon free men, you must be opposed. In the end, you, sir, intend to be a dictator, a petty, harmful tyrant. I'm sure you will work within the system, like Caesar, but in the end your desire is the same: to impose your views upon us all.

Some Compassion From Our President

I have a sister who is so profoundly intellectually disabled that she cannot chew her food or sit up without assistance. The only reason she has lived this long is that my parents have cared for her to this day, just over forty-two years after her birth. The initiative Rich Lowry describes will not help her, but it will help the many intellectually disabled folks who can work. I've known many such people like this. They are hard, willing workers, who only want to live as normal a life as possible. Jeb Bush is an enthusiastic backer of this program, which is designed to enable more intellectually disabled people to enjoy the dignity of work. Hooray for the Bush family!

Bring Back The Constitution

We discuss who wants to restore which parts of the Constitution on the lawyer dominated group blog called The Volokh Conspiracy.

Can a 911 Hang-Up Provide Probable Cause?

Matt Rustler and friends discuss a case.

The Third for StoryMaker

My duaghters are crazy for Petz . And Petz is significantly better suited for children than Sims, I figure.

Hugh's Questions

Hugh Hewitt asks these questions.

Here they are with my answers.

Whom did I cast my vote for president for in the past five elections?

2004 - Bush
2000 - Gore
1996 - Perot - as a protest. I was sure Clinton would pull a Nixon, but I didn't like Dole.
1992 - Clinton
1988 - Dukakis

Do I attend church regularly and if so, in which denomination? Weekly, Church of Christ.

Do I believe that the late-term abortion procedure known as partial birth abortion should be legal? No. What I really want is a way to abort the pregnancy but save the child, like artificial wombs.

Do I believe same sex marriage ought to be legal? No. What I really want is research into the causes of homosexuality and a cure for it. Anything which so badly compromises the biological purpose of one's reproductive organs is a disorder, and you should be able to get a cure for it, if you want one.

Did I support the invasion of Iraq? Yes. I think it was great strategy in many ways.

Do I support drilling in ANWR? Yes. There isn't enough environmental impact to matter.

Here are Silflay Hraka's answers.

Another One For Story Maker

Man finds his old best friend via Google!

The Salvation Army...

...reports on the tsunami.

The Iraq War Is Going Well

Orin Kerr and friends discuss how well the Iraq War is going. My take is that it is going well for a war.

Accurate Handgun Shooting

Massad Ayoob, whose books and articles I highly recommend, tells how to shoot a handgun accurately.

Via someone in Kim du Toit's forum.

I Like Rumsfeld

So do some diplomats.

Via Dean Esmay.

Where To Donate

For tsunami relief:

The Salvation Army

World Vision

Catholic Relief

A Post For StoryMaker

Let's pray for Tara, and her owner, Ms. O'Brien.

Environmental Regulations Metastasize

Because environmental regulations are written without regard to cost versus benefits they often metastasize into a cancer on the body politic. Laws should not be written to make us feel good. They should be written to do useful work. Resolutions are what we write to feel good.

Military Intelligence Not An Oxymoron

Jason explains why the military should be required to perform intelligence tasks, not just allowed to, in this fisking of Bob Herbert.

Really, Bob, do I criticize columnists for expressing their opinions? Shouldn't philosophers do that? Don't get the analogy? Well, the military has been doing intelligence since the military was invented. They shouldn't stop because you want civilians to do it too. Aaaa, fudge. Mrs. Wince says I make terrible analogies. I'm beginning to think she's right.

Via Instapundit.

Don't Shop Target

I want to go back, but I can't. Not till they bring back the Salvation Army!

Paging the Nobel Committee

Saving the world from nuclear destruction deserves a Nobel Peace prize in my book. And here's the list of folks who could nominate him!

A MAD Situation

Instead of MAD, we could still have Accidental Mutual Assured Destruction (AMAD), like we almost did in 1983. Hmm. Glenn Reynolds is rightly worried about asteroid impacts, although not this one. I suggest we worry a bit more about AMAD. Bush and Sam Nunn are worried about it. I'd like to see some progress.